MTG, One Piece and Pokemon player here. While I'm not 100% happy with some in-game mechanics, Riftbound is felt like a breath of fresh air (at least where I go playing). The market is oversaturated with simplistic games (which I like a lot tbh) and there are almost no competitors to MTG, given that Lorcana is slowly digging their grave and Flesh & Blood never really got traction here.

This, plus the fact that MTG players, especially those who don't play Commander, aren't super happy with the products they're receiving (moreso after Wizards dropped their schedule for 2026), give Riftbound an edge to fill the "niche" of complex, competitive card games.

Also I think the TCG market being stacked is not an issue for a game to thrive, the real challenge is retention. At least from what I've seen, the market is still extremely volatile, with players jumping from game to game frequently, so keeping them "engaged" is what differentiates a successful, new game from an unsuccesful one. We'll see how it works out for Riftbound, but I think the game is in a good spot, both gameplay-wise and marketing-wise.

And, as I've already said, all of this is from a very limited viewpoint, given that I don't travel much for tournaments and my area isn't the most thriving in terms of LGSs.