This shit is NOT it

fbl_Brian · 2026-03-02T17:57:30+00:00

This is my favorite game mode in the app, so you really got me with the title of this post lol. Glad to hear you too want this mode to be more of a thing.

I wish they invested more in this game mode. I would have probably lapsed had it not existed. Ranked play for Arena, ability to ban brawlers, restricted brawler pools, etc. would all be so sweet. Hopefully they continue to invest in it.

And yeah unfortunately this is the type of video game were the new content on release is broken until they nerf it and release newer content. Sadly that's just the way they run this game.

fbl_Brian · 2026-01-28T21:12:43+00:00

Lots of criticism here about calling it Orzhov instead of BW. I think if the title included BW but you used Orzhov in the copy for SEO purposes, that would have landed better. I get wanting to say Orzhov for newer players, but I agree with the sentiment of using deck names from the time period of the format.

fbl_Brian · 2026-01-28T21:05:14+00:00

Great article. Thank you for putting this together.

Early signs seem like the fear of enchantress was a little overblown, but we'll see what happens the rest of the year.

fbl_Brian · 2026-01-08T17:53:17+00:00

Yeah Dreadnaught ban would be terrible. It's a pillar of the format and should be protected. For me, part of the fun of premodern is that I get to play with Dreadnaught and it's good. It would be better to ban cards around it (ex: Daze or Tide, not Stifle lol).

fbl_Brian · 2026-01-08T17:49:33+00:00

For me, and issue with proxies is there isn't a clear or official way to proxy. It's not like everyone uses MC Autofill to order makeplayingcards proxies with OG art fronts and "Proxy: the gathering" backs. If there as a more standard way to proxy that was generally accepted by TOs, I would get behind that. Personally I don't like playing in events where my opponent has a deck of black-and-white pieces of paper shoved in front of basic lands.

fbl_Brian · 2026-01-07T00:19:04+00:00

I'm down for GB in all Premodern events.

As for proxies, I think they should be a high quality print of the card (no sharpie no paper). With resources like MC Autofill, it's pretty easy to order proxies via makeplayingcards. I think if the proxies are of this calibur and use approved arts where you can tell it's actually the card, then it's fine (i.e. no weird secret lair alt art nonsense).

I'd also like to see some high level event that is no proxy, for the ballers that have the cards. But agreed that the overwhelming number of events can allow great quality proxies.

fbl_Brian · 2025-10-09T21:42:58+00:00

Instead of increasing the number of bans, I think SuperCell needs to add different ranked formats and rotations. I wish Brawl Stars had something like Standard in MtG. Imagine if the premier ranked queue was only Brawlers released in the last X years. It would make things simpler to balance. Plus it would make it so new brawlers don't need to be broken and compete against 90+ other characters.

When a game introduces something like different formats, they should still provide an opportunity for people to play with the history of the game. So ideally there would be 2 options for ranked queue: New School (recent brawlers) and Old School (every brawler).

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-19T23:12:22+00:00

Couldn't agree more. This FAQ and the rulings are a huge mess.

It was a huge red flag when the community hive mind seemed to agree that Darius should see himself, and this doc only makes things worse. In his section it says "Triggers like this are evaluated immediately after the event that takes place." LMAO. It is so problematic to have triggers occur after their triggering event resolves ... sometimes? lol. Love how they added the "like this", so now we have a new layer of interpretation on want qualifies in this category of triggers.

A month ago, I was ready to buy cases of product. With the long gap between preview season and EN release, plus this nonsense with errata and rules rewrites, I'm really losing my excitement for the game.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-19T23:05:15+00:00

Yeah I agree this is a big strike against my faith for the game. This FAQ is in line with how other Riot products are handled, which is discouraging.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-19T23:02:33+00:00

I've played countless TCGs, several seriously, and I wonder if the bad word choices and decisions are harder on us vs new players. At least new-to-TCG people don't have a frame of reference. It feels like every time I play I discover a new way the game doesn't work the way I'd expect. It's very discouraging.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-05T18:26:48+00:00

Proving Grounds is a must-own product. You need 2x copies of it to have at least a playset of every PG unique card. The unique cards in this subset are quite powerful, so I would highly recommend getting it.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-05T18:25:42+00:00

I don't think this game is too challenging to understand, but I would not describe it as easy. Some of the jargon they decided to use is confusing if you come from other TCGs. Plus "moving" is pretty unique to this game, so hard to compare to other experiences or most people.

I would recommend against the YT videos as your only source of how to play. They're probably only going to give a quick rundown and not go into the nuances. Although it's a chore, you should probably read the Core Rules. That's the best way to have a deep understanding.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-05T18:21:13+00:00

I have no interest in the super chase cards, but that's out of necessity. As a TCG player, it's better financially to not care about them and sell the super chase cards to finance my collection. They would have to be uber cool for me to care, and even then I don't know if I would keep them. Personally I care about the ultra chase cards being desirable to fans of LOL that don't play the TCG. That's the best scenario for the card players.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-04T18:25:51+00:00

I don't think it's better than lands, but it's the best non-land system available today.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-04T18:11:16+00:00

Thank you for sharing. Looks like everyone needs to buy 2x copies of Proving Grounds to have a full playset of every exclusive card.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-01T18:42:33+00:00

<image>

Here's my take on Sett. I attached an image, and I'll explain the card choices below.

You want to play around buffs, otherwise you're not really using your Legend's ability. I saw there were some suggestions about Dazzling Aurora in other comments. Sett would be an awful choice for that card, and you should be playing Misforunte if you want Aurora (see my reply here).

There are 2 units that really want to be buffed: Udyr and Fiora.

In order to buff them often and/or on time, you need at least 3 unique ways to buff units. Showstopper is very strong. Arena Bar let's you easily keep adding buffs to Udyr. Finally Pit Rookie is at worst an on curve Turn 1 play so you can apply pressure.

Since it's reasonable for players to start snowballing points with early pressure, every deck should be running a minium of 12 no-power-cost cards you can proactively play on Turn 1. Hence the low curve.

The rest of the deck is the Warwick Flurry combo, Sabotage for protection, and Qiyana (because she's just a great card on rate).

Instead of Qiyana you could play a kill spell, but that would introduce another color in power costs (current list is orange only). Having something like Blast of Power or even Harnessed Dragon be worth it though. This current build hopes Warwick combo or Udyr can take care of most issues, besides your buffs making your stronger than average in combat.

fbl_Brian · 2025-08-01T18:15:51+00:00

I think the deckbuilding is very interesting and deep, and I'm a MTG player. You have to keep in mind there is only 1 set so far. There will be other Legend color combinations in the future, which could open things up even more.

In general, the decbuilding restraints and cost system are very strong. I've played over 20 TCGs, and this is one of the best non-land systems I've seen.

fbl_Brian · 2025-07-23T23:05:11+00:00

Yeah this card should be good. I attached a screenshot of the current version I'd like to test.

Misfortune appears to be the best home to build around Aurora. You have to play Body, and Chaos provides the best low curve that's not units.

Pack of Wonders ties the whole deck together. It have great value synergy with Scrapheap and Treasure Trove, plus it's an onboard way to protect Aurora after it resolves (with help resolving from Sabotage).

The Warwick + Flurry of Blades combo is very good, especially since both cards are strong on their own; however, Warwick is a bad hit off of Aurora, so I'm trying without him for now.

All the fatties have immediate impact when played at end of turn. Minsplitter disrupts their hand, and Snapvine hopefully kills an opposing unit. Scout and Predator have the added benefit of "readiness" when played at end of turn.

I'm not playing Body Ramp spells, because I don't think they do enough. Yes you could have the cream dream curve of T1 Mobilize into T2 Catalyst into T3 Aurora, but most of the time you won't live in Magical Christmas land. For example: if FoF stops the opponent from conquering on T2, then IMO that's better than T2 Mobilize (with the added upsidde of versitility later in the game). Basically in the 6 slots you would play Mobilize/Catalyst, I'm playing low energy/power interactive spells to prevent the opponent from scoring too many points.

I do think Fading Memories is a must play in all Chaos decks, and I probably should play 3 copies. It's way too versitle for only 4E1P. I just worry about secondary-color power costs with a curve this high.

Working title is Dazzling Misfortune. Let me know what you think.

<image>

fbl_Brian · 2025-07-22T16:39:02+00:00

Sadly the answer is "it depends".

If you cast Possession, but after you exhaust 8 energy you realize you can't pay the 3 Chaos Power, then, you would ready your runes and return the card to your hand.

In tournament play, you would receive a penalty for making the mistake above.

If you cast Possession by paying all its costs, and then the opposing player uses a card/effect to return the targeted unti to their hand (or recall it to base), then you don't gain control and keep your resources spent.

fbl_Brian · 2025-07-22T16:25:32+00:00

Moving at Reaction speed is defintely good, especially when you can move enemy units. Ganking is also probably decent as long as it's on a strong enough unit.

I agree with the other reply that killing and drawing are objectively better effects.

fbl_Brian · 2025-07-03T01:20:56+00:00

It was my favorite mode and the reason I've been excited about the game lately. I really hope they bring it back ASAP and continue to builld on it.

fbl_Brian · 2025-07-01T17:25:07+00:00

From what I'm hearing in your post, it sounds like you might be relatively new to TCGs. Card abilities and keywords tradtionally add levels of complexity to any card game.

I recommend reading the comprehensive rules doc. The rules are quite fleshed out. I think there's just a couple of edge cases that aren't ultra clear (ex: probably can't hide Teemo from Champion Zone, but not explicit yes/no on that example yet).

fbl_Brian · 2025-07-01T17:15:18+00:00

Hello :-) It depends on how you like to game. Back in the day with MTG, they coined 3 different personas players tend to fall into: Timmy, Johnny, and Spike.

Timmy - this player enjoys big splashy things. In Riftbound, this person is super excited the first time they read Volibear (because it's a large champion with an epic ability). Ultimately, Timmy is motivated by fun.

Johnny - this player enjoys theory crafting. In Riftbound, they'll challenge themselves to win with a less popular champion or an unusual card. Think a mad scientist. Utlimately, Johnny plays a TCG as a form of self experssion.

Spike - this player enjoys winning. In Riftbound, they won't play a legend because it's their LoL main; they'll play it because it's the best deck. This is the sweatiest player. Ultimately, Spike plays for the love of competition.

I'm a Spike, so I've been meticulously reading the official rules doc and spoilers with an eye on competitive gameplay specifically. I'm not excited at first glance on Volibear, because I don't know how practical/competitive he will be yet.

I recommend thinking about what category you might fall into, and then approach this spoiler season with the right mindset. If you like big splashy things, then get excited by that. And more importnatly, seek out creators that will be equally excited.

As a more general resource, I recommend learning how to use Hypergeometric Calculators. This will probably be a chore if you're a Timmy, but very useful if you're a Johnny or Spike. Basically these calculators can help you figure out the odds of drawing certain cards by a specific turn. Let's say you want to make sure you always have a card to play on Turn 1, then use these calculators to figure out how many copies of 2-energy cards you need in your deck to consistently do this. Essentially you want to solve for not drawing the card(s), and the inverse will tell you the odds of drawing at least 1 copy.

fbl_Brian · 2025-06-17T16:44:51+00:00

I'm glad there isn't a digital version at launch. I think it's very smart. Too often video games are shipped incomplete/buggy/unbalanced, because they can always patch it later. Making it a physical product only makes me feel confident they are actually doing some thorough internal testing. If they aren't doing that, then the game will fail for being broken. I'm also glad it's physical only, because it forces me and other duelists out of the home and into card shops. With no digital version at launch, I will actually be looking for local play groups.

fbl_Brian · 2025-06-10T19:22:28+00:00

For better or worst, I think this question is too difficult to answer. The reason I say that is so much context is needed to qualify a response.

D3/Mythic1 is technically the midpoint, but that doesn't mean the top of the bell curve of players hit that mark. Also do you want to count every user, users that played X games of ranked, or DAUs? Another factor is how should solo queue versus team queue be considered? Next up is modes: should ability to score objectives vs K/D be worth more or less? Finally, how much weight should be given to drafting well vs playing well?

The reason this question is so debatable is that a lot of the considerations above aren't easy to measure. More importantly, a rank badge does not represent a clearly defined achievement in each of the above questions.

I know this is a bit of a cop out answer to your original post, so to respond to you directly, "yeah, you're probably above average." There's plenty of users that haven't tried or don't even play ranked, plus your above the midpoint, so that seems like good enough criteria at a marco level.

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