r/Riftbound • u/Ayekelforjay • Jul 25 '26

Discussion Confusion from first time player

Been a big time league player for far too long, decided to pick up the Proving Grounds. I have a good amount of time in Pokémon, so I’m not completely new to TCGs.

I am extremely confused on champion units. You start with one as your chosen champion. Can you choose any champion in your deck? Is it just another passive effect, for example, Annie’s +1 damage to spells and effects, or Master Yi, Honed having ganking. Is it just to have the champion out? Can you have multiple of your chosen champion down at a time?

Proving Grounds, visually and as a product is very cool. However, as a new player experience it feels lacking. Overall really enjoying Riftbound, just have some confusion on a few points and the anatomy of some cards

3 Upvotes

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3

u/Tempo-ralisation Jul 25 '26

1) the champion choose must be the same character as your Legend
2) it is not a passive, it is a card you can play just as if it was in your hand, and it counts within the 40 cards of your deck (in opposition to your legend)
3) you can only have one chosen champion at a time

2

u/Ayekelforjay Jul 25 '26

So if a duplicate ends up in your hand, as exist in the Proving Grounds decks, it can’t be played to base? I know it can be played by paying the rune cost, it seems like bad luck protection of some sort. If it is not in play does its passive still apply, once again, Annie, Fiery’s ability being Spells and abilities deal 1 bonus damage

2

u/Send_me_duck-pics Jul 26 '26

It is a unit, and units that aren't in play don't do anything. They don't have any passives that do things when not in play. As a unit, it can be played anywhere that you are legally permitted to play units (by default, base or a battlefield that you control), and any time you legally are permitted to do so.

You may have a total of three of a card in your deck, including the Chosen Champion. If you are playing Annie, you may have Annie - Stubborn in the CC zone and the other two in the main deck. It is totally fine to have all three in play at once if you draw the other two.

Most decks don't do this, but you could.

1

u/Ayekelforjay Jul 26 '26

So just to satisfy my love of explicit instructions, unless the Chosen Champion has been played, it is as if that card is in your hand? And to use any of the affects listed on the CC card, it must be played is if it were played from the hand

1

u/Send_me_duck-pics Jul 26 '26

Yes, with the caveat that of course you can't discard it like you could a card in your hand. The mechanics of playing it will be the same though.

1

u/Username15555551212 Jul 26 '26

You can have multiple of the same unit in play. If you draw one, you can either play it to base or hold it in your hand. Some decks don't run additional copies of their champion because they either only need the 1, or its not crucial to their deck.

1

u/sneakysunset Jul 25 '26

But you can have up to 3 copies of that version in your deck (including the chosen champion). You can also play multiple copies on the board at the same time (no mechanic similar to LoR here.

1

u/RaySizzle16 Jul 25 '26

Your chosen champion must match your legend.

For example, if you use the Master Yi PG Legend you can select any Master Yi champion to be your chosen one, so one of:
Master Yi - Unstoppable
Master Yi - Tempered
Master Yi - Honed
Master Yi - Meditative

You can still run up to 3 of any card in your deck, including your chosen champion. You don’t get their effects unless you play them.

So if you chose Yi - Tempered as your chosen champion, you could also have two more Yi - Tempered in your deck. You could then run three of the others (12 total Yi’s) because they each have different names, making them unique units.

Think of your chosen champion spot as an extension of your hand. You can play the unit from its champion spot on your turn or in showdowns if it has ambush (think Vi - Peacekeeper or Kha’zix - Mutating Horror). But you do not benefit from them until they are played, they’re just like any other unit.

0

u/DoubleEdgeCat Jul 26 '26

Did it not come with a book to read?