The decks we’ve chosen for this Riftbound Day 1 Budget Guide are Kai’Sa, Master Yi, and Viktor. You might be surprised by the inclusion of Kai’Sa and Master Yi, since they’re currently among the strongest decks in the entire format, and you’d expect them to be expensive.
However, thanks to their powerful Legend abilities, both champions can still build competitive, low-cost decks that perform extremely well even without the most optimal cards. Then there’s Viktor, who can run one of his most competitive builds using only a limited set of resources.
Kai’Sa — Daughter of the Void
Non budget list
The core cards are the champion Kai’Sa Survivor and Falling Stars. The good part is only Kai’Sa is epic and you will only need 1. The expensive cards are: Kai’Sa, Falling Star, Darius, and Thousand-Tailed Watcher. We’re going to play every one of these cards, and if we can buy some we will buy the Falling Stars first. We can end with a deck like this:
This deck will compete really well with any full deck, and you can upgrade step by step as you collect more cards — that gradual progression is one of the most satisfying parts of any TCG.
Extra substitutes
Master Yi — Wuju Bladesman
Non budget deck
Master Yi deck is usually one of the more expensive builds in Riftbound — both the standard ramp version and the Aurora variant require a lot of high-rarity cards. However, we can still play a more aggressive version built around smaller creatures that’s proving to be surprisingly powerful, much like the early G decks currently appearing in the meta.
It’s not as strong against Kai’Sa, but it remains a solid, high-performing deck that doesn’t rely heavily on epic or legendary cards. We can end with a deck like this:
I don’t think Carnivorous Snapvine, Qiyana, and Primal Strength will be as expensive as cards like Darius or Thousand-Tailed Watcher, so this deck shouldn’t be hard or pricey to build.
Viktor — Herald of the Arcane
Non budget deck
Viktor is a very strong deck, but it hasn’t seen much success in the latest tournaments because it doesn’t have great matchups against Master Yi and Kai’Sa, the two most-played decks in the Chinese meta. However, this might start to shift in the European meta.
Even so, Viktor maintains several favorable matchups and remains powerful and reliable. Best of all, you can build a near-optimal version without spending too much.
The only card that might be slightly expensive and highly sought-after is Thousand-Tailed Watcher, but it’s not core and can be replaced by budget options.
We can end with a deck like this:
You can also swap Viktor Leader for Viktor Innovator; this list is close to full power and competes well vs most decks.
Extra substitute cards
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. More importantly, I hope it helps you start your Riftbound journey in the best possible way — building powerful decks, learning the game’s depth, and having fun along the way.
Riftbound is at its most exciting stage right now: a brand-new world full of discovery, creativity, and competition. So grab your cards, experiment fearlessly, and find the strategy that defines your playstyle.
See you on the Rift.