Riftbound's New Ekko Variant Lets You Weaponize Temporary Units

Riftbound, Riot Games's League of Legends trading card game, is approaching its one-year Western release anniversary on October 31. The game will see its fifth major set, Radiance, launch on October 23 at local game stores and big-box retailers.

Among the cards being revealed for Radiance is an Overnumbered art variant of Ekko, Boy Who Shattered Time. The legend card uses Fury and Mind colors (red and blue) and centers on giving Ekko's time-manipulation abilities to other units in your deck.

The card's ability lets you exhaust a rune and Ekko himself to empower him. When you disempower Ekko, you exhaust him and reduce the cost of your next unit summon by 2, gaining a recycled rune of any color. That unit gains "Kill me at end of turn," meaning it will be discarded after the turn ends.

This setup encourages building around units with immediate board impact. Cards with Accelerate, which cost one exhausted rune and one recycled rune to activate, can enter ready and attack immediately. With Ekko's discount, you'll still pay less to summon accelerated units overall.

Prerelease events, called "Pre-Rifts" in Riftbound, begin October 16 at local game stores.