Vendetta Fails to Shake Riftbound Meta as Unleashed Holds Tournament Edge
New set sees scattered legend success but old archetypes still dominate two weeks into worldwide release.
Two weeks after Vendetta launched worldwide, the Riftbound metagame remains largely unchanged. Unleashed-era decks continue winning most tournaments, with new legends making only sporadic breakthroughs in early competitive results.
Patchy Penetration in Early Events
Local store tournaments and online events are now running globally since Vendetta's worldwide release. Best-of-one formats with 10 to 40 participants remain standard, though some digital competitions have drawn nearly 100 players. In these early brackets, most top-eight decks contain only a couple of Vendetta cards, with one or two new releases appearing at most. Yet some events show the opposite pattern: a Vendetta legend claims first place while four or more new decks reach the elimination rounds.
Standout Legends and Fading Picks
Ezreal emerged as the week's only double tournament winner, capitalizing on a metagame that rewards value generation and early board control. The Curator of the Sands, after leading Vendetta performers last week, dropped to just two top showings. Akali remains overshadowed by Irelia, who logged far more top-eight appearances. Meanwhile, the miracle build has become the most-played Vendetta archetype, while Ruination fell to a single top-eight finish.
Fiora's victory in a 41-player tournament illustrates the metagame's unsettled state. She previously reached finals in Chinese regional events during Spiritforged and dominated Unleashed's best-of-one format.
Context
Why it matters
Collectors and players should note that Vendetta cards remain lightly represented in winning lists. The Barcelona qualifier will test whether new legends can convert early promise into sustained competitive presence.
Cited source
What this report is based on
Rewritten from the cited Riftbound: League of Legends Trading Card Game report and checked against its immutable source snapshot. The source article is linked, not reproduced.
