League of Legends Riftbound Unleashed card reveal - Prepared Neophyte is a mid-game monster

I thought I'd have gotten bored of Riftbound by now. I certainly go through obsessive cycles: one day I'm desperate to play Magic: The Gathering or Star Wars Unlimited, but by the next I've lost all interest. Perhaps it's my love for League of Legends that's kept me coming back to Riot's IRL card game; I do have an undying passion for the classic MOBA. Or, maybe it's just that Riftbound really is GOATed; every time I play it I feel like I uncover a new mechanic, or a sneaky, dopamine-inducing combo. While Spiritforged was very much up my alleyway thematically, Unleashed promises heavy-scaling, Plainswalker-esque leveling that I'm excited to take for a spin. Prepared Neophtyte is set to be one of these tanky heavy hitters, and that's the card we're showing off today.

Hailing from League of Legends' mysterious Shadow Isles and giving some serious Lissandra vibes, Prepared Neophyte's mechanic is relatively simple: when you spend four or more Runes (mana) to play a spell this turn, it adds four to its Might. That brings it up to five total, with no specific Rune cost required to activate it.

As a very affordable three-cost unit, you can bring it into play relatively early on, and while it'll quickly get outscaled as the game progresses (you can certainly add some Buffs and counters to keep it relevant, mind you), it's a good tank in the early to mid stages - especially in spell-focused decks.

As a Fury (red) card, it's easy to see where Prepared Neophyte might fit into a Kai'Sa deck, for example. Looking at the top-tier Daughter of the Void deck, you can tap Kai'Sa to add a colored Rune to a spell draw, meaning heavy duty six-costs like Singularity and seven-cost Acathian Rain can come online a bit quicker. That's made even easier with the Obelisk of Power battlefield, which allows you to channel a Rune at your Beginning Phase. Dropping big spells off the bat means that your Neophyte will be sitting at five for a lot of the early game, actively countering some of the lower cost, aggro-focused units.

So, where does Prepared Neophyte land, in the context of Unleashed? Well, I can see it working well in a Jhin deck, for starters - and I'm sure theorycrafters everywhere will be able to find even better combinations as more and more cards are revealed.

Perhaps more importantly, it fits perfectly into the set's overarching theme of "becoming." The core focus of Unleashed is gaining XP and adding new effects to your units. The Prepared Neophyte slots neatly into that, growing as the game goes on, and while it'll struggle to deal with some of the higher level cards like Master Yi: Unstoppable, it does have a place in the early to mid stages. Is it a game changer? Maybe not, but in the right circumstances I can see where it could be pretty strong.

League of Legends Riftbound: Unleashed launches in China on Friday April 10, and in English-language regions on Friday May 8. It appears that Riot plans to replicate the draw system we saw for Spiritbound (you'll sign up to buy specific products, then be allocated a window in which to do so) when it comes to getting both Booster Displays and Precon decks, but it's still finalizing the timing.

You'll also be able to pick up the brand new Vault, which includes six booster packs, 36 basic Runes, three double-sided full art tokens, and two dividers, all wrapped up in an Unleashed-inspired reusable box. There are also the new Ultimate cards - this time focused around the Baron Nashor - for enthusiasts to chase.

All in all, I'm excited for Unleashed. Its mechanics intrigue me, and its roster of champions is absolutely perfect (I need a Jhin deck in my life). Riftbound just keeps on hitting, and man, I'm so here for it.