In mid-January, snow fell in the north, and even Shanghai was tinged with a hint of chill. On the high-speed train from Shanghai to Fuzhou, the scenery outside the window flashed by, but Shilite (his in-game name) had no time to appreciate it, constantly stroking the card box in his hand. He was on his way to participate in the Riftbound: League of Legends TCG Season 2 Regional Open – Fuzhou Station.
To be precise, he was going for a supplementary registration.
Shilite is an out-and-out veteran League of Legends player: he specializes in AD in ranked matches and, of course, indulges in ARAM; he never misses a domestic or international esports match, and even goes to watch games on-site. Therefore, when he heard that Riot Games was going to launch a collectible card game based on the same universe, he threw himself into it without hesitation.
He attended a Riftbound trial event, and when he got four different trial decks, he was as happy as a child who had received a long-awaited toy; he practiced in advance using a tabletop game simulator on his computer and joined many communities to exchange experience and insights; he even went to a card shop specifically to experience novice teaching, determined to join the first echelon as soon as Riftbound was launched.
But life is sometimes like a losing streak in Teamfight Tactics — it always throws you some ridiculous situations. When the registration for the Season 1 Regional Open started, what awaited Shilite was not a chance to shine in the major competition, but a “unlucky” journey of supplementary registration.
Guangzhou Station: Registered, not selected. He didn’t go for supplementary registration because of the long distance, and Shilite thought it was okay at that time.
Beijing Station: Registered, not selected. He flew from Shanghai for supplementary registration. At that time, in the venue, a group of card friends gathered to chat and laugh. After the supplementary registration results were announced, people around him got up one after another and walked to their own card tables, leaving Shilite leaning alone against the edge of the table — he was the only one who failed to get the supplementary spot. “The probability of getting a spot through supplementary registration was about 60% at that time,” Shilite said. “That really hurt.” Fortunately, he won the Beijing City Tournament the next day, giving a shot in the arm to his supplementary registration journey.
Chongqing Station: Registered, not selected. Shilite started to get used to it.
Hangzhou Station: Registered, still not selected, and still failed the supplementary registration. Shilite, who could only sit in the spectator seats, looked a little dejected.
After a period of offseason, he picked himself up and successfully participated in the Shanghai National Open — making it out of the first round in his first major competition sounded like a relatively gratifying result, but he was not satisfied. “I was eliminated in the first round on day 2; it really hurt.” Later, he often practiced cards with the opponent who eliminated him, and every time he met the opponent, he would insist on reviewing the game at that time, a bit like stubbornly rubbing an incompletely healed scar.
He thought to himself, there is still Set 2.
As soon as Set 2 was released, Shilite dived into it immediately. Before the competition, he specially participated in various activities: City Challenge, Rift Night, 2V2, raising his Pact Points to 150. He huddled together with several card friends, Shaoxia, Xianglin, practicing cards day and night. The deck construction was not finalized until the day before the competition — on the suggestion of “Laobo” (Uncle Zhang), he added “Pixin Black Dragon” (card name) to his deck.
Even at this moment on the high-speed train, he was still deducing sideboarding strategies in his mind. His phone suddenly vibrated, and the registration result for Chengdu Station popped up: not selected.
Shilite twitched the corner of his mouth at the screen and said nothing.
On January 17th, he arrived at the Fuzhou competition venue early. The supplementary registration area was crowded, and the estimated selection rate was less than one-third. Just as he thought he would once again become an “off-site activity experience officer” today — he saw the notice: he was selected! This was the first time in his life that he successfully got a supplementary spot in a large-scale official Riftbound event. Although luck is still required to be selected for the competition, he still believes that with the optimization and adjustment of the Pact Points system, more summoners with a strong desire to participate will be able to compete as they wish and experience the extraordinary competition experience of Riftbound.
He hurried into the venue and caught a glimpse of two cosplayers playing cards with focused expressions in the trial area at the door.
Player “Ranye Qiuye” (her in-game name) played as Gnar, facing off against “Nian Gao Rou Tuanzi” (her in-game name) playing as Fiora. In the early stage of the game, Gnar used spell interference to gain a lot of point advantages. By the mid-game, Fiora reused her weapon with “Porcelain Furnace” (card name), but her hand resources began to weaken, and she finally had to admit defeat.
This was not a wonderful highlight on a live broadcast table, but an intense match that took place in the off-site novice teaching area.
Both Ranye Qiuye and Nian Gao Rou Tuanzi are hardcore League of Legends players with ten years of game experience.
Neither of them had played any other collectible card games before; their only strategy game experience came from Teamfight Tactics. However, out of a long-standing love for the League of Legends universe, they still made a special trip to the Regional Open venue on the weekend. Their purpose was pure: they wanted to see and touch the heroes who had accompanied them on the screen for a long time, now turned into tangible cards.
The beautiful card art makes Riftbound cards not only competitive but also highly collectible. “I think Ahri’s card art is very beautiful,” Ranye Qiuye said.
She also loves Yordles. As a novice player of Riftbound Set 2, she unhesitatingly chose the Gnar preconstructed deck when she first tried the game. “The card ‘Production Surge’ (card name) in the deck has a very game-like flavor, like Heimerdinger’s turrets in the game, very cute,” Ranye Qiuye said with a smile.
After arriving at the teaching area outside the venue, she first experienced two complete matches with a player mentor. Although she had little experience in card games before, she quickly got the hang of it by virtue of her familiarity with the League of Legends universe.
Having become obsessed with the game, she invited her companion Nian Gao Rou Tuanzi to join the battle. Hence, the scene at the beginning where Gnar fought Fiora appeared. After one round, the two exchanged decks. In the end, they concluded: Gnar is not only cute but also stronger than Fiora in deck strength.
The two then asked the staff nearby which other Yordles are available in the Legendary tier. When they learned that Teemo is currently available and Vex will be coming soon, they were very happy, as if they wanted to build their own Yordle deck right away.
When asked if they planned to enter the competition arena in the future to practice through competitions, they joked: “We don’t plan to go pro for now.”
EDG’s League of Legends division is a well-established top esports team, founded in 2013 and once won the S-Series World Championship at the 2021 World Championship. In the Riftbound arena, there are also five members wearing EDG team uniforms.
When asked about their goal for this Regional Open, Laobo (Zhang Bolun) said that he has always insisted on using Annie as his Legendary hero in competitions, but he lost more than he won in pre-competition practice with his teammates, which made him have to set his goal as Annie’s “Legendary Master Award”.
Shaoxia’s goal was more casual: “I just want to finish the competition with the deck I want to play.” He still insists on using his orange-yellow deck, from Sett in Set 1 to Fiora in Set 2. Before this Regional Open, Shaoxia participated in five City Tournaments, but failed to get out of the first round in all of them. “The people I practice with usually beat me in BO3 matches; I can’t win a single game, so I have no goals, just take it one step at a time.” He also admitted that if he can be selected for the subsequent Regional Opens in Season 2, he may choose the powerful Draven, but he doesn’t want to do that in the first game. “I’m a bit unwilling to do that in the first game.”
On the evening of January 18th, as player Aipotu held up his championship card high in the golden rain, the Riftbound Season 2 Regional Open Fuzhou Station came to a successful conclusion.
Shilite was eliminated outside the top 8, only one step away from stepping onto the podium. But when asked about his feelings about this competition, he was not too disappointed: “At least it’s the first time I successfully got a supplementary spot, and I also surpassed my performance in Shanghai. I will be better next time. My next goal should be Ezreal’s ‘Legendary Master Award’.” From Kai’Sa in Set 1 to Draven in Set 2, and the Explorer he wants to play in the future, he is still sticking to his lane in the Summoner’s Rift.
Ranye Qiuye did not come to the venue again on Sunday; instead, she went to a card shop. There, she picked up the cards from Set 1 and experienced the legendary journeys of “Lux” and “Teemo” one after another — she unknowingly played for a whole day in the shop. It was not until she walked out of the shop holding that exclusive Teemo P-card that the sky had already darkened quietly.
Laobo smiled happily that day. He not only won Annie’s “Legendary Master Award” but also achieved his personal best result, reaching the top 8; Shaoxia won the runner-up of this competition, and his score ranking also rose to the second place in the country.
The Riftbound arena ultimately measures more than just the level of card skills. It is more like a strange gravitational field, reaggregating and transforming the fragmented love scattered in the Summoner’s Rift, Teamfight Tactics, and esports live broadcast rooms into a more concrete, touchable form — cards.
Victory and defeat often happen in an instant, but what truly echoes endlessly is the nostalgia for the League of Legends universe, the careful consideration of every decision, and the knowing smile that arises when stroking the card surface because of a certain illustration or a certain mechanism. That is the enduring and longer aftertaste that runs through it all.
The players’ persistence and love do not only belong to the champion card on the podium. It exists in the breathless waiting during every supplementary registration, in the knowing smile when discovering a familiar card illustration in the teaching area, and in the perseverance of being “unwilling” even when knowing that the deck is weak.
So shuffle the cards, friend. Tomorrow is always full of hope.
