Get your exclusive first look at a devious new Riftbound Spiritforged card

League of Legends trading card game Riftbound is preparing for the release of its second-ever set of cards in the coming months, and previews for Riftbound: Spiritforged have finally begun in earnest. And we're part of it!

More specifically, GamesRadar+ can exclusively reveal a new Unit card, Dauntless Vanguard. While the card itself might seem fairly straightforward at first, it's actually a little bit devious when you get into the mechanics.

Dauntless Vanguard

First and foremost, it's worth noting that Dauntless Vanguard comes with none of the flashy and much-hyped new mechanics in Riftbound: Spiritforged. It's not, for example, an Equipment that attaches to other Units, has nothing to do with Gold tokens, and is not a Spell and therefore couldn't feature Repeat (pay the cost to double the effects) even if it wanted to.

Let's start with the basics: A Body card, 4 Might (upper right) for 4 Energy (upper left) and a single Power (directly below Energy) makes for a fairly straightforward cost. And that is... almost entirely it. Again, straightforward.

But Dauntless Vanguard also features a prime ability: "You may play me to an occupied enemy battlefield." Essentially, you'd normally be prevented from playing into an occupied enemy battlefield with a Unit; you can play to ones you yourself occupy, but not an enemy one, or to your own base. And 4 Might is strong enough to take on a good amount of early game Units, especially if you have a Spell or two to back you up.

Dauntless Vanguard with its Common rarity isn't likely to make or break a given Riftbound deck, but it's likely good enough to happily serve in many Body decks – thought that's slightly dependent on what exactly else Riot has up its collective sleeves in the new set.

Further Riftbound: Spiritforged cards are set to be revealed all week long through December 3, so be sure to keep an eye on the official card gallery. Riftbound: Spiritforged itself is currently scheduled to release in English on February 13, 2026 and will launch in China on December 12, 2025. Riftbound: Unleashed is set for May 2026 while Riftbound: Vendettas will launch in Q3 2026. Finally, Riftbound: Radiance is set to launch late next year.

While you wait for Riftbound: Spiritforged to release, don't miss the best board games or the best card games.