The very first big competition for the card game Riftbound in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) brought together over 1,500 players in Bologna. For three days, these players battled it out. Some folks were expected to do well from the start, but others came with lower hopes and ended up surprising everyone, even themselves.
Before the final rounds began, we chatted with the top eight players to hear what they thought about the event, how they got there, and their opinions on the game Riftbound.
This group of top players showed how different the people playing this game are. Some were at their first big card game event in person, while others had won big titles in other card games, even at a worldwide level.
How It Felt to Reach the Top 8
Making it to the top 8 in a tournament with 1,500 players is a huge deal for many. For this group, their feelings ranged from not being able to believe it to just feeling very sure of themselves.
For Ghosterdriver, who used to play another card game called Legends of Runeterra, his success felt almost like a dream. He said, “It’s unbelievable. I started the day with a score of 6 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. I had to win all five of my next games. I thought, maybe I’ll win four and lose one, and I’ll get into the top 64, which would let me play in a regional event. But when I got to 10 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie, and I told everyone, they were all like, ‘Come on, win it. We’re cheering for you.’ Everyone in Germany was cheering for me… it was amazing.”
Even a former European champion in Yu-Gi-Oh!, like Marcus99, had set simple goals, not aiming for the Top 8. He explained, “My goal for this event was just to try and get into the top 64,” saying again that he didn’t expect to go so far in the competition.
TheManLandrft had a different way of thinking. He’s a skilled professional in Magic: The Gathering, and he came ready and sure of himself. He said, “I came to the tournament thinking I had the best deck and was the most prepared. I was super excited to play, and I really like this game, so I’m really happy to get into the top, especially getting in with 11 wins and 2 losses.”
Alanzq felt just as confident, and many people thought he was one of the favorites to win the whole thing. He said, “A clean run, no losses, as expected,” a few hours before he actually won the event, almost without losing a single game. His last match was against another player from Poland, Sebiq, who had done well with a surprising Miss Fortune deck. Just a couple of months before, Sebiq had thought about quitting the game until he found that deck that just clicked with him.
Being Used to Card Games
Riftbound brought together people with different backgrounds in card games, and the top 8 players in Bologna showed this variety. Some have been playing other card games at the highest level for over ten years, while others are fairly new to playing in-person tournaments. How they got into Riftbound is different for each of them, but their past experience—whether playing online or on big stages—clearly shaped how they approached this event.
Krowz was one of those with little experience, mostly from playing Magic: The Gathering Arena online “during the Covid times,” as he put it. “But that’s really all. No in-person events until now.” On the other hand, Marcus99’s history with card games goes all the way back to when he was a child.
He said, “I actually first started playing card games when I was 10 years old, and my dad took me to a local Yu-Gi-Oh game.” After 12 years in that game, he took a break because of work before finding Riftbound. This time, he approached competing differently, focusing on learning instead of just trying to win right away.
More than one of the top 8 players had played Legends of Runeterra professionally, but Themadlandrft was probably the only one who played Magic: The Gathering professionally. He said, “I’ve been competing in that game and playing in the professional circuit for a while,” adding that he also did well in another game called Lorcana before moving to Riftbound as the next big competition.
Why They Chose Riftbound and Problems with Slow Play
For the top 8 players in Bologna, the choice to play Riftbound came down to a mix of skill, how challenging it was, and how much they personally enjoyed the game. Randyyy said, “I think it’s one of the most interactive card games, like Yu-Gi-Oh, so I think that gives us an advantage. I think the best player often gets rewarded.” He practices regularly with Alanzq1 and Prismaticism, and he believes their consistent good results in different events show this.
But not everyone was completely happy with how the game is right now. Randyy brought up worries about how balanced the game is and its structure, especially about certain types of card combinations and the time limits in long rounds. However, the main problem most players at the event were complaining about online was slow play, but only one of the top 8 players at the Qualifier seemed to have had any trouble with it.
Prismaticism heard “a lot of scary stories” about opponents taking too much time and forcing games to end in a tie when they were losing, but he personally “had no problems with slow play.” He said that only one match—his Round 12—ran out of time, while all the others finished normally, including one game he won 2-0 that might have also run out of time if it had gone to a third game.
Themadlandrft reportedly had problems with “time in general.” While he praised most opponents for trying to keep games moving, he pointed out that the speed of the tournament was one of the few things that needed to be made better.
From experienced champions to players competing in a big event for the first time, these players showed how varied the new competitive scene for Riftbound is. Favorites like Alanzq1 did as well as expected, while players such as Ghosterdriver and Marcus99 did even better than they thought they would.
With little time to rest, many of these same players will be back at the tables in less than a week for the next big competition in Las Vegas.
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