Much like other TCGs, Riftbound has five unique 'factions', or 'colors', that cards are separated into. These are called Domains, and there are six of them — Fury, Calm, Mind, Body, Chaos, and Order. All six of these have their own distinct identities, and interact with one another in interesting ways; as can be expected with the whole game revolving around decks in pairs of domains.
But, what are these five domains? How do they compare in design to other 'colors' and 'factions' in other card games? And, coming into Riftbound, how do you know which to pick? With the game being so young, and the first set still being revealed, it's difficult to know whether you'd click with a domain in the longterm, as their identities develop over time.
That's why in this article, we're going to go through the domains of Riftbound, and how Riot have characterised them. With this, you'll be able to get an idea of exactly which domains are to your tastes, and how they'll work going into Origins' release this Autumn.
The Domains of Riftbound
These characterisations are taken from a post in the Riftbound Discord Server, from a post made by Riot Games R&D and creative director Dave Guskin, known online as davetron.
With this, we can begin to understand exactly how each domain works from the get-go. Each domain has a syntax (or, a color pie, if you come from Magic) and the effects of any given card in that domain will fall into that syntax.
While I don't think there will be many breaks (when a card does something completely out of their domain's characteristics/something in another domain's characteristics), we have already seen domains interact with things in ways that other domains would (with their own flavour), meaning that this is just a surface level summary of the domain system — until Riot goes deeper themselves (which davetron himself said they would later in this message).
Until then, we have to infer things for ourselves. But, there's a lot to go off of, as the cards that we've seen from Origins already show a strong identity in all six of these domains.
Fury
Aggression, Conquer, Recklessness, Damage
When you think of Fury, you think of red. This is pretty self explanatory, Fury is the colour of red, and of pure aggression. This domain is all about all-out attack and living in the present, even if it means you have a chance of setting yourself up for failure in the future.
The first major thing I can see here is that Fury can be best described with the keywords Accelerate and Assault, both of which are massively aggressive and are designed to play into Fury's aggression. Both of these mechanics have cards in other domains, but Fury has a pretty sizeable majority on the cards that contain them, and so it's safe to say that we can expect this to be a massive part of its identity.
Another huge part of Fury's identity is its desire to discard cards. Obviously, this plays into the recklessness and ruthless aggression, and mainly wants to attack battlefields fast and swiftly. While it can definitely be a benefit in some decks, it's an effect that epitomises the risk-reward nature of the red domain.
Calm
Defense, Hold, Moving, Negotiation, Reaction, Tricks
Calm is one of the most interesting of the domains, as it's a very defensive domain about having control of the board, but in a more tricksy way that's difficult to react to instead of complete and utter control. There's a lot of move effects, as well as the ability to counter spells and play tricks in combat. The most important thing about Calm is holding, and using your wit to be able to do so.
With so many tricks up its sleeve, it seems like Calm is definitely going to be about trying to snatch the flow of the game and run away with it, rather than sending in force to take it. There's not a lot of hard control in this domain, with almost no removal and a lot of protective pieces, which indicate almost a tempo or 'protect the Queen' style of gameplay.
Of course, Calm definitely does care about Units. But, not in the same way as Body, for example, which cares about Might. Instead, the units here are big enough to survive alone, but need that extra support to stay alive; then they benefit you for that investment. So, a lot of rewarding gameplay, but a lot of room for error too.
Mind
Plan ahead, Go big, Gear, Hidden, Tricks, Draw
Much like the colour blue is known for in TCGs, Mind is all about unlimited knowledge, and the benefits of it. What happens when you think multiple turns ahead? It's about being one step ahead of your opponents, and making plans. And, if you get to those plans, you're rewarded for it.
A huge example of this is the Hidden mechanic, where you're rewarded for hiding away cards earlier on to play later and surprise your opponent. A lot of Mind wants to focus on the mental game, bluffing, and try to distract from the huge plans you've got in front of you.
Mind isn't as passive as you'd think, though. It has a lot of big removal, but at a huge price. So, make sure that if you're playing Mind, you're ready to invest in a longer game than other decks, and get ready to draw out victories through careful planning and strategy, rather than impulse.
Body
Ramp, Buffs, Win Fights, Ready
If you're looking to ramp and pay big costs, Body is where you want to be. This is all about resolving huge bombs as fast as possible to pummel through the game, after having ramped up to the highest possible rune count you can. It's ramp, at its finest.
There's not much else to say about Body, as it really does just come down to ramping and winning through combat and the power of resolving massive threats. However, the 'ready' theme does give a ton of aggression, as well as the powerful effects on these expensive cards, and so it does play quite a bit more like a controlling strategy than just a ramp and kill strategy.
Otherwise, Body is as simple as it says on the tin. Channel runes, and kick ass.
Chaos
Discard, Hidden, Interact with Trash, Selection
Chaos is exactly what the name says. It's chaotic. I'm unsure if the description above accurately portrays its identity, as I've seen Chaos able to do a ton of weird and interesting effects that none of the other Domains can do. But, Discard and Interact with Trash are very much apparent, and are rewarded throughout.
I think that there's no real way to define Chaos other than wanting to play with and break the game's rules and limitations. Cards like Miss Fortune, Buccaneer flaunt the rules and conventions of the game, and even interacting with trash is something that very much goes against the 'natural' cycle of the game.
Chaos also partakes in Hidden, much like Mind. Right now, though, there's only one or two Hidden cards actually in Chaos, and so we'll have to see how this pans out.
Order
Tokens, Kill, Deathknell, Sacrifice, Symmetrical Effects
Order is the go-wide archetype. It's all about creating a ton of units and rallying them for battle, but with little care if they survive or not. Sacrificing units, tokens, getting value out of them, and doing so over and over is the name of the game for Order, as well as buffing them to be able to play out an aggressive gameplan, to turn the last of your cannon fodder into victors.
Order is a very unit-based Domain, with not many spells (and the spells mainly referring to units solely). With this, there is a lot of aggression and power, just in more of an organised way than Fury. Deathknell is also important here, as your units are almost guaranteed to die when playing this Domain, so getting value out of them before they do so is going to be pivotal for your deck.
Order is all about structured attacks rather than intuitive ones, and about amassing boardstates and then profiting from the collateral through value-based death triggers.
Closing Time
Each domain in Riftbound has a unique way of playing the game, and all of them are interesting in their own ways. So, make sure you find the one that you like, and that fits the most with your game plan and style.
Otherwise, check out Riftbound.gg for more 101 articles, meta and competitive content (as it comes), and so much more. Come and take a look at what we've got to offer leading up to the release of Origins this Autumn.
In any case, thank you for your time, and I'll see you on the battlefields.
