Riftbound Radiance: Release Date, Pre-Rift Events, New Mechanics and the Rarest Ultimate Rare Yet

Riftbound Radiance, the fifth set for Riot Games' League of Legends trading card game, releases on October 23, 2026, with Pre-Rift events at local game stores from October 16 to 22, according to Riot's Radiance Overview. It brings nine new Legends, three new mechanics and what Riot calls its rarest Ultimate Rare yet. Here are the dates, products, pack contents and chase cards to know before release.

Current as of October 5, 2026. Riot is updating its Overview later on October 5 and again on October 16 with more reveals.

Riftbound Radiance Release Date and Key Dates

All dates are from Riot's Overview:

• Previews: September 25 to October 9, 2026, with Riot's card gallery updated daily at 5 PM PT, per its preview season page
• Pre-Rift events: October 16 to 22, 2026, at local game stores
• Release: October 23, 2026, in English, French and Chinese
• Summoner Skirmish: events begin November 9 and December 14, 2026

Radiance follows Spiritforged (February 13), Unleashed (May 8) and Vendetta (July 31) as Riftbound's fourth set of 2026, per Star City Games. The game launched in English with Origins on October 31, 2025.

What Is New in Radiance

Riot frames Radiance around League's bands and stage performers. "Radiance is about performing like a master: playing at the absolute peak of your powers, under the brightest lights, with everything on the line," Riot's September 25 Overview says.

New mechanics

• Deploy: Gear played only to a Battlefield that grants benefits while there. If an opponent holds that Battlefield, the Gear is killed
• Show Off: reveal a qualifying card from your hand or board to unlock a new effect of the card you played
• Disarm: reduces an enemy Unit's Might as you attack. It works like Assault, and each instance makes the Might reduction stronger

New card types

• Equipment Units: with Orianna's Legend effect, Equipment can become Units. Riot notes an Equipment is unequipped when it becomes a Unit
• Bomb tokens: Riot calls them small gifts to leave your opponent, and says the more Bombs you play, the bigger the boom

Nine new Legends

• Ekko and Seraphine are the set's poster Legends, and Evelynn, Ziggs, Jarvan IV and Orianna are among the others, per Star City Games' Radiance card list (October 2, 2026). Three were still unrevealed at that point

One note for players: from September 18, 2026, Riot added two cards to the Standard and 2v2 Constructed ban list, Ekko, Recurrent and Stacked Deck. The ban names that one Ekko card, not the new Radiance Ekko on the booster display.

Radiance Products and What Is in a Pack

Riot lists these Radiance products:

• Booster Display: with Ekko and Seraphine on the art, and Ziggs and Jarvan in support
• Showdown Decks: one box with a Seraphine deck and an Evelynn deck (56 cards each), two Radiance boosters, two paper playmats and two deck boxes, $34.99 on Riot's Merch Store as of October 5, 2026. Full decklists are due October 16
• Vault: a storage box, six Radiance boosters, foil tokens and a set of 36 Runes
• Pre-Rift Kits: five Radiance boosters and a seeded Pre-Rift pack, which Riot says comes in a version for each of the nine new Legends
• Pre-Rift promo: Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor, at Pre-Rift events while supplies last

Each booster pack, per Riot:

• 7 Commons and 3 Uncommons
• 1 foil slot (Common, Uncommon, Rare or Epic)
• 1 Rare or Epic
• 1 slot that can be a Rare, Epic, Alt Art, Special Alt Art, Overnumbered card or Ultimate Rare
• 1 token, Rune or Alt Art Rune, plus an information card

Riot's Merch Store lists the Booster Display at $119.99 for 24 packs of 14 cards, drawn from a pool of 180 cards with more than 60 Showcase cards, as of October 5, 2026. Riot's US store sells it through a sign-up drawing, with selection starting October 5.

Radiance Chase Cards: Ultimate Rare, Overnumbered and Special Alt Art

• Ultimate Rare: Radiance has Riftbound's second Ultimate Rare, after the Baron, introduced in Unleashed. Riot says the first "wasn't quite as rare as we wanted it to be," and that this one is significantly harder to find. Riot puts it at about 0.025% of booster packs on average across the print run, with at most one per pack and none guaranteed in any pack, box or case. The card itself is revealed late in preview season
• Overnumbered cards: all nine new Legends get Overnumbered versions, which can also be found with the artist's signature. There are Heartsteel Overnumbered cards too
• Special Alt Art: Riot says its Crystal Rose Special cards from Vendetta were extremely popular, and it is holding back Radiance's Special cards until later in preview season. Special Alt Art cards appear at roughly the same frequency as Alt Art cards, per Riot

Our take: 0.025% works out to roughly one Ultimate Rare per 4,000 packs on average (our arithmetic from Riot's figure), so most collectors will never open one. If you want a specific chase card, buying the single after release is usually a more predictable route than opening boxes to find it. Radiance shares its October 23 release day with Disney Lorcana's next set, covered in our Hyperia City Coco cards piece, and Star Wars: Unlimited fans are dealing with Homeworlds delays this month. For what top TCG cards sell for, see our most expensive One Piece cards list.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Riftbound Radiance release?

October 23, 2026, in English, French and Chinese, per Riot. Pre-Rift events run at local game stores from October 16 to 22.

What are the new mechanics in Riftbound Radiance?

Deploy, Show Off and Disarm, plus Equipment Units through Orianna's Legend effect and a new Bomb token.

How rare is the Radiance Ultimate Rare?

Riot says it appears in about 0.025% of booster packs on average across the print run, with no guarantee in any pack, box or case.

What is the Radiance Pre-Rift promo?

Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor, given at Pre-Rift events while supplies last, per Riot.

Where to Go From Here

Mark October 16 for Pre-Rifts and October 23 for release. If you want to open real cards in the meantime, the Polkastarter marketplace gives you a free mystery pack when you sign up, and every Lootbox lists its contents, values, and chances before you open.

Details checked October 5, 2026. Release details can change and Riot is still revealing cards. Nothing here is financial advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Riot Games or the other companies named.

Sources

• Riftbound: The Radiance Overview, published September 25, 2026, accessed October 5, 2026
• Riftbound: Radiance preview season, published September 18, 2026, accessed October 5, 2026
• Star City Games: Every card revealed (so far) from Riftbound Radiance, published October 2, 2026, accessed October 5, 2026
• Riot Games Store: Riftbound Radiance Booster Display, no publish date shown, accessed October 5, 2026
• Riot Games Store: Riftbound Radiance Evelynn and Seraphine Showdown Decks, no publish date shown, accessed October 5, 2026
• Riftbound: September ban list updates, effective September 18, 2026, published September 15, 2026, accessed October 5, 2026
• Star City Games: Riftbound 2026 set release schedule, published August 3, 2026, accessed October 5, 2026
• Riftbound Origins launch press release, published October 31, 2025, accessed October 5, 2026