Riftbound Weighs Bans After Riven Takes Nearly Half the Field in Stuttgart

Written by:

Ilknur Gubel

Published

November 12, 2026

Updated

November 12, 2026

A Riftbound player lifting the championship trophy on a blue stage while a Riot staff member applauds — The trophy image from Riot's Stuttgart report. Image: Riot Games.

Riot Games is considering bans in Riftbound after Riven made up 49% of the Day 2 field at the game's first Regional Championship in Stuttgart, Germany, per Riot's Best-Of report published November 11, 2026. Any decisions will be shared on Friday, November 13, and the bans are targeted to take effect on November 23.

The Results

Per Riot's Best-Of report and event pages:

Event: Riftbound Regional Championship: Europe, Messe Stuttgart, November 6 to 8, 2026
Format: Standard, including cards from Radiance (released October 23, 2026)
Winner: ASC Evansrhim, playing Kennen, Heart of the Tempest
Top 8: four Riven (Sonecon 2nd, DiamondHat 3rd, BQO Caravaggio 4th, lets see lol 6th), three Kennen (ASC Evansrhim 1st, HXN Gonkra 7th, On Curve Willy 8th) and one Kai'Sa (CTCG DZiden 5th), per Riot's overall rankings
Prizes: a $50,000 pool with $10,000, a Champion Card and a Champion Playmat for first, and invitations to Riftbound's first World Championship Showcase for the Top 8, per All Eyes on RC Europe

The Metagame in Numbers

Riot's table adds up to 308 decks on Day 1 and 96 on Day 2:

Riven: 126 decks (40.9%) on Day 1, 47 (49.0%) on Day 2
Kai'Sa: 52 (16.9%), then 17 (17.7%)
Kennen: 45 (14.6%), then 12 (12.5%)
Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman: 16 (5.2%), then 4 (4.2%)
Rek'Sai: 10 (3.2%), then 5 (5.2%)

Riot said deck variety was lower than at earlier Regional Qualifiers, after the Regional Championship format put competitive play ahead of the Best-Of prizes. In an October 15 update, Riot moved the Overnumbered Foil Plated Legends from Best-Of prizes to a placement draft for the top finishers.

Bar chart of Riftbound Regional Championship Europe legends: Riven 40.9 percent of Day 1 and 49 percent of Day 2, Kai'Sa 16.9 and 17.7, Kennen 14.6 and 12.5 — Share of the field by legend in Stuttgart. Data: Riot Games, November 11, 2026.

What Riot Said About Bans

Per the report, Game Director Dave Guskin shared on Monday, November 9, that the game team is considering bans to the format, and any decisions will be posted on Friday. The report adds: "These bans are targeted to go into effect on November 23." Riot has not named any card. Its last ban list update, effective September 18, 2026, added Ekko, Recurrent and Stacked Deck, and Riot said in that September 15 post that Stacked Deck's consistency showed "a compounding issue with the release of the Kennen legend."

What It Means for Collectors

Our take: if you are buying Riven pieces to play, wait for Friday's announcement, because a ban changes what a deck needs overnight. For collectors, the top 58 finishers drafted Overnumbered Foil Plated Legends in placement order, starting with the champion. Riot's pick list shows what those players valued: Ahri (Nine-Tailed Fox) went first, Riven (The Exile) 15th, and the winning Kennen (Heart of the Tempest) only 34th. The North American Regional Championship follows at Convergence Fest in Las Vegas on December 11 to 13, 2026. For the set behind this format, read our Riftbound Radiance guide, and for the next big stage, our World Showcase story.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will Riftbound announce bans?

Riot says any ban decisions will be shared on Friday, November 13, 2026, and the bans are targeted to take effect on November 23.

Who won the Riftbound Regional Championship in Stuttgart?

ASC Evansrhim won with Kennen, Heart of the Tempest, in a Top 8 of four Riven, three Kennen and one Kai'Sa deck.

Where to Go From Here

Riot says any ban decisions arrive on Friday, November 13, 2026. While you wait for Friday, claim a free mystery pack when you sign up on the Polkastarter marketplace, where each Lootbox shows its contents, values, and chances before you open it.

Details checked November 12, 2026. Results, metagame figures and ban timing are as published by Riot Games and can change. Nothing here is financial advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Riot Games or the other companies named.

Sources

Riftbound: Best Ofs for the European Championship, published November 11, 2026, accessed November 12, 2026
Riftbound: 2026 Regional Championship Info, published August 4, 2026, accessed November 12, 2026
Riftbound: All Eyes on RC Europe, published October 27, 2026, accessed November 12, 2026
Riftbound: September Ban List Updates (Effective September 18, 2026), published September 15, 2026, accessed November 12, 2026
Riftbound: Regional Championships: Competitive Integrity & Prizing, published October 15, 2026, accessed November 12, 2026

Ilknur Gubel

Social Media Manager

BA, Sociology

Ilknur Gubel is a social media manager at Polkastarter. Ilknur has spent the past four years working as a project manager, marketing manager, and social media strategist across Web3. She has held marketing and project management positions at several crypto companies, including Polygen, Nitro League, Kaizen.Finance, and ChainPort.

At Polkastarter she has covered trading card releases, collectible market pricing, and how token holders can spend crypto on real cards and videogames.

Based in Istanbul, Ilknur earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Istanbul Aydın University.

You can connect with her on LinkedIn for more information.