Dave Guskin, the game director for Riftbound, has a long history with Magic: The Gathering. He has worked on the iconic trading card game. He is also a devoted fan. When he set out to design Riftbound, he initially tried to replicate the successful mana resource system from Magic. However, early testers got a look at the system. Their reactions were far from positive.
Testers quickly voiced their frustrations. Many described the system as 'horrible.' Some even refused to play further. Guskin listened to their concerns. He realized that his approach wasn't working. 'So I was like, Well, I’m not the right person to design this resource system,' he said. He said this during a conversation with GameSpot’s Jessica Cogswell at Gen Con in Indianapolis.
A Designer Team to the Rescue
Rather than force his original idea into the game, Guskin handed over the task to his two lead designers, also named Dave and Jon. He asked them to find a better alternative. Over the course of multiple iterations, they tested approximately 12 different resource systems before finally settling on one they felt was the best fit for Riftbound.
When the designers presented their idea to Guskin, they gave a clear warning: 'You’re going to hate this.' And he did—at first. However, after giving the system a try and seeing it in action, he found the idea to be surprisingly effective. 'Wow, this is actually pretty cool,' he admitted, referring to the newly developed Rune resource system. The system eventually became one of Riftbound’s most unique and praised aspects.
In Riftbound, the Rune system functions similarly to Magic’s land system. Players 'tap' or exhaust a Rune to pay a card's cost. But unlike the straightforward mana system, Riftbound cards typically have two distinct costs. The costs are Power and Energy. The Energy cost is listed in a colorless number. It is at the top-left corner of the card. The Power cost is found below it. It is connected to one of the game’s six Domains. Each Domain is similar to the color system in Magic.
To pay the Power cost, players must 'recycle' a Rune of the corresponding Domain. That means taking the Rune. It is placed at the bottom of their 12-card Rune deck. As the designers described it, the process required players to 'get rid of your own resources.' The concept may seem unusual. But it has been embraced by the game's community. This mechanic is now considered one of Riftbound’s most innovative and well-received features.
Interestingly, players from other trading card game communities often mention the Rune system as one of Riftbound’s strongest aspects. This highlights how much the game has evolved from its early design stages to the polished version that is now popular among TCG enthusiasts.
This week also marks the game’s biannual State of the Game update, which includes details on changes to organized play, new product releases, and a preview of what’s to come next year.