Unleashed went live in English on May 8, 2026 with 219 cards, 12 new champions, three new keyword mechanics, and the first Ultimate rarity in the game. Four weeks in, the meta is still settling. Here is what shipped and what still matters from Spiritforged.
- Unleashed is the third Riftbound expansion, released May 8, 2026 (English) and April 10, 2026 (Chinese)
- Set introduced XP (a unit leveling system), Hunt (battlefield aggression reward), Ambush (reaction-style play), and Ultimate (a rarity tier appearing in under 0.1% of packs)
- The first Ultimate card is Baron Nashor, an oversized printing
- 12 new champions joined the roster: Diana, Ivern, Jhin, Kha'Zix, LeBlanc, Lillia, Master Yi, Poppy, Pyke, Rengar, Vex, Vi
- Four regional qualifiers in May and June 2026 (Sydney, Vancouver, Utrecht, Hartford) will set the early meta benchmark
- Vendetta, the fourth expansion, is scheduled for July 31, 2026
Sources: official Riftbound set notes, riftboundguide.com Unleashed coverage, Riot's regional event schedule.
What Unleashed actually changed
Three keyword mechanics arrived in Unleashed and they change how units behave on the board.
XP is the headline. Each unit tracks experience, and abilities unlock when XP crosses set thresholds. XP carries across turns, so units that survive contested fights become more valuable the longer they stay on the table. This is the first Riftbound mechanic that rewards keeping a unit alive over multiple turns rather than trading it for value.
Hunt grants XP for conquering or holding a battlefield. It pushes aggressive lines: a Hunt unit that wins a battlefield exchange compounds in power, which makes the early board war higher-leverage than it was in Spiritforged.
Ambush is a reaction. Ambush units can deploy onto a contested battlefield where you already have a presence, letting you respond to opposing plays mid-sequence. This is closer to Hearthstone's Secret pattern than to any prior Riftbound mechanic.
On top of that, Ivern brings the Brush token, a battlefield modifier that replaces the existing battlefield entirely rather than adding to it. That breaks a longstanding rule in Riftbound and opens design space for future sets.
The 12 new champions
| Champion | Domains | Likely role |
|---|---|---|
| Diana | Calm/Chaos | Tempo carry |
| Ivern | Body/Mind | Brush token control |
| Jhin | Fury/Calm | Burst spell finisher |
| Kha'Zix | Order/Chaos | Hunt aggro |
| LeBlanc | Calm/Mind | Combo midrange |
| Lillia | Body/Calm | Ambush tempo |
| Master Yi | Body/Order | XP-scaling aggro |
| Poppy | Order/Mind | Equipment control |
| Pyke | Fury/Chaos | Ambush assassin |
| Rengar | Fury/Order | Hunt apex |
| Vex | Body/Chaos | Disruption midrange |
| Vi | Fury/Mind | Aggressive midrange |
Roles in the third column are best-guess based on each champion's mechanics and printed support. Real tournament data from the May and June regional cycle will refine these into actual tier assignments.
Spiritforged carryovers worth watching
Spiritforged hasn't rotated. The tier list as of February through April 2026 was led by four S-tier legends, and many of them retain their tools in the Unleashed format. Here is the Spiritforged tier list as the baseline against which Unleashed will be measured.
| Tier | Legend | Domains | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Draven, Glorious Executioner | Fury/Chaos | Aggressive midrange, ~18% Spiritforged meta share |
| S | Ezreal, Prodigal Explorer | Mind/Chaos | Removal-fueled draw engine |
| S | Irelia, Blade Dancer | Calm/Chaos | Movement combo, high skill ceiling |
| S | Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void | Fury/Mind | Spell-based control, most accessible S-tier |
| A | Annie, Dark Child | Fury/Chaos | Aggressive tempo |
| A | Sivir, Battle Mistress | Body/Chaos | Midrange, two viable builds |
| A | Miss Fortune, Bounty Hunter | Body/Chaos | Ramp strategy |
| A | Fiora, Grand Duelist | Body/Order | Combat plus equipment |
Draven was the most popular Spiritforged S-tier at roughly 18% meta share. Whether Hunt champions like Rengar and Master Yi pressure that aggressive-midrange spot, or whether Ezreal's removal package gets sharper with new Unleashed spells, is the open question for the next two months.
Regional schedule: where the data comes from
Four official regional qualifiers run in May and June 2026. These are the highest level of open competitive Riftbound play right now, and the top 8 lists from each event will form the first real Unleashed meta picture.
| Event | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Regional Qualifier | May 15-17, 2026 | Sydney Showground |
| Vancouver Regional Qualifier | May 29-31, 2026 | Vancouver Convention Centre |
| Utrecht Regional Qualifier | June 12-14, 2026 | Jaarbeurs Utrecht |
| Hartford Regional Qualifier | June 19-21, 2026 | Connecticut Convention Center |
What to watch
The first month of any new Riftbound set runs hot on theory and light on data. The Sydney and Vancouver results are the first real signal. Expect three things to settle by mid-July:
- Whether XP-scaling units force games long enough that control decks adapt, or whether Hunt aggro snowballs too fast for the new spells to catch
- How the Ultimate rarity (Baron Nashor) actually plays in eligible lists, given how rare the card is and how few players will own one
- Which of the 12 new champions break into Spiritforged's tier 1 and which become tech picks
We will follow up with a hard-numbers Unleashed tier list once the four regional qualifiers conclude and there is real placement data to work with. Until then, the Spiritforged tier list above is the most honest reference point.
Vendetta launches July 31, 2026, and the cycle starts again.