Show Notes
Cas' is moving and Pastrytime was summoned elsewhere during this week's Winning Point episode, giving us a dynamic duo we didn't know we needed. In episode 37(!), we talk about future plans (both personal and for Riftbound), suggestions we've seen for the Miracle deck floating around, previews for both Unleashed AND Vendetta, and side events with banned decks in China. Also, we have new playmats available. 🎧 The Winning Point is your weekly Riftbound podcast, covering competitive play, event coverage, and everything that shapes the game — from global regionals to your local prerelease.
More from The Winning Point
Koko Lopez was disqualified at RQ Los Angeles, dropped by Challenger TCG, and Riot says they're looking into it. The Winning Point crew breaks down Riftbound's most high-profile cheating case, whether Riot should ban him and for how long, and how players can cheat without knowing it: rune deck weaving, how many shuffles is enough, and the marked-card trap with your chosen champion. Then the Radiance brews to bring to your Pre-Rift: Cas's Mordekaiser, Iron Revenant First 40. Renekton, Butcher of the Sands finally working with Coalesced Energy. Then Jarvan IV, Exemplar of Demacia with the Demacian Standard trick and Dockside Lock-Up. Plus Level 0 for the Stuttgart Regional Championship: Riven, The Exile with Astral Heron and Baron Nashor, and Kennen back with Trifarian Captain and Nocturne.⏱️ Timestamps0:00 Between Two Beards: The Winning Point Ep 677:09 Koko Lopez9:58 Riot's Response24:56 Cas's Mordekaiser 34:21 Renekton38:13 Jarvan IV50:19 Riven57:10 Kennen (is back)60:26 Stuttgart & Pre-Rift legend picks
The Radiance reveals keep coming and the Winning Point crew works through four full legend packages: Evelynn, Agony's Embrace and the Last Caress letdown, Mordekaiser, Iron Revenant with Realm of Death and the nine-cost Mordekaiser, Dominating, Orianna, Lady of Clockwork turning The Ball and Plaza Guardian into units, and Ekko, Boy Who Shattered Time with Chronobreak and both chosen champions. Plus Packed Amphitheater, the Radiance Ultimate Rare at one in 4,000 packs, and whether it feels ultimate at all.Also this week: which Origins legends come back for the Regional Championships, the Evelynn two-drop problem, the Mask Mother tech, Hold 'Em as the new Punch First, blue Ekko in Teemo, why red Ekko costs too much, and the mailbag settles the Elnuk Ziggs scale for good.ENDGAME Sleeves are an official sponsor of Turn ’em Sideways! Use code TURN10 at checkout for 10% off your order! → https://endgametcg.ca/ ⏱️Timestamps 0:00 Intro 5:10 Morning Announcements 7:45 Packed Amphitheater 20:30 Evelynn 36:25 Mordekaiser 46:15 Orianna 57:29 Ekko 1:07:50 Mailbag 🎃 RiftAtlas Convergence on Halloween, 256 players, $5,500 prize pool: https://topdeck.gg/event/convergence-4 🛒 Dunc x Turn 'em Sideways Rift Hub score pads, playmats and TCG accessories: https://shop.turnemsideways.gg/======= SOCIALS =======Follow us for more competitive Riftbound content:🎥 YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@TurnemSideways?sub_confirmation=1🐦 Twitter – https://x.com/TurnThemSide⏲️ TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@turnemsideways📸 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/turnemsideways/🎧 Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/0qFsptquUddq21pGXu9Thx🍎 Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-winning-point/id1847709608🎮 Discord – https://discord.gg/MNFCaxFGpZ🩵 Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/turnthemside.bsky.social📝 Threads – https://www.threads.com/@turnemsideways
The first Radiance legends are here and the Winning Point crew rates them: Orianna turning your gear into units, Jarvan IV and his Demacian Standard flag-and-drag, Ziggs bringing Miracle Draven back, Seraphine's three-unit cost reduction, and Neeko, Blending In, the neutral card that adds a second Legend to your board mid-game. Plus the Elnuk Ziggs scale for flavor, and the best Neeko legend combos in Riftbound.Before the spoilers, the RQ Los Angeles recap: Prismaticismism wins again, the Smoke and Mirrors LeBlanc story from the player's seat, the ARAM Mayhem tower we built at the Cloud9 studio, Malmo and Bristol showdowns, and a top eight with no Jayce Aurora and a Poppy deck without Aurora ("sloppless Poppy").ENDGAME Sleeves are an official sponsor of Turn ’em Sideways! Use code TURN10 at checkout for 10% off your order! → https://endgametcg.ca/CHAPTERS0:00 RQ recap and Radiance spoilers5:34 Malmo and Bristol showdowns, casting Sweden9:56 LA week at Cloud9: the ARAM Mayhem tower13:37 Free for all with Jimmy Wong and Krim15:16 RQ LA story: Smoke and Mirrors LeBlanc21:43 Charmer's LA: cosplay, Ivern stilts, 24 hours of content29:16 Sloppless Poppy, no Jayce Aurora, Prismaticismism wins again34:02 Radiance reveals begin: Orianna rules questions41:39 Jarvan IV and the Demacian Standard45:29 The Elnuk card, zero out of ten on flavor49:26 Ziggs, Rune Blade Anvil and Miracle Draven55:20 Seraphine: nerfed in playtesting?62:00 Neeko, Blending In: add a second Legend67:11 Mailbag, the Elnuk Ziggs scale, Neeko combo question- Dunc x Turn'em Sideways Rift Hub score pads, playmats and TCG accessories (score pads drop October 2): https://shop.turnemsideways.gg/- Best-of decklists, tier list & event coverage: https://turnemsideways.gg/
Can you actually go pro in Riftbound? We recorded a special episode of The Winning Point live from the Cloud9 studio in Los Angeles, with Prismaticism (DSG) on what life as a full-time Riftbound pro really looks like, Nack (MERC) and Dani from Cloud9 on building a Riftbound content career, and LCS caster Kangas on how casting a card game compares with casting League of Legends. We get into why esports orgs are still waiting to sign Riftbound players, why the Best-Of prize system might make Riftbound the first TCG where going pro is realistic, and how Turn' em Sideways itself got started. Then the part you can use this weekend: what RQ Los Angeles looks like after the Stacked Deck ban. Jayce and LeBlanc are rising, Akali keeps winning with a 44% win rate, Kangas thinks Pack Ezreal is back, and the whole panel puts their top 8 predictions on the record. ENDGAME Sleeves are an official sponsor of Turn ’em Sideways! Use code TURN10 at checkout for 10% off your order! → https://endgametcg.ca/ Huge thanks to our special guests for joining us this week! Nack: https://x.com/nacktcg Dani: https://x.com/queuep0p Prismaticism: https://x.com/Prismaticismism Kangas: https://x.com/KangasCasts
Riot banned Ekko, Recurrent and Stacked Deck effective September 18, killing the Lux combo and pulling the best consistency card in the game out of Kennen, Diana, Ezreal, Kha'Zix and the rest of purple. Blevins, Casanova and Charmer disagree on the record about who actually got hurt: Charmer thinks Kennen took the worst of it, Blevins thinks Kennen keeps Lightning Rush and every other purple deck is the one paying, and Charmer's tinfoil theory is that Riot was aiming at the round timer the whole time.Then the part you can act on this weekend. Green is the de facto best color now, LeBlanc finally escapes the purple matchup that has capped her for three sets, three Lucians made Showdown top 8s without the combo, purple Ezreal and Vex are quietly back, Proving Grounds Yi is still a problem, and the Aurora panic is probably overblown. Convergence #3 and the CCS Houston Showdown on Saturday are the first real read on all of it, with RQ Los Angeles the week after.⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Stacked Deck and Ekko are banned8:11 Two cards gone: Ekko and Stacked Deck10:09 Tinfoil theory: the ban targets the round timer17:33 A good long term ban, and Origins regrets20:46 Is an Aurora winter actually coming?24:49 Why Best-Ofs stop the meta from moving30:05 LeBlanc, Vex and purple Ezreal rise34:41 Lucian in Showdown top 8s, minus the combo41:41 Houston and Convergence preview RQ LA