Riftbound Pauper-Style Budget Decks: Kai'Sa Built for About $10

Riftbound Pauper-Style Rules Used in the Series

The ruleset is the author's own and allows only common and uncommon cards.

There is one exception: the Champion unit is always the rare version rather than the epic. The only time the epic is allowed is when the Legend cannot be played without it.

The Five Decks in the First Installment

The first installment covers Kai'Sa, Volibear, Kennen, Unleashed Master Yi, and Ambessa.

• Kai'Sa: built for about $10, with UNL-074 as the key card, meant to trigger every turn to support conquers. The deck has 18 cards with a draw ability.
• Volibear: a dragon/ramp build with Radiance additions RAD-074, RAD-077, RAD-160, and RAD-003. The rules forbid OGN-160.
• Kennen: uses the Order and Chaos domains and is rated harder to play than the Kai'Sa and Volibear decks, suited to players with card game experience.
• Unleashed Master Yi: built around UNL-191 in Calm and Body, aiming to find units early and reach 6 XP quickly.
• Ambessa: built around the Empower synergy.

Kai'Sa and Volibear Deck Options

The Kai'Sa side deck leans on Accelerate cards plus RAD-008 and RAD-058 for a more aggressive plan. RAD-001, RAD-014, and RAD-051 are mentioned for a control-style early game, though they probably can't be played with UNL-074.

On the price side, OGN-039 is worth 6 times the entire Kai'Sa deck's cost.

Volibear runs RAD-079 and RAD-003 alongside OGN-133 as removal, and RAD-003 is expected in every budget Fury deck from this author. SFD-007 is favored over UNL-093, and a third OGN-128 is included. The author would prefer OGN-159 to RAD-079.

If UNL-097 isn't found, OGN-132 can replace it. VEN-020 is a cheaper option than OGN-132 despite being a rare. The RAD-081 and OGN-249 synergy is left out.

Kennen, Master Yi and Ambessa: Where the Money Goes

Kennen is called the pay-to-win deck of the format, because the pair of OGN-224 in the side deck greatly raises the price. VEN-109, a 20-cent card, is forbidden by the rules.

Kennen's side options are OGN-226 and a third VEN-116 if the opponent removes gear targeting SFD-161.

In Master Yi, UNL-042, OGN-058, OGN-046, and OGN-045 are included, with UNL-097 and OGN-132 as core Body support. Three copies of OGN-045 cost $7.50 and make up most of the deck's cost. Cheaper swaps are OGN-145, UNL-106, or SFD-045.

Ambessa uses OGN-145 instead of SFD-105 because she struggles to keep enough runes. VEN-130 and VEN-086 are missed, as they are excluded.

For game one, the author suggests VEN-163 as the battlefield, then RAD-163 as another battlefield to help with costs. Side deck options are SFD-155 for power costs and UNL-158 for a permanent buff.

What It Means for Players

• Newcomers get a Kai'Sa list at about $10, with named cheaper swaps when a card is hard to find.
• Experienced players can use Kennen as the harder build, but should expect its side deck to cost more.
• TCGKing's take: the Pauper-style rules are a house format, so check with your playgroup before bringing these lists to a table.

What is still unknown

• How often new installments will arrive is not stated.
• Whether any official Pauper format exists is not stated.

TCGKing updates this article as soon as Riot Games announces these details. Follow all Riftbound news or get it in our newsletter.

The budget crowd has other things to plan around: the Radiance set launched October 23, 2026, and set 6, Legacy, follows, per TCGKing's set rundown.