Riftbound Stuttgart guide: meta, key cards and side events

TCG Date editorial team26 Oct 2026updated 31 Oct 20266 min read

Riven leads, Kennen is back: the meta, the cards in demand and the side events for the Stuttgart Regional Championship, plus how to find missing cards.

The Riftbound Regional Championship Europe runs from 6 to 8 November 2026 in Halls 8 and 10 at Messe Stuttgart (organiser). This guide covers the key details, the current meta, the cards everyone wants and the side events. It also shows how to track down the cards you're still missing on binderly.cards.

Key details

Venue: Messe Stuttgart, Messepiazza 1, Halls 8 and 10 (organiser)
Badge pickup: Thursday 14:00–19:00, Friday 8:00–20:00 (organiser)
Doors: 9:00 Friday to Sunday, or 8:30 with a Premium badge
Main event: You can only play if you're invited, which means a Top 64 finish at a Regional Qualifier. Anyone with a badge can watch and play side events (Riftwatch).
Format: Standard with Radiance legal (Riot). Decklists are open, so you'll know exactly what your opponent is playing (Riftbound Zone).
Schedule: Friday starts at 10:00 with six Swiss rounds, best of three, 60 minutes each. Saturday starts at 9:00 with six more, and you need at least 12 match points to make the cut. Sunday from 9:00 is the single-elimination Top 8 (schedule).

The meta: Riven leads, Kennen is back

Radiance has only been legal since 23 October and there have been just two big events since, so there isn't much data yet.

Riven, The Exile (Radiance) won the 755-player Showdown in Sacramento (Riftbound Zone) and the eight-player Le Rift Tour final in Paris (riftdecks). She also reached the final in Melbourne (Riftbound Zone). Sacramento's Top 64 had 23 Riven decks (riftdecks), and she won 63% of her games there on Saturday (Riftbound Zone, based on unofficial zero.gg data).
Kennen, Heart of the Tempest is back thanks to the new card Trifarian Captain (riftbound.gg). Kennen also hit 63% in Sacramento, with 11 decks in the Top 64.
Diana, Scorn of the Moon won the roughly 250-player Showdown in Melbourne (Riftbound Zone).
Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void is the Riven counter according to riftbound.gg and Shonen TCG. That's the creators' view, though. There's no solid matchup data behind it yet.
The other eight new Radiance Legends all won fewer than half their games in Sacramento (Riftbound Zone).

A few caveats. Sources disagree on who finished 2nd through 7th in Sacramento. Head-to-head matchup numbers aren't reliable yet. And we haven't found a single European event with more than eight players since Radiance came out. Nobody really knows how the Stuttgart field will look.

Sample decklists: Riven (1st, Sacramento), Kennen (Top 8, Sacramento), Kai'Sa (10th, Sacramento), Diana (1st, Melbourne), Akali (Top 4, Sacramento).

As for what to play, Riftbound Zone puts it this way with Stuttgart in mind: trust Riven, or stick with Kennen and Kai'Sa (Riftbound Zone). Because decklists are open, it also recommends a deck that holds up even when your opponent knows your list (Riftbound Zone). Shonen TCG calls Yasuo and Akali the budget options.

The cards in demand

These cards show up most often in the top decks (riftdecks Sacramento stats and the sample lists above):

Blade of the Exile (Radiance): Riven
Riven, Broken Blade (Radiance): Riven
Reckless Innovator (Radiance): Riven, Kennen
Bedeviling Stranger (Radiance): Riven, some Kennen
Trifarian Captain (Radiance): Kennen
Astral Heron (Vendetta): Riven, Akali
Lightning Rush (Vendetta): Kennen
Zhonya's Hourglass (Origins): Riven, Akali
Defy (Origins): Riven, Akali
Discipline (Origins): Riven, Akali
Tideturner (Origins): Riven, Diana, Kennen
Nocturne, Horrifying (Origins): Kennen
Rhasa the Sunderer (Origins): Kennen
Seal of Discord (Origins): Kennen
Kai'Sa, Survivor (Origins): Akali, Rengar, Kai'Sa
Falling Star (Origins): Kai'Sa, Akali
Thousand-Tailed Watcher (Origins): Kai'Sa
Stellacorn Herder (Spiritforged): Riven, Akali
Switcheroo (Spiritforged): Riven, Kennen
Last Rites (Spiritforged): Kennen
Baron Nashor (Unleashed): Riven (often sideboard), Kennen
Vex, Apathetic (Unleashed): Diana, Riven (sideboard)

Sabotage and Salvage see less play than they did in Vendetta, but they haven't disappeared. They still turned up in around 30% and 27% of Sacramento decks (riftdecks). Defiant Dance, Dazzling Aurora and Irelia, Fervent, on the other hand, have mostly vanished.

Side events at a glance

Everything is listed on the official schedule:

Friday: Radiance Standard Challenge at 10:00 (€50) and the 2v2 Team Challenge at 11:00 (€50), followed by sealed and draft events. Super Nexus Night starts at 19:30 (€25, up to 4,000 players).
Saturday: Nation Clash starts at 9:00, with eight Swiss rounds, best of three, for €50. You play for the country on your badge. The Radiance Draft Challenge (€75) starts at 10:00, and 2v2, Team Trios and Free for All events run all day.
Sunday: Radiance Standard Challenge at 9:00 (€50), Radiance Sealed Challenge at 10:00 (€75) and the Nation Clash Top 8.
All day: on-demand games from €10, plus Learn to Play at no charge.

Riftbound Zone says side event tickets go on sale on Friday, 30 October, at 9:00. It doesn't say which time zone. Our earlier piece has more: Riftbound Stuttgart: side event tickets go on sale 30 October.

Missing cards? How to use binderly.cards for Stuttgart

Join for free: On the Stuttgart event page you create an account. It's free.
Add your binder and wants: Show your trade cards in a public binder and add your wants. With an account, the event page shows who is bringing the cards you're looking for.
Choose "Ich bin dabei" (I'm coming): This confirms that you're bringing your public trade binder. Others see your name, picture and rating, and private binders stay closed. You can take it back at any time.
Event challenge: Check in with at least 10 cards in your binder and you get the golden "Stuttgart Pioneer" badge on your profile.
Agree and meet: Arrange things through the negotiation table or chat, and meet in person at the event.
Check your deck: Paste your list into /deckliste to see what you're missing and who nearby has it in a public binder.
Search near you: Use /finden to look for cards and binders in your area, and /messages to chat.
At the venue: Your personal QR code is at /convention. Anyone who scans it lands on your profile and can see your cards, so your binder can stay shut.

binderly.cards is free and takes no fees. You and the other player settle any money between yourselves. Tip: Before you travel, put your trade cards in a public binder and choose "Ich bin dabei" so other players can find you too.

For a compact checklist with badge times and the most played cards, see our Stuttgart preview.

Sources

The event

6Nov

Riftbound Regional Championship Europe – Stuttgart🇩🇪 Stuttgart · 6–8 November 2026Fair / Con · Tournament

🎴 See trade binders & wants for Stuttgart on Binderly

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