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League of Legends is getting a card game, but you can’t play it

A Magic The Gathering style League of Legends card game is in the works, but unfortunately most of the world won't be able to play it.

A cowboy character wearing a long red jacket and hat stands conjuring red, yellow, and blue cards, throwing them at the screen
Lauren Bergin's Avatar

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League of Legends 

I’m a sucker for League of Legends merch. I have [redacted] statues, [redacted] t-shirts and hoodies, and even one of the old Star Guardian keycaps – remember those? But I’m also a sucker for card games like Magic: The Gathering, where I’ve forked out far too much cash on putting together the perfect Lord of the Rings Nazgul deck. Imagine, then, if you combined the two and created a physical League of Legends card game; pure perfection, unless you’re my bank accoumt.

Teased on Chinese streaming service BiliBili on Monday, September 9, the League of Legends card game is apparently called ‘Rune Battlegrounds,’ and is slated to launch in 2025. The trailer doesn’t show us too much, but there are physical cards involved, and really that’s all we needed to know.

The beginning of the clip shows six different symbols, which may imply we’ll see a system akin to Magic’s various colors, or Pokemon’s iconic Pokemon type. The purple one certainly feels like the MOBA‘s Void icon, so we’ll maybe see champions grouped by region or, alternatively, class.

A person holds a glowing trading card with 'League of Legends' written on it

There is one roadblock, however: the League of Legends trading card game is a Chinese exclusive. While my bank balance lets out a sigh of relief, I scream internally.

As Riot Games’ corporate communications lead Joe Hixson states on X (formerly Twitter), “seeing some buzz about a global release for the physical card game recently teased by our China team. While we’re excited about this project, there aren’t any plans for a worldwide release at this time.

“Always possible things could change, but nothing [is] planned right now.” Sad Lauren noises; first those gorgeous rose gold chroma splash arts, and now this…

A Tweet from a Riot Games employee confirming that the League of Legends card game will only be available in China

I, for one, would love to see Rune Battlegrounds make its way across the pond – for selfish reasons, of course. I find that, in order to really get into TCGs, I need to be in love with the source material, and I, if you hadn’t already gathered, rather enjoy League of Legends. Fingers crossed, then, because I hear flights to China are pretty expensive.

If you, like me, are planning to take to the Rift this evening and stomp your lane (see: get absolutely obliterated), then our LoL tier list will help you choose the best champs for the job. Alternatively, if you’re looking to splash the cash on something else, here’s a list of all the best League of Legends skins.

You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.

Forged in the heart of the Shadow Isles, Lauren spends her evenings riding demonic horses as High Noon Senna in League of Legends. When she's not saving souls and emoting at the worst possible time, she's replaying Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines as a Malkavian for the billionth time and wondering how Downtown's stop signs keep besting her. With bylines in The Loadout, Wargamer, Pocket Tactics, and Dexerto, quotes from her Diablo 4 content were showcased in cinemas across the globe, and yes she ugly cried in public. She's also appeared as an expert speaker on BBC World Service, and has a Master's Degree in War Studies, which somehow doesn't help her survive raids in World of Warcraft; although, that's probably because she mains Shadow Priest.