Riot has not released a native digital Riftbound client. All current online play is community-run, with a few practical options that map to different goals.
TCG Arena (community sim)
TCG Arena is the most active unofficial Riftbound platform. It's a community-maintained Tabletop Simulator-style mod that loads card images, tracks zones, and enforces basic stack timing. Players bring their own decklists and play in real time over voice chat. Rules enforcement is partial; both players still need to know how things work.
Search "TCG Arena Riftbound" on the r/RiftboundTCG subreddit for the latest mod link; it gets updated each set release.
Pros and cons
- Pros: every card available immediately on release; no cost; voice chat works; plays like paper Riftbound.
- Cons: no automated matchmaking (find opponents on Discord); partial rules engine, so you'll occasionally pause to look up an interaction; depends on the mod author keeping the file current.
Piltover Archive hand simulator (deck testing only)
Riot's Piltover Archive is primarily a deck builder, not a play platform. It does have a hand-simulator mode for goldfishing a deck against an empty board, which is useful for testing opening hands or curve, but it isn't head-to-head play.
Cockatrice / Untap.in
Browser-based proxy table tools where players have set up custom Riftbound game definitions. Activity is much lower than TCG Arena, and card-image quality varies because everything is user-submitted. Worth checking if you have friends already on those platforms; otherwise, TCG Arena is where the population is.
Discord webcam play
For casual matches, plenty of players still just point a phone or webcam at their actual playmat. No setup, no mods, full physical card feel. The Riftbound community Discords have dedicated voice channels for this.
Will there be an official online client?
Riot has acknowledged in design-team interviews that a digital companion is on the long-term roadmap, but has not announced a release window. League of Legends Universe games with paper-first launches (think Legends of Runeterra, which went the other direction: digital first) suggest Riot is comfortable letting community sims carry the online experience for now.
Where to find opponents
The Riftbound competitive Discord servers are the matchmaking hub. Most online events organize through Discord and use TCG Arena as the play platform. Once you have a deck list ready in your deck builder of choice, you can export it as text and import it directly into TCG Arena.
Practice without an opponent
If you want to learn the rules before playing live, build a deck in Piltover Archive's hand simulator and play both sides on TCG Arena. Pair this with the Riftbound rules guide for combat math.