Riftbound's New Ekko Card Lets You Clone Units

Riftbound reveals Overnumbered variants for Ekko, Boy Who Shattered Time, a new Legend card that can reduce unit costs and give them a temporary clone effect.

Ever wanted to bend time and clone your units in Riftbound? The upcoming Radiance set has you covered with a new Ekko card that does exactly that.

Radiance, the fifth major set for Riftbound, launches on October 23 at local game stores and big-box retailers. But before that, we got an exclusive look at the Overnumbered variants for Ekko, Boy Who Shattered Time, a Legend card that's all about messing with time—and your opponent's plans.

So what does this Ekko do? As a Fury/Mind (Red/Blue) Legend, he has an Empower ability: exhaust 1 rune and Ekko to empower him. But the real fun comes when you disempower Ekko and exhaust him. Doing so reduces the cost of the next unit you play this turn by 2, and you get a recycled rune of any color. That unit also gains "Kill me at end of turn." In other words, you get a temporary clone of whatever unit you drop, just like Ekko's time-bending tricks in League of Legends.

This opens up some sweet deck-building possibilities. You'll want to focus on units that make an immediate impact, like those with Accelerate. Accelerate units enter ready and can attack right away, but they normally cost one exhausted rune and one recycled rune to speed up. With Ekko's discount, you'll still pay less to summon them, making those aggressive plays even more efficient.

If you're looking to build around this Ekko, think about cards that can swing the board the moment they hit play. The temporary nature of the cloned unit means you'll want to maximize its value before it gets sent to the discard pile at the end of the turn. It's a high-risk, high-reward style that fits Ekko's theme perfectly.

Radiance is set to launch on October 23, and prerelease events—known as "Pre-Rifts" in Riftbound—will kick off at local game stores starting October 16. That gives you a chance to get your hands on these cards early and start brewing.

With the one-year anniversary of Riftbound's Western release coming up on October 31, Radiance is shaping up to be a exciting addition to the game. Will you be picking up Ekko and building a time-bending deck? Let us know in the comments!