Polygon can exclusively reveal Jayce’s debut inRiftbound: Spiritforgedwith the Jayce, Man of Progress card. He's looking exactly like the version of him fans know fromArcane: a confident visionary who is absolutely ready to break the rules in the name of progress.
Fittingly, his card is all about bendingRiftbound’s energy economy in ways that players focusing on the Piltover faction will probably fall in love with.
Jayce costs 4 Energy and comes down with 4 Might, which is already a respectable stat line for a Champion. But his real hook is the moment he hits the board: if you sacrifice one of your Gears, you’re allowed to drop a much bigger Gear from your hand — up to 7 Energy — without paying its Energy cost. You still owe its Power cost, but skipping the Energy requirement is the part that makes players sit up straighter.
It’s a very Jayce thing to do: dismantle something smaller to leap ahead toward something much more ambitious.
In practice, his effect encourages you to treat your early-game Gears like stepping stones. Maybe you played a cheap little utility Gear on turn two that did its job and is now just sitting there. Maybe you played something early just to get it onto the battlefield. Jayce turns those leftovers into fuel for something much bigger. And he does it right when the game starts heating up.
This lines up neatly withSpiritforged’s big focus on technology and tools. Gears have been around sinceOrigins, but Equipment is a whole new card subtype. Other previews have already shown champions like Jax leaning heavily into attaching and reattaching equipment, and even the new spells (like Called Shot) give players tools to dig for key cards when they need them most. Jayce fits into that same bigger picture as a payoff for players who don’t just use Gears, but build around them.
Honestly? He looks strong, but not in a way that breaks the game. Jayce isn’t a plug-and-play Champion like some of the more straightforward options. He wants a deck that’s running a bunch of Gears and has a plan for them, especially ones you don’t mind throwing away later.
If you give him the right deck structure and support, though, he can create turns that feel explosive and clever. Dropping Jayce, sacrificing some little gizmo you no longer need, and immediately slamming down a massive piece of Piltover tech two turns ahead of schedule is exactly the kind of play you’re going for.
Jayce will probably see the most success in Piltover builds that are already leaning into all these new Equipment toys. He’s a natural top-end card for anyone who wants to assemble a pile of tools and then cash them in for one big payoff. He’s less of a generalist and more of a “build around me, and I’ll make it worth your time” type Champion — and that’s a spaceRiftbound seems increasingly comfortable exploring.
Riftbound launched earlier this year with its first set,Origins, introducing the core mechanics, factions, and Gear system.Spiritforged is the game’s second major set, arriving Dec. 12 in China and Feb. 13 globally. Riot Games announced a full 2026 roadmap at PAX Unplugged last weekend withUnleashed,Vendettas, andRadiance followingSpiritforged.
Spiritforged positions Equipment as one of the game's signature mechanics, and Jayce feels like a statement about where Piltover is headed in 2026. This faction isn't one to be slow and methodical, but explosive, inventive, and willing to blow up an old project if it means unveiling something better.
Which…honestly? That’s Jayce in a nutshell.