Every new set gets a honeymoon, and Radiance got its first reality check. The Melbourne Showdown Series, the first sanctioned event with Radiance legal, ended with the trophy going to a card two sets old. Soul won the 252-player event with Diana, Scorn of the Moon, from Unleashed, and the new set reached the final through one card.
The new set's one working Legend
Riven, The Exile, the only Radiance Legend to reach the Melbourne Top 8. Card image via Riftbound Zone, art by Riot Games.
Riven, The Exile is colorless, and her trick is tempo. Units you play to battlefields you control enter ready, so they can defend straight away. She tied Lillia as the most-played Legend, at 20 players each, and she was the only Radiance Legend to survive the cut. All three Radiance decks in the Top 8 ran Riven, and nothing else from the new set made it.
Of 239 players who declared a Legend, 73 ran a new one. Out of those 73 decks, exactly three made the cut, all of them Riven. Eight of the nine new Legends failed to make the cut.
He squeezed into the cut in seventh place, then won three straight elimination rounds. His final opponent, his sion, came through the Swiss unbeaten on Riven and lost only the last match. Diana's trick is one line of text: as a Reaction, exhaust her to add 1 Energy that can only be spent during a showdown. That extra Energy tilted fight after fight, and the winner took home 1,200 Australian dollars plus two booster displays.
Sacramento says the same thing
Sacramento backs it up. At the LDXP Sacramento Radiance Win-A-Case, Dante Holland won with Riven, The Exile, at $583.44. Jackson Sipila finished second with Irelia, Blade Dancer, at $170.26. Jim Wei took third with Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman, at $206.58. Kennen, Mordekaiser, and Rengar filled out the Top 8, so the older Legends are still winning even at an event named for the new set.
Two data points do not make a format, but they do make a warning. Riven is the proven Radiance pick right now, and every other new Legend is still a theory. That is normal for week one. It is also the moment to stop buying the whole set and buy the one card with receipts.
What it means for Tuesday night
The Radiance booster display. Product image via Riftbound Zone.
Tuesday Nexus Nights run on Radiance. If you trust an Unleashed or Vendetta deck, Melbourne says you do not need to rebuild. Five of the eight top slots went to the older sets, title included. If you want to build into Radiance, build Riven first and let the other eight Legends earn their slots.
The European Regional Championship in Stuttgart runs November 6 through November 8, the first major European event with Radiance legal. The Summoner Skirmish windows open November 9 and December 14. Until then, the best Radiance strategy is simple: play what wins, not what is new.
Full standings live at Riftbound Zone, Melbourne Showdown Series.
Top joins Car on today's Trade Post to break down the Melbourne final, the Sacramento result, and what Tuesday night players should build.
