Riftbound set codes and collector numbers, explained

The tiny text along the bottom edge of a Riftbound card is the most useful thing on it, and almost nobody reads it. Once you can decode it you can identify any card exactly, which matters the moment you start buying singles or checking whether you already own something.

The set codes

Every card belongs to a set, and each set has a three-letter code.

Four of those are main sets: Origins, Spiritforged, Unleashed and Vendetta. The rest are promotional or supplementary, which is why some are tiny — three Judge cards is a complete set.

Origins being the largest makes sense: it's the first set, and it also has the most alternate printings, each of which counts separately here.

Reading a collector number

At the bottom of a card you'll see something like:

UNL · 021/219

That reads as: Unleashed, card 21 of 219. The second number is how many cards are in the numbered run for that set, so it doubles as a completion target.

Put together with the set code you get a unique identifier. "Card 21" is meaningless on its own; UNL 021 is exactly one card.

That's why every card page on this site is addressed by its full id rather than its name. Names repeat across printings. Ids don't.

Numbers above the set total

Here's the one that confuses people. You'll occasionally find a card numbered higher than the set total — something like 299 in a set of 298.

These are the extra printings: special versions that sit outside the numbered run. In the catalog, 66 printings are marked this way. They're not errors and they're not fakes. If you're chasing "the complete set", you get to decide whether they count, and reasonable collectors disagree.

Why two cards can share a name

The same character can appear several times: in the base set, as an alternate artwork, as a showcase treatment, or in a later product. Same name, different card, different collector number, often very different value.

So when you're buying a single online, check the collector number, not just the name and the picture. It's the difference between the card you meant and one that merely looks like it.

The practical use

Once you know this, three things get easier.

Buying singles. Search by collector number rather than name and you get exactly one result.

Checking for duplicates. "Do I own this?" is answerable in seconds if you know the id.

Sorting a binder. Collector number order is the closest thing to an official order, and it's how most set lists are laid out.

RiftPocket lets you search by collector number as well as name, and every card in it is stored against its full id, so two printings of the same character never collapse into one entry. If you photograph a card with your phone, the collector number is one of the things it reads, because it's far more reliable than a stylised name.

Where to go next

• Card rarities explained
• The six domains explained
• Every set, with full card lists — sorted by collector number