Riftbound Review: Shen's Kit

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Shen is a big disappointment. He'll probably be the worst archetype in Riftbound because his cards are just the worst. Let's see Shen's kit and understand why he is probably one of this set's biggest mistakes.

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Translated byJoey

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Revised byJoey

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Introduction

Image via Riftbound Report
Image via Riftbound Report

Shen's kit is probably the weakest in the entire game.

Let's go through his base cards and understand how a legend that is supposed to be beginner-friendly ended up failing before it even came out and will become the worst archetype in the entire game as soon as it does.

Shen will be featured in a pre-constructed deck alongside Zed as well, but he might be so bad that both veteran players and beginners will avoid this product completely.

Shen - Eye of Twilight

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This is by far the best card in the entire kit. His effect is the one thing that could save his archetype and make it just bad instead of terrible, but it is still relatively weak.

In theory, this effect should help you protect key units in your battlefield, as it gives a friendly unit Tank. This is supposed to help you absorb combat damage and keep your board alive until you can hold a battlefield.

In practice, this effect will rarely be strong. It will be extremely redundant in most cases because you'll already have a unit with Tank in the battlefield, defending. You might be able to delay the opponent by one or two turns and defend your battlefield successfully, but, as the game goes on, this effect will quickly become useless.

That's because, most of the time, your opponent will only start a showdown on your battlefield if their units have more Might than yours, so this effect is virtually useless.

Shen - Scourge of Shadows

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This card is ridiculously weak, its effect is too conditional, and the payoff doesn't seem that interesting.

You have to pay 1 Power to play this card, and it doesn't have any keyword. That's what makes it terrible.

It does have a decent amount of Might for its cost, but it is too vulnerable to removals and is an easy target for spells like Star Crossed and bounce cards overall.

You need to have exactly one other unit in play to activate this unit's effect, which is quite specific. It could end up compromising most of your defenses.

That's because green holding decks prefer filling the board with units and activating several effects when they hold. As this deck restricts you to two units to defend your battlefield, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's quite counterintuitive.

If the payoff for playing this card was drawing 2 cards, it might be ok and relatively interesting.

Shen - Leader of the Kinkou Order

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This is the worst champion unit in the game.

This card has the same problems as Shen - Scourge of Shadows, and it also costs 2 Power.

There is no reason to use this card in your green/yellow lists, considering Ahri - Alluring exists, has the same effect, costs less, and doesn't come with any conditions. She just scores an extra point for you and doesn't force you to keep precisely one other unit besides her on the battlefield, like yellow Shen.

This card is literally a nerfed Ahri Alluring, and this archetype is a lot better with her than with him.

Shadow Dash

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This spell seems interesting, but you need to have exactly two friendly units in play to use it. So, you won't always be able to do it. In practice, this card is unusable, particularly as it is quite expensive and gives you very little back for your investment.

With this card, you'll give +1 Might to your two units and move an enemy unit to a battlefield, which is a slightly different version of Charm.

However, you'll always prefer Charm because it is cheaper than Shadow Dash, doesn't come with any conditions, and does practically the same thing.

You can play Shadow Dash from your trash with Flow for nothing less nothing more than 5 Energy and 2 Power. This is a ridiculous cost that doesn't make any sense for a conditional effect that doesn't impact the match that much.

This is already enough to consider this the worst spell in the game. If you don't play it with Shen, you're actually better off, as your list will be more consistent.

What to Expect From This Archetype

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Unfortunately, Shen will be the worst legend in the game, the worst archetype, with the worst champion units and the worst signature spell.

Let's compare it to Ivern, the holding deck in the same colors as Shen. Ivern has tools, synergies, and support cards that make sense considering what this archetype wants to do: hold battlefields and play units with certain tags. Shen has none of that.

He doesn't have strong tools that let you hold a battlefield more easily, he doesn't have strong support cards that interact with the champion units, and he doesn't have any consistent strategies or interesting game plans.

This archetype, so far, is Riot's biggest mistake. It's a pity, considering Shen is a really interesting character and his connection with Zed is pretty cool. He could have really shone in this set, rivalling directly with his brother's lists. However, we can say for certain that there will be no great-performing competitive Shen decks this season, either in casual matches, 2v2 matches, Skirmishes, or RQ's.

At the end of the day, Shen lists will probably just be bad Diana lists, and he'll soon be forgotten.

Final Words

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Thank you for reading, and see you next time!

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