Prismaticism’s Kai’Sa takes Riftlab Trials II by storm. Robbi caught up with the champ to talk matchups, deck tweaks, and his plans for upcoming events.
From the Archives: An Interview by Reroll Robbi - https://x.com/reroll_robbi
Daughter of the Void
Riftbound's debut in China has left many debating whether Kai'Sa is the best deck in the format. Kai'Sa decks have claimed several regional titles abroad, and her presence in the global meta is all but guaranteed. Riftbound is set to launch in English-speaking countries this Halloween, but the community's competitive spirit can't wait. The Riftlab Trials returned on October 2-3, and its high-quality gameplay only reaffirmed Kai'Sa's strength. This two-day tournament, powered by Piltover Archive, was topped by former Legends of Runeterra competitor Prismaticism.
Prismat was the pilot who maneuvered Kai'Sa to a first-place victory in a tournament where nearly a quarter of all matches were Kai'Sa mirrors (24.7%). This isn't Prismat's first rodeo, however. He previously took first place in Luxury Gaming's 1K Champion Series back in August. After his latest win at Riftlab Trials II, we're pleased to share a recent interview with Prismaticism:
Q. What was your hardest matchup today?
"The hardest matchup in the event was against Presto's Time Warp Ahri in the quarterfinals. Going into the match, I assumed that Ahri was an easy matchup for Kai'Sa. But the difficulty of removing a Ravenbloom Student with 4+ ready runes bought a lot of time for him to get to his late game and start to outvalue me."
Presto's performance was certainly a treat to watch. Could it be that Ahri is an underexplored Legend in our prerelease meta? Presto might be onto something.
Q. What would you change to the deck?
"Remove two of the following: 1 Smoke Screen, 1 Lecturing Yordle, or 1 Void Seeker;
To add 1 Sprite Mother and 1 Time Warp.
Time Warp won a lot of games for me where I fell behind due to my opponent having a stronger start. It was so impactful that I started keeping it in my opening-hand mulligan because it allowed me to plan for a 10-rune, 4-5-point win."
Holding onto a 10-energy, 4-power, slow spell in your opening hand is quite surprising. Yet Prismaticism makes - and scores - good points. For those unfamiliar: Time Warp lets you take an additional turn immediately after the one in which it's played. It's expensive, but it leaves you with at least 6 ready runes to play with. If you're looking for blue cards to hunt upon release, it might be worth giving Time Warp a closer look.
Q. What makes your Kai'Sa list different from the rest of the field?
"Consistency.
3-of all the spells, 8 two drops, 3-of Lecturing Yordle, Noxus Hopeful, and Darius"
Ratios are a debate as old as TCGs, and the takeaway here is to keep it tight. If a card is strong, run 3-of. If it's not, evaluate its presence altogether. While there's room for the occasional 1- or 2-of, err on the side of exception rather than rule. This idea proved especially relevant in an event dominated by Kai'Sa mirrors. The semifinals were composed of 75.0% Kai'Sa decks, yet it was consistency that pushed Prismat ahead of the rest.
Q. What is your favorite Legend in Origins (Set 1)?
"Teemo or Annie. They both have interesting playstyles and force the opponent to make more decisions than normal."
Rogue deck enjoyers, rejoice! Although his latest victory was with the meta-powerhouse, Kai'Sa, Prismat's interest doesn't end there. As mentioned above, he took first place in Luxury Gaming's 1K Champion Series back in August - and he did it with Hook Darius. With this history of success in mind, Teemo and Annie think tanks should keep an eye on what Prismat has in store for future events.
Q. Do you plan on attending any upcoming events?
"I plan to attend SCGCon Las Vegas in November, the regional qualifier in Houston, and the PPG Summit in Orlando in December."
An 8-0-2 match record is something to be proud of, and Prismat didn't do it alone. Kuvi, Randy, Freakz, Alanzq, and Yuuj were the teammates who made the win possible through prep and practice. If you want to learn from the team with the results to back it up, you can find Kuvi's and Randy's coaching on Metafy. Prismaticism intends to join them soon.
And there you have it, folks. Kai'Sa and Prismat are aiming for spots at the top of organized play in English-speaking regions. So, enjoy your last month in the Riftbound waiting room. You can find Riftbound at a card shop near you on October 31, and we'll see where Kai'Sa lands at the Shanghai Open in the days following.
You can find Prismaticism's first-place decklist here, and a big 'thank you' to the event organizers for the great show.
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