Summoner Skirmish byes in 2027, plus Riftbound's new Nexus Cup and Challenge Series /

By Ron Cruz · Published October 27, 2026

Summoner Skirmish ends with Radiance, and Riot just explained what happens to the byes you won and never used. You can use them at any Regional in 2027, or trade each one for a promo card you can’t get any other way. Radiance’s Skirmishes are the last ones, and they don’t give byes. Starting with Legacy, the next set, in January, stores move to two new events: the Nexus Cup and the Challenge Series.

You can use your byes at any 2027 Regional

A Summoner Skirmish bye gets you a first-round bye at a Riftbound Regional, so you skip round one. Regionals are this year’s Regional Qualifiers under a new name, and your bye works at any of them in 2027. There are two ways to get it applied:

• By email: register for the Regional, then email UVS Games, Riot’s organized play partner, at OP@uvsgames.com. Your email has to go out at least 14 days before the event starts, so make sure you get it done.
• At the event: ask when you pick up your badge, before the main event starts.

Our 2027 Regionals and Continentals schedule has every Regional announced so far.

Or trade each bye for a promo from The Reckoning

If you can’t make a Regional or just don’t want to, Riot will trade your unused byes for a promo card from The Reckoning, the set after Legacy.

• It’s one promo per bye.
• You can only get this promo through the trade.
• You have until December 31, 2027 at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific to finish it.

Riot will open the trade next year.

Why Summoner Skirmish is going away

Riot says Summoner Skirmish was stuck doing two jobs. Its promos and playmats drew players who wanted to collect them, and its byes drew competitive players who farmed them. Back in August, Riot said Radiance’s Skirmishes would run without byes and with extra prizes instead. From Legacy on, those two jobs are split between two separate events.

Nexus Cup crowns your store’s best player

The Nexus Cup is a per-set event at your local store to find its best player. It’s about local bragging rights. It doesn’t give Ladder Points or lead to Regionals, Continentals or Worlds.

The prizes will look familiar if you’ve played a Skirmish:

• Winner and Top 8: the same promo card, with different stamps for the winner and the Top 8
• Winner: a playmat
• Everyone who plays: a participation promo

Riot hasn’t shown the Legacy promos yet.

Challenge Series is the store event that counts toward the ladder

The Challenge Series is also a per-set store event, but it’s competitive. It’s the only store event that gives Ladder Points and Regional tokens, both part of Riftbound’s new 2027 ranked ladder. A Regional token is a free competitor badge, your entry to the main event, at one of the next six Regionals after you earn it.

Not every store gets one. The Challenge Series is only for select stores on the Riftbound Gaming Network, the platform stores use to run official events, and UVS is finding the stores that meet Riot’s bar.

Here’s what the Challenge Series gives out at launch:

The winner and Top 8 promos are the same card with different stamps.

Both start with Legacy in January

The Legacy Pre-Rifts, the prerelease events at local stores, run January 22 to 28, 2027. The Nexus Cup and Challenge Series start with Legacy, and Riot says stores will start listing Challenge Series events in the coming weeks. You can find events near you with Riot’s event finder. Pre-Rifts and weekly Nexus Nights continue.