Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: 1. The Zaun Warrens conquer effect is mandatory. 2. Yes, you can decide the order of your "when I defend" triggers relative to Reaver's Row. Sequence: - Attacker's triggers go on the chain first, ordered by the attacker - Defender's triggers go on the chain second, ordered by the defender - This allows the defender to choose whether other "when I defend" triggers happen before or after Reaver's Row Nuances: - When assigning combat damage, the attacker assigns damage first - When assigning damage to units, you must assign lethal damage to a unit before assigning damage to another unit (unless special abilities like Tank or its opposite apply) - Units with damage immunity (like Kayn) have special rules allowing you to skip assigning damage to them even if they have Tank

No. During a Surprise Defense, the battlefield remains Uncontrolled because control is only established at the end of a non-combat Showdown. Since Surprise Defense creates a Combat scenario (not a non-combat Showdown), control is not established during this phase. Shen requires playing to "a battlefield you control," so he cannot be played to an Uncontrolled battlefield during a Surprise Defense.

Ruling: Only the player with focus can start chains by playing actions or reactions. A player cannot start a chain during another player's focus, even if that player chooses not to act. Sequence: - After a chain resolves, focus passes to the next player - Only that player can start a new chain (action or reaction) - If they pass, focus returns to the other player - The other player now has focus and can start chains - Combat showdown continues until both players pass on an empty chain Nuances: - You cannot start with an action during another player's focus - You also cannot start with a reaction during another player's focus - The player without focus must wait until focus is passed back to them before they can initiate any new chains

Ruling: Players can play reactions as the chain resolves. After each spell resolves, the player who controls the next item on the chain gets priority first, then the other player gets priority. Sequence: - Player A plays a spell - Player B reacts with a spell (e.g., Consult the Past) - Player A passes - Player B's spell resolves - Player A gets priority first (they control the next item on chain) - Player A plays or passes - Player B gets priority - If something new is added, it resolves next; if not, continue resolving the chain Nuances: - Priority alternates between players as each item resolves, not just at the end of the entire chain

Ruling: Tokens are entirely optional in Riftbound and there are no restrictions against using custom 3D printed tokens, including those with text like ability names. Players must still manually communicate game actions and triggers verbally. Nuances: - Tokens can actually help judges verify that triggers and effects were properly called - Players are not required to use tokens at all for gameplay - Custom tokens with text (e.g., 'Assault 2') are acceptable as helping mechanisms in competitive events like Skirmishes

Ruling: Oversized/proving grounds battlefields are legal for play, and you can use mismatched battlefield sizes. Nuances: - If you need to randomly select between battlefields of different sizes, ensure you have a fair method to do so (e.g., dice roll)

Ruling: Players are not required to bring translations of foreign language cards to tournaments. Assisting with translation (such as loading the corresponding card on an English card gallery) is a duty of floor judges. Nuances: - While not required, bringing translations is strongly recommended to avoid repeatedly calling judges and slowing down gameplay - If bringing translation references, keep them as loose paper or double-sided sheets rather than sleeving them with your deck to avoid potential issues

Ruling: There are currently no official draft rules for Riftbound. Players should use the sealed format rules from the rulebook as a temporary solution until official draft rules are released. Deck Construction (using sealed rules): - 25 card minimum deck - Up to 3 colors allowed - Legend and Champion are optional - If you don't run both Legend and Champion, draw 1 extra card at game start - Champion doesn't need to match the Legend's colors - Unlimited copies of cards allowed Nuances: - Official draft rules are being worked on by the developers - The game is expected to have proper draft rules and draft-focused design by approximately Set 4 - Using sealed rules for draft is a community workaround, not the official method

Ruling: Top cut matches at Skirmishes are recommended to be untimed, but this is not mandatory. Tournament Organizers may choose to run timed top cut matches based on venue constraints like store closing times. Nuances: - Stores with hard closing times may need to implement time limits (commonly 70 minutes) - If timed top cut is used, TOs should clarify tiebreaker procedures in advance - Swiss tiebreakers (Game Win %, etc.) have been used when time expires in top cut, though this is acknowledged as suboptimal for single elimination brackets

Ruling: No, the attack cannot be taken back at competitive OPL. This is a legal misplay, not a gameplay error, and rewinds at competitive events are reserved for illegal moves or broken game states. Sequence: - Player declares attack and unit moves to battlefield with Master Yi Legend - Combat begins and Yi's +2 Might ability applies - At this point, new derived information becomes available and it's too late for a takeback Nuances: - At casual events like Nexus Night, judges may allow takebacks for such misplays - Players are not obligated to help opponents calculate derived information like combat math - Players must answer truthfully about board state and public knowledge when asked (e.g., current Might values) - However, players don't need to remind opponents about future state changes (like Yi's +2 when combat starts) - The information about Yi's ability is public knowledge, but calculating its application is derived information

Ruling: Chem-Baroness Renata's second ability becomes active when you have 5 or more points in a game to 8 points. Nuances: - The ability checks your own score, not your opponent's score - The threshold is calculated as: (points needed to win) - 3

Ruling: Yes, Akshan can target an equipment that is already attached to another unit, and that equipment will move to Akshan. Sequence: - Target an equipment (even if already attached to another unit) - The equipment detaches from its current unit and attaches to Akshan - When Akshan leaves play, the equipment returns to the player unequipped Nuances: - The equipment becomes unequipped (returns to player) when Akshan leaves, rather than returning to its previous unit

Ruling: Yes, Azir can use his ability twice per turn when equipped with Svellsongur. Svellsongur copies the full effect text onto Azir, giving him the ability twice - once from his original text and once from Svellsongur's copied text. Each instance can be used once per turn. Sequence: - Azir has his original ability with "once per turn" restriction - Svellsongur grants Azir a copy of his ability text (including the "once per turn" restriction) - Azir now has two separate instances of the same ability - Each instance can be activated once per turn, allowing two total activations Nuances: - If Svellsongur is unequipped and re-equipped to Azir in the same turn, it creates a new separate ability instance that could be used a third time - The copied ability only exists while Svellsongur remains equipped to Azir - Complex sequences involving multiple Azirs and Svellsongurs were discussed but become impractical

Ruling: No, Azir must already be on the board to use his Ascendant Action ability. Unlike Shen/Rengar who have Reaction timing (which allows use when played from hand), only Azir's ability has Action timing, not Azir himself. Nuances: - Shen/Rengar work differently because they have Reaction timing on the card itself, allowing their abilities to be used when played from hand during appropriate windows - Azir needs to be on the board (not specifically on the battlefield) before his Action ability can be activated

No. When Azir targets a unit at Vilemaw's Lair, Azir moves to the Lair successfully, but the unit cannot move to base due to Vilemaw's Lair's restriction ('Units can't move from here to base'). The unit's move fails and it stays at Vilemaw's Lair. Azir ends up at the Lair with the unit instead of swapping positions.

Ruling: No, you cannot put Beast Below's trigger on the chain if you do not control another friendly unit. To put an object on the chain, valid targets must exist for all required targets. Nuances: - You can still play Beast Below as a unit even if you cannot put its trigger on the chain - This targeting requirement is why Salvage received an errata to allow it to be played even when no gear was on the field

Ruling: No, Bellows Breath cannot target the same unit multiple times. The spell deals 1 damage to up to three different units at the same location, where each target must be a distinct unit (though you can choose fewer than three targets). Nuances: - The wording "Deal 1 to up to three units" means you select up to three different units (X, Y, Z) where some can be null/not selected, but each selected target must be different - This differs from "deal X damage divided among up to Y units" wording (like on Volibear), which would allow targeting a single unit with all the damage - Bellows Breath deals discrete 1-damage instances to separate targets rather than distributing total damage

Ruling: No. Blade Dancer Irelia's legend ability does not "choose" a unit - it only readies a unit. If Irelia, Fervent is already ready, the legend ability cannot target her and will not trigger her +1 might bonus from being chosen. Sequence: (when Irelia is exhausted and you play Discipline targeting her) - Discipline targets Irelia, triggering her +1 might from being chosen - Blade Dancer legend ability triggers, you pay 1 Power to ready Irelia - Irelia gets +1 might from being readied - Discipline resolves and Irelia gets +2 might from the spell Nuances: - The legend ability's "ready a unit" effect does not count as "choosing" that unit - If Irelia is already ready, Blade Dancer cannot ready her again and does not trigger any choose-related effects - Other effects that explicitly "choose" (like Discipline or equipping) do trigger Irelia, Fervent's +1 might bonus

Ruling: You cannot respond to becoming an attacker or defender because it is not a trigger. However, you can respond to Miss Fortune's on-move trigger (which happens before combat begins) to play Gust on the Poro, but this requires having an already-ready rune available. Sequence: - Miss Fortune moves to battlefield - Miss Fortune's on-move trigger goes on chain (readies a rune) - Players can respond to this trigger (this is when you could play Gust if you had a ready rune) - Trigger resolves - Combat begins and units become attackers/defenders - "When I attack" and "when I defend" triggers go on chain (units are already designated at this point) Nuances: - The rune readied by Miss Fortune's on-move trigger cannot be used to pay for Gust during the response window to that same trigger, since it hasn't resolved yet - You would need a different already-ready rune to make this play work

Ruling: Defy cannot counter Falling Star's Reflexive Triggers because Defy can only target spells, and the triggers are abilities, not spells. Additionally, Defy cannot counter the Falling Star spell itself due to the 2 power cost restriction. Nuances: - Falling Star's own unit does not work with Dreaming Tree because the spell itself isn't targeting the unit—its Reflexive Triggers are, and those triggers are not spells - Not So Fast would work against one of the triggers (but not the spell itself) - Wind Wall would work against Falling Star

Ruling: Yes, this interaction works. You can force an enemy unit into combat with Draven using Charm, then return that unit with Fight or Flight to win the combat and trigger Draven's ability. Nuances: - "Winning combat" is not currently defined in the Comprehensive Rules, which is acknowledged as an oversight - The interaction was previously confirmed by plinq to work despite the missing rules definition - Control at the end of combat is tied to contested status, but the rules don't explicitly define what makes someone a "winner" or "loser" of combat

Ruling: Yes, Eclipse Herald can ready multiple times per turn, each time you stun an enemy.

Ruling: Yes, the card text supersedes the normal rules restriction. You can play the 1 MT Recruit even when moving to a battlefield you don't control. Nuances: - Normally you can only play units to battlefields you control - Card text overrides general game rules

Ruling: Facebreaker cannot be played in this situation because it requires two valid targets at the same location (including an enemy unit), and only one unit is present. Nuances: - The card cannot be activated during target finalization if valid targets are not available - Even though playing it in response might seem strategic to trigger Dreaming Tree's draw, the targeting requirements must be met first

Ruling: Flash can be legally activated even if the only unit is at Vilemaw's Lair. The card resolves but has no effect because units at Vilemaw's Lair cannot be moved to base in any way. Sequence: - Flash is activated and resources are paid - The player selects the unit at Vilemaw's Lair as a target - Flash resolves but the unit cannot move due to Vilemaw's Lair's restriction - The player loses Flash and the resources spent Nuances: - Flash can be cast with 0 targets since it says "up to" 2 units - Any card that says "up to X" allows zero as a valid option - Vilemaw's Lair prevents moving in any way, not just standard move actions

Ruling: You cannot Gust Wielder of Water when it moves to an occupied battlefield because its might becomes 4 as soon as it enters combat (Gust requires might 3 or less). However, you can Gust it when moving to an uncontrolled/open battlefield since it's not attacking in that scenario. Sequence: - When Wielder of Water moves to an occupied battlefield, combat begins - Combat starts with a showdown where players can play actions and reactions - Wielder of Water's ability is passive ("while attacking") and immediately active, making it 4 might - Gust cannot target it due to the might requirement Nuances: - Wielder of Water's ability uses "while attacking" (passive) not "when attacking" (stack-based), so it doesn't use the stack - The +2 might only applies while attacking or defending in combat - Outside of combat showdowns, Wielder of Water is 2 might and can be Gusted - Moving to an open/uncontrolled battlefield is not considered attacking, so Wielder remains 2 might and can be Gusted

Ruling: Gust cannot target a 4 Might unit that has been damaged. Damage does not reduce a unit's Might stat; it only marks damage on the unit. To target a 4 Might unit with Gust, you must use an effect that reduces its Might stat (like Stupefy) to 3 or less. Nuances: - A unit with 4 Might and 3 damage marked is still a 4 Might unit - Damage and Might reduction are separate mechanics - You can buff a unit's Might in response to Gust to make it an invalid target

Ruling: Yes, Heimerdinger Inventor can copy Kai'Sa Legend's tap ability to add +1 power when casting spells, allowing you to tap both units for recycle cost reduction on the same spell. Nuances: - Playing Heimerdinger typically means sacrificing tempo early game to gain this ability later, which is why it's not commonly used despite being powerful - If you have multiple tap abilities available (like Kai'Sa Legend and Ravenborn LeBlanc), Heimerdinger only activates one discrete ability of your choice, not all of them simultaneously - Heimerdinger is vulnerable to removal spells like Falling Star or Icathian Rain, limiting his effectiveness against certain deck colors

Ruling: Heimerdinger can use the ability even when not on a battlefield. He copies Renata's exert ability but does not copy her battlefield restriction. Nuances: - You still have to pay the cost to use the copied ability - Only the restriction (battlefield requirement) is not copied, the ability itself including its costs is copied

Ruling: No, you cannot activate Super Mega Death Rocket's ability if you have no cards to discard. The "discard to" wording indicates that discarding is a cost that must be paid when the ability resolves. Nuances: - The key distinction is "discard TO" versus "discard THEN" - the "to" wording makes it a cost that must be paid - You can still add the ability to the chain at 0 cards (e.g., stacking it with other effects), but when it resolves, if you cannot discard a card, you cannot recover the Death Rocket to hand - If it said "discard then" instead, you would not be required to discard if you had no cards

Ruling: No, you cannot equip items to Dauntless Vanguard when playing it to a battlefield with an opponent present. Equip can only be activated at base speed, and playing a unit to a battlefield where an opponent is present opens combat, during which base speed actions cannot be performed. Nuances: - This is the same reason you cannot play Vanguard to a battlefield and then move another unit there from base using a standard move - The restriction applies because there is a showdown or combat occurring, which prevents base speed game actions

Ruling: Yes, you can equip multiple equipment on a single unit. Equipment can be moved between units, but only through effects like Weaponmaster that specifically allow attaching equipment, not through the equipment's own Equip ability. Nuances: - Attached equipment's rules text (including its Equip ability) becomes inactive while attached - The equipment's Equip ability cannot be used to move it once attached - Other card effects that allow attaching equipment can move attached equipment if they don't specifically forbid it

Ruling: Yes, if you have focus during a showdown and Zhonya's is revealed, you can play Acceptable Losses to force your opponent to destroy a gear. If Zhonya's is their only gear, they must destroy it. Nuances: - If the opponent has multiple gears, they can choose which gear to destroy (not necessarily Zhonya's) - Scrapheap can counter this strategy by recovering the destroyed gear from the scrapheap

Ruling: Yes, you can play a Quickdraw gear even when you have no friendly units on board. The gear will remain at your base. Sequence: - You play the gear to your base - The "When you play this, attach" triggered ability attempts to trigger - Since there are no legal targets, the ability cannot finalize - The gear remains at your base unattached Nuances: - The triggered ability doesn't "whiff" (resolve with no effect) - it simply never finalizes due to lack of legal targets - Gears can only be played to base initially; they would only move if the attach ability successfully resolves

Yes, you can react to the on-play ability of Carnivorous Snapvine (and similar units like Riptide Rex) with Reaction-speed spells. Here's how it works: When the unit is played, it enters the board first. Then the Play Effect goes on the chain as a Pending Item. The controlling player completes the steps of playing it, including targeting. Once it becomes a Chain Item, it functions just like a spell. Other players have an opportunity to play Reactions before the resolution of spells. Since Play Effects become Chain Items 'just like a Spell,' they also have a reaction window before they resolve. So you cannot react to the unit being played itself, but you CAN react to the on-play ability before it resolves, using Reaction-speed spells only.

Ruling: No, you cannot play a spell without a legal target. A 5-might unit is not a legal target for Gust, so you cannot play Gust targeting it even to trigger Legion. Nuances: - Cards require legal targets to be played - You cannot play a card solely to trigger effects like Legion if it lacks valid targets

Ruling: Yes, when you receive focus, you can reveal Teemo first (triggering its "When you play me" effect), then while still having priority, reveal Tideturner and target Teemo with its swap ability. Both effects go on the chain and resolve in reverse order. Sequence: - Opponent attacks into BF1 and passes focus to you - You reveal Teemo, its "When you play me" trigger goes on the chain - You still have priority, so you reveal Tideturner and target Teemo, adding that to the chain - If no further responses, Tideturner resolves first and swaps positions with Teemo - Teemo's trigger resolves (gains might) - Chain empties and focus returns to opponent Nuances: - When an opponent asks "do you have a response?" during their focus window, they are shortcutting and effectively passing focus to you - Proper etiquette is to explicitly say "pass focus" rather than asking if opponent has a response, as the latter can create ambiguity or enable meta-gaming - The attacker should make their decisions on their own focus window without fishing for information

Ruling: No, you cannot unequip and re-equip equipment on the same turn. Once equipment is attached to a unit, its equip ability becomes disabled and cannot be used unless a specific effect instructs you to move it. Nuances: - Equipment that is already attached has its equip ability disabled - You can only move attached equipment if a card effect specifically tells you to do so

Ruling: All cards in your Main Deck and Sideboard must be in the same consistent language, and all cards in your Rune Deck must be in the same consistent language. Your Rune Deck can be in a different language than your Main Deck. Proxies are never allowed at tournaments unless specifically issued by a Head Judge. Nuances: - Chinese, English, and French are the available language versions - You cannot bring proxy cards or reference decks for yourself or your opponent - The language consistency requirement applies to cards that are shuffled together

Ruling: You cannot use Cleave as a reaction to Smoke Screen because Cleave is an action, not a reaction. However, after Smoke Screen resolves, you regain focus and can then play Cleave to boost your unit. Sequence: - Attacker moves to battlefield and passes priority - Defender uses Smoke Screen (reaction) - Smoke Screen resolves and its effect snapshots in place - Attacker regains focus and can now play Cleave (action) - Whether Cleave is sufficient to overcome the Smoke Screen debuff depends on the specific units involved Nuances: - Cleave is an action and cannot be used to react to anything - Smoke Screen's effect snapshots when it resolves, so subsequent stat changes from Cleave are calculated separately

Ruling: This question was redirected to another thread for answer. Sequence: N/A Nuances: N/A

Ruling: No, you cannot move the unit to trigger Mask of Foresight before Last Breath deals damage. Once Last Breath begins resolving, the entire effect (ready the unit, then deal damage) must complete before any other actions can be taken. Sequence: - Last Breath begins resolving - The unit readies - Last Breath deals damage immediately - Only after Last Breath fully resolves can you take other actions Nuances: - You can use Yasuo's move ability BEFORE playing Last Breath to move the unit to the battlefield first, which will trigger Mask of Foresight on its own chain, then cast Last Breath afterward with the +2 bonus already active - Even if you tried to use a spell to move the unit while Last Breath is resolving, any triggered showdown would be staged and wait for the game state to be open

Ruling: No, you cannot use Sprite Call to place a Sprite at a battlefield you are contesting. You can only play units to your base or to a battlefield you control. Nuances: - Even if you have units already contesting a battlefield, you cannot use Sprite Call to add the Sprite as an additional unit there - The restriction applies regardless of how your units arrived at the contested battlefield (whether you moved them there or they were moved by another effect)

Ruling: Proxies are not allowed at any OPL (organized play) events according to the rules. Modified cards are allowed, but that requires modifying the actual legend card itself, not using a separate proxy card. Nuances: - At lower-level OPL events, players may be more lenient if you have the real card available - Always ask the Head Judge or event organizer beforehand - You can modify the actual legend card with custom art, which would be legal

Ruling: Yes, Irelia's Blade Dancer ability triggers when you choose a friendly unit on an opponent's turn, allowing you to ready a unit.

Ruling: Yes, Irelia's legend ability can trigger during a showdown when En Garde targets her. It is a triggered ability, not an activated ability, so targeting Irelia with En Garde will trigger both the unit and the Legend abilities. Nuances: - The key distinction is that triggered abilities (which respond to game events) can occur during showdowns, while activated abilities cannot be used during showdowns.

Ruling: No, Irelia's Legend ability cannot ready a unit exhausted by Meditation because additional costs like Meditation do not target. Nuances: - Meditation exhausts a unit as an additional cost, not as a targeted effect - Irelia's ability only works with units exhausted by targeted effects

Ruling: When Janna is played to your base, there are no enemy units at her location, so the effect does not finalize and does not go on the chain. You do not get the heal. Sequence: - Janna is played to base - Effect checks for valid target (enemy unit at her location) - No valid target exists - Effect does not finalize/go on chain - No heal occurs Nuances: - Janna moves an enemy unit FROM her location back to its base (unlike Blitzcrank who moves units TO his location) - An enemy unit must be a valid targeting choice for the whole effect to hit the chain

Ruling: Yes, Kaisa can pay for Deflect if it's for a spell. Deflect is an added cost, and Kaisa can cover any 1 power cost that spell has, including mandatory and optional added costs. Nuances: - The confusion may arise from reflexive triggers, which are handled differently

Ruling: Nocturne can be played to any valid location you control (your base or a battlefield you control) when revealed from the top of your deck. You cannot play him to a battlefield you are currently attacking. Sequence: - Reveal Nocturne from top of deck (via card effect like Stacked Deck) - Finish resolving the card effect that revealed him - Play Nocturne to a valid location (base or battlefield you control) Nuances: - If defending a battlefield you control, you can play Nocturne there even during a combat showdown - If attacking a battlefield, you cannot play Nocturne to that battlefield (you don't control it) - Units can be played during a showdown