Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: The Poro has 4 Might during the combat showdown. Sequence: - Stalwart Poro (2 Might base) is alone at battlefield - Thousand-Tailed Watcher resolves, applying -3 Might (minimum 1) - Poro is at 2 Might when Watcher resolves - Snapshot calculation: 2 - 3 = -1, but minimum is 1, so the reduction snapshots at -1 (bringing Poro from 2 to 1 Might) - Unit moves to battlefield, showdown begins - Defender designation established - Shield ability triggers: +1 Might (while defending) - Wuju Bladesman triggers: +2 Might (defending alone) - Final calculation: 2 (base) - 1 (snapshot) + 1 (Shield) + 2 (Wuju) = 4 Might Nuances: - Snapshotting applies to effects with limitations (like 'to a minimum of 1') - The limitation is calculated at the moment the effect applies, based on the unit's current Might at that time - The calculated modifier is 'remembered' and fixed for the duration of the effect - Subsequent Might changes don't recalculate the snapshot - they simply add/subtract from the total - In this case, combat buffs (Shield and Wuju Bladesman) apply after the Watcher's effect has already snapshotted, so they add normally to the modified value

Ruling: No, once you have declared you are ending your turn and Annie's trigger resolves, the turn immediately ends with no extra window to play action spells. Sequence: - Turn player declares end of turn - Annie's End of Turn trigger goes on the chain - Players can play reactions here - Annie's trigger resolves - Turn immediately ends Nuances: - This applies to all phases outside the Action Phase - if a window of opportunity doesn't open due to a triggering ability, there is no opportunity to play cards until the Action Phase - If you had multiple end of turn effects, you could stack them so Annie's resolves first, then you could have an opportunity to use reactions before your opponent's turn

Ruling: Yes, focus passes to your opponent after Yasuo's attack trigger resolves and kills the defending unit, giving them an opportunity to use actions before you score the point. Sequence: - Yasuo attacks and the attack trigger resolves, killing the defending Deadbloom Predator - Focus passes to the opponent - Opponent gets opportunity to use actions (like Rebuke) - After both players pass, the showdown ends and scoring occurs Nuances: - You can use Ride the Wind to move Yasuo back to base before your opponent gets focus, but then you won't have any units at the battlefield when the showdown ends and cannot score - You score by having the only unit(s) after a showdown ends, not simply by being the only one with a unit at a battlefield at any point during the showdown

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: Focus always starts with the attacker at the beginning of combat, then bounces back and forth in player order as chains fully resolve. Sequence: - If attacker plays an Action and the chain resolves, defender gets focus first - If defender passes, attacker gets focus - If attacker passes, proceed to damage - If defender plays an Action and the chain resolves, attacker gets focus first

Ruling: After a chain fully resolves in a showdown, players can play new action/reaction cards. The showdown only ends when both players pass focus without starting a chain. Sequence: - Player with focus can start a chain with an action or reaction, or pass focus - If a chain is started, priority passes back and forth as players add reactions - Chain resolves last-in-first-out - Focus passes to the next player in turn order - That player can start a new chain or pass focus - Once both players pass focus without starting a chain, the showdown ends - Special case: Attacker always gets empty focus first for the first chain Nuances: - Actions can only start a chain, they cannot be played to an existing chain - Actions resolve immediately before the opponent gets their showdown window (they don't stack) - Only reactions (and triggers) stack in chains - There can be any number of chains in a single showdown

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: Yes, each player receives priority after an element on the chain resolves. Sequence: - Player takes an action during showdown - Opponent plays a reaction (e.g., a discipline) - The reaction resolves - Both players receive priority (opponent can play the newly drawn card) - If no further responses, the original action resolves

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: After the first action chain resolves in a showdown, players can play another action and start a new chain before combat resolves. Sequence: - Attacker moves units into contested battlefield and starts showdown - Attacker has priority and can play an action spell - Defender can respond with actions/reactions - Chain resolves - Priority passes to defender who can play action/reaction spell or pass - Combat does not immediately resolve after the first chain

Ruling: After a spell chain resolves during combat, players get priority again and can start another chain before the attacking unit conquers. Damage assignment only occurs when both players pass with an empty chain. Sequence: - Player A attacks with Poro and passes priority - Player B plays Void Seeker targeting Poro - Player A plays Defy targeting Void Seeker - Defy resolves, Void Seeker is countered - Chain is now empty, but players get priority again - Player B can play another Void Seeker before Poro conquers - Damage assignment only happens when both players pass with an empty chain

Ruling: Yes, both players must pass priority for the next item in the chain to resolve. After Discipline resolves and you draw En Garde, your opponent (who has priority first since their Void Seeker is next) must pass, then you get priority to play En Garde before Void Seeker resolves. Sequence: - Opponent plays Void Seeker, passes priority - You play Discipline in response, pass priority - Opponent passes priority - Discipline resolves (unit gets +2, you draw En Garde) - Opponent has priority (their spell is next on stack), passes - You have priority and can play En Garde - If both players pass, Void Seeker resolves Nuances: - Both players get a priority window after every item in the chain except for the last item

Ruling: When the last card on a chain resolves, focus passes to the other player. After the first Hextech Ray resolves (making the chain empty), the attacking player gets focus first and can play Cleave before the opponent can play a second Ray. Sequence: - Kai'Sa Survivor attacks into empty battlefield - Attacker passes focus - Opponent plays Hextech Ray, it resolves - Chain is now empty, focus passes back to attacker - Attacker can now play Cleave before opponent can play second Ray Nuances: - If the attacker plays Cleave first and lets it resolve, focus then passes to the opponent, who can then play an action before the attacker can play another card - You cannot play an action, let it resolve, then immediately play another action without giving your opponent the opportunity to respond - Cleave wouldn't save Kai'Sa when moving into an empty battlefield since assault requires an active combat for the might gain to work

Ruling: Yes, after the initial chain from an attack effect resolves, both players have the opportunity to play actions and reactions to start a new chain. Sequence: - Attack effect triggers and initial chain starts - Initial chain resolves completely - Both players can now play actions and reactions (attacker has priority) Nuances: - Action cards can only start a chain, not respond to another card on the same chain

Ruling: No, after both players pass focus, there is no window to play reactions before combat damage assignment. The game proceeds directly to combat damage assignment. Sequence: - Player A attacks - Player A passes focus - Player B passes focus - Combat damage is assigned (no reaction window)

Ruling: Yes, you can cast a Reaction from newly drawn cards to respond to a spell still on the stack. Priority passes again after every link in a chain resolves. Sequence: - Opponent casts Catalyst of Aeons (goes on stack) - You cast Meditation in response (goes on stack on top) - If no one responds to Meditation, it resolves and you draw 2 cards - Priority passes again, starting with the controller of Catalyst of Aeons - You can then cast Defy (from the newly drawn cards) to counter the Catalyst of Aeons - You can continue casting Reactions until you have no more answers

Ruling: No, there is no window to cast spells after combat damage is assigned but before damage is healed. Nuances: - Damage does not reduce might, so effects that target based on might values (like Foxfire) do not work differently on damaged units - This applies even in cases where a unit dies in combat and you want to cast a spell before healing resolves

Ruling: No, you cannot retreat after damage is dealt. Retreat must happen before damage is dealt, so you would not get to deal your unit's damage if you retreat. Sequence: - Retreat occurs before damage is dealt - If you retreat, your unit does not deal damage - If damage is dealt first, the opportunity to retreat has passed Nuances: - If your unit has already dealt damage and killed opponent units, those kills stand, but you cannot then retreat that unit afterward

Ruling: The attacker retains focus after the initial attack/defend trigger chain resolves. The attacker always gets to play an action first in showdown. Sequence: - Attacker has focus during the initial chain - After initial chain resolves, attacker still has focus - Attacker plays first action in showdown Nuances: - This is a known oversight in the rules that will be fixed in updated rules - Focus is the ability to start a chain with activated abilities and spells; starting a chain with a triggered ability does not cause you to lose focus after that chain resolves

Ruling: When a chain fully resolves in Showdown, focus automatically passes to the next player. If they pass, you gain focus back and can play another action. Sequence: - Your Cleave chain resolves completely - Focus automatically passes to your opponent - If opponent passes, you gain focus back and can play another Cleave - If opponent plays a spell, the entire chain resolves first, then you get focus back Nuances: - Focus is automatically passed when a chain fully resolves, while priority is passed voluntarily by players during an ongoing chain - On an initial chain (like a "when you attack" trigger), you maintain focus after the chain resolves and don't auto-pass - Add abilities (like Malzahar's) are an exception where priority and focus do not pass when finalized

Ruling: You do not shuffle your deck after mulligan. You only shuffle once per game before you draw (except for burnouts). Nuances: - Burnouts are an exception where shuffling occurs during the game - The game is designed to minimize shuffling requirements

Ruling: Both players must pass in succession for combat to start. As long as one player keeps starting a new chain by playing an Action or Reaction, combat does not begin. Sequence: - Player X passes - Player Y plays an Action and passes - Action resolves - Player X now has the opportunity to play an Action/Reaction - Players can continue playing Actions back and forth - Combat only starts when both players pass consecutively without playing anything Nuances: - The key requirement is passing "in succession" - both players must pass without either one playing a card in between

Ruling: Yes, there is another open state after En Garde resolves where you can activate a card like Cleave. Passing does not lock you out of future actions in the showdown. Sequence: - Attacker action/reaction - Defender reaction, then attacker reaction (back and forth) - Resolve chain - Defender action/reaction - Attacker reaction, then defender reaction (back and forth) - Resolve chain - This continues until both players pass in a row Nuances: - Both players must pass consecutively (in a row) to end the showdown - If you pass, then your opponent plays an action that resolves, you can still play another action afterward - Passing once does not prevent you from taking actions later in the same showdown

Ruling: When both players pass priority in sequence (pass-pass), the top item on the chain resolves. The player who added the reaction and then passed priority does not get another opportunity to add items before their reaction resolves. Sequence: - Player A plays R2 and passes priority - Player B passes priority - R2 resolves (no opportunity for Player A to play R3 here) - After R2 resolves, Player B gets priority to add reactions, followed by Player A Nuances: - Playing an item and passing priority afterward are considered different "loops" from the game's perspective for the purpose of determining if a player has "passed priority without adding any items to the chain" - The priority gained immediately after adding something to the chain is a new priority window that counts as the first pass when determining pass-pass resolution

Ruling: Yes, the opponent can play an Action card after their unit is sent back to base and before the showdown resolves. The opponent will still receive focus because showdowns cannot automatically end. Sequence: - Fight or Flight resolves, sending the opponent's unit back to base - The showdown cannot automatically end - The opponent receives focus - The opponent can cast Hextech Ray targeting the active player's unit on the battlefield - The showdown then continues to resolve

Ruling: Yes, if there is a Showdown active, your opponent can play an action when priority passes back to them. Sequence: - You play your reactions to buff a card - The reactions resolve (chain ends) - Priority passes back to your opponent - Your opponent can start a new chain by playing an action - Showdown only ends after all players pass in succession without starting a chain Nuances: - Multiple chains can occur within the same Showdown - This only applies during Showdown; the ability to respond depends on whether Showdown is active

Ruling: No, Deathknell will not trigger if the death is replaced by Zhonya's. If the permanent with Deathknell is not sent to the trash because its "killed" event was replaced (such as by Zhonya's recall), the Deathknell will not occur. Sequence: - During combat cleanup step 2a, Deathknell abilities are added as pending chain items for units about to die - If Zhonya's replaces the death before step 2b, the unit is not sent to the trash - Pending chain items that don't result in the card going to trash do not finalize and are removed Nuances: - You CAN activate a hidden Zhonya's in response to a Deathknell trigger that has already been added to the chain, because contested status is removed in a separate step from combat cleanup - Pending chain items are not finalized chain items - they only finalize when the trigger condition (card going to trash) is met - Deathknell triggers before the card moves to trash to capture state information about the unit and its location, but still requires the card to actually go to trash to finalize

Ruling: No, you cannot play a Hidden card in response to a Deathknell trigger. By the time the Deathknell trigger is placed on the chain, players have already lost attacker/defender status during the combat special cleanup, meaning no showdown or combat is staged at the location and the Contested status is cleared. Sequence: - Combat special cleanup occurs, removing attacker/defender status and Contested status - Deathknell triggers are placed on the chain (before units die) - Units (both Deathknell and non-Deathknell) die and go to trash in the following cleanup step Nuances: - Before the CR update, it was possible to use Hidden cards in response to Deathknell triggers during combat, but this changed with the clarification that removing Contested status is NOT part of the special cleanup - Outside of combat, if a Deathknell unit is killed by a spell, the Hidden card is removed from the battlefield in the following cleanup - Karthus (passive ability) will see Deathknell triggers created and cause them to trigger twice when dying simultaneously, because the Deathknell trigger is placed on the chain before the units die - Viktor Leader will not trigger when dying simultaneously with other units because his trigger evaluates precisely when units die

Ruling: Focus returns to the attacker, who can play another action. The showdown only ends when both players consecutively pass focus on an empty chain (no chain exists). A pass that occurs while responding to a chain does not count toward the two consecutive passes needed to end the showdown. Sequence: - Attacker plays action, creating a chain - Both players pass priority on the chain - Chain resolves - Focus passes to defender (automatic, not a "chosen pass") - Defender passes without creating a chain (first chosen pass) - Focus returns to attacker, who may play another action - If attacker also passes without creating a chain, that would be the second consecutive pass, ending the showdown Nuances: - The automatic passing of focus when a chain resolves does not count as a "chosen pass" for the purpose of ending the showdown - If the attacker passes without creating a chain, then the defender passes, that would be two consecutive passes on an empty chain and would end the showdown - To continue playing actions after the defender passes, the attacker must have created a chain previously (or the defender must create one)

Ruling: Zhonya's Hourglass trigger is automatic, not optional. The errata did not change this aspect of the card. Nuances: - There is nuance around when you might or might not have to play a hidden Zhonya's under the new rulebook - In the new 1.1 rules, if you control a battlefield during combat (even if all your units die), you don't lose control until combat is over, so you can wait until later in the showdown to play Zhonya's from hidden - In the old rules, once your last unit died you would lose the hidden Zhonya's immediately if you didn't play it - When a unit is killed by an effect like Hextech Ray during a showdown, you must react with Zhonya's before that effect resolves if you want to save that specific unit

Ruling: Focus passes automatically when a chain resolves, with one exception: when resolving the initial chain in combat (the attack/defense triggers chain), the attacker retains focus afterward. After any subsequent chains resolve during the showdown, focus passes to the other player. Sequence: - Attack triggers go on chain → defense triggers go on chain - Players alternate adding reactions until both pass - Initial chain resolves one link at a time - Attacker retains focus (exception to normal rule) and can play an action to start a new chain - When this new chain resolves, focus passes to the defender - Players alternate having focus after each chain resolves - Combat continues until both players pass focus back-to-back without playing anything Nuances: - The player who owns the next link when something resolves gets priority during chain resolution - You can play multiple reactions before passing while holding priority - Attacker always gets focus first in showdowns, regardless of turn player - If showdown is initiated via contested (e.g., Ride the Wind to open battlefield), the player who applied contested gets focus first - A chain resolving is not the same as passing focus - both players must pass consecutively for combat to proceed

Ruling: The attacker gets focus and priority after the initial chain resolves.

Ruling: Yes, after Gust resolves there is still a window for either player to play action or reaction spells before combat ends. The opponent can play Hextech Ray on the Deadbloom before it heals. Sequence: - Moving the Ravenbloom starts a showdown - After Gust resolves, a new round of priority begins - Both players must pass priority without playing any cards for the showdown to finish - Only after the showdown finishes does combat end and damage heal Nuances: - Every time a card is played, a new round of priority starts after that card resolves

Ruling: Yes, you can reactivate Accelerate to ready it after Portal Rescue. Nuances: - You must pay the Accelerate cost to reactivate it

Ruling: No, the showdown must be resolved first before you can move additional units to that battlefield. Nuances: - You can move in other units with an ability during the showdown itself.

He does have the second copy of his ability in time, and it will trigger. The “one that hasn’t been chosen this turn” restriction applies separately to each instance of his ability. So you could choose the same option for both, but you’ll have to track which options you’ve used for each copy of his ability.

Ruling: Yes, Battlefields are selected, placed, and revealed before Turn Order is determined. Sequence: - Legend selection - Champion selection - Battlefield selection and placement (revealed when placed in the Battlefield Zone) - Turn Order determination - Draw cards - Mulligan Nuances: - Some players incorrectly place Battlefields face down before determining Turn Order and then flip them, but this is not the correct procedure - Battlefields become public knowledge when placed in the Battlefield Zone

Ruling: Legend abilities are triggered abilities that go on the chain and can be reacted to. You can identify triggered abilities by keywords like "when", "at", or "the Nth time". Sequence: - For Irelia specifically: The spell or ability that targets a unit is added to the chain first - Irelia's triggered ability triggers during finalization of that spell/ability - It is added to the chain as a pending item - It then gets finalized and becomes the most recent chain item (on top of the triggering spell) Nuances: - The presence of trigger words ("when", "at", "the Nth time") indicates an ability is a triggered ability that uses the chain

Ruling: You can include a maximum of 3 total Signature cards in your deck. The champion itself does not count toward this limit because champions do not have the "Signature" card type. Nuances: - If a champion has multiple signature spells available, you can still only include 3 total signature cards (e.g., 2 copies of one signature spell and 1 copy of another) - Only cards with the specific "Signature" type count toward the 3-card limit

Ruling: All triggers in Riftbound are mandatory and must be placed on the chain when their condition is met. There are no truly optional triggers that can choose not to go on the chain. Sequence: - When the trigger condition is met, the ability must be placed on the chain - If the ability requires targets, targets must be chosen at this time (if available) - Upon resolution, if the ability uses "may" language, you choose whether or not to apply the effect Nuances: - For Reaver's Row specifically: the trigger is mandatory when you defend, you must target a unit if one is available, and only at resolution do you choose whether or not to move that unit to base - Triggered abilities with "may" language but no targets (like Voli legend) still trigger and go on the chain, but you choose whether to apply the effect at resolution

Ruling: In all games of a match, battlefields are chosen before turn order is declared. Sequence: - Choose legends - Choose champions - Choose battlefields (simultaneously blind) - Battlefields are revealed - Turn order is determined - Draw 4 cards - Mulligan Nuances: - In game 1, both players choose battlefields blind to turn order - In subsequent games, the player who lost the previous game knows they will choose turn order, so they can select their battlefield with their intended turn order choice in mind, while their opponent can only guess - After battlefields are revealed but before finalizing turn order, the player choosing turn order can factor in the opponent's battlefield choice

Ruling: Battlefields are chosen simultaneously during setup. The set aside battlefields are not public information.

Ruling: Yes, battlefields are revealed simultaneously. Both players select their battlefields and place them face down in the middle, then flip them together. Sequence: - Both players select their battlefields - Place them face down in the middle - Flip them together simultaneously Nuances: - Battlefields are placed face down first to avoid someone deciding faster and giving away information

Ruling: No, mulliganed cards are not public information. They are considered privately derived information. Nuances: - This prevents opponents from gaining significant information advantage from seeing which cards were mulliganed

Ruling: Deathknell triggers are immediately put on the chain in the cleanup after whatever caused the unit to die. Sequence: - When a unit with deathknell dies during chain resolution, its trigger is added to the current chain immediately - Priority is given to add reactions to the chain - The chain continues resolving from the top - Example: If Hidden Blade is 4th in chain and kills Watchful Sentry, Sentry's draw effect is added to the chain before cards 3, 2, and 1 resolve Nuances: - Focus and priority are separate concepts: Focus is permission to start a chain during a showdown (with an action if desired), while priority is permission to add a reaction to the chain - Attackers always get focus in a showdown - Focus automatically passes to the next player each time a chain fully resolves

Ruling: Equipment remains gear while attached to a unit (only its rules text becomes inactive). Effect text on gear only applies to the card it is attached to, not to the gear itself, so attached equipment would not gain benefits like Deflect from the unit or other gear. Sequence: - Equipment attached to a unit is still considered gear - Only the equipment's rules text becomes inactive when attached - Effect text (like Deflect from Hexdrinker) only applies to the card the gear is attached to - The gear itself does not gain the benefits it provides Nuances: - In the example given, Hexdrinker never has Deflect itself; only the unit Hexdrinker is attached to gets Deflect - This means Trinity Force would not gain Deflect protection from either the unit or Hexdrinker

Ruling: Hidden cards are not affected by Divine Judgment, unless you lose control of the battlefield. Nuances: - Hidden spells exist as hidden cards on the battlefield - They are not counted as unplayed cards

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 should explicitly ask if their opponent wants to play something each time priority passes to avoid miscommunication and potential sharking. Being consistent with asking every time prevents giving away information about whether you have a response. Sequence: - After you activate a non-permanent, you hold priority - If your opponent passes, your activation immediately resolves - If you intend to chain something yourself, you must do so immediately - Otherwise, explicitly ask your opponent if they want to respond before proceeding Nuances: - Players can agree at the start of the game to skip priority passes with the understanding they can go back a step if someone wants to respond, but this requires explicit agreement from both players - This shortcut is unlikely to happen at tournaments as most players don't want to allow takebacks - Judges will rule in your favor if disputes occur when you've explicitly clarified priority passes

Ruling: No, runes are not cards. Only Main Deck Cards are considered "cards" for game purposes, so cycling a rune does not trigger Karma. Nuances: - Karma's reminder text clarifies this distinction