Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Yes, when a unit is returned to hand, the gear falls off and stays in the base, just like when a unit dies or is banished. Nuances: - This rule applies consistently whether the unit dies, is returned to hand, or is banished

Ruling: Units keep their boosts when returned to base by Zonia or revived by Sett's passive. Only buffs are removed by Sett's effect, not boosts. Nuances: - Modifications to game objects are only removed when they change zones to/from non-board zones - Zonia and Sett effects keep units on the board, so boosts persist - Debuffs (negative stat modifications) also persist through these effects - When Sett revives a unit, only the buff itself is removed, not any boosts that were applied

Ruling: Yes, both effects stay on the unit when it returns to base from Zhonyas. Nuances: - The Orb of Regret debuff only lasts until end of turn as usual (it doesn't become permanent just because the unit was saved by Zhonyas)

Ruling: When Thousand-Tailed Watcher is played, its -3 Might reduction occurs once in that moment and is not a continuous ability. Subsequent modifiers like Master Yi's +2 when defending apply normally after the Watcher's effect has resolved. Sequence: - Unit starts at 2 Might with +1 buff (3 total) - Thousand-Tailed Watcher applies -3 Might, reducing unit to minimum 1 Might - When the unit defends, Master Yi's +2 Might applies - Unit ends at 3 Might Nuances: - Buffs do not constantly reapply; they can be reduced by abilities like Watcher just like base Might

Ruling: The unit survives. During combat cleanup, lethal damage is checked simultaneously in step 2, then all damage is healed in step 2a. Even though the might buff is lost when the buffing unit dies in step 2, the damaged unit heals before a new cleanup can check for lethal damage again. Sequence: - Combat damage is dealt and assessed simultaneously - Combat cleanup step 2: Units with damage equal to or exceeding their might are killed simultaneously (this is when the buffing unit dies) - Combat cleanup step 2a: All damage is cleared from all units (the previously-buffed unit heals) - Only after this cleanup completes would a new cleanup check if units should die from the lost buff - Since damage was already cleared, the unit survives Nuances: - This only applies during combat cleanup, which is the only time units heal (other than end of turn) - If the might-buffing unit dies to something other than combat damage (like a spell before the combat damage step), the buffed unit would die normally - Riftbound does not have constantly-checked state checks; cleanups only happen at specific times and complete fully before triggering new cleanups

Ruling: Units can have negative Might values for calculation purposes. However, whenever the game checks "what Might are you" (such as during combat), any negative Might is treated as 0. Sequence: - Apply all Might modifiers using normal layering (base + buffs - debuffs) - The unit's calculated Might can be negative - When Might is referenced for any game effect, treat negative values as 0 Nuances: - Example: A 1 Might unit with -4 applied has -3 Might. Adding +2 makes it -1 Might (not +2) - In combat or any effect checking Might, negative values are treated as 0 (the unit won't heal opponents)

Ruling: Might changes happen once at the time the spell or ability resolves. They have no implication later in the turn. A unit decreased to 1 might that later receives a +1 might buff will become 2 might. Sequence: - First effect decreases unit to 1 might - Later effect increases might by +1 - Unit ends at 2 might (the increase applies to the current state, not the original base) Nuances: - This ruling is not clearly stated in the current written rules and will be addressed in a future rules update - The interaction was confirmed by Riot directly

Ruling: A unit dies when marked damage equals or exceeds its current might. This applies regardless of whether damage was dealt first and then might was reduced, or if might was reduced and then damage was dealt. Sequence: - Player 1 plays Watcher, giving all units -3 might (7→4, 5→2) - Player 1 plays Falling Star on both units, dealing damage (first unit: 4 might, 1 marked damage; second unit: 2 might, 2 marked damage - dies) - After Falling Star resolves, Player 1 plays Stupify on the surviving unit, reducing it to 3 might with 1 marked damage still on it (survives) Nuances: - The timing of when might reduction and damage occur doesn't matter - a unit dies whenever marked damage equals or exceeds current might

Ruling: The excess reduction does not carry over. When an effect would reduce more might than allowed, the decrease is "snapshotted" to the amount it was actually able to apply. Sequence: - A -3 might reduction applied to a 2 might unit reduces it to 1 (minimum) - The -3 is snapshotted as -1 (the actual amount reduced) - If the unit later gains +3 might that turn, the calculation becomes: 2 (base) + 3 (buff) - 1 (snapshotted reduction) = 4 might Nuances: - The same snapshotting principle applies to increases in might as well

Ruling: You must declare the target unit when activating Baited Hook as part of finalizing the ability. The opponent can then respond with reactions to remove the targeted unit before Baited Hook resolves. Sequence: - Pay the costs to activate Baited Hook (exhaust, one energy, one power) - Declare the target friendly unit (required to finalize the ability) - Baited Hook finalizes onto the chain - Opponent can now respond with reactions - If the target is removed (e.g., by Gust), Baited Hook still resolves but you look at the top 5 cards and recycle everything since there is no valid target Nuances: - This is one single moment the opponent can react to (Baited Hook finalizing onto the chain), not two separate steps - Baited Hook specifically needs to know the killed unit's might, which is why the target must be declared before resolution - All valid choices for an effect must be declared in order to finalize an ability - "A friendly unit" in the effect text is an explicit target that must be declared during finalization

Ruling: Unlicensed Armory goes on the chain first, then Jinx, Rebel's trigger goes on top of it. Sequence: - Activate Unlicensed Armory (it goes on chain) - Pay costs including discarding a card - Jinx, Rebel's trigger goes on the chain on top of Armory Nuances: - The discard being a cost does not change the sequencing - triggers do not interpose between paying costs and putting the ability on chain - Armory is an activated ability that can only be used at base speed - The ability goes on chain before costs are finalized and paid

Ruling: When you activate a rune ability with [Add] that triggers Sivir, the trigger goes pending on the chain and is finalized during cleanup without passing priority. You maintain priority throughout. Sequence: - You have priority and activate the rune ability (maintain priority) - The Sivir trigger goes pending on the chain - During cleanup following the rune ability, the Sivir trigger is finalized (priority does not pass when finalizing items) - You still have priority Nuances: - If you activate the rune ability while paying a cost during resolution of another spell or ability (e.g., Flame Chompers), the pending Sivir trigger will be finalized in the cleanup that follows that spell/ability resolving, and then whoever controls the most recent item on the chain gets priority - All [Add] abilities use the chain - they finalize and resolve immediately without passing focus or priority, but they still go through cleanup

Ruling: You only need to allocate enough damage to reach lethal. If a unit already has damage on it, you only need to assign the remaining damage needed to kill it. Sequence: - Calculate how much damage the defending unit already has - Assign only enough additional damage to reach lethal (equal to its might) - Remaining damage can be allocated to other units Nuances: - Even with effects that make any damage lethal (like Imperial Decree), you still must assign lethal damage to each unit - you cannot simply assign 1 damage to everything

When a unit with attached gear is killed, the gear detaches and remains at the base. According to the established rulings, the gear returns to your base **ready**. As stated in the FAQ: > "When the equipped unit dies, the equipment returns to your base ready, so you can pay the equip cost again to re-equip it." This is consistent with the general rule that gear enters and exists at the base in a ready state unless otherwise specified (Rule 147.1).

Ruling: Yes, you must pay the full cost of the card unless the ability explicitly states otherwise. Riftbound uses the principle that costs must be paid when playing cards, and only abilities that include phrases like "ignoring its cost" or "play it for [cost]" allow you to bypass the normal cost. Nuances: - This applies to abilities like Rek'Sai, Swarm Queen's "When I attack" ability that instructs you to play a card from the top of your deck. - Any mandatory additional costs (such as those from keywords or passive abilities) would still apply even if the base cost were ignored.

Ruling: Yes, the attacker returns to base during cleanup. Attackers who are stalled in combat recall to base, which is not considered a move, so Vilemaw's Lair's restriction does not prevent it. Sequence: - Attacker moves to Vilemaw's Lair to initiate conquest - Defender plays Facebreaker, stunning both units - Units remain at the battlefield - During cleanup, the attacker recalls to base (not a move) Nuances: - Recall is mechanically distinct from moving - it places units in base but does not count as a move - Vilemaw's Lair only prevents moving from the battlefield to base, not recalling

Ruling: All When Attacking abilities go on the chain first and choose their targets, then all When Defending abilities go on the chain and choose their targets, then players get priority to react. The chain resolves in LIFO order (last in, first out). Sequence: - All attacking units with When Attacking abilities go on the chain and choose their targets - All defending units with When Defending abilities go on the chain and choose their targets - All targets are now locked - Players get priority to play reactions - Chain resolves in LIFO order (defenders' abilities resolve first, then attackers') Nuances: - You do not get reaction windows as each individual trigger goes onto the chain - only after all triggers are on the chain and targets are chosen - When an ability uses "may" (like Reaver's Row retreat option), that choice happens at resolution, not when choosing targets - This same principle applies to other simultaneous triggers (e.g., multiple "When I move" abilities)

Ruling: The showdown does not end immediately. The defender gets passed focus and can play actions before the showdown ends. Sequence: - Attacker flashes units back from battlefield - Focus passes to defender - Defender can play actions - Showdown only ends when both players pass focus in a row without starting a chain Nuances: - Even if the attacker has no units remaining in the battlefield, the showdown continues until both players pass consecutively

Ruling: When combat ends, if there are still defenders present on the battlefield, all attacking units are recalled to base. No one scores a conquest point immediately - the defender retains control of the battlefield and will score a point for holding it at the beginning of their next turn. Sequence: - Combat damage is dealt and units heal - If defenders still remain, all attackers are recalled to base - The defender retains control of the battlefield - At the beginning of the defender's next turn (during their beginning step), they score one point for holding the battlefield Nuances: - Units cannot coexist with opposing units on a battlefield outside of combat - Conquering (and scoring immediately) only happens if all defenders are eliminated - Defending successfully does not score a point by itself - the point is scored during the beginning step of the controlling player's turn - "Hold" abilities and scoring both trigger during the turn player's beginning step, not on the opponent's turn - Units with "when I hold" abilities must be actively holding battlefields (not at base) to trigger

Ruling: The defender retains control of the battlefield. The attacking unit is recalled to base because defenders are still present after combat. Sequence: - Stunned defender takes 3 damage but survives (5 might unit survives 3 damage) - Stunned defender deals no damage back (stunned units don't deal damage) - During Combat Cleanup, attackers are recalled to base if defenders are still present - Defender keeps control of the battlefield Nuances: - This ruling applies specifically when the defending unit survives the combat damage while stunned

Ruling: Different instructions inside the same effect happen sequentially for the purpose of adding pending items to the chain. The Deathknell trigger becomes pending before the WYPM unit becomes pending, even though they're part of the same effect. Sequence: - Baited Hook resolves, killing the Deathknell unit first, then revealing the WYPM unit - The Deathknell trigger becomes pending first, then the unit becomes pending - During cleanup, they finalize in that order: Deathknell becomes chain item 1, unit becomes chain item 2 - The unit auto-resolves, triggering WYPM which becomes chain item 3 - Final chain order is: Deathknell > WYPM - These resolve in reverse order (WYPM first, then Deathknell)

Ruling: Ahri's trigger resolves first, reducing Yasuo's might before his damage trigger resolves, so Yasuo deals 6 damage instead of 7. Sequence: - Enemy Yasuo attacks, triggering both his "When I Attack" ability and Ahri's "When an enemy unit attacks" ability on the Initial Chain - The attacking player (turn player with focus) adds their triggers first (Yasuo's damage trigger) - The defending player adds their triggers second (Ahri's -1/-1 trigger) - Triggers resolve in reverse order (last in, first out), so Ahri's trigger resolves first - Yasuo is reduced to 6 might, then his damage trigger resolves dealing 6 damage Nuances: - Ahri's Legend trigger is not a "When I defend" trigger, but it still follows defender timing because it's controlled by the non-turn player - All Initial Chain triggers controlled by the defender can be ordered together, regardless of whether they say "when I defend" or "when an enemy attacks" - The ordering is based on who controls the abilities, not the specific wording of the trigger condition

Ruling: Yes, you can play Gust as a reaction before deciding whether to retreat. Reaver's Row puts a trigger on the chain that requires you to target a friendly unit, but the decision to move that unit back or not is made during resolution. Sequence: - Enemy unit moves into Reaver's Row - Reaver's Row trigger goes on the chain (you must choose a friendly unit target at this point) - While the trigger is on the chain, you can play reactions like Gust - When Reaver's Row trigger resolves, you decide whether to move the targeted unit back to base or not Nuances: - Targeting a unit is the only relevant choice needed when putting the trigger on the chain - The "you may" portion of effects is decided during resolution, not when placing the trigger on the chain - This follows the same templating logic as other "When X, you may Y" cards like Bullet Time

Ruling: The player who first moved a unit to the open battlefield (applying contested status) is the attacker. Any other player controlling units at that battlefield is the defender. Sequence: - Enemy unit moves to open battlefield, starting a non-combat showdown (no attacker/defender designations yet) - During the non-combat showdown, you gain focus and can play Zenith Blade to move your unit there - The first non-combat showdown must fully resolve and complete cleanup before the combat showdown can begin - After the first showdown ends, if both players still have units there, a combat showdown begins - At the start of the combat showdown, attacker and defender designations are assigned based on who applied contested status - The original player who moved first becomes the attacker; you become the defender Nuances: - The first player will not conquer during the non-combat showdown because they are not the only player controlling a unit on the battlefield (the check happens at resolution) - Attacker and defender designations only exist during combat showdowns, not during non-combat (open) showdowns - You cannot play units directly to a battlefield you don't control, only move them there with effects like Zenith Blade

Ruling: When an item on the chain resolves, priority is given to the controller of the next item on the chain (if the chain isn't empty). This allows players to play reactions between chain resolutions. Sequence: - Item 3 resolves (A's reaction) - Priority goes to the controller of item 2 (B) - A also has a chance to play a reaction before item 2 resolves - If A plays a reaction, it's added to the chain and A has priority first - B can then react to A's new reaction - This continues until both players pass - Item 2 then resolves Nuances: - The controller of the next item on the chain gets priority first after an item resolves - When a new item is added to the chain, the player who added it gets priority first

Ruling: You can choose which spell you want to target with Defy, even when multiple spells are on the stack. Nuances: - This principle applies both during showdowns and outside of showdowns

Ruling: Reavers Row and Overzealous Fan triggers are placed on the chain after Lucian's when attacking trigger. You as the controller decide the order they are placed. Once triggers are on the chain, they resolve normally even if the trigger condition is no longer met. Sequence: - Lucian's when attacking trigger goes on the chain - Reavers Row and Fan triggers are placed on the chain after (in controller's chosen order) - Triggers resolve in reverse order (last in, first out) - You can choose whether to use "you may" effects on resolution Nuances: - Overzealous Fan always places a trigger on the chain, but you decide whether to kill him on resolution - You can retreat Fan or bounce Lucian before Fan's kill effect - You can even retreat Fan AND THEN kill him to bounce Lucian - Once a trigger is on the chain, losing the trigger condition (like Fan losing defender) doesn't prevent the trigger from resolving normally

Ruling: You cannot play Shen on the battlefield during the showdown because no one controls it yet. If your opponent stuns your unit during the showdown, only the opponent's unit retreats (as the attacker), while your stunned unit can still take the spot and establish control at the end of the showdown. Sequence: - Opponent initiates showdown to conquer uncontrolled battlefield (becoming the attacker) - You play Zenith Blade to move your unit to the battlefield - During showdown, you cannot play Shen because you don't control the battlefield yet - If opponent stuns your unit, showdown resolves with opponent's unit retreating as the attacker - Your stunned unit remains and establishes control over the battlefield Nuances: - A stunned unit can still take a battlefield spot and establish control at the end of a showdown - The opponent is designated as the attacker because they contested the uncontrolled battlefield on their turn, which is why their unit retreats when combat ends

Yes, you can use Overzealous Fan's ability after swapping it into the battlefield with Tideturner during a showdown. According to **RiftJudge FAQ 9047** and **FAQ 9411**, swapping Overzealous Fan to the contested battlefield keeps it on the board, which satisfies the requirement for paying the "kill me" cost of its ability. ### Sequence of Events 1. **Showdown Begins:** An opponent's unit attacks a battlefield. If Overzealous Fan is moved into that combat (or is already there), it gains the "Defender" designation. 2. **Reaction:** You play Tideturner from Hidden as a reaction. This starts a chain. 3. **Tideturner Resolves:** Tideturner enters the battlefield and its "When you play me" ability triggers. You swap Tideturner with Overzealous Fan. 4. **Fan's Ability:** Because the Fan is now at the contested battlefield, it gains the "Defender" designation (if it didn't have it already). Its "When I defend" ability triggers and is placed on the chain. 5. **Resolution:** When the chain reaches the Fan's ability, you may choose to kill the Fan to move the attacking unit to its base. Because the Fan is still on the battlefield, it remains a valid target for its own "kill me" cost. ### Important Notes * **No Whiff:** As long as the Fan remains on the battlefield (even if it is at a different location than where it started), the ability does not "whiff" and can be resolved successfully. * **Targeting:** The target of the Fan's ability (the attacking unit) was locked when the ability was placed on the chain. Moving the Fan does not invalidate this target. * **Defender Designation:** Per **RiftJudge FAQ 9174**, if you swap a unit into the defender position during a showdown, it gains the "Defender" designation during the cleanup phase following the resolution of the swap, which then triggers the "When I defend" ability.

Ruling: The unit moves to its controller's base. When determining which base a unit moves to, only the controller matters, not the owner. Nuances: - Owner is important for non-board areas, but for base location, controller is what matters - It's impossible for a unit controlled by one player to end up at the base of another player

Ruling: No, the opponent does not gain control of the equipped gears. The gears remain attached to the unit and their effects continue to apply, but the original owner retains control of the equipment. Sequence: - When Possession resolves on a unit with equipped gears, only the unit (top-most card) changes control - The equipped gears remain attached to the unit until detached by a card effect or game effect - The gear's effect text remains active on the possessed unit as long as it stays attached - If the gear detaches (such as when the unit dies, is banished, or otherwise leaves the board), it is recalled to the original owner's base during cleanup Nuances: - The opponent cannot use effects like Jax or Weaponmaster to move the gear away from the unit because they don't control the gear - The opponent does benefit from the gear's effect text while it remains attached to the possessed unit - Control of the gear never changes, only the unit's control changes

Ruling: The casting player must declare where the unit is traveling to before the opponent can play a reaction spell. Sequence: - Showstopper is cast - The casting player declares the travel destination - The opponent can then play a reaction spell with that knowledge

Ruling: Once Charm resolves and the Merchant moves, you lose control of Battlefield B and must trash any hidden cards there. You must use Fight or Flight before Charm resolves to save the Merchant. Sequence: - If you use Fight or Flight in response to Charm (before it resolves), Merchant moves to base but Charm's destination is already locked to Battlefield A, so Merchant still ends up at Battlefield A after Charm resolves - If you let Charm resolve first, Merchant moves to Battlefield A, you lose control of Battlefield B, and the hidden Fight or Flight gets trashed Nuances: - Using Fight or Flight before Charm resolves still results in the Merchant ending up at the Charm destination, but does provide an extra discard/draw trigger

Ruling: You cannot play units to a battlefield you don't control. If your opponent kills your only unit at a battlefield, you immediately lose control and cannot play units there. Nuances: - If you still have other units at the battlefield when your opponent kills one unit, you can play the sprite there during the showdown since you still control it - If you activate Hidden Sprite Call as a reaction to Hextech Ray (before your unit is killed), you can play the token to that battlefield since your unit has not been killed yet

Ruling: The opponent who created the contested status on the battlefield is the attacker. You are the defender even though you had no units initially. Sequence: - Opponent starts Open Showdown on Empty Battlefield - You use Zenith Blade to move a unit to that battlefield - The Open Showdown ends - A Combat Showdown starts immediately afterwards - Your opponent is the attacker in the Combat Showdown Nuances: - Even though you are the defender, you do not control the battlefield until the end of combat - You cannot play units directly to a battlefield you don't control, even if you're defending it - You can play a unit to your base and then move it with Zenith Blade to the contested battlefield - If using Zenith Blade, you must declare targets when you put it in the chain (before other reactions)

Ruling: The opponent who initially moved in and applied contested first becomes the attacker in the combat showdown that follows. Sequence: - Opponent moves in and starts a non-combat showdown, applying contested to the battlefield - You play Zenith Blade and move your unit in, staging combat - The non-combat showdown ends (opponent does not get a point because they are not the only one controlling units there) - Combat showdown starts immediately - The opponent who applied contested first is the attacker Nuances: - Shield and Assault are not passively active during the non-combat showdown, which can affect might values and damage required to kill units - A player cannot conquer if they're not the only one controlling units at the battlefield at the end of a showdown

Ruling: When you Flash away in response to an opponent entering your battlefield, a non-combat showdown starts. Both players get focus during this showdown regardless of battlefield presence. If you Ride the Wind back during the non-combat showdown, neither side is attacking or defending yet. When both players pass focus and the non-combat showdown resolves, if both units remain, a combat showdown starts with the original mover as attacker and you as defender. Sequence: - Opponent moves to contest/enter battlefield - Showdown starts, attacker has focus and priority - You Flash your unit away when you have priority - You get focus again and can Ride the Wind back - Both players continue passing focus - Non-combat showdown resolves (no combat damage occurs) - If both units still present, combat showdown starts with original mover as attacker Nuances: - "When I move" triggers happen before showdown starts, "when I attack/defend" triggers happen during showdown - Showdowns can only start during a "neutral open state" (no chain and no showdown ongoing) - In the Traveling Merchant case, Flashing before the ability resolves creates a non-combat showdown; Flashing after creates a normal combat showdown - With Warwick's "when I attack" trigger, the combat showdown has already started, so there's only one combat showdown throughout - After you Flash, priority auto-passes (you don't manually pass)

Ruling: The tokens will end up at 3 Might. Sequence: - Ahri's trigger snapshots to the minimum of 1 Might when the tokens enter (giving them -0 Might, assuming they're 1-Might recruit tokens) - When Back to Back gives them +2 Might, they go up to 3 Might total

Ruling: The damage will happen regardless. Rebuke is an action and cannot happen before something else on the chain. Nuances: - If Yasuo were removed by a reaction (hypothetically), the damage would not happen because the information needed for his ability (such as "where is here?") cannot be accessed anymore.

Ruling: You are the defender. The opponent applies contested status to the battlefield when they move their unit there, which happens before you can respond with reactions. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit into empty battlefield - Contested status is applied to the battlefield - You respond with Zenith Blade/Ride the Wind to move your unit there - You are the defender since the battlefield was already contested before your unit arrived Nuances: - This interaction nullifies legends like Ahri/Yi that require you to be the attacker

Ruling: The opponent who initially moved to the empty battlefield is the attacker, and you are the defender in the subsequent combat. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit to empty battlefield, applying contested status - A showdown begins during cleanup (no combat yet, since only one player has units) - During that showdown, you play Ride the Wind to move your unit to the same battlefield - Combat becomes pending, but the current showdown continues - After the showdown completes, if both players still have units at the battlefield, combat begins during the post-showdown cleanup - The opponent is the attacker (they applied the contested status), you are the defender - Attack and defend triggers occur as normal in this combat - If you win and have units remaining, you gain control and conquer the battlefield Nuances: - The combat waits until after the initial showdown completes because combat requires a Neutral Open state - Even though you moved your unit second (triggering the actual combat), the opponent is still the attacker because they originally applied the contested status to the battlefield - If you win as the defender, you still conquer the battlefield and score a point (if you haven't scored there this turn)

Ruling: When Zenith Blade moves your unit to a battlefield during an open showdown, the unit contests the battlefield and a pending combat is created. The open showdown does not result in a conquer (control cannot be established while contested), and once the open showdown ends, combat begins with the original player as the attacker and the Zenith Blade player as the defender. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit to open battlefield, starting showdown - Zenith Blade resolves, moving your unit to that battlefield - Your unit contests the battlefield and creates a pending combat - Open showdown resolves without conquer (control cannot be established) - Combat begins with opponent as attacker, you as defender Nuances: - If the unit that was moved in via Zenith Blade is removed from the battlefield before the pending combat starts (e.g., via another spell like Rebuke), the pending combat no longer occurs per rule 622.2, and the opponent would then conquer the battlefield - The player who originally applied contested status to the battlefield becomes the attacker in the resulting combat - If both units remain after combat due to stun and the attacker's unit is recalled, the defender gains control and scores on defense

Ruling: Moving to an empty battlefield starts a showdown. The attacking player gets first chance to play an action or reaction to start a chain, and if they pass, focus passes to the defender who can then play an action or reaction. Sequence: - Opponent moves to empty battlefield, showdown opens - Attacking player gets first chance to play action or reaction to start a chain - If they pass, focus passes to defender who can play action or reaction - Focus goes back and forth until both players pass consecutively - If attacker plays an action or reaction, defender can only react - Once that chain resolves, focus passes to defender regardless of who was last on the chain Nuances: - The defender doesn't "pass" on a reaction to get to their action - if the attacker passes initially, the defender can play either an action or reaction - In showdown state, after a chain resolves, focus passes to the other player regardless of who finalized the last thing on the chain

Ruling: The player who originally moved to the empty battlefield (Player 1) is the attacker, and the player who used Zenith Blade to move their unit there (Player 2) is the defender. Player 1 applied contested status to the battlefield first, making them the attacker even though Player 2 moved their unit there during the showdown. Sequence: - Player 1 moves to empty battlefield, triggering non-combat showdown - Player 2 plays Zenith Blade during non-combat showdown, moving their unit to that battlefield - Non-combat showdown ends (battlefield remains contested, Player 1 cannot conquer) - Combat showdown begins with Player 1 as attacker and Player 2 as defender - If Player 1 wins, they conquer and score on attack; if Player 2 wins, they conquer and score on defense Nuances: - This is the only way to defend a battlefield you don't control and the only way to conquer on defense - If Player 2's unit survives and Player 1's does not, Player 2's unit stays and conquers the battlefield - Only attackers return to base if both sides have surviving units after combat; defenders remain

Ruling: The open showdown does not convert to a combat showdown. The open showdown will eventually end when all players pass focus in order, and if there are still two players' units there, a combat showdown will start. Sequence: - The open showdown continues (nothing forcibly ends a showdown) - All players pass focus in order to end the open showdown - If two players' units are still present, a combat showdown begins - The attacker is the player whose unit first applied contested to the open battlefield (the person who moved first) - The winner of the combat showdown gets a point (assuming neither player has scored that battlefield that turn)

Ruling: The opponent does not gain control or score a point when first moving to the open battlefield. Control and scoring only occur after the showdown ends, and only if their units remain alone on the battlefield. If you move Leona there during the showdown, the battlefield remains contested and no point is awarded for that first showdown. Sequence: - Opponent moves units to open battlefield - Showdown starts (battlefield becomes contested) - You play Zenith Blade during the showdown - Leona moves to that battlefield - First showdown ends with no point awarded (battlefield still contested with units from both players) - New combat showdown immediately starts - Opponent is the attacker (they applied contested status), you are the defender - Regular combat occurs with Leona defending (she applies Shield but doesn't trigger her ability) - If opponent's attackers survive, they are recalled and you score a point while defending - If opponent's attackers defeat your units, opponent scores while attacking Nuances: - The battlefield remains contested throughout the entire process - You cannot gain control of a contested battlefield - Control is checked after the showdown ends, not during it - Similar ruling applies to other responses like Gust - removing the moving unit during the showdown prevents the opponent from scoring

Ruling: When the opponent in Neutral Open State decides they are done, the turn moves to the "end of turn" stage. The non-turn player does not receive priority in the Action Phase when the turn player passes. Nuances: - If there is a triggered ability at the end of the opponent's turn, you can respond to it - Without triggered abilities in the End of Turn Phase, you cannot do anything

Ruling: You cannot play Action spells like Fight or Flight in response to Bullet Time unless you are playing it from Hidden (which gives it the Reaction keyword). You can only play Reactions in response to Bullet Time. Sequence: - Opponent plays Bullet Time, declaring and paying the cost on resolution - The chain becomes Closed State - When focus passes back to you, you can only play appropriately timed actions (Reactions) - After Bullet Time resolves, you regain priority and can play Action spells - The showdown remains open even if your units are wiped, allowing you to play actions like Fight or Flight after resolution Nuances: - If Fight or Flight is played from Hidden, it gains the Reaction keyword and can be played in response to Bullet Time - The showdown doesn't close just because one side's units are wiped; you can still open new chains and potentially bring new units to the battlefield - You skip the combat damage step if one or both players' units are gone when both players pass and the showdown closes

Ruling: Red Darius enters the opponent's base exhausted because he sees Possession as the second card played on the turn. Sequence: - Opponent plays Gust (first card) - Opponent plays Possession on Red Darius (second card) - During Possession's resolution, Darius becomes the opponent's unit - After Possession resolves and counts as played, Darius sees it as the second card played - Darius enters exhausted Nuances: - A card only counts as played and triggers corresponding play effects after it resolves - Darius becomes the opponent's unit during resolution, which happens before Possession counts as played - This works the same way as Darius seeing himself if played as the second card

Ruling: The opponent pays the Deflect cost when Hidden Blade goes on the chain, before Defy can be played to counter it. Sequence: - Opponent plays Hidden Blade targeting Qiyana - Deflect cost must be paid when Hidden Blade goes on the chain - After that, Defy can be played to counter Hidden Blade Nuances: - The Deflect cost is paid regardless of whether the spell is later countered by Defy