Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: You cannot play Shen to a battlefield you are attacking because you do not control that battlefield. The "including battlefield you control" restriction prevents this. Nuances: - Even though Shen is a reaction, the control requirement still applies - This is a common point of confusion as players learn the rules

Ruling: No, you cannot tap Sun Disc in response to Spectral Matron's trigger because Sun Disc does not have Reaction. You would need to tap Sun Disc before playing Matron. Sequence: - If you tap Sun Disc before playing Spectral Matron, Sun Disc will ready Matron itself - The unit played from the discard pile comes out after Matron is already readied - There is no way to ready the unit played from the discard pile with Sun Disc Nuances: - Sun Disc's Legion effect only activates if you have already played another card that turn; if you haven't played another card, the ability doesn't exist

Ruling: No, you cannot cast Stupefy or Discipline without a valid target just to draw a card. You need a valid target to exist in order to cast the spell and put it on the chain. Nuances: - Once a spell is on the chain and resolving, it skips what it can't do if the target no longer exists or isn't valid anymore, but you still need a valid target at the time of casting.

Ruling: No, you cannot play Stupefy when there are no units on board. A valid target for the spell is required to play the card. Nuances: - The "do as much as you can" rule only applies during resolution, not when determining whether a card can be played - Even though the card text has two separate sentences (targeting a unit and drawing a card), you still need a valid target to play the spell initially

Ruling: Yes, you can play Sun Disc followed by Noxus Hopeful, and Noxus Hopeful will come in ready with reduced cost. Sequence: - Play Sun Disc (it counts itself towards Legion effect when played) - Tap Sun Disc - Play Noxus Hopeful with reduced cost and ready (since the gear doesn't come in exhausted, and Noxus Hopeful is the 2nd card played)

Ruling: No. The Syren's activated ability cannot be used during a Showdown. Gear abilities can only be activated during an Open State in your Action Phase, not during a Showdown. Sequence: - The Syren must be played to your Base during an Open State on your turn (before any Showdown begins) - The Syren's ability can only be activated during an Open State in your Action Phase - Once a Showdown has started, you cannot activate Gear abilities Nuances: - The Syren's "Move to base" effect is a standard Move, not a Recall, because it uses the keyword "Move" - As a Move (not a Recall), it can be prevented by effects that restrict movement and will trigger "when a unit moves" abilities - Gear cards cannot be played from hand during a Showdown - they require an Open State during your Action Phase

Ruling: A unit will trigger its "when I defend/attack" abilities whenever it becomes a defender or attacker, so you don't need to worry about missing the initial chain. Nuances: - You can use Tideturner to swap a unit into the defender position and still trigger its "when I defend" ability

Ruling: You can only play Twisted Fate if your color identity includes purple. Nuances: - While Twisted Fate's abilities care about other colors, his color identity requirement still restricts which decks can include him - In sealed format you can use any 3 colors, which provides more flexibility than constructed

Ruling: Yes, you can play units and gear after completing a showdown. Your action phase ends only when you stop taking actions, and there is no required order for actions. Sequence: - Complete a showdown - Play units/gear if you have the runes - Start another showdown if desired - Continue taking any actions in any combination - Pass turn when you choose to stop taking actions Nuances: - You can start multiple combats/showdowns in a single turn if able - The turn structure is extremely unstructured after the initial ABCD phases - Actions can be taken in any combination as much as you want/are able to

Ruling: You can target a stunned unit with Zenith Blade. The stun effect does nothing (and doesn't trigger "when you stun" effects), but you can still move a friendly unit because the card doesn't require the stun to succeed. Nuances: - Stunned units are valid targets for stun effects unless the card explicitly requires an unstunned unit - Stunning an already stunned unit doesn't trigger "when you stun" effects - The rules explicitly allow targeting a stunned unit with a stun effect

Ruling: Yes, you can play Zhonya's Hourglass hidden to base, but you must reveal it (at reaction speed) before it can save anything. It will save the next unit that dies after being revealed. Sequence: - Play Zhonya's Hourglass hidden to base - Reveal it at reaction speed before a unit dies (you cannot wait until a unit is already dying) - Once revealed and in play, it will save the next friendly unit that dies Nuances: - You never choose which unit to save unless multiple units die simultaneously, in which case you choose which one to save - Zhonya's must be revealed before it can affect anything - you cannot reveal it after damage has been calculated and a unit is dying - The card must be in play (revealed) for its ability to work - There are pending clarifications about whether Zhonya's only affects units at the battlefield where it was hidden

Ruling: Yes, you can play a Hidden card in response to a Temporary keyword trigger because playing a Hidden card is at Reaction speed, and Reactions can be played whenever there is a chain. Sequence: - At start of turn, Temporary starts a chain as a pending item - This opens up an opportunity to play a Reaction - Reveal the Hidden card as a Reaction - Hidden card resolves first, then Temporary resolves Nuances: - The card must have been Hidden on a prior turn, not the current turn - For abilities that require targets (like blue Teemo's damage effect), the ability won't activate if there are no valid targets on the battlefield, even if other parts of the ability text are separated by periods - Purple Teemo will still get the +3 stat bonus when played from Hidden in this scenario

Ruling: Yes, you can play a Hidden unit in response to a Deathknell trigger after your last unit dies in combat. The Deathknell trigger is finalized on the chain after the special cleanup completes but before contested status is removed, allowing you to retain control of the Battlefield and play Hidden units there. Sequence: - Combat damage is assigned - Special cleanup occurs (units die, damage heals) - Deathknell triggers are finalized on the chain - Priority passes and you can react with Hidden units or other Reaction-speed effects - After the chain resolves, contested status is removed - If a unit was played, a new combat begins with the same attacker and defender Nuances: - The "Combat Cleanup" section (440.1) is not itself a cleanup - only the special cleanup invoked within it (440.1.a) is an actual cleanup - Removing contested status (440.1.b) happens after the special cleanup and after any chains resolve - You maintain control of the Battlefield as long as it remains contested, which persists until after Deathknell triggers resolve - This ruling was confirmed to have a rules error that would be corrected in version 1.2 - Kog'Maw's Deathknell damage occurs after units heal because healing happens during the special cleanup, but before the trigger resolves

Ruling: You cannot play Reactions after the final card in a chain resolves because there is no longer a chain. Dazzling Aurora's triggered effect creates a chain that can be Reacted to before it resolves, but not after. Sequence: - Dazzling Aurora's triggered effect goes on the chain - Players can play Reactions while the chain is resolving (starting with the player who owns the trigger) - Aurora resolves and the unit enters play - If the unit has a "When You Play Me" trigger, that creates a new chain with Reaction opportunities - If the unit has no such trigger, no further Reactions are possible Nuances: - Reactions can only be played while there is still at least one item on the chain - After a chain fully resolves, there is no chain and therefore no Reaction window - Priority may pass to the next player during showdown, or remain with the active player during their action phase

Ruling: You cannot play a Reaction spell at the end of your opponent's turn unless there is something to react to (like an End of Turn trigger or something in the chain). Reaction spells can only be played when the chain is not empty and you have priority, not during your opponent's action phase when nothing is happening. Sequence: - Basic spells can only be played during your turn, during your action phase, when the chain is empty - Spells with the [Action] keyword can also be played during a showdown on any player's turn when you have focus and the chain is empty - Spells with the [Reaction] keyword can be played in all the above situations plus when the chain is not empty and you have priority Nuances: - Despite cards saying "(play at any time)" for the Reaction keyword, you still need something to react to - The end of a showdown is often the latest opportunity to play a Reaction on an opponent's turn, but it must be played within the showdown itself - If the active player has no more actions and no End of Turn triggers, the non-active player never gains priority to cast a Reaction spell - You cannot react to the opponent ending their turn itself

Ruling: Yes, you can play the card. Players will do as much as they can. Nuances: - If any player doesn't have a unit, they simply can't kill one, but the card can still be played

Ruling: You can only play cards after combat damage if there is a triggered ability that results from the combat damage. If no triggered ability occurs, the showdown ends immediately. Sequence: - Combat damage is dealt - All units heal - If triggered abilities exist from the damage, they are added to the chain and players can respond - If no triggered abilities exist, the showdown ends Nuances: - A common example is flipping a hidden Teemo in response to a Deathknell trigger to stage a new showdown - Effects like Kog'Maw's triggered ability are added to the chain after units have already healed, so he cannot finish off units damaged in combat

Ruling: Yes, you can play the card even with 1 or 0 cards in hand. You discard as many cards as you can, then draw 2 if Legion is active. Sequence: - Discard as many cards as you can (0, 1, or 2 depending on what's in hand) - Draw 2 cards (if Legion is active) Nuances: - In Riftbound, you do as much as you can when resolving card effects

Ruling: Yes, you can play a card with a discard cost even when you have no cards in hand. Nuances: - If Legion triggers (presumably a draw effect), you still draw 2 cards even if you had no cards to discard.

Ruling: Yes, you can play a card drawn mid-chain in response to cards still on the chain. When your Discipline resolves and you draw a card, if your opponent passes priority while their Discipline is resolving, you can play the newly drawn card (like Deny) on their Discipline. Sequence: - Opponent plays Discipline and passes priority - You play Discipline and pass priority - Opponent passes priority - Your Discipline resolves and you draw a card (e.g., Deny) - Opponent's Discipline begins resolving - Opponent can play a new card or pass priority - If opponent passes priority, you can play the card you just drew on their Discipline

Ruling: Yes, after each element on the chain resolves, there is a window where both players get priority and can play reactions before the next element resolves. Sequence: - The chain begins resolving from top to bottom - After each individual element resolves, both players can add items to the chain - Any newly added cards go on top of the current chain - Resolution continues with the new top element Nuances: - The phrase "the chain ends" when resolution begins is misleading - it only means players can't add things initially, but priority returns after each resolution - In the example: after Consult the Past (2) resolves and draws Discipline, Player B can play Discipline before Consult the Past (1) resolves, placing it on top of the remaining chain

Ruling: Yes, you can play a card that says "up to 2 units" and choose to target 0 units. Nuances: - "Up to 2 units" means 0-2 units, not 1-2 units

Ruling: Yes, you can play multiple copies of the same gear. There is no legendary rule or uniqueness rule that prevents this in Riftbound. Nuances: - The Unique keyword exists in the game, but it only restricts having more than one copy in your deck, not on the board - If you could copy a gear or if your opponent has one out, there's no competition for a "unique slot" on the board

Ruling: Yes, you can play a hidden Fight or Flight in response to a burn spell to move Teemo away before he takes damage, and he will not be damaged because he is no longer a valid target at the battlefield. Sequence: - Opponent casts burn spell targeting Teemo at a battlefield - You play hidden Fight or Flight as a reaction (hidden cards gain Reaction keyword) - Teemo moves away from the battlefield - Burn spell resolves but cannot deal damage because Teemo is no longer "a unit at a battlefield" Nuances: - Fight or Flight normally says "Play on your turn or in showdowns" but gains Reaction while hidden, allowing it to be played at any time a Reaction can be played - The burn spell requires the target to be at a battlefield when it resolves

Ruling: You can play a hidden Zhonya's in response to a Deathknell trigger during combat, but it won't save the unit because the unit is already dead. The Zhonya's will be played to your base instead. Sequence: - Unit dies during combat and Deathknell triggers - You can respond to the Deathknell trigger by playing the hidden Zhonya's - Zhonya's enters your base (not the battlefield) - The unit remains dead and is not saved Nuances: - This only works during combat, where battlefield control is locked until the end of combat - Outside of combat, if the dying unit was your only unit at the battlefield, you immediately lose control of the battlefield and the hidden card gets trashed before you can play it - You play the gear directly to base; there is no recalling involved and you cannot play the gear to the battlefield

Ruling: Yes to both questions. You can play a hidden card from Battlefield B during a showdown on Battlefield A, and you can also play a hidden card from Battlefield B during your turn without any showdowns or chains happening. Nuances: - The card must have been hidden on Battlefield B in a previous turn

Ruling: You cannot play a hidden card on the same turn that you hid it. Nuances: - This timing restriction applies even if you're trying to use the hidden card as a react at a different battlefield than where you hid it - The mechanic works similarly to MTG's Foretell

Ruling: You can play a Hidden card like you would a Base Speed card on your turn (popping it without doing anything), but otherwise you must follow normal Reaction rules. Nuances: - Hidden cards cannot be played on the same turn they were hidden - During showdowns, you need both focus and priority to play reactions - On your turn, you can pop a hidden card without other actions - In a showdown when you have priority, you can play it - On a closed chain when you have priority, you can play it

Ruling: No, you cannot hide a card at a battlefield where you already have a hidden card to implicitly overwrite it. You must first play (reveal) the existing hidden card and let it resolve before you can hide another card at that battlefield. Sequence: - Play and resolve the existing hidden card first - Then you can hide a new card at that battlefield Nuances: - Each battlefield has its own facedown zone which can only contain 1 hidden card per player (except Bandle Tree which allows 2) - You can only hide a card to a battlefield you control - Hiding a card is base speed and does not use the chain - Hidden cards can be played anytime you could play a reaction, starting the turn after it's hidden - Revealing a hidden card counts as playing it (triggers play effects)

Ruling: Yes, the attacker can play action spells like Cleave after the opponent's chain resolves and focus returns to them. A showdown only ends when both players pass in a row without starting a chain. Sequence: - Player A (attacker) starts showdown and can play a spell or pass - Focus goes to Player B (defender) who can play a spell or pass - When a chain closes, focus goes to the next player in turn order - Each focus allows a player to start one chain - Players alternate gaining focus until both players pass in a row - Only then does the showdown end Nuances: - "One chain per focus" is the correct way to think about it - When a chain closes, the next player "gains" focus (not "passes" focus) - this distinction matters because passing focus without playing anything is what closes the showdown - Cleanup happens instantaneously when spells resolve, so units can die mid-showdown before you regain focus - Action speed spells cannot be played during an opponent's chain - you would need reaction speed to respond during their chain

Ruling: Yes, you can play a reaction after one reflexive trigger resolves but before the second one resolves. Sequence: - First reflexive trigger resolves - Players can play reactions - Second reflexive trigger resolves

Ruling: No, you cannot play a reaction at end of turn if there are no end of turn triggers. You can only play reactions when you get priority, which happens in showdowns or when a spell/ability is on the chain. Nuances: - You can play reactions in response to end of turn triggers like Dazzling Aurora or Annie Legend's ability to ready runes - Some keywords are abilities you can react to (like Deathknell and Equip which are activated abilities) while others are passive and cannot be reacted to (like Shield and Assault) - Equip being an activated ability that can be responded to is not widely apparent to players

Ruling: You cannot play a reaction to Brynhir herself being played (she resolves immediately as a unit), but you can play a reaction to her play effect when it's on the chain. Sequence: - Brynhir is played and resolves immediately to the battlefield - Her play effect goes on the chain - Reactions can be played in response to the play effect on the chain - Once the play effect resolves, no more cards can be played that turn Nuances: - Units resolve as soon as they're finalized to the chain, so the unit itself cannot be reacted to - The play effect lingers on the chain separately and can be reacted to

Ruling: Yes, you can play reactions in response to Jinx Legend's triggered ability. The trigger occurs at the start of your turn regardless of hand size, and both players can play reactions at this time. Sequence: - Jinx Legend's "At start of your turn" ability triggers - Both players can play reactions at this time - When the ability resolves, it checks hand size (draws if one or less cards, does nothing if more than one) Nuances: - The hand size only matters when the ability resolves, not when it triggers - This applies similarly to other beginning/end step triggers like Annie's - This gives opponents opportunities to react that they wouldn't normally have during end steps

Ruling: No, you cannot play reaction speed effects during your opponent's turn unless they are responding to something on the chain. Priority only passes during showdowns or when an ability/spell are used, not between phases. Nuances: - Playing a unit without an enter effect does not give your opponent a window to react, as units resolve immediately - Playing a unit with an enter effect does give priority to the opponent - This is different from Magic where instant speed effects can be played between phases or at end of turn

Ruling: No, you cannot play a reaction spell at the end of an opponent's turn without something to react to. You need something to initiate a chain or showdown in order to react during your opponent's turn. Nuances: - If a vanilla permanent (no effects) is played, you cannot respond with a reaction because no effect is on the stack - When a permanent is cast, it goes on the chain and leaves immediately, creating a brief window to react - Once a permanent enters the battlefield (ETB), there is no chain unless it triggered an ETB effect

Ruling: You do not get priority during your opponent's turn unless triggers occur or a showdown happens. Focus passes between relevant players until both pass without doing something; after your opponent plays something and the chain resolves, Focus automatically goes back to you. Sequence: - Player moves units to battlefield and passes Focus - Opponent plays action/reaction spell and chain resolves - Focus automatically returns to the active player - Players continue passing Focus until both pass without action - Then proceed to combat damage step Nuances: - Reaction spells like Consult the Past cannot be played at the end of an opponent's turn without something creating a chain for it to react to - You need triggers or showdown to occur during opponent's turn to gain priority

Ruling: Yes, you can play reaction spells during a showdown even when there is no combat. Both players get an opportunity to play spells (action and reaction speed) during any showdown, which only ends once both players have passed on an empty chain. Nuances: - The showdown chain exists regardless of whether combat actually occurs - Both action speed and reaction speed spells can be played during the showdown

Ruling: You cannot play a reaction spell like Wind Wall without a legal target, even if you want to trigger other effects that care about playing spells. Nuances: - This applies even when you would benefit from playing the spell for secondary effects (such as boosting a unit that gains +1 when you play a spell)

Ruling: Yes, you can play a reaction to Arena's Greatest trigger during any player's beginning phase, not just the first player's. Nuances: - The trigger creates a chain, which allows for reactions to be played in response

Ruling: Yes, you can play reactions when temporary triggers at the start of the beginning phase. Both you and your opponent can react to the temporary trigger on the chain. Nuances: - If you react by playing a new temporary unit (like with Sprite Call), the new unit will not die immediately. The phase trigger for temporary has already passed, so it won't check again until the next turn. - If a temporary unit is saved by an effect like Hourglass, temporary will try to kill it again on the next turn.

Ruling: You can play a second Discipline if you draw it from the first one, but you must pass Focus to your opponent after the first chain resolves before casting the second copy. The Dreaming Tree goes on the chain immediately after Discipline and will resolve accordingly. Sequence: - First Discipline resolves, giving +2 Might and drawing a card - If The Dreaming Tree is the battlefield, it goes on the chain after Discipline and resolves accordingly - After the chain resolves, Focus passes to your opponent - If opponent passes, Focus returns to you and you can cast the second Discipline Nuances: - Your opponent can activate something when they receive Focus between the two Disciplines, which you can react to - Focus only exists during showdowns; outside showdowns only Priority exists - When a player gains Focus, they also gain Priority to start a chain - Priority passes between players to build/resolve chains, but Focus stays with the same player until the chain ends

Ruling: You cannot play any spell that doesn't have a legal target to begin with. Nuances: - This applies to all spells requiring targets, not just Gust specifically

Ruling: You can play a unit directly onto a battlefield you control. You don't move it there; you simply play it there. Sequence: - Control a battlefield - Play a unit directly to that battlefield (it enters exhausted) Nuances: - This can be done during combat after conquering a battlefield if you still have mana remaining - The unit is played exhausted to the battlefield

Ruling: You can only play units directly to battlefields you control. If you don't control any battlefields, you must play the unit to your base. Nuances: - This is a general game mechanic, not specific to any particular card - Pixelborn may have bugs that don't properly enforce this rule

Ruling: You can play a unit directly to a battlefield you control. You do not need to play it to your base first and then move it. Nuances: - You must control the battlefield before playing a unit there, but you can conquer it and play a unit there on the same turn - Units can only be played to your base or a battlefield you control - Viktor legend can play units directly to a battlefield you control, but Viktor champion cards specify "into your base" and cannot - You cannot play units (including Shen or tokens from Sprite Call) to a battlefield you are attacking but do not yet control

Ruling: You cannot play units directly to a battlefield unless you already have control of it. Units must be played to your base first if you don't control the target battlefield. Sequence: - To play a unit directly to a battlefield, you must already have control of that battlefield - Control requires having units present at that battlefield - If you don't control a battlefield, units must go to base first Nuances: - If you gank away from a battlefield you previously controlled, you lose control and cannot play units there anymore - Some units may have text that allows them to be played to battlefields you don't control

Ruling: You cannot play a unit from hand to the battlefield during the showdown. Once the non-combat showdown finishes and your unit still controls the battlefield, you can then play units directly to it. Sequence: - Move a unit to an empty battlefield - A non-combat showdown begins (units don't count as attackers or defenders) - During the showdown, only cards and abilities with Action or Reaction keywords can be played or activated - After the showdown finishes, if your unit is still at the battlefield, you control it - Now you can play units from hand to that battlefield Nuances: - If your opponent casts Zenith Blade and moves one of their units to your battlefield, you won't gain control and a combat showdown will begin immediately after the non-combat showdown

Ruling: Yes, you can play a unit from your hand directly to any location you control, including Battlefields you control. You are not restricted to playing units only at your base. Nuances: - You must control the Battlefield to play units there directly - The rule defining "valid location" was accidentally deleted from the updated rulebook, but the developers confirmed this was a mistake and the rule still applies - Playing a unit from hidden forces you to play it at that Battlefield - Gear can only be played to your base, but units do not have this restriction

Ruling: Yes, you can play units directly to battlefields you currently control, including battlefields you just conquered on the same turn. Nuances: - Moving units to battlefields you control will not initiate a showdown - This applies regardless of when you conquered the battlefield during that turn