Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: You do not need to control the Dreaming Tree battlefield to get the draw trigger. As long as you have a unit at the battlefield and select it as a target for a spell or ability for the first time in a turn, you will draw a card. Sequence: - Attack into the Dreaming Tree battlefield with your unit - Target your attacking unit with Cleave (or another spell) - If this is the first time this turn you've chosen a friendly unit there with a spell, draw 1 card Nuances: - The card was errataed to change "you" to "a player" to clarify that any player can trigger the effect when targeting their own units at the battlefield, regardless of who controls it - This interaction is consistent with how other battlefields work (e.g., Trifarian War Camp providing +1 might to units there regardless of battlefield control)

Ruling: Yes, you need to have at least one gear on board to use this card. The card requires a valid target to enter the chain. Nuances: - When the spell resolves, you can choose whether or not to actually destroy the targeted gear - If the card said "Kill up to one gear" instead, you could play it without having a gear on board

Ruling: Yes, you need to pay deflect when targeting with Ahri Inquisitive's triggered ability. However, you can decline to pay this cost, in which case the triggered ability will cease to exist and be removed from the Chain before becoming a Chain Item. Sequence: - Ahri's triggered ability goes on the Chain - If targeting incurs a deflect cost, you may decline to pay it - If you decline, the ability is removed from the Chain and does nothing - If you pay, the ability stays on the Chain and resolves normally Nuances: - While deflect itself is a passive ability, when it creates a cost for a triggered ability, players may decline to pay that cost under the rule allowing players to decline costs for triggered abilities

Ruling: Yes, you pay the deflect cost twice when Falling Star targets the same unit. Nuances: - This applies specifically to the case where Falling Star's multiple instances of damage target the same unit

Ruling: Equip, Weapon Master, and Quickdraw are three distinct ways to attach gear with different costs. Quickdraw has no equip cost (you only pay the gear's cost), Weapon Master costs equip cost minus 1 power, and Equip costs the full equip cost. Sequence: - Equip: Activated ability at base speed, pay full equip cost - Weapon Master: Triggered ability when you play the unit (at unit's speed), pay equip cost - 1 power - Quickdraw: Triggered ability when you play the gear (reaction speed), no equip cost Nuances: - Quickdraw gives the gear reaction speed, allowing it to be played during appropriate reaction timing windows (including opponent's turn)

Ruling: You reveal battlefields before the dice roll and before choosing turn order. Sequence: - Reveal Legend - Reveal Chosen champion - Reveal Battlefields - Choose turn order - Mulligans Nuances: - The battlefield you pick in game 1 is supposed to be done without the knowledge of who's going to go first - You cannot roll a dice before sitting at the table to determine who will choose turn order, because then you could pick a battlefield depending on that knowledge

Ruling: When you play a gear with Quick Draw from your hand, you pay only the play cost (energy and recycle). The gear attaches for free via Quick Draw's triggered ability. You do not pay the equip cost for this initial attachment. Sequence: - Pay the play cost (energy and recycle) to play the gear from hand - Quick Draw triggers when the gear enters play - Attach the gear to a unit you control for free - Later, if unattached, you can use the equip ability as a base speed action to attach it to a different unit (paying the equip cost) Nuances: - Quick Draw and Equip are two separate abilities that both attach the gear - Quick Draw is a Reaction with a triggered ability; Equip is an activated ability usable only at base speed - You cannot use the equip ability while the gear is already attached to a unit - The top text box of equipment (including equip abilities) is disabled while the gear is attached

Ruling: "Cost" in card text always means printed cost only. It does not include additional costs or repeat costs. Nuances: - Cards like "Riposte" that increase cost only affect the printed cost, not additional or repeat costs - Cards like "Yordle Explorer" do not trigger even if a card like "Corina Veraza" is accelerated, because acceleration modifies the printed cost

Ruling: 'Chosen Champion' refers to all cards with the same name as your chosen champion, not just the specific card separated at the start of the game. Nuances: - This applies regardless of whether the card came from your champion zone or from other zones (like your deck)

Ruling: The board does not include the trash pile. It consists only of the base and battlefield zone. Nuances: - According to the comprehensive rules, the board specifically consists of: Base, Battlefield Zone (which includes Facedown Zone and Legend Zone) - Trash is a separate public zone that is not part of the board

Ruling: To fulfill an "if you do" condition, you must fully perform the exact action described. Making the choice to perform an action is not sufficient if the action does not fully resolve. Nuances: - If you choose to ready an already ready unit, this does not fulfill an "if you do" condition because the action cannot be fully performed - In the hypothetical example, choosing to kill a gear that is then saved by another effect would not fulfill "if you do" because the gear did not actually die

Ruling: When you pass priority, it always counts as passing without adding anything to the chain, regardless of whether you added items to the chain before deciding to pass. If both players pass consecutively without either adding anything during their respective passes, the chain resolves. Sequence: - Player A adds one or more items to the chain, then passes priority - This counts as passing without adding items - Player B receives priority - If Player B also passes without adding items, the chain resolves - If Player B adds an item to the chain, the cycle resets and both players must pass consecutively again Nuances: - The game is designed to prevent "testing the waters" by waiting for opponent reactions before committing to plays - Players hold priority by default, so passing is an explicit decision - The 1.0 rules were clearer on this point, stating "If all Relevant Players have passed once in sequence, nothing else can be added to the Chain and the Chain ends"

Ruling: 'Pay 1 Red' means pay 1 energy AND 1 power (red). The '1' denotes an extra energy cost, and the red symbol denotes the power cost. Sequence: - Exhaust a rune of any color (to pay the 1 energy) - Recycle a red rune specifically (to pay the red power cost) Nuances: - If a card only wants power to be paid, the syntax does not include the '1' in the cost

Ruling: No, "when I attack" only triggers during Combat, which doesn't happen when you move to an empty battlefield or a battlefield you already control. Nuances: - Does not trigger when moving to an empty battlefield - Does not trigger when moving to a battlefield you already control

Ruling: Yes, winning combat triggers abilities even if the Combat Damage Step is skipped. Combat is still resolved in the Resolution Step, and as long as your unit remains on the battlefield after combat (or you score the conqueror point if attacking), you win combat. Sequence: - Combat starts - Combat Damage Step can be skipped if there are no opposing units - Combat still resolves in Resolution Step - If your unit is on the battlefield after combat resolves, you won combat Nuances: - For attackers: you win if you score the conqueror point - For defenders: you win if you keep control of the battlefield - Combat damage occurring is not required for winning combat

Ruling: 'You' on battlefield cards refers to the controller. However, Dreaming Tree specifically works for any player, not just the controller. Nuances: - Dreaming Tree was changed to work for both players - Battlefields are intended to work for both players since both play into it - Other battlefield cards that say 'you' refer only to the controller unless otherwise specified

Ruling: Yes, Darius triggers his effect if he himself is the second spell of the turn. Nuances: - This ruling is confirmed in Riot's official Riftbound Origins FAQ document.

Ruling: No, Adaptatron must be the unit doing the conquering for its effect to trigger. If you already have hold on a terrain, moving Adaptatron there is just unit movement, not a conquer. Nuances: - Conquering only occurs when you first establish hold on a terrain - Moving a unit to a terrain where you already have hold does not count as conquering

Ruling: Adaptatron only lets you kill a gear. If there's no gear to target, you can't fulfill the condition and the buff does not occur. Nuances: - The card says "a gear" not "all gear", which requires at least one valid target to fulfill the condition

Ruling: Conquering only occurs when you gain control of a battlefield through winning a showdown, not by simply moving onto an uncontested battlefield. You must score the battlefield through conquering (whether gaining a VP or drawing because you can't get the final VP) to trigger conquer effects like Adaptatron's. Sequence: - Win a showdown to gain control of a battlefield - If you haven't scored that battlefield this turn, this counts as conquering - Conquering triggers score effects even if you don't gain a point (e.g., at final VP) - Simply moving onto an open battlefield you already scored does not count as conquering Nuances: - "Scoring a battlefield" is not strictly the same as "gaining a point from scoring that battlefield" - You can conquer even if you can't gain a point (e.g., when it's your last point and you haven't scored all battlefields) - Effects that prevent "scoring points" prevent gaining points from conquering/holding, but not the conquering/holding actions themselves

Ruling: Ahri Legend does not target because you never choose which units are affected - it automatically applies to all attacking units. You do not need to pay deflect costs for Ahri Legend's ability. Sequence: - When a unit attacks, Ahri Legend's ability triggers - The ability goes on the chain as a separate instance for each attacker - Each attacking unit gets -1/-1 without targeting - This happens every time units attack that turn Nuances: - Ahri Legend does not target, but the blue Ahri Champion card does target and would require paying deflect costs - The ability creates one instance per attacker that goes on the chain - Since it doesn't target, deflect costs do not need to be paid

Ruling: Ahri Legend's ability triggers individually for each enemy unit that attacks. When multiple units attack together, the ability triggers multiple times (once per attacking unit) and each attacking unit gets their might decreased. Sequence: - Each attacking unit is individually declared as an attacker - Ahri Legend's ability triggers separately for each attacker - Each trigger resolves individually, decreasing that attacker's might Nuances: - The ability does not require the enemy to attack alone (unlike Master Yi's defense ability which specifies "attacks alone") - If 3 units attack, the ability triggers 3 times

Ruling: Ahri Nine-Tailed Fox's ability triggers separately for each enemy unit that attacks a battlefield she controls, giving each attacking unit -1 Might (to a minimum of 1 Might). Sequence: - When an enemy unit attacks a battlefield Ahri controls, her triggered ability activates - The ability triggers separately for each attacking unit - Each trigger gives -1 Might to one unit - The Ahri player must announce the trigger when it happens (when combat damage occurs is acceptable timing) Nuances: - This is a triggered ability (indicated by "when"), not a passive ability, so it must be announced - If the trigger is not announced before it would affect the game in a visible fashion, it can be considered a missed trigger - The ability can apply more than once per turn since it lasts until end of turn - The wording "an enemy unit" means each individual unit triggers the ability separately, not that only one unit total is affected

Ruling: Ahri Nine-Tailed Fox's legend ability triggers separately for each attacking enemy unit, giving each one -1/-1. You never make a choice about which unit to target. Sequence: - When enemy units are designated as attackers - Ahri's ability triggers once per attacking unit - Each trigger goes on the chain separately - Each attacking unit receives -1/-1 from its corresponding trigger Nuances: - This differs from Inquisitive Ahri, which triggers only once "when I attack or defend" and requires choosing a single target unit - The wording "when an enemy unit is attacking give IT -1/-1" causes the multiple triggers, as it references each individual unit being designated as an attacker

Ruling: Yes, Ahri needs to recycle a rune to target a unit with deflect using her 'When I defend give a unit -2' ability. If you cannot recycle a rune (because you have recycled all of them), you cannot use Ahri's ability on that unit with deflect. Nuances: - Deflect requires you to pay the power cost to target the unit - The inability to pay the cost (no runes to recycle) prevents the ability from being used on that target

Ruling: Ahri's Alluring character ability affects only one unit when multiple units move to a showdown at her battlefield. Her leader ability affects all units you move to a battlefield she controls. Sequence: - When you move a unit to the battlefield Ahri is occupying, at the beginning of the showdown, the opponent declares which unit is targeted by Alluring Nuances: - The character ability (Alluring) targets a single unit - The leader ability applies -1 to each unit attacking a battlefield Ahri controls

Ruling: Ahri's ability applies to all enemy Units attacking a battlefield you control. It does not target, so it does not trigger Deflect. Sequence: - When an enemy Unit attacks a battlefield you control, Ahri's triggered ability goes on the Chain - If the same Unit attacks multiple times, the ability triggers each time and the effects stack - The ability can be responded to with reaction spells since it uses the Chain Nuances: - This is a triggered ability (not a passive ability), so it goes on the Chain and can be reacted to - Triggered abilities are not spells - If a Unit is moved into combat after combat has started (e.g., with Zenith Blade), Ahri's ability will trigger for that new attacker

Ruling: Ahri's legend ability triggers separately for each attacking enemy unit. If 5 units attack, all 5 units get -1. Sequence: - When multiple units attack, the ability triggers once for each attacking unit - The ability goes on the chain separately for each attacker - Each attacking unit receives the -1 effect Nuances: - The singular wording "when an enemy unit attacks" does not limit it to one trigger - it triggers individually for each unit that attacks - The ability does not target (no choice is made) - There is a different blue champion version of Ahri (Ahri, Inquisitive) with a similar ability that only affects a single unit, which sometimes causes confusion

Ruling: You can only respond to Yasuo's attack trigger with a reaction, not an action card. Ahri's legend ability reduces Yasuo's might before his attack trigger resolves, reducing the ability damage from 6 to 5. Sequence: - When Yasuo attacks, "when I defend" abilities trigger last on the stack - "When I defend" abilities resolve first (reverse order) - Ahri's legend ability resolves, reducing Yasuo's might by 1 - Yasuo's attack trigger then resolves with reduced might Nuances: - If Yasuo is moved with Fight or Flight while hidden, his attack trigger won't go off because the target "an enemy unit here" becomes invalid ("here" refers to Yasuo's location)

Ruling: Yes, Ahri's legend ability activates even when she is exhausted. Ahri does not need to exhaust to activate her ability. Nuances: - Triggered abilities outside of the board self-describe their context - if Ahri didn't trigger when exhausted, the ability would explicitly state that requirement - Being exhausted does not remove triggered abilities from cards unless the exhaustion is part of the ability's condition

Ruling: Ahri's legend effect does not target and therefore does not require paying deflect costs when a unit with deflect attacks. Sequence: - When an enemy unit attacks a battlefield Ahri controls, the trigger condition identifies "an enemy unit" - The effect references "it" (the attacking unit) but this is determined by the game state, not player choice - Since "enemy unit" appears in the trigger condition and "it" is programmatically decided rather than chosen by a player, neither constitutes a target Nuances: - This differs from blue Ahri (Ahri Inquisitive), which does target and would require paying deflect costs - The player controlling the attacking unit is choosing to move into that battlefield; Ahri's controller is not actively choosing which unit to affect - Similar effects like Mask of Foresight also do not target for the same reason

Ruling: Yes, Ahri's on-hold point effect counts toward the winning condition. Characters that grant you a point, such as Ahri or Tryndamere, are not restricted from providing the final winning point. Nuances: - The only restriction for the winning point is that it cannot come from conquering a battlefield unless all battlefields have been scored - Multiple Ahris holding battlefields can each trigger their effect on the same upkeep - Multiple Ahris can be on the same battlefield and each will grant a point

Ruling: Ahri's ability applies to all units on the battlefield, triggering individually for each one of them. When a new unit joins combat later in the showdown, Ahri's ability will trigger again for that newly joined attacker. Sequence: - Ahri's ability triggers during the initial when attacking/when defending chain for all units present - If a unit joins combat later via a reaction effect, Ahri's ability triggers again specifically for that new unit - The new trigger hops on the chain when the new unit joins Nuances: - The ability triggers once per unit, not once total per combat - Units that join combat after the initial chain still cause Ahri's ability to trigger

Ruling: Ahri, Nine-Tailed Fox (Legend) gives -1 might to all units attacking her battlefield. Ahri, Inquisitive only targets one unit. Sequence: - When an opponent's unit is assigned as an attacker to Ahri Legend's battlefield, her trigger goes on the initial chain (before players can play actions) - The -1 might applies to all attacking units at that time - If a new unit joins combat later (e.g., via Ride the Wind after the initial chain resolves), Ahri Legend triggers again for that new unit - The new trigger starts a new chain that players can respond to with reactions Nuances: - Ahri Legend can trigger multiple times in one combat if new attackers are assigned after the initial chain - Ahri, Inquisitive only triggers once per combat - Ahri Legend's trigger occurs during the initial chain, but once on the chain, players can respond with reactions - When a unit joins combat via an action like Ride the Wind, it doesn't gain the attacker designation until that action resolves, so Ahri's trigger starts a new chain afterward

Ruling: Anivia Primal deals 3 damage to each enemy unit individually. Nuances: - This can be compared to Volibear, Furious for similar templating

Ruling: Champion units need to be on the board for any of their effects to take place. Only legends grant their effects from their off-board zone. Nuances: - In Annie's case, Dark Child (her legend) grants effects from the off-board zone, but Annie Fiery herself must be played to the board for her champion effects to activate.

Ruling: Annie's ability only increases damage for spells and abilities that already deal damage. However, if a card explicitly states "deal 0 damage," then it would deal 1 damage with Annie's bonus. Nuances: - The ability specifies "bonus" damage and states "each instance of damage they deal is increased by 1," indicating the card must already deal damage to benefit - The hypothetical edge case of a card that explicitly says "deal 0 damage" would be increased to 1 damage, though such cards may not exist in practice

Ruling: Arcane Shift requires valid targets for both parts of the effect (a friendly unit to blink AND an enemy unit to deal 3 damage to) in order to be played on the chain. You cannot play it if there is no enemy unit at a battlefield. Nuances: - Arcane Shift is not a reflexive trigger because it does not contain the phrase "do this" after "then" - If a target becomes invalid after the spell is on the chain (e.g., killed by Hidden Blade in response), there is no fizzle in Riftbound - you simply do as much as you can (blink the friendly unit but don't deal 3 damage) - This follows the same principle as other spells like Stupify, where you cannot play them just to get partial effects if all targets aren't valid

Ruling: Assault is a passive ability that functions as "While I am an attacker, I have +X Might" and applies whenever the unit has the Attacker designation. Attack triggers ("When I attack...") can only trigger once per combat per unit, but they will trigger the first time a unit gains the Attacker designation even if it enters combat late. Sequence: - Attacker designations are checked at the start of combat - Attacker designations are also checked during every cleanup step - When a unit gains the Attacker designation for the first time in a combat, attack triggers go on the chain - Assault bonuses apply continuously while a unit is an attacker Nuances: - Attack triggers can only become fulfilled once per combat, even if a unit gains and loses the Attacker designation multiple times - Units that enter combat late (after initial attack designation) will have their attack triggers fire during the cleanup step when they first gain the Attacker designation

Ruling: Assault does not increase a unit's might when moving into an unoccupied battlefield because moving into an unoccupied battlefield begins a non-combat showdown, and units only gain attacker or defender designation during combat. Sequence: - Moving a unit into an unoccupied battlefield begins a non-combat showdown - Without combat, units don't have attacker or defender designation - Assault is a passive ability that is only "on" (active) when the unit is an attacker - Since the unit isn't an attacker in a non-combat showdown, Assault doesn't increase the unit's might Nuances: - The unit still has Assault as an ability, but it doesn't provide the might bonus - Assault is a passive ability, not a triggered ability, so it's either "on" or "off" and cannot be responded to - If a unit with Assault moves to an occupied battlefield (creating a combat), then Assault becomes active and provides the might bonus

Ruling: Assault does not apply when attacking an open battlefield because there are no attackers or defenders in an open showdown. When attacking an occupied battlefield, Assault applies as soon as the unit is designated as an attacker, so Vayne would have 5 might and cannot be targeted by Gust. Sequence: - When attacking an occupied battlefield, units are designated as attackers - Assault applies during a specific step of the showdown start - The might increase from Assault counts during the showdown - Gust checks the current might of the unit, which includes the Assault bonus Nuances: - Assault is a passive/continuous ability that applies (not activates or triggers) when conditions are met - In open showdowns (attacking open battlefields), there are no attackers or defenders, so Assault does not apply

Ruling: Assault and Shield are conditional passive abilities that do not use the chain. They apply immediately based on the game state without using the chain. Nuances: - Assault and Shield are indicated by conditional keywords "while" or "if" - Example: Assault X grants +X attack while the unit is an attacker - Since they don't use the chain, opponents cannot respond to them before they take effect

Ruling: Assault is a passive ability that applies immediately and continuously while a unit is an attacker. The opponent cannot respond with Gust to remove the Assault bonus if the unit is already attacking. Sequence: - Unit becomes an attacker - Assault passive applies immediately - Opponent cannot use Gust to remove the Assault bonus at this point Nuances: - Assault is not a trigger that goes on the chain; it is a passive effect that applies for as long as the unit has attacker status

Ruling: Assault does not activate when moving to an empty battlefield. Nuances: - Assault is a passive ability (on or off), not a trigger

Ruling: Teemo Strategist will never trigger from Ava Achiever. Ava Achiever lets you play a card that has the Hidden keyword from your hand, but does not let you hide a card. Nuances: - This interaction was the same both before and after the Teemo Strategist errata

Ruling: Azir's ability does not exhaust units when it moves them. Only the standard move action exhausts units; "move" as a game action triggered by abilities does not cause exhaustion. Nuances: - This applies to all abilities that move units (like Fight or Flight or Charm) - If you use an ability/effect to move a unit, it doesn't exhaust - If you move a unit yourself using the standard move action, it exhausts

Ruling: Back to Back requires two valid targets to be played. You cannot cast it if you only control one friendly unit. Nuances: - The card text says "give two friendly units" without "up to" language, making both targets mandatory - Cards like Flash that say "up to 2" do not require the maximum number of targets - If one target becomes invalid before resolution, the spell still resolves on the remaining valid target (do as much as you can applies at resolution) - First Mate works differently because the readying effect is triggered by an ability after First Mate is already played, not a targeting requirement for playing the card itself

Ruling: Back-Alley Bar does not trigger Blade Dancer because Blade Dancer requires YOU to choose a friendly unit, but Back-Alley Bar is doing the targeting, not the player. Nuances: - The distinction is between player-initiated targeting versus automatic card effects doing the targeting

Ruling: Yes, Baited Hook uses the Might the unit had at the moment it was killed, so it does take into account the +1 from Trifarian War Camp. Nuances: - The bonus from Trifarian War Camp is included because Baited Hook checks the unit's Might at the moment of death, not its base Might

Ruling: Baited Hook looks at the current might of the unit it kills (including any buffs or modifications), but looks at the base/printed might of the unit it fetches from your deck. Nuances: - If the targeted unit is not actually killed (e.g., prevented by Zhonyas/Sett Legend), it's considered null, and null is not 0, so you cannot pull a 1-might unit - If the unit no longer exists (moved to hand, died before Baited Hook resolves), the same null rule applies - Current might includes temporary buffs like Trifarian War Camp, Buff keyword, or any one-turn +might effects