Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Yes, a unit with Ganking at a battlefield can attack together in one showdown with other units moving from base to that battlefield. Sequence: - All units involved use their Standard Move Action - Multiple units can move to the same location - They participate in the same showdown together Nuances: - The key is that all units are using their Standard Move Action, which allows multiple units to move to the same location and engage in a combined showdown

Ruling: All Equipment cards in Riftbound currently have an Equip cost, so this situation does not occur in practice. If a card without an Equip cost were ever printed, Weaponmaster would be unable to attach it because the cost cannot be paid. Nuances: - Cards like Last Rites and Blade of the Ruined King do have Equip costs, despite different templating - The templating difference ("Equip [symbol]" vs "Equip - [cost]") is purely a formatting choice: simple power-only costs are included in the symbol, while complex costs (power + additional costs) are spelled out separately - Reminder text formatting can be confusing but doesn't affect the actual rules

Ruling: Yes, you can equip an equipment when playing a creature with Weaponmaster during a reaction/action window. Nuances: - Weaponmaster functions as a trigger on play ability, which can be activated even when the unit is played during a reaction/action window.

Ruling: A unit's might can be reduced to 0 or negative values. Units with negative might are treated as 0 might for interactive purposes (like dealing damage), but remain negative for calculation purposes. A unit with 0 or negative might only dies when it takes damage (non-zero lethal damage), not from having 0 might alone. Sequence: - Might can be reduced below 1 (to 0 or negative) - Negative might is treated as 0 when referenced for effects (like dealing damage in combat) - Negative might remains negative for calculations (like further reductions or increases) - Unit dies only when it has both 0 or negative might AND has taken damage Nuances: - Challenge causes a -2 might unit to deal 0 damage (treated as 0 for interaction) - Discipline leaves a -2 might unit at 0 might, not +2 might (the negative value matters for calculations) - Origins cards often said "to a minimum of 1" as a preemptive measure to prevent confusion, but this wording was removed in Set 2 - 0 might alone is never a lethal condition; the unit must also have nonzero damage to die

Ruling: Yes, triggered abilities use the chain and each player gets an opportunity to react before the ability resolves, starting with the controller of the next ability. Sequence: - Unit with 'when you play me' ability is played - Triggered ability goes on the chain - Players get opportunity to respond (starting with the controller of the next ability) - If no responses, the triggered ability resolves Nuances: - Opponents cannot react after the triggered ability resolves, so they cannot target units or effects created by that ability

Ruling: Yes, Brynhir is a triggered ability that gives the opponent an opportunity to react before it goes into effect as it resolves. However, once Brynhir fully resolves, the opponent cannot use any actions/reactions from their hand. Sequence: - Brynhir's triggered ability goes on the chain - Opponent has opportunity to react with hidden cards before it resolves - Once Brynhir resolves, opponent cannot play cards from hand - Any abilities already on the chain will continue to resolve Nuances: - "Playing a card" refers to the discretionary action of playing from hand, and a card is considered played when it has finished resolving - If attempting a showdown after Brynhir resolves, opponent cannot use actions/reactions from hand

Ruling: Yes, opponents can respond to Bryn Thundersong's trigger with reaction speed cards like Zhonya's Hourglass because it is a 'When' trigger that uses the stack. Sequence: - Bryn Thundersong is played - Bryn's ETB trigger goes on the stack - Opponent can respond with reaction speed cards before the trigger resolves - Once the trigger resolves, opponents can't play cards for the rest of the turn Nuances: - The key distinction is that Bryn uses 'When' language, making it a trigger rather than a replacement effect - ETB (enters the battlefield) triggers can be responded to at reaction speed before they resolve

Ruling: Opponents are allowed to shuffle your deck and can insist on doing so, but they are absolutely not allowed to look at the cards in the deck while shuffling. Sequence: - Player shuffles their own deck - Opponent may shuffle or cut the deck during presentation - Opponent must not look at any cards while shuffling - If opponent appears to be looking at cards, call a judge Nuances: - Looking at secret information during shuffling can result in a warning for violation of secret information rules - Players should look away (at ceiling) or watch their opponent shuffle to avoid any appearance of looking at cards - Shuffling the deck vertically where card faces are visible is suspicious behavior - Pile shuffling can be used to count cards but is not sufficient randomization on its own - Players appear to be allowed to count opponent's deck during presentation to verify legality - If you suspect improper shuffling or deck illegality, call a judge rather than handling it yourself

Ruling: You cannot activate equip abilities while the equipment is attached to a unit. All rules text in the upper box of an equipment card (including the equip ability) is turned off while it is attached. Sequence: - When equipment is attached, lay the topmost card over it so only the effect text (bottom box) and bonus might appear - Everything above that (including equip abilities) becomes inactive - To re-equip, the equipment must first be detached Nuances: - Equipment can still be moved by other card effects even while attached (e.g., Weaponmaster keyword, Jax legend, Fluft battlefield, Angle Shot, Relentless Pursuit, Azir Ascendent's activated ability, Akshan for enemy equipment) - Some effects can detach equipment, allowing you to activate equip abilities again (e.g., Strike Down, Veiled Temple) - Temporary keyword on equipment only triggers during beginning phase if the equipment is unattached

Ruling: Yes, once a Nexus Night promo pack has been given away as a prize, it becomes the property of that person who can sell it or give it back to the store. The store can then use those individual cards however they want, including as tournament prizes. Nuances: - Stores are NOT allowed to open the promo packs themselves and sell the individual cards directly - Stores are NOT allowed to sell the unopened promo packs - Only cards that have been given back to the store by players (after the packs were legitimately awarded) can be resold or given away by the store

Ruling: Players can accumulate multiple byes across Summoner Skirmish events, but they are only able to utilize one bye per Regional Qualifier event. Byes do not expire or get automatically used if you don't attend an event. Nuances: - Only one bye can be used per Regional event, even if you have multiple accumulated - Byes are not consumed if you don't attend a Regional event - Byes persist across multiple Regional events until used

Ruling: Official Riot Riftbound Sleeves with holographic backs violate tournament rules because reflective surfaces can accidentally reveal card information to opponents. The head judge at the event ruled them illegal even when double-sleeved with matte outer sleeves. Nuances: - The rule exists to prevent accidental information leakage through reflections - Different events may have had different enforcement (some players reportedly used them at Houston regionals) - Using matte outer sleeves (double-sleeving) was suggested as a potential solution but was still ruled illegal at this particular event - Head judges have final authority on rulings at their specific events - It's recommended to use proper opaque and matte sleeves for high-level events to avoid disputes

Ruling: Purple Ezreal cannot be used to discount mandatory additional costs like Deflect. Deflect is a mandatory additional cost on spells and abilities that target a unit. Nuances: - You don't have to pay Deflect on triggered abilities, but those abilities will fall off the chain without resolving if you don't pay - Optional additional costs that work with Ezreal currently use the words "as an additional cost" and "may"

Ruling: Yes, reactions can be played in response to Gear activated abilities. Nuances: - The only activated abilities that don't give reaction opportunity are [add] abilities (resource generation abilities)

Ruling: No, sprite tokens cannot be banished and played again later. Tokens cease to exist immediately when moved to any non-board zone, including the banish zone. Nuances: - Tokens can only exist on the board - When a token would move to any zone other than the board (hand, deck, banish, etc.), it ceases to exist as soon as it enters that zone

Ruling: No, Imperial Decree does not change how damage is assigned. You must still apply damage equal to a unit's might before moving on to assign damage to another unit. Nuances: - Imperial Decree doesn't change what counts as "lethal damage" for assignment purposes - Imperial Decree only has delayed triggers that kill units that were dealt damage; it doesn't modify the damage assignment rules themselves

Ruling: Yes, the same battlefield can be scored twice in one turn by different players. The restriction that "a player may only score once per battlefield per turn" applies to each individual player, not to both players collectively. Sequence: - Player A scores Battlefield A by holding it - Player B conquers Battlefield A (e.g., via Ride the Wind) - Player B scores Battlefield A via the conquest Nuances: - Each individual player is limited to scoring any given battlefield only once per turn by either method (holding or conquering) - The restriction does not prevent both players from scoring the same battlefield in the same turn

Ruling: Units at Vilemaw's Lair cannot move to base using any movement effects, including Flash of Foresight, Ride the Wind, Flash, or Charm. The only way to get a unit from Vilemaw's Lair to base is through Recall effects (like Zhonya's Hourglass), which are distinct from movement. Sequence: - Playing movement spells/abilities targeting units at Vilemaw's Lair is legal - The spell/ability resolves successfully - However, the movement itself does not occur due to Vilemaw's restriction - Recall effects bypass this because they are not movement Nuances: - Units can still move between Vilemaw's Lair and other battlefields (including ganking) - Vilemaw's restriction only affects moves to/from base - Playing FoF or similar spells on Vilemaw units is legal but will "whiff" (do nothing) - Once an opponent passes priority after such a spell, no rewind is allowed as information has been gained - Portal Rescue also works as it uses Recall

Generally no. When Vayne moves to an occupied battlefield with no items on the chain, combat is immediately staged and she gains the Attacker designation before either player has priority, making her 5 Might (outside Gust's 3 or less range). However, there is an edge case: if another unit with a triggered ability (like Traveling Merchant) moves to the battlefield first, its trigger goes on the chain. This creates a window where Vayne is at the battlefield but Attacker/Defender designations haven't been assigned yet (because the Showdown cannot open while the chain is pending). In this scenario, you can Gust Vayne as a Reaction while she's still 2 Might, before the chain resolves and the Showdown opens.

Ruling: You can play Reaction cards to start a chain on your turn when you have priority, even with an empty stack. Reactions function as regular actions but can also be used in response to other cards. Nuances: - Hidden cards can be played anytime you have priority, as long as at least one turn has passed since you hid the card - Each ability speed can be used at any of the speeds "above" it (Reactions can be played at Action or Base speed, Actions can be played at Base speed)

Ruling: Yes, you can activate Sun Disc's ability the turn you play it because Sun Disc itself counts as a card played that turn, satisfying the Legion requirement. Sequence: - When you play Sun Disc, it counts as playing a card this turn - Sun Disc's Legion ability becomes active immediately - You can exhaust Sun Disc that same turn to ready the next unit you play - On future turns, you must play another card first before activating Sun Disc's ability Nuances: - Sun Disc's ability is NOT an on-play effect, so it follows the Legion rule that checks "if you have played a Main Deck card this turn" rather than "another card" - You cannot activate Sun Disc without having Legion active - the ability doesn't exist unless you've played a card that turn - The reminder text saying "another" card is technically incorrect for this type of Legion ability

Ruling: Gold tokens only provide power, not energy/resources. Nuances: - Gold tokens cannot be used to add resources to cards

Ruling: You can play reaction spells in response to items on the chain before they resolve - you're adding to the current chain, not starting a new one. Spell cards go to the discard pile after they execute their instructions on resolution, and countered spells are discarded as part of being countered. Sequence: - Resolve the highest chain link - Send that spell to discard - A priority window opens, starting with the person who controls the next item on the chain (if there is a next item) - Either a new card is played or move to resolve the next chain link - Repeat until chain is empty Nuances: - If there is no next item on the chain, there is no priority window - You can target any eligible spell on the chain for counter spells like Defy - This interaction is particularly valuable for cards like Stupefy where you draw a card - you can play the drawn card before more items on the chain resolve

Ruling: No, you cannot cast Defy with no valid targets. The spell fails the legality check before it can be added to the chain. Nuances: - You can Defy your own spell, but only the Defy itself would count as a played spell (the defied spell doesn't count as being played) - If you Defy your own spell to buff something like Ravenbloom Student, you only get +1 from Defy resolving, not from the countered spell - Attempting to cast Defy on an untargetable spell (like Falling Star) would fail the legality check and you'd reveal your card for nothing

Ruling: No, you cannot chain to The Boss's replacement effect. It is a replacement effect (not a triggered ability), which does not use the chain. Sequence: - The replacement effect intercedes during the execution of the kill effect - It alters the execution directly without going on the chain - No priority window opens for reactions Nuances: - The Boss received errata changing the ability from "When" to "If" with "instead" language, making it clearly a replacement effect - The old version with "When" wording caused confusion because earlier rules stated replacement abilities could be triggered abilities - Current rules removed that language, so replacement effects are only passive abilities and never use the chain - Any ability type that uses the chain has an explicit rule stating so (e.g., "Activated Abilities use the chain")

Ruling: In competitive tournaments with deck registration, your game 1 Chosen Champion must always be the same and cannot be changed. In non-competitive tournaments without deck registration, you can choose which version of your Legend to use as your Chosen Champion at the start of each round. Nuances: - The Chosen Champion is part of deck registration and you cannot sideboard before game 1 - In Bo1 formats, you cannot sideboard at all - The ability to choose between Legend versions only applies when deck registration is not required

Ruling: You can decline to pay deflect costs, but only for triggered abilities. You do this by choosing not to put the trigger on the chain in the first place. You cannot decline to pay deflect costs for spells or activated abilities. Sequence: - When a triggered ability would target a unit with deflect, you choose whether to put that trigger on the chain - If you choose not to put the trigger on the chain, you don't have to pay the deflect cost - If you do put the trigger on the chain, you must pay the deflect cost Nuances: - This only applies to triggered abilities (like Leona's stun when attacking, or Icathian Rain's reflexive triggers) - You cannot decline to pay deflect costs for spells (like Hextech Ray) or activated abilities (like Iron Ballista) - This rule was added in version 1.1 of the rules

Ruling: You cannot discard hidden cards once they are hidden on the battlefield zones. You can only discard cards from your hand. Nuances: - The ability to discard depends on where the hidden card is located - Hidden cards on the battlefield cannot be discarded

Ruling: Equip has default timing restrictions and can only be done during your own turn, outside of showdown, and with nothing on the chain. Nuances: - To re-equip during an opponent's turn, you would need a card effect like Angle Shot that specifically allows it, rather than using the standard equip action.

Ruling: No, you cannot float energy from your opponent's turn into your draw step. Every player's rune pool empties at the end of each player's draw phase and at the end of each player's turn. Sequence: - Rune pool empties at end of opponent's turn - Your draw phase begins with empty rune pool - Rune pool empties again at end of your draw phase - You cannot exhaust runes during draw phase unless you have a trigger effect to respond to Nuances: - You can only exhaust runes when playing a card or when you can play reactions - During draw phase (ABCD section), you can only play reactions if there is a trigger to respond to (like temporary or hold effects) - You cannot play action speed cards during the draw phase even if you had energy available

Ruling: Yes, you can float energy when paying for a boss' replacement effect. You can float resources at reaction speed or when a card asks for costs to be paid. Sequence: - Resources can be floated at reaction speed - Resources can also be floated when a card asks for costs to be paid (mid-resolution) - Floated energy empties after your draw step and at the end of the turn Nuances: - You cannot float resources "out of the blue" - it must be at reaction speed or when costs are being paid - The same rules apply to both energy and power

Ruling: Yes, you can activate "Add" abilities (such as floating energy from runes) when paying a cost for a spell like Bullet Time. Nuances: - The Add abilities must be Reaction speed to be used during cost payment - Runes are innately Reaction speed for both their abilities - There is only one known Add effect that isn't Reaction speed

Ruling: No, you cannot normally gain priority during a Hold step to use the runes readied by Annie's ability before scoring occurs. Once Annie's trigger resolves, you cannot use actions during that step. Nuances: - You could use Gust earlier during your turn before passing, but this would require not spending all your energy - If you have another end phase trigger (like Targon's Peak, Temporary, or Jinx), you can gain priority between trigger resolutions and use Gust at that point with the readied runes from Annie

Ruling: Yes, you can give a card that already has Repeat another instance of Repeat. Repeat is a keyword that stacks like any other keyword in the game.

Ruling: Yes, you can save the unit with Soraka and it is still considered that you've paid the cost to equip Blade of the Ruined King. Nuances: - The interaction between killing a unit for the equip cost and saving it with Soraka was intentionally designed, as suggested by the thematic connection between these cards.

Ruling: Yes, you can miss scoring points from holding/conquering battlefields and drawing cards. If no more than a full round cycle has passed and the correct score/draws can be determined, the player gets the missed points/cards. Otherwise, play continues without correction. Sequence: - Determine if the error occurred within the last full round cycle - If yes and the correct amount can be determined, award the missed points or have the player draw the missed cards - If no or it cannot be determined, continue playing without correction Nuances: - This only applies to points from holding/conquering battlefields, not points from card triggers like Ahri, Alluring - If forgetting to draw was advantageous to the player (e.g., near burning out), it becomes a Warning instead of No Penalty - These rules are found in the Tournament Rules document, not the Core Rules

Ruling: Yes, you can move an exhausted unit with effects like Charm. Being exhausted only prevents regular moves, not moves caused by spells or abilities. Sequence: - Charm can move a unit regardless of whether it's exhausted or ready - The unit can be moved between battlefields (e.g., from a base to a battlefield) - Moving a unit to an occupied battlefield triggers a showdown where the moved unit becomes the attacker - If moved on your turn and they win the showdown, they score on your turn and get the hold point at the start of their turn Nuances: - Units moved while ready remain ready after the move (unless the effect exhausts them) - Units moved while exhausted remain exhausted (unless the effect specifically readies them, like Ride the Wind) - Ganking restrictions only apply to regular moves, not effect-based moves - The moved unit becomes the attacker in any resulting showdown

Ruling: No, you cannot move an already-equipped gear to another unit by paying its equip cost. Once a gear (or any card) is attached to something, it loses all text including the equip cost, except for the bottom text. Nuances: - Weapon Master is a card/ability that provides a way to move equipped gears despite this restriction.

Ruling: Yes, you can move multiple units from different origins to the same destination simultaneously, including moving one unit from base and ganking over another unit to attack the same battlefield. Sequence: - Declare the move for multiple units with the same destination - Pay the costs of exhausting the units simultaneously - Both units arrive at the destination Nuances: - The units' origins do not need to be the same - The units' destination must be the same - All movement costs are paid simultaneously

Yes. When you pay Repeat, you can target different spells with each execution. According to a rule, choices made for the additional execution do not have to be the same as choices made for the initial execution. So you can counter one spell with the first execution and a different spell with the second execution from Repeat.

Ruling: No, you cannot pay the equip cost to move equipment between units. An equipped equipment has its text box inactive, so you cannot use its equip ability while it's already equipped. Nuances: - You can only unequip or move equipment with specific card effects that allow it (such as Weaponmaster keyword or effects that directly allow unequipping/reattaching) - The equip ability on the equipment card itself is only active while the equipment is not equipped

Ruling: You can always play Arise regardless of how many Sand Soldiers or equipment you have on board. Arise does not target and only cares about the number of equipment you control to determine how many Sand Soldiers to play. Sequence: - Check number of equipment you control - Play that many Sand Soldiers - Ready up to two of them (intended to be the ones just played) Nuances: - The "ready two of them" effect is intended to only ready Sand Soldiers played by Arise, but as currently written the rules don't technically support this because units aren't played until after the spell resolves, so the ready effect can't affect them - The card will likely receive errata to fix this timing issue, possibly using a delayed passive trigger to cause the first two Sand Soldiers to enter ready

No, you cannot play Fight or Flight in response to Minotaur Reckoner being played. Minotaur Reckoner is a permanent with a passive ability, not a triggered ability. According to a rulle, permanents leave the chain immediately and enter the board, with passive abilities becoming active instantly. There is no reaction window when a permanent is played unless it has a play trigger. A rule says: only provides a reaction window for spells, not permanents. Since Minotaur Reckoner has no play trigger (only the continuous passive 'Units can't move to base'), its passive ability becomes active immediately with no opportunity to respond. You could only react if the permanent had a triggered ability that went on the chain after it entered the board, but that is not the case here.

Ruling: Yes, you can play Reaction spells in response to 'When I Attack' abilities that trigger during a showdown. Sequence: - Showdown is initiated and attacker gains Focus - 'When I Attack' and 'When I Defend' abilities trigger and go on the Chain - Players can respond with Reactions during this Chain - Once the Chain resolves, combat damage occurs (if applicable) Nuances: - The attacker gains Focus at the start of the Showdown, which occurs before the Initial Chain where 'When I Attack' triggers are placed - 'When I Attack' triggers are part of the showdown process, not a separate 'non-combat showdown' - A showdown at an open battlefield (without combat) still follows the same Focus and Chain rules, just without combat damage afterward

Ruling: No, you cannot play Rengar at an open battlefield you're contesting because you are not assigned as an attacker when contesting an open battlefield. Nuances: - Contesting an open battlefield does not count as "attacking" it for card effect purposes

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: 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 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 react by playing your hidden Tideturner from Battlefield B to swap it with your Yasuo on Battlefield A, saving Yasuo and sacrificing the Tideturner instead. Sequence: - Opponent pushes unit to contest Battlefield A where your Yasuo is defending - You react by playing hidden Tideturner from Battlefield B - Tideturner swaps positions with Yasuo - Yasuo is saved, Tideturner is sacrificed in the contest

Ruling: You cannot play reactions to units or gear being played. However, you can play reactions to triggered abilities that result from units/gear being played, and you can play reactions to activated abilities. Nuances: - Units and gear become game objects after being finalized, not chain items - Triggers and spells become chain items that can be reacted to - The distinction is between the permanent itself (unreactable) and abilities it creates (reactable)