Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Yes, moving a unit with Charm ignores the normal rules for moving a unit, so it does not require Flanking. Nuances: - The same principle applies to Dragon's Rage

Ruling: Yes, Charm can move a unit from one battlefield to another battlefield even without ganking present. Nuances: - Charm specifically calls out "standard move" as what it restricts, which means it does not restrict other forms of movement including moving between battlefields.

Ruling: Charm can move a unit from one battlefield to another. It does not have restrictions limiting it to only moving units to and from battlefields.

Ruling: Charm can move a unit to an opponent's battlefield regardless of whether it has Ganking. This will start a combat with the moved unit as the attacker. Nuances: - Ganking only matters for Standard Move actions - Other movement effects follow their printed movement restrictions; otherwise they have none (except illegal locations) - The moved unit is the attacker because it contested the opponent's battlefield

Ruling: Yes, Charm can move a unit without ganking from battlefield to battlefield. Nuances: - Spells and abilities that move a unit don't care about Ganking - Moving a unit via spell or ability will not change the exhausted or ready state of the unit

Ruling: Yes, Charm can move an enemy unit directly from one battlefield to another, even if that unit doesn't have the Ganking keyword. Nuances: - When you use Charm to move an enemy unit to your battlefield, that enemy unit is considered attacking for assault purposes.

Ruling: Yes, Charm can move an enemy unit from battlefield to battlefield without ganking. Nuances: - Ganking only matters for Standard Move (the usual way to move a unit) - Charm is not a Standard Move, so ganking restrictions do not apply

Ruling: Charm can move any enemy unit to any legal location on the board, ignoring ganking restrictions and regardless of whether the unit is rested. The only limitation is that units cannot be moved into an opponent's base. Sequence: - Charm uses "move" rather than "standard move", which bypasses normal movement restrictions - The unit can be moved between battlefields without ganking - The unit can be moved even if rested - If moved into contested territory, it will start a showdown Nuances: - Charm only targets enemy units, not your own units - Units still cannot be moved into another player's base (illegal placement) - Ganking restrictions only apply to "standard move" actions, not to "move" effects in general - The Golden Rule applies: when a card contradicts normal rules, the card takes precedence

Ruling: Yes, Charm and Ride the Wind can move units from one battlefield to another because Ganking only restricts standard moves, not card effects that move units. Nuances: - While legal, this strategy may be frustrating for opponents learning the game and is not recommended for casual play at Nexus Nights events.

Ruling: Yes, you can play Chemtech Enforcer with no cards in hand. Sequence: - Chemtech Enforcer enters the board first - The "When You Play Me" (WYPM) trigger occurs after the unit is already on the board - Since the trigger happens after the unit is in play, having no cards in hand does not prevent playing the unit

Ruling: Yes, Chosen Champion can be changed between games during sideboarding. Nuances: - You can remove the Chosen Champion entirely from your deck during sideboarding and replace it with a different color champion - You can play both champions in your main deck and switch which one starts in the champion zone in games 2/3 without needing to sideboard - The change happens during the sideboarding phase between games

Ruling: No, Cithria's buff cannot be used to pay for Kraken Hunter's power cost. Kraken Hunter's power requirement is a cost that must be paid before the card is played, while Cithria's "when you play" trigger doesn't happen until after Kraken Hunter is played. Sequence: - Kraken Hunter's power cost must be paid first ("as you play me") - After Kraken Hunter is played, Cithria's trigger resolves ("when you play") - The buff from Cithria comes too late to pay for Kraken Hunter's cost Nuances: - If Cithria already has a buff before playing Kraken Hunter, that existing buff can be spent to pay for Kraken Hunter's cost, and then Kraken Hunter will give Cithria another buff when it enters play - Cards with costs cannot benefit from Cithria's buff for those costs, but cards that remove buffs at resolution (like Wildclaw Shaman) can stack beneficially with Cithria

Ruling: Yes, you can layer the interaction so that Cithria of Cloudfield gets buffed from playing Wildclaw Shaman, and then use that same buff to buff Wildclaw Shaman and have it readied. Nuances: - This interaction is not well spelled out in the current rules, but it is the official ruling.

Ruling: You can activate Consult the Past as a reaction to any trigger, spell, or anything that starts a chain. You don't have to wait for your opponent to do something on a specific battlefield. Sequence: - When a unit is played, it goes on the chain but resolves immediately with no window to respond - If the unit has an effect after entering (like an ETB ability), that effect activates and starts its own chain, which you can respond to - Spells linger on the chain, allowing reactions - Permanents (units, gears) leave the chain as soon as they enter and resolve immediately Nuances: - You cannot react to units or gear being played unless they have triggered effects after entering - Permanents only immediately resolve when they are the first item on the chain; if a permanent is on the chain but not as the first item, players can play reactions on top of it - This immediate resolution rule is a technical aspect where units start a chain but resolve with no window for reaction

Ruling: No, Convergent Mutation cannot be played if there is only one friendly unit available. All spells and abilities require legal targets in order to be played. Sequence: - The spell requires two distinct friendly unit targets to be played - Target 1: The first friendly unit whose might increases - Target 2: The second friendly unit (must be "another" friendly unit), whose might is used to determine the size of the increase - Without both valid targets, the spell cannot be played Nuances: - The same unit cannot be selected twice because the spell specifies "another" friendly unit - This applies even if the player wants to play the card solely for other benefits (such as adding might to the trash)

Ruling: Convergent Mutation can only increase a unit's might, not decrease it. If you try to target a second unit with lower might, the first unit's might does not change. Nuances: - The Chinese version of the card says "becomes" instead of "increase" and would allow decreasing (mentioned in errata)

Ruling: Yes, Crackshot Corsair and Warwick can combo together. The triggers happen simultaneously, so you can order them so that Crackshot Corsair's trigger happens first and then Warwick will kill all units at the battlefield with damage on them. Sequence: - Crackshot Corsair's trigger resolves first, dealing damage to a unit - Warwick's trigger resolves second, killing all units at the battlefield with damage on them

Ruling: Cruel Patron cannot be played at a battlefield if the lone unit there is killed as part of the cost. Cruel Patron also cannot be played unless you have a unit to sacrifice. Nuances: - The cost must be payable at the time of playing the card - If paying the cost would eliminate the only unit at the battlefield, the card cannot be played there

Ruling: Yes, Cull of the Weak can be cast when you have no units on board. You can then use another effect to create a unit token after casting, and you would not have to sacrifice a unit since you do as much as you can. Sequence: - Cast Cull of the Weak with no units on board - Use another effect (like Viktor) to create a token - You do not sacrifice a unit because you had none when the effect resolved Nuances: - Cull of the Weak does not target; you choose a unit to kill - If you don't have any units, you do as much as you can - Cruel Patron requires killing a unit as an additional cost (not targeting), so you must have a unit to play it - Cards like Harnessed Dragon and Hidden Blade do target, with different requirements for valid targets

Ruling: Yes, Cull the Weak can be played even if you don't have a unit in play.

Ruling: Yes, Darius can ready himself and gain +2 might when played as the second card in a turn. His effect triggers on playing the second card "this turn," so he sees himself being played. Nuances: - Darius's effect can trigger every turn, not just the turn he was played - When playing two Darius cards in one turn (e.g., on a 10 rune turn), both become ready when the second one is played, and both enter at 7 might (5 base + 2 from effect)

Ruling: Darius cannot pay for accelerate costs on the first card played. The accelerate cost is part of the cost to play the card itself. Sequence: - Paying costs (including accelerate) is part of the Finalize step when playing a card - Darius cannot be activated until after the first card Resolves - Permanents Finalize, then Resolve Nuances: - This limitation specifically applies to the first card played; the ruling implies Darius might work differently for subsequent cards

Ruling: No, Hand of Noxus cannot be used to pay for accelerate costs on turn 1. Hand of Noxus is itself a Legion ability that can only be activated after playing a 2nd card this turn, while accelerate is an additional cost paid when playing the card (not a Legion ability). Sequence: - Accelerate is paid as an additional cost when playing the unit - Costs are paid to finalize an item onto the chain - After finalization, priority passes for reactions (if not a permanent) - Permanents resolve immediately with no reactions and enter ready if accelerate was paid Nuances: - The player who adds an item to the chain always gets priority first - With 2 runes up, you can tap 2, recycle 1, play a red seal, tap Darius then the seal, and play Legion Rearguard accelerated

Ruling: Darius's activated ability generates energy that can be used to pay any energy cost, as long as you've already cast at least one spell during that turn. He functions like an extra rune. Sequence: - Cast at least one spell during your turn - Activate Darius's ability to generate energy - Use that energy from your Rune Pool to pay for energy costs (the number in the white circle) Nuances: - Energy and power are resources that go into your Rune Pool and last for the whole turn, so you don't need to use them immediately - Energy is generated by exhausting runes (or abilities like Darius), while power is generated by recycling runes - "Pay" refers to using resources (energy or power) for costs, not the act of exhausting or recycling runes themselves

Ruling: Darius cannot trigger his ability when played as the third card in a turn, but he can trigger his own ability if played as the second card. Sequence: - Play Darius as the second card in the turn - Darius's ability triggers because a third card can still be played after him Nuances: - Playing Darius as the third card does not trigger his ability since no additional card can be played after him

Ruling: Yes, Dazzling Aurora can summon Champion Units since the card text says "unit" without restriction.

Ruling: No, this does not create a loop. When you conquer, all "when I conquer" triggers from cards currently in trash are declared and put on the chain at that moment. A rocket discarded during the resolution of another rocket's trigger was not in trash when you conquered, so it does not trigger. Sequence: - You conquer with one rocket in hand and one in trash - All triggers from the conquer event (including the rocket in trash) are declared and put on the chain at once - You choose the order your triggers resolve - When resolving the rocket trigger, you may discard a card (the rocket in hand) to get the rocket back from trash - The newly discarded rocket does not trigger because it was not in trash when the conquer event occurred Nuances: - "When I conquer" is a one-time event, not a lasting state - All triggers happen at the moment of conquering, not continuously throughout resolution - If Death Rocket said "while you have a battlefield in control" instead, it would be loopable since that refers to a game state rather than an event

Ruling: Yes, the showdown occurs during the end step phase when Deathbloom Predator is revealed by Dazzling Aurora. Sequence: - Deathbloom Predator is revealed during the end step - The showdown occurs during the end step phase - After the showdown resolves, you continue the end step phase and end your turn - You do not go back to the main action phase

Ruling: Defiant Dance cannot directly kill a unit. It can reduce a unit's might to 0 or below, but a unit needs non-zero damage marked on it to die. Nuances: - Units can have 0 or even negative might values (treated as 0 for most purposes) - The cleanup step that kills units specifically requires damage to be marked on the unit - Effects with "minimum of 1" clauses snapshot the amount of might they are allowed to reduce upon resolution, and that snapshotted value persists for the rest of the turn - When calculating current might, always start from base might, apply increases, then apply decreases - If a unit loses a passive might bonus later in the turn, a snapshotted reduction can cause it to go to 0 or negative

Ruling: No, Defy cannot be played without a spell on the chain because it requires a target. Nuances: - Defy cannot target itself

Ruling: No, Defy cannot be used on Sky Splitter when its cost has been reduced to 0. Effects that check a card's cost only look at the card's printed cost, ignoring any reductions. Nuances: - Cost reductions do not affect abilities that reference a card's cost - The printed cost is what matters for card effects that check cost values

Ruling: Yes, Defy can cancel Bullet Time regardless of how much power is invested. Defy cares about printed costs (the power symbols on the top left of the card), and Bullet Time's X power cost is not a printed cost. Sequence: - If a player plays Bullet Time, there must be a response window before they specify the X amount of power - If Defy is played in response, the opponent does not pay the power cost - If the player already specified the X amount and paid power, it's too late to respond (though you can remind them they should have given a response window) Nuances: - The power cost for Bullet Time is paid at resolution, not when the card is played - Players must provide a response window before dumping power into Bullet Time

Ruling: Yes, Defy can counter Bullet Time even if the player recycles +2 to play it. Defy only looks at the printed/base cost of a card, not any additional costs or modifications. Nuances: - Bullet Time doesn't actually have additional costs; it's a spell that allows you to pay X power after it resolves to gain an effect - The power payment for Bullet Time happens on resolution, not when the spell is finalized - Effects that determine a card's cost always use its base cost, even if that cost is altered or ignored as the card is played - The battlefield choice for Bullet Time is made on cast, but the power payment happens on resolution

Ruling: Defy can counter Hidden Blade regardless of any additional costs like Deadbloom's deflect. Cards only refer to printed costs, not modified costs from additional payments or discounts. Sequence: - Opponent activates Hidden Blade targeting Deadbloom - Opponent must pay the Deadbloom deflect cost (2 power) at time of activation - Defy can still counter Hidden Blade because it only checks the printed cost Nuances: - This applies even when Hidden Blade is played from hidden (which costs nothing) - Deflect is a mandatory additional cost paid at time of activation - Whenever a card asks for the cost of another card, it never considers reductions or increases, only the printed cost

Ruling: Yes, Defy can counter Piercing Light even if you pay repeat costs. Defy and similar counter effects only check the printed cost on the card (2 energy, 1 power), not the total cost including repeat. If countered, you lose all costs paid with no refund. Sequence: - Declare Piercing Light and choose how many times to pay the repeat cost - Pay the total cost: base cost plus any repeat costs chosen - Piercing Light finalizes on the chain - Opponent can respond with Defy (which only checks the printed 2 energy/1 power cost) - If Defy resolves, Piercing Light is countered and none of its effects occur Nuances: - Repeat can normally only be paid once per instance of the keyword - Effects like Temporal Portal can grant additional instances of repeat to a spell - If a spell has multiple instances of repeat (one printed, one granted), you can pay for each separately - All costs are paid when the spell finalizes on the chain, before opponents can respond - Repeat doesn't create multiple spells—it's still one spell that resolves once but executes its effect multiple times

Ruling: Yes, Defy can counter Siphon. Siphon costs 2 energy and 1 power, which meets Defy's requirement of no more than 4 energy and 1 power. Nuances: - Split power costs (like Siphon's blue or yellow power) still count as 1 power for the purposes of Defy's targeting restriction

Ruling: You cannot Defy a card when it is being hidden (it's not a spell being played at that point). You can Defy a hidden spell when it's played from Hidden as a reaction, as long as the printed costs meet Defy's requirements (4 energy or less and 1 rune or less). You cannot Defy non-spell hidden cards or hidden spells with printed costs exceeding Defy's limits. Sequence: - When hiding a card: Cannot be Defied (not playing a spell, doesn't go on stack) - When playing from Hidden: Can be Defied only if it's a spell with printed cost ≤4 energy and ≤1 rune - When casting normally (not from Hidden): Standard Defy rules apply based on printed cost Nuances: - Hidden cards are not public knowledge, so opponents don't know if they're spells or units when hidden - Hiding a card is not considered "playing" a card - The printed cost matters for Defy, not the 0 cost paid when playing from Hidden

Ruling: Yes, Defy can be used to counter spells like Cleave even when they are played outside of showdowns, such as at a player's base. Nuances: - Playing spells before entering showdown can help avoid other counter-effects like Gust, which can only be played at battlegrounds - Playing spells pre-combat allows you to know if they will be countered by Defy before committing to combat, helping you decide whether the combat is still viable - Units that gain bonuses from Assault will have those bonuses already applied if the spell is played before the showdown, making them immune to certain counters that check current Might values

Ruling: Defy cannot counter unit card effects because those aren't spells. There is no ability counter in the game at this time. Nuances: - While hardly any card will prevent abilities from resolving, some cards may negate their effects (e.g., Unyielding Spirit will cause Riptide Rex to deal no damage)

Ruling: No, Defy and Windwall cannot counter play abilities because they specifically counter spells, and play abilities are not spells. Nuances: - To prevent kill effects from play abilities, you can use replacement effects like The Boss or Zhonya's, or move the unit to a different zone with effects like Retreat - If a play ability has a target restriction (e.g. "a unit at a battlefield"), you can cause it to whiff by making the unit no longer a legal target - Harnessed Dragon's kill ability does not have the "at a battlefield" restriction, so moving the unit out of the battlefield won't help

Ruling: Defy can target any valid spell on its chain, not just the most recently played one. An opponent cannot avoid Defy by playing a cheap spell followed by an expensive one. Nuances: - The chain resolves one item at a time, not all at once - After each spell resolves, priority is given to players before the next spell resolves - A player retains priority after playing a spell until they explicitly pass priority - A player can play multiple reactions while holding priority without passing

Ruling: Yes, Discipline can target Shen. When Shen is played as a reaction, he immediately exits the chain and enters play as a unit, making him a valid target for Discipline played in the same chain. Sequence: - Shen is played as a reaction and goes to the chain - Shen immediately exits the chain and comes into play as a unit (no player can react to this) - Discipline can then be played and target Shen Nuances: - During a Showdown, if Shen is the only item in the chain, focus passes to the other player after he's played, allowing them to use Actions before Discipline can be cast

Ruling: Yes, Divine Judgment can be cast regardless of whether your opponent has 2 cards in hand or any gear. The choices are made on resolution and it doesn't target anything, so there are no requirements for what players must have when casting it. Sequence: - Divine Judgment is cast (no requirements needed) - On resolution, choices are made - Each player chooses units and gear (they don't have to control them) - Players can choose the same units as each other - Excess runes and cards in hand are recycled Nuances: - The units/gear chosen don't have to be ones controlled by the player making the choice - they can choose their opponent's units - Players can choose the same units as each other (unlike King's Edict which has a clause preventing this) - If you cast Divine Judgment with 4 units and your opponent has none, you keep those 4 units and they recycle their excess resources

Ruling: Divine Judgment can and must choose enemy units if necessary. You must choose 2 units total (not "may" or "up to"), and the card does not specify friendly/enemy units only. Sequence: (when played on your turn) - Active player (you) selects 2 units first - If you control fewer than 2 units, you must select opponent's units to reach 2 - Opponent then selects 2 units from the remaining unchosen units - All units not selected are destroyed Nuances: - You cannot select the same unit twice, but your opponent could choose units you already selected - Divine Judgment does not target (per rule about objects chosen in whole or in part by other players) - Since it doesn't target, units can be removed in response without causing the spell to fizzle

Ruling: Yes, you can move an opponent's unit to their own base and have it fight another unit there. Units cannot be moved to a base that isn't theirs (e.g., you cannot move opponent 1's unit to opponent 2's base). Nuances: - You can play Dragon's Rage to move a unit to an empty base because the errata made the second part of the card a reflexive trigger (meaning the damage portion only happens if there's a valid target, but isn't required to play the card).

Ruling: No, you cannot target a unit that is already in a location and move it to that same location. You must move the unit to a different location. Nuances: - This rule applies to all cards that have "move" as part of their effect

Ruling: No, Dragon's Rage cannot target a unit if there is no actual movement because you cannot move to where you already are. Sequence: - Dragon's Rage requires the target to move to a destination - If there is no move/destination, the reflexive trigger does not activate - You cannot move a unit to its current location Nuances: - While nothing explicitly forbids targeting the same location, the lack of a "destination" means the card's reflexive trigger will not work

Ruling: No, you get one opportunity to pay the cost per first time Draven is declared attacker or defender in a combat. You need multiple combats in the same turn to stack the bonus one at a time. Sequence: - Draven's triggered ability triggers the first time he gains the attacker or defender designation each combat - When you resolve his triggered ability, you can pay the cost to get +2 power - To use the ability multiple times in one turn, you need multiple separate combats Nuances: - The ability can be used at any point during combat when it triggers, not just at the start

Ruling: Yes, Draven's "may" ability is decided when his trigger resolves, which happens after Reaver's Row resolves. The defender's decision to retreat comes first, then the attacker decides whether to pump Draven. Sequence: - Reaver's Row resolves and defender decides whether to retreat - Draven's attack trigger resolves and attacker decides whether to use the "may" ability Nuances: - Attack/Defend abilities trigger the first time a unit is assigned as attacker or defender per combat - Units can show up late to combat (such as being moved by Tideturner during actions) and still use their attack/defend abilities

Ruling: Dreaming Tree can be activated once per turn per player, meaning it can be activated on your turn and again on your opponent's turn. Nuances: - "Once per turn" means once per player's turn, not once per turn cycle - There is no "half turn" system in Riftbound