Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Lux's ability triggers when you play a spell, regardless of whether the target becomes invalid. However, if the spell is countered, Lux will not trigger. Sequence: - When a spell's targets become illegal, the spell still resolves (ignoring impossible instructions), and Lux triggers - When a spell is countered, the spell does not resolve, and Lux does not trigger Nuances: - A spell with invalid targets due to effects like Retreat still counts as resolving, just with some instructions ignored - Countering a spell (like with Wind Wall) prevents resolution entirely, which prevents Lux from triggering

Ruling: Lux's legend ability triggers after the spell has resolved. In Riftbound, "play" means "resolve." Nuances: - If a spell is negated (such as with Windwall) and doesn't resolve, Lux doesn't draw and the spell wasn't played.

Ruling: Moving by an effect is not a standard move. Only the standard move requires you to exhaust the unit. Nuances: - Units can be moved by effects regardless of their state (ready or exhausted) to any place unless stated otherwise

Ruling: Mageseeker Warden does not prevent units with "I enter ready" from entering ready. These units come into play already readied rather than readying while on board. Nuances: - Mageseeker Warden's "can't ready" only prevents the transition from exhausted to ready for units already on board - "I enter ready" abilities apply before the unit is on the board - This same logic means Mageseeker doesn't counter effects like Magma Wurm's ability or Accelerate - Mageseeker only affects effects that explicitly untap an exhausted unit (like Mistfall, Wallop, First Mate)

Ruling: No, Mageseeker Warden does not prevent units from entering ready via Sun Disc. Mageseeker only prevents the action of readying (rotating an exhausted unit to ready), not units that enter the battlefield already in a ready state. Sequence: - Units normally enter the battlefield exhausted - Sun Disc (like Accelerate) causes the unit to enter ready instead - The unit is never seen as exhausted, so there is no readying action to prevent - Mageseeker Warden cannot interact with this because no readying occurs Nuances: - Readying is specifically defined as the action of rotating a card 90 degrees from exhausted to ready - Entering ready is not the same as being readied - the unit never transitions from exhausted to ready - This works the same way as Accelerate, which has explicit rules stating it doesn't interact with abilities affected by units becoming ready - Sun Disc uses the same functional wording as Accelerate ("enters ready" rather than "ready it")

Ruling: Mageseeker Warden does not prevent units from entering the board ready. It only prevents exhausted units from being readied. Sprite tokens and all accelerated units enter ready and are not affected by Mageseeker Warden. Thousand Tail Watcher is also not affected because it does not "ready itself" in the way that triggers Mageseeker's ability. Nuances: - Entering ready is different from readying a unit - there is never a time where an accelerated unit is exhausted if the accelerate cost is paid - Accelerate does not interact with or trigger abilities that are affected by units becoming ready - Darius Trifarian's ability works differently because it explicitly readies itself

Ruling: Mageseeker Warden does not stop Accelerate or Sprite tokens from entering ready. Nuances: - Anything that enters ready is not affected by Warden's ability that prevents spells and abilities from readying enemy units and gears

Ruling: Mageseeker Warden does not stop Accelerate from working. Accelerate causes a unit to enter ready, which is different from readying a unit. Nuances: - Mageseeker Warden prevents abilities from readying enemy units, but does not prevent units from entering ready - This same principle applies to other effects like Vayne and Confront that make units enter ready rather than readying exhausted units

Ruling: Mageseeker does not stop Vayne or other Accelerate units from entering play. Mageseeker does not prevent units from entering ready. Nuances: - Mageseeker's effect does not interact with Accelerate mechanics - Units entering ready are not blocked by Mageseeker

Ruling: No, Mageseeker does not prevent Leona Zealot from entering play ready. Nuances: - Mageseeker only prevents exhausted units from being readied - Mageseeker does not prevent units that were never exhausted from entering play in a ready state

Ruling: No, Magma Wurm does not see itself because the card text specifies "other" friendly units. Nuances: - If the card said "friendly units enter ready" without "other," it would see itself because passive abilities become active before a unit enters the board exhausted - The timing works this way: card text becomes active first, then the unit enters the board, so self-referencing enter effects can work if not restricted by "other"

Ruling: Mask of Foresight gives +2 might total when attacking a second time with the same unit. Each separate combat triggers the +1 might bonus again, and the previous bonus persists. Sequence: - First combat: Unit gains +1 might from Mask of Foresight - First combat ends: The +1 might bonus remains on the unit - Second combat: Unit gains another +1 might from Mask of Foresight - Total: +2 might during the second combat Nuances: - The combats must be completely separate for this to work - If a unit exits a combat and returns during the same combat (e.g., removed by Force of Fire then returned with Ride the Wind), Attack/Defend triggers won't trigger the second time in that same combat - Each new, separate combat will add another +1 might that stacks with previous bonuses

Ruling: No, Mask of Foresight does not grant its boost when moving against an empty battlefield. Attacking and defending only occur when there is combat, which requires enemy units to be involved.

Ruling: Mask of Foresight does not need to be attached or tapped when used. It is a constant triggered ability that provides its bonus any time a friendly unit attacks or defends alone.

Ruling: Mask of Foresight procs regardless of how combat started, as long as it is a combat (not an open battlefield) and the unit is the only one there. You can proc Mask multiple times in one turn. Sequence: - Moving to battlefield 1 triggers Mask (+1) - Ganking to battlefield 2 triggers Mask again (+1) - Each proc requires the unit to be alone in that combat Nuances: - The restriction is once per unit per combat - You cannot proc it by leaving and returning to the same combat (e.g., Reavers Row then Ride the Wind back to the same battlefield during the same combat)

Ruling: No, Mask of Foresight does not retroactively stop applying. Once the "when I attack or defend alone" condition triggers and the triggered effect is applied, it is no longer affected by whether the unit remains alone. Nuances: - "When" creates a trigger that goes on the stack, so the condition only needs to be true at the moment of triggering - This differs from passive abilities that evaluate their conditions almost constantly

Ruling: Mask of Foresight does not trigger Irela Fervent's ability because Irela Fervent specifically requires "you" (the player) to choose or ready the unit, and Mask of Foresight is not a player choice. Nuances: - Irela Fervent's trigger condition specifies "When you choose or ready me" which requires the player to be the one performing the action - Effects that automatically ready units without player choice do not satisfy this condition

Ruling: Mask of Foresight triggers when the unit attacks or defends in a chain (not while), and it can trigger multiple times if the unit is involved in multiple showdowns in a turn. Nuances: - The buff persists even if the unit later gains allies in combat - Triggering multiple times requires either having ways to attack multiple times (relatively uncommon) or the opponent attacking multiple times (which would typically be a misplay)

Ruling: Mask of Foresight is effectively a "when I attack" or "when I defend" trigger that goes on the initial chain at the same time as all other when attack/defend triggers. When attacking with a 2 Might unit and 2x Mask of Foresight against a 3 Might Ahri, the attacker ends up at 3 Might and trades with Ahri. Sequence: - All when I attack and when I defend triggers go on the initial chain simultaneously - Attack triggers go on the chain first, then defend triggers - Defend triggers resolve first (last in, first out) - When attacking Ahri: Ahri's defend trigger resolves first (-1 Might from Ahri), then Mask triggers resolve (+2 Might from 2x Mask) - When defending against Ahri: Mask triggers resolve first (+2 Might from 2x Mask), then Ahri's attack trigger resolves (-2 Might from Ahri) Nuances: - Abilities with "when" or "whenever" are triggered abilities that use the chain, while "while" indicates passive abilities that don't - In multiplayer, the order is: attack triggers > everything else in turn order > defend triggers

Ruling: Mask of Foresight only checks at the start of the When I Defend/When I Attack step when attackers and defenders are declared. If you have 2 units when combat designation is assigned, Mask will not trigger for that combat even if one unit is removed later. Sequence: - All units are declared as attackers and defenders at the start of combat showdown - Mask of Foresight checks at this moment whether the unit is solo - If not solo at this point, Mask cannot trigger later in that combat - Even if the unit becomes solo after spells or abilities resolve, the Mask trigger cannot be added to the stack

Ruling: Mask of Foresight only triggers when a unit gains the Attacker or Defender designation while alone. If a unit already has the designation from when the showdown started with multiple units, Mask will not trigger even if other units die and it ends up alone. Sequence: - When a showdown begins with 2+ attackers, all units gain the Attacker designation - Mask of Foresight does not trigger because no unit is attacking alone at the moment of designation - If one attacker dies before damage, the remaining unit already has its designation and won't trigger new Attack triggers like Mask Nuances: - Mask CAN trigger mid-showdown if a unit gains its designation while alone (e.g., being moved into an empty battlefield as a defender) - "When I attack/defend" triggers happen when units are assigned designations, not just at showdown start - Mask can trigger multiple times on the same unit in one turn if it participates in separate combats while alone

Ruling: No, this does not work. When defender triggers happen, they all trigger at the same time based on the game state at that moment. Since both units are defending when triggers are checked, Mask of Foresight never triggers because the unit is not defending alone at that point. Sequence: - Both units are declared as defenders - All "When You Defend" triggers check simultaneously - Mask of Foresight does not trigger because the unit is not defending alone at this moment - Even if Reavers Row resolves first and recalls one unit, it's too late for Mask to trigger Nuances: - Mask of Foresight is not a passive effect that continuously checks game state; it only checks when triggers initially occur - You do control the order that simultaneous triggers resolve, but this doesn't help because Mask never triggers in the first place - Attack/defend abilities only activate when a unit is declared attacker/defender for the first time per combat, so recalling and bringing back a unit in the same showdown won't trigger them again - If the opponent recalls their unit with Reavers Row after your unit was already declared an attacker, your unit keeps any buffs from Mask for the rest of combat

Ruling: Mask of Foresight triggers once per combat per unit. If the same unit participates in multiple separate combats in the same turn (e.g., attacking alone, conquering, then attacking alone at another battlefield), it gains +1 each time for a cumulative total that lasts until end of turn. Sequence: - When a unit attacks or defends alone, Mask of Foresight triggers and goes on the chain - The unit gains +1 until end of turn - If that same unit participates in another combat alone later in the turn, Mask triggers again - The unit gains another +1, for +2 total (the bonuses stack) Nuances: - This is a triggered ability (uses "when"), not a passive, so it goes on the chain - The trigger occurs when a unit "becomes an attacker" or "becomes a defender" - Moving a unit around within the same combat does not trigger it multiple times - it only triggers once per combat per unit - Removing other units after attackers/defenders are declared does not retroactively trigger Mask (it's too late) - Different units attacking/defending alone in the same combat each get their own +1

Ruling: Mask of Foresight only activates during combat, which occurs when units from 2 players become present at a battlefield. Challenge does not create a combat, so Mask of Foresight does not trigger from Challenge fights. Nuances: - Mask of Foresight will not activate during an open showdown (when you move to a battlefield without any units)

Ruling: The +1 might bonus from Mask of Foresight lasts for the rest of the turn regardless of whether the unit leaves the battlefield, joins other units, or loses attacker/defender status. Each time the unit attacks alone in the same turn, it gains an additional +1 might that stacks with previous bonuses. Sequence: - Unit attacks alone and gains +1 might for the turn - Unit can move to base or join other units and retains the +1 might - If the unit attacks alone again in the same turn, it gains another +1 might (now +2 total) - This stacking continues for each separate attack made alone during the turn Nuances: - The bonus persists even if the unit becomes joined by other units after gaining it - The bonus persists even if the unit loses attacker or defender designation - Multiple Mask of Foresight artifacts multiply the bonus (+3 per attack with 3 masks equipped)

Ruling: Mask of Foresight triggers and snapshots when the unit initially enters combat alone. The +1 might bonus remains even if another unit joins the showdown later. Sequence: - Unit attacks alone into a battlefield, triggering Mask of Foresight on the Initial Chain - Mask resolves, granting +1 might to the unit - The bonus is locked in and does not change - During the open showdown (when you have Focus), you can play cards like Zenith Blade to bring in additional units - The original unit keeps the +1 might from Mask regardless of other units joining Nuances: - Triggers that change might (Mask, Smoke Screen, Stupify, Thousand-Tailed Watcher) all snapshot and don't continue to check conditions after resolving - Attack triggers like Mask can trigger anytime a unit moves into combat for the first time, which is useful for Zenith Blade strategies

Ruling: The notation '8+' means '8 or more', not '9 or more'. Master Yi Meditative gets +4 might when you have 8 or more runes. Nuances: - This follows standard English interpretation where '8+' includes 8 and all values higher than it - The notation '9+' would be used if the intent was '9 or more' - This interpretation is consistent with similar notation in Magic: The Gathering, where 'N+' means 'N or more'

Ruling: Master Yi's +2 Might applies before Yasuo's ability resolves, making Master Yi 8 Might and surviving the combat. The passive kicks in as long as Master Yi has the defender designation and is alone. Sequence: - Master Yi gets the defender designation at the beginning of combat - Master Yi's passive applies (becoming 8 Might) because he has defender designation and is alone - Yasuo's attack trigger resolves Nuances: - Even if Master Yi were a triggered ability rather than static, it would still resolve first because defense triggers go on the chain after attack triggers

Ruling: Master Yi's passive ability grants +2 might to a lone defender immediately when the combat showdown begins, before any actions are taken. This is a passive effect that cannot be reacted to and applies as soon as the conditions are met. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit to battlefield with a defender - Combat showdown begins - Master Yi's passive immediately grants +2 might if only one defending unit is present - Action chain begins (damage spells and other actions must account for the might increase) Nuances: - This is a might increase, not a buff token (the term "buff" has a specific mechanical meaning in Riftbound referring to buff tokens) - The ability is always active while its conditions are met - if a unit is removed during the showdown leaving only one defender, that defender immediately gains +2 might - Similar passive abilities like Assault and Shield also activate immediately when showdown begins

Ruling: Merchant's trigger happens before Showdown begins, so you discard/draw before getting priority to play actions during Showdown. Opponents can react to the Merchant trigger itself. Sequence: - Merchant moves to battlefield and triggers - Opponents can react to the trigger (it goes on the chain) - Trigger resolves (discard/draw happens) - Showdown begins with action priority Nuances: - If Merchant is removed (e.g., by Gust) in response to its trigger, the discard/draw still happens because the ability is already on the chain and doesn't require information

Ruling: Mine Field's effect (placing the top 2 cards of your main deck in the trash when you conquer) is not the Discard game action. Nuances: - The card text says to place cards in the trash, which is different from the Discard game action

Ruling: Miss Fortune Captain's 'when I move' trigger resolves in its own chain before combat begins, separate from 'when I attack' and 'when I defend' triggers. Sequence: - Combat is staged (units move into battlefield) - Miss Fortune's move trigger goes on chain and resolves - Combat begins - Initial combat chain with 'when I attack' and 'when I defend' triggers - Attacker plays action/reaction - Defender plays action/reaction - Combat resolution Nuances: - All 'when I move' triggers (like Travelling Merchant) occur before combat begins - If multiple units with 'when I move' triggers move simultaneously (like MF Captain and Crackshot Corsair), they resolve on different chains before combat starts - You can respond with reactions to the 'when I move' trigger

Ruling: Miss Fortune does not immediately give you a point when played to an open battlefield. You only score a point after conquering the battlefield through the showdown that is triggered. Sequence: - Play Miss Fortune or move a unit to an uncontested battlefield (this applies contested status) - The play/move completes, and Miss Fortune's location is at the battlefield. This starts a showdown where the controlling player is the attacker with focus and priority - If the player passes priority and the enemy does nothing, the resolution step occurs and the player conquers because attacking units remain but no defending units remain (scores 1 point) - If the player passes priority and the enemy removes Miss Fortune with an action/reaction, the resolution step occurs and the player does not conquer because no attacking units remain (no point scored) Nuances: - You can play hidden units to open battlefields if you have Miss Fortune in play, but not as hiddens. Playing and hiding are two different actions; you can play but not hide at an open battlefield.

Ruling: Mistfall does not trigger Irelia because it does not target. Choosing equals targeting for Irelia's ability. Nuances: - The term "choosing" is equivalent to "targeting" (similar to how it works with Dreaming Tree) - Cards must explicitly target to trigger Irelia's ability

Ruling: Mistfall does not trigger when you attempt to buff a unit that already has a buff counter. You are only considered to be "buffing" a unit if you effectively put a buff token on it. Nuances: - Choosing a unit to buff and actually buffing it are two different things - If Mistfall said "When you choose a friendly unit to buff" it would work differently, but it requires an actual buff to occur - The trigger "When you buff a unit" can be understood as "When a buff token is put on a unit" - Lee Sin Green is an exception to the normal buff counter rules

Ruling: Mundo's Might changes dynamically as the number of cards in your trash changes. During a chain, Might adjusts after each spell finishes resolving when game state is checked/cleaned up. Sequence: - Play a reaction spell that discards - Spell finishes resolving - Game state is checked/cleaned up - Dr. Mundo's Might adjusts to reflect new trash count Nuances: - The dynamic nature of Might is why Mundo's second ability has you recycle from trash (it would reduce his Might)

Ruling: Navori Bladescout's ability does target. You cannot react with Cub from hidden to give the buff to Cub itself. Sequence: - The trigger goes onto the chain and finalizes - Targets are picked during finalization - Your first priority window is after finalization (after targets are already picked) Nuances: - You can react to the trigger going onto the chain, but your priority window comes after target selection has already occurred

Ruling: Nocturne does not have an optional additional cost. The power cost to play Nocturne from banish is just the regular cost you pay to play the card, not an additional cost. Sequence: - First, decide whether to banish Nocturne when you look it up or reveal it - If you banish Nocturne, it goes to the banish zone (a public zone) - Then decide whether to play Nocturne from banish - If you choose to play it, you must pay the 1 power cost as its regular cost - If you don't pay the cost, Nocturne remains banished Nuances: - Optional additional costs refer specifically to mechanics like Accelerate or Repeat, not alternative ways to play cards - Alternative costs (like Immortal Phoenix or Flame Chompers) are also not optional additional costs - The distinction matters for effects like Purple Ezreal that specifically reduce "optional additional costs" - Banish zone is a public zone, so all players can see cards banished there

Ruling: Drawing a card is not the same as "looking at" cards. Nocturne's ability does not trigger when you draw him. Nuances: - "Looking at" cards refers to specific effects that reveal the top X cards of your deck (like Baited Hook) - Drawing is a separate game action that does not count as "looking at" for card abilities

Ruling: Nocturne's effect triggers when it is revealed. This was confirmed via red text (official ruling). Nuances: - "Revealing" and "looking at" are technically different actions in the rules, but for Nocturne specifically, revealing does trigger its effect.

Ruling: Not So Fast can counter Rebuke when Rebuke targets a unit on your battlefield. Nuances: - Not So Fast cannot counter spells that target battlefields (like Bullet Time) rather than units or gear, even if you control that battlefield - Units affected by area effects are not the same as targets - When Not So Fast counters a triggered ability with a cost paid on resolution (like Overzealous Fan), the cost is not paid and the effect does not happen

Ruling: Noxian Drummer's ability works on any battlefield, including enemy battlefields. The restriction that units are played to your base or a battlefield you control applies only when you choose to play units, but Drummer's ability does not involve choosing a location. Nuances: - The general rule about playing units to controlled locations only applies when you are making a choice about where to play a unit - Drummer's ability automatically plays the token to wherever she moves, without requiring a choice of location

Ruling: Yes, Noxian Guillotine's delayed trigger counts as killing a unit with a spell and will trigger Immortal Phoenix. Nuances: - The retired FAQ suggested delayed kills don't count, but this FAQ has been officially retired - The Core Rules state that abilities originating from game objects (like delayed triggers) are responsible for kills in addition to the game object that created them - Imperial Decree works the same way as Noxian Guillotine for this interaction

Ruling: Yes, Fiora's ability doubles her Might including any Might gained from Shield and Assault keywords, as these are passive effects that are already active when her ability triggers. Sequence: (when Shield is granted by a triggered ability like a battlefield) - Shield and Fiora's ability both trigger simultaneously - You can order Shield to resolve before Fiora's ability - Fiora's ability then doubles her total Might including the Shield bonus Nuances: - Passive Shield/Assault effects are automatically included in the doubling - When Shield is granted by a triggered ability (like a battlefield), you can choose the order of resolution to ensure Shield resolves first

Ruling: Orange MF readies something regardless of how she is moved, whether by standard movement or card effects like Ride The Wind. Nuances: - This applies to the first time she moves in a turn

Ruling: Orange Volibear draws 1 card per movement action, not per unit. If 4 units move to another battlefield at the same time, you draw 1 card total because the card says "opponent" not "unit". Nuances: - Volibear must be at a battlefield to trigger this ability. If he's in base, there is no "battlefield other than his" so the ability doesn't trigger.

Ruling: Yes, Ornn Forge God buffs himself with gold gear tokens and equipped gear because gear tokens are still considered gear. Nuances: - Gold gear tokens count as gear for the purposes of Ornn's ability - Equipped gear also counts toward the buff

Ruling: Ornn's power reduction does not apply to hidden gear costs. Hiding a card is not the same as playing it, so Ornn cannot be used to reduce the cost of hiding a gear. Nuances: - A hidden card knows nothing about itself - There would be no logistical way to confirm the cost reduction on a hidden card

Ruling: Overzealous Fan does target an enemy unit because the targeting is part of the effect, not the cost. Not So Fast can counter it. When countered, the Fan does not die because the whole ability is countered and the instruction (including the cost within instruction to kill the Fan) is not executed. Sequence: - Player B attacks into Player A who has Fan and another unit at the battlefield - Initial chain happens, Fan's trigger is added to the chain targeting an enemy unit - Not So Fast is played as a reaction targeting Fan's trigger - Reactions may happen - Not So Fast resolves, countering Fan's trigger - Since the effect won't resolve, Fan won't die Nuances: - The cost to kill the Fan is a "cost within instruction" that is paid when the instruction executes, not a cost to put the ability on the chain - Triggered abilities don't currently have printed costs in the traditional sense - Costs within instructions are executed during resolution, so countering the ability prevents the cost from being paid

Ruling: Yes, Pack of Wonders allows you to play cards from your discard pile by treating them as different cards (e.g., Bloom Predator as Heat Seeker, Mind Splitter causing discard). You must still pay the cost to play them. Nuances: - Pack of Wonders plus Treasure Trove creates a loop for 4 mana where you draw a card and make a rune each time