Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: No, this is a typo in the rules. The rule should reference your "legend" rather than your champion when determining which runes you can include in your deck. Nuances: - This typo has been reported as feedback and will be corrected in the next version of the rules

Ruling: Originally, Salvage required a valid gear target to be played because the "may" choice happened at resolution, not when playing the spell. The card has since received errata changing the text to "You may kill up to one gear. Draw 1." which allows it to be played without a gear target. Sequence: - Original templating: "May" choices at resolution required a valid target to put the spell on the chain first - All targeting choices are made when playing a spell (as part of putting it on the chain) - The "may" choice only occurred at resolution, so a gear had to exist to target - New templating: "up to one" means 0 is a valid choice, so no gear target is required Nuances: - The distinction between "may" choices (made at resolution) and targeting choices (made when playing) determines whether a valid target is required - "Up to one" templating allows zero targets as a valid choice, unlike "may" templating on the target itself

Ruling: Yes, the effect triggers. You discard as many cards as you can (including 0 cards) and then draw 2. Nuances: - As a general rule, you always do effects as much as possible - Exceptions are when something is an additional cost or if the effect explicitly specifies "do X to do Y" or "do X, if you did, do Y" or similar phrasing

Ruling: Yes, Sett triggers Fiora's leader ability both when played and when he spends his buff. He momentarily exists at 4M before his buff applies or reapplies. Sequence: - When played: Sett enters at 4M, then his triggered ability goes on the chain to gain the buff - When spending buff: Sett goes to 4M, then his activated ability goes on the chain to gain +4M - In both cases, there is a window where players can react while he is at 4M Nuances: - The ability goes on the chain, creating a real game state where Sett is at 4M for a considerable amount of time before resolving

Ruling: Sett Brawler's ability triggers separately - once when played and once when it conquers. Each trigger grants a buff independently. Nuances: - If the ability required both conditions, it would only say "When I conquer" since every card with that condition must be played first anyway

Ruling: Yes, Sett counts himself as a buffed friendly unit for his passive ability when he is buffed and at a battlefield location. Nuances: - Sett must be at a battlefield location (not in hand, deck, or other zones) to count himself

Ruling: Yes, Sett Kingpin counts himself towards his +1 ability for friendly buffed units.

Ruling: Yes, Sett counts himself as a buffed friendly unit for his own ability. If Sett is buffed alone on a battlefield, he gains +1 might from the buff token and an additional +1 might from his passive ability (totaling 7 might with his 5 base might). Nuances: - This differs from Lee Sin Centered, which specifies "OTHER" buffed friendly units and therefore does not count himself

Ruling: Sett Kingpin's buff applies whenever he is at a battlefield, whether attacking or defending. Nuances: - The 'my battlefield' wording is used to prevent him from getting the bonus when he's in base, not to restrict it to only defending battlefields.

Ruling: "At my battlefield" means the specific battlefield where Sett is located (equivalent to "here"). Sett only gets the bonus when he is at a battlefield, not while in base. Nuances: - When units talk in first person, it refers to "this card" not the player - Sett does not get the bonus while in base, even if there are buffed units in base

Ruling: No, Sett The Boss's effect does not initiate a chain and you cannot respond to it with a reaction effect. It is a passive replacement effect. Nuances: - Replacement effects in Riftbound intercede while something is resolving and modify its outcome; they do not create their own chain link - Sett was errataed from "when" (which is a trigger word) to "if a" (not a trigger word) - The exhaust symbol is only used in costs of activated abilities, which is why Sett uses text instead of the symbol

Ruling: Yes, Sett counts himself as a friendly unit when he has his buff, making him 7 Might total (6 base + 1 from counting himself).

Ruling: Sett has an activated ability that costs spending the buff that is on him to give him +4 Might. You can only activate the ability on your turn outside of showdown. Sequence: - Sett must have a buff on him - On your turn outside of showdown, you can activate his ability - Pay the cost by spending the buff on him - He gets +4 Might

Ruling: If Sett dies to combat damage, he does not see the conquer and will not trigger his gain buff ability. The combat damage step happens before conquering, so Sett must survive combat damage to be alive when the conquer occurs. Sequence: - Combat damage step occurs (where Sett would die) - Cleanup happens (where Sett dies to combat damage) - Conquering happens after cleanup - If Sett doesn't survive combat damage, he is not alive to see the conquer Nuances: - Sett's gain buff on conquer is a triggered ability, not a replacement effect - Sett's activated ability to spend a buff for +4 can only be used at base speed (not during combat) - If Sett's legend replacement effect saves him from dying during combat damage, he will be in base (not on the battlefield) and thus cannot conquer

Ruling: Spending the buff is the cost to use the ability, so it is spent first to immediately get the bonus Might. Sequence: - Spend the buff as a cost - Immediately gain the bonus Might

Ruling: Sett's protection effect prevents lethal damage from spells like Void Seeker, not just combat damage. Nuances: - The asker initially thought Sett only protected against combat damage, but this was incorrect

Ruling: Sett does not trigger Volibear's ability when played. Volibear's trigger condition requires the unit to be Mighty at the time it is played, and Sett only becomes Mighty after his on-play effect resolves. Sequence: - When Sett is played, triggers are checked - At this moment, Sett is not yet Mighty (still 4/4) - Volibear's condition "When you play a Mighty unit" is not met, so it does not trigger - Sett's on-play buff then resolves, making him Mighty - This is too late for Volibear to trigger Nuances: - If an effect applied instantly (like Trifarian War Camp), Volibear would see the increased might and trigger - If Volibear's text read "When you play a Unit, channel a Rune if it is Mighty" instead, then it would work with Sett - The key difference is whether "Mighty" is part of the trigger condition or part of the effect resolution

Ruling: Sett's ability does not go on the chain. It is a replacement effect and is a known issue. Nuances: - Legend abilities as a general category may go on the chain, but Sett's specific ability is an exception as a replacement effect

Ruling: No, healing effects like The Boss only heal damage. Might gain and loss are retained and not restored by healing effects. Nuances: - This applies to other similar healing effects like Zhonya's as well

Ruling: Sett's passive does not work with Baited Hook if the unit is not actually killed. The unit must be actually killed through Baited Hook's ability for the interaction to work. Sequence: - If Sett is buffed (e.g., by 4 Might) and then properly killed by Baited Hook, you can take a unit with Might equal to or less than Sett's total Might - If Sett Legend saves the Might-boosted Sett, Baited Hook does not trigger the kill effect - You still look at the top 5 cards and recycle them even if the unit is not killed Nuances: - The deck can still be good even though this specific interaction doesn't work as intended - Sett can still be used to save things from spells and combat, and Baited Hook can get value from killing weaker units

Ruling: No, Sett's recall does not remove Watcher's effect. Heal only removes damage, and the unit is recalled with all other effects unchanged. Nuances: - Heal specifically only removes damage counters - Other effects (like Watcher's ability) remain on the unit when it is recalled

Yes, Sett, Kingpin counts himself. The ability states 'I get +1 [M] for each buffed friendly unit at my battlefield' with no exclusion, so if Sett is buffed, he receives the bonus for himself plus any other buffed units on the battlefield.

Ruling: Yes, Sett, the Boss readies after conquering a battlefield when activated in the showdown that caused the conquer. Sequence: - The replaced death (Sett's ability) happens first - The conquer happens after - Sett readies as a result of the conquer

Ruling: When you play Shen (or any permanent) as a reaction on the chain, it leaves the chain immediately and enters play. You do not automatically pass priority after playing something on the chain. Sequence: - You can play Shen as a reaction before your last unit is removed - Shen leaves the chain immediately as a permanent - Shen enters the battlefield - You retain priority and can play multiple things on the chain - You then choose when to pass priority to your opponent Nuances: - If you lose your last unit at a battlefield, you no longer control it, but your opponent won't control it until the end of showdown (nobody controls it during showdown in this case) - Playing something on the chain does not automatically pass priority - you hold priority until you choose to pass it

Ruling: Shield is a passive ability that does not use the chain. Shen gains Shield (5 might) immediately when he enters the battlefield, with no response window for the opponent to Gust him. Sequence: - Shen is summoned to the battlefield - A cleanup occurs - Shen is assigned the Defender designation (because the controller has a unit at the battlefield being attacked) - Shield goes online, giving Shen +5 might - No reaction windows occur during this process Nuances: - Shield and Assault are passive abilities that are either on or off - they never trigger or use the chain - For Fiora's trigger purposes, Shen does become mighty (through the cleanup process), but he is not mighty "as played" for purposes like Volibear - The distinction matters because getting assigned Defender happens during cleanup, not instantly upon play

Ruling: Shield is only active during combat. If a unit is targeted by a spell outside of combat, it does not benefit from Shield. Nuances: - Shield is a passive ability that only functions during combat, not a trigger that can activate at other times

Ruling: Moving a unit with Showstopper (or any spell) does not exhaust it, and Showstopper can be used on an already exhausted unit. A unit moved by Showstopper cannot be followed by another unit because it is a spell moving it, not the unit performing a move action. Nuances: - Exhausting a unit is specifically the cost for performing a standard move action - Cards and abilities that move units don't have that exhaustion cost unless they explicitly state they do

Ruling: Showstopper requires you to choose both the unit and the battlefield as targets. Nuances: - Both the unit being moved and the destination battlefield are selected during the targeting phase of the ability

Ruling: Singularity must target two different units and deals 6 damage to each target (not 6 total split between them). Nuances: - The card can be cast if there is only one valid target available, as it says "up to two units"

Ruling: Singularity does not trigger a showdown, but it does start a chain. Opponents cannot respond with action cards like Primal Strength, only reaction cards can be played in response. Sequence: - Singularity is played and starts a chain - Opponents can only respond with reaction speed cards - Action cards cannot be played because no showdown is triggered - The chain resolves Nuances: - Showdowns only occur when units are moved to battlefields (occupied or unoccupied) - Action spells can only be played outside of showdowns or inside of one, not in response to non-showdown chains - Action spells can only start a chain, while reaction spells can start a chain or be added to an existing chain

Ruling: "Up to 2" means 0-2 units, so you can choose to target 0 units with Singularity. Nuances: - This matters when the opponent has no units, allowing you to avoid killing your own units - If an opponent steals the spell, they can also choose to target nothing with it

Ruling: Siphon Power does not target units (it targets the battleground). You cannot skip parts of the effect, so you must give opponents -1 might. Nuances: - The ability targets the battleground itself, not the units, so it bypasses deflect - You cannot choose to skip giving -1 might to avoid paying deflect costs since the ability doesn't target units anyway

Ruling: No. Siphon Power is a one-time effect that only applies to units present at the targeted battlefield when the spell resolves. Units that move to that battlefield later are not affected. Sequence: - Siphon Power resolves, targeting a battlefield - The spell identifies which units are currently at that battlefield - Those units are given +1/-1 might until end of turn - Units moving to that battlefield afterward do not receive the buff/debuff Nuances: - The key word is "give" which is a one-time action that occurs at resolution, not a passive effect - The effect stays on the units that received it for the duration (until end of turn), even if those units move away from the battlefield - The battlefield itself does not gain a passive ability; the spell gives the effect directly to the units - This works the same way as other similar cards like Grand Strategem, Discipline, and Stupify

Ruling: Siphoned Power only affects units that are at the chosen battlefield when the spell resolves. It does not create a continuous effect on the battlefield that would affect units arriving later. Sequence: - When Siphoned Power resolves, choose a battlefield - All friendly units currently at that battlefield gain +1 Might for this turn - All enemy units currently at that battlefield lose -1 Might (minimum 1) for this turn - Units that move to that battlefield later in the turn are not affected - Units that were affected and then leave the battlefield retain the buff/debuff for the duration Nuances: - The phrase "give" indicates a one-time effect that snapshots which units are present, not a continuous passive ability - If the card were meant to create a continuous effect on the battlefield, it would be templated differently (e.g., "Until end of turn, friendly units there have +1 Might") - The "for this turn" text refers to the duration of the Might change given to the current units, not an aura on the battlefield itself - This is a common misreading of the card where players think the battlefield gets an aura effect

Ruling: No, Sivir's effect does not trigger when conquering an empty battlefield because you don't attack empty battlefields, and her trigger requires "after an attack." Nuances: - If a unit is present at Reaver's Row and retreats, Sivir's trigger will activate (since combat has begun with attacker/defender designations), but she won't deal any excess damage since 0 damage was assigned.

Ruling: Skyfall of Areion does not replace effects. It allows Conquer effects to trigger on both Conquer and Hold scoring, and Hold effects to trigger on both Hold and Conquer scoring. Nuances: - The card adds triggers rather than replacing one effect with another - Both types of effects become active in both scoring situations

Ruling: Reducing a unit's MIGHT makes it easier to destroy in combat because it will die from fewer combat damage counters. A unit with reduced MIGHT will be destroyed when it receives combat damage counters equal to its reduced MIGHT value. Sequence: - Smoke Screen reduces Kai'sa from 4 MIGHT to 1 MIGHT - When Recruit (1 MIGHT) attacks Kai'sa, it deals 1 combat damage counter - Kai'sa dies because she only has 1 MIGHT and receives 1 combat damage counter Nuances: - MIGHT reduction is different from dealing damage; damage spells like Void Seeker deal damage but don't reduce MIGHT - MIGHT reduction is different from stun effects; with stun you still need to "punch over" the unit's full stats

Ruling: Yes, Smokescreen requires the additional power cost when targeting a unit with Deflect. Deflect applies every time you target a unit with an ability or spell. Nuances: - Anything which requires a player to make a choice (even if it's the only option) is considered targeted - Effects that don't require choices (like Thousand-Watcher) don't trigger Deflect - There are detailed rules and exceptions in the FAQ appendix

Ruling: Snapvine's Carnivorous ability instructs Snapvine and the target unit to deal damage to each other. This damage is neither ability damage nor combat damage, so Unyielding Spirit cannot prevent it and stun does not stop it. Nuances: - The same principle applies to Challenge and Last Breath abilities with similar wording - Because it is not combat damage, stun does not prevent the damage

Ruling: Yes, if you play Sneaky Deckhand directly into an empty battlefield you will conquer it, score a point, and be in control of it. Nuances: - The card bypasses the movement requirement, but movement is not required to conquer a battlefield - Playing directly to a battlefield still counts as conquering if the battlefield is empty

Ruling: Channel always means taking a rune from the rune deck and placing it on your board exhausted. It does not refer to readying or exhausting runes already on your board. Nuances: - Readying a rune already on your board would be worded as "ready a rune" or "ready an exhausted rune" - Channeling works the same way regardless of whether you have recycled or exhausted runes during the turn

Ruling: Solari Shrine does not trigger when Zhonya's saves a unit from death. Because Zhonya's replaces the kill event by recalling the unit, the unit is never killed, so Solari Shrine's condition is not met. Sequence: - Unit would die - Zhonya's replaces the death with a recall - The kill event never happens - Solari Shrine does not trigger and is not exhausted - Solari Shrine remains ready and can trigger on the next unit killed that turn Nuances: - You cannot even attempt to exhaust Solari Shrine in this situation - doing so would be a rules error - Since Solari Shrine doesn't exhaust, it remains available to trigger on another kill during the same turn

Ruling: Under the original card text, Sona's ability targets 4 friendly runes and cannot be put on the chain if there are fewer than 4 friendly runes on the board. The runes do not need to be exhausted - you can target already readied runes. The revised card text now says "up to 4 friendly runes," which allows the ability to trigger with fewer than 4 runes. Sequence: - At the end of your turn, if Sona is on a battlefield, her triggered ability checks if there are 4 friendly runes on the board - If there are 4 or more friendly runes, you must target 4 of them to put the ability on the chain - Upon resolution, ready the targeted runes (even if they were already ready) - With the revised "up to 4" text, you can now trigger with fewer runes Nuances: - The ability targets because it affects specific game objects of the player's choice, not selected by objective criteria - You need all valid targets to put an ability on the chain - "do as much as you can" only applies during resolution, not when entering the chain - The runes being exhausted or ready doesn't matter for targeting purposes - Mount Targon's Peak works similarly but requires 2 runes total (not necessarily friendly or exhausted)

Ruling: Yes, Spirit Wheel triggers when playing The Syren. Spells and abilities don't need to explicitly say "choose" to fall under the "choose" category - if they require you to select a target (like Syren requiring you to choose a friendly unit), they count as choosing. Nuances: - This interaction also works with Irelia's Fervent ability and her Legend ability - This does NOT work with Graceful, as Graceful is spell-specific only

Ruling: The buff from Spirit's Refuge is a triggered ability that activates when played from hand ("when played"). The second part is a passive ability that is active as long as Spirit's Refuge is on the board. Nuances: - The first part is a one-time triggered ability, not something that happens each time you activate the gear - The passive ability does not require the card to be exhausted to be active

Ruling: Yes, Stalwart Poro gets Shield +2 when on the same battlefield as Taric because Shield stacks.

Ruling: The FAQ contained an error mixing up Kinkou Monk and Back to Back. The information about pump spells in that section was incorrect and will be corrected in an updated PDF. Nuances: - This was specifically a writing error in the FAQ, not a rules misunderstanding - The correct interaction was clarified in a different channel thread

Ruling: Standard Move does not use the chain. It is classified as an "inherent ability" and a "discretionary action," which are distinct from activated abilities that do use the chain. Sequence: - Select valid targets for the Standard Move - Pay the cost (exhaust the units) simultaneously - Execute the move immediately without using the chain Nuances: - Standard Move is called an "ability" in the rules but is specifically an "inherent ability," not an activated ability (which would require ":" formatting and use the chain) - The rules for Standard Move are scattered across multiple sections rather than consolidated in one place - Rule 424.3.c confirms that moving does not use the chain and cannot be reacted to - Rule 398.1.b.2 specifies that costs for discretionary actions must be paid to perform them - The mechanics rely partially on natural language understanding of "cost" rather than explicit procedural rules

Ruling: The unit maintains whatever state it was in before being moved. Card effects that cause units to move do not exhaust the unit. Nuances: - Only performing a Standard Move will exhaust a unit - If the unit was active before being moved by Stormbringer, it remains active - If the unit was exhausted before being moved by Stormbringer, it remains exhausted

Ruling: Strike Down will kill the unit. The Guardian Angel is removed before the damage can kill during cleanup. Sequence: - Strike Down deals damage and removes Guardian Angel - Damage doesn't kill until the following cleanup phase - Guardian Angel is removed before that cleanup occurs - Unit dies in cleanup without Guardian Angel protection