Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Yes, Vilemaw's Lair cancels out Fight or Flight effect.

Ruling: Vilemaw's Lair restricts all movement to the base, not just standard move actions. This includes movement from card effects. Nuances: - Cards like Charm, Fight or Flight, Tide Turner, and Flash can still legally target the base or units in Vilemaw's Lair, but they resolve with no effect because the restriction prevents the movement ("can't" triumphs over "can"). - Players should be aware of battlefield effects when making plays, as misreading them can lead to wasted actions.

Ruling: Void Gate does not amplify damage from Challenge. Nuances: - Challenge makes units deal damage to each other directly, rather than the effect itself dealing damage - Void Gate only amplifies damage from spells or abilities, not damage dealt by units to each other

Ruling: Void Gate only works with spells and abilities that explicitly deal damage. Reducing might is not dealing damage, so Thousand Tailed Watcher would not trigger Void Gate's bonus damage. Nuances: - Damage stacks up on units rather than HP going down - Reducing might lowers the threshold of damage needed to kill a unit, but is not itself damage - Only cards that specifically state they are dealing damage will trigger Void Gate's effect

Ruling: Tank only applies to combat damage. Yasuo can target any unit at the battlefield with his ability, even when Volibear Imposing is defending. Sequence: - Yasuo can use his ability to target any unit (including Snapvine Predator) - Combat damage occurs at the end of combat when both players sum their might and allocate lethal damage - Tank only applies during this combat damage step Nuances: - Combat damage specifically refers to might calculations at the end of combat, not ability damage

Ruling: No, Volibear Legend will not trigger from Sett's self-buff. Volibear Legend checks Sett's Might value at the moment Sett enters play, before Sett's triggered ability goes on the chain, so Sett will still only have 4 Might at that time. Sequence: - Sett enters play - Volibear Legend checks if any unit has 5+ Might (Sett has 4 at this point) - Volibear Legend does not trigger - Sett's triggered ability goes on the chain - Sett's ability resolves and grants him +1 Might (now at 5) - The trigger window for Volibear Legend has already passed Nuances: - Draven Showboat will trigger Volibear Legend because his effect doesn't use the chain and applies immediately, so the Might increase happens before the trigger check

Ruling: Volibear must be at a battlefield for his draw effect to trigger. When Volibear is on the base, his effect does not trigger because "other than mine" requires "mine" to be defined as a battlefield. Nuances: - The effect triggers once per move action, not per unit moved (if 3 units move together, draw 1 card) - Playing a unit directly to a battlefield is not considered "moving" and does not trigger the effect - It is unclear whether the effect triggers if you (the Volibear player) move an opponent's unit to a different battlefield, though the reasonable ruling is that it does not trigger since "opponent" refers to the opposing player taking the action

Ruling: Volibear's effect will not trigger when playing Sett who gains +1 power from his on-play ability, because Sett is not Mighty when played and Volibear checks for Mighty units at that moment, before Sett's buff resolves. Sequence: - Sett is played from hand and resolves - Sett's on-play trigger goes onto the chain to give him a buff - Volibear's trigger checks right now if a Mighty unit was played (no) and does not go onto the chain - Sett's on-play trigger resolves, buffing him - The window for Volibear has passed Nuances: - If Sett had 4 power base and was played directly to a battlefield with a buffed unit (making him Mighty via a passive ability), it would trigger Volibear because passive abilities are evaluated on cleanup after Sett resolves, before any triggers are checked - Passive abilities are evaluated constantly, even without a cleanup

Ruling: Spending a buff on Wallop's additional cost does not trigger Sett Brawler's +4 attack ability. Spending a buff is the cost of activating Sett's ability, so the buff must be spent specifically to activate Sett's ability to gain the +4. Nuances: - Sett's ability is not passive and does not have the react tag, so it cannot be used in response to other effects like Showstopper - When using Showstopper on Sett, you must move to battlefield with +4 and a buff because there is no timing window to use Sett's ability while Showstopper is resolving - You can spend a buff from any unit to activate Wallop, allowing you to use Sett's ability for +4, then play Wallop using another unit's buff to ready Sett

Ruling: Yes, Cannon Barrage can be played in response to Warwick's ability on the Initial Chain. Cannon Barrage will resolve first, dealing damage to units, and then Warwick will see the damaged units and kill them. Sequence: - When I Attack and When I Defend abilities trigger and go on the Initial Chain during Showdown - Cannon Barrage (as a Reaction) can be played in response to abilities on the Initial Chain - Cannon Barrage resolves first, damaging units - Warwick's ability resolves, killing all damaged units Nuances: - When I Move abilities trigger before Showdown, not during the Initial Chain - The Initial Chain is part of Combat and Showdown

Ruling: No, 'when I attack' effects do not trigger when defending. Attack triggers only activate when their source is given the attacker designation, which does not happen when your units are defending and not applying contested status. Nuances: - The defending player's units do not receive attacker designation - Units that are not applying contested status cannot be the attacker

Ruling: Warwick's trigger always goes on the chain when he attacks because it doesn't target. Cards can be chained in response to damage units before his ability resolves. Nuances: - Abilities that target (like blue Teemo) don't go on the chain at all if there are no valid targets - Abilities that don't target (like Warwick) always trigger and go on the chain regardless of board state - This sequencing enables combos like Warwick with Flurry of Blades

Ruling: Yes, Warwick's attack trigger goes on the chain when he moves to an occupied battlefield, even if there are no damaged units present. You can respond to this trigger with reaction speed spells before it resolves. Sequence: - Move Warwick to an occupied battlefield - His attack trigger goes on the chain - You hold priority and can place reaction speed spells on the chain - Pass priority - Opponent passes priority - Reaction speed spell resolves - Pass priority, opponent passes priority - Warwick attack trigger resolves Nuances: - It is safer and more optimal to play reaction speed spells like Flurry of Blades before moving Warwick, or even while Warwick is still in hand before playing him - If Warwick is killed before his trigger resolves, the ability still resolves but has no effect because it specifically targets units 'here' and Warwick is no longer on the battlefield

Ruling: Warwick's effect only triggers when units are killed by damage, not by -might reduction or other means of death. Nuances: - The effect specifically requires damage to trigger, even though both methods result in unit death

Ruling: Weapon Master does not ignore the kill cost of Blade of the Ruined King. The Weapon Master ability reduces the equip cost by power, but you must still pay the "kill a friendly unit" part of the equip cost. Nuances: - Only Quick-Draw circumvents the cost to equip entirely - Weapon Master attaches for the equip cost reduced by power, but doesn't ignore non-power costs

Ruling: Whirlwind does not target, so it can affect Ruin Runner even though Ruin Runner has protection from being targeted. Nuances: - Since Whirlwind doesn't target, you would not have to pay for Deflect when using it

Ruling: Whirlwind does not target, similar to Culling the Weak. Nuances: - The "each player" wording indicates no targeting is involved - Since there is no targeting, it does not trigger Deflect or Dreaming Tree

Ruling: Whirlwind does not trigger deflect because it does not target. Deflect is a passive ability that levies an additional cost only for spells or abilities that target the permanent with deflect. Nuances: - Deflect is not a trigger; it's a passive ability that adds a cost requirement - The devs are aware that Whirlwind's interaction isn't fully accounted for in the CRD - Based on both RAW (rules as written) and RAI (rules as intended), Whirlwind wouldn't require deflect to be paid

Ruling: Wielder of Water only gets +2 power when it is in a combat showdown attacking or defending alone, not simply when it is alone on the battlefield. Nuances: - The card text specifies "while I'm attacking or defending alone" not just "when I'm alone" - Units are only considered attacking or defending during a combat showdown

Ruling: Wielder of Water counts as alone when a hidden card is at the same Battlefield because hidden cards technically don't exist until revealed. Sequence: - While the card remains hidden, Wielder of Water maintains its alone bonus - When a hidden unit is revealed, Wielder of Water immediately loses the alone bonus - If the hidden card is a spell (not a unit), Wielder of Water keeps the alone bonus even after revelation Nuances: - This applies even if the hidden card is a unit like Paaka Cub - Only revealed units cause Wielder of Water to lose the alone status - Revealed spells do not affect the alone status

Ruling: No, Wielder of Water does not gain +2 attack when attacking on an open battlefield. A unit must be in combat to have the attacker or defender designation, and combat only opens when units controlled by different players are present on a battlefield. Nuances: - The attacker/defender designations require units from different players to be present on the battlefield together

Ruling: No, Wielder of Water does not get the +2 might bonuses when targeted by Falling Star cast from hand. Since it's not a combat (not attacking, just casting a spell), the unit is not a defender and remains at base might. Nuances: - This applies when the spell is cast from hand without a chain or showdown - The bonuses only apply during combat when the unit is actually defending

Ruling: Yes, Wielder of Water gets the +2 might because "while I defend alone" is a passive ability that continuously checks the game state, so it applies when Fight or Flight resolves and Wielder becomes the sole defender. Nuances: - A "when I'm defending" trigger would work differently - it would trigger during the initial defend chain or when the unit joins combat mid-combat (added in CR 1.1) - "When I'm defending" triggers can only happen once per unit per combat, even if moved in and out repeatedly - The +2 might from Wielder's passive ability is not a "buff" in the game-mechanical sense (not a Buff game object)

Ruling: Wielder of Water does not get +2 might when moving into an empty battlefield because it is a showdown, not a combat, so there are no attacker/defender designations. Therefore, it can be targeted by Gust. Nuances: - Wielder of Water's ability is a passive "while I'm defending alone" effect, not a "when I defend" trigger, so you cannot react to it with Gust during combat - If player 2 moves units to a battlefield where Wielder of Water is already present, combat starts when the battlefield becomes contested, attacker and defender are assigned, and Wielder of Water has 4 might before there's any opportunity to use Gust (unless player 2's movement opened a chain from a move-triggered ability)

Ruling: Yes, Wielder of Water will proc. Wielder of Water's ability is a permanent ability that checks if he is alone at the location, regardless of how combat started. Nuances: - It doesn't matter whether Wielder of Water started combat alone or became alone during combat; the ability checks the current state

Ruling: Wielder of Water gets the +2 bonus when moving to an empty battlefield. Moving to an open battlefield starts a showdown but not a combat, so Wielder of Water has 2 power. Nuances: - A showdown occurs when moving to an empty battlefield, but the combat step does not open - The attacking/defending labels are assigned during the showdown phase, not the combat phase

Ruling: Wielder of Water does not retain the +2 might bonus because it uses "while" language (static ability) that continuously checks conditions. Mask of Foresight does retain its bonus because it uses "when" language (triggered ability) that checks only once and lasts "this turn." Sequence: - When Wielder attacks/defends alone, check if conditions are met - Wielder's "while" ability grants +2 might only while alone - If Tideturner contests the showdown, Wielder is no longer alone - Wielder immediately loses the +2 might bonus - Mask of Foresight's "when" trigger activates once and persists for the turn Nuances: - "While" abilities are static and continuously check conditions - they turn off immediately when conditions aren't met - "When" abilities are triggered and only check conditions at the moment of trigger, then apply their effect for the stated duration - Mask of Foresight specifically says "this turn" so its bonus persists even after the unit is no longer alone

Ruling: No, Wildclaw Shaman does not buff itself if you don't spend a buff. The parenthetical text is just clarification that a unit can generally only get buffed once, and if it already has a buff, nothing happens. Nuances: - Units can generally only receive one buff - If a unit already has a buff, attempting to buff it again has no effect

Ruling: Yes, Wildclaw Shaman's effect is a triggered ability that creates a chain. The opponent can respond with Gust while the trigger is on the chain. Sequence: - Wildclaw Shaman is played to the battlefield - Its triggered ability goes on the chain - Opponent can respond with Gust (targeting either the Poro or the Shaman if it's on a battlefield) - When the Shaman's trigger resolves, the buff is removed from the other unit, then the Shaman is buffed and readied Nuances: - Gust can only target units at a battlefield - While the Shaman's trigger is on the chain, the Shaman is still 3 Might and targetable by Gust (if at a battlefield) - The buff removal happens on resolution of the trigger, not as a cost - No targeting is required for Wildclaw Shaman's effect

Ruling: No, Wraith of Echoes does not see itself die. Units don't see themselves die in Riftbound. Sequence: - Triggered abilities must trigger from the location where they saw the trigger occur - When Wraith dies, it is no longer on the board - Since Wraith is not on the board when it would need to trigger, it cannot trigger Nuances: - Deathknell is an exception because it triggers from the trash, which is why Deathknell effects can see the unit die - This ruling is different from games like Magic - The lead designer (Riot Kelly) confirmed nothing outside of Deathknell can see itself or other things that die with it as triggers - Outside of Deathknell, triggered abilities can only trigger if a permanent has presence

Ruling: Wraith of Echoes does not trigger on its own death. It only triggers when another friendly unit dies. Nuances: - The card received a clarity errata (not functional) that added the word "another" to make this explicit - Original text: "The first time a friendly unit dies each turn, draw 1." - Errata text: "The first time another friendly unit dies each turn, draw 1." - Despite the text change, the functional behavior was always that it did not trigger on its own death

Ruling: Units do not see themselves die. Wraith of Echoes will not trigger its own death effect, even if it dies simultaneously with other units during combat. Sequence: - All combat damage is dealt simultaneously - Units that die are removed from the board - Units that died cannot trigger their own on-death effects - Only units that survive can trigger effects based on other units dying Nuances: - This ruling comes from developer confirmation rather than explicit rules text - A new Comprehensive Rules Document is expected before English release that may formalize this

Ruling: Xin Zhao does not count himself. The card specifically says 'other' units, so you need two other units in your base besides Xin Zhao for him to enter ready.

Ruling: Yes, 'when I attack' abilities trigger when a unit moves to an enemy-occupied battlefield, regardless of how it got there or whose turn it is. When your unit is moved to an enemy-occupied battlefield, you're the attacker. Sequence: - Move triggers happen first when a unit moves to a battlefield - Combat showdown starts when two players have units on the same battlefield - 'When I attack' and 'when I defend' triggers are the first things to trigger when a combat showdown starts (they fill the initial chain) Nuances: - 'When I attack' (triggered ability) is not synonymous with 'while I'm an attacker' (passive ability). The difference is 'when' (triggered) versus 'while' (passive) - There is no 'declare an attacker' step in Riftbound - combat starts automatically when two players have units on the same battlefield

Ruling: Yasuo - Remorseful's ability triggers whenever he arrives at an enemy controlled battlefield and becomes designated as an attacker, regardless of how he got there (legend ability or unit movement). Sequence: - Yasuo's ability typically triggers in the first chain of Combat Showdown (the Initial Chain) - The trigger can also occur if Yasuo shows up mid-combat - The trigger gets added to the chain anytime Yasuo becomes designated as an attacker for the first time during a combat Nuances: - The battlefield does not have to be controlled by the opponent when Yasuo arrives - If Yasuo moves into an empty battlefield and an enemy unit moves in during the showdown, Yasuo's player will be the attacker since they applied Contested to the empty battlefield first, and the ability will still trigger - The ability trigger gets put on the chain even in cases of surprise defense

Ruling: Yes, Yasuo Remorseful deals damage twice - first from his attacker trigger effect, then from regular combat damage. Sequence: - You attack into battlefield - Yasuo's attacker trigger goes on the chain and you declare a target unit at the battlefield - Both players pass priority - Yasuo deals his might to that target unit - Both players pass priority - Cleanup occurs and Yasuo deals might and takes damage in the combat damage step Nuances: - The damage from Yasuo's attacker trigger lingers (it is not healed immediately) - Damage is only healed at end of turn or at end of combat - This means you can deal damage with the attacker trigger to a unit and then hit it again during the combat damage step

Ruling: Master Yi's defense bonus applies before Yasuo's attack trigger resolves. Yi's effect is a passive that activates instantly when defender status is assigned, while Yasuo's trigger must go on the chain and resolve. Sequence: - Units receive attacker/defender status - Yi's passive defense bonus applies immediately (not a trigger) - Yasuo's attack trigger goes on the chain - Yasuo's trigger resolves Nuances: - Yi's defense bonus is not a trigger but a passive effect, similar to Assault/Shield - Yi's bonus only applies when you have exactly one defending unit - In general, attacker triggers go on the chain first, then defender triggers, resolving in reverse order (but Yi's effect bypasses this as it's not a trigger)

Ruling: Yes, Yasuo Remorseful's damage resolves before combat damage is dealt. Units killed by Yasuo's damage will not deal their combat damage. Sequence: - Combat starts and attack/defend triggers go on the chain - Defend triggers resolve first (including Yasuo's damage) - Players exchange focus/priority - When all players pass, combat resolution occurs with remaining units - Special cleanup happens Nuances: - In the example given, the 6 might + 4 unit would only deal 4 damage to Yasuo (from the defend trigger) before being killed by Yasuo's damage, so it would not deal its 6 might as combat damage

Ruling: Yasuo with Svellsongur equipped will trigger his attack ability twice, dealing 6 damage each time for a total of 12 damage to potentially two different units. The equipment's text is granted to the attached unit, so both triggers use the unit's full might. Sequence: - Yasuo attacks with Svellsongur equipped - First attack trigger resolves, dealing 6 damage - Second attack trigger resolves, dealing 6 damage Nuances: - Svellsongur grants +0 might but copies the unit's text and grants it back to the unit - This works the same way equipment with Shield would grant Shield to the attached unit - The equipment itself doesn't have might that deals damage; it grants the text to the unit which uses the unit's total might

Ruling: Yes, Yasuo's 'When I Attack' ability will trigger when he enters an ongoing combat via Ride the Wind. His triggered ability will go on the same chain as the effect that moved him (the ability will be pending on the chain as the move effect resolves). Sequence: - The move effect (Ride the Wind) resolves and moves Yasuo to the battlefield - Yasuo's 'When I Attack' triggered ability becomes pending on the same chain - The triggered ability is finalized and resolves on that chain Nuances: - If a unit like Miss Fortune has an 'On Journey' trigger that happens when moving to a battlefield, that trigger goes on the chain before combat even begins. Combat cannot begin while there's an item on the chain, so that trigger must resolve first before the combat starts and the initial chain (with attacking/defending triggers) is populated. - The move trigger and combat triggers are not simultaneous events - the move trigger resolves first, then combat is staged, then combat begins which populates the initial chain with attacking/defending triggers.

Ruling: When a showdown is initiated, triggered abilities go on the chain starting with the attacker's "When I attack" triggers, then the defender's "When I defend" triggers. After reactions are played and the chain resolves, combat occurs. A unit killed by Yasuo's ability during the initial chain will not be present for combat and does not contribute damage. Sequence: - Attacking player activates their "When I attack" triggers in their desired order - Defending player activates their "When I defend" triggers in their desired order - Players can activate reactions in sequence, passing priority back and forth - After each item on the chain resolves, a cleanup occurs - After the initial chain fully resolves, the attacking player gains focus to play Action spells - Players alternate playing actions until both pass - Combat damage calculation is performed Nuances: - If a defending unit survives Yasuo's damage due to a "When I defend" ability or reaction that increases its might, it remains in combat with damage on it - If you were unable to react to Yasuo's trigger and your unit was defeated by it, it will not be there for combat - You can activate reactions during the initial chain, which will resolve before attack and defend abilities - Even if all defending units are removed, players can still play actions before combat would occur

Ruling: Yes, if you use the ability to move Yasuo into a battlefield occupied by your opponent, it causes attack triggers. Nuances: - Any time a unit moves to a battlefield occupied by the opponent, regardless of how the move is made, they are contesting the battlefield and therefore are the attacker.

Ruling: Yasuo's "when I attack" ability triggers as part of the Initial Chain at the start of the showdown, not before it. Only Reactions can be played in response to the Initial Chain; Actions cannot be played until after the Initial Chain resolves and the attacker gains Focus. Sequence: - When Yasuo moves to contest a battlefield, he becomes an attacker - The showdown begins with the Initial Chain - "When I defend" triggers are added to the Initial Chain first - "When I attack" triggers (like Yasuo's) are added to the Initial Chain second - Only Reactions can be played in response to abilities on the Initial Chain - After the Initial Chain resolves, the attacker gains Focus and can play Actions or Reactions Nuances: - Movement triggers (like Traveling Merchant) resolve before the Initial Chain if moving to an enemy-occupied battlefield, and Reactions can be played in response to them - Action speed cards like Challenge cannot be played during the Initial Chain - Reaction speed cards like Shakedown can be played in response to Yasuo's ability on the Initial Chain

Ruling: Yasuo's ability only triggers when he attacks, not when defending.

Ruling: No, Fiora's might doubles before Yasuo's ability resolves. When combat begins, both attacker and defender triggers go on the chain with defender triggers on top, so Fiora's defender trigger resolves first. Sequence: - Combat showdown begins and attacker/defender designations are handed out - Attacker triggers (Yasuo's ability) and defender triggers (Fiora's might doubling) go on the chain in that order - Defender triggers resolve first (Fiora's might doubles) - Then attacker triggers resolve (Yasuo deals damage based on his might) Nuances: - The combat showdown stage where attacker/defender designations happen is considered part of combat, not a separate pre-combat phase - Yasuo can still kill Fiora if his might is increased to be more than double Fiora's base might, or if Fiora has no might increases at all

Ruling: Yasuo's leader ability does trigger Move abilities. When moving a unit to a battlefield, it triggers a showdown if you don't control the battlefield, or combat if an opponent is already there, regardless of whether the moved unit is ready or exhausted. Nuances: - Yasuo's move ability does not exhaust the unit being moved (only standard moves exhaust units) - The readiness state of the unit being moved does not affect whether combat/showdown is triggered

Ruling: Yes, Yasuo's legend ability gives Irelia - Fervent +1 attack because Yasuo chooses her as the unit he moves. Nuances: - The +1 attack is granted because Irelia is the unit being chosen and moved by Yasuo's ability

Ruling: Yasuo, Windrider scores only once when he moves six times in a turn. The ability triggers specifically on the third movement, not on every third movement. Sequence: - Movement 1 & 2: No points scored - Movement 3: Yasuo's ability triggers, score 1 point - Movements 4, 5, & 6: No additional points scored Nuances: - Points earned from Yasuo's ability are not restricted by the standard scoring limits that apply to Conquer or Hold - Yasuo can score the winning point even if you haven't conquered every battlefield that turn - Being Recalled (bounced to base) does not count as a movement toward the ability trigger

Ruling: Yes, Yellow Leona's attack trigger will activate, but only during the second showdown after the RTW unit enters. Sequence: - When Leona moves into the open battlefield, a non-combat showdown begins (no attacker status yet, so no trigger) - If opponent uses RTW to bring a unit to the battlefield during this showdown, a combat showdown is staged - Once the first non-combat showdown resolves, the combat showdown immediately begins - During this second showdown, Leona gains attacker status and her trigger activates Nuances: - The game remembers that you originally applied contested to the battlefield, which is why you become the attacker in the second showdown - If Leona can't kill the opponent's stunned unit, she'll be recalled back to base and the opponent will score even though it's your turn - You're not considered to be attacking unless there's going to be a combat

Ruling: Yes, Soraka's ability saves tokens with Temporary. Soraka replaces death, so tokens are healed, exhausted, and recalled instead of leaving the board. Nuances: - The token will still have the Temporary keyword after being saved by Soraka