Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: No, "when I attack" only triggers during Combat, which doesn't happen when you move to an empty battlefield or a battlefield you already control. Nuances: - Does not trigger when moving to an empty battlefield - Does not trigger when moving to a battlefield you already control

Ruling: Yes, winning combat triggers abilities even if the Combat Damage Step is skipped. Combat is still resolved in the Resolution Step, and as long as your unit remains on the battlefield after combat (or you score the conqueror point if attacking), you win combat. Sequence: - Combat starts - Combat Damage Step can be skipped if there are no opposing units - Combat still resolves in Resolution Step - If your unit is on the battlefield after combat resolves, you won combat Nuances: - For attackers: you win if you score the conqueror point - For defenders: you win if you keep control of the battlefield - Combat damage occurring is not required for winning combat

Ruling: 'You' on battlefield cards refers to the controller. However, Dreaming Tree specifically works for any player, not just the controller. Nuances: - Dreaming Tree was changed to work for both players - Battlefields are intended to work for both players since both play into it - Other battlefield cards that say 'you' refer only to the controller unless otherwise specified

Ruling: Yes, Darius triggers his effect if he himself is the second spell of the turn. Nuances: - This ruling is confirmed in Riot's official Riftbound Origins FAQ document.

Yes, the ability on **Abandoned Hall** involves "choosing" a unit, and this selection qualifies as a "choose" event for the purpose of triggering other abilities. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #10297**, when you resolve the triggered ability from **Abandoned Hall** and select a unit to receive the +1 Might, you are actively choosing that unit. Therefore, if a card has an ability that triggers "when you choose me" (like *Irelia, Fervent*), it will trigger when selected by Abandoned Hall's effect. This is because the requirement to "give a unit they control here +1 Might" forces the player to make an active, manual choice from among the available units at that battlefield, rather than the game programmatically selecting the unit.

Ruling: Abandoned Hall triggers when a spell finishes resolving. The phrase "when you play a spell" means after the spell has completed its resolution process, not when it is initially cast. Sequence: - You play a spell and it resolves (executes its effects) - After the spell finishes resolving, the "when you play a spell" condition is met - Abandoned Hall's triggered ability is placed on the chain Nuances: - If a spell is countered (defied), it never finishes resolving and is not considered to have been "played," so Abandoned Hall will not trigger. - Even if a spell's instructions fail (e.g., due to mistargeting), it still counts as having been played because it completed the resolution process.

Ruling: Yes. When a player activates Abandoned Hall's effect and selects a unit to receive +1 Might, they are choosing that unit. If Irelia, Fervent is chosen, her ability triggers, giving her a total of +2 Might (+1 from Abandoned Hall and +1 from her own ability). Nuances: - Abandoned Hall's text "they may give a unit they control here +1 Might" requires the player to actively choose a unit from among those they control at that battlefield. - This is a player-made choice, not a programmatic selection by the game. - Irelia, Fervent's ability triggers "when you choose or ready me," which is satisfied by the player's selection for Abandoned Hall's effect. - Note: FAQ #4758, which previously ruled this did not count as choosing, has been deprecated.

Ruling: No, Adaptatron must be the unit doing the conquering for its effect to trigger. If you already have hold on a terrain, moving Adaptatron there is just unit movement, not a conquer. Nuances: - Conquering only occurs when you first establish hold on a terrain - Moving a unit to a terrain where you already have hold does not count as conquering

Ruling: Adaptatron only lets you kill a gear. If there's no gear to target, you can't fulfill the condition and the buff does not occur. Nuances: - The card says "a gear" not "all gear", which requires at least one valid target to fulfill the condition

Ruling: Conquering only occurs when you gain control of a battlefield through winning a showdown, not by simply moving onto an uncontested battlefield. You must score the battlefield through conquering (whether gaining a VP or drawing because you can't get the final VP) to trigger conquer effects like Adaptatron's. Sequence: - Win a showdown to gain control of a battlefield - If you haven't scored that battlefield this turn, this counts as conquering - Conquering triggers score effects even if you don't gain a point (e.g., at final VP) - Simply moving onto an open battlefield you already scored does not count as conquering Nuances: - "Scoring a battlefield" is not strictly the same as "gaining a point from scoring that battlefield" - You can conquer even if you can't gain a point (e.g., when it's your last point and you haven't scored all battlefields) - Effects that prevent "scoring points" prevent gaining points from conquering/holding, but not the conquering/holding actions themselves

Yes, at the end of a **combat showdown**, all units everywhere in play heal all damage marked on them simultaneously. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #6111** and **Rule 461.1.a.1**, this healing occurs during the Resolution Step of a combat as part of the Combat Special Cleanup. It applies to all units on the board, regardless of their location (at the battlefield, in base, or elsewhere) and regardless of whether they participated in the combat. **Important distinctions:** * **Combat vs. Non-Combat:** This healing only triggers after **combat showdowns** (contested battlefields where units from both players are present). Units do **not** heal after a non-combat showdown (e.g., when a battlefield is contested, but only one player has units there). * **Healing at End of Turn:** Additionally, all units heal all damage at the end of the turn during the Ending Phase (Rule 317.2.b). * **Damage is separate from Might:** Note that damage marked on a unit does not reduce its Might value; it is tracked separately, and units are only destroyed when marked damage equals or exceeds their Might.

Ahri Legend's ability applies to **all** attacking enemy units at a battlefield you control. It does not target, so it **does not trigger Deflect**. Here is the breakdown based on the official FAQs: * **All units affected:** The ability triggers individually for every enemy unit that gains the "attacker" designation at a battlefield you control. If multiple units attack together, the ability triggers once for each of them, and each receives the -1 Might reduction. * **No targeting:** Because the ability automatically applies to any unit that attacks and does not require you (the controller) to choose a specific unit, it is not considered to "target" anything. * **No Deflect:** Since the effect does not target, it does not interact with the Deflect keyword. Your opponent does not need to pay any Deflect costs for this ability. This ruling specifically applies to the **Ahri Legend** card. Note that there is another version of the card, *Ahri, Inquisitive*, which does target and would trigger Deflect.

No, Ahri Legend's ability (Nine-Tailed Fox) does not trigger on your teammate's battlefield in a 2v2 game. According to the RiftJudge FAQ (ID 9756): > "No, Ahri's legend ability (Nine-Tailed Fox) does not trigger when your teammate is defending. > > According to the card text, the ability triggers 'When an enemy unit attacks a **battlefield you control**.' In the 2v2 format, you and your teammate are distinct players, and you each control your own battlefields. Therefore, an attack on your teammate's battlefield is not an attack on a battlefield you control, and your Ahri legend ability will not trigger."

Ruling: Ahri Legend does not target because you never choose which units are affected - it automatically applies to all attacking units. You do not need to pay deflect costs for Ahri Legend's ability. Sequence: - When a unit attacks, Ahri Legend's ability triggers - The ability goes on the chain as a separate instance for each attacker - Each attacking unit gets -1/-1 without targeting - This happens every time units attack that turn Nuances: - Ahri Legend does not target, but the blue Ahri Champion card does target and would require paying deflect costs - The ability creates one instance per attacker that goes on the chain - Since it doesn't target, deflect costs do not need to be paid

Ruling: Ahri Legend's ability triggers individually for each enemy unit that attacks. When multiple units attack together, the ability triggers multiple times (once per attacking unit) and each attacking unit gets their might decreased. Sequence: - Each attacking unit is individually declared as an attacker - Ahri Legend's ability triggers separately for each attacker - Each trigger resolves individually, decreasing that attacker's might Nuances: - The ability does not require the enemy to attack alone (unlike Master Yi's defense ability which specifies "attacks alone") - If 3 units attack, the ability triggers 3 times

Ruling: Ahri Nine-Tailed Fox's ability triggers separately for each enemy unit that attacks a battlefield she controls, giving each attacking unit -1 Might (to a minimum of 1 Might). Sequence: - When an enemy unit attacks a battlefield Ahri controls, her triggered ability activates - The ability triggers separately for each attacking unit - Each trigger gives -1 Might to one unit - The Ahri player must announce the trigger when it happens (when combat damage occurs is acceptable timing) Nuances: - This is a triggered ability (indicated by "when"), not a passive ability, so it must be announced - If the trigger is not announced before it would affect the game in a visible fashion, it can be considered a missed trigger - The ability can apply more than once per turn since it lasts until end of turn - The wording "an enemy unit" means each individual unit triggers the ability separately, not that only one unit total is affected

Ruling: Ahri Nine-Tailed Fox's legend ability triggers separately for each attacking enemy unit, giving each one -1/-1. You never make a choice about which unit to target. Sequence: - When enemy units are designated as attackers - Ahri's ability triggers once per attacking unit - Each trigger goes on the chain separately - Each attacking unit receives -1/-1 from its corresponding trigger Nuances: - This differs from Inquisitive Ahri, which triggers only once "when I attack or defend" and requires choosing a single target unit - The wording "when an enemy unit is attacking give IT -1/-1" causes the multiple triggers, as it references each individual unit being designated as an attacker

Ruling: Yes, Ahri needs to recycle a rune to target a unit with deflect using her 'When I defend give a unit -2' ability. If you cannot recycle a rune (because you have recycled all of them), you cannot use Ahri's ability on that unit with deflect. Nuances: - Deflect requires you to pay the power cost to target the unit - The inability to pay the cost (no runes to recycle) prevents the ability from being used on that target

Ruling: Ahri's Alluring character ability affects only one unit when multiple units move to a showdown at her battlefield. Her leader ability affects all units you move to a battlefield she controls. Sequence: - When you move a unit to the battlefield Ahri is occupying, at the beginning of the showdown, the opponent declares which unit is targeted by Alluring Nuances: - The character ability (Alluring) targets a single unit - The leader ability applies -1 to each unit attacking a battlefield Ahri controls

Ruling: Ahri's ability applies to all enemy Units attacking a battlefield you control. It does not target, so it does not trigger Deflect. Sequence: - When an enemy Unit attacks a battlefield you control, Ahri's triggered ability goes on the Chain - If the same Unit attacks multiple times, the ability triggers each time and the effects stack - The ability can be responded to with reaction spells since it uses the Chain Nuances: - This is a triggered ability (not a passive ability), so it goes on the Chain and can be reacted to - Triggered abilities are not spells - If a Unit is moved into combat after combat has started (e.g., with Zenith Blade), Ahri's ability will trigger for that new attacker

Ruling: Ahri's legend ability triggers separately for each attacking enemy unit. If 5 units attack, all 5 units get -1. Sequence: - When multiple units attack, the ability triggers once for each attacking unit - The ability goes on the chain separately for each attacker - Each attacking unit receives the -1 effect Nuances: - The singular wording "when an enemy unit attacks" does not limit it to one trigger - it triggers individually for each unit that attacks - The ability does not target (no choice is made) - There is a different blue champion version of Ahri (Ahri, Inquisitive) with a similar ability that only affects a single unit, which sometimes causes confusion

Ruling: You can only respond to Yasuo's attack trigger with a reaction, not an action card. Ahri's legend ability reduces Yasuo's might before his attack trigger resolves, reducing the ability damage from 6 to 5. Sequence: - When Yasuo attacks, "when I defend" abilities trigger last on the stack - "When I defend" abilities resolve first (reverse order) - Ahri's legend ability resolves, reducing Yasuo's might by 1 - Yasuo's attack trigger then resolves with reduced might Nuances: - If Yasuo is moved with Fight or Flight while hidden, his attack trigger won't go off because the target "an enemy unit here" becomes invalid ("here" refers to Yasuo's location)

Ruling: Yes, Ahri's legend ability activates even when she is exhausted. Ahri does not need to exhaust to activate her ability. Nuances: - Triggered abilities outside of the board self-describe their context - if Ahri didn't trigger when exhausted, the ability would explicitly state that requirement - Being exhausted does not remove triggered abilities from cards unless the exhaustion is part of the ability's condition

Ruling: Ahri's legend effect does not target and therefore does not require paying deflect costs when a unit with deflect attacks. Sequence: - When an enemy unit attacks a battlefield Ahri controls, the trigger condition identifies "an enemy unit" - The effect references "it" (the attacking unit) but this is determined by the game state, not player choice - Since "enemy unit" appears in the trigger condition and "it" is programmatically decided rather than chosen by a player, neither constitutes a target Nuances: - This differs from blue Ahri (Ahri Inquisitive), which does target and would require paying deflect costs - The player controlling the attacking unit is choosing to move into that battlefield; Ahri's controller is not actively choosing which unit to affect - Similar effects like Mask of Foresight also do not target for the same reason

Ruling: Yes, Ahri's on-hold point effect counts toward the winning condition. Characters that grant you a point, such as Ahri or Tryndamere, are not restricted from providing the final winning point. Nuances: - The only restriction for the winning point is that it cannot come from conquering a battlefield unless all battlefields have been scored - Multiple Ahris holding battlefields can each trigger their effect on the same upkeep - Multiple Ahris can be on the same battlefield and each will grant a point

Ruling: Ahri's ability applies to all units on the battlefield, triggering individually for each one of them. When a new unit joins combat later in the showdown, Ahri's ability will trigger again for that newly joined attacker. Sequence: - Ahri's ability triggers during the initial when attacking/when defending chain for all units present - If a unit joins combat later via a reaction effect, Ahri's ability triggers again specifically for that new unit - The new trigger hops on the chain when the new unit joins Nuances: - The ability triggers once per unit, not once total per combat - Units that join combat after the initial chain still cause Ahri's ability to trigger

Ruling: Ahri, Nine-Tailed Fox (Legend) gives -1 might to all units attacking her battlefield. Ahri, Inquisitive only targets one unit. Sequence: - When an opponent's unit is assigned as an attacker to Ahri Legend's battlefield, her trigger goes on the initial chain (before players can play actions) - The -1 might applies to all attacking units at that time - If a new unit joins combat later (e.g., via Ride the Wind after the initial chain resolves), Ahri Legend triggers again for that new unit - The new trigger starts a new chain that players can respond to with reactions Nuances: - Ahri Legend can trigger multiple times in one combat if new attackers are assigned after the initial chain - Ahri, Inquisitive only triggers once per combat - Ahri Legend's trigger occurs during the initial chain, but once on the chain, players can respond with reactions - When a unit joins combat via an action like Ride the Wind, it doesn't gain the attacker designation until that action resolves, so Ahri's trigger starts a new chain afterward

No, the **Weaponmaster** keyword does not allow you to equip an Equipment for free. According to **Rule 821.1.b** and **Rule 821.1.c**, Weaponmaster is a play effect that allows you to pay the Equipment's Equip cost, **reduced by [A]** (a power of any domain), to attach it to the unit with the Weaponmaster keyword. It does not make the equip cost zero; it simply provides a discount of [A] to the cost of the Equip ability. If the Equipment's Equip cost does not contain [A], you must still pay the full cost.

Yes, the **Deflect** keyword from **Allay, Eager Admirer** stacks with existing **Deflect** on your other units. According to **Rule 809.2**: "If a Unit has Deflect, or has been granted Deflect, and is granted Deflect by an additional source, the Deflect Value of all granted Deflect keywords is summed." When you have a unit with **Deflect** (which defaults to **Deflect 1** if no value is listed, per Rule 809.1.b.3) and an **Allay, Eager Admirer** at the same battlefield: 1. The unit has its base **Deflect 1**. 2. **Allay, Eager Admirer** grants it an additional **Deflect 1**. 3. These values are summed to create a total of **Deflect 2**. As a result, an opponent must pay **2 Power** as a mandatory additional cost to choose that unit with a spell or ability (per Rule 809.1.c).

No, Alpha Strike does not require multiple enemy units at a battlefield. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #9467**, you are not required to target all enemy units at a battlefield, nor are you required to target multiple units. Because the card allows you to "split" damage, you may choose any number of available enemy targets, including just one. As noted in the FAQ, if you choose to target any enemy units that have the **Deflect** keyword, you must pay the Deflect cost for each of those units as an additional cost to play the spell.

Ruling: Angler Beast checks the current Might of units on the battlefield, not their printed Might. If a unit with printed Might 2 has been buffed to 3 or higher, it will not be returned to hand. Conversely, if a unit with printed Might 3 has been reduced to 2 or less, it will be returned to hand. Nuances: - This follows the general rule that cards with Might requirements always reference current Might unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Ruling: Anivia Primal deals 3 damage to each enemy unit individually. Nuances: - This can be compared to Volibear, Furious for similar templating

Ruling: Champion units need to be on the board for any of their effects to take place. Only legends grant their effects from their off-board zone. Nuances: - In Annie's case, Dark Child (her legend) grants effects from the off-board zone, but Annie Fiery herself must be played to the board for her champion effects to activate.

Ruling: Annie's ability only increases damage for spells and abilities that already deal damage. However, if a card explicitly states "deal 0 damage," then it would deal 1 damage with Annie's bonus. Nuances: - The ability specifies "bonus" damage and states "each instance of damage they deal is increased by 1," indicating the card must already deal damage to benefit - The hypothetical edge case of a card that explicitly says "deal 0 damage" would be increased to 1 damage, though such cards may not exist in practice

Yes, Arachnoid Horror will enter the battlefield ready if your Legend has already reached Level 11 and possesses the "Your units enter ready" ability. ### Reasoning * **Active Passive Ability:** The Level 11 ability, "Your units enter ready," is a passive effect. Since you have already reached Level 11, this effect is currently active and applies to all friendly units as they are played. * **Timing of Entry:** Unlike a "When you play me" ability, which triggers after a unit enters the battlefield, a continuous passive effect that modifies how a unit enters play applies to the state of the unit as it finalizes and transitions onto the board. * **Application:** The Arachnoid Horror gains the "enter ready" property from the active Level 11 effect at the moment it is played. ### Sequence of Events 1. **Preparation:** You have 11+ XP, making the Level 11 ability ("Your units enter ready") active. 2. **Playing the Card:** You play Arachnoid Horror. Because it is a unit being played while the Level 11 passive is active, the modification to its entry state is applied. 3. **Finalization:** The Arachnoid Horror finalizes and enters the battlefield in a ready state. Note: I could not fully verify this ruling against the retrieved rules.

Ruling: Arcane Shift requires valid targets for both parts of the effect (a friendly unit to blink AND an enemy unit to deal 3 damage to) in order to be played on the chain. You cannot play it if there is no enemy unit at a battlefield. Nuances: - Arcane Shift is not a reflexive trigger because it does not contain the phrase "do this" after "then" - If a target becomes invalid after the spell is on the chain (e.g., killed by Hidden Blade in response), there is no fizzle in Riftbound - you simply do as much as you can (blink the friendly unit but don't deal 3 damage) - This follows the same principle as other spells like Stupify, where you cannot play them just to get partial effects if all targets aren't valid

Ruling: Assault is a passive ability that functions as "While I am an attacker, I have +X Might" and applies whenever the unit has the Attacker designation. Attack triggers ("When I attack...") can only trigger once per combat per unit, but they will trigger the first time a unit gains the Attacker designation even if it enters combat late. Sequence: - Attacker designations are checked at the start of combat - Attacker designations are also checked during every cleanup step - When a unit gains the Attacker designation for the first time in a combat, attack triggers go on the chain - Assault bonuses apply continuously while a unit is an attacker Nuances: - Attack triggers can only become fulfilled once per combat, even if a unit gains and loses the Attacker designation multiple times - Units that enter combat late (after initial attack designation) will have their attack triggers fire during the cleanup step when they first gain the Attacker designation

Ruling: Yes, Assault increases your total Might while you are an attacker, which affects how much damage you can survive. Your Might determines the lethal damage threshold - you die if marked damage equals or exceeds your current Might. Sequence: - Calculate total Might while attacking (base Might + innate Assault + equipment Assault + any bonuses) - During combat, you can survive damage up to one less than your total Might because healing occurs before Assault is removed - If moved from battlefield to base, you immediately lose your Attacker designation - A Cleanup occurs when the move action completes - During Cleanup, you lose the Assault bonus and your Might drops to base value - If marked damage now equals or exceeds your base Might, you are killed and placed in trash Nuances: - Combat healing happens during Combat Special Cleanup before Attacker/Defender designations are removed, allowing you to survive damage that would be lethal at base Might - Moving a unit with Assault and marked damage to another location causes it to lose Assault immediately, potentially making previously survivable damage lethal - Any effect that removes Attacker designation will cause loss of Assault bonus before the next Cleanup check

Ruling: Assault does not increase a unit's might when moving into an unoccupied battlefield because moving into an unoccupied battlefield begins a non-combat showdown, and units only gain attacker or defender designation during combat. Sequence: - Moving a unit into an unoccupied battlefield begins a non-combat showdown - Without combat, units don't have attacker or defender designation - Assault is a passive ability that is only "on" (active) when the unit is an attacker - Since the unit isn't an attacker in a non-combat showdown, Assault doesn't increase the unit's might Nuances: - The unit still has Assault as an ability, but it doesn't provide the might bonus - Assault is a passive ability, not a triggered ability, so it's either "on" or "off" and cannot be responded to - If a unit with Assault moves to an occupied battlefield (creating a combat), then Assault becomes active and provides the might bonus

Ruling: Assault does not apply when attacking an open battlefield because there are no attackers or defenders in an open showdown. When attacking an occupied battlefield, Assault applies as soon as the unit is designated as an attacker, so Vayne would have 5 might and cannot be targeted by Gust. Sequence: - When attacking an occupied battlefield, units are designated as attackers - Assault applies during a specific step of the showdown start - The might increase from Assault counts during the showdown - Gust checks the current might of the unit, which includes the Assault bonus Nuances: - Assault is a passive/continuous ability that applies (not activates or triggers) when conditions are met - In open showdowns (attacking open battlefields), there are no attackers or defenders, so Assault does not apply

Yes, **Assault** counts toward the 3 might limit for **Gust**. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #6637** and **#1185**, Assault is a passive ability that applies immediately when a unit is designated as an attacker during the cleanup phase before combat begins. Because Gust checks the unit's **current might** (which includes any active modifiers like Assault), a unit with a base might of 2 and Assault 3 will have 5 might and will not be a valid target for Gust.

Ruling: Assault and Shield are conditional passive abilities that do not use the chain. They apply immediately based on the game state without using the chain. Nuances: - Assault and Shield are indicated by conditional keywords "while" or "if" - Example: Assault X grants +X attack while the unit is an attacker - Since they don't use the chain, opponents cannot respond to them before they take effect

Ruling: Assault is a passive ability that applies immediately and continuously while a unit is an attacker. The opponent cannot respond with Gust to remove the Assault bonus if the unit is already attacking. Sequence: - Unit becomes an attacker - Assault passive applies immediately - Opponent cannot use Gust to remove the Assault bonus at this point Nuances: - Assault is not a trigger that goes on the chain; it is a passive effect that applies for as long as the unit has attacker status

Ruling: Assault does not activate when moving to an empty battlefield. Nuances: - Assault is a passive ability (on or off), not a trigger

Yes. Under the Unleashed rules update, Assault and Shield now give their might bonus until the combat showdown ends, not just through the combat damage step. So if Jinx Demolitionist attacks with Assault 2 (bringing her to 6 might), wins the combat, and conquers, she is still at 6 might when conquer triggers resolve. This means she qualifies as Mighty and can pay costs that require Mighty units (like Sunken Temple's conquer effect). Previously, Assault would have deactivated before conquer effects resolved.

Yes, **Atakhan** will force the controller of **Ruin Runner** to kill it if it is the only unit at the battlefield being attacked. ### Why this interaction works: * **Atakhan's Ability:** Atakhan's "When I attack" ability reads: *"the defender must kill one of their units here."* This is a forced action imposed on the defending player. * **No Targeting:** As established in **RiftJudge FAQ #8755**, this ability does not "choose" or "target" a unit. Instead, it forces the defending player to perform the action of killing one of their own units. * **Ruin Runner's Protection:** Ruin Runner's ability ("I can't be chosen by enemy spells and abilities") only protects it from effects that require an opponent to specifically target or choose it. Because Atakhan's ability does not target, it bypasses Ruin Runner's protection. * **Mandatory Action:** Since the ability is mandatory and Ruin Runner is the only unit available to satisfy the requirement, the defending player must kill it. This is consistent with the ruling for **Cull the Weak** (RiftJudge FAQ #8681), which also forces a player to kill a unit they control without targeting, thereby bypassing Ruin Runner's protection.

Ruling: Teemo Strategist will never trigger from Ava Achiever. Ava Achiever lets you play a card that has the Hidden keyword from your hand, but does not let you hide a card. Nuances: - This interaction was the same both before and after the Teemo Strategist errata

No, Azir, Ascendant's ability does not exhaust the unit it swaps with. According to the RiftJudge FAQ (ID 7964), spells and abilities that move units do not change their exhaust/ready position unless they specifically state otherwise. Since Azir, Ascendant's ability does not mention exhausting the target unit, that unit remains in its current state (ready or exhausted) after the swap.

Ruling: Azir's ability does not exhaust units when it moves them. Only the standard move action exhausts units; "move" as a game action triggered by abilities does not cause exhaustion. Nuances: - This applies to all abilities that move units (like Fight or Flight or Charm) - If you use an ability/effect to move a unit, it doesn't exhaust - If you move a unit yourself using the standard move action, it exhausts

Ruling: Back to Back requires two valid targets to be played. You cannot cast it if you only control one friendly unit. Nuances: - The card text says "give two friendly units" without "up to" language, making both targets mandatory - Cards like Flash that say "up to 2" do not require the maximum number of targets - If one target becomes invalid before resolution, the spell still resolves on the remaining valid target (do as much as you can applies at resolution) - First Mate works differently because the readying effect is triggered by an ability after First Mate is already played, not a targeting requirement for playing the card itself