Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: No, Facebreaker cannot be used if there is no enemy target available. Facebreaker requires two targets to be played. Nuances: - Even if you want to target your own unit to trigger an effect like Dreaming Tree's draw, you still need a valid enemy target for Facebreaker to be playable.

Ruling: You need a friendly unit to cast Facebreaker. Spells need all their targets in order to be announced and go on the chain. Nuances: - You cannot cast Facebreaker when asked to help in a showdown if you are not participating in it, because you would not have a friendly unit as a valid target.

Yes, **Falling Comet** can be played in a showdown that occurs when an opponent moves a unit to an uncontested battlefield. ### Explanation and Timing According to **RiftJudge FAQ #9709** and **Rule 344**, when a unit moves to an uncontested battlefield, a **Showdown** begins. During a Showdown, the game state allows for both **[Action]** and **[Reaction]** cards to be played. * **Falling Comet** has the **[Action]** keyword. * Since the movement of the unit has triggered a Showdown, the game enters a **Showdown Open state**, allowing you to play *Falling Comet* to start a chain. ### Sequence of Events 1. **Showdown Begins:** The opponent moves their unit to an uncontested battlefield, triggering a Showdown (Rule 446.1). 2. **Priority/Focus:** The attacking player (the player who initiated the move) gains focus first. 3. **Playing the Card:** If the opponent passes focus, you may play *Falling Comet* (as an **[Action]**). 4. **Chain Created:** Playing *Falling Comet* creates a chain (Rule 338.1). The game state becomes **Showdown Closed**. 5. **Resolution:** Players may then add **[Reaction]** cards to the chain (alternating turns). Once both players pass, the chain resolves in reverse order (**LIFO**). ### Important Interaction: Falling Comet Damage As per **RiftJudge FAQ #5876**: * If *Falling Comet* deals damage equal to or greater than the target unit's might, the unit is destroyed before the combat damage step of the showdown. * If the unit is destroyed by the spell, it does not deal combat damage. Note: I could not fully verify this ruling against the retrieved rules, specifically regarding the specific damage value of the card or the exact card text permissions.

Ruling: No, Fight or Flight cannot target units on the opposite battlefield when played from hidden. Hiddens can only choose targets at the battlefield they are at. Nuances: - This targeting restriction only applies to abilities that target. Abilities that don't target (like those that automatically affect units without player choice) are not limited by which battlefield the hidden is at. - If you lose control of a battlefield by having no more units at it, any hiddens at that battlefield get trashed immediately. - Hiddens cannot be in base, they can only be at battlefields. - Gear like Zhonya's will automatically move to base once played from hidden (since gear cannot be at a battlefield), but if kept hidden at a battlefield and all units are removed, it gets trashed like any other hidden.

Ruling: No, Fight or Flight cannot return a unit from Vilemaw to base.

Ruling: Yes, Fiora's effect can be used during your opponent's turn when one of your units becomes mighty. It is a trigger, not an activated ability, so it will trigger regardless of whose turn it is. Nuances: - The effect does not need to state "reaction" to trigger during an opponent's turn - Triggers work differently from activated abilities in terms of timing

Ruling: Yes, you can pay {O} to ready Leona when she becomes mighty during the showdown sequence. Sequence: - Leona moves to a battlefield occupied by an opponent - Leona's stun goes to the pile and resolves - Leona's Legend ability triggers and buffs Leona Champion - Leona Champion becomes mighty - Fiora's ability can be used at this moment to pay {O} and ready Leona Champion

Ruling: No, First Mate cannot ready an exhausted Volibear Legend because a legend is not a unit.

Ruling: Flash can be legally activated even if the only unit is at Vilemaw's Lair. The card resolves but has no effect because units at Vilemaw's Lair cannot be moved to base in any way. Sequence: - Flash is activated and resources are paid - The player selects the unit at Vilemaw's Lair as a target - Flash resolves but the unit cannot move due to Vilemaw's Lair's restriction - The player loses Flash and the resources spent Nuances: - Flash can be cast with 0 targets since it says "up to" 2 units - Any card that says "up to X" allows zero as a valid option - Vilemaw's Lair prevents moving in any way, not just standard move actions

Ruling: No, Forge of the Future cannot recycle itself. Sequence: - You must choose targets before paying the cost - Since Forge of the Future is targeting, it must still be in play when targets are chosen - Therefore it cannot target itself to be recycled as part of its own cost

"Forgotten Signpost" is a Gear card with the ability: "[Action][>] Exhaust a unit you control, [T] : Move a different unit you control to the location of the unit you exhausted to pay for this ability." **1. Can it be played as an Action?** No. The [Action] keyword on "Forgotten Signpost" is attached to its ability, not the card itself. Therefore, the keyword grants permission to use the ability during a showdown; it does not change how the card is played. As a Gear, it must still follow the standard rules for playing Gear (e.g., normally playing to your base per Rule 148.1.a.1). **2. Does the card have to be in your base to use its ability?** The ability is on a piece of Gear. Gear is a game object while on the board (Rule 148.1.a). There is no specific rule stating a Gear must be at a base to activate its ability; it simply must be on the board and legally positioned. Per Rule 150.2, activated abilities of Gear are restricted to your Main Phase during an Open State, unless they have a keyword like [Action] that provides an exception. Because this ability has the [Action] keyword, it can be activated during a showdown. Note: I could not fully verify this ruling against the retrieved rules.

Ruling: Yes, Fox Fire can be played with 0 targets. "Any number" includes 0 as a valid choice. Nuances: - Cards that allow 0 targets are typically worded with "up to" but "any number" is functionally the same - Playing it with 0 targets can be useful for triggering effects like Ravenbloom Student - When adding up 0 targets' Mights, you get 0, which satisfies the "4 or less" condition

Ruling: When played from hand, Fox Fire can target units at any one singular battlefield. When played from Hidden, it can only target units at the battlefield where it was Hidden. Sequence: - If played from Hidden: Can only target units at the battlefield where Fox Fire was Hidden - If played from hand: Can target units at any one battlefield (but all targets must be at the same battlefield) Nuances: - The card says "at a battlefield" (singular), not "at battlefields" (plural), which means all targets must be at the same battlefield even when played from hand - Hidden has a general rule that cards played from Hidden must target things at the place where they were Hidden

Ruling: No, Fox-Fire cannot target Shen. Targets are chosen when Fox-Fire is put on the chain, before you can react with Shen. Sequence: - Fox-Fire is played and targets are locked in - Opponent can then react with Shen - Shen resolves first (as a reaction) - Fox-Fire resolves with its already-chosen targets Nuances: - You may have to modify which target receives damage when Fox-Fire resolves, but you cannot expand the pool to include new targets that weren't available when Fox-Fire was initially played

Ruling: Fox-Fire targets units and those units must all be at a single battlefield. Nuances: - If Fox-Fire is played from hidden, you must pick units at the same battlefield where Fox-Fire was hidden.

Ruling: Yes, Foxfire can be played with zero targets. Any effect that contains "any number" or "up to" can select zero targets, and if zero targets are chosen, the spell or ability can be played without any targets. Nuances: - When targeting, units must initially meet the targeting criteria (4 might or less for Foxfire) - If you choose zero targets with "any number" wording, you don't need any valid targets to play the card - All units you target must die when the effect resolves (no "may" clause to choose which ones) - If might values change between targeting and resolution, and targets now total more than 4 might combined, you cross off some targets to get back down to the 4 might threshold

Yes, *Frigid Touch* can reduce a unit's Might below 1. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #9565** and **RiftJudge FAQ #421**, units can have negative Might values. While the game treats negative Might as 0 for purposes like combat or checking for lethal damage, the actual negative value is tracked internally for arithmetic operations. If you use *Frigid Touch* (which gives -2 Might) on a unit with 1 Might: 1. **Initial State:** The unit has 1 Might. 2. **Effect:** The unit's Might becomes -1 (1 - 2 = -1). For all game purposes (such as combat or checking if it dies), this -1 Might is treated as 0, but the -1 value is tracked internally. If you were to later apply a buff that increases its Might, that buff would be added to the -1 value.

Ruling: Units only die when they have non-zero damage marked on them that is greater than or equal to their Might. A unit with 0 or even negative Might will not die until it takes at least 1 damage. Nuances: - Units can go to negative Might under current rules - Even if a unit's Might is reduced below zero (e.g., to -1 or -2), it remains alive as long as it has no damage marked on it

Ruling: Yes. If Frozen Fortress deals 1 damage to enemy units during the Beginning Phase, and you later play Thousand-Tailed Watcher during the Main Phase of the same turn, the Watcher's -3 Might debuff can reduce those damaged units to 1 Might. When a unit has damage marked on it equal to or exceeding its current Might, it is killed during the next cleanup check. Sequence: - Beginning Phase: Frozen Fortress triggers and deals 1 damage to each unit at the battlefield - Main Phase: Play Thousand-Tailed Watcher, its ability triggers and resolves - The Watcher's ability reduces enemy units' Might by 3 (to a minimum of 1) - Cleanup check occurs: units with 1 Might and 1 damage marked are killed Nuances: - The Watcher's "this turn" effect includes both the Beginning Phase (when damage was dealt) and the Main Phase (when the debuff is applied) - Units are only killed if their Might is reduced to equal or less than the damage already marked on them - This combo works on units with 4 or less base Might, as the Watcher reduces Might to a minimum of 1

Ruling: GEAR enters the battlefield ready and can be used the turn you played it. Nuances: - This applies to seals and other GEAR cards

Ruling: Yes, Gemcraft Seer's vision can stack and a unit can have multiple instances of vision.

Yes, you can play a unit that died at the same time as **Glasc Mixologist** using its *Deathknell* ability. ### The Ruling According to the established logic in Riftbound FAQs regarding *Deathknell* (specifically **FAQ #9482** and **FAQ #9392**), when multiple units die simultaneously, their *Deathknell* triggers are added to the chain as pending items before the units are moved to the trash. Because the game "remembers" them in the trash once the triggers resolve, you can target a unit that just died with the *Deathknell* effect of **Glasc Mixologist**. *Note: This interpretation is based on community-sourced RiftJudge FAQs as no official rule chunk explicitly details the "simultaneous death" interaction, though it is consistent with the established mechanics of how Deathknell handles pending items.* ### Sequence of Events 1. **Simultaneous Death:** **Glasc Mixologist** and another unit (with 3 or less energy) die simultaneously (e.g., due to a board-wide effect). 2. **Deathknell Triggers:** Both units have *Deathknell* abilities. These triggers are added to the chain as pending items before the units are moved to the trash. 3. **Chain Resolution:** You are the controller of these triggers. You choose the order in which to add them to the chain. 4. **Resolving Glasc Mixologist:** When you resolve the *Deathknell* trigger from **Glasc Mixologist**, you are instructed to play a unit from your trash with an energy cost of 3 or less. 5. **Playing the Unit:** Because the unit that died simultaneously is now in your trash, it is a legal target for the *Deathknell* effect of **Glasc Mixologist**. You may play it from your trash to the battlefield, ignoring its energy cost. *** **Important Nuance: Attacker vs. Defender** Whether you can successfully play the unit to a specific battlefield depends on your status at that location: * **If you are the Defender:** You already control the battlefield, so you can play the unit there to maintain your control (FAQ #9149). * **If you are the Attacker:** You do not control the battlefield until the showdown is resolved and you have successfully conquered it. Therefore, you cannot play a unit to that battlefield during the combat cleanup phase (FAQ #9479).

Ruling: No, Green Yasuo cannot be moved from Vilemaw's Lair to base using Yasuo's Unforgiven ability or Flash. Vilemaw's Lair prevents all moves to base, not just standard moves. Sequence: - The ability attempts to move the unit - Vilemaw's Lair blocks the move to base - The unit stays in Vilemaw's Lair - No "when I move" triggers occur because the move was blocked Nuances: - Recall and "return to hand" effects work differently - they can legally move units out of the Lair because recall specifically does not count as a move - When a move is blocked by Vilemaw's Lair, "when I move" triggers do not activate since the unit did not actually move

Yes, Grim Apothecary can return itself to your hand. According to its card text, Grim Apothecary's ability is: "When you play me, you may return a friendly unit at a battlefield to its owner's hand." Because Grim Apothecary is a unit you control, it is a "friendly unit." Once it has been played and is on the battlefield, it is a legal target for its own ability. When the ability triggers upon being played, you may choose to target Grim Apothecary itself to return it to your hand.

No, you cannot play *Gust* if there are no legal targets on the battlefield. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #1294**, you cannot play any spell that does not have a legal target to begin with. Furthermore, **Core Rule 359.3.e.7** states that if all of a spell's targets become invalid by the time it is finished being played, the instruction will not execute, but the spell must have had a legal target at the moment it was played to be valid. If you are looking to play *Gust* to trigger an effect that cares about spells being played (even if the *Gust* itself ends up having no effect), you must still select a valid target at the time of playing it.

Ruling: The Drummer is already considered to be in Warcamp and at 4 power when the trigger occurs, so Gust cannot be used to target it as a 3-power unit. Nuances: - The unit's stats update based on its new location before triggers from moving resolve

Ruling: You cannot Gust Wielder of Water when it moves to an occupied battlefield because its might becomes 4 as soon as it enters combat (Gust requires might 3 or less). However, you can Gust it when moving to an uncontrolled/open battlefield since it's not attacking in that scenario. Sequence: - When Wielder of Water moves to an occupied battlefield, combat begins - Combat starts with a showdown where players can play actions and reactions - Wielder of Water's ability is passive ("while attacking") and immediately active, making it 4 might - Gust cannot target it due to the might requirement Nuances: - Wielder of Water's ability uses "while attacking" (passive) not "when attacking" (stack-based), so it doesn't use the stack - The +2 might only applies while attacking or defending in combat - Outside of combat showdowns, Wielder of Water is 2 might and can be Gusted - Moving to an open/uncontrolled battlefield is not considered attacking, so Wielder remains 2 might and can be Gusted

Ruling: You cannot Gust an Immortal Phoenix that is attacking, because it gains its +2 might from Assault passively and immediately, making it 5 might before any window to respond. Gust can only target units with 3 or less might. Nuances: - If the Phoenix moves to an empty battlefield (not attacking), it remains 3 might and can be Gusted - If the Phoenix moves alongside a unit with a move trigger (like Traveling Merchant), you can respond to that move trigger and Gust the Phoenix before the showdown begins, since it hasn't been designated as attacker yet and doesn't have the Assault buff - Move triggers resolve while units are on the battlefield but before showdown starts, creating a window where the Phoenix is still 3 might - If you Gust away all units during a move trigger response, no showdown occurs

Ruling: Vilemaw's Lair only prevents moving from Vilemaw to base. It does not prevent returning units to hand (like with Gust), and it does not prevent moving from Vilemaw to another battlefield. Nuances: - Gust is not a move, so Vilemaw's restriction does not apply to it - "Can't beats can" applies, but Vilemaw's restriction only affects moves to base specifically

Ruling: Gust cannot target a 4 Might unit that has been damaged. Damage does not reduce a unit's Might stat; it only marks damage on the unit. To target a 4 Might unit with Gust, you must use an effect that reduces its Might stat (like Stupefy) to 3 or less. Nuances: - A unit with 4 Might and 3 damage marked is still a 4 Might unit - Damage and Might reduction are separate mechanics - You can buff a unit's Might in response to Gust to make it an invalid target

Ruling: Gust can only target units with 3 Might or less. Marked damage and Might are separate values with no relation to each other except that a unit dies when marked damage equals or exceeds its Might. Nuances: - A unit like Yasuo with 6 Might that has taken 5 damage still has 6 Might and cannot be targeted by Gust - "Health remaining" is not a game concept in Riftbound; only Might and marked damage exist

Ruling: Yes, you can return a copy of your chosen champion from trash to the Champion Zone even if another copy is in your base or at a battlefield. Your chosen champion is defined by the card name that started in the Champion Zone, not the specific physical card. Nuances: - The chosen champion identity is tied to the card name, not to a specific physical copy of the card

Ruling: Yes, Hard Bargain can target two spells on the chain if you play its repeat cost. Nuances: - This applies when multiple spells are on the chain during resolution - You must pay the repeat cost to target both spells

Ruling: Heimerdinger cannot see units in the champion zone. Nuances: - Units and gears in card text specifically refer to cards on the Board - The Chosen Champion Zone is a Non-Board Zone

Ruling: No, each ability Heimerdinger gains has the cost of exhausting him. Since you can only exhaust him once per turn, you can only pay the cost for one of his abilities. Nuances: - If you can ready him with another ability, you can use him again that same turn

Ruling: Yes, you can activate Herald of the Arcane's ability on turn one during your action phase by exhausting one rune of any type. The recruit token enters play exhausted, just like playing a unit from your hand. Sequence: - Exhaust Herald of the Arcane - Exhaust one rune of any type - Create a recruit token - The recruit enters play exhausted Nuances: - The cost is exhausting one rune of any type, not specifically a rainbow rune or energy

Yes, **Here to Help** can reduce the cost of **Master Yi, Unstoppable** in addition to the cost reductions provided by his **Level** ability. According to **Rule 356.4**, multiple cost-reduction effects are applied to the total cost of a spell or unit play. Since both *Here to Help* and *Master Yi, Unstoppable*'s Level ability apply to the cost of playing the unit, you sum these discounts together. ### How it works: 1. **Level Reduction:** When you play *Master Yi, Unstoppable*, his cost is reduced based on your current XP level (e.g., if you have 3 XP, he costs [2] and [1] Power less). 2. **Here to Help Reduction:** *Here to Help* provides a separate, flat reduction of [3] to the unit's cost. 3. **Final Cost:** Both discounts are applied to the card's base cost (12 Energy, 3 Power). As long as the resulting cost does not drop below 0 (per **Rule 356.5**), the total discount is the sum of both the Level reduction and the 3 Energy reduction from *Here to Help*. This is a standard interaction where independent sources of discounts stack to reduce the final cost of a card.

Ruling: Hidden Blade cannot be activated after combat damage is assigned. Nuances: - Hidden Blade cannot be activated in response to damage allocation during a showdown

Ruling: Hidden Blade can only be used on the battlefield where it is hidden. It cannot target units at other battlefields. Nuances: - Even if the unit with the hidden card is moved to another location (like being moved to base with Charm), the Hidden Blade still only works on the battlefield where it was originally hidden.

Ruling: Hidden Blade cannot target units at a different battlefield. Hidden cards can only affect units that are at the battlefield they are hidden at. Nuances: - The targeting restriction applies to the battlefield the hidden was revealed from - Any units played by the hidden effect must be played to that battlefield - Non-targeting effects from hidden cards are not restricted to the same battlefield - If both the target and the hidden card move to a different battlefield before the effect resolves, the target would still be illegal (unlike effects with the word "here")

Ruling: No, you cannot use Hidden Blade on an opponent's Ruin Runner because Hidden Blade requires choosing/targeting a unit, and Ruin Runner cannot be chosen by opponent's spells and skills. Sequence: - Hidden Blade requires a valid target to be activated - You choose the target before putting the spell on the chain - Ruin Runner cannot be chosen by opponent's spells, so it is not a valid target Nuances: - You can target your own Ruin Runner with Hidden Blade - Hidden Blade draws cards as long as the target is still valid on resolution (even if saved by replacement effects like Sett/Zhonya's), not only when it kills the unit - All spells recheck targeting validity on resolution

Ruling: No, Hidden Blade cannot kill a unit at a different battlefield than where it was hidden. Nuances: - The targeting is restricted to the battlefield where Hidden Blade was hidden - This restriction applies even when the ability is activated

Ruling: Hidden Blade can target a unit on another battlefield if played from hand, but if played from hidden, it must target a unit on that battlefield. Sequence: - If played from hand: can target any battlefield - If played from hidden: must target the battlefield it was hidden on Nuances: - The restriction to target the same battlefield only applies when playing from hidden, not when playing from hand

No, a hidden **Fight or Flight** cannot save a unit from **Vengeance**. While you can play **Fight or Flight** in response to **Vengeance** to move your unit to your base, **Vengeance** will still successfully resolve and kill the unit. ### Why this happens: * **Targeting:** **Vengeance** targets "a unit" without any location restriction. Because the spell does not require the unit to be at a specific battlefield, moving the unit to your base does not make it an illegal target. * **Resolution:** The chain resolves in reverse order (LIFO). **Fight or Flight** resolves first, moving the unit to your base. Then, **Vengeance** resolves, finds the unit at your base, and kills it. ### Sequence: 1. **Vengeance** is cast, targeting your unit at a battlefield. 2. You play your hidden **Fight or Flight** in response. 3. **Fight or Flight** resolves first, moving the unit to your base. 4. **Vengeance** resolves, targeting the unit at your base, and kills it. **Note:** This is different from spells like **Hidden Blade**, which specifically target a unit "at a battlefield." If you move a unit to your base in response to **Hidden Blade**, the unit becomes an illegal target because it is no longer at a battlefield, causing the spell to mistarget and fail. **Vengeance** has no such restriction.

No, you cannot use **Not So Fast** to counter **Cull the Weak**. According to the official rulings for these cards: * **Not So Fast** can only counter a spell or ability that "chooses a friendly unit or gear." * **Cull the Weak** does not target or choose any units when it is played. The instruction to kill a unit is performed by each player during the resolution of the spell, rather than being a targeted choice made when the spell is played. Because **Cull the Weak** does not meet the requirement of choosing a friendly unit or gear, it is not a valid target for **Not So Fast**.

No, you cannot use **Mystic Reversal** to change the targeting of a hidden card to a different battlefield. Here is the breakdown of why this interaction is restricted: ### 1. The Targeting Restriction on Hidden Cards According to the established rules and FAQs for *Riftbound*, hidden cards are strictly bound to the battlefield where they were hidden. * **Rule:** A card played from hidden at one battlefield must target units and place tokens only at that same battlefield (FAQ 5706). * **Exception:** The only known exception to this rule is **Tideturner**, which has specific errata allowing it to target units at other locations because it cannot fulfill its targeting requirements at its own location (FAQ 6517, 7602). ### 2. How Mystic Reversal Interacts with Hidden Cards When you use **Mystic Reversal** to take control of a spell (or a card being played as a spell, such as a hidden card being flipped), you are allowed to make new choices for it. However, you are still bound by the legal requirements of that card. * **Legal Targets:** Because the card was hidden at a specific battlefield, its "legal" targeting area is restricted to that battlefield. * **The Limitation:** Even though *you* are now making the choices, you cannot choose a target at a different battlefield because that target would be illegal for that specific card. You must select a legal target at the battlefield where the card was hidden. ### Summary If you use **Mystic Reversal** on a hidden card, you may change the target, but you **must** choose a target that is at the same battlefield where the card was hidden. You cannot use this interaction to bypass the fundamental restriction that hidden cards are tied to their specific battlefield.

Yes, you can use **Tactical Retreat** on your unit with the **Temporary** keyword to save it. ### Why this works: 1. **The Trigger:** The **Temporary** keyword triggers at the start of your Beginning Phase ("At the start of this permanent's controller's Beginning Phase... kill this"). This trigger is placed on the chain. 2. **Reacting:** Because this is a triggered ability on the chain, you have priority to play **[Reaction]** spells in response to it. You can cast **Tactical Retreat** and target the unit that is about to be killed by its **Temporary** effect. 3. **Resolution (LIFO):** Your **Tactical Retreat** resolves first, creating a replacement effect for that unit: "The next time it would die this turn, heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead." 4. **Replacement:** When the original **Temporary** death trigger then resolves, it attempts to kill your unit. The **Tactical Retreat** replacement effect intercedes: instead of the unit dying and going to the trash, it is healed, exhausted, and recalled to your base. *** *Note: This interpretation is based on the interaction between triggered abilities and replacement effects as defined in the Core Rules. While no official FAQ exists for this exact card-keyword interaction, it follows the established rules for using **Tactical Retreat** to save units from death effects (as seen in RiftJudge FAQ #10096 and #9425).*

No, you cannot use Tideturner to move a unit out of Vilemaw's Lair. According to the RiftJudge FAQ (ID 7241) regarding this specific interaction: * **Ruling:** You cannot move a unit out of Vilemaw's Lair using Tideturner's swap ability. Because Tideturner's effect uses the word "move," it is subject to the restriction of Vilemaw's Lair, which prevents units from moving from it to your base. **Sequence of the interaction:** 1. Tideturner is played to your base and targets the unit in Vilemaw's Lair. 2. Tideturner moves to Vilemaw's Lair. 3. The targeted unit cannot move to your base due to the restriction imposed by Vilemaw's Lair. 4. The targeted unit remains in Vilemaw's Lair. **Nuances:** * The swap effect still partially resolves: Tideturner successfully moves to Vilemaw's Lair, even though the other unit is prevented from moving out. * Vilemaw's Lair prevents all movement effects to base, not just standard moves. Only "Recall" effects (which are distinct from movement) can bypass this restriction.

Ruling: No, you cannot activate Deceiver's ability if you have no cards in your hand. The discard is a cost (appearing before "to" in the ability text), not part of the effect's resolution, so you must have at least one card to discard in order to activate the ability. Nuances: - This differs from effects where discard appears after "to" or uses "then" phrasing, where the discard would be part of resolution rather than a cost - When discarding is listed as a cost, you must be able to complete the action for the cost to be paid - If you have no cards, you cannot pay the discard cost, so the ability cannot be activated at all

Ruling: Yes, you can activate Lux's ability to add 2 energy in response to Vengeance, then use that energy to play Retreat. However, the more standard play is to react with Retreat directly and use Lux's ability to pay the cost while finalizing Retreat on the chain, since you don't need to add resources before playing a spell. Sequence: - Opponent plays Vengeance targeting Lux - You receive priority to react - Option 1: Activate Lux to add 2 energy, then play Retreat using that energy - Option 2 (more standard): Play Retreat as a reaction, then activate Lux's ability to pay the cost as part of the Play action Nuances: - Abilities that add resources (with the "Add" tag) resolve immediately without a chain and can be activated during the process of paying for a spell's cost - You can activate abilities with the "Add" tag as part of finalizing a spell or ability on the chain