Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: No, Hidden Blade does not make its controller draw a card if Blink or Flash moves the unit from the battlefield. Nuances: - This ruling is confirmed in the FAQ

Ruling: Yes, you score a point. Scoring is based on whether you've scored on that battlefield this turn, not whether you controlled it at the start of the turn. Nuances: - The video showed a judge error where they incorrectly denied the score - The incorrect ruling was based on control at start of turn rather than whether scoring had occurred that turn

Ruling: When Blitzcrank is played to a battlefield the player already controls, the opponent (who is the attacker in that battlefield) gets focus first. The opponent can play Ride the Wind to move another unit into the battlefield. When Ride the Wind resolves during combat showdown, the damage assignment step will not take place. Sequence: - Blitzcrank is played to move a unit into combat - The opponent (attacker in that battlefield) receives focus first - The opponent can play Ride the Wind as an action - Focus passes back and forth until both players pass - If Ride the Wind resolves during combat showdown, damage assignment does not occur Nuances: - Targets for Ride the Wind are chosen when the card is played (when it goes on the chain), not after it resolves - Only one action can be played per chain, and it must start the chain - Focus can pass back and forth multiple times, but each chain can only contain one action - Priority and focus both pass together when a player chooses not to play a card

Ruling: Yes, Temporary sacrifices Blitzcrank before Hold can return it to hand. Sequence: - Begin of turn step happens (Temporary triggers and sacrifices the unit) - Hold step happens (but Blitzcrank is already gone) Nuances: - The reminder text for Temporary explicitly confirms this timing

Ruling: If Retreat is cast before Ahri's ability resolves, the ability resolves with 0 effect because Ahri is no longer 'Here' when the ability resolves. If Ahri's ability resolves first at start of showdown, then Retreat is cast with a separate chain, the -2 effect remains. Sequence: - If Retreat is cast before Ahri's ability resolves: Ahri leaves, then her ability resolves with 0 effect - If Ahri's ability resolves first: The -2 is applied, then Retreat can be cast on a separate chain and the -2 remains Nuances: - Riftbound does not have fizzling; abilities resolve with 0 effect instead - The word 'Here' is important - abilities that check if a unit is 'Here' will have 0 effect if that unit has left

Ruling: Blue Ahri's ability does not trigger on the newly moved unit. Reaver's Row and Ahri trigger simultaneously, but the attacker's triggers go on the chain first, so Ahri targets before the retreat happens. When Reaver's Row resolves and the unit retreats, Ahri's ability whiffs because its target is no longer present. Sequence: - Blue Ahri moves to battlefront, triggering her ability - Reaver's Row and Ahri trigger simultaneously, but attacker's triggers go on chain first - Ahri announces a target - Reaver's Row resolves, retreating the targeted unit - Ahri's ability tries to resolve but whiffs (no valid target) - Opponent can cast Ride the Wind during the same combat - New unit arrives and gains defender designation - Combat continues, but Ahri's ability does not re-trigger Nuances: - Combat does not end when the opponent moves a unit with Ride the Wind; it continues within the same combat phase - Ahri's legend ability also would not work in this scenario because the battlefront is contested, not controlled

Ruling: No, you cannot use the action until after Ezreal's 'when I defend' trigger is resolved. The triggered ability goes onto the initial chain and will resolve before either player would have open focus to play an action. Sequence: - When Ezreal defends, his 'when I defend' trigger goes on the initial chain - This triggered ability resolves first - Only after that chain resolves can you use the action to move him to base - While there is an ability on the chain (triggered or otherwise), you can only play reaction speed abilities Nuances: - The 'when I attack/defend' triggers always form the first chain, and once that chain resolves, it goes to the normal chain where you could then use actions

Ruling: Blue Teemo only activates when he becomes defender. The card was errata'd. Nuances: - A unit is considered "Defending" the moment it enters into a Showdown, whether at the beginning or later on - If you flip Teemo - Strategist up from Hidden during an opponent's showdown, he will become a Defender and his ability will trigger

Ruling: No, the spell on the chain will still resolve. Brynhir's "players can't play cards" effect refers to the "Play" action, not cards already on the chain. Nuances: - Triggers use "When you play" to mean resolved, which can cause confusion with this interaction

Ruling: No, Brynhir does not prevent opponents from playing cards from Promising Future when played in this order. When Brynhir resolves before Promising Future is played, her ability is active and prevents opponents from playing cards. Sequence: - Play Brynhir and let it resolve - Play Promising Future - Opponents look at the top 5 cards and banish one - The banished card stays banished because they cannot play it due to Brynhir's effect Nuances: - If Brynhir were played after Promising Future, it would not work because all cards from Promising Future would already be pending on the chain before Brynhir's trigger could register - Opponents still get to look at and banish a card, but cannot play the banished card

Ruling: No, Brynhir pulled out by Dazzling Aurora does not make the opponent's turn useless. Dazzling Aurora happens during a specific step of the End of Turn Phase, and everything that happens as a result of Dazzling Aurora occurs before the opponent's turn begins, meaning it is still your turn. Sequence: - Dazzling Aurora triggers during the End of Turn Phase - End of turn effects trigger - "This turn" effects wear off (in a step after the trigger step) - Opponent's turn begins (ABCD phase) Nuances: - All effects resulting from Dazzling Aurora resolve during your turn, not during the opponent's turn

Ruling: When Bullet-time is played and countered by Defy, only the 1 rune exhaust cost is paid. The runes for recycling damage are not paid because recycling is not a condition to play the card. Sequence: - Play Bullet-time and exhaust 1 rune to play it - Opponent uses Defy - Bullet-time doesn't resolve - No runes are recycled, only the 1 rune remains exhausted Nuances: - You do not need to declare the amount of runes to recycle when playing Bullet-time, as recycling is not a condition to play the card

Ruling: If Caitlyn has Tank, the opponent chooses whether to apply her Tank keyword or her "damage last" ability. If they choose Tank, they can assign damage to her first along with other Tank units. If they choose her ability, they ignore Tank on her and assign damage to her last. Sequence: - If Caitlyn has Tank and there are other Tank units, the opponent decides which effect to apply - If they choose Tank: Caitlyn is treated as a Tank unit and can be assigned damage first (in any order with other Tanks) - If they choose her ability: Tank is ignored on Caitlyn and she takes damage last Nuances: - Giving Caitlyn Tank actually benefits the opponent by giving them more flexibility in damage assignment - If there are multiple Tank units (including Caitlyn), the opponent can assign damage to Caitlyn first by choosing to treat her as having Tank - The opponent's choice between conflicting effects allows them to bypass either restriction

Ruling: Yes, Caitlyn's ability still resolves and deals damage equal to her might to the target. Once the ability is activated and placed on the chain, there is no relation to her position. Sequence: - Caitlyn's ability is activated while she's at a battlefield, targeting an enemy unit - Flash is played in response, moving Caitlyn back to base - Caitlyn's ability resolves, dealing damage equal to her might to the target (the target is still legal since it's at a battlefield) Nuances: - The ability can only be activated when Caitlyn is at a battlefield, but once activated, her position doesn't matter for resolution - If Caitlyn is returned to hand (e.g., by Gust) after the ability is activated, the ability will do no damage because chain link items have no memory of "my Might"

Ruling: The Snapvine trigger does not resolve because the targeted unit is no longer at a battlefield, making it an illegal target. Sequence: - Carnivorous Snapvine enters play and its ability goes on the chain, targeting a unit at a battlefield - In response, Fight or Flight is played from hidden, moving the targeted unit back to its owner's base - Fight or Flight resolves first (chain resolves backwards) - When Snapvine's trigger tries to resolve, the unit is no longer a legal target because it is not at a battlefield - The Snapvine trigger does nothing Nuances: - The unit can still be "found" by the trigger (it hasn't changed zones like being returned to hand, banished, or killed), but it is not a legal target because it's not at a battlefield

Ruling: No, Darius's trigger goes on the chain after Challenge resolves, meaning the damage is dealt before Darius gains might. Sequence: - Challenge is played as the second card - Challenge resolves and deals damage - Darius's trigger goes on the chain after Challenge has resolved

Ruling: When Challenge is used outside of a combat showdown, the damage persists until the next combat cleanup or end of turn, not immediately after resolving the chain. Nuances: - Challenge doesn't cause a combat showdown itself, it's just a spell doing damage - Damage cleanup only occurs during combat cleanup or end of turn, not during other showdown windows

Ruling: No. Sun Disc does not have reaction, so it will not have the opportunity to activate its effect when Chemtech Enforcer is played as the first card. Nuances: - This only applies when Chemtech Enforcer is specifically your first card played that turn

Ruling: Yes, Cithria can be buffed again. When Wildclaw Shaman is played, it triggers Cithria's ability because a new character entered play, even if the buff from Wildclaw Shaman is spent to make it ready. Nuances: - If triggers happen simultaneously, you can order them, so you could choose to buff Cithria first and then spend that buff to make Wildclaw Shaman ready.

Ruling: Sett survives. During the Resolution Step, all lethally damaged units are moved to trash simultaneously, then damage is healed. Since Cithria is still present when lethal damage is checked, Sett still has the extra might at that moment. After units are trashed, damage heals before cleanup would check again. Sequence: - All units take damage simultaneously during combat - During Resolution Step, lethally damaged units are identified and moved to trash simultaneously (Cithria would be trashed here, but Sett still has the buff at this moment) - Damage is healed on remaining units - Cleanup occurs, but Sett no longer has damage marked on him Nuances: - Passive abilities are checked continuously and are always active while the unit is on the board - The game only kills units during cleanup and resolution step, not between these phases - This sequencing prevents units from dying in the middle of resolutions or between applying continuous effects

Ruling: You cannot cast Gust on a 4 Might unit before Stupify resolves because it is not a legal target. You must cast Stupify, let it resolve completely, then cast Gust before Cleave resolves. Sequence: - Cleave is cast (first on stack) - Stupify is cast in response - Stupify resolves (unit is now a legal target for Gust) - Priority passes back to players - Gust is cast (now targeting the reduced Might unit) - Gust resolves - Cleave resolves Nuances: - After each card resolves, the next link owner gets priority and both players must pass before the next link resolves - Players can continue adding to the stack as cards resolve, not just when the stack is first created

Ruling: Yes, the unit gets +3 Might from Assault. Assault is a passive ability that applies as long as the unit has the attacker designation, regardless of when the unit gained the Assault ability. Nuances: - The timing of when the unit gains Assault does not matter - The key requirement is that the unit has the attacker designation

Ruling: No, the unit cannot move. You can only standard move your units during the Action phase, not during end of turn effects. Sequence: - Confront is played during Player A's turn - At end of turn, Dazzling Aurora's effect plays Whiteflame Protector to base - The unit comes in ready due to Confront - The unit cannot move because it's no longer the Action phase Nuances: - The unit can be played ready to base or at a controlled battlefield, but cannot move after being played during end of turn

Ruling: No, the attack trigger does not resolve. When Gust returns Crackshot Corsair to hand before her attack trigger resolves, the effect fails because it requires the target to be "here" and there is no "here" anymore once Corsair is returned to hand. Nuances: - Effects that depend on a location (like Crackshot Corsair's attack trigger) can fail to resolve if the source is removed - Effects that don't depend on location (like Miss Fortune's movement trigger that readies "anything" not "anything here") will still resolve even if the source disappears - This distinction is intentional design - some abilities are made to be more reliable than others

Ruling: Yes, Darius will die. The game checks if damage marked on a unit is greater than or equal to its current Might, so when Watcher's ability resolves and reduces Darius to 2 Might while it has 3 damage marked, Darius dies. Sequence: - Hextech Ray resolves, dealing 3 damage to Darius - Thousand Tail Watcher is played, reducing Darius's Might by 3 - Game checks damage >= Might (3 damage >= 2 Might) - Darius dies Nuances: - The order of damage being dealt first does not prevent the Might reduction from causing death; the game continuously checks if damage marked meets or exceeds current Might

Ruling: No, you cannot tap Fiora to channel an exhausted rune in this situation. Darius's passive applies immediately to the incoming unit, so there is no moment when the unit is not 5 might. Sequence: - The unit enters the board - Darius's +1 might passive applies immediately - The unit is 5 might with no window where it was 4 might Nuances: - This differs from Shen's interaction with defender designation. When Shen is played as a reaction to defend, there is a window between entering the board and gaining the defender designation where his shield passive is not yet active and he is only 3 might.

Ruling: Darius gets the +2 might after Challenge resolves. Both units will be 5 might when they fight, so they both die. Sequence: - Challenge is played and resolves - The fight happens (both 5 might units die) - After Challenge finishes resolving, "when you play" triggers occur - Darius would get +2 might at this point (but is already dead) Nuances: - "When you play" triggers happen after a card's effects resolve, not when the card is put on the chain - A card is only considered "played" once all of its effects have resolved

Ruling: Yes, when Darius is played as the second card of the turn, his ability will trigger and ready him. Nuances: - If Darius is the third card played this turn, he will not ready himself because he is not the second card played and he was not on the board when the second card was played.

Ruling: Combat starts and the showdown begins, but no combat damage occurs because Darius is removed from the battlefield before the damage step. Units still heal at the end of combat. Sequence: - Darius moves in and combat starts with showdown - Fight or Flight moves Darius back during showdown - Players pass focus twice to end the showdown - Showdown ends, then combat ends - All units heal Nuances: - The showdown does not automatically end when Darius leaves; it only ends when players pass focus twice - The opponent's unit does not take damage from Darius and does not die - Healing still occurs even though no damage was dealt

Ruling: Yes, Darius enters the game ready with +2 power when played as the second card in a turn. Sequence: - Play first card (e.g., Hextech Ray) - Play Darius as second card - Darius enters ready with +2 power

Ruling: Yes, Darius sees himself as the second card and becomes ready when played as the second card of the turn. Sequence: - A unit only counts as played once it has entered the board - "When you play" effects trigger after the unit enters - Darius is already active when his trigger checks - He sees himself as the second card played Nuances: - This only works if Darius is the second card played; if he is the third card, he would not become ready

Ruling: Darius will stay exhausted when replayed as the third card. He does not need to be on board to count himself as the third card played in a turn. Sequence: - First card is played - Darius is played as the second card (enters exhausted) - Opponent Rebukes Darius - Darius is replayed as the third card (stays exhausted because his ready effect only triggers on the second card played)

Ruling: No, Darius cannot be readied in this scenario. Darius can only count cards played in the turn that he was able to see, meaning cards played after he resolves. If he is the third card played, he did not see the second card being played, so his trigger condition cannot be fulfilled by playing additional cards after him. Nuances: - Darius can see himself when counting cards played in the turn - If Darius is played as the second card, he can ready himself immediately because he sees himself as the second card - Darius has "super vision" to count cards played in the turn no matter where he is, but only for cards played after he resolves

Ruling: Your turn ends after the abilities have resolved. You do not get priority to play Action cards after end of turn effects resolve. Sequence: - Dazzling Aurora triggers at end of turn - Carnivorous Snapvine is played and its effect resolves - Turn ends without receiving priority to play Actions Nuances: - Players only receive priority during specific game states, none of which occur after end of turn effects - There is no showdown created by Snapvine that would allow playing Action cards - Cards like Deadbloom Predator can invoke combat showdowns even during the Ending Step, which would allow playing Actions

Ruling: No, Dazzling Aurora stops revealing as soon as you reveal any unit. Nuances: - You cannot activate Nocturne's ability mid-resolution and then continue with Aurora's reveals - Aurora's reveal effect ends immediately upon revealing a unit

Ruling: No, Dazzling Aurora will not cause burn out if it reveals your entire deck. You only burn out if you draw a card with no cards in your main deck, and all revealed cards are recycled immediately after revealing them. Sequence: - Dazzling Aurora reveals cards from deck looking for creatures - If entire deck is revealed with no creatures found, all revealed cards are immediately recycled - No window exists to draw a card before recycling occurs - Therefore no burn out is triggered

Ruling: Yes, Karma Channeler can buff the unit played by Dazzling Aurora. Sequence: - Aurora resolves, adding the unit to the pending chain, then recycling cards (which triggers Karma) - Karma's trigger is added to the pending chain after the unit - The pending chain finalizes in order: the unit is added to the chain first and immediately resolves (enters the battlefield) - Then Karma's ability is added to the chain, and targets are chosen at this point - Since the unit is now on the battlefield, it can be targeted by Karma's buff - Karma's ability resolves, buffing the unit Nuances: - If the unit played by Aurora has an on-play trigger (like Deadbloom Predator starting combat), that trigger goes on top of Karma's ability on the chain and resolves first, before Karma's buff - Targets for triggered abilities are only chosen when the ability is added to the chain, not when it becomes pending - Items pending to be added to the chain are added in the order they became pending (FIFO), not in reverse order like chain resolution

Ruling: No, the reaction spell cannot be played before the turn ends. After Kadregrin's when-you-play-me (WYPM) ability resolves from the chain, there is no additional priority window before the turn ends. Sequence: - Dazzling Aurora triggers and resolves, putting Kadregrin into play - Kadregrin goes onto the chain and auto-resolves - Kadregrin's WYPM ability goes onto the chain - Players can react to the WYPM ability if they want - The WYPM ability resolves (drawing the card) - No further priority is given after this chain closes - Turn ends and marked damage fades Nuances: - If there was a second Aurora trigger after Kadregrin (chain: Aurora > Aurora), and the first Aurora brought in Kadregrin, then the owner of the second Aurora would get priority once Kadregrin's WYPM eventually resolves, allowing the reaction spell to be played in response to that second Aurora

Ruling: No, there is no second end of turn. The combat triggered by Deadbloom Predator happens during the end of turn sequence itself, and once it resolves the turn ends immediately. Sequence: - End of turn begins and Dazzling Aurora triggers - Aurora must completely resolve first (including recycling unused cards) before any staged combat begins - If Deadbloom Predator is revealed and played to an occupied battlefield, this creates a staged combat - The staged combat occurs as part of the end of turn sequence - After the combat resolves, the turn ends (assuming no other end of turn triggers) Nuances: - If you have 2 Dazzling Auroras, both trigger at end of turn and go onto the stack - The combat does not restart the action phase; it merely happens during the end of turn sequence

Ruling: Yes, Deadbloom Predator can be put on an occupied battlefield when played via Dazzling Aurora, and this will initiate combat. Nuances: - If Confront was played during your turn, units played via Dazzling Aurora will enter ready - The Aurora trigger happens at the end of your turn when you can no longer take discretionary actions (like standard moves) - Deadbloom Predator being played directly to an occupied battlefield and initiating combat is a separate case from normal unit deployment

Ruling: No, you cannot ready 2 runes. While Targon's Peak does trigger when conquered, the "at the end of this turn" condition has already passed, so the rune readying effect does not occur. Sequence: - At the start of the Ending Step (517.1), all "at the end of turn" triggers occur simultaneously, including Dazzling Aurora - Aurora's trigger resolves, flipping Deadbloom Predator - Deadbloom wins the showdown and you conquer Targon's Peak - Targon's Peak's conquer trigger checks for "at the end of this turn" but that event has already occurred - The runes do not ready because the Ending Step trigger moment has passed Nuances: - "At the end of your/this turn" refers to a specific moment (the start of the Ending Step), not an ongoing condition throughout the End Phase - Triggers only activate for cards present at the moment the triggering event occurs - If you conquer Targon's Peak on your opponent's turn, you would ready runes at the end of their turn ("this turn" refers to the current turn when triggered)

Ruling: All effects that are finalized onto the chain always resolve unless countered, doing as much as they can. If Dazzling Aurora is destroyed after its effect is on the chain, the effect still resolves and plays a unit. Nuances: - Effects can resolve to 0 effect if they require information about the source or target being on the board, but Dazzling Aurora's effect does not require this information - Units and gear cannot be reacted to when played, only their triggered effects can be reacted to - You cannot react to the unit that Dazzling Aurora's effect plays

Ruling: Deadbloom dies. Singularity marks 6 damage on the 9-might Deadbloom, then Smokescreen reduces might to 5. Since the marked damage (6) is equal to or greater than the current might (5), Deadbloom dies. Sequence: - Deadbloom starts at 9 might (base + 1 buff) - Singularity marks 6 damage on Deadbloom - Smokescreen reduces Deadbloom's might by 4 (from 9 to 5) - Damage (6) ≥ might (5), so Deadbloom dies

Ruling: You do not get the Targon's Peak trigger because end of turn triggers only happen once at the beginning of the end of turn phase. If you're already in the middle of that phase when Targon's Peak enters play, its end of turn trigger cannot occur anymore. Nuances: - Triggers that happen at specific phases (like end of turn or beginning of turn) only occur once, at the beginning of that phase - If Targon's Peak did trigger, you can respond to the rune readying trigger - Once the untap trigger resolves, you cannot play anything else unless there are more triggers to react to - The runes would not ready on the opponent's next end of turn because Targon's Peak specifies "this turn"

Ruling: This scenario cannot happen. Units do not linger on the chain like spells do - they enter the chain but leave immediately as part of the play process, before opponents can respond. Sequence: - Steps 1-5 of playing a unit (including entering the chain) happen all at once before the unit becomes a real item on the chain - The unit immediately enters the battlefield - Only after the unit has entered the battlefield can opponents react Nuances: - Spells linger on the chain and can be responded to, but units do not - You cannot react to units being played (including Shen from the chain or Teemo from hidden) - You can only react after units have already hit the battlefield - If a unit is put into play by a spell effect (like Dazzling Aurora), you must respond to the spell before it starts resolving - once resolution begins, you cannot interrupt it

Ruling: No, Flash blocks Dragon's Rage in this scenario. If the unit is already in base when Dragon's Rage resolves and no movement happens, there is no destination, so the reflexive trigger will not have a valid target and won't finalize. Sequence: - Dragon's Rage is played to move a unit from battlefield to base - Flash is used as a reaction to return the unit to base - When Dragon's Rage resolves, no movement occurs because the unit is already at base - Without a destination, no unit can be chosen to deal damage to Nuances: - This only works because Dragon's Rage specifies "destination" - if it said "at its location" then the trigger would still work even without movement - Flash doesn't block Dragon's Rage if the opponent was moving a unit TO the battlefield (only when moving away from it)

Ruling: Deflect does not change the printed cost of a spell, so Dragon's Rage can still be Defied even when targeting a unit with Deflect. Deflect only increases the actual cost paid to play the spell, but abilities that reference "cost" (like Defy) look at the printed cost on the card. Nuances: - Any ability that references a spell's "cost" looks at the printed cost, not the modified cost after effects like Deflect

Ruling: Yes, Baited Hook can reveal and play Draven because it looks at the original might of units in the deck (3 might), where Draven's passive is not active. His passive only applies when he is on the board. Sequence: - Baited Hook checks the original might value of units while they are in the deck - Draven's original might is 3, so he can be revealed by Baited Hook - Once Draven enters the board, his passive immediately applies and he becomes mighty Nuances: - If Baited Hook kills a Draven that is already on the board for its effect, it would use the modified might value (8), not the original - When Draven is played alongside Volibear (who checks for mighty units), Draven enters the board as mighty because his passive is active the instant he hits the board, before any checks occur - There is never a moment where Draven is on the board without his passive being active

Ruling: Energy costs cannot be reduced below zero. Eager Apprentice's discount stacks with Find Your Center's conditional discount to make it cost 0. Multiple Eager Apprentices stack their discounts, but any cost below zero is treated as zero. Sequence: - Apply Find Your Center's conditional discount (if opponent is within 3 points of Victory Score, cost becomes 2) - Apply Eager Apprentice discount(s) (reduce by 1 per Apprentice) - If result would be negative, treat as 0 instead Nuances: - Multiple Eager Apprentices stack their discounts (2 Apprentices = -2 cost reduction) - All energy and power costs are floored at zero

Ruling: Yes, Ember Monk keeps the +1 from Mask and would be a total of 7 might after revealing Teemo. Sequence: - Opponent moves in to trigger combat showdown - Mask triggers as a "When I attack/defend" timing trigger and goes on the initial chain - Chain cleanup designates attackers and defenders - Monk gets +1 from Mask (assuming chain resolves with no other might changes) - Teemo is revealed as a new trigger that increases might further - Monk ends at 7 might total Nuances: - Attacking a unit at an empty battlefield does NOT trigger Mask's +1 because it creates a showdown but not a combat showdown (no opposing units means no attacker/defender designation) - Combat only occurs when a Cleanup occurs with no items on the Chain and a Battlefield has Units controlled by two opposing players