Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Ornn's power reduction does not apply to hidden gear costs. Hiding a card is not the same as playing it, so Ornn cannot be used to reduce the cost of hiding a gear. Nuances: - A hidden card knows nothing about itself - There would be no logistical way to confirm the cost reduction on a hidden card

Yes, you must pay the **Deflect** cost if you choose to target an enemy unit that has the **Deflect** keyword with *Overzealous Fan's* ability. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #8505**, the interaction works as follows: 1. **Triggering:** When *Overzealous Fan* gains the Defender designation, its ability triggers and is placed on the chain. 2. **Targeting:** You must choose the target (the attacking unit you intend to move) at the time you place the ability on the chain. 3. **Deflect Cost:** Because the ability chooses a unit, if that unit has **Deflect**, you are required to pay the **Deflect** cost at the time you place the ability on the chain. 4. **Resolution:** If you successfully pay the cost and place the ability on the chain, the ability resolves later. Only at the moment of resolution do you make the choice of whether to "kill" the *Overzealous Fan* to complete the effect. **Summary of Key Points:** * **Targeting vs. Cost:** The targeting (which requires paying Deflect) happens when the ability is placed on the chain. The "kill me" portion is a cost-within-instruction that is only paid upon resolution. * **Mandatory Cost:** If you cannot pay the **Deflect** cost, you cannot legally choose that unit as a target for the ability.

Ruling: Overzealous Fan does target an enemy unit because the targeting is part of the effect, not the cost. Not So Fast can counter it. When countered, the Fan does not die because the whole ability is countered and the instruction (including the cost within instruction to kill the Fan) is not executed. Sequence: - Player B attacks into Player A who has Fan and another unit at the battlefield - Initial chain happens, Fan's trigger is added to the chain targeting an enemy unit - Not So Fast is played as a reaction targeting Fan's trigger - Reactions may happen - Not So Fast resolves, countering Fan's trigger - Since the effect won't resolve, Fan won't die Nuances: - The cost to kill the Fan is a "cost within instruction" that is paid when the instruction executes, not a cost to put the ability on the chain - Triggered abilities don't currently have printed costs in the traditional sense - Costs within instructions are executed during resolution, so countering the ability prevents the cost from being paid

Ruling: Yes, Pack of Wonders allows you to play cards from your discard pile by treating them as different cards (e.g., Bloom Predator as Heat Seeker, Mind Splitter causing discard). You must still pay the cost to play them. Nuances: - Pack of Wonders plus Treasure Trove creates a loop for 4 mana where you draw a card and make a rune each time

Ruling: Pack of Wonders bounces cards that are currently face-down and hidden. The keyword formatting on the card is an error. Nuances: - The card text as written suggests it refers to the Hidden keyword, but this is not the intended function - Cards that remain face-up can already be bounced by the unit/gear tag, so the Hidden text must refer to face-down cards

Ruling: Pack of Wonders only returns friendly units (your own units) to hand, not opponent's units. Nuances: - The card text specifies "friendly" which limits the effect to your own units only

Ruling: Peak Guardian only buffs other allied units once when it is played directly to a battlefield. It does not provide an ongoing aura effect. Sequence: - Play Peak Guardian to a controlled battlefield - Peak Guardian buffs all other allied units at that battlefield once - The buff remains on those units but does not apply to units that arrive later Nuances: - Buff is a specific game object, not a generic stat increase like an aura effect - The card must be played directly to a battlefield for the effect to trigger

Ruling: Petricite Monument's effect is only active while the gear is on the board. When the gear goes to the trash, units lose the Deflect keyword. Nuances: - The effect does not persist for the rest of the game - The effect does not apply only to units that were on the field when it was played - The effect is an ongoing aura that applies to units while the gear remains in play

No, *Piercing Light* does not require two targets. According to the card text and the associated RiftJudge FAQ (ID 8481): * **First Target:** You must choose one unit at a battlefield to deal 2 damage to. * **Second Target:** The second part of the effect says "up to one other unit." Because of the phrase "up to one," this part is optional. You may choose to deal the second instance of damage to zero units if you wish. **Key Restrictions:** * If you do choose a second target, it **must** be a different unit than the first one, as the card specifies an "other" unit. * If you choose to use both parts of the effect, you must have two different valid targets. If you only wish to use the first part, you only need one valid target at a battlefield.

Ruling: No, Pirate Haven does not give +1/+1 to a unit that is already ready when it gains ready. The unit must go from exhausted to ready to trigger Pirate Haven's effect.

Ruling: Pirate's Haven applies to each unit, not just one unit. Nuances: - The wording may seem ambiguous (similar to Ahri's effect), but it applies to all applicable units, not just the first one

Ruling: Pirate's Haven gives +1 Might to units readied during the Awaken Phase and by card effects, but not to units that enter play already ready or units readied by Accelerate. Nuances: - Units readied during the Awaken Phase do receive the +1 Might bonus - Units readied by card effects receive the +1 Might bonus - Units that enter play ready do NOT receive the bonus (they were not readied, they entered ready) - Accelerate does NOT trigger the bonus

Yes, Pirate's Haven gives +1 Might to your units that ready during the Awaken Phase. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #2603** and **FAQ #5723**: * Pirate's Haven triggers when units ready during the Awaken Phase. * It also triggers when units are readied by card effects. * It does **not** trigger for units that enter play already ready, nor does it trigger for units readied by the Accelerate ability (as they enter play ready rather than transitioning from exhausted to ready). **Important Nuances:** * Only units that actually transition from exhausted to ready receive the bonus. * If a unit is already ready at the start of the Awaken Phase, it cannot be readied again, and therefore does not trigger the ability.

Ruling: Pirate's Haven does not trigger when a unit enters ready. It only triggers when a unit is readied, which refers to the game action of taking an exhausted unit and giving it ready status. Nuances: - Units that enter ready from effects like Confront or Accelerate do not trigger Pirate's Haven - A unit that enters exhausted and then has an ability that readies it (like Darius Trifarian) will trigger Pirate's Haven, because the ready ability goes on the chain after the unit has entered exhausted

Ruling: Yes, Pit Crew readies when you play a gold gear token. A token gear is a gear, and Pit Crew does not specify "non-token gear." Nuances: - Token units and token gears have their respective card types (unit/gear) and are treated as such for game effects unless a card specifically says "non-token" - This allows combos like playing Pit Crew, playing Cull the Meek, readying, attacking to conquer, getting a gold gear token, and readying again to return to base - Token cards don't display the type tag on the physical token card itself, but they still have that type according to the rules

Ruling: The "it" refers to the card you buff (the "another friendly unit"), not Pit Rookie itself. You only buff the targeted card, not Pit Rookie. Nuances: - Reminder text in brackets has no actual ruling implications and can sometimes be worded poorly - "It" always refers to other cards in Riftbound - Cards refer to themselves in first person (e.g., "I get +1")

Ruling: Promising Future does not trigger burnout when there are fewer than 5 cards in the deck. You do as much as you can (look at the available cards), but burnout only occurs when a player would look at, draw, or mill cards while their main deck is empty. Sequence: - Promising Future resolves - Player looks at as many cards as available (e.g., 4 cards if only 4 remain) - Cards remain in the main deck zone during resolution - No burnout occurs because the main deck is not empty - Cards are recycled back into the deck Nuances: - Burnout could only trigger if the player had 0 cards in deck before Promising Future resolves - This works the same way as Dazzle - it cannot cause burnout on its own - During the resolution of Promising Future, all cards being looked at still belong to the main deck zone

Ruling: Purple Draven does not win the combat if Guardian Angel saves him from dying, so his ability does not trigger and no point is gained. Sequence: - Combat damage step occurs - Guardian Angel saves Draven (he goes to base instead of dying) - Combat cleanup happens, removing attacker designation - Derived cleanups occur - "Winning a combat" is checked after all cleanups are complete - Since Draven is no longer an attacker at this point, he does not win the combat Nuances: - Draven must be on the battlefield as an attacker when "winning a combat" is evaluated for his ability to trigger - Conquer happens before the "winning a combat" check, but is a separate mechanic - The attacker designation removal in combat cleanup is what prevents Draven from winning the combat

No, Ezreal, Prodigy’s ability does not apply to the cost of Diana, Lunari’s triggered ability. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #286**, **#655**, and **#1354**, Ezreal's cost reduction specifically applies only to **optional additional costs**—costs paid when playing a card that explicitly use the terminology "as an additional cost" (such as Accelerate or Repeat). Diana, Lunari's ability is a **triggered ability** ("When a showdown begins here...") with an optional cost component ([1]) that you pay to resolve the effect. This is not an additional cost paid when playing a card, and therefore does not qualify for Ezreal’s discount.

Yes, Ezreal, Prodigy's ability lowers the cost of **Accelerate**. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #8415** and **Rule 805.2**, Accelerate is an **optional additional cost**. Because Ezreal's ability specifically reduces "optional additional costs you pay," it applies to the cost required to use Accelerate. As noted in **Rule 356.4.c**, these discounts are applied when the additional cost is added to the total cost of the card, before other general discounts are applied.

Ruling: No, Purple Ezreal does not make Bullet Time cheaper. Bullet Time's Universal Power cost is paid on resolution, not as an additional cost when playing the card, so Ezreal's ability does not apply. Nuances: - Optional additional costs must be formatted with "you may ___ as an additional cost to you play [this]" or "as you play [this], you may pay ___" - both the "as you play" timing and "may" are key features - Ezreal's ability only reduces optional additional costs (like Accelerate or Repeat), not base costs or costs paid on resolution - Multiple Ezreals can stack to reduce the same optional additional cost - When calculating costs with both increases (like Vex) and reductions (like Ezreal), apply additional costs first, then cost increases, then cost reductions - Universal Power (:UniversalPower:) can be paid with any power type, and Ezreal's reduction can reduce any power type in an optional additional cost

Ruling: Yes, Purple Miss Fortune affects your partner's units in a 2v2.

Ruling: Purple Yasuo's movement count does not reset after Possession. Possession is not movement, and as long as the unit hasn't moved to a non-board zone, it is treated as the same object with the same movement count. Nuances: - The unit remains the same object despite having a different controller - Movement count only resets if the unit moves to a non-board zone

Ruling: Yes, Qiyana dies when Stupefy resolves. After Stupefy resolves, she becomes a 4 Might unit with 4 damage marked on her, and she dies during the cleanup that occurs after each card is played. Sequence: - Stupefy resolves, reducing Qiyana to 4 Might - Cleanup occurs after the card is played - The game checks for dead units during cleanup - Qiyana has 4 damage marked and 4 Might, so she dies Nuances: - Damage heals at the end of combat, but this is irrelevant to this interaction since the cleanup happens immediately after Stupefy resolves

Ruling: No, Qiyana does not get a conquer effect if she is recalled by Sett before the battlefield is conquered. Sequence: - Damage step occurs and Sett recalls Qiyana - Conquer happens after the damage step - Qiyana is in base when the battlefield is actually conquered - Since she is not present at the battlefield when it is conquered, she does not get the conquer effect

Ruling: Qiyana needs to stay alive at the conquer for her ability to trigger. If she dies during the same game action as the conquer (such as during combat damage allocation), her trigger does not apply. Nuances: - A game object cannot evaluate its trigger condition if it leaves the zone that its trigger is active from at the same time that its trigger is satisfied. - This applies when units die during the same game action that would satisfy their trigger condition.

Ruling: Quick-Draw creates only one trigger that you can respond to. When you play a Quick-Draw equipment, it enters as a permanent (no response window), then its "When you play this, attach it to a Unit you control" triggered ability goes on the chain, which can be responded to. The attach itself is not a separate trigger. Sequence: - Player plays the Quick-Draw equipment at reaction speed - The equipment enters as a permanent and is removed from the chain (no response window) - The "When you play this" triggered ability goes on the chain and targets a unit - Players can respond to this triggered ability - When it resolves, the equipment attaches to the targeted unit Nuances: - Quick-Draw is functionally short for "[Reaction]" and "When you play this, attach it to a Unit you control" - The triggered ability targets when it's put on the chain, not on resolution - Attach itself is not inherently a targeted action, but the Quick-Draw trigger does target - If the unit being attached to has a "When you target me" ability, that would create an additional trigger

Yes, you must still pay the **Power cost** (and Energy cost) printed in the top-left corner of the card to play a piece of Gear with Quick-Draw. However, you do **not** pay the **Equip cost** (the cost listed next to the Equip keyword in the text box) for the initial attachment. ### How it Works: 1. **Play the Card:** You pay the Energy and Power costs shown in the top-left corner of the card. Because of Quick-Draw, you can do this at **Reaction** speed (Rule 745.1.b). 2. **Triggered Attachment:** When the Gear enters play, Quick-Draw triggers a "When you play this, attach it to a Unit you control" effect (Rule 745.1.d). 3. **No Equip Cost:** This triggered attachment happens automatically as part of playing the card. You do not need to pay the separate Equip cost to attach it this first time. **Summary:** * **Top-left Costs (Energy/Power):** Must be paid to play the card. * **Equip Cost (Text box):** Not paid when using Quick-Draw to attach from hand. (You only pay this later if the gear becomes unattached and you want to move it to a different unit using the standard Equip action).

Yes, **Quick-Draw bypasses the Equip cost** when you play the equipment from your hand. According to the rules and FAQs regarding the **Quick-Draw** keyword: * **Rule 745.1.d:** Quick-Draw is functionally short for “[Reaction]” and “When you play this, attach it to a Unit you control.” * **How it works:** When you play a piece of Gear with Quick-Draw from your hand, you pay the Energy and Power costs printed in the top-left corner of the card. Because of the Quick-Draw ability, the gear automatically attaches to a unit you control as part of the play process. You do **not** pay the Equip cost (the cost listed in the card's text box) for this initial attachment. **Important Nuances:** * **Subsequent Attachments:** If the gear becomes unattached later (e.g., its unit leaves the board) and you wish to attach it to a unit again, you must use the standard **Equip** activated ability, which **does** require paying the Equip cost. * **Mandatory Attachment:** If you have a legal target on the board when you play a Quick-Draw gear, you must attach it. You cannot choose to leave it unattached. * **Play Costs:** You must still pay the Energy and Power costs (top-left corner) to play the card. Quick-Draw only bypasses the Equip cost.

Ruling: No, Darius does not get the bonus if played as the third or later card. He must be played as the second card of the turn (meaning he "sees" himself as the second card played) to trigger his ability. Nuances: - Darius must "see" the second card being played, which includes himself being that second card - Playing him as any card after the second (third, fourth, tenth, etc.) will not trigger the ability

Ruling: No, bonus damage does not add a damage component to spells that don't already deal damage. Bonus damage increases each instance of damage something deals by X, so it only affects spells that already have damage. Nuances: - Rabadon uses "bonus damage" (not "additional damage"), which is the correct templating - If bonus damage added a damage component to all spells, cards like Discipline would kill your own units, which is not intended - Ravenborn Tome uses the same "bonus damage" templating and works the same way

Yes, Rabadon's Deathcrown increases the damage dealt by Forgefire Cape. According to the rules and FAQ: * **Bonus Damage** (granted by cards like **Rabadon's Deathcrown**) increases each instance of damage dealt by spells and abilities that already include a "Deal" damage instruction (Rule 715). * **Forgefire Cape** has the effect: *"When I attack or defend, deal 2 to all enemy units here."* * Because **Forgefire Cape's** effect already contains a "Deal" instruction, it is eligible to receive **Bonus Damage**. When both gears are attached to the same unit, **Forgefire Cape** will deal 5 damage (its base 2 + 3 from Rabadon's) to all enemy units at that battlefield whenever that unit attacks or defends.

Rabadon's Deathcrown only works with spells and abilities that **already deal damage**. It does not add a damage component to effects that do not have one. According to the official ruling (FAQ 0.72): * **Bonus Damage** (like that granted by Rabadon's or Ravenborn Tome) increases each instance of damage something deals by X. * If a spell or ability does not already have a "Deal" damage instruction, it has no damage instance to increase. * For example, using a spell like *Stupefy* or *Smoke Screen* while Rabadon's is active will not cause those spells to deal 3 damage; they will still deal 0 damage. **Key Rules and Nuances:** * **Rule 715:** "Bonus Damage applies to the total damage Dealt by one instance of the action." If there is no "Deal" action, Bonus Damage has nothing to apply to. * **Rule 404.2:** "Only Damage can be Dealt." Effects that modify Might (like -1 Might counters) or move units are not "Deal" actions and are not affected by Rabadon's. * **0 Damage Events:** You cannot deal 0 damage. If an effect (like Teemo's defense) results in 0 damage being calculated, no damage event occurs, and Rabadon's will not trigger to turn that 0 into 3 (FAQ 0.51).

Ruling: Raging Soul's ability is a passive ability that applies whenever the unit is on the board. If you discard a card during a turn, Raging Soul gains Assault and Ganking until that turn ends (including through the end of turn phase). Sequence: - Discard a card during your turn - Raging Soul gains Assault and Ganking - The ability remains active until the turn ends (through the end of turn phase) - The ability turns off when the next turn starts - Must discard again on a future turn to reactivate the ability Nuances: - The ability stays active through the end of turn phase, where most "this turn" effects fall off - The ability must be retriggered each turn by discarding a card

Ruling: The effect lasts only for the current turn. Nuances: - This is a passive effect that constantly checks if you have discarded on the current turn

Ruling: Rally the Troops buffs all friendly units played this turn. Each time a friendly unit is played, a delayed trigger goes on the chain to buff it. Nuances: - If the effect only applied to the next unit, the card would explicitly say so (similar to how Ravenborn Tome is worded) - The wording creates a condition for the entire turn that triggers whenever a friendly unit is played

Ruling: Yes, Rally the Troops applies to tokens created by cards. The card would need to explicitly state "non-token unit" to exclude tokens from the effect. Nuances: - Cards only exclude tokens when they specifically use the "non-token" qualifier in their text

Ruling: No, when a spell is Defied (countered), it counts as if it was never played at all, except for the cost paid. The Raven Bloomstudent does not get +1. Nuances: - This also applies to Legion effects - countered cards do not count for Legion because a card is only considered "played" once it resolves - The cost to play the spell is still paid even when countered

Yes, **Ravenbloom Conservatory** does force you to recycle the card if it is not a spell. According to the card's ability: > "When you defend here, reveal the top card of your Main Deck. If it's a spell, put it in your hand. **Otherwise, recycle it.**" In Riftbound, "Otherwise" functions as a mandatory instruction for any card that does not meet the "If" criteria (in this case, being a spell). Since Units and Gear are not Spells, they must be recycled. According to **Rule 403.2.a**: > "The player must Recycle cards from the specified zones when instructed to do so by game effects or costs." Because the effect uses the word "recycle" rather than "you may recycle," the action is mandatory. You take the revealed card and put it on the bottom of your Main Deck (Rule 403.1.a).

No, Ravenbloom Student's ability does not activate if the spell you play is countered. According to **Rule 412.1.b**, a card that is countered is not considered to have been played. Because Ravenbloom Student's ability triggers "When you play a spell," and a spell is only considered "played" once it successfully resolves, a countered spell fails to meet the condition required to trigger the ability. This is supported by multiple Riftbound FAQs (such as FAQ #2377 and #2497), which clarify that countering a spell prevents it from being considered "played" for the purposes of triggered abilities.

Yes, Ravenbloom Student's ability requires the spell to resolve. In *Riftbound*, a card is not considered "played" until it successfully resolves. Since Ravenbloom Student's ability triggers "When you play a spell," if a spell is countered or otherwise fails to resolve, it is not considered to have been played, and the ability will not trigger. According to **Rule 412.1.b** and consistent with multiple RiftJudge FAQs: * **Sequence:** You play a spell (it enters the chain) → The spell resolves → Ravenbloom Student's trigger activates and is placed on the chain → The trigger resolves. If the spell is countered, it never reaches the resolution stage, and therefore the condition "When you play a spell" is never met.

Ruling: Yes, Ravenbloom Student gains +1 Might until end of turn after each spell you cast, so casting 12 one-cost spells would result in +12 Might total. Sequence: - Cast a spell - Ravenbloom Student gains +1 Might until end of turn - Repeat for each spell cast - All Might bonuses stack and last until end of turn

No, Ravenbloom Student does not gain +1 Might if the spell you play is countered. According to the FAQ and Rule 412.1.b, a spell is only considered "played" when it resolves. If a spell is countered, it does not resolve, and therefore it is not considered to have been played for the purposes of triggered abilities like Ravenbloom Student's. **Sequence of events:** 1. You cast a spell (it enters the chain). 2. Your opponent plays a card to Counter your spell (e.g., Defy). 3. The Counter effect resolves, negating your spell. 4. Because your spell was countered, it does not resolve. 5. Since the spell did not resolve, it is not considered "played," and Ravenbloom Student's ability does not trigger. As stated in Rule 412.1.b: "A card that is Countered is not considered to have been played."

Ruling: Yes, Ravenbloom Student gets +1 when you play a spell from hidden. Playing a card from hidden still counts as playing it. Nuances: - Hiding a spell is a separate action from playing it and does not count as playing the spell - Hiding does not open a chain or pass priority - Playing a card from hidden works like playing from other zones (CC zone, Hand, or Banishment during aurora) - Revealing a unit from hidden does not trigger Ravenbloom Student since it is not a spell

Ruling: No, Ravenbloom Student does not get +2 from repeated spells. A repeated spell is still only one spell, just with additional text added to it. Nuances: - Repeat modifies the spell's text but does not create multiple instances of the spell for counting purposes

Ruling: No, Ravenbloom Student does not get the buff when a spell is countered. A spell is only considered "played" when it resolves, not when it enters the chain. Sequence: - A spell enters the chain - If the spell is countered (e.g., by Defy), it does not resolve - Since it did not resolve, it is not considered "played" - Ravenbloom Student's trigger does not activate because no spell was "played" Nuances: - "Played" in Riftbound means the spell resolved, which differs from other card games like MTG where "played" can refer to casting

Ruling: Ravenbloom Student triggers when a spell resolves (is played successfully), not when it is placed on the chain. Sequence: - Spell resolves - Ravenbloom triggers and is put on the chain - Trigger resolves Nuances: - Placing a spell on the chain has no effect on Ravenbloom - A card is not considered "played" until it resolves and is removed from the chain

Ruling: In Riftbound, a card is not considered "played" until it resolves. If a spell is countered or otherwise prevented from resolving, it was not played and does not trigger abilities that trigger on playing cards. Nuances: - This rule may be counterintuitive to players familiar with other card games where "playing" and "resolving" are separate events - The relevant rule text was added in version 1.1 of the rules, so players using older versions may not find this clarification

Ruling: No, Ravenbloom Student's ability does not trigger if your spell is countered. A spell is considered played when it resolves, so you only trigger Ravenbloom Student's ability if your spell resolves. Nuances: - Countering a spell prevents it from being considered "played" for the purposes of triggered abilities

Ruling: Yes, the Ravenbloom Tome effect is consumed even if used on a spell that doesn't deal damage. The effect applies to "the next spell" you play, regardless of whether that spell can deal damage. Nuances: - Non-damaging spells cannot deal bonus damage, but they still consume the Tome's effect - You should pair the Tome with damaging spells to get value from the effect - Multiple Tomes stack (two Tomes = two extra damage on the next spell)