Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: You must use triggered abilities unless they say "may". For Traveling Merchant, there is no "may", so you have to use the ability every time it moves. Nuances: - The trigger will still go on the chain even if it says "may" - You decide whether or not to do the effect when it resolves (for "may" abilities)

Ruling: No showdown occurs. When Flash resolves and returns your Merchant to base, the battlefield is no longer contested because control is re-established (the opponent's unit still controls it, and no opposing unit is present). The staged combat is removed, and your Merchant triggers twice (once for moving to the battlefield, once for returning to base). Sequence: - Move Merchant to occupied battlefield, triggering its ability and placing it on the chain - Game state becomes neutral closed (chain is present), combat is staged but does not begin yet - Cast Flash targeting Merchant while holding priority, adding it to the chain - Flash resolves, moving Merchant back to base and triggering its ability again - Contested status is removed because control is re-established (no contesting unit present) - Staged combat is removed - Both Merchant triggers resolve (discard and draw twice) Nuances: - The key is that combat cannot begin during a neutral closed game state (when the chain is active) - Contested status is removed when the contesting unit leaves, allowing control to be re-established - This scenario differs from when the controlling player's unit is removed while contested, which creates an unresolvable bug in the current rules

Ruling: When you move a unit with Yasuo's ability, the unit stays ready. Exhausting a unit is a cost to perform a standard move; any other form of movement doesn't exhaust unless stated. Nuances: - You can move an exhausted unit with Yasuo - Ganking units do exhaust when they move because ganking is just a modification to the standard move, so they're still using the inherent move effect - You cannot score the same battlefield twice in the same turn, but you can score two separate battlefields in one turn

Ruling: No, you cannot gain points by moving a unit away from and back to the same battlefield on the same turn. You can only score once per turn per battlefield. Nuances: - You could use an ability like Ride the Wind during your opponent's turn to move to a battlefield and conquer it again on their turn, since it would be a different turn.

Ruling: Yes, a showdown still occurs. When you move a unit to an open battlefield (one where you don't have control), a non-combat showdown happens with the normal opportunity for Actions and Reactions, even if you already scored that battlefield earlier in the turn. Nuances: - You will not score the battlefield again when the showdown resolves, since you already scored it once this turn - The battlefield is considered "open" because you lost control of it after moving away

Ruling: When you move a unit from a battlefield, the hidden card gets trashed. You cannot activate the hidden card in reaction to moving the unit. Sequence: - Unit moves (e.g., Merchant) - The move trigger is added to the chain as "pending" - Cleanup begins - Control of the battlefield is lost and the hidden card is trashed (step 4 of cleanup) - The move trigger is "finalized" onto the chain (step 8 of cleanup) Nuances: - During a showdown, control cannot be lost, so hidden cards can still be activated even if your unit is killed - Spells like Gust create a chain with reaction windows where hidden cards can be played before the unit moves - A standard move action does not create a chain or reaction window - This applies to any move (standard move or moved by an effect) - the cleanup rules apply to all moves

Ruling: No, you do not get another point. You can only score each battlefield once per turn. Nuances: - Moving the second unit to the battlefield would not count as "conquering" it - Triggered abilities that happen when you conquer a battlefield would not trigger in this scenario - In order to conquer a battlefield, you have to score that battlefield, which is limited to once per turn per battlefield

Ruling: No, you cannot both be attackers. The first player to contest the battlefield is the attacker, and the opponent is the defender by default. Sequence: - The first player moves their unit to the empty battlefield and becomes the attacker - The opponent moves their unit to the same battlefield during the showdown and becomes the defender - The battlefield is not contested again if it's already contested Nuances: - Even though both players moved units to a battlefield neither controlled, timing determines roles: whoever arrived first is the attacker

Ruling: You do not conquer the battlefield or score a point. You need to have units at the battlefield at the end of the showdown in order to conquer it and score a point. Sequence: - Move your unit to the battlefield - Opponent uses Gust (or similar spell) to remove your unit - At end of showdown, you have no units at the battlefield - You do not conquer the battlefield Nuances: - Even if there are no enemy units on the battlefield, the opponent can still use spells to prevent you from conquering - You can still conquer if you manage to get another unit to the battlefield before the end of the showdown

Ruling: No, you cannot play Shen because you remain the attacker. Even though you are now in a contested battlefield situation, you are still considered the attacker because your unit originally applied the contested status to the battlefield. Sequence: - Your unit moves to the empty battlefield and applies contested status - Opponent plays Ride the Wind to bring their unit to the same battlefield - You remain the attacker, opponent becomes the defender - This is called a "surprise defence" - The first showdown must fully resolve, then a second combat showdown would begin Nuances: - Being the defender does not mean you control the battlefield - Being a defender just means you're at a combat you didn't apply contested status to - The player whose unit first applied contested status is always the attacker in that combat

Ruling: The player who first moved to the battlefield and applied the contested status becomes the attacker. The player who used Ride the Wind to contest becomes the defender. If the defender wins, they score a point for conquering (since they did not previously control the battlefield) and will score again for holding if still there on their turn. Sequence: - Player A moves unit to open battlefield, battlefield becomes contested, showdown begins - During the showdown, Player B uses Ride the Wind to move their unit in - Showdown ends, control cannot be determined - Combat begins because opposing units are on the battlefield - Player A (who first applied contested status) is designated attacker - Player B (who used Ride the Wind) is designated defender - When I attack/defend triggers activate at start of combat showdown - If defender wins, they conquer and score a point - If defender is still there on their turn, they score again for holding Nuances: - During the initial showdown (before combat), attack/defend triggers do NOT activate yet - This means actions can be played during the initial showdown before any attack/defend triggers apply - The attacker/defender designation persists through the combat resolution - This interaction is colloquially called "active defense"

Ruling: You will not conquer the battlefield or score the point. You need to still have a unit present when the showdown ends to conquer and score, so an Action spell that kills your unit will prevent you from scoring. Sequence: - You move your unit to the open battlefield, contesting control - A showdown starts - Both players can play actions and reactions following focus and priority rules - When both players pass focus in order, the showdown ends - Only then do you determine if you successfully contested and can conquer - If your unit was removed during the showdown, you do not conquer Nuances: - Your opponent can use Action speed spells during any showdown, including non-combat showdowns on your turn - Your opponent could even move a unit in during the showdown and then move your unit out to score on your turn

Ruling: Stealthy Pursuer triggers but Mask of Foresight does not. The move trigger from Stealthy Pursuer is added to the chain during cleanup, which prevents combat from beginning until it resolves. When the trigger resolves and moves the second unit to the battlefield, neither unit is attacking alone, so Mask of Foresight's condition is not met. Sequence: - Unit moves to opponent's battlefield, completing the move - Cleanup occurs, and Stealthy Pursuer's move trigger is added as a pending item on the chain - Combat is staged but cannot begin because there is an item on the chain - The Stealthy Pursuer trigger resolves, moving a second unit to the battlefield - Chain empties and another cleanup occurs - Combat begins with two units present, so Mask of Foresight does not trigger Nuances: - Since Stealthy Pursuer has a 'May' clause, you could choose not to resolve the move, allowing combat to begin with only one unit and triggering Mask of Foresight's bonus

Ruling: No, Tideturner does not exhaust the unit it moves. When a card ability moves a unit, it is not performing a Standard Move action, which has the cost of exhausting the unit. Sequence: - Standard Move Action: You exhaust the unit to move it (this is the manual process of moving a unit yourself) - Move Action (via ability): A unit moves through an ability without exhausting Nuances: - Every unit has an implicit ability that can be activated by exhausting them to perform a Standard Move - Ability-based moves don't have the same restrictions as Standard Move actions (such as not being able to move battlefield to battlefield without Ganking) - Cards like Fight or Flight are still useful because they are Actions that can be played during a Showdown, and can be used on exhausted units - If you use Tideturner to swap a ready unit from a battlefield to base, that unit can then use a Standard Move action to move to another battlefield

Ruling: Yes, the opponent can still play Hidden Blade from hand after their unit dies. The showdown doesn't close until both players pass in succession, regardless of how many units either player has remaining on the battlefield. Sequence: - Attacker moves into occupied battlefield and plays Hidden Blade with priority, then passes - Defender cannot respond before Hidden Blade resolves (it's action speed from hand), so they pass - Hidden Blade resolves, killing defender's unit - Priority passes to defender who can now play Hidden Blade from hand - Both players continue passing priority until consecutive passes occur Nuances: - A battlefield with no units but hidden cards in hand is a valid game state during showdown - The showdown only ends when both players pass consecutively, not when units are eliminated

Ruling: The opponent will control the battlefield until the showdown ends (when both players pass focus in sequence), so your 5 might unit will become 4 might. Additionally, Ahri's legend ability is a triggered ability that gives your unit -1 might the moment you gain the attacker designation and the ability on the chain resolves. Sequence: - You gain the attacker designation - Ahri's triggered ability goes on the chain - The ability resolves, giving your unit -1 might - The opponent controls the battlefield until the showdown ends (both players pass focus in sequence) Nuances: - The -1 might is applied when the triggered ability resolves on the chain, not instantly when you gain attacker designation - Battlefield control persists through the showdown even if the defending unit is removed via Retreat

Ruling: The combat showdown does not end immediately when you move your unit away. The showdown continues until both players pass priority and focus, allowing you to play another Ride the Wind to move your unit back and successfully defend. Sequence: - Opponent moves attacker to your battlefield, staging a showdown - You play Ride the Wind to move your defender away - The showdown remains ongoing (both players have not passed priority and focus) - You can play another Ride the Wind to move your defender back - You successfully defend the battlefield Nuances: - You maintain control of the battlefield until contested is removed during the combat resolution step, which happens after the combat showdown ends - While your unit is away, you don't have to discard hidden cards because you still control the battlefield - If you had moved your unit to an empty battlefield temporarily, a showdown would be staged there but would become unstaged (never happen) once the unit leaves

Ruling: No, you cannot conquer a battlefield that you scored from (via holding) during the same turn. Sequence: - At the beginning of your turn, you score a point for holding the battlefield - During your turn, you can move your unit away and back to the battlefield - However, this does not count as a conquest because you already scored from that battlefield this turn Nuances: - The hold point is scored during the beginning phase, which is still part of your turn - You can win by scoring from a hold (point 7) and then conquering a different battlefield (point 8) on the same turn - The restriction is specifically that you cannot conquer a battlefield you scored from that turn

Ruling: Yes, your opponent can still play actions and reactions. The showdown only ends when both players pass focus without playing something, not automatically when someone leaves the battlefield. Sequence: - You move to conquer a battlefield, starting combat with a showdown - Opponent uses Fight or Flight to move their unit out - The showdown continues until both players pass focus consecutively without playing anything - During this time, either player can play actions and reactions

Ruling: No, the defender (opponent) gets the conquest point. When your units initially moved to the unoccupied battlefield, they became the attackers. When the opponent moved their unit in response, that unit became the defender. In the resulting combat showdown, if any defenders survive, the attackers are recalled and the defender conquers the battlefield. Sequence: - Your units move to unoccupied battlefield, applying contested status (you become the attacker) - Opponent uses Zenith Blade to stun one of your units and moves their unit to the contested battlefield (they become the defender) - Non-combat showdown occurs (no attacker/defender roles during this phase) - Combat showdown occurs with original attacker/defender designations - If any defenders survive combat, attackers are recalled and defender conquers Nuances: - There are no attackers or defenders during the non-combat showdown phase, only during the combat showdown - The game "remembers" which units originally applied the contested status to determine attacker/defender roles - This "active defense" scenario is the only time a defender can conquer on an opponent's turn

Ruling: Yasuo is defending, not attacking, so he does not shoot. Nuances: - The first player to move a unit to the battlefield and apply contested to it is the attacker - Since the opponent moved first to contest the battlefield, they are the attacker and Yasuo (moved second) is the defender

Ruling: You get focus again after your opponent plays a card. Passing focus is not permanent - players pass focus back and forth until both players pass consecutively without playing any action/reaction cards. Sequence: - Player A passes focus - Player B receives focus and plays a card - Player A receives focus again and can choose to play a card or pass - This continues until both players pass focus consecutively - Then the showdown proceeds to cleanup Nuances: - Focus only exists during showdowns, not during other phases of the game - Passing focus once does not lock you out of future focus opportunities in that showdown

Ruling: Hextech Ray resolves first. You cannot play an action spell while there are items on the chain. After the chain resolves completely, you regain focus and can then play an action spell like Cleave to start a new chain. Sequence: - Opponent plays Hextech Ray (action spell) - You may only respond with a reaction spell, not another action spell - If you don't respond, Hextech Ray resolves - Chain completes - You regain focus and may now play an action spell (like Cleave) to start a new chain Nuances: - You gain Priority (not Focus) when responding to spells on the chain - Action spells can only be played when the chain is empty - Chain resolves in "Last In, First Out" order

Ruling: You get another chance to play actions after your opponent's action resolves. Combat only moves to combat damage when both players pass in succession while nothing is on the chain. Sequence: - Player A passes without playing anything - Player B plays an action and passes - Action resolves - Priority returns to Player A, who can now play actions - This continues until both players pass successively with nothing on the chain Nuances: - You can play as many action cards as you have resources for during this back-and-forth priority passing

Ruling: You must choose the target for Unlicensed Armory when the ability goes on the chain, which is before Flame Chompers is in play. Therefore, you cannot target Flame Chompers with Unlicensed Armory in this scenario. Sequence: - Unlicensed Armory ability goes on the chain - Target must be chosen at this time - Flame Chompers is not yet in play - Flame Chompers resolves to the board after target selection

Ruling: No, the opponent cannot reveal hidden cards this turn after you play Brynhir Thundersong. Cards from hidden are also played, so Brynhir's effect prevents revealing them. Nuances: - If it was somehow the opponent's turn when you played Brynhir, they can still hide cards (the restriction only applies to playing/revealing cards)

Ruling: Yes, opponents can play reactions to reduce might before Challenge resolves, and this will affect the damage dealt. The damage dealt by Challenge is determined when it resolves, not when it is played. Sequence: - Challenge is played and a damage source is designated - Opponent can react with a spell to reduce the unit's might - The reaction resolves first (reducing might) - Challenge resolves and deals damage based on the current might value Nuances: - This interaction works both ways - you can also react to your own Challenge with effects that increase your unit's might before Challenge resolves

Ruling: Challenge will kill the opposing unit, but the showdown does not end immediately. Players continue to have the opportunity to play spells back and forth until both pass, then the showdown ends. Sequence: - Challenge is played during the showdown - The targeted opposing unit is killed - Showdown continues with spell opportunities for both players - Both players pass - Showdown ends and might is allocated - The defending unit survives because the opponent has no units left to allocate might Nuances: - Even though the attacking unit is killed by Challenge, this does not immediately end the showdown phase - The defending unit survives because during might allocation, the opponent has no units remaining to deal damage

Ruling: Shakedown resolves first and kills your unit. When Challenge resolves, it cannot find your unit to deal damage to it or query its Might, so nothing happens. Sequence: - Shakedown resolves and your unit dies - Challenge resolves but cannot find the targeted unit - Challenge does nothing since it cannot query the missing unit's Might Nuances: - You cannot choose a different unit when Challenge resolves because targets are declared when you put the spell on the chain, not on resolution - Cards with targets require you to declare them upon putting the card on the chain - Other choices (that are not targets) are made on resolution

Ruling: Yes, your Cleave resolves because the opponent's Defy was countered and never resolved. Sequence: - You play Cleave - Opponent plays Defy targeting your Cleave - You play Defy targeting opponent's Defy (before it resolves) - Your Defy resolves, countering opponent's Defy - Opponent's Defy never resolves - Your Cleave resolves Nuances: - You must react to the first Defy before it resolves. If the first Defy resolves, it removes the card from the chain immediately and a second Defy played afterward would not help.

Ruling: Yes, Darius Trifarian will ready himself in this scenario. His ability triggers when you play your second card in a turn, regardless of whether Darius himself was the first or second card played. Sequence: - Play Darius as the 1st card (Darius enters play and his ability becomes active) - Play Noxus Hopeful as the 2nd card (this fulfills the "second card" condition) - Darius's ability triggers because he is already on the board when the second card is played - Darius gains +2 Might and becomes Readied Nuances: - Darius must be in play for his effect to be active - Noxus Hopeful's Legion ability will also trigger since it is the second card played

Ruling: Yes, you can play the second Discipline before Void Seeker resolves. Before each item on the chain resolves, both players have a chance to play reactions. Sequence: - Discipline resolves and you draw a card - Owner of the next item on the chain (Void Seeker) gets priority - If opponent passes, you can play the second Discipline - Void Seeker owner gets priority again - This process repeats for each item on the chain Nuances: - The opponent must not counter your first Discipline for you to get the draw - You must allow the opponent an opportunity to react after each card is played

Ruling: Yes, you retain the +2 might bonus from En Garde. En Garde is a trigger ability that checks the game state only when it resolves, not continuously, so adding a second unit afterward does not remove the bonus. Sequence: - Player A (attacker) passes with focus and priority - Player B plays En Garde targeting their unit (only 1 unit present) - Both players pass, En Garde resolves and grants +2 might - Player A gets focus and priority again (as defender owned most recent effect) - Player A passes - Player B can now play Blastcone Fae - Both players pass, Blastcone Fae resolves - The unit still has the +2 might from En Garde Nuances: - If you play Blastcone Fae first, then En Garde in the same chain, En Garde only grants +1 might because Blastcone Fae resolves first (chain resolves in reverse order) and there are 2 units when En Garde resolves - This differs from passive abilities like Wielder of Water, which continuously recheck the game state - When units enter the battlefield during a showdown, there is no initial empty chain - it goes directly to attacker triggers, then defender triggers, then attacker gets focus and priority - There is only ever one chain at a time, which must fully resolve before a new chain can begin

Ruling: No, you only draw 1 card. If you can't channel a rune because you don't have any more runes in your rune deck, you simply do not channel them and do not get an additional card draw for that. Nuances: - Some specific spells/abilities explicitly allow you to draw a card if you can't channel a rune (like Catalyst of Eons), but only those effects work that way - Cards that let you draw when you can't channel will say so explicitly

Ruling: When you play Mystic Reversal in response to Wind Wall countering your Flash, you gain control of the targeted spell but do not reorder the chain. The only end result will be your Flash being countered. Nuances: - You cannot counter Mystic Reversal with Wind Wall - Targeting your own Flash with Mystic Reversal does not allow it to bypass the Wind Wall or resolve before being countered - Targeting Wind Wall with Mystic Reversal does not allow you to redirect it away from your Flash

Ruling: Get Excited deals 8 damage. When effects reference a card's cost, they always reference the printed value on the card, not any modified cost from other effects. Nuances: - Kadregrin's cost reduction only applies when casting the card into play, not when the card's cost is referenced by other effects - The card is discarded before it would actually be cast, so the cost reduction never applies

Ruling: Yes, you can play both Flame Chompers and Immortal Phoenix to your base on your opponent's turn. The discard happens during Get Excited's resolution (not as a cost), triggering Chompers. The unit death triggers both Phoenix and Deathknell during cleanup. Sequence: - Get Excited is played and finalized on the chain - Get Excited resolves: discard Chompers (Chompers trigger becomes pending), then kill the unit - Cleanup occurs: Chompers trigger, Deathknell, and Phoenix trigger all become pending - Finalize all pending items to the chain - Phoenix trigger resolves first (turn player's triggers go on chain first, so resolve last) - Deathknell resolves second - Chompers trigger resolves third, putting Chompers permanent on chain - Chompers auto-resolves immediately as a permanent Nuances: - The discard is part of Get Excited's resolution, not a cost to play it - Chompers' discard trigger is a triggered ability that puts the permanent on chain when it resolves, not the permanent itself - Phoenix and Deathknell trigger at the same time (during cleanup after the kill), but active player's triggers are added to chain first (so resolve last) - If you killed your own unit, you could order Phoenix and Deathknell freely since you control both triggers

Ruling: Gust resolves first and returns Ravenbloom to hand. Since Ravenbloom is no longer on the field, its effect does not activate. Sequence: - Gust resolves - Ravenbloom returns to hand - Ravenbloom's effect does not trigger because it is no longer on the field Nuances: - A card isn't considered played until it resolves

Ruling: Yes, you can get The Harrowing back with Annie's ability. Spells enter the trash as the final step before being considered fully resolved/played, which happens before Annie finalizes and her trigger goes on the chain. Sequence: - You play The Harrowing targeting Annie in the trash - Reactions may happen, The Harrowing begins resolving - Annie is placed onto the chain as pending (will finalize during next cleanup) - The Harrowing goes to the trash and is now considered Resolved/Played - This causes a cleanup, Annie finalizes to the chain - Since she is a permanent, she resolves immediately and her trigger is added to the chain - The Harrowing is in the trash at this moment, so it is a legal target for Annie's ability

Ruling: When you have priority and play an action spell like Hextech Ray, your opponent cannot respond with another action spell like Ride the Wind since it is not a reaction. Your damage resolves, the chain closes, and then your opponent can decide whether to play Ride the Wind afterward. Sequence: - You play Hextech Ray with priority - Opponent cannot respond with Ride the Wind (it's an action, not a reaction) - Hextech Ray deals 3 damage and the chain closes - If the unit dies from the damage, it dies - Opponent can then play Ride the Wind if they still want to (and if the unit survived)

Ruling: Action spells cannot be added to an existing chain, so Voidseeker cannot be played in response to Unyielding Spirit. However, Reaction spells can be added to a chain and will resolve before Unyielding Spirit, potentially killing the unit before it gains protection. Sequence: - If you play a Reaction spell (like Shakedown) in response to Unyielding Spirit, your spell resolves first - If the damage kills the unit, it dies before Unyielding Spirit resolves - If you play an Action spell (like Voidseeker) after the chain resolves, Unyielding Spirit's protection is already active until end of turn, so damage is negated (though you still draw from Voidseeker) Nuances: - Actions can start a chain but cannot be added to an existing chain - Reactions can both start a chain AND be added to an existing chain - Voidseeker still allows you to draw a card even if the damage is negated

Ruling: When you play Hidden Blade, you must select the target immediately. If the target is moved from the battlefield after being chosen (such as by Retreat), you cannot switch targets. Hidden Blade resolves to no effect, and the opponent does not draw a card. Sequence: - Play Hidden Blade - Select the target (opponent cannot react before this) - Opponent can react with Retreat to move the target - You cannot change your target after the reaction - Hidden Blade resolves to no effect Nuances: - Even though Hidden Blade resolves to no effect due to an invalid target, the opponent still does not draw a card because the target and its controller were invalid at resolution

Ruling: No, you do not draw 2 cards. When Hidden Blade resolves, it checks if the target is still legal. Since the unit is no longer on the battlefield, it is not a legal target, and any check for information about an illegal target returns "zero" or "null", including "its controller", resulting in no draw. Sequence: - Hidden Blade is played targeting your own unit - Opponent chains Gust, removing the unit from the battlefield - Hidden Blade resolves and rechecks target validity - Target is found to be illegal (no longer on battlefield) - All checks against the illegal target's information return null - No player draws cards Nuances: - Despite the unit still existing as a game object and having a controller attribute, the spell cannot track/access that information because it is no longer a legal target - Riftbound does not use "last known information" rules, so you cannot reference the controller from before the unit left the battlefield - A target can become illegal and then become re-legal before resolution (as long as it's the same game object), but in this case the unit remains illegal

Ruling: No, Karma will not trigger from the recycled cards. Karma will be pending on the chain until Aurora finishes resolving (including the recycle), then Karma will be played after the recycle has already occurred. Sequence: - Dazzling Aurora begins resolving - Karma is put on the chain (but does not resolve yet) - The other revealed cards are recycled - Aurora finishes resolving - Karma resolves and enters the board - Karma's Vision ability will trigger, but not the recycle trigger (since the recycle already happened) Nuances: - There is no concept of a unit "seeing" something happen in Riftbound - what matters is whether the unit's ability is active (unit is in play) when the trigger would try to enter the chain - The rules around effects that cause you to play cards are still being clarified and will be addressed in the revised Comprehensive Rules - Playing a card and a card resolving are two separate steps

Ruling: No, the Dreaming Tree's battlefield trigger will not activate. Choosing a unit as part of paying an additional cost is not the same as targeting that unit. Nuances: - The Dreaming Tree's use of "choose" specifically means to target - Choosing a unit to pay a cost does not count as targeting for trigger purposes

Ruling: If your opponent counters Sabotage with Defy or Wind Wall, the counter resolves first and Sabotage goes to discard without resolving. You will not see your opponent's hand. Sequence: - Sabotage is played - Opponent responds with Defy/Wind Wall - Counter resolves first, sending Sabotage to discard - Sabotage does not resolve, so no hand is revealed Nuances: - The choice of which card to recycle with Sabotage is not a target - The choice is made on resolution, not as an additional cost during finalization

Ruling: Yes, the student still gets the might buff from playing the spell. Nuances: - Even if a spell resolves to no effect (because its target is no longer valid), it still counts as having been played for triggered abilities

Ruling: No, you cannot play Gust immediately after Stacked Deck resolves during a showdown. When Stacked Deck resolves and the chain closes during a showdown, focus automatically passes to the next player in turn order. However, if you play Stacked Deck during your own turn (in a neutral open state), you would regain priority when the chain closes and could then play Gust. Sequence: - During a showdown: Player plays Stacked Deck → Chain resolves → Chain closes → Focus automatically passes to next player in turn order - During your own turn: Player plays Stacked Deck → Chain resolves → Chain closes → Player regains priority and can play Gust Nuances: - In a showdown, all players take turns starting chains with actions or reactions, and focus (permission to start a chain) passes to the next player in turn order when a chain closes - During your action phase, you are the only player who can start a chain with base speed, action, or reaction effects, and when a chain closes you get priority back - You can play multiple reactions in a row on an open chain before passing priority, but only while the chain is still open - When a chain closes in a showdown, focus automatically passes regardless of who played the card that started the chain - The exception is the initial attack/defend trigger chain, which does not pass focus - the attacker always starts the showdown with focus after that chain closes

Ruling: Stand United grants a buff to one friendly unit and creates a board-wide passive effect that makes all buffs (including existing ones) give +1 additional might this turn. A unit that already has a buff cannot receive a second buff, but it will benefit from the passive effect. Sequence: - Stand United targets one friendly unit and grants it a buff (+1 might) - Stand United's second effect makes all buffs on the board give +1 additional might this turn - Units that already have buffs from other sources (like Lee Sin) gain +1 might from the passive effect - Example: A 1 might unit with Lee Sin's buff (now 2 might) becomes 3 might when Stand United is played Nuances: - You cannot place multiple buffs on the same unit - The passive effect applies to all buffed units on the board, not just the one targeted by Stand United - Lee Sin Ascetic is an exception that can receive multiple buffs

Ruling: Guardian Angel triggers during cleanup and recalls the unit to base before control is lost and before a showdown is staged. The opponent loses control of the battlefield (special FAQ ruling), making it uncontrolled. One non-combat showdown opens with only Yone present. When Yone conquers this uncontrolled battlefield, his ability DOES trigger to deal 5 damage to a target unit in a base. Sequence: - Stormbringer resolves: damage is marked on the defender and Yone moves to the battlefield - The battlefield becomes Contested immediately when Yone arrives - During cleanup, Guardian Angel triggers before the unit would die, healing and recalling it to base - The opponent loses control of the battlefield (special FAQ ruling that overrides the normal rule that control cannot change while Contested) - The battlefield is now Uncontrolled (even though still Contested) - One non-combat showdown opens with only Yone present - When the showdown closes, Yone conquers the uncontrolled battlefield - Yone's ability triggers, dealing 5 damage to a target unit in a base Nuances: - This uses a temporary stop-gap ruling from the Hostile Takeover FAQ that forces control loss even while Contested - This is a known gap in the rules acknowledged by the official FAQ - Only one showdown occurs (not two) - The battlefield transitions from opponent-controlled to Contested to Uncontrolled to your control