Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: If Teemo dies before his ability resolves, he cannot deal damage because his ability specifies 'here' and he is no longer at the battlefield (he's in the trash). However, you still reveal 5 cards. Sequence: - Teemo's ability goes on the chain - Teemo is killed by another effect in the chain - Teemo's ability resolves but cannot find a valid target 'here' for the damage - The reveal 5 portion still occurs Nuances: - The keyword 'here' is critical - it requires Teemo to still be at the battlefield location when the ability resolves - Only the damage portion fails; the reveal portion of the ability still happens

Ruling: When Teemo, Strategist is removed while his ability is on the chain, you still reveal your cards and recycle them, but the damage cannot be dealt because there is no valid target. Sequence: - Reveal your cards - Attempt to deal damage (fails due to no target) - Recycle all of the revealed cards Nuances: - All effects on the chain resolve to the best of their ability unless countered - The Reveal instruction doesn't require target information, but the Deal instruction does - This applies whether the opponent removes Teemo or you remove your own unit

Ruling: The Ravenbloom Student will be at 2 Might. When a unit buffs itself, the buff is added to its current Might value (which already includes any reductions from effects like Thousand Tail Watcher). Sequence: - Thousand Tail Watcher reduces Ravenbloom Student to 1 Might - Student plays a spell during showdown - Student's self-buff adds to the current 1 Might - Student ends at 2 Might Nuances: - This interaction is covered under the "Arithmetic" section of the rules, which explains how modifiers combine

Ruling: No, units played after Thousand Tailed Watcher resolves will not have the -3 applied to them. Thousand Tail and other spells and abilities that change stats do so when they resolve, and the amount added/removed and the number of units affected aren't updated until the effect wears off. Nuances: - The exception is for passive abilities (like a battlefield that constantly gives everything +1), which continuously update. Thousand Tail is a triggered ability (indicated by 'When' in 'When you play me'), not a passive ability.

Ruling: Tibbers deals 4 damage because its Might is reduced to 4 by Thousand-Tailed Watcher's effect (7 base Might - 3 from Watcher = 4 Might). Tibbers dies and Watcher survives the combat.

Ruling: The Thousand-tailed Watcher applies a one-time reduction that lasts the entire turn, not a persistent effect. If a unit later receives a power buff, that buff is added to the already-reduced power. Sequence: - Thousand-tailed Watcher reduces the enemy unit's power by 3 (from 2 to -1, but minimum 0 or stays at reduced value) - During combat, opponent plays a spell giving +1 power - The +1 is added to the current reduced power - Both units die in combat (2 might vs 2 power)

Ruling: This sequence does not work because Tide Turner's errata prevents you from targeting a unit at the same location as Tide Turner itself. Nuances: - If you could target the unit, the sequence would work: Tide Turner would be played, resolve immediately as a permanent, its trigger would target Kayn, then you could react to the trigger by moving Kayn with Fight or Flight, then swap him with Tide Turner. There would be no problem with Tide Turner entering at an empty battlefield. - A simpler alternative is to play Fight or Flight first to move Kayn back (you still control the battlefield during combat showdown), then reveal Tide Turner and switch it with Kayn when you next have priority. - At Reaver's Row, if you retreat a unit, Reaver's Row triggers at the start of the showdown in the initial chain (as a "when you defend" trigger), so you don't lose control when you retreat. The retreat-Tide Turner-invulnerable defense sequence works.

Ruling: No, you do not gain a point. Control of the battlefield is never lost during Tideturner's ability resolution. Cleanups (which would check battlefield control) cannot occur during the resolution of a spell or ability. Sequence: - Tideturner is revealed and enters the battlefield - Tideturner's WYPM (When You Play Me) trigger goes on the chain and finalizes (targets are chosen) - Players can react to the trigger (e.g., play Gust) - The WYPM trigger resolves completely (the swap happens) - Only after resolution completes can cleanups occur Nuances: - If you Gust the Tideturner itself in response to its trigger, the swap will not happen because Tideturner is no longer on the battlefield when its ability tries to resolve - Rule 151.3 explicitly states that while a spell or ability is resolving, no other spells or abilities can be finalized on the chain or resolved, including triggered abilities or game effects that would occur as a result of execution - The swap happens as part of a single resolution, with no opportunity for cleanups or state-based checks in the middle

Ruling: Hextech Ray cannot be played in reaction to Tideturner because it is an action, not a reaction. If played during the showdown, it must wait until Tideturner's effect resolves. Once Tideturner's effect resolves and it swaps to base, Hextech Ray can no longer target it. Sequence: - Showdown is initiated - Fight or Flight is played from hand (not as hidden from another battlefield, as targeting from hiddens is restricted to their battlefield) - Tideturner is revealed in reaction - Tideturner's swap effect resolves (Tideturner goes to base, Thousand Tailed Watcher goes to battlefield) - Hextech Ray can now be played but cannot target Tideturner since it's in base Nuances: - Hidden cards can be revealed from other battlefields, but targeting abilities from hiddens are restricted to their own battlefield - If Tideturner were somehow killed before its effect resolved, there is uncertainty about whether the swap would work since Tideturner references "my original location" and might not be resolvable from trash

Ruling: Hidden Blade cannot change targets after it has been cast. When the original target is swapped away by Tideturner, Hidden Blade resolves but has no effect (whiffs) because the target is no longer at the battlefield where Hidden Blade was played from hidden. Sequence: - Hidden Blade is cast from hidden, targeting a unit at that battlefield - Tideturner responds by swapping that unit to a different battlefield - Hidden Blade cannot change targets to Tideturner - Hidden Blade resolves but does nothing because its effect is limited to the battlefield it was played from hidden, and the original target is no longer there - The original target survives and no cards are drawn Nuances: - The spell still resolves (doesn't "fizzle"), it just has no effect on the board ("whiffs"), which matters for triggers like student - No cards are drawn because the target is not legal (unlike with Zhonya's, which uses a replacement effect that keeps the target legal)

Ruling: Yes, the effect still triggers. All triggers resolve in this game, sometimes to no effect. Nuances: - If a card stipulates "here" but was returned to hand, the game can no longer determine where "here" is, so the effect resolves but does nothing

Ruling: Triggers always attempt to resolve even if their source no longer exists. You can discard Traveling Merchant from your hand to its own effect after bouncing it in response to the trigger. Sequence: - Move Traveling Merchant to a location (trigger goes on stack) - Bounce Traveling Merchant to hand in response - Trigger resolves - Discard Traveling Merchant from hand to its own effect Nuances: - Effects that require information that can't be found outside of the board (like "here") may not resolve normally if the source is removed

Ruling: Yes, each discard from Traveling Merchant's "When I move" ability triggers Jinx, Rebel separately, even if they occur on the same chain. Moving Traveling Merchant twice (such as via Fight or Flight in response to the first move trigger) will give Jinx +2 Might total. Nuances: - Multiple triggers can be added to the same chain, and each discard counts as a separate trigger for Jinx - This also applies if Traveling Merchant moves onto a battlefield that causes an additional discard-and-draw effect

Ruling: No, you cannot play Flame Chompers to the battlefield Traveling Merchant is moving to because you do not control that battlefield yet when the discard effect resolves. Nuances: - Control of the new battlefield is not established until Traveling Merchant's movement fully resolves

Ruling: The recruit tokens will be at 1 might. Thousand Tail Watcher snapshots the current might value when it resolves and applies a -3 reduction (minimum 1) for the rest of the turn. Sequence: - Recruit tokens start at 1 might base - Trifarian Warcamp gives +1 might (now 2 might) - Thousand Tail Watcher resolves, reducing might by 3 with minimum 1 (now 1 might) - The -3 reduction is snapshotted and persists for the turn Nuances: - The reduction from Watcher is snapshotted, so additional buffs can still increase might afterward (e.g., playing Discipline would make them 3 might: 1 base + 1 Warcamp - 3 Watcher + 2 Discipline) - If a unit affected by Watcher leaves the battlefield during the turn, the snapshotted reduction can cause it to have 0 or even negative might

Ruling: No, Tryndamere's ability does not trigger. He doesn't assign any excess damage to units because no combat damage was assigned in this scenario. Nuances: - The ability requires Tryndamere to assign excess damage to units, which doesn't occur when the defending unit is removed before combat damage

Ruling: No, Tryndamere does not gain his bonus point. There must be at least one enemy unit present for damage to be assigned and for his ability to trigger. Sequence: - Defender retreats the unit on the when I defend trigger - No units remain to assign damage to - Tryndamere never assigns damage - His ability never triggers

No. Tryndamere's ability reads 'When I conquer after an attack' — this triggers only when the Attacker conquers. Since Tryndamere conquered on defense (not as the Attacker), the ability does not trigger. Only 1 point is scored from the normal Conquer.

Ruling: Yes, Twisted Fate's effect still resolves even if he dies after triggering. Once an effect is placed on the chain, it resolves independently of whether the source unit is still alive. Nuances: - Effects that reference the unit itself (like "here" or "deal my might as damage") do require the unit to still be alive - Red Card wouldn't work if TF is dead because it requires TF to be "here" - Effects like "draw 1" and "stun an enemy unit" resolve fine with TF dead - Effects like "when I leave the board" (deathknell, treasure trove) also need to work this way

Ruling: Uncheck Power exhausts friendly units as part of spell resolution, not as a cost. If the spell is countered by Wind Wall, your units are not exhausted and remain in their previous state. Sequence: - Uncheck Power is played and put on the stack - If countered by Wind Wall, the spell does not resolve - Units are not exhausted because exhausting happens at resolution, not when playing the spell Nuances: - The exhausting effect is part of resolution, not an additional cost paid when playing the spell

Ruling: No, drawing is not revealing. Game effects will specifically tell you to reveal cards. Nuances: - Drawing and revealing are distinct game actions - Only effects that explicitly instruct you to reveal cards count as revealing

Ruling: Yes, Unit B dies. When the spell resolves and cleanup occurs, Unit A dies first (6 damage on 6 might). This triggers a second cleanup because the game state changed. During this second cleanup, Unit B now has 6 might (lost the +1 buff) and 6 damage marked on it, so it dies. Sequence: - Spell deals 6 damage to both Unit A and Unit B - First cleanup occurs and kills Unit A (6 damage equals its 6 might) - Second cleanup occurs because the game state changed (Unit A died) - Unit B now has 6 might (no longer receiving +1 buff) and 6 damage marked on it, so it dies Nuances: - Cleanup repeats until nothing happens - if an event during cleanup qualifies for another cleanup, it occurs immediately after the first completes - Damage marked on units persists until healed or the unit dies - If this occurred during a Combat Showdown, the outcome would be different because units are healed of all damage during the special combat cleanup before lethal damage is checked again

Ruling: The deathknell triggers, but you won't draw the 2 cards because the mighty condition is checked when the deathknell resolves, and at 4 attack the unit is not mighty. Sequence: - Unsung Hero dies with 4 attack (after being stupefied) - The deathknell ability triggers ("When I die") - Upon resolution, check if the unit was mighty - Since it has 4 attack, it is not mighty, so the "draw 2" effect does not happen Nuances: - The trigger condition is everything up to the first comma ("When I die"), while the mighty check is part of the effect - The ability always triggers when the unit dies, regardless of mighty status

Ruling: No, Vanguard Captain will not summon tokens if it is not on the field when its ability resolves. Cards and abilities only see the current boardstate while resolving. Nuances: - The same applies if Captain is killed by a spell in response - it must be on the field when its ability resolves - "Here" is not valid if Captain isn't on the field when the ability resolves - Riftbound does not use "last known information" (except for Deathknell abilities)

Ruling: No, Vayne does not keep the buffed Assault when bounced to hand. When units move between the board and any other zone, they lose any temporary modifications they received. Nuances: - This applies to any unit moving between the board and any other zone (hand, deck, etc.) - The loss of buffs applies to temporary modifications

Ruling: Yes, Vayne dies. When moved to an empty battlefield, she loses her attacker status because only one combat can be active at a time, and the second combat remains pending until the first resolves. Without attacker status, she loses Assault and dies from the marked damage. Sequence: - Showdown 1 is active with Vayne as attacker (5 might with 4 damage marked) - Ride the Wind moves Vayne to another battlefield - A cleanup step occurs after the move is completed - Vayne loses attacker status because the second combat cannot start while the first is still active - Vayne loses Assault, dropping to 2 might - Vayne dies from having lethal damage before the second showdown could begin Nuances: - If a unit is moved to base instead of another battlefield, it would no longer be a valid target for effects that require the unit to be at a battlefield - There can never be more than one combat active simultaneously; additional combats remain pending until the current one completes

Ruling: Yes, Vayne will always enter ready. Her first ability is a passive ability that does not use the chain, so there is no trigger for the opponent to react to before Vayne enters. Sequence: - Vayne is played - Vayne enters the battlefield ready (passive ability applies immediately) - No opportunity exists to react before the passive ability takes effect Nuances: - Triggered abilities are indicated by the words "when" or "at" - since Vayne's ability has neither, it is not a trigger - Players cannot react to cards being played (only to triggers and actions that use the chain) - This is a passive ability, not a replacement effect (replacement effects use the word "instead")

Ruling: If you deal lethal damage to Vi with Hextech Ray during a showdown, Vi will die before combat damage is dealt. Only units that are still on the battlefield when combat resolution starts will contribute damage. Sequence: - Vi enters the backfield during showdown - Hextech Ray resolves, dealing lethal damage to Vi - Vi dies before damage distribution - Combat damage is dealt (Vi does not contribute since it died) - Defending units survive

Ruling: Combat damage happens simultaneously. If both units would die at the same time, the Zhonya's Hourglass controller chooses which unit to save. Sequence: - Vi assigns combat damage - Combat damage resolves simultaneously to all units - If multiple units would die, Zhonya's Hourglass controller chooses which one to save

Ruling: No, Victor does not generate recruit tokens when it dies simultaneously with other units. Nuances: - This applies both to combat damage scenarios and to effects that wipe the battlefield - Units don't see themselves or anything that dies simultaneously with them die

Ruling: No, Viktor's ability will not trigger. Even though the units die simultaneously, in Riftbound game objects do not see simultaneous events if they die as the events happen. Nuances: - Combat damage in the combat damage step is dealt simultaneously - The restriction on seeing simultaneous events applies to game objects generally, not just units - Delayed triggers are the only triggers that get around this restriction

Ruling: No, Viktor does not trigger if he dies. When Viktor dies simultaneously with other units, he does not see those deaths and will not create a token.

Ruling: No, Viktor Leader's trigger does not activate when he dies simultaneously with other units. Sequence: - Units killed simultaneously don't see each other dying - The trigger effect would occur after a unit dies - Since Viktor dies at the same time as the other unit, he is already dead when the trigger would occur and cannot trigger anymore

Ruling: Yes, Viktor can avoid Ahri's debuff by attacking with 1 might tokens, and then Grand Strategist will grant its full effect. Sequence: - Ahri's effect happens first at Start of Showdown - Tokens at 1 might are not affected by Ahri's debuff - Grand Strategist cast later gets the full effect

Ruling: No, Viktor will not spawn a recruit token at base if he dies with another non-recruit unit. Sequence: - When multiple units die simultaneously, the board state is checked at the time the triggered abilities would resolve - At that point, Viktor is already in the trash/dead - Viktor's triggered ability requires checking if you control another non-recruit unit while Viktor is on the board - Since Viktor is no longer on the board when his ability would check, the condition cannot be met Nuances: - Triggered abilities of permanents can only have their conditions evaluated while on the board - This is specifically covered in the FAQ regarding Wraith of Echo's effect - Deathknell is a special case that works from the trash, but Viktor's ability is not a Deathknell ability

Ruling: All three effects (Ahri Legend, Ahri Inquisitive, and Siphon Power) are instance effects that apply once based on their duration, not continuous effects. After both Ahri effects resolve and then Siphon Power is played, all tokens will have 2 Might. Nuances: - The duration of an effect ("for the rest of the turn") does not make it a continuous effect - Continuous effects are exemplified by cards like Trifarian War Camp or green Leona - For continuous effects like Trifarian War Camp: if a token is affected by the continuous effect first, then has its might reduced (e.g., by Stupify), it stays reduced because the continuous effect already applied and won't apply again after cleanup

Ruling: No, Viktor does not trigger. Viktor needs to still be on the board for his ability to trigger, and triggered abilities of permanents can only have their conditions evaluated while on the Board. Nuances: - This applies even though the other Unit dies at the same time as Viktor - Viktor cannot "see" the other Unit die because he is not on the board when the trigger condition would be evaluated

Ruling: Yes, the damage is healed. Once a combat starts, it will proceed to the end as a combat even if units are removed from the battlefield. All damage everywhere is healed at the end of combat during the Resolution Step. Sequence: - Void Seeker resolves as an action, dealing 4 damage to Mindsplitter - Ride the Wind resolves, removing Mindsplitter from the battlefield and readying it - Combat proceeds to Resolution Step - All damage is cleared from all units at all locations Nuances: - The rule stating "If neither Attacking Units nor Defending Units remain at this stage, no Combat occurred" only means to skip the combat damage step (where units deal their might values), not that the combat phase itself is cancelled - This is different from moving to an empty battlefield, which creates a showdown but not a combat, and therefore does not heal damage - Once a combat starts, it cannot stop being a combat regardless of whether units remain

Ruling: Yes, you still draw a card. The draw effect is not conditional on killing the target or the target being legal. Nuances: - Riftbound doesn't have "fizzling" - spells always resolve to the best of their ability unless directly countered - Even if the target becomes illegal (e.g., with a flash effect), Void Seeker still resolves and draws a card - The only way to prevent the draw is if the spell itself is countered

Ruling: Yes, Darius dies. Void Seeker deals 4 damage to Darius, then Smoke Screen reduces his Might to 1. Since the damage marked (4) is greater than or equal to his Might (1), Darius dies in the cleanup. Sequence: - Darius starts at 5 Might - Void Seeker is played, dealing 4 damage (Darius is now 5 Might with 4 damage marked) - Smoke Screen is played, reducing Might to 1 (Darius is now 1 Might with 4 damage marked) - Damage marked (4) ≥ Might (1), so Darius dies in cleanup Nuances: - "Life" is not a useful concept in this game; the relevant mechanics are damage marked and Might - Might and Life are separate concepts, but damage comparison happens against Might

Ruling: Yes, you still draw 1 card. In Riftbound, spells never "fizzle" and you do as much as you can. Nuances: - The draw effect is not reliant on the unit in any way - You draw no matter what happens to the targeted unit

Ruling: Yes, the caster still draws a card. Void Seeker has two separate effects: dealing damage and drawing a card. The draw is not conditional on successfully dealing damage. Sequence: - Void Seeker is cast targeting a unit - In response, the unit is moved (e.g., with Retreat) - When Void Seeker resolves, the damage portion fails because the target is no longer valid - The draw portion still resolves because it is a separate effect (separated by a period) Nuances: - If the unit had been removed from play entirely (e.g., with Gust), the controller could not be established and no card would be drawn - If the unit is moved to a different zone but still in play (like the base), it remains a valid target for establishing controller, so the draw still happens - The key is the punctuation: effects separated by periods are separate resolutions that resolve independently - This only applies when the draw is not conditional (no "if you do" language)

Ruling: Yes, you can still draw a card. The spell must have a legal target to finalize, but once finalized, "do as much as you can" applies—you skip game actions involving illegal targets but perform all other game actions. Sequence: - The spell must have a legal target when it finalizes - Once finalized, resolve the spell using "do as much as you can" - Skip any game actions that involve the now-illegal target - Perform all other game actions (like drawing a card)

Ruling: No, there is no re-targeting in Riftbound. Once a spell is on the chain, its targets are locked. If the unit becomes an illegal target by the time the spell resolves, it will whiff (resolve to no effect), but the caster still draws a card. Sequence: - Void Seeker is cast and targets are finalized - If the target moves before resolution, targets remain locked - On resolution, if the target is illegal, the damage whiffs - The draw effect still occurs (it is separate from the damaging effect) Nuances: - You cannot re-target spells even if the original target becomes illegal - Different effects on the same spell can resolve independently (draw vs damage)

Ruling: No, it does not trigger Voli. Weaponmaster makes a unit mighty after it is played, so the unit is not mighty when played. Sequence: - Passive abilities become active just before a unit is considered "Played" - The unit is considered played (this is when Voli would check if it's mighty) - Weaponmaster triggers after the unit is played, making it mighty too late for Voli Nuances: - Units that become mighty through Passive Abilities (like Origins Draven at 2 points, or a 4:Might: unit played to Trifarian Warcamp) would trigger Voli because passives activate before the unit is considered played - This interaction would trigger Fiora instead (Voli and Fiora are mutually exclusive)

Ruling: No, this interaction does not work as described. Nuances: - The specific rule reference provided indicates this interaction is not valid, though the exact mechanical reason is not elaborated in the thread

Ruling: No, the damage does not apply to the retreated unit. When Volibear's attack trigger resolves, if the targeted unit has been moved back to base, it is no longer a valid target and receives no damage. Sequence: - Volibear moves to the battlefield, triggering combat - Attacker and defender designations are assigned when the showdown opens - Volibear's attack trigger goes on the chain first, and targets must be chosen at this time - Reavers Row's defender trigger goes on the chain second (on top) - If both players pass priority, Reavers Row resolves first, moving the unit back to base - Then Volibear's trigger resolves, but the retreated unit is no longer a valid target and takes no damage Nuances: - When splitting damage among multiple targets, you must choose all targets when the trigger is finalized on the chain, before the defender can react - Each target must receive at least 1 damage (you cannot assign 0 damage to some targets) - Choosing multiple targets is strategically better because if one is retreated, you can still assign damage to the remaining valid targets - Units do not become attackers during movement - they gain attacker designation when the showdown opens, which happens after movement resolves - If a unit is revealed from hidden after targets are chosen (like Teemo), it cannot be targeted by Volibear's trigger

Ruling: You still get the rune. The Mighty requirement is checked in the trigger condition when the unit is played, not upon resolution. Nuances: - The resolution text only says "you may exhaust me to channel 1 exhausted" because the Mighty requirement is already satisfied in the trigger condition - Reducing the unit's power after it triggers Volibear's ability does not prevent the ability from resolving

Ruling: Warwick dies and Caitlyn lives. When Hidden Blade (a reaction spell) resolves first and kills Warwick, his ability still triggers but fails to resolve because it cannot find the "here" information it needs after Warwick has left the battlefield. Sequence: - Warwick declares attack, triggering his ability - Opponent plays Hidden Blade (reaction spell) in response - Hidden Blade resolves first, killing Warwick - Warwick's ability attempts to resolve but fails because Warwick is no longer on the battlefield and the ability cannot find "here" - Caitlyn survives Nuances: - Unlike Magic: The Gathering, Riftbound has no "Last Known Information" rule - if an object leaves the zone it was expected to be in, effects that reference it fail to find the needed information - The ability does go on the stack/chain, but it fails to resolve properly rather than being removed from the stack

Ruling: No, if Warwick is not on the battlefield when his ability resolves, the ability does nothing because the game cannot determine where "here" refers to. Sequence: - Warwick moves to the battlefield and his trigger goes on the chain - If Warwick is removed from the battlefield before the trigger resolves - The trigger is still on the chain but does nothing because "here" cannot be determined Nuances: - The trigger being on the chain is separate from whether it can resolve successfully - "Here" means "same battlefield as me" and requires Warwick to still be present - "Here" is not targeting, but without last known information in Riftbound, "here" does not exist if the source is gone - If the ability said "destroy all damaged enemy units at a battlefield" without "here", it would still work - Warwick's trigger resolves before actual combat, so he can clear units before combat damage