Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Yes, if Time Warp is played on turn 4 of the 5 additional turns, the extra turn granted counts as the 5th turn and the game ends after that turn. Nuances: - The rule does not specify which players take the turns, only that there are 5 turns total regardless of who takes them - This would theoretically also apply to 2v2 tournaments, though those formats may have modifications

Ruling: The showdown continues even if there are no opposing units. It only ends after all players pass Focus in succession. Sequence: - Combat once started will resolve even if there are no opposing units - When the last item on the chain resolves during a showdown, Focus passes to the next player - Players continue to have the opportunity to play spells or activate abilities - The showdown only closes if all players pass Focus without playing a spell or activating an ability Nuances: - Focus does not pass when the last item on the Initial Chain resolves; instead the player with Focus proceeds with play

Ruling: The battlefield becomes uncontrolled when the last unit leaves. When a unit enters that battlefield, a showdown occurs because the player is attempting to gain control of a battlefield they don't control. However, the player does not score or conquer again because they already scored from that battlefield this turn. Sequence: - Player scores hold point from battlefield - Player moves last unit out, battlefield becomes uncontrolled - Player moves another unit into the battlefield - Showdown occurs (non-combat) - If player gains control, no additional scoring occurs Nuances: - The showdown is non-combat - The restriction on scoring/conquering applies because the battlefield was already scored this turn

Ruling: Yes, both players can score at the same battlefield during a single turn. Each player may only score once per battlefield per turn, but this limit applies separately to each player. Sequence: - Player A charms Player B's unit to an empty battlefield on Player A's turn - Player B scores a point for capturing that battlefield - Player A then conquers that same battlefield later in the same turn - Player A also scores a point Nuances: - Points are never taken away in this game - The "once per battlefield per turn" restriction applies to each player individually, not to the battlefield itself

Ruling: No, you cannot score the same battlefield twice in one turn. A battlefield can only be conquered and scored once per turn, regardless of units moving in and out. Nuances: - Even if you move a unit out and then move a different unit back in, you do not score again - This prevents exploiting unit swapping for free points each turn

Ruling: Yes, you can score a point on a battlefield during your opponent's turn even if you already scored on that battlefield during your own turn. Nuances: - Each player can score 1 point per battlefield per turn - Both players can score on the same battlefield within the same turn cycle (one on each player's turn) - The scoring limit is per-player per-turn, not a universal turn restriction

Ruling: Yes, the opponent can use the drawn Defy on Smoke Screen. Players get reaction windows at each chain link as it resolves, not just when the entire chain resolves. Sequence: - Player plays Smoke Screen, starting a chain - Opponent reacts with Discipline (chain is now: Smoke Screen > Discipline) - Chain begins resolving with Discipline (the last item added) - Discipline resolves: a unit gets +2 and draws Defy - Priority passes to players for reactions before the next chain link resolves - The opponent can now play the drawn Defy to react to Smoke Screen - If both players pass, Smoke Screen would then resolve Nuances: - The chain resolves one link at a time, not all at once - Players get reaction windows after each individual chain link resolves, before moving to the next link

Ruling: No, you cannot use standard action moves (including limited move actions) while inside a showdown or while a chain is resolving. Sequence: - Zenith Blade is used on Lee Sin as the first action of the turn - Sett is moved into the battlefield, creating a showdown with Lee Sin - The board enters contested state - No limited actions can be performed anymore - When I attack and when I defend triggers begin

Ruling: When a spell kills a unit and resolves during a combat showdown, the unit is sent to trash but the chain continues normally. The showdown continues until both players pass without starting a chain. Sequence: - The spell that kills the unit resolves - The unit is sent to trash immediately - The current chain continues to resolve normally - After the chain ends, players can continue passing focus back and forth - The showdown ends only when both players pass without starting a new chain Nuances: - One side no longer having units at the battlefield does not end the showdown or chain - Once the killing spell resolves, you cannot pass focus before the unit dies - it dies immediately upon resolution

Ruling: The unit remains ready. Reaver Row and other move effects don't change the orientation of a unit unless explicitly stated. Only the Standard Move action has exhausting as a cost. Nuances: - This applies to move effects in general, not just Reaver Row - Standard Move is distinct from other movement effects in that it specifically requires exhausting as its cost

Ruling: Only one Zhonya's Hourglass will apply. Both replacement effects are available, but you can only replace the same death event once. Sequence: - Both Zhonya's replacement effects apply to the same death event - The owner chooses the order in which they apply - The first Zhonya's replaces the death with a recall - The second Zhonya's has nothing to replace since the unit is no longer dying Nuances: - Zhonya's is a passive replacement effect, not a trigger, so it doesn't use the Chain - Replacement effects can intercede other effect resolutions - The same principle applies to combinations like Guardian Angel + Zhonya's

Ruling: Yes, choose/target triggers occur when the target is selected as the item finalizes, which happens before resolution. Even if the source spell is countered afterward, the trigger has already occurred and will resolve. Sequence: - Targets are chosen as the item finalizes (after it's pending) - The trigger ability (like Irelia's) goes on the chain - The spell can then be countered (e.g., by Defy) - The trigger ability still resolves because it was already placed on the chain Nuances: - The spell being countered is considered as not played, but the targeting/choosing has already occurred by that point

Ruling: A spell that loses its target is still considered played and counts towards Legion. However, a spell that is countered does not count towards Legion. Nuances: - You cannot play a spell without a legal target just to trigger Legion (e.g., Cleave requires a target to be played) - Some cards that allow optional targeting (choosing "up to" a number of targets) can be played with zero targets and still count for Legion

Ruling: No, you can target attached equipment normally. Equipment cards have their own properties, not those of the unit they are attached to (the Top Most Card). Nuances: - If an equipment itself has deflect in its rules text, that deflect would be inactive while the equipment is attached to a permanent, since all rules text on attached equipment is inactive. - This would remain true even if deflect were granted to the equipment by another effect while it is attached. - The effect box of equipment is separate from the equipment card itself - those effects are given to the unit, not part of the equipment card's properties.

Ruling: The spell will resolve and do as much as it can. If the target becomes illegal while the spell is on the chain, effects that don't depend on the target still happen. Sequence: - Player A plays Discipline targeting a creature - Player B kills the creature in response - Discipline resolves, cannot give +2 to the now-illegal target, but Player A still draws a card Nuances: - Spells cannot be played if their targets cannot be selected when casting - Targets can become illegal while the spell is waiting to resolve on the chain - The spell never goes on the chain if it can't choose its targets initially

Ruling: As long as the target is still at "a battlefield" (any battlefield), the spell will still affect it and not be mistargeted, even if it moved to a different battlefield than where it was originally targeted. Nuances: - If a spell requires multiple targets to be at the "same battlefield" (like Facebreaker requiring a friendly and enemy unit at the same battlefield), and that condition is no longer true on resolution, the spell will whiff and neither target will be affected. - The spell still resolves even when targets become illegal; it doesn't fizzle (which would imply no resolution at all).

Ruling: The spell still resolves, but it checks if the target is still valid before resolving. If the target is no longer valid, the spell will not deal any damage. Sequence: - Cast spell and choose target - Pay all costs - Before resolving, check if all chosen targets are still legal - If target is illegal, spell resolves but does not deal damage Nuances: - The legality check happens after paying costs but before the card resolves and is removed from the chain

Ruling: Yes, the target is still legal. The game only checks if the target meets the targeting requirements when the spell resolves - it needs to be at *a* battlefield, not necessarily the same battlefield you originally targeted. Nuances: - Spells don't "fizzle" even if they have illegal targets - they resolve to no effect, which matters for "when you play a spell" triggers - If the target moves to base (not at any battlefield), then it would no longer be a legal target

Ruling: Sett's legend ability is a replacement effect that prevents the unit from dying. Whether you draw depends on the spell's specific wording - if the spell requires the unit to die as a condition for drawing (like Disintegrate), you do not draw. If the spell draws without requiring death as a condition (like Void Seeker or Hidden Blade), you still draw even though Sett saves the unit. Nuances: - Disintegrate requires the unit to die, so Sett's save prevents the draw - Void Seeker and Hidden Blade do not require death as a condition, so you still draw even when Sett saves the unit - This works even when targeting your own Sett unit with spells like Hidden Blade - you can save the unit and still draw

Ruling: No, once targets are chosen they are locked in. This happens when the spell is finalized, which occurs before opponents can react with retreat. Sequence: - Spell is played and targets are chosen during finalization - Targets become locked in - Opponents can then react (e.g., with retreat) - Even if the original target is no longer valid, targets cannot be reassigned

Ruling: No, the sprite does not count as dying for Viktor Leader's effect. The sprite token is returned to hand and then ceases to exist, but this is not considered dying by a regular method. Sequence: - Gust resolves and returns the sprite to hand - The sprite token ceases to exist upon reaching hand - Viktor Leader's effect does not trigger because the sprite did not die Nuances: - Tokens can be returned to hand as part of an effect's resolution, but they cease to exist immediately after - This cessation is not considered "dying" for game purposes

Ruling: Yes, the card will still be stunned after recalling with Zhonya's.

Ruling: No, another showdown does not start. If units from both players remain at the end of combat, the attackers are recalled back to base.

Ruling: The spell does nothing (whiffs). Targets cannot be redeclared after an effect has been placed onto the chain. Sequence: - Super Mega Death Rocket is played targeting the 5 Might Unit - Retreat is played in reaction - Chain resolves backwards: Retreat removes the targeted unit - Super Mega Death Rocket resolves with an invalid target and does nothing Nuances: - The spell does not retarget to another valid unit (like the Jinx player's own unit)

Ruling: Yes, you can reveal and play the hidden card before losing it. When the temporary unit's triggered ability resolves at the start of your turn, it starts a chain which gives you a window to play the hidden card before the unit dies and you would lose control of the battleground. Sequence: - At the start of your turn, the temporary unit's triggered ability goes on the chain - This creates a window where you can play the hidden card - After the chain resolves, the temporary unit dies - If you no longer control the battleground after the unit dies, the hidden would be trashed Nuances: - A cleanup occurs when an item on the chain resolves, not just at end of turn - If you play another temporary unit during this window, it won't die until your next turn

Ruling: Once Ahri's triggered ability resolves and sets the token's Might, all subsequent Might changes work normally from that new value. The token would go to 6 Might (1 + 5) after Grand Strategem resolves. Sequence: - Ahri's triggered ability resolves, setting the token's Might to 1 - Grand Strategem grants +5 Might - Token's Might becomes 6 (the debuff is not "remembered") Nuances: - The term "buff/debuff" should be avoided when referring to Might changes, as "buff" is a keyword referring to a specific game object. Use "boost" instead for Might increases.

Ruling: Triggered abilities without the word "may" are always mandatory and must be put on the chain and resolved when possible. Nuances: - The only exception is triggered abilities that incur costs (currently only triggered abilities that target an enemy unit with deflect). You can decline the cost when finalizing the triggered ability, in which case it is retracted and never put on the chain.

Ruling: Yes, units are considered attackers even if they arrive at the location after attackers are initially declared. All attack triggers related to them fire after the cleanup that assigns them as such. Nuances: - The same principle applies to defenders - In the specific scenario asked, Shen couldn't actually be played because the player doesn't have control of the battlefield during an attack

Ruling: Yes, you can play Shen from hand onto the battlefield even after your unit retreats, because you maintain control of the battlefield until the showdown's final clean-up phase. Nuances: - The battlefield remains in your control while being contested by an opponent - If you declare Shen on the chain as a reaction to Reaver's Row, your units would still be present when Shen enters the battlefield - You can also wait for the Reaver's Row chain to resolve and then play Shen as part of a new chain

Ruling: The unit stays at one might while at the battlefield. Once it moves off the camp, it will go to 0 might. Sequence: - Additions and subtractions happen symmetrically - Example: 4m + 1 (from camp) = 5m, then 5m - 4 (smokescreen) = 1m - When the unit leaves the camp, it loses the +1 and goes to 0

Ruling: Yes, in both cases the unit heals. Whether you remove the opponent's unit with Gust or send your own unit back to base with Fight or Flight, the unit will heal when the showdown ends. Nuances: - Removing valid units from a showdown doesn't automatically end the showdown - After using Gust to remove the opponent's unit, there is still a window (Focus) where the opponent could play cards like Hextech Ray - The showdown only ends when both players pass Focus without creating a chain

Ruling: Yes, the unit will still take the damage. The unit would have to be moved to base to avoid the damage. Nuances: - Moving between battlefields does not prevent the damage - Only moving to base would avoid the damage

Ruling: Units heal at the end of combat or end of turn. Moving to an open battlefield does not trigger healing. Nuances: - Conquering an open battlefield is not considered end of combat or end of turn, so no healing occurs from that action alone

Ruling: Yes, combat still resolves and all units in play heal during the Combat Resolution Step, even if one or both units are no longer at the battlefield. Sequence: - Unit moves in to attack, initiating combat - When I Attack ability triggers - Fight or Flight is used to move a unit back to base - Combat continues through all steps despite missing units - All units in play heal during the Combat Resolution Step Nuances: - Combat does not fizzle once initiated, even if both players no longer have units at the battlefield - The healing applies to all units in play, not just those at the specific battlefield

Ruling: Yes, the unit would receive the Ahri Might reduction again for the second attack, resulting in a cumulative -2 Might. Sequence: - Unit attacks first battlefield with Ahri units present, receives -1 Might - Unit wins combat and conquers - Unit uses Ride the Wind to attack second battlefield with Ahri units present - Unit receives another -1 Might reduction (now at -2 Might total) Nuances: - This is a Might reduction, not a "debuff" in the technical Riftbound sense, as "buff" and "debuff" are protected terms that only refer to specific card effects like Pit Rookie

Ruling: Yes, you score points for both battlefields. The game does not care how you conquer a battlefield as long as you haven't already scored that specific battlefield during the current turn. Nuances: - Vi combined with Ride the Wind is noted as a particularly effective combo for this strategy

Ruling: You will win the game (assuming you had 6 points at the start of your turn). Only one unit is needed to conquer both battlefields sequentially; you do not need units on both battlefields simultaneously to win.

Ruling: No, you do not score a point if you move a unit back into the battlefield during the same showdown. Control is not checked during active showdowns, so you never lost and regained control - you maintained control throughout the showdown. Sequence: - Opponent attacks battlefield with Yasuo, killing your unit A - Control is not lost because the battlefield is contested (showdown is active) - If you move unit B into the battlefield during that same showdown and win, you don't score (no conquest occurred) - If the showdown ends first, then you move a unit back in to beat Yasuo, you would conquer and score Nuances: - Control is only checked continuously outside of showdowns or when battlefields are not being contested - During an active showdown, control status is frozen regardless of might changes

Ruling: No, Fading Memories does not trigger Immortal Phoenix. Fading Memories only grants the Temporary keyword to the target unit; the Temporary keyword itself (not the spell) is what kills the unit. Nuances: - Kills can be attributed to spells in only two ways: (1) the spell has the Kill action in it, or (2) the unit dies from damage the spell dealt in the cleanup immediately following - Reminder text in parentheses is not part of the spell's actions - Spells like Fading Memories and Imperial Decree do not trigger Phoenix because they don't directly kill units themselves

Ruling: Yes, the unit loses Temporary when Portal Rescue banishes and returns it. When game objects move from a board zone to a non-board zone, they lose all effects that were applied to them and become new game objects. Nuances: - This only works if the unit is not a token, as tokens would not return from being banished in the first place

Ruling: No, Attack triggers added after a unit has already gained the attacker designation do not trigger. The trigger condition requires the unit to gain the attacker designation while having the ability, not to gain the ability while having the designation. Sequence: - Unit is designated as an attacker - Attack triggers on that unit process at that moment - If the unit later gains new Attack trigger abilities during the same combat, those new triggers do not process - If the unit leaves and returns to the battlefield during the same combat, Attack triggers still do not process again (they only trigger the first time a unit gains attacker designation per combat) Nuances: - This ruling applies specifically to triggered abilities (like Attack triggers), not passive abilities - Passive abilities like Assault work differently - they only care whether the unit currently has the attacker designation, not the timing of when it was gained - A unit can only trigger Attack abilities the first time it gains the attacker designation in a given combat

Ruling: You cannot legally cast the spell targeting that unit. The game requires you to look ahead and determine that paying the cost (spending the buff) will cause the unit to die during cleanup, making it an illegal target before the spell can resolve. Sequence: - You choose targets for the spell - You pay costs (spending the buff) - The game checks legality of all choices - The legality check determines the unit will die during the next cleanup due to the paid costs - Since the target will deterministically become illegal, you cannot make this choice Nuances: - If Zhonya's Hourglass is in play (preventing the unit from leaving the board when it dies), the target may be legal if the spell can target units in base - This is different from a situation where a target becomes illegal after a spell is already finalized - the issue here is that the illegality is deterministic at the time of making choices during finalization - Targets are chosen before costs are paid, but legality is checked again after costs are paid

Ruling: Yes, the unit dies. If a unit has damage markers on it equal to or greater than its might, it dies. Sequence: - Unit has 5 damage and 6 might - Stupefy reduces might (presumably to 5 or below) - Damage markers (5) now equal or exceed might - Unit dies

Ruling: Yes, the unit still has the Buff status and Sett Legend's ability can be used to remove it and recall the unit. Receiving negative stat modifications does not remove the Buff status. Nuances: - Buff is a specific status that exists independently from the actual stat modification it provides - Buff status functions like a counter that cannot be stacked, and this counter persists even when the unit's stats are reduced by other effects

Ruling: Imperial Decree does not change what counts as lethal damage for might allocation. You must still assign enough damage to kill a Tank unit according to normal combat rules before you can assign damage to other units, even with Imperial Decree active. Sequence: - When attacking with multiple units in one combat against a Tank unit with Imperial Decree active, you must assign all damage to the Tank unit until it would be destroyed - Only after assigning lethal damage to the Tank can you assign remaining damage to other units - To kill multiple units with Imperial Decree when Tank is present, you need separate combats (e.g., push one token, deal 1 damage and kill it, then push a second token in a separate combat to deal 1 damage to another unit) Nuances: - Two separate combats can achieve killing multiple units with Imperial Decree, but one combat cannot if Tank is blocking

Ruling: Your opponent gets to choose which of the rules they will follow. They either need to assign damage to it first or assign damage to it last. Nuances: - When a unit has only these effects and no other friendly units, it is both first and last, so there are no problems.

Ruling: Yes, the damage clears. Even though the defending unit moved to base using Reavers Row's ability, a combat showdown was already started, and after the showdown concludes all units will be healed. Sequence: - Opponent uses damage spell on your unit - Opponent attempts to battle on Reavers Row - You use Reavers Row's "when defending" ability to move your unit to base - Combat showdown still occurs - After showdown concludes, all units heal (damage clears)

Ruling: Yes, the unit dies. Damage is "marked" on units rather than reducing their Might directly. When a unit's Might becomes less than or equal to the damage marked on it, the unit dies during cleanup. Sequence: - Unit starts at 8 Might with 6 damage marked on it - TTW reduces the unit's Might by 3, bringing it to 5 Might (minimum 1 Might only prevents going below 1) - During cleanup after TTW's effect resolves, the game checks if marked damage (6) is greater than or equal to the unit's Might (5) - The unit dies because marked damage exceeds its current Might Nuances: - Damage doesn't reduce a unit's Might value; it exists as a separate "marked" value tracked on the unit - The "minimum of 1 Might" clause on TTW only prevents the Might reduction itself from going below 1, it doesn't protect the unit from death due to marked damage

Ruling: Yes, the unit dies. When damage marked on a unit is greater than or equal to its Might, it dies. Might values can change, and if they decrease while damage is marked, it can kill the unit. Sequence: - A 4 Might unit has 3 damage marked on it from a spell - Watcher is played, reducing the unit's Might to 1 - The unit now has 3 damage marked and 1 Might - Since damage (3) >= Might (1), the unit dies Nuances: - There is no "health" stat in Riftbound; damage and Might are separate values - Damage marked on a unit does not reduce its Might value - A unit dies when damage marked equals or exceeds its current Might, regardless of how the Might changed

Ruling: Yes, the unit dies. Damage marked on a unit remains until it is cleared during combat cleanup or at end of turn. If a unit's might is reduced below its marked damage (even outside of combat), it dies. Sequence: - Opponent deals 6 damage to Kayn (6 might) - Player buffs Kayn to 8 might with Discipline - Opponent uses Smokescreen, reducing Kayn to 4 might - Kayn still has 6 damage marked on it - Since marked damage (6) exceeds current might (4), Kayn dies Nuances: - Smokescreen reduces might to a minimum of 1, meaning it cannot reduce a unit's might below 1 - Damage marks persist and are only cleared at combat cleanup or end of turn, not when might changes