Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: A 3 power unit with Assault 2 does not count as a mighty unit for Sunken Temple purposes. Sequence: - The unit gains +2 power from Assault 2 during combat (becoming 5 power) - The attacker/defender designation is removed before the battlefield is conquered - When checking for mighty status (4+ power), the unit has reverted to its base 3 power - Therefore it does not qualify as mighty

Ruling: As of January 2025, top cut is optional for Summoner Skirmishes. Previously, when using the official Carde.io template for Summoner Skirmishes, a top cut was mandatory and automatically enforced by the system. Sequence: - For events before January 2025: Carde.io automatically enforced a top cut when the Summoner Skirmish template was properly used - The number of Swiss rounds was automatically determined by player count (e.g., 64 players = 6 rounds, 32 players = 5 rounds) - Top 8 players would then proceed to single elimination playoff bracket - As of January 2025: An email was sent to TOs stating top cut is now optional for Summoner Skirmishes Nuances: - The change to optional top cut appears to have been implemented starting with Set 2 (Spiritforged) Skirmishes - TOs can now adjust cut settings in Carde.io before the tournament starts - The official tournament rules document does not explicitly state top cut requirements; the requirement was previously enforced through the Carde.io system setup - Stores that circumvented the automatic top cut before January 2025 were running non-standard events - There is debate about whether byes earned from improperly run skirmishes (before the rule change) should be valid

Ruling: No, cards in the deck are not considered "face-down." Face-down specifically refers to cards on the board with their back side presented. Cards played from deck (like Nocturne's banish effect) will not trigger effects that require playing cards face-down. Nuances: - Banish is not a face-down zone - Cards in deck have their back side presented but are not technically "face-down" - that term only applies to cards on the board - The "face-down" wording is likely future-proofing for cards that may be played face-down on the board in future sets

Ruling: Yes, the Stalwart Poro keeps the Shield buff when challenged during a showdown because it is still considered a defender. Nuances: - Challenge simply causes units to deal their might values as damage to each other - The defender status from the showdown persists even when Challenge targets that unit - Shield applies based on defender status, not specifically to showdown combat

Ruling: No, once a showdown begins it continues until both players pass consecutively instead of starting a chain. Removing the unit does not end the showdown early. Sequence: - A showdown begins when a unit moves to a battlefield (assuming no triggers are responded to that would prevent staging) - Players may play actions and pass focus back and forth - The showdown only ends when both players pass in a row without starting a chain - This is true even if the unit is removed from the battlefield during the showdown Nuances: - If a unit has a "when I move" trigger and an opponent responds to that trigger with removal (like Gust), the showdown never begins at all - it will be staged and then unstaged during cleanup after the removal resolves

Ruling: Showdowns only end when both players pass focus without starting a chain. It does not matter if no units are currently attacking. Nuances: - Even if all attacking units are removed from the battlefield during a showdown (such as being pushed back), the showdown phase continues until both players consecutively pass - Units can still heal from combat damage during the showdown even after attackers are removed, as long as the showdown phase hasn't ended

Ruling: A spell with Repeat counts as a single spell, so it can be countered by one Defy regardless of how many times it repeats. Nuances: - The combined mana cost of the original spell plus Repeat costs does not prevent Defy from countering it - Repeat provides value by getting multiple effects from one card, but this comes with the vulnerability of losing all repeats to a single counter

Ruling: Yes, damage does not reduce might. A unit will attack with its full might value regardless of how much damage it has taken, unless an effect specifically reduces its might. Nuances: - A unit only needs to be assigned damage equal to its remaining health to die, not its full might value - Damage and might reduction are two different mechanics - Only effects that specifically state they "reduce might" will lower a unit's might value

Ruling: No, Assault only applies during a combat showdown, not when attacking an open battlefield. Nuances: - This applies even if the opponent wants to use Gust or other responses to the attack

Ruling: No, attaching Svellsongur to Mindsplitter does not replay Mindsplitter's ability. Svellsongur grants a copy of the ability text but does not trigger "when you play" effects. Nuances: - Mindsplitter's ability only triggers when you play Mindsplitter from your hand - Svellsongur copies the ability text itself, not the trigger condition

Ruling: Yes, equipping is a normal activated ability that starts a chain and allows opponents to play reactions. Sequence: - Player activates the equip ability - Chain starts, priority passes - Opponent can respond with reactions (such as kill spells) - If opponent kills the unit being equipped, the equipment will not resolve on that unit Nuances: - The opponent's reaction can kill the target unit before it gets equipped, causing the equip ability to fail to resolve properly

Ruling: Yes, Ahri's Inquisitive ability targets and will trigger Deflect. A target is any specific choice required by an effect. Nuances: - AOE effects like "deal damage to all units at a battlefield" only target the battlefield (the specific choice), not the individual units - Effects that instruct players to decide targets upon resolution do not target - When a triggered ability like Ahri incurs a Deflect cost, you can choose not to pay it, which prevents the ability from finalizing on the chain - If you cannot pay the Deflect cost (e.g., no runes available), it's treated the same as choosing not to pay - Deflect is not an "optional cost" in the rules sense - optional costs use the word "may" with "as an additional cost"

Ruling: Yes, casting one Singularity does activate Ezreal's Legend ability. When you target two units with a single spell, you have chosen units twice, which satisfies Ezreal's requirement. Nuances: - This ruling is confirmed by developer commentary ("red text") but the comprehensive rules support is unclear or debated - Each individual target chosen counts as a separate instance of choosing, even when done by a single spell - The ability works whether you: (1) target one unit twice with different spells, (2) target two units with the same spell, or (3) target two units with different spells - Deflect only adds power cost once per spell regardless of how many times that spell targets the unit with Deflect - Damage is dealt simultaneously to multiple targets (per rule 404.1.d), but the choices of targets are still counted individually for Ezreal's purposes

Ruling: Combat cleanup heals all units regardless of which battlefield they are on, whose units they are, or how they were damaged. Nuances: - Applies to both combat and non-combat damage - Applies to units that did not participate in the showdown - Applies across all battlefields, not just where the showdown occurred

Ruling: Irelia's ability triggers when she is chosen during spell finalization, which occurs before the opponent can counter the spell. Therefore, even if the spell is countered, Irelia's trigger has already been placed on the chain and will resolve. Sequence: - Spell is finalized and Irelia is chosen as the target - Irelia's ability triggers and goes on the chain - Opponent can now counter the original spell - Even if countered, Irelia's trigger remains on the chain and resolves Nuances: - This same principle applies to other "when chosen" effects like Dreaming Tree - Attaching gear also counts as choosing the unit with that gear, triggering Irelia's ability before the gear actually attaches

Ruling: Using the Equip ability on Equipment requires you to target the unit it's going on, so it will trigger abilities that care about a unit being chosen/targeted (like Green Irelia's +1 ability). This also applies to Jax Legend's abilities. Nuances: - Both the standard Equip keyword and champion-specific equip abilities (like Jax Legend's) require targeting the unit, triggering these effects

Ruling: Equipping gear does count as choosing/targeting, but Irelia's ability only reduces the cost of spells, not gear. Equipment is targeting but is not a spell, so Irelia does not reduce gear costs. Nuances: - Equipment uses the "choose a unit, attach this to it" mechanic which counts as targeting - This targeting interaction is relevant for other effects that care about choosing/targeting - The spell vs. gear distinction is critical for Irelia's cost reduction ability

Ruling: Equipping a gear does count as choosing a unit for effects that care about choosing units (like Irelia, Fervent). However, it does not count for effects that specifically look for spells (like Dreaming Tree). Nuances: - Dreaming Tree specifically only triggers from spells, so equipping gear will not trigger it - Effects like Irelia, Fervent that care about choosing units in general will trigger from equipping gear

Ruling: Yes, equipping an equipment is an activated ability of a gear, so Ornn can pay for that cost.

Ruling: Yes, equipping is an activated ability that uses the chain and can be reacted to. Nuances: - All activated abilities use the chain, regardless of whether they target or not - Some activated abilities that use the chain cannot be reacted to (e.g. Malzahar's ability)

Ruling: Zhonya's Hourglass will protect the unit for the current turn by replacing its death with recall, but the unit retains the Temporary keyword and will die at the beginning of the next turn. Sequence: - Unit gains Temporary keyword - At beginning of turn, Temporary triggers causing the unit to die - Zhonya's Hourglass replacement effect triggers, replacing death with recall exhausted - Unit is recalled but still has Temporary keyword - At beginning of next turn, Temporary triggers again and unit dies Nuances: - Temporary is a triggered effect that triggers at the start of the beginning phase; all such triggers happen simultaneously and are added to the chain, so the trigger condition only happens once per turn - Zhonya's uses a replacement effect that changes "die" to "recall exhausted" but doesn't remove the Temporary keyword - Recalling a unit does not clear negative keywords - Effects like Sett's legend ability could save the unit every turn, but it would always retain Temporary

Ruling: No, Lux only looks at the printed cost of spells, not additional costs like repeat costs. Nuances: - Lux can be triggered by spells that reduce their own cost or have alternate ways to play them - For example, Hostile Takeover triggers Lux even when played from hidden (alternate play method)

Ruling: Yes, red Rek'sai gives Accelerate to champions played from the champion zone because the champion zone is not considered a hand. Nuances: - The Accelerate effect applies specifically because champions are being played from the champion zone rather than from hand

Ruling: Yes, revealing a card with Apprentice Smith triggers Nocturne. After Nocturne's errata, both "look" and "reveal" effects work to trigger it. Nuances: - There is a difference between "look" and "reveal" as game mechanics - "Reveal" shows the card to all players, while "look" does not - Both mechanics trigger Nocturne's ability after the errata

Ruling: No, reflexive triggers do not allow you to draw from Dreaming Tree. Dreaming Tree requires targeting with a spell itself, not with triggered abilities that resolve after the spell. Sequence: - You play a spell that does not target - The spell resolves - Triggered abilities from that spell go on the chain and may target - These triggered ability targets do not count as "targeting with a spell" for Dreaming Tree Nuances: - The distinction is between targeting with the spell itself versus targeting with a triggered ability that was created by a spell

Ruling: No, Minefield does not trigger "When you discard" abilities. Nuances: - You must perform the Discard game action to trigger "When you discard" effects - Discarding specifically refers to moving cards from hand to trash

Ruling: The Watcher does not choose enemy units. It applies a blanket effect to all enemies, which is mechanically different from choosing. Nuances: - Effects that trigger "when chosen by enemy spells or abilities" will trigger from targeted spells and abilities that choose specific units - They will not trigger from blanket effects like Watcher that affect all units without choosing - Examples: Would trigger from targeted spells, but not from effects like Unchecked Power or Watcher

The card 'Schnitsel' is not found in the RiftJudge database. It may be a newly released card not yet in the system, a homebrew/custom card, or the name may be spelled differently in the official database. Without confirmation of the card's existence in the official Riftbound card pool, no errata information can be provided.

Ruling: The cost reduction only applies once. When you pay the Repeat cost, you pay the base cost (3) plus the Repeat cost (3) minus the single reduction (2) for a total of 4 energy, then execute Find Your Center's effect twice upon resolution. Sequence: - Declare you are casting Find Your Center and paying the Repeat cost - Calculate total cost: 3 (base) + 3 (Repeat) - 2 (reduction if opponent is within 3 VP) = 4 energy - Pay the 4 energy - Upon resolution, execute Find Your Center's instructions twice Nuances: - Cost reductions are passive abilities that apply during the cost determination step, not instructions that execute upon resolution - The Repeat keyword specifically states the effect is performed an additional time "upon resolution," which happens after costs are paid - Cost reductions like Skysplitter can still reduce the combined Repeat cost if the reduction is large enough (e.g., a 16 might unit would make an 8-cost spell with Repeat free)

Ruling: No, each player can draw once per turn when they choose a friendly unit at The Dreaming Tree with a spell for the first time that turn. Nuances: - The old text used "you" which was clarified to always mean "the battlefield's controller," limiting the effect to only that player - The new text allows all players to benefit from the effect, enabling interactions like "attack, cleave, draw" for non-controller players

Ruling: Yes, 702.12 applies when a player draws extra cards during setup. Drawing cards is always a limited action regardless of when it occurs, and drawing more than entitled under the Core Rules triggers this infraction. Sequence: - If caught after cards are added to hand but within the round cycle, apply remedy 702.12.b.2 - The next opponent in turn order looks at the erroring player's hand - That opponent chooses the appropriate number of cards to shuffle back into the main deck Nuances: - The wording of 398.2.a defining limited actions as occurring during "turn's progression" is confusing and could be clearer, as it technically doesn't cover setup - Despite the confusing wording, the intent is clear that all draws are limited actions, whether during turns or setup - Drawing cards with no game instruction at all (randomly drawing) would require investigation for potential cheating rather than falling under 702.12 - The phrase "as the result of a limited action" means drawing more than entitled during any legitimate draw instruction, not that the draw itself must originate from within a turn

Ruling: No, Meditation does not trigger DreamingTree's battlefield ability. You only draw the +1 card from Meditation itself. Nuances: - Meditation exhausts a unit as a cost of playing the spell, not as a target or chosen unit - DreamingTree requires choosing/targeting a unit to trigger its ability - Meditation does not choose a unit, so it cannot trigger DreamingTree

Ruling: Yes, you can use action spells like Flight or Fight after initially passing focus if your opponent starts a chain with reaction spells. Sequence: - Attacker passes focus during showdown - Defender uses reaction spells to buff their stats - Chain resolves - Attacker receives focus again and can now use action spells - Combat only moves to the next step when both players pass focus without starting a chain

Ruling: The hidden card does not go to trash because you still control the battlefield while the showdown is contested. You can play 'Ride the Wind' to move a unit from your base to the contested battlefield as a defender. Sequence: - Showdown begins when opponent attacks the battlefield - Control cannot change while battlefield is contested - Battlefield remains contested until showdown resolves - Both players must pass priority with empty chain before damage - After damage, showdown resolves - Only then does control potentially change Nuances: - Even if all your units leave the battlefield during showdown, you maintain control until the showdown fully resolves - Units can be added as defenders during the showdown using appropriate cards

Ruling: Yes, each Sand Soldier summoned by Arise! can be placed in a different legal position. Nuances: - Each placement choice is made independently for each soldier summoned

Ruling: You can score Forgotten Monument on your third turn as soon as the condition is met. Sequence: - Turn 1: Play a 2-cost unit - Turn 2: Score the other field and play another unit - Turn 3: Send the unit to Forgotten Monument and score it immediately Nuances: - The card does not say "at the end of your 3rd turn," so you score it as soon as the condition is satisfied during that turn

Ruling: Recycling 3 cards from your trash is part of the cost to activate the ability. You must be able to recycle 3, pay 1 energy, and exhaust Garbage Grabber in order to draw 1 card. Nuances: - "Do as much as you can" (DAMAYC) applies to resolution of effects on the chain when targets are killed/moved or other changes happen between when the spell/ability finalizes and resolves, not to paying costs.

Ruling: You choose the target unit when the trigger goes on the chain, before deciding whether to sacrifice Overzealous Fan. The sacrifice decision happens on resolution of the trigger. Targeting an enemy unit counts as one of Ezreal Legend's two choices even if you choose not to pay the sacrifice cost. Sequence: - Overzealous Fan's trigger activates when it defends - You choose a target enemy unit when putting the trigger on the chain - The trigger resolves - On resolution, you decide whether to sacrifice Overzealous Fan - If you pay the cost (sacrifice), the targeted unit moves back to base - If you don't pay the cost, the targeted unit stays where it is Nuances: - You need a valid target to put the trigger on the chain in the first place - The opponent can respond with "Not so Fast" to counter the ability before you decide to sacrifice, keeping your Fan alive - If targeting a unit with Deflect, you must pay the Deflect cost when choosing the target - This works similarly to Deathgrip and Reaver's Row mechanics

Ruling: Yes, you must pay the full cost of the unit (or non-unit card) when using Rek'Sai's legend ability. Only effects that explicitly say "ignoring [their/its] cost" allow you to play cards for free, and even then only the base cost is ignored. Sequence: (for Candlelit Sanctum interaction) - When both Candlelit Sanctum's battlefield effect and Rek'Sai's legend ability trigger from the same event, you control both triggers - You may order them as you please since you control both effects Nuances: - Rek'Sai's ability works with non-unit cards as well, not just units - You still pay the full cost for those cards unless an effect specifically says to ignore cost

Ruling: Check the entire deck box, including both the main deck and sideboard. You must verify the correctness of the sideboard against the decklist to ensure no unregistered cards are present. Sequence: - Take the entire deck box when performing a deck check - Verify the main deck (40 cards + 12 runes) being played - Verify the sideboard (8 cards or 0 cards) against the decklist - Keep the presented deck and deck box contents organized to clearly identify what the player is attempting to play with Nuances: - Without checking the sideboard, there's no guarantee that unregistered cards aren't hidden in the deck box - A player cannot prove they didn't use an illegal card if excess cards are found in the deck box but not checked - The sideboard is considered part of what is presented to the opponent according to tournament rules

Ruling: Excess damage only counts after ALL defending units are killed. You must assign lethal damage to all units before any damage can be considered "excess." Sequence: - Assign damage to first defending unit until lethal (3 damage) - Assign remaining damage to second defending unit until lethal (3 more damage) - Only after both units have lethal damage assigned can the remaining damage (2 in this case) be considered excess - If Tryndamere attacks with an ally who can kill one unit, then Tryndamere's 8 damage against the remaining 3 Might unit would result in 5 excess damage Nuances: - Units cannot have more damage assigned than minimum lethal unless no further units remain to have damage assigned - Units that cannot be dealt damage (like immune Kayn) are exempt from mandatory damage assignment rules, meaning you can choose whether to assign damage to them or not, but they don't block excess damage calculation if you choose not to assign to them

Ruling: Yes, you still draw the card. The spell resolves even if some or all of its targets become illegal. Nuances: - Only instructions that specifically need or refer to a target can mistarget - Other effects on the spell (like drawing a card) still resolve normally even when the target becomes illegal

Ruling: No, the Draven legend card has not been errata'd to once per turn and should operate as normal. Nuances: - No official errata announcement has been made - No information from Chinese sources indicates a change - There is no clear design reason requiring such an errata given the practical limitations of engaging in combat multiple times per turn

Ruling: The Judge Discord has not opened yet as of this conversation, and there is no confirmed timeline for when it will be available. Nuances: - According to information from UVS, the Judge Discord should open "Very Soon" as Riot has onboarded a Judge Manager/Liaison role to interface with tournament policy - To advance from L1 to higher judge levels, judges will likely need to judge events and earn judge points (subject to change)

Ruling: Judge compensation is determined by the Tournament Organizer (TO). There are no standardized compensation guidelines or judge promos currently available for Skirmishes. Nuances: - Judge promos (Heimer promo) exist but the distribution method is unclear and they haven't been sent out yet - The judge program is still in early stages with many details undefined (no judge Discord, no Level 2 information) - Judges cannot play in High OPL events (including Skirmishes) that they are judging or organizing - Judges can only participate as players in Low OPL events they are judging

Ruling: There is currently no official ruling on how Deathknell abilities interact with Equipment Gear or Svellsongur copying Deathknell abilities. This is a known rules gap awaiting clarification in version 1.2. Nuances: - The current rules don't support these interactions properly since equipment detaches when units leave play, but before Deathknell would trigger - Temporary guidance is to play by "vibes" (assume it works as intended) until official ruling - Potential solution being considered is adding a "marked for death" step during cleanup before moving to trash, allowing Deathknell to trigger while unit is still in play - This issue also affects cards like Kog'Maw that reference unit stats in Deathknell effects - Any rules change to fix this may have implications for other cards like Cruel Patron

Ruling: If the TO has enabled decklists for the event, you will see an "add deck" button on the event page on the Riftbound website. Sequence: - Create your deck at https://locator.riftbound.uvsgames.com/decks - Navigate to the event page on the Riftbound site - Attach your deck to the event using the add deck button (if available) Nuances: - Deck list upload is only available if the Tournament Organizer has enabled this feature for the specific event

Ruling: Focus is the permission to play actions or reactions while you have priority. Priority is the permission to play reactions and the permission to play cards or abilities at all. Sequence: - During showdowns, the contesting player gets focus first - After a chain resolves, the other player gets focus, and this can alternate many times - If you have focus and pass it, and the other player also passes, the showdown ends and moves to resolution - You get priority during your turn's action phase (after you draw before you end your turn) and whenever you get focus during a showdown - As abilities or spells are played or a chain resolves, you get priority giving you chances to respond Nuances: - A showdown is the overarching event that chains sit within, not a chain itself - Once a showdown ends, no more action cards can be played - Passing focus is not the same as focus changing after chain resolution

Ruling: Might modifiers are applied symmetrically and continuously, not snapshotted. When a unit is in Trifarian War Camp, it has +1 Might; when affected by Thousand-Tailed Watcher, it gets -3 Might (minimum 1). If the unit leaves the camp, the +1 Might bonus is removed, and the -3 Might effect continues to apply to the new base value. Sequence: - Unit enters Trifarian War Camp battlefield: gains +1 Might - Thousand-Tailed Watcher effect applies: -3 Might (minimum 1 Might total) - Unit leaves Trifarian War Camp: loses +1 Might bonus, -3 Might effect still applies to resulting value Nuances: - Might can be reduced to 0, but units only die when they have positive damage marked on them - Effects are not retroactively computed; you snapshot effects at the time they're applied and don't recalculate based on previous modifiers that would have applied differently - The minimum 1 Might restriction from Thousand-Tailed Watcher means a 2M unit at 3M (in camp) goes to 1M, effectively calculating as -2M for future modifications

Ruling: To hide a card costs 1 recycle energy. Playing a card from hidden costs exactly 0 energy (you don't pay the card's energy cost again). You can only hide cards on a battlefield you control, and you cannot play a card from hidden on the same turn you hid it (no exceptions). Sequence: - Pay 1 recycle energy to hide a card on a battlefield you control - Wait until a future turn - Play the card from hidden for 0 energy cost Nuances: - When playing from hidden, any targets/choices must be from that same battlefield if possible - Cards with global effects (like Zhonya's) still work globally when played from hidden - Cards that can target any battlefield when played from hand (like Fog of War) can only target their own battlefield when played from hidden - If you lose control of the battlefield where a hidden card is placed, that hidden card goes to trash - Even if a reaction chain starts on the same turn you hid a card, you still cannot play it from hidden that turn