Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: You can only activate abilities during your turn in a neutral open state. Dragon's Rage cannot be played in combat because it does not say action or reaction on it. Nuances: - Buffs (specifically the keyword 'buff') are permanent and will persist when you pass turn to your opponent - Other might increases that are not specifically labeled as 'buff' are not permanent

Ruling: No, a stunned unit cannot be stunned again, so Leona cannot target an already stunned unit to trigger her legend ability. Nuances: - A unit that is already stunned is not a valid target for additional stun effects

Ruling: Lonely Poro's 'alone' condition can trigger while it is in base. Nuances: - The 'alone' condition is not restricted to the battlefield only

Ruling: No, Lux - Crownguard cannot be used to pay for Hard Bargain's effect cost because Lux can only be used to play spells, not to pay for effect costs like "counter a spell unless its controller pays 2." Nuances: - Deflect is different because it changes the cost of the spell when you play it (an additional cost) - Hard Bargain's cost is not linked to the playing of the spell itself; it makes you pay an additional cost or something bad happens to your spell after it's played

Ruling: Yes, you can use Lux's 2 energy for multiple different spells. You can "float" energy in your rune pool, meaning you generate the energy and use it later in the turn, even splitting it across multiple spells. Sequence: - Use Lux ability to generate 2 energy - The energy enters your rune pool as floating energy - Spend the energy on spells at any point during your turn (can be split across multiple spells) - Any unused floating energy disappears when your rune pool empties (at draw step and end of turn) Nuances: - You don't channel new runes when using Lux, you just create energy - Floating energy/power disappears if not used before the rune pool empties - Your rune pool empties at the draw step and at the end of each turn - Runes themselves stay tapped/untapped; only floating resources disappear

Ruling: Malzahar Fanatic can only target friendly units or friendly gear, not enemy gear. Nuances: - The "or" in the ability text does not split the "friendly" modifier - it applies to both "unit" and "gear" - The ability should be read as "friendly (unit or gear)" not "(friendly unit) or (gear)"

Ruling: Yes, Malzahar can kill himself to activate his ability. The costs can be paid in any order, so he can exhaust himself before killing himself. Sequence: - Pay energy/power costs first - Pay other costs (exhaust and kill) in any order - Exhaust Malzahar, then kill him to satisfy both costs Nuances: - The costs of an activated ability (what's before the colon) are considered non-standard costs when they aren't energy or power - Non-standard costs can be paid in any order - This follows the same steps as playing cards when activating abilities

Ruling: Mask of Foresight can trigger multiple times per battle, but only once per unit per combat. Attack and Defend triggers only apply the first time a specific unit gains the attacker/defender designation during a combat. Sequence: - When a unit first gains defender designation in a combat, Mask triggers - If that same unit leaves and re-enters the battlefield during the same combat, Mask will not trigger again for that unit - If attacking a second battlefield in a different combat (e.g., using Ride the Wind to start a new combat), Mask can trigger again Nuances: - The restriction is per unit per combat, not per turn - Different units gaining defender status in the same combat will each trigger Mask once - A new combat (even in the same turn) resets the trigger eligibility

Ruling: Yes, Miss Fortune - Captain can target and ready another unit that attacked with her, such as Traveling Merchant, because triggers resolve after the triggering event completes. Sequence: - Both Miss Fortune and Traveling Merchant exhaust and move to the battlefield when declaring the attack - After the attack is declared, Miss Fortune's Move trigger resolves - At this point, both units are exhausted and at the battlefield - Miss Fortune can target the exhausted Traveling Merchant to ready it

Ruling: Only Miss Fortune Captain moves to the contested battlefield. The unit on the other battlefield gets readied by her ability, but cannot move to join the combat because the showdown starts immediately after MF contests the battlefield. Sequence: - Miss Fortune Captain moves to contest a battlefield - Her ability triggers and readies the exhausted unit on the other battlefield - Showdown starts immediately since MF contested a battlefield - Only after the showdown resolves can other units move Nuances: - This is different from Yasuo's signature ability which occurs during combat rather than before combat

Ruling: Miss Fortune Captain cannot ready an exhausted unit in the base and then add it to a showdown at an occupied battlefield. However, if both Miss Fortune and another unit are ready and move together to the battlefield, Miss Fortune's ability can ready that unit. Sequence: - If Miss Fortune moves alone to an occupied battlefield, she cannot bring an exhausted unit from the base to that showdown - If Miss Fortune and a ready unit move together to the same battlefield, Miss Fortune's ability can ready that unit Nuances: - Units can move together at the same time to the same location, but once Miss Fortune has moved, the window to move other units with her has passed

Ruling: No, Mistfall cannot trigger by targeting an already buffed unit with a buff effect. You must actually place a buff counter on a unit (i.e., the unit must not already have a buff) for Mistfall to trigger. Nuances: - Units with buff counters can still be chosen as targets for buff actions, but they will not be buffed as part of the execution - The trigger requires that buffing actually occurs (a buff counter is placed), not just that a "buff a unit" effect resolves - This is analogous to discard effects: if you have no cards to discard, "when you discard" triggers don't activate because you didn't actually perform the action

Ruling: No, you cannot spend enemy buffs. Players may only spend buffs on units they control. Nuances: - The buff must be one you control - You can only control something in play, but it does not have to be a buff at a battlefield

Ruling: Yes, Moonlit Fae can ready a unit that moved with her. Exhausting units is a cost paid before the move happens, so when MF's ability triggers after moving, the unit that moved with her is already exhausted and can be targeted by her ready effect. Sequence: - MF and the unit are exhausted to pay the cost for standard move - MF and unit move together - MF's ability triggers - MF uses the ability on the currently exhausted unit

Ruling: No. Mystic Reversal must be played before Bullet Time resolves. The power cost for Bullet Time (recycling runes) is paid during resolution, and you cannot play spells during another card's resolution as there is no priority window at that time. Sequence: - Bullet Time is played - Priority window exists where Mystic Reversal could be played - Bullet Time resolves (runes are recycled as part of resolution) - No priority window exists during resolution to play Mystic Reversal Nuances: - Reminder text on cards is not rule text and does not override priority window rules - You must play Mystic Reversal in a priority window before Bullet Time begins resolving

Ruling: You can cast Mystic Reversal even when you have no additional valid targets. When you take control of the spell, you don't have to make new target choices - you can leave the original targets. If those targets are now illegal for you, the spell resolves with illegal targets and has no effect. Sequence: - Cast Mystic Reversal on the opponent's spell - You become the controller of that spell - You may choose new targets if legal ones exist, or leave the original targets - If the targets are now illegal (e.g., the spell requires targeting opponent units but the original targets are your units), the spell resolves with no effect Nuances: - For spells with "up to X targets" (like Singularity with "up to 2"), you can choose fewer targets including zero when taking control - Making legal target choices is only required when initially putting a card onto the chain, not when taking control of an already-chained spell

Ruling: Nocturne can be played to any valid location you control (your base or a battlefield you control) when revealed from the top of your deck. You cannot play him to a battlefield you are currently attacking. Sequence: - Reveal Nocturne from top of deck (via card effect like Stacked Deck) - Finish resolving the card effect that revealed him - Play Nocturne to a valid location (base or battlefield you control) Nuances: - If defending a battlefield you control, you can play Nocturne there even during a combat showdown - If attacking a battlefield, you cannot play Nocturne to that battlefield (you don't control it) - Units can be played during a showdown

Ruling: Yes, Nocturne can be played directly to a defending battlefield after being revealed by Teemo's trigger. Nuances: - Teemo's trigger was errata'd to only trigger when defending, not when played or flipped from hidden - When Teemo is flipped from hidden while defending, it becomes a defender and the "when I defend" trigger activates - "When I attack/defend" triggers happen the first time each unit gets designated as attacker/defender in combat, regardless of when during that combat they first got designated - Units that arrive late to combat (by being played like Shen, Teemo, Nocturne, or by moving in like Ride the Wind) get those triggers when they arrive

Ruling: Nocturne can only be played for [A] when you look at or reveal it from the top of your deck through an effect, not when drawing it for turn. Nuances: - Effects like Vision or Candlelit Sanctum that look at (but don't draw) the top cards work with Nocturne - Invert Timelines does NOT work with Nocturne - Stacked Deck DOES work with Nocturne

Ruling: Not So Fast cannot counter Downwell or Thermo Beam because these cards do not choose targets. Nuances: - Not So Fast specifically requires the countered card to "choose" a target - Board-wide effects that don't target specific cards cannot be countered by Not So Fast

Ruling: Yes, Not So Fast can counter Arcane Shift. Sequence: - You target an enemy unit and a friendly unit when casting Arcane Shift - This targeting happens before the spell goes on the stack - Not So Fast can be activated to counter Arcane Shift at this point

Ruling: No, you cannot use Ornn Legend (or Kai'Sa Legend) to pay hidden costs. Hiding cards is not the same as playing them, and these legends only generate power for playing cards of their respective types. Nuances: - Hidden is not an ability keyword like deflect or ganking - Hidden effects are never active "on the board" and don't require declaring usage - It would be illogical to reveal a card you're about to hide just to check legality

Ruling: No, Ornn cannot equip gear during the opponent's turn. Ornn's ability only creates Power and does not grant the Equip ability Reaction timing. Nuances: - You can equip during the opponent's turn if you have an equipment with the Quickdraw ability - You can equip during the opponent's turn if you have a unit with Weaponmaster - The Equip tag does not have Reaction on it, so it cannot be used at reaction speed unless specifically granted that timing

Ruling: Pack of Wonders and 'Spend my Buff' abilities are activated abilities without the Reaction keyword, so they must be used at base speed on your turn, outside of combat, and while there is no open chain. Sequence: - Must be on your turn - Must be outside of combat - Must be while there is no open chain Nuances: - Rules text in Riftbound is literal - if there is no Reaction keyword listed, it cannot be used at reaction speed

Ruling: Pack of Wonders cannot target cards in the trash. It can only affect objects in play on the board. Sequence: - Pack of Wonders can only target "friendly" units or gears - "Friendly" means something you control - You only control game objects that are on the board - Cards in the trash are not controlled by any player - Therefore, Pack of Wonders cannot target cards in the trash Nuances: - Unless otherwise stated, cards can only affect objects in play - While cards in the trash retain the properties of being a unit/gear (like might, cost, effects), they are treated as "cards" not as units/gears for targeting purposes - The properties are retained for the purpose of other effects that specifically target cards in the trash

Ruling: Pack of Wonders can only target cards on the board (gear, units, or hidden cards), not cards in the trash. Nuances: - The card works with Treasure Chest because Treasure Chest triggers when it leaves the board (including when returned to hand), not when it goes to trash - The "owner's hand" specification in the card text refers to which hand the targeted card returns to, not which cards can be targeted - "Friendly gear, unit or hidden card" means friendly gear, friendly unit, or friendly facedown card

Ruling: No, Pack of Wonders cannot target cards in trash. Cards can only target things on the board unless explicitly specified otherwise. Nuances: - Only cards that specifically mention trash can target cards in the trash - Targeting needs to be explicitly specified for any zone other than the board

Ruling: No, Petal rescue cannot bring back a unit from trash. "Unit" refers to objects on the board unless specified otherwise, and the card does not specify a zone like "from your trash." Sequence: - When a card says "friendly unit" without specifying a zone, it refers only to units on the board - Units in trash are treated as cards and cannot be affected by spells or abilities that target units on the board - To target units in trash, the card text must explicitly specify the zone (e.g., "from your trash") Nuances: - Units retain the properties of being a unit while in trash, but are treated as cards similar to when in hand - The term "unit" in card text defaults to units on the board per the targeting rules - Actions like "Banish" can take cards from any zone, but the object being chosen ("a friendly unit") still must meet targeting requirements

Yes, but we see why you’d ask. The rules use a “NULL” system for values that aren’t available, such as the Might of a unit that’s been removed from the board. The unit is gone and the information is missing, so you can’t do any calculations or comparisons with it (not even “is it no more than 1?”). That system could reasonably be applied to the costs of tokens, but we feel that results in unintuitive situations, like not being able to kill a Gold token with Pickpocket. After all, the token’s not missing; it just doesn’t have a cost because it doesn’t need one. We’ll be updating the rules to clarify that the cost of a token can be treated as 0 for all purposes.

Ruling: Yes, Piercing Light can target two units at different battlefields on the first cast. The second target can be any unit anywhere that isn't the first unit. Nuances: - The targeting choices for Repeat instances are separate and not connected to the first instance - The second target is not restricted to units in base or at the same battlefield as the first target

Ruling: No, once you have moved to assigning damage there is no chance to react. Your last chance to flip Zhonya's is during the showdown phase before damage assignment. Sequence: - Last opportunity to flip Zhonya's is during showdown (before damage assignment) - Once damage assignment begins, no actions or reactions can be taken - Damage is dealt with no opportunity to respond Nuances: - If a unit with Deathknell dies in combat, this creates a chain after combat cleanup where you could flip Zhonya's to save it from being discarded (since hidden cards not belonging to the battlefield controller are discarded during cleanup), but this will NOT save any units from combat damage as they are already dead - The exact timing of when contested status is removed relative to Deathknell triggers is not officially confirmed in the current rules, though community consensus is that Deathknell creates a chain before contested is removed - This Deathknell timing interaction is a known rules gap awaiting official clarification

Ruling: No. Once Player 1 passes priority after Stupefy is played, the chain resolves completely. Player 2 cannot play Gust targeting the reduced-might unit before the chain finishes resolving and the unit moves to the battlefield. Sequence: - Player 1 plays Arena Bar to buff a unit - Player 2 responds with Stupefy - Player 1 passes - Stupefy resolves, reducing the unit's might - The chain completes resolution - Only after the chain fully resolves can new spells be played Nuances: - You cannot cast Gust targeting a unit with more than 3 might and then hold priority to cast Stupefy, because Gust requires a legal target (3 might or less) at the time of casting - Legend abilities without Action or Reaction keywords cannot be used to respond to Action/Reaction speed spells

Ruling: No, Player A cannot play Cleave immediately after Player B plays Smoke Screen. Player A can only play Reactions while Player B still has Focus and the chain exists. Sequence: - Player A attacks and passes priority (also passing Focus since chain is empty) - Player B plays Smoke Screen (Reaction) and now has Focus - Player A can only play Reactions at this point, not Actions - If both players pass priority in succession, Smoke Screen resolves - After Smoke Screen resolves as the last item on the chain, Priority and Focus automatically pass to Player A - Player A can now play an Action like Cleave since the chain is empty - The showdown only moves to damage step once both players pass Focus in a row without doing anything Nuances: - Actions can only be played while the chain is empty - When passing priority while the chain is empty, you also pass Focus - Priority passes automatically only when a chain item resolves - A player can play multiple cards during their own priority before passing

Ruling: No, Player B cannot play Find your Center after Player A conquers because it costs 3 runes and Player B only has 1 rune up. Sequence: - During a showdown, focus must pass between both players, and with focus you can play Find your Center - Conquering happens after a showdown ends - By the time Player A has conquered, it is too late to play Find your Center Nuances: - Even if timing allowed it, the player would still need sufficient runes to pay the cost

Ruling: Player B cannot play a reaction to Shen. Permanents (units and gear) exit the chain immediately after finalizing to be played and do not open priority windows. Sequence: - Player A plays Blitzcrank, it enters and triggers (choosing a target if available) - Player B plays Shen in response to the trigger, it enters immediately without opening a priority window - Player A now has a window to play actions/reactions in response to their own Blitzcrank trigger - Blitzcrank trigger resolves Nuances: - Shen can only be played to Player B's own base or a battlefield they own (not to a battlefield where Player A is the attacker) - Units do use the chain, but they are played immediately after finalizing, so it doesn't functionally matter for priority windows - The Shen cannot be targeted by Blitzcrank's trigger because it's not in play yet when the trigger is put on the chain

Ruling: No, Player C cannot use Ride the Wind to move a unit into a showdown between Player A and Player B. Any action that would result in units from 3 players occupying the same battlefield is illegal and cannot resolve. Nuances: - You cannot select targets for abilities in a way that would lead to three players on one battlefield - In 2v2 games, this rule remains the same (your partner's cards still count as a separate player), with the additional restriction that you cannot attack your teammate's battlefield

Ruling: Reactions can be played as actions or base speed spells on their own. You don't need to react to something else to play them. Nuances: - You still need priority to play them (e.g., you can't randomly play them in the middle of your opponent's turn with nothing happening) - They are not limited to being played only as reactions despite their name

Ruling: Reaction cards can be played as regular Actions during your turn or in showdown, not only when triggered. The video's claim that Reactions require a trigger to be played is incorrect. Nuances: - During other players' turns, Reactions do require a trigger to be played - Reactions cannot be played in response to "a showdown being initiated" as the video suggests

Ruling: Yes, Reaction spells can be played during the initial chain. Reactions can be played to any chain. Nuances: - Action spells cannot be played during the initial chain because an ability has already been played to create it, which closes the chain to Actions.

Ruling: Yes, Reactions can be used mid-chain. The chain resolves one link at a time, and new Reactions can be added after it's started resolving, with the last Reaction played resolving first. Sequence: - Player A plays a spell (e.g., Cleave) - Player B responds with a Reaction - Player A can respond with another Reaction before the first Reaction resolves - The chain resolves last-in-first-out (most recent Reaction resolves first) Nuances: - Spells in the chain can fizzle if their requirements are no longer met (such as losing a valid target) - Example: If Cleave targets a unit, but an opponent uses Gust to return that unit to hand before Cleave resolves, Cleave fizzles due to having no valid target

Ruling: Yes, if you are the defender in the showdown, you can play units to that battlefield because you control it. Nuances: - This only works when you are the defending player - The defender controls the battlefield where the showdown is taking place

Ruling: No, Retreat cannot be played when an opponent ends their turn. Priority does not pass as phases and turns end unless something creates a chain. Nuances: - Certain cards like Sona or Annie's Legend (Dark Child) create chains at the end of a player's turn that can be reacted to - Simply ending a turn does not create a chain that allows reactions

Ruling: Yes, you can cast Retreat on a champion that was played from the chosen champion zone. Once a champion is played from the champion zone onto the board, it becomes a valid target for cards like Retreat that return units to hand. Nuances: - Cards cannot target the champion zone itself unless they specifically call it out - The chosen champion zone is effectively an extension of your hand that's safe from hand-related effects - Tokens can be "returned" to hand (though they stop existing when they change zones) - You can hide champions like Teemo in the chosen champion zone to protect them from hand-related effects

Ruling: 'Friendly unit' refers only to your units or a teammate's units, not opponent units. Nuances: - If you cast Retreat on an ally's unit, it returns to their hand and they channel 1

Ruling: The 'friendly' keyword means Retreat cannot target an opponent's unit. It can only target units controlled by you or your teammate in 2v2. Nuances: - In 2v2 games, 'friendly' extends to units controlled by your teammate

Ruling: Yes, Rhasa can be reduced to a cost of 0 Energy but still requires one Chaos Power to play it. Nuances: - You can exhaust a rune to float energy before paying the power cost, though this would result in 1 floating energy if the energy cost is already reduced to 0 - The reduction only applies to resources being paid from the rune pool, which is separate from using your runes - Costs are not paid directly from your runes

Ruling: Ride The Wind has no movement restriction, so any unit (with or without Ganking) can move from battlefield to battlefield. Moving to a battlefield triggers a showdown regardless of whether the opponent has units there. Nuances: - Standard Move has the restriction of requiring Ganking to move between battlefield to battlefield (otherwise it must be battlefield to base) - If the opponent has units at the destination battlefield, it becomes combat and the showdown will be staged if there's already one ongoing - Whoever applied contested to the battlefield first is considered the attacker

Ruling: Yes, you can move a unit from battlefield to battlefield with Ride the Wind. Only the Standard Move has restrictions on battlefield-to-battlefield movement. Card effects are only restricted by what is printed on them.

Ruling: Yes, you can move a unit with Ride the Wind from one Battle Field to another Battle Field without a ganking unit. When a spell or ability tells you to move, you just do what the spell says - only the standard move has restrictions about ganking units.

Ruling: Yes, Ride the Wind can move a unit from battlefield A to battlefield B. Cards like Charm and Ride the Wind have no restrictions on unit movement between battlefields. Nuances: - These cards do not force units to perform their Standard Move Action; they simply move units - If the card forced a Standard Move Action, exhausted units could not be moved - The Standard Move has additional restrictions that do not apply to card effects like Ride the Wind