Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: Yes, the Kayn player scores from this combat. Kayn remains the defender throughout the showdown because attacker/defender roles are determined at the beginning of the showdown and don't change until it resolves. If the attacking player cannot kill Kayn through non-damage sources, their units will retreat and the Kayn player scores for conquering. The Kayn player can also score again at the beginning of their next turn for holding the battlefield. Sequence: - Defending Kayn retreats using Reavers during combat - Kayn uses Ride the Wind to return to the battlefield - Kayn remains the defender since this all occurs in the same showdown - Kayn no longer takes damage from the combat after moving out and back in - If attackers cannot kill Kayn through non-damage sources (like Hidden Blade or movement effects), attacking units retreat - Kayn player scores for conquering as the defender - Kayn player can score again for holding at the start of their next turn Nuances: - Riot devs have confirmed that defenders can conquer, though some rule text may seem contradictory and will be clarified in future rule updates - The attacking player would need non-damage kill effects or movement abilities to prevent Kayn from winning, since Kayn doesn't take damage after the Reavers/Ride the Wind sequence

Ruling: A unit moved into an ongoing combat that its controller is part of will join the combat and gain the appropriate designation (attacker or defender). A unit moved into an ongoing showdown that its controller is part of will join that showdown. If moved to a showdown their controller is not part of, a combat will be staged there and begin after the current showdown ends. Sequence: - If you move a unit to a showdown you're already part of, it joins immediately - If you move a unit to a showdown you're not part of, the combat is staged - When all players pass focus instead of starting a chain in succession, the current showdown ends - The staged combat then begins, with whoever first applied contested to the battlefield as the attacker Nuances: - You can only play Shen to locations you control (your base or any battlefields you control) - As a defender, you generally control the battlefield, but not always (e.g., in surprise defense scenarios where the attacker attacks an open battlefield and you move a unit in) - Shen gains the bonus Might from Shield when played during combat - Control of a battlefield is retained throughout combat if you controlled it when combat started, until the end when it's resolving

Ruling: No, you do not instantly win. To gain the final point via conquering, you must have scored on each battlefield in the same turn. In this scenario you didn't score on both battlefields, so you will not score but draw a card instead. Nuances: - If you're at 6 points and both battlefields are empty, and your opponent moves to one location, and in response you move to both locations and win the battles, that would win the game (since you'd be scoring on both battlefields in the same turn). - If a new showdown is staged while a current showdown is ongoing, the new showdown will be staged until the current showdown has finished. - If a showdown and a combat are staged, the showdown happens first. - If multiple of the same type are staged, the turn player decides which one to do first.

Ruling: Once a combat showdown starts, the defending player retains control of the battlefield until the end of the showdown, even if they temporarily have no units there. The opponent cannot conquer until the whole combat is resolved. Sequence: - Showdown begins when opponent moves in - Defending player can use effects to move units out and back in - Showdown doesn't end until both players pass focus in order - Only after showdown resolution can conquest occur Nuances: - Temporarily having zero units in the battlefield during a showdown does not cause you to lose control or end the showdown

Ruling: Reaver's Row is a defender trigger that goes on the stack at the start of combat (after attacker triggers but before combat damage). You can select the target to move back to base, but the attacker can respond with reaction speed spells before it resolves. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit onto battlefield - Attacker triggers go on stack, then defender triggers (including Reaver's Row), then attacker gets priority - Reaver's Row trigger goes on stack and you select its target (does not resolve yet) - Attacker gets priority and can play reaction speed damage spells (like Shakedown or Flurry of Blades) - If the attacker kills your unit before Reaver's Row resolves, the unit cannot move back to base - If Reaver's Row resolves and the target is still alive, the unit moves to base Nuances: - The units are considered 'in combat' when Reaver's Row triggers, allowing combat-specific reactions - After defender triggers are added to the initial chain, if the defender passes priority, the attacker gets priority and can respond - Priority passes between players after each effect resolves

Ruling: Yes, you can. You need to score all battlefields on the same turn only if you want your final point to come from a conquer. Holding counts as scoring on your turn. Sequence: - Hold a battlefield at the start of your turn (scores 7th point) - Capture another battlefield during that same turn (scores 8th point for the win) Nuances: - The restriction about scoring all battlefields in one turn only applies when your final winning point comes from a conquer action - Holding is considered a score that happens on your turn, so it satisfies the requirement for winning

Ruling: Multiple Heimerdingers would each gain copies of the same abilities from other sources (like each other and other cards), but this doesn't affect gameplay because when you exhaust a Heimerdinger, you can only activate one ability at a time, not all of them simultaneously. Sequence: - Each Heimerdinger gains abilities from other cards in play (like Ravenborn Tome) - Each Heimerdinger also gains abilities from other Heimerdingers - When you exhaust a Heimerdinger, you choose only one of its abilities to activate - Having the same ability multiple times has no gameplay impact since you only activate one Nuances: - Even if Heimerdingers theoretically create an infinite loop of copying each other's abilities, it doesn't matter because you can only select and activate one ability when exhausting - Having the same ability once, twice, or infinitely makes no difference to actual gameplay

Ruling: With 2 Karthus on the board, you would get 3 Deathknell triggers total. Each Karthus adds an additional trigger. Nuances: - The phrase "an additional time" on Karthus applies separately for each Karthus you control, stacking multiplicatively

Ruling: Only one Zhonya's Hourglass gets used up when a friendly unit would die. Sequence: - The first Zhonya's Hourglass triggers and resolves - After it resolves, the unit is no longer being killed - The other Zhonya's Hourglass triggers fizzle because their trigger condition is no longer met

Ruling: Might modifications are applied once and do not persist as ongoing effects. After playing Discipline, your creature will be at 3 might. Sequence: - Creature starts at 3 might (base) - Thousand Watcher applies -3 might (creature is now at 0) - Discipline applies +2 might (creature is now at 2) - Final might is 2 (base 3, minus 3, plus 2) Nuances: - The -3 from Thousand Watcher is not a continuous effect; it's a one-time modification that doesn't continue to reduce might after other buffs are applied

Ruling: Once Ekko's deathknell triggers, you have already lost control of the battlefield and therefore the hidden card will be discarded. You would have to use the hidden card in reaction to your opponent's Bullet Time before the damage resolves. Nuances: - If you play the Teemo in reaction to Bullet Time, the Teemo will also die from the Bullet Time damage since the damage has not yet resolved

Ruling: Countered spells are not considered to have been played, so they do not count for Legion. Nuances: - This applies even if the countered spell was the first card you attempted to play that turn

Ruling: Yes, during Combat Showdown, the defending player maintains control of the battlefield even after all their units die. You can react by playing units from Hidden at action/reaction speed after your last unit dies but before the Showdown phase ends. Sequence: - Opponent's spell/ability (like Bullet Time) resolves, killing all your units - You still maintain control during Showdown - You receive priority and can play units from Hidden (like Shen, Kinkou or Zhonya's Hourglass) - The unit enters play while you still control the battlefield Nuances: - This only works during the Showdown phase of combat, not after combat damage has been dealt - Showdowns do not end just because one side has no units - The defending player maintains control for the entire Showdown phase - Any card that puts a unit in at action/reaction speed works (including Recruit the Vanguard)

Ruling: When Viktor is your legend, you are restricted to only blue and yellow cards. You cannot use cards of other colors, even if they don't have a recycle cost. Nuances: - You can build a deck using only blue cards with no power costs and run 12 yellow runes as a valid deck construction strategy.

Ruling: You won't have a window to activate Tideturner. You lose the battlefield as soon as you don't have a unit there, unless it's contested. Sequence: - Charm resolves and moves the Merchant to the opponent's battlefield - You immediately lose control of the battlefield (since you have no units there and it's not contested) - Tideturner cannot be activated because you no longer control the battlefield

Ruling: Yes, you can play action speed cards drawn from Hidden Blade after it resolves. Focus passes back and forth between players during combat, so after Hidden Blade resolves and you draw cards, you will eventually receive focus again and can play an action speed card. Sequence: - Hidden Blade resolves and kills your unit, you draw cards - The chain completes - Focus passes back to you - You can now play an action speed card from the cards you drew Nuances: - The showdown does not instantly end when your only unit dies - As of the 1.1 rules update, you retain control of the battlefield the entire time it is contested, even if you have no units remaining - You could even play cards like Shen There during the showdown despite having no units

Ruling: Yes, you score a conquer point from Battlefield A. Sequence: - Your unit is charmed from Battlefield A to Battlefield B during opponent's turn - Battlefield A becomes empty - You use Ride the Wind to move the unit back to Battlefield A - You score a conquer point because you did not score on that battlefield during your opponent's turn Nuances: - The key factor is that you did not score on Battlefield A during your opponent's turn, so you are eligible to score when you regain control

Ruling: Yes, you will score a point for conquering the original battlefield, assuming you didn't control it when the showdown begins and haven't scored it yet this turn. Sequence: - Opponent Charms your unit to their battlefield (battlefield B), opening combat there and causing you to lose control of your original battlefield (battlefield A) - During the showdown step of the combat at battlefield B, you play Ride the Wind to move your unit back to battlefield A - This stages a showdown at battlefield A - When the combat at battlefield B finishes, players can perform actions - If no players perform other actions, the staged showdown at battlefield A begins - If no players perform other actions during that combat, you conquer battlefield A and score a point Nuances: - Players have opportunities to play spells or activate abilities between combats and during the staged showdown - You must not control battlefield A when the showdown begins to score the point - You must not have already scored battlefield A this turn

Ruling: Yes, you can play Zenith Blade after Rebuke resolves. You will stun one of their attackers, then move a unit into the showdown where it becomes a defender. Sequence: - Rebuke resolves - You play Zenith Blade on your action - Stun one of their attackers - Move a unit into the showdown - The unit becomes a defender Nuances: - Showdowns and combat do not end until both players fully pass focus - You cannot lose control of a battlefield while a combat is happening

Ruling: When your opponent moves to an empty battlefield and you respond with Ride the Wind to move a unit there, your opponent is the attacker and you are the defender. The opponent's original move applied the contested status, making them the attacker. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit to empty battlefield, opening a non-combat showdown - During the non-combat showdown, you play Ride the Wind to move your unit there - This stages a combat showdown to happen after the non-combat showdown ends - If both units remain after the non-combat showdown resolves, the combat showdown occurs - Your opponent is the attacker, you are the defender - Any attack/defend triggers will activate after your unit arrives Nuances: - If you win the subsequent combat as the defender, you score 1 point (unless you have already scored this battlefield this turn) - The person who originally applied the contested status (moved first) is the attacker, not the person who played Ride the Wind

Ruling: No, Imperial Decree will not kill both units when attacking with two tokens simultaneously. You cannot assign damage to a second unit until you've assigned lethal damage to the first, and Imperial Decree creates a trigger when a unit takes damage that kills that unit (rather than making any non-zero damage lethal). Nuances: - If the tokens attack one at a time instead of simultaneously, then Imperial Decree would kill both units

Ruling: You can use Ride the Wind after Flight or Fight resolves to have Darius attack again in the same combat, and your opponent cannot trigger Reavers Row because they are still the attackers in this combat. Sequence: - Opponent attacks with Kaisa, you decline Reavers Row trigger - Opponent uses Flight or Fight on Darius, it resolves - Combat is still in the showdown phase (does not end until both players sequentially pass focus without creating a new chain) - You can start a new chain with Ride the Wind to have Darius attack - Opponent cannot use Reavers Row because it already triggered when Darius was first designated a defender and was declined Nuances: - Reavers Row triggers when a unit is designated as a defender, which happened at the start of combat and was declined - The showdown phase continues as long as players keep creating new chains - The opponent remains the attacker throughout this combat even after Darius attacks back

Ruling: Yes, they would gain a point for conquering the battlefield, provided you don't stop them during the showdown that follows. Sequence: - Charm goes on chain - Hidden Hidden Blade goes on chain as a reaction - Unit at battlefield dies - They lose control of the battlefield immediately - Charm resolves, new unit moves in - Since they don't control the battlefield, it becomes contested and a showdown starts - If they still have a unit there when that showdown ends, they conquer and score 1 point

Ruling: Imperial Decree does not activate until the dealing damage step. Damage is assigned (attacker first, then defender) and then all damage is dealt simultaneously, at which point Imperial Decree triggers. Sequence: - Attacker assigns damage to defending units - Defender assigns damage back - All damage is dealt simultaneously - Imperial Decree effect applies Nuances: - If the attacking unit has enough Might to kill all defending units, they will all die simultaneously along with the attacker - Imperial Decree only triggers earlier if direct damage is dealt before the normal damage step

Mask of Foresight will NOT trigger during the initial non-combat Showdown, and you CAN kill their unit with Hextech Ray before Combat begins. Here's why: When you move your unit to the battlefield, it becomes Contested and opens a non-combat Showdown immediately during Cleanup . When your opponent plays Ride the Wind and moves their unit back during this Showdown, you remain in the SAME non-combat Showdown - it doesn't start a new one. Since Mask of Foresight only triggers 'When a friendly unit attacks or defends' and no Attacker/Defender designations have been assigned yet in a non-combat Showdown, it doesn't trigger. You can play Hextech Ray (which has [Action] and is legal in Showdowns) to kill their unit. Only after this non-combat Showdown closes will a Combat become Staged, and then Combat would begin with Attacker/Defender designations, at which point Mask of Foresight would trigger - but the unit is already dead.

Ruling: When you attack with Yasuo Remorseful against an opponent with Mask of Foresight, Yasuo's trigger goes on the chain first, then Mask of Foresight triggers. Mask of Foresight resolves first (giving +1 might), then Yasuo's damage resolves. This is different from shield, which is active the moment combat starts without using the chain. Sequence: - Yasuo Remorseful's trigger goes onto the chain - Mask of Foresight's trigger goes onto the chain - Mask of Foresight resolves first (unit gains +1 might) - Yasuo's damage resolves - Combat occurs Nuances: - The ordering is based on attacker triggers then defender triggers, where attacker/defender refers to the player, not the specific units - Shield works differently - it becomes active when combat starts without using the chain - After triggers resolve, the attacker gets priority to respond

Ruling: No, Ravenbloom Student does not get the +1 bonus if the spell is Defied. In Riftbound, cards need to resolve to be considered "played" for effects such as Ravenbloom Student. Nuances: - Dreaming Tree works differently because it triggers on targeting a friendly unit, which happens when the spell or ability goes on the chain, before resolution. If the spell is Defied, Dreaming Tree's draw trigger is still on the chain. - Deflect costs are paid when you target, so even if a spell targeting a unit with Deflect is Defied, you still pay the additional recycle rune costs with no result.

Ruling: No, your opponent remains the attacker. When you use Ride the Wind during an opponent's showdown, they are still considered the attacker because they applied contested. Sequence: - Opponent attacks the battlefield with 2 units, creating a showdown - You play Ride the Wind to move Darius to the battlefield - The opponent's open showdown must finish first - If both players still have units at the battlefield after the showdown ends, a combat showdown begins - The opponent is the attacker in this combat showdown because they applied contested

Ruling: The token will be created at base. When you play Fight or Flight in response to Noxian Drummer's move trigger (while it's on the chain), the Drummer moves back to base before its trigger resolves. When the trigger resolves, "here" refers to the Drummer's current location (base), so the token is played there. Sequence: - Opponent moves Noxian Drummer to battlefield - Drummer's move trigger goes on the chain (combat is staged but cannot begin while items are on the chain) - Players have priority window to respond - Defending player plays Fight or Flight from hidden, moving Drummer back to base - Drummer's trigger resolves, checking "here" (now base) and plays the recruit token at base - No combat is initiated since Drummer is no longer at battlefield Nuances: - Reminder text (like "It is also at the Battlefield") is not rules text and should be ignored - "Here" and other referentials are checked when the ability resolves, not when it triggers - No trigger resolves instantly - all triggers go on the chain and can be responded to - If Drummer is moved to hand (e.g., by Gust) before its trigger resolves, no token will be played because it's no longer in a zone where its information can be referenced

Ruling: No, there is no window to play Primal Strength to save the unit in this scenario. Once the opponent passed focus to you without playing an action, they cannot respond to your Hextech Ray with an action. The unit will die when Hextech Ray resolves. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit and passes focus without playing actions - You play Hextech Ray (starting a chain) - Opponent cannot play Primal Strength (actions cannot be used as reactions) - Chain resolves and unit dies from Hextech Ray damage - After the chain resolves, focus automatically passes back to opponent - Opponent could now play Primal Strength, but it's too late to save the unit Nuances: - You can never react with an action - only reactions can be played in response to a chain - Focus automatically passes after each chain resolves, but this automatic passing does not count toward "both players passing" - Units die as soon as lethal damage resolves, not after all chains resolve - The opponent's only chance to save the unit was to play Primal Strength before passing focus initially

Ruling: No, you would be the defender and your opponent would be the attacker, since they applied contested status to the battlefield. This is known as a "surprise defence." Sequence: - The first non-combat showdown continues as normal - After fully resolving the first showdown, the second combat showdown begins Nuances: - The unit that originally moved to make the battlefield contested is the attacker, even if another unit arrives via Ride the Wind afterward

Ruling: Yes, you will score a point for conquering the battlefield, but not immediately. Sequence: - After your unit is moved to the opponent's battlefield, a showdown starts there first - That showdown continues even after you move your unit away with Ride the Wind - After that showdown finishes (both players pass focus in a row without playing an action), a second showdown starts on the other battlefield since your unit is on an uncontrolled battlefield there - Once that second showdown finishes, you will score a point (assuming the unit is still at the battlefield at the end)

Ruling: Yes, your unit counts as the defender. When your opponent moves to the empty battlefield first, they initially contest it and become the attacker. When Zenith Blade resolves and creates a combat situation, the player who initially contested the open battlefield remains the attacker. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit to empty battlefield, triggering a non-combat showdown - Zenith Blade is played in response during this window - The non-combat showdown completes - Zenith Blade resolves, moving your unit to the battlefield - Combat is staged with opponent as attacker (since they initially contested the battlefield) and you as defender Nuances: - If the defender wins combat, they also conquer and get a point (assuming they haven't scored there this turn) - If both players still have units at the battlefield after combat, the attacker's units are recalled during combat cleanup

Ruling: When Brynhir Thundersong is played from Promising Future, your chosen card can still resolve normally. Brynhir's "When You Play Me" (WYPM) effect that prevents opponents from playing cards only applies after all cards from Promising Future have already been played and placed on the chain as pending items. Sequence: - Promising Future begins resolving, all players banish one card from top 5 - Starting with next player in turn order, players play their banished cards (these go on chain as pending) - Brynhir is played and goes pending, then your card is played and goes pending - Pending items finalize in the order they were put on the chain - Brynhir finalizes first and immediately resolves, her WYPM effect goes on the chain pending - Your card finalizes next (now on the chain above Brynhir's WYPM) - Brynhir's WYPM resolves, preventing further card plays - Your card (already played and on the chain) proceeds to resolve normally Nuances: - Brynhir's effect prevents "playing" cards (taking them from a zone and putting them on the chain), but cards already on the chain as pending items will still resolve - If opponent plays a unit and you play a damage spell from Promising Future, you can target their unit because it finalizes and resolves before your spell finalizes, making it a legal target

Ruling: Outside of combat, if Bullet Time kills your only unit at a battlefield, the hidden card goes to trash during spell cleanup and you cannot play Teemo. You lose control of the battlefield when your last unit dies. Sequence: - Bullet Time resolves and deals damage - Embermonk dies if enough damage is dealt - Hidden Teemo is put in trash during cleanup of the spell - You lose control of the battlefield Nuances: - During combat, you could pass priority and reveal Teemo before Bullet Time resolves to keep the battlefield - You do not know how much damage Bullet Time will deal until it resolves (value is decided during resolution) - Just because your only unit at a battlefield dies does not mean combat ends or you lose control during a showdown

Ruling: No, you cannot play Immortal Phoenix from your trash when you kill one of your units with your opponent's Cull the Weak. The condition requires you to kill a unit with your own spell. Nuances: - The current core rules don't explicitly cover this case, but the FAQ addresses it - Updated core rules will explicitly define "kill a unit with a spell"

Ruling: Yes, you can play the Retreat you drew from Stupefy before Hextech Ray resolves, returning the Yordle to hand and causing Hextech Ray to resolve with a null target. Sequence: - Opponent plays Hextech Ray targeting Lecturing Yordle - You play Stupefy in response - Stupefy resolves: Yordle gets -1 Might, you draw a card (Retreat) - Priority passes back, you play Retreat - Retreat resolves, returning Yordle to hand - Hextech Ray resolves but the target is null and it does nothing Nuances: - After each action or resolution on the chain, priority passes between players - The player who controls the top item on the chain gets priority first after a resolution - A spell with a null target does nothing when it resolves

Ruling: Yes, Brynhir's ability will resolve first and prevent the opponent from playing the unit from Spectral Matron's ability. Sequence: - Opponent plays Spectral Matron, its ability triggers and goes on the chain - You play Here to Help (must be played face down so it has reaction) - You play Brynhir Thunderson off Here to Help - Brynhir's "while you play me" ability goes on the chain and resolves first - Spectral Matron's ability is still on the chain but cannot resolve because the opponent cannot play cards Nuances: - Here to Help must be played from face down to have reaction timing

Ruling: No, you cannot prevent Thousand Tail Watcher's ability from resolving by killing it in response. Once a unit is played, its 'When you play me' ability goes on the chain and will resolve even if the unit is killed before the ability resolves. Sequence: - Opponent plays Thousand Tail Watcher - The 'When you play me' ability goes on the chain - You can respond with damage effects (like Shakedown) to kill the Watcher - The Watcher dies - The 'When you play me' ability still resolves and takes effect Nuances: - Abilities and spells in Riftbound do not fizzle - they always resolve unless countered - If an ability's target becomes invalid, the ability still resolves but may have no effect - Units can only be prevented from triggering their 'When you play me' abilities if they are countered before being played (preventing them from entering play at all) - The unit does not need to be alive for its ability to resolve

The timing of when you use Gust is critical: **If you Gust after the Play Effect resolves:** The two Recruit tokens remain at the battlefield. They were already created as separate game objects, and removing Vanguard Captain doesn't affect them. The tokens only cease to exist if they themselves are moved to a non-board zone. **If you Gust in reaction before the Play Effect resolves:** The tokens are never created at all. Here's why: When Vanguard Captain is played, it enters the board first, then its Play Effect goes on the chain as a Pending Item. You have a reaction window before this Play Effect resolves. If you Gust Vanguard Captain during this window, it returns to hand before the tokens are created. Since the ability uses location-based targeting ('here'), the source must remain at that location through resolution. When Vanguard Captain changes zones before resolution, the target becomes illegal and the ability doesn't apply, so no tokens are created.

Ruling: No, you do not have a chance to play a reaction before a vanilla unit resolves. When a permanent starts a chain, it enters the chain and immediately resolves with no priority windows for reactions. Sequence: - Opponent plays a vanilla unit (permanent) - The permanent enters the chain - The permanent immediately resolves off the chain - No reaction windows are provided Nuances: - You also do not get a reaction window after the permanent resolves - A vanilla unit gives you exactly 0 windows to react

Ruling: Yes, using Gust on Tideturner (or the unit it targets) in response will cause the swap effect to fail. The ability will resolve but do nothing. Sequence: - Opponent reveals Tideturner and its ability goes on the chain, selecting a target unit - You play Gust in response, returning either Tideturner or the targeted unit to hand - Gust resolves, removing the unit from the board - Tideturner's ability attempts to resolve but cannot evaluate the referential information ("my location" for Tideturner's position, or "its location" for the target's position) - No swap occurs; the ability resolves to no effect Nuances: - Triggers generally don't care where their source goes after being placed on the chain, but Tideturner specifically fails because it contains referential information ("my location", "original location", "their location") that cannot be evaluated when the referenced unit is no longer on the board - If a unit changes zones to or from a non-board zone and returns, it's treated as a different object and is no longer a legal target - "Original location" refers to where Tideturner was when the play effect began resolving, and this information cannot be defined if Tideturner has left the board

No, Gust will not return your unit to hand. The game checks if targets are legal both at activation (when the spell is played) and at resolution (when the spell effect applies). When Gust is played targeting your 2 Might unit, the target is legal at activation. However, when Discipline resolves first and increases your unit to 4 Might, the target becomes illegal because it now exceeds Gust's targeting requirement of 3 or less Might. When Gust resolves, it checks legality again, sees the unit now has 4 Might, and therefore resolves but has no effect.

Ruling: You can react with Fight or Flight (hidden) to move your unit away from the battlefield. Fox Fire does not retarget when its original target becomes illegal. Sequence: - Opponent plays Fox Fire, targeting units totaling 4 might at a single battlefield - Fox Fire finalizes on the chain - You can react with Fight or Flight - Fight or Flight resolves first, moving your unit - Fox Fire goes to resolve but its target is now illegal as the unit is not at a base Nuances: - If multiple units were targeted and some become illegal or gain Might, on resolution you choose any number of the original targets whose Might adds up to no more than 4 to be killed - The spell checks target legality again on resolution

Ruling: Nocturne will not die from Shakedown because Zhonya's Hourglass is already active when Shakedown resolves. However, Nocturne will take damage from Falling Star afterward at the base, which may kill it if lethal. Sequence: - Opponent plays Falling Star targeting Nocturne (pending on chain) - You flip hidden Zhonya's Hourglass (does not use chain, enters immediately with passive active) - Opponent plays Shakedown as a reaction targeting Nocturne (added to chain) - Shakedown resolves first, dealing 6 damage to Nocturne - Zhonya's replacement effect triggers: Zhonya's is destroyed, Nocturne is healed and recalled to base exhausted - Falling Star resolves, still targeting Nocturne (now at base) - Falling Star deals its damage to Nocturne at the base Nuances: - Flipping a hidden permanent does not use the chain, so opponents cannot react to the flip itself, only to the permanent after it's already on the board - Zhonya's is a replacement effect, not a triggered ability, so it applies immediately when lethal damage would kill a unit - The base is a Board Zone, so spells that target units without location restrictions (like "at a battlefield") can still hit units that move to the base - Zhonya's replacement effect is consumed by Shakedown, so it won't protect against Falling Star's damage

Ruling: No, they cannot choose a different target if you Retreat the unit in response to Shakedown.

Ruling: Yes, you draw a card. Combat does not end immediately when one player has no units at the Battlefield. Draven Legend checks at the end of combat, and if the opponent's unit was moved to Base, you have won that combat. Sequence: - Opponent uses Arcane Shift to banish their unit from Battlefield - Opponent plays the banished unit to Base (or another location) - Both players pass with focus on an empty chain - Combat ends - Draven Legend checks and sees you won the combat, triggering the draw Nuances: - Combat continues until both players pass with focus on an empty chain, not when units leave the Battlefield - The opponent retains control of the Battlefield until the end of combat even after their unit is banished - If the opponent played the unit back to the same Battlefield, you would not win the combat

Ruling: Yes, Charm still resolves even if the targeted unit has moved to a different location (including base) before Charm resolves. Nuances: - Charm does not specify where the unit must be located when it resolves - Since the unit is now at base, Charm cannot "move" the unit to where it currently is (base) - When Charm resolves, you can still move the unit back to a battlefield or to another battlefield, since move effects target the unit (not a location) and the destination is chosen at resolution

Ruling: No, if you do not control the battlefield, the hidden card is immediately trashed. Sequence: - The unit is moved by Charm - You lose control of the battlefield - Cleanup step 5 occurs (cleanup happens anytime a move is completed) - The hidden card is trashed Nuances: - You can use a reaction to reveal the hidden card before it gets trashed - If the hidden card is Zhonya's, revealing it will play it to the battlefield it was hidden at, but since gear can't exist at battlefields, it immediately gets recalled to base - If the charmed unit dies at its new location, Zhonya's will save it (assuming no other units die)

Ruling: Yes, you still draw from Discipline even if the target unit is killed before Discipline resolves. All effects that reach the chain always resolve (unless countered), and you do as much as you can on resolution. Sequence: - Effects are added to the chain with targets declared when finalized - Chain resolves in reverse order (last in, first out) - Each effect resolves doing as much as possible - Non-conditional parts of effects (like "draw 1") always happen even if targets become invalid Nuances: - Fizzling does not exist in Riftbound - effects always resolve unless countered - "Then" vs "to" matters: "then draw 1" is not conditional, but "to draw 1" would be conditional - If an effect says "its owner draws" and the unit dies, you cannot draw because the owner cannot be established when off the board - Exception: If the spell itself killed the unit, that spell can look back to establish the owner - Targets are declared when effects finalize and cannot be changed (unless a card explicitly allows it) - If a target becomes invalid, effects that reference that target will "whiff" (resolve to no effect), but non-conditional parts still resolve - You cannot block reactions - counters can target any legal item on the chain at any time while the chain is open