Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: The 4 might unit assigns 4 damage to the stunned 5 might unit. At the end of combat, both attackers and defenders remain, so attackers are Recalled. Sequence: - The attacking unit assigns 4 damage - At end of combat, attackers are Recalled (moved back to the base) Nuances: - Recall does not count as a move - Recall cannot be responded to using reactions

Ruling: Hiding a unit card facedown on Rockfall Path is legal, but when you attempt to play that unit, it is an illegal activation. The play is rewound, the card must remain hidden and cannot be played, and it gets trashed when you lose control of the battlefield. Sequence: - Card is legally hidden facedown on Rockfall Path - When attempting to play the unit, the activation is illegal - The play is rewound to before the illegal activation - Card remains hidden and cannot be played - Card is trashed when control of the battlefield is lost Nuances: - If a spell or ability instructs you to play a unit to Rockfall Path, you can shortcut the instruction to simply not execute (the spell/ability resolves to no effect) - Such spells/abilities can still be played for purposes like triggering Ravenbloom Student or Darius Trifarian, they just resolve to no effect

Ruling: When a card instructs you to discard but you have no cards in hand, you do as much as you can and then continue with the rest of the effect. Sequence: - Attempt to discard (if you have no cards, you discard nothing) - Continue with any remaining effects on the card Nuances: - Cards with "discard TO" wording (like Rocket) require the discard to happen in order to get the effect, unlike standard discard instructions

Ruling: When you deck out (burn out), you do not lose. Instead, you shuffle your trash into a new deck and choose an opponent to gain 1 point. Nuances: - The point gained by the opponent from your deck-out can be a winning point (the 8th point)

Ruling: This is currently a hole in the rules. When the unit is killed, Combat stops being staged (since units from two opposing players are no longer present), but the Contested status remains with no mechanism to remove it. The battlefield becomes stuck in a state where it's controlled by one player, contested by another, but neither a Showdown nor Combat can be staged. Sequence: - Player A moves unit to Player B's controlled battlefield, applying Contested and staging Combat - Player A kills Player B's only unit (Poro) via Shakedown during the trigger reaction - During cleanup, Combat stops being staged (no units from two opposing players present) - Contested status remains but cannot be removed (only removed during Showdowns/Combats) - No Showdown stages (battlefield is controlled, not uncontrolled) - No Combat stages (only one player has units present) - Battlefield becomes stuck: controlled by B, contested by A, with no staged event Nuances: - The Hidden card cannot be played because there's no mechanism to progress the game state - A future rules update should remove Contested status when Combat stops being staged due to lack of opposing units - If Contested were removed and no units present, battlefield would become uncontrolled - If Contested were removed with units present, a new Showdown/Combat would stage

Ruling: When a player runs out of cards in their deck, they gain +1 point and recycle their deck. Sequence: - Player runs out of cards - Player gains +1 point - Player recycles their deck

Ruling: When you move a unit to the battlefield during an opponent's open showdown, your unit will kill the opponent's unit (if it has higher might) and you score a point. Your opponent is the attacker and you are the defender. Sequence: - The open showdown plays out and completes as normal - At the end, your opponent won't conquer due to your units being present - A new combat showdown will then start Nuances: - You have chances to play actions before defend and attack triggers occur - The showdown doesn't change type mid-resolution; the open showdown completes first, then a new combat showdown begins

Ruling: Showdowns/combats cannot begin until the turn is in a neutral open state (no combat/showdown and nothing on the chain). The second showdown will be staged at that battlefield until the current showdown finishes. Sequence: - The current showdown must complete first - If multiple showdowns and/or combats are staged, showdowns are initiated before combats - If multiple showdowns are staged, turn player decides which to initiate first - If multiple combats are staged, turn player decides which to initiate first Nuances: - Conquer effects trigger when the unit is at the battlefield as you conquer it. If the unit leaves during the showdown, it won't be there when you conquer and won't trigger. - When a noncombat showdown occurs and a unit moves in creating a staged combat (surprise defense), that combat remains staged until the current showdown closes. - If a staged showdown and a staged combat both exist, the showdown happens first (not turn player choice).

Ruling: If the attacker cannot kill the stunned defender and the attacker is still alive after combat, the attacker returns to base. The defender remains in place. Nuances: - This interaction is similar to how Kayn works: if any defending unit remains after combat, the attacker bounces to base - The defender does not move because they were not killed

Ruling: If after the damage step both players still have units alive at the battlefield, the attacking units are recalled back to the base. Sequence: - Showdown occurs at the battlefield - Damage is dealt (stunned units don't deal damage) - If both players have surviving units after damage, attackers are recalled to base - Recalled units remain exhausted if they were exhausted when they entered the showdown

Ruling: When the attacker is unable to gain control of the battlefield (because their unit cannot deal damage due to Rune Prison and the defender's unit survives), the defender retains control and the attacker's unit is recalled to base. Sequence: - Combat occurs with Rune Prison preventing the attacker's unit from dealing damage - Defender's unit survives (not enough power to kill attacker's unit) - Attacker fails to gain control of the battlefield - Defender retains control - Attacker's unit returns to base

Ruling: If both attacking and defending units remain alive after combat, the attacking units are recalled to base. Sequence: - Combat occurs with Leona stunning MF - Neither unit dies - Leona is recalled to base - MF remains stunned until end of turn, but damage is cleared after combat Nuances: - A stunned unit can still be killed by other effects in the same turn (like Solari Chief's ability) - When units are recalled, they retain their ready/exhausted status

Ruling: During combat cleanup, if units controlled by different players are still alive, the attacking units are recalled. The defender wins the showdown. Sequence: - Combat occurs - During combat cleanup, check if units from different players are still alive - If yes, attacking units are recalled Nuances: - When Kayne (who takes no damage) attacks a higher might unit, Kayne will "bounce off" and be recalled because he is the attacker - This applies even though Kayne survives combat - the attacker is still recalled if both units survive

Ruling: You cannot use Rebuke in response to Challenge because Rebuke is an action and cannot be used when something else is on the chain. Nuances: - You could use Gust (a reaction) instead if the unit is small enough - When using Gust, it would resolve first (most recently-added thing resolves first), and Challenge would do nothing since the challenged unit no longer exists

Ruling: You still need enough Might to get over stunned units even though they can't kill your units. With multiple defenders where one is stunned, you can choose to kill other unstunned units if your Might is sufficient. Sequence: - Determine if your attacking Might can overcome the defender's total Might - If multiple defenders exist and one is stunned, you may choose which unit(s) to kill based on your Might value - If neither side eliminates all opposing units, both players' units are recalled Nuances: - Stunned units still count toward the Might threshold needed to attack successfully - In the first example (attacking with 2 Might against stunned 4 Might), both units are recalled since neither side eliminates the other - In the second example (attacking with 5 Might against stunned 9 and unstunned 4), you can kill the 4 Might unit, but both sides are still recalled since you cannot eliminate all defenders

Ruling: If a combat ends and units from 2 players are still present, attacker units are recalled. Nuances: - This applies specifically when Face Breaker triggers during 1v1 combat while defending

Ruling: When time is called during a round, the current turn becomes turn 0, followed by 5 additional turns. At the end of the 5th turn, whoever has the most points wins that game. The player with the highest match score (most games won) wins the match; if match scores are tied, the match is a draw. Sequence: - Current turn when time is called becomes turn 0 - Play 5 additional turns after turn 0 - At end of turn 5, player with most points wins that game - Player with most games won wins the match - If games won are equal, match ends in a draw Nuances: - These rules apply to all game modes including duel - It is possible to win game 1, have your opponent ahead in points in game 2 when time expires, resulting in a 1-1 match draw

Ruling: When units with equal Might face each other in a Showdown, both sides deal damage simultaneously equal to their total Might. All units that receive lethal damage go to trash. If both sides are destroyed, the battlefield becomes empty and control is lost. Sequence: - Showdown starts immediately when a unit or multiple units move to a battlefield - Multiple units can be moved to the same battlefield at once - Both sides deal their total Might as damage simultaneously - Damage must be lethal to an unit before damaging another - All units dealt lethal damage go to trash Nuances: - When multiple units defend against a single attacker, the attacker chooses which defending unit receives their damage - Equal Might results in mutual destruction with no conquest and no points awarded

Ruling: Time Warp resolves normally and queues up an extra turn for you, but you don't get that extra turn right away. The entire current turn (including the showdown and combat) proceeds as normal regardless of when Time Warp is played during that turn. Sequence: - Blind Fury resolves and you play Time Warp - Time Warp resolves and queues up the next turn for you - The current showdown and combat resolve normally - After the current turn completes, you get your extra turn from Time Warp

Ruling: When you need to draw a card and have no deck, you shuffle your Trash and it becomes your deck. Your opponent gets a point. Nuances: - The point gained from an opponent running out of cards can win the game even if they already have 7 points - The last point restriction (needing to score through conquering) only applies to conquering, not to points gained through other abilities

Ruling: You reveal cards until you run out of cards to reveal, then shuffle your deck. You do not perform a Burn Out because the revealed cards are still considered part of the deck. Nuances: - You only perform a Burn Out if you would go to resolve Dazzling Aurora while you currently have 0 cards left in the deck before you begin revealing - Running out of cards during the reveal process does not trigger Burn Out since revealed cards are still part of the deck

Ruling: You reveal/look at as many cards as you can and resolve the effect normally. You do not deck out because the cards you're looking at are still part of your main deck. Sequence: - Reveal/look at as many cards as are available in your deck - Resolve the card effect with those cards - The revealed cards remain part of your main deck during this process Nuances: - You only deck out if there are 0 cards in your deck when you use the effect - The deck-out rule requires your main deck to be empty, which is not satisfied when cards are being revealed/looked at since they're still part of the deck

Ruling: The new combat becomes 'staged' and waits for the first showdown to finish before resolving. Sequence: - The first showdown completes entirely - The staged showdown then begins Nuances: - A staged showdown can be either a staged open showdown or a staged combat, depending on what players are present when it stages - You cannot start a showdown if there is a chain - Units heal after combat damage is dealt (as part of combat cleanup), but only if the showdown is a combat - non-combat showdowns do not heal units - All units everywhere heal during combat cleanup, including units that moved away from that battlefield

Ruling: When you repeat Hard Bargain, it does not create a second item on the chain. Defy will counter the entire Hard Bargain spell, including the repeat effect. Sequence: - Hard Bargain is played with repeat - During finalization (step 2 of playing a card), you choose targets and pay costs - The repeated Hard Bargain does not add a second chain item - If Defy counters Hard Bargain, both the original and repeated effect are countered together Nuances: - Hard Bargain targets during finalization, not on resolution - Repeat does not create multiple chain items - it's all one spell

Ruling: 'Floating mana' refers to exhausting a rune to gain 1 energy before recycling that rune. The energy persists for your entire turn and can be used at any point during that turn. Sequence: - Exhaust the rune to gain 1 energy - Recycle that same rune - Use the energy at any point later in your turn Nuances: - The rune must be exhausted before recycling it (you don't exhaust it after it's already been recycled) - Energy sticks around for your whole turn once generated

Ruling: You can play units either to your base or to a battlefield you control. Nuances: - The definition of valid location was accidentally deleted from the V1.1 rules and will be added back in V1.2 - This ruling is confirmed by the Patron example in the rulebook

Ruling: The removal of the definition for "valid location" was an error in the rules update. Units should be played to locations the player controls on the board (specifically battlefields they control), as stated in the previous version. Nuances: - The numbering gaps (462.8.h to 649) were intentional to allow for adding new rules in the future - The current rulebook incorrectly references "valid Location" without defining it - The previous version correctly specified "a Location the player Controls on the Board"

Ruling: A damaged unit is a unit that has damage marked on it (damage counters), not a unit that has had its might reduced. Might represents both attack power and maximum damage capacity, and dealing damage does not reduce might. Sequence: - When a unit takes damage, damage counters are placed on it equal to the damage dealt - The unit's might value remains unchanged - Damage counters accumulate until the unit dies or damage is cleared - Damage is cleared at the end of each round and at the end of combat - Damage is NOT cleared after individual showdowns at previously uncontrolled battlefields Nuances: - A unit can be buffed to higher might (e.g., 8 might) and still be considered damaged if it has any damage counters on it, even if those counters are less than its original unbuffed might - Reducing a unit's might through effects is different from dealing damage - might reduction affects both attack power and maximum damage capacity - All units on the board heal (clear damage) at the end of combat and at the end of each round, not after each individual showdown

Ruling: The "bench" is player terminology for the Base zone in Riftbound. Nuances: - The Base is the location where players deploy units and gear - The Base is separate from the three battlefields - "Bench" is informal terminology; the official zone name is "Base"

Ruling: Riftbound will have yearly rotations starting in approximately 2 years (early 2028 with Set 10 release, removing Sets 1-5 from Standard), and cards will be banned when necessary. Sequence: - First rotation occurs at start of 2028 with Set 10 release - Sets 1-5 will be removed from Standard format at that time - Bans will happen as needed based on game balance Nuances: - Currently no banlist exists as only one set has been released - Rotation is approximately 2 years away from the time of this discussion

Ruling: The order is the same for every game: Legend > Chosen Champion > Battlefields chosen and revealed > Turn order > Draw & Mulligan. Battlefields are revealed before determining turn order. Sequence: - Legend selection - Chosen Champion selection - Battlefields chosen and revealed simultaneously - Turn order determined - Draw 4 cards - Mulligan Nuances: - In games 2 and 3 of a Bo3, the player who lost the previous game makes the choice for play/channel after seeing battlefields - Both players can use the same battlefield - Sideboarding happens before everything (before Legend selection) and players do not need to disclose how many cards they're swapping

Ruling: The setup order is: show Legend and Champion, pick battlefield, determine turn order, draw 4 cards, then mulligan if desired. In subsequent rounds of a best-of-3, skip the Legend/Champion reveal step. Sequence: - Show Legend and then Champion - Pick battlefield - Determine turn order - Draw 4 cards - Mulligan if you want Nuances: - In rounds 2 and 3 of a best-of-3, the Legend and Champion reveal step is skipped (they remain the same from round 1)

Ruling: The setup order is: reveal legends, reveal chosen champions, choose and reveal battleground (method depends on game type), determine first player and turn order, then draw 4 cards and mulligan (up to two cards to bottom of deck, redraw that many). Sequence: - Reveal Legends - Reveal your Chosen Champions - Choose and reveal battleground (method depends on game type) - Determine first player and turn order - Draw 4 and mulligan (up to two cards to the bottom of your deck, redraw that many) Nuances: - Battlefield selection method depends on format: BO1 uses random selection, BO3 allows players to choose their battlefield but cannot reuse it in games 2 or 3 - Current rules don't specify how to determine first player in games 2 and 3 of a BO3 match

Ruling: The setup order is: reveal Legend/Champion, place battlefield, determine starting player, reveal battlefield, then draw cards. All reveals happen simultaneously (cards are placed face-down then revealed together) to prevent counter-picking. Sequence: - Reveal Legend/Champion (simultaneously) - Place battlefield - Determine starting player - Reveal battlefield - Draw cards Nuances: - Reveals are done by placing cards face-down first, then revealing simultaneously to prevent players from counter-picking based on opponent's choices

Ruling: During a Showdown, "When Attacking" and "When Defending" abilities trigger before players get a chance to play spells. Players can only play reactions while triggered abilities are on the chain, but once that chain resolves (or if no triggered abilities exist), the attacking player gets priority to start a new chain with a spell, then the defender gets a chance if the attacker passes. Sequence: - Showdown starts - Assailants get buffed - Shielders get buffed - "When Attacking" effects activate and trigger a chain - "When Defending" effects activate and are put on the chain - If a chain exists, players can only play reactions until it resolves - After the chain resolves (or if no triggered abilities existed), the attacking player has priority to play a spell - If the attacker doesn't play anything, the defender gets a chance - This loops until both players pass without opening a chain - Damage calculation occurs - The respective player scores Nuances: - If you move a unit with "when I move" ability to start the showdown, that move trigger goes on the chain before "When Attack/Defend" triggers - If multiple "when I move" effects trigger simultaneously, the owning player selects the order to place them on the chain - If moving to an open battlefield, you skip the middle combat steps

Ruling: The correct game start procedure is: place hidden champion and legend, reveal both, choose one BF from 3 and place it hidden, reveal BF, determine turn order randomly, then draw and mulligan (with player 1 mulliganing first, then player 2). Sequence: - Players place hidden champion and hidden legend - Both players reveal champion and legend - Players choose one BF from 3 and place it hidden - Both players reveal their chosen BF - Turn order is chosen by one random method - Players draw cards - Player 1 mulligans first - Player 2 mulligans second - Turn 1 begins Nuances: - The second player mulligans after the first player, which provides a small informational advantage (seeing opponent's mulligan decisions can inform your own mulligan choices) - BF selection happens before turn order determination, as this can affect mulligan decisions

The correct remedy is to apply Rule of Drawing Extra Cards, even though the setup process is not technically a limited action. While Rule General Error could theoretically apply as a catch-all, it's not practical because you cannot rewind when the specific card drawn cannot be determined. Therefore, the closest applicable rule states: 'If the error is caught after the cards drawn are added to a private set and it is within the round cycle, the next opponent in turn order of the erroring player looks at that player's hand and chooses the appropriate number of cards to shuffle into the main deck appropriately.' In this case, the opponent looks at the erroring player's hand and removes 1 card of their choosing to shuffle back into the main deck. Note: There is some debate about whether the 'limited action' caveat in certain rule should encompass setup draws, but the practical remedy is to apply drawing extra cards since rewinding is not possible when the specific extra card cannot be determined.

Ruling: Players first select and reveal battlefields, then determine turn order (via dice roll/coinflip), then draw cards and mulligan. Sequence: - Select battlefields - Roll dice/coinflip to determine who chooses turn order - Reveal battlefields - Choose turn order (who goes first/second) - Draw cards and mulligan Nuances: - For tournaments requiring decklist submission, you cannot change your deck/sideboard after submission - Sideboarding is only allowed between games in a best-of-three match (between game 1 and 2, and between game 2 and 3) - Game 1 must always use the deck as submitted on the decklist

Ruling: The game setup sequence has a specific order where champions and legends are revealed first, then battlefields are chosen and revealed, then turn order is determined, and finally players draw and mulligan. Sequence: - Reveal Champion and Legend - Choose and Reveal Battlefields (method depends on type of play) - Determine Turn Order and First Player - Draw and mulligan Nuances: - Items should be revealed simultaneously, but the choice must be made before either player reveals - You cannot change your chosen champion based on opponent's legends in Game 1 - Turn order is always chosen after battlefields are revealed (this applies to all games including games 2 and 3) - Sideboard rules and whether chosen champion/legend can be swapped between games are to be determined in upcoming tournament rules

Ruling: Battlefields are chosen secretly and revealed simultaneously before determining turn order. Turn order is then determined using any fair random method agreed upon by all players. Sequence: - Choose legends - Choose champions - Choose battlefields secretly and reveal them simultaneously - Determine turn order using any fair random method - Draw cards - Mulligan (starting with the player who has first turn) Nuances: - The Proving Grounds rulebook had a different method (flipping battlefields to determine first player) but this was designed for onboarding and is not the official rule - Using battlefield flips as the random method is valid as long as battlefields were already revealed before making that determination - For games 2 and 3, battlefields are revealed before the loser of the previous game decides whether to go first or second

Ruling: Players reveal legends and champions first, then select battlefields (simultaneously in best of 3, randomly in best of 1), determine turn order, draw 4 cards, mulligan up to 2 cards in turn order, then the first player begins their turn. Sequence: - Each player reveals legend and chosen champion - Each player selects a battlefield (in best of 3: set aside chosen battlefield and reveal simultaneously once both decided; in best of 1: select randomly) - Determine turn order (typically roll dice, winner chooses to go first or second) - Draw 4 cards - In turn order, mulligan up to 2 cards (recycle them and draw as many as recycled) - First player takes their first turn Nuances: - In best of 3 matches, after the first game you cannot choose a battlefield used in a previous game of that match - Each subsequent game in a best of 3 requires selecting one of your remaining unused battlefields

Ruling: Games start by revealing Champions and Legends, then selecting and revealing Battlefields (method depends on game type), determining turn order and first player, then drawing 4 cards and taking mulligans in turn order. Sequence: - Separate and reveal your Legend and Champion - Choose and reveal Battlefields (method depends on type of play) - Determine turn order and first player - Draw 4 cards and mulligan in turn order Nuances: - Legend, Champion, and Battlefield zones are open information (not facedown zones) - For best-of-one matches, battlefields are randomly selected - For best-of-three matches, players choose one battlefield each game but cannot use the same battlefield twice

Ruling: When playing Stupify on your own unit at Dreaming Tree, the Dreaming Tree trigger is added to the chain during the spell's resolution process, resulting in a final chain of Stupify < Dreaming Tree trigger. Sequence: - Spell is pending item - Choices for spell are made, total cost determined, costs paid, legality checked - Dreaming Tree triggers during this process and is added as a pending item on the chain - Spell is finalized - Cleanup triggered by item becoming a legal item on the chain - Dreaming Tree trigger is finalized - Cleanup triggered by item becoming a legal item on the chain - Player maintains priority and now has the opportunity to play another reaction or to pass priority

Ruling: The setup order for every game is: Legend > CC > Battlefields (revealed based on mode of play) > Turn order > Draw/Mulligan. Battlefields are always revealed before turn order is determined. Sequence: - Reveal legends - Choose CC (Command Center) - Pick and reveal battlefields simultaneously (in 1v1 Bo3) - Determine turn order (losing player from previous game decides in games 2 and 3) - Draw cards and resolve mulligans Nuances: - In games 2 and 3 of a Bo3, players know who lost and who will pick turn order, but not what they'll pick until after battlefields are revealed - Players can and do plan around this information - This sequence applies to every game, every time

Ruling: For both Best of 1 and Best of 3, players reveal legends and champion units, then select/determine battlefield, then decide who goes first, then draw 4 cards and mulligan. The first player does draw a card on their first turn in 1v1 (but not in 3+ player games). Sequence: - Each player reveals legends and champion units - Battlefield is determined (randomly in Best of 1, chosen by players in Best of 3) - Decide who goes first - Draw 4 cards and proceed to mulligan - First player draws a card on their first turn Nuances: - In Best of 1, locations are chosen randomly from the location deck - In Best of 3, players pick a location after seeing all legends and champion combinations, and each location can only be used once across the three games - The battlefield is revealed before draw and mulligan - The method of random battlefield selection can be anything as long as it's random - First player only draws in 1v1; in 3-player and 4-player games they do not draw

Ruling: The start of game procedure follows a specific sequence where Battlefields are chosen hidden before being revealed simultaneously, and player order is determined by a random process that decides who gets to choose whether to go first or second. Sequence: - Reveal Legend - Reveal Chosen Champion - Choose hidden Battlefields (both players choose without knowing opponent's choice) - Reveal chosen Battlefields (simultaneously) - Shuffle decks - Determine player order (mutually agreed upon random method decides who chooses whether to go first or second) - Draw 4, mulligan (first player decides first) - Start play Nuances: - The Battlefield process is split into two steps (choose hidden, then reveal) to ensure both players choose without knowing what the other has chosen - The random process determines who gets to choose turn order, not who goes first directly

Ruling: The correct game setup sequence is: (1) Reveal Legend, (2) Reveal Champion, (3) Choose and Reveal Battlefields, (4) Determine turn order (randomly determined player for game 1, or loser of previous game can decide if they go 1st or 2nd), (5) Draw 4 and resolve mulligans. Sequence: - Reveal Legend - Reveal Champion - Choose and Reveal Battlefields - Determine turn order (randomly for game 1, loser chooses in subsequent games) - Draw 4 cards and resolve mulligans in turn order Nuances: - There is no problem with both players using identical battlefields - The Chosen Champion must be registered as part of your deck list before the tournament and cannot be selected on the fly during game 1 - You can change your Chosen Champion during sideboarding between games to one from your sideboard or main deck that matches your Legend - You cannot side out your Legend - Turn order is determined after battlefields are revealed, not before

Ruling: Obelisk of Power is a triggered ability. The card text reads "at the beginning of each players first beginning step..." and there has been no errata to the English text. It triggers only during each player's first beginning phase of the game, not every turn. Sequence: - During your Beginning Phase (B), declare "Obelisk of Power trigger to channel one additional rune" - Channel the rune(s) from Obelisk - Then channel your normal runes for turn (C) - Then take your draw Nuances: - The ability triggers while the battlefield is uncontrolled (does not need to be controlled to trigger) - The turn player takes responsibility for adding uncontrolled battlefield abilities to the chain - If you miss the trigger, your opponent gets to decide whether you get it retroactively or not according to tournament rules - There are no mandatory triggers that happen automatically if forgotten

Ruling: Back to Back cannot be played from hand if you don't have 2 friendly units because you must make valid choices for all targets when playing a spell. Beast Below can be played as a unit, but its triggered ability will not go on the chain if you cannot make valid choices for all targets (both a friendly unit and an enemy unit). Sequence: - Back to Back: Cannot be played from hand at all if valid targets don't exist - Beast Below: Can be played as a unit, the triggered ability attempts to go on the chain, but if valid targets don't exist for all parts, the ability never enters the chain and is removed as a pending item Nuances: - "Do as much as you can" (DAMAYC) only applies during resolution of spells/abilities, not during the targeting/finalization phase - If targets become illegal between finalization and resolution, then DAMAYC applies - Targeting requires making choices for all specified targets unless the card uses "up to" templating - "May" is a decision made on resolution, while "up to" affects whether targets are required during finalization

Ruling: Focus is the ability to start a chain with an Action/Reaction during a showdown, while Priority is the ability to act with appropriately timed actions (any speed during your turn outside showdowns/chains, or Action/Reactions during showdowns). Gaining focus also gives you priority first. Sequence: - Focus passes automatically to the next turn player after a chain fully resolves (except the initial chain), or if a player passes priority without starting a chain - Priority passes manually to the next turn player once you're done chaining abilities/spells, or if you decide not to react to something on the chain - During a chain, you gain priority first if you control the next item on the chain - You hold priority until you pass it, allowing you to add multiple cards to the chain consecutively Nuances: - During a showdown with an active chain, one player can have focus while the other has priority - Focus only matters during showdowns - it determines who can play Action spells to start a new chain when the chain is empty - Combat showdowns don't end until both players pass with focus without starting a chain - Only one Action can be played per chain, but there's no limit to the number of chains in a combat showdown