Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: The player who first moved their unit to the battlefield (applying contested status first) is the attacker, and the player who used Zenith Blade to move their unit there afterward is the defender. Sequence: - Player 1 moves their unit to an empty battlefield, opening a noncombat showdown - Player 2 plays Zenith Blade, moving their unit to that battlefield and stunning the enemy unit - The noncombat showdown ends (Player 1 cannot conquer because the battlefield remains contested) - Combat showdown begins with Player 1 as attacker and Player 2 as defender - If Player 1 wins combat, they conquer and score on attack - If Player 2 wins combat (or Player 1 doesn't clear all defenders), Player 2 conquers and scores on defense Nuances: - Even if the defender doesn't outright win the combat, they will still conquer and score since the attacking unit will be sent home for not clearing the defenders from the battlefield - The unit moved by Zenith Blade would be the defender, so effects that trigger on being the defender would apply

Ruling: No, the unit does not retain the damage. Zhonya's Hourglass was errata'd to explicitly heal the unit when it is recalled and exhausted. Sequence: - Icathian Rain triggers resolve, marking damage on the unit - When lethal damage would be dealt, Zhonya's Hourglass triggers - Zhonya's Hourglass is destroyed instead of the unit dying - The unit is recalled to the base and exhausted - The unit is healed (damage is removed)

Ruling: When Zhonya's Hourglass is played from hidden, it is instantly recalled to base before other effects resolve, regardless of battlefield control. Sequence: - Zhonya's Hourglass is played from hidden in response to a bounce spell - Zhonya's is immediately recalled to base (before the bounce spell resolves) - The bounce spell then resolves Nuances: - Gears can only exist in your base - Zhonya's being recalled to base allows it to save units at any battlefield, not just the one where it was hidden

Ruling: Yes, Zhonya's Hourglass can affect units dying on other battlefields when played from hidden. When gear is played from hidden, it is immediately recalled to base as a corrective action since gear cannot exist on a battlefield. When multiple friendly units die simultaneously (whether from combat damage or spells like Singularity), the owner of Zhonya's Hourglass chooses which unit to save. Sequence: - Zhonya's Hourglass is played from hidden - Gear is immediately recalled to base (gear cannot exist on a battlefield) - When friendly units die, Zhonya's ability triggers regardless of which battlefield they're on - If multiple units die simultaneously, the Hourglass owner chooses which one to recall Nuances: - Zhonya's ability doesn't target units - Combat damage is dealt to all units simultaneously, not sequentially - If a unit dies from a spell during a showdown and another dies from combat damage, they die at different times (spell first), so the first death triggers Zhonya's

Ruling: When Zhonya's Hourglass is played from hidden, it protects the next unit that would die anywhere, not just at the battlefield where it was hidden. Sequence: - Zhonya's Hourglass is played from hidden to the battlefield - A cleanup happens immediately after it resolves - During cleanup, the gear is recalled to base (since gear cannot exist at battlefields) - Zhonya's then functions normally from base Nuances: - Zhonya's does not target, so it is not restricted to a specific battlefield - If a hidden gear had targeting ("When You Play Me" effects), it would have to target its battlefield - Gear cannot exist at battlefields and is recalled during cleanup if it ends up there - A cleanup happens after anything resolves/enters/moves

Ruling: No, Zhonya's Hourglass is not restricted to targeting units at the battlefield where it was hidden because it does not target. The hidden targeting restriction only applies to cards that actually target. Nuances: - The rule about hidden spells having an additional "here" targeting requirement only applies to cards that target - Zhonya's Hourglass is gear that does not target, so this restriction does not apply to it - The future rules will clarify that the restriction only applies to targeting

Ruling: When a unit is recalled by Zhonya's Hourglass, it returns to base in the same exhausted state it was in when recalled. The unit is not dying and re-entering play; it is simply being moved back to base. Sequence: - Unit moves/attacks and becomes exhausted - Zhonya's Hourglass is used on that unit - Unit returns to base still exhausted Nuances: - Zhonya's text explicitly states the unit is recalled exhausted - The unit is not dying, going to trash, and being replayed - it's just being recalled

Ruling: When Zhonya's Hourglass saves a unit from death, the unit keeps its buffs because the unit never actually dies. Nuances: - The unit is healed, exhausted, and recalled to base, but these actions do not remove buffs - The card does not require banishing the unit or any other action that would cause buff removal

Ruling: Both Zhonya's and Sett's abilities have received errata to now also heal the units they save when recalling them to base exhausted. Nuances: - The original templating did not work as intended without this errata

Ruling: Yes, the equipment stays attached. The unit never leaves the field, so it keeps all temporary effects including attached equipment. Nuances: - This applies to all temporary effects, not just equipment - Both Zhonya and Sett use recall as their replacement effect - Negative effects like -M also remain on the unit when recalled by Zhonya

Ruling: When Zhonya's triggers, the unit is recalled and healed (damage is cleared). However, other effects like might reductions from Stupidify remain on the unit. Nuances: - Only damage is cleared when the unit is saved - All other effects stay the same (debuffs, stat modifications, etc.) - Passive effects that only apply on battlefield or similar location-specific effects would not apply while recalled - Cards like Zhonya's received errata to specifically heal the unit they save

Ruling: When Zhonyas Hourglass is played from the facedown zone at a battlefield, it goes to your base (since gear cannot be at battlefields) and then acts as a replacement effect for the next unit that dies regardless of location. Sequence: - Play Zhonyas Hourglass hidden at a battlefield - When you flip it as a reaction, it goes to your base - It then saves the next unit that would die at any location Nuances: - Playing it hidden at a battlefield allows you to be selective about which unit to save, versus playing it at base where it automatically reacts to the next unit killed - The "only affect units at the battlefield where it is hidden" rule generally applies to hidden cards, but not to Hourglass because it's never actually at that battlefield - You can keep it hidden and selectively choose what unit to save via a reaction to a spell, as long as you don't lose control over the battlefield beforehand - Tideturner is another example that circumvents the "here" rules for hidden cards

Ruling: The recruit will have 1 Might during combat. Trifarian War Camp's passive +1 applies immediately when the unit moves to the battlefield (making it 2 Might), then Ahri's triggered ability resolves when the unit receives the Attacker designation, reducing it to 1 Might. Sequence: - Recruit moves to battlefield and immediately gains +1 from Trifarian War Camp (now 2 Might) - Ahri's trigger activates when the recruit receives Attacker designation during showdown - Ahri's -1 debuff is calculated and snapshotted at -1 (since 2 Might can be reduced to 1 Might minimum) - Recruit is now at 1 Might for combat Nuances: - The "minimum of 1" restriction only applies when the debuff is initially calculated and snapshotted, not continuously - If the recruit later leaves the battlefield (losing Trifarian's +1), it would be at 0 Might because the snapshotted -1 debuff remains for the turn - This snapshotting behavior prevents loops and paradoxes that would occur with always-updating limitations

Ruling: Yes, a 1 Might unit can be buffed above 1 after Ahri's reduction resolves. Ahri's ability reduces the unit to a minimum of 1, and after it resolves, any subsequent Might increases apply normally. Sequence: - Units are moved to the battlefield and designated as attackers/defenders - When attack/defend triggers go on the chain (opponent's triggers first, then defender's triggers like Ahri) - Ahri's reduction resolves, reducing the unit from 1 Might to 1 Might (minimum of 1) - The attacker gains focus and can play actions - If an action gives +5 Might, the unit becomes 6 Might (1 - 0 + 5 = 6) Nuances: - Ahri's reduction on a 1 Might unit effectively applies -0 because of the "minimum of 1" clause - Might-changing effects like Ahri take a snapshot and apply once; they are not continuous effects - If it were a 2 Might unit, Ahri would reduce it to 1, then an action could still increase it from there

Ruling: The unit becomes 1 Might. Ahri snapshots the unit's Might when her ability sees it (at 2 Might), then applies -1 Might continuously for the rest of the turn. Sequence: - Unit starts at 1 Might base - War Camp buffs it to 2 Might while at the battlefield - Unit attacks Ahri - Ahri's ability sees the unit at 2 Might and snapshots -1 Might - Unit is now 1 Might for the rest of the turn while at the battlefield Nuances: - If the unit leaves the battlefield, it loses War Camp's +1 Might buff and would go to 0 Might (due to still having Ahri's -1 Might applied) - A unit at 0 Might doesn't die unless it has non-zero damage marked on it greater than or equal to its Might

Ruling: The unit ends up at 1 power. Thousand Tailed Watcher snapshots the current power (including War Camp's +1, so 3 total) and applies -3 to set it to 1. This becomes the new fixed power value, and War Camp's lingering effect no longer applies to that snapshotted value. Sequence: - Unit starts at 2 base power - War Camp's lingering effect makes it 3 power - Thousand Tailed Watcher snapshots the 3 power and applies -3 - Unit is now set to 1 power for the turn - War Camp's effect no longer modifies this snapshotted value Nuances: - If the unit moves away from War Camp after Watcher's effect, it becomes 0 power (the snapshotted 1 minus War Camp's +1) - If the unit moves back to War Camp, it returns to 1 power - Effects that apply after Watcher (like a card giving +1 power) would still modify the snapshotted value normally - One-time power modification effects like Watcher snapshot the current power and set it to a fixed value, which then no longer benefits from previous lingering effects

Ruling: The Tideturner resolves, swapping Yasuo into the battlefield. The current combat finishes resolving but remains contested (no control established). Once the chain empties, a new combat opens with a showdown, where the opponent remains the attacker and you remain the defender. Sequence: - Combat damage occurs, Lonely Poro dies - Deathknell trigger goes on chain (CL1) - You play hidden Tideturner targeting Yasuo in base (CL2), which stages combat - Tideturner resolves: Yasuo moves to battlefield, Tideturner returns to base - Lonely Poro deathknell resolves and draws a card (condition met since Poro was removed before Tideturner played) - Control establishment step is skipped because combat is staged - Current combat closes when chain is empty - New combat opens with combat showdown - Opponent's on-attack triggers re-trigger as they're designated attacker again in the new combat Nuances: - The "died alone" condition checks when the Poro was removed (before Tideturner was played), so the draw happens - Hidden Tideturner can be played during deathknell resolution because the battlefield is still contested - Contested status persists through to the new combat since the control establishment step was skipped - The new combat proceeds with full showdown, focus windows, and priority as normal

Ruling: Combat does not start until after the movement trigger resolves. The Battlefield is marked as contested, but combat (showdown) is staged until the chain is empty. Sequence: - Merchant moves to Battlefield with enemy unit - Movement trigger goes on the chain - Battlefield is marked as contested - Trigger resolves - Chain empties - Combat/showdown begins Nuances: - If all attackers and/or all defenders are removed before the trigger resolves, there would be no combat since combat hasn't started yet

Ruling: A non-combat showdown occurs first where Rune Prison confuses Kai'Sa. Since no one dies and no clear control is established, a second combat showdown immediately follows with the Poro as the attacking player. If Poro doesn't have enough might to kill Kai'Sa, then Kai'Sa takes control (scoring a point and conquering if they haven't scored that battlefield that turn), and the Poro recalls. Sequence: - Poro moves to BF1, starting a non-combat showdown and applying contested status - Kai'Sa uses Ride the Wind to move to BF1 during the showdown - Rune Prison is played on Kai'Sa - First showdown resolves: nobody conquers, no damage, no points - Second combat showdown immediately occurs with Poro as attacker - If Poro lacks might to kill Kai'Sa: Kai'Sa takes control, scores point, conquers; Poro recalls Nuances: - The contested status is applied when the battlefield first becomes contested and remains until control is clearly established - In back-to-back showdowns, the attacker role carries over from the first showdown (the player who first applied contested status) - If a showdown ends without clear control, contested status stays in place

Ruling: The Sett Brawler retains its 8 might when saved by The Boss's effect because the unit never leaves the board zone and remains the same game object. Nuances: - The Boss uses a replacement effect, not banish, so the unit never actually leaves the board - Since the game object stays the same and never changes zones, all effects and buffs remain active - This ruling holds true even after the errata to The Boss (which changed "when" to "if" to make it not a trigger)

Ruling: The new Sprite is played, the old Sprite dies, and the hold point is scored. The new Sprite then lasts until the beginning of the next turn. Sequence: - New Sprite enters the battlefield - Old Sprite dies (due to uniqueness rule) - Hold point is scored - New Sprite remains until beginning of next turn

Ruling: Yes, Viktor can create a token when a Sprite dies because Sprite tokens are not recruits. Nuances: - Sprites count as non-recruit units due to their 'fae' unit type

Ruling: 'You' in a trigger condition refers to the controller of the battlefield and requires control of the battlefield. Only the controller can use such abilities during a contest. Nuances: - The Dreaming Tree specifically has an errata that allows your opponent to draw, making it an exception to this rule

Ruling: The boss gets readied from its ability, but Sett, Brawler does not get a new buff. Sequence: - Boss ability recalls Sett, Brawler from the battlefield - The battlefield is conquered as a result - Boss readies due to its ability - Sett, Brawler does not receive a new buff because he was not on the battlefield when the conquering happened Nuances: - A character must be on the battlefield at the moment of conquering to trigger conquest-related effects

Ruling: You can order the triggers as you please because they have the same triggering event. You can spend Sett's buff with Hirana and then buff him with his own trigger, or if he's not buffed you can buff him with his own trigger and then spend it with Hirana. Sequence: - Both triggers occur from the same event (conquering Hirana) - You choose the order to resolve them - Option 1: Spend existing buff with Hirana, then gain buff from Sett's passive - Option 2: Gain buff from Sett's passive, then spend it with Hirana Nuances: - When Sett Legend prevents a unit from dying (by recalling it), the unit does not actually die - the death is replaced - Effects that specifically check "if this kills" (like Disintegrate) will not trigger because the unit didn't actually die - Effects that don't require the unit to die (like Hidden Blade's draw) will still work because they only need to reference information about the unit's controller, and the unit is still on the board - The difference is whether the effect uses "if" to check if the death actually occurred versus just performing an action

Ruling: Yes, when you spend the buff, the unit loses 1 might even though its current might total includes might from other sources like the defender designation. Sequence: - Watcher sees the Poro at 3 might and its might reduction snapshots to -2 (bringing Poro to 1 might) - Poro gains the defender designation in combat and its might goes up to 2 might (2 base + 1 buff + 1 shield - 2 watcher) - When you spend the buff, it goes to 1 might Nuances: - The might reduction from effects like Watcher snapshots based on the unit's might when the reduction is applied - When a buff is spent, the unit loses the might from that buff regardless of what other might modifiers are currently active

Ruling: Buffs stay on a unit until you spend them or the unit leaves the board. Only damage is cleared during healing, not buffs. Nuances: - When a unit takes damage, its might is not reduced - Spells that increase a unit's might for the turn are not buffs; buffs are a specific game object

Ruling: The first showdown completely resolves before the second showdown begins. The second showdown waits in a pending state for an open neutral state to start. Sequence: - First showdown resolves completely, including all after effects (die triggers, draws, etc.) - Second showdown begins immediately after the first showdown is fully resolved

Ruling: No, ignoring energy cost only applies to base costs. Any additional costs, including the extra cost from Accelerate, must be paid as normal.

Ruling: When a card effect says "discard X, then draw Y", the discard is not mandatory. You discard as many cards as you can (including zero if your hand is empty) and then draw Y cards. Nuances: - If the text instead says "discard X to draw Y", then the discard IS mandatory and you must discard the full amount to get the draw effect - The judge's ruling that nothing happens when you can't discard the full amount was incorrect

Ruling: When a card effect explicitly says to "move" a unit, a readied unit stays readied unless the card specifies otherwise. Nuances: - This is different from a standard move action, which exhausts the unit - The unit only exhausts if the card effect specifically states it does

Ruling: Yes, when a card effect instructs you to move a unit without mentioning exhausting, the unit moves without exhausting. Nuances: - "Standard Move" is an inherent ability of units that requires exhausting the unit to move it to/from base - Card effects that simply say "move" are different from the Standard Move ability - Multiple standard moves can be used at the same time (unlike most exhaust abilities)

Ruling: Cards with Might requirements check the current Might value, not the printed value. You can decrease an opponent's card's Might (e.g., with Smoke Screen) and then target it with cards that have Might restrictions (e.g., Gust targeting 3 Might or lower). Sequence: - Apply Might decrease effect to opponent's card - Check if card now meets Might requirement for targeting - If requirement is met, card can be targeted

Ruling: When a card is played from hidden, only effects that target are restricted to that battlefield. Non-targeting effects (like Stand United's global buff enhancement or Zhonya's replacement effect) apply globally across all battlefields. Sequence: - When played from hidden, the card gains the "here" keyword - Any targeting effects (like Stand United's initial buff or Hidden Blade's kill effect) can only target units/locations at that specific battlefield - Non-targeting effects (like Stand United's "buffs grant +1M" or Zhonya's death replacement) work globally regardless of battlefield Nuances: - The restrictions apply to: unit placement location, spell targets, and "when you play me" ability targets - Replacement effects specifically don't target, so they work across all battlefields even when played from hidden - Hidden Blade targets because it requires choosing a specific unit, so it can only kill units at the battlefield where it was hidden

Ruling: New combats are staged until the current combat ends. Once the current combat concludes, the staged combat is then initiated. Sequence: - Current combat must finish first - Staged combat is then initiated Nuances: - If you remove all units at the other battlefield during the current combat, the staged combat will disappear

Ruling: Yes, when an item resolves from the chain, the controller of the next item on the chain gains priority. If you draw a reaction card during resolution, you can play it before the next item resolves. Sequence: - Both players pass consecutively, causing the last item on the chain to resolve - No additional passes are needed during resolution - Once an item resolves, the controller of the next item on the chain gains priority - The player with priority can play reactions (including newly drawn cards) - Players continue passing priority until both pass consecutively, then the next item resolves Nuances: - You can play reaction spells both before and after triggered abilities resolve on the chain - The player who controls the most recent item on the chain has priority first

Ruling: You can react to the spell itself (like Falling Star), but you cannot react to the ability that adds resources to pay for it (like tapping Seal of Rage). The "can't be reacted to" restriction only applies to the resource-adding ability itself, which goes on the chain and instantly resolves without allowing reactions. Sequence: - Opponent taps Seal of Rage to pay for Falling Star (this ability instantly resolves, no reactions allowed) - Falling Star goes on the chain - You can now react to Falling Star with cards like En Garde or Discipline Nuances: - The restriction only applies to abilities that add resources or casting permanents - these go on the chain and are instantly resolved - This does not prevent reactions to whatever those resources are being used to pay for

Ruling: Paying 1 of a specific rune type (like fury) means you need to pay both 1 energy AND 1 power of that type. This requires exhausting a rune of that type and recycling a rune of that type (or exhausting a seal). Sequence: - Exhaust a rune of the specified type (for the power requirement) - Recycle a rune of the specified type OR exhaust a seal (for the energy requirement)

Ruling: When 2 or more cards are recycled to the Main Deck simultaneously, they are placed on the bottom of that deck in a random order. Nuances: - In real life play, this can be done by shuffling the recycled cards, or by placing them face down and having your opponent choose which goes on top.

Ruling: When you play a card ignoring its costs, both its base Energy cost and base Power cost are set to zero, so you pay nothing. Nuances: - The card will specify "ignoring its energy cost" if you still have to pay power, or vice versa - You could still have costs due to optional costs or deflect

Ruling: When a trigger condition is met during the process of playing a spell (whether from targeting, paying costs, or other activation procedures), the triggered ability is added on top of the chain immediately and resolves before the spell that triggered it. Sequence: - The card/ability is put on the chain first (this is the very first step) - Then you pay costs, choose targets, etc. - If a trigger condition is met during this process, the triggered ability is added on top of the chain immediately - The triggered ability resolves first - Then the original spell/ability resolves Nuances: - Targeting is not part of a cost, but it is part of putting a spell on the chain - There can never be more than one chain; if there's already a chain, effects are always added to it

Ruling: When you discard a card with a discard cost, you pay the alternative discard cost (one red power), not the full printed cost. Nuances: - The discard cost requires power, not energy - You can generate the required power by recycling a red rune or through any alternative method that generates red power - You should not think of costs specifically as tapping/recycling runes - that's just one way to generate the required resources (energy/power) - You can tap or recycle runes at any point during your turn to generate energy/power and use those resources later in the turn

Ruling: Yes, when card text overrules a comprehensive rule via the Golden Rule, it overrules all subsections of that rule as well. Green Lee Sin can receive additional buffs from any source even while already buffed. Nuances: - The reminder text on buffing appears incompatible with Lee Sin's text as written, as it performs a check for existing buffs that shouldn't apply when Lee Sin's ability is in effect - Lee Sin's ability states he can have multiple buffs but doesn't explicitly address the process of giving him more buffs while buffed - the rules-as-intended interpretation is that he can receive additional buffs from any source

Ruling: After each effect resolves from the chain, all players get priority and an opportunity to add to the chain. Players can respond between each spell resolution. Sequence: - Spell A resolves - Players receive priority and can respond before Spell B resolves - This continues for each effect in the chain Nuances: - If the chain empties completely, focus passes to the next player - You need to wait until you get focus back to play another action spell and create a new chain

Ruling: After a chain resolves during a showdown, players get another opportunity to play actions. The showdown only ends when both players consecutively choose not to start a new chain. Sequence: - Showdown begins - When I attack/defend triggers are added to the chain (if any) and resolve - Attacker gets focus and can start a chain (play actions) - Chain resolves completely - Focus passes to defender, who can start a new chain - Focus passes back to attacker if defender doesn't start a chain - This continues until both players consecutively choose not to start a chain - Only then does the showdown end Nuances: - Focus passing automatically after a chain resolves is not the same as a player passing focus - Both players must consecutively NOT start a chain for the showdown to end

Ruling: Actions can only start a chain, never be cast while a chain is open. After a chain fully resolves (all items from last to first), focus automatically passes to the next player, who can then start a new chain with an Action. Sequence: - Chain resolves in reverse order (last in, first out) - All items must fully resolve - Focus automatically passes when the chain closes - Next player gains both Focus and Priority - That player can then start a new chain (including with an Action) Nuances: - A player cannot cast multiple Actions before passing focus; focus passes automatically when the chain they start closes - Triggered abilities that occur during resolution may become the new "last item on the chain" and affect when focus passes

Ruling: Priority must pass to the next player when a chain resolves. You cannot resolve your action and then play another action before passing priority. Nuances: - This is technically handled by the Focus mechanic, not just priority passing during the active chain.

Ruling: When a chain that started with an action spell ends, priority automatically passes to the next player. The active player cannot hold priority to play additional action spells after the chain resolves. Nuances: - You can keep adding spells to the chain after items resolve, but priority goes to the player whose item is next on the chain, not in turn order - Focus automatically passes when the chain resolves

Ruling: When a character is recalled via Possession, it maintains its current state (exhausted or ready). Recall does not trigger move-related effects. Sequence: - Character is recalled to base in whatever state it was in - If the character is ready and it's your turn (not during a showdown), you can move it to a battlefield Nuances: - Recall is described as "kind of" a move but does not trigger anything that would normally trigger on moves - You can only move the recalled character if it's your turn and you're not in a showdown

Ruling: When multiple triggers you control happen simultaneously (such as a character's on-conquer ability and a battlefield's on-conquer ability), you as the controller choose the order in which they are placed on the chain. Sequence: - Both triggers go onto the same chain - You order them however you want - Opponents can then add reactions to that chain before the triggers resolve Nuances: - This applies to any simultaneous triggers controlled by the same player - The triggers create a chain that opponents can respond to