Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

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

Ruling: Attacker triggers go on the chain first, then players who are neither attacker nor defender, then defender triggers. Since the chain resolves first-in-last-out, defender triggers resolve first. Sequence: - Attacker adds their triggers to the chain - Players who are neither attacker nor defender add their triggers - Defender adds their triggers to the chain - Chain resolves in reverse order (defender triggers resolve first, attacker triggers resolve last)

This involves two scenarios: **Scenario 1 (Defy countering Fight or Flight):** No, the attacker cannot play another action spell immediately after Defy resolves but before Fight or Flight resolves. While a spell is resolving, the turn is in a Closed State because Fight or Flight is still a Finalized Chain Item waiting to resolve. Action spells can only be played during Showdown Open states, but the state remains Showdown Closed while Fight or Flight is on the chain. Only Reaction spells can be played in a Closed State. The initial chain (Defy → Fight or Flight) must fully resolve first. However, after the entire chain resolves and the chain is empty, the Showdown returns to an Open state. Focus passes cyclically, and when it returns to the Attacker, they can start a new chain with either an Action spell or Reaction spell before combat damage resolves. This continues until all players pass in sequence, at which point the Showdown closes and Combat Damage resolves. **Scenario 2 (Ride the Wind after Fight or Flight resolves):** Yes, this is legal. After Fight or Flight resolves and pushes a unit to the defender's base, the chain is empty and the Showdown is Open. The defender can then play Ride the Wind (an Action spell) to move that unit from their base back onto the battlefield and ready it. Ride the Wind has no location-based targeting restrictions—it's a straightforward Move effect. The unit at the base is a legal target, and moving it to a battlefield the defender controls is a valid move.

Ruling: Even when the Combat Damage Step is skipped, the Combat Resolution Step still occurs and performs a combat cleanup, which clears all marked damage from all units. This happens as long as a combat has been initiated, regardless of whether any units remain at the battlefield. Sequence: - Combat is initiated - Showdown Step occurs - If no opposing units remain, skip Combat Damage Step - Combat Resolution Step still occurs - Combat cleanup is performed (healing all units) - Contested status is removed and attacker/defender designations are cleared Nuances: - Scenario A (unit moves away during showdown): The 3 marked damage is cleared during the Combat Resolution Step before the second showdown begins - Scenario B (attacking empty battlefield with damage dealt during showdown): The damage remains until either the Combat Resolution Step of that combat or end of turn, whichever comes first - The Combat Resolution Step cannot be skipped once combat has been initiated, even if the battlefield becomes empty

Ruling: The attacker (Darius) keeps the Cleave bonus and survives the Riptide Shark's 6 damage. Combat/showdown continues until both players pass focus in order, not when units are removed. Sequence: - Portal Rescue removes Riptide Shark from battlefront and replays it at base - Riptide Shark's on-play effect deals 6 damage to Darius - Darius survives because he still has the Cleave bonus (still considered an attacker) - Showdown then resolves and Darius conquers Nuances: - Showdowns never end automatically, even if every unit is gone - Showdowns only end when both players pass focus in order - As long as effects are being resolved, the showdown continues

Ruling: Focus bounces back and forth between attacker and defender after each action resolves. Sequence: - Defender plays an action - Action and any reactions resolve - Focus passes back to attacker Nuances: - When a player plays an action, they can choose to hold priority and play a reaction immediately, but this is uncommon and must be explicitly stated - A player who plays an action or reaction can continue to hold priority and play additional reactions if they wish

Ruling: Yes, the defender scores the battlefield after a draw. When a draw occurs, the attacking units are recalled to base, but the defending player remains in control of the battlefield and conquers it. Sequence: - Attacker moves to battlefield - Defender uses surprise defense to move their unit to the same battlefield - Showdown occurs with defender as defending player - If the result is a draw, attacking units are recalled - Defender remains at the battlefield and gains control, scoring a point Nuances: - The rule for recalling attacking units on a tie does not specify the defender having to be in control beforehand, so the defender remains after the draw - This interaction works with cards that enable surprise defense, such as Ride the Wind or Leona's signature spell Zenith Blade

Ruling: The unit does not lose Might or die. After combat damage kills units, combat cleanup clears damage from units before removing the "defender" designation and associated Shield effects. Sequence: - Combat damage is dealt and units are killed - Damage is cleared from surviving units - "Defender" designation is removed - Shield effects from defending end Nuances: - In the example, Blitzcrank ends as a 7 Might unit (5 base + 2 from Discipline) with no damage marked, not as a 9/1 or 7/1

Ruling: Permanents do not linger on the chain and cannot be reacted to. When a hidden Permanent is played in a chain, it is immediately played and removed from the chain, then priority passes for players to react to other cards in the chain. Sequence: - Player plays a card (e.g., Void Seeker) to initiate a chain - Opponent plays a hidden Permanent (e.g., Zhonya) as a reaction - The Permanent is immediately played and removed from the chain (placed on the battlefield) - Priority passes for players to add reactions to the remaining chain - Players cannot react to the Permanent itself, but can still react to other cards in the chain Nuances: - Permanents never pass priority before being played, only after - You cannot react to a permanent being played - You can still react to other cards in the chain after a permanent has been played

Ruling: Yes, Teemo's ability resolves and deals damage before combat damage is calculated or applied, which can kill the attacking unit before it deals its combat damage. Sequence: - Teemo is revealed from hidden during combat - Teemo's ability triggers because it is entering combat as a defender - The ability resolves, dealing damage to the attacking unit - If the attacking unit is killed by this damage, it dies before combat damage is calculated - Combat damage is then calculated and applied Nuances: - Teemo no longer triggers on play from hidden, but still triggers when defending - The attacker/defender status is checked when units enter combat, not just at the beginning of showdown - Entering combat from reveal counts as entering combat and triggers the ability

Ruling: Yes, the spell will mistarget (whiff). When a card is played from hidden, it adds "here" to the targeting requirement, and this restriction is maintained when checking valid targets on resolution. Sequence: - Hidden Blade is played from hidden at battlefield B, choosing the Poro at battlefield B - In response, Tideturner swaps the Poro to battlefield A - When Hidden Blade resolves, it checks if the target meets its targeting requirements - The Poro is no longer at the battlefield where Hidden Blade was hidden ("here") - Hidden Blade mistargets because the target no longer meets the targeting requirements established by the hidden rules Nuances: - The target was valid when chosen during finalization, but targeting requirements are checked again on resolution - Playing from hidden modifies the spell's targeting requirements to include "here" (the battlefield where it was hidden), and this modification persists through resolution

Ruling: Units inherently enter the battlefield exhausted when played or revealed from hidden. However, specific card text can override this default rule. Nuances: - Sprite Call specifically states the token enters ready, so it comes in ready despite the general rule - Revealing a hidden card counts as playing it, so the exhausted rule applies unless the card text says otherwise

Ruling: Yes, Time Warp counts as one of the turns in the extra turn procedure. Nuances: - This ruling differs from how similar effects are handled in other card games like One Piece

Ruling: When a permanent with a triggered ability is played, it enters the chain and immediately leaves to the board without giving priority to players. The triggered ability then activates and enters the chain. Opponents cannot react to remove the permanent before its triggered ability triggers. Sequence: - Permanent enters the chain - Permanent leaves the chain immediately to the board (no priority given) - Triggered ability activates and enters the chain - Players can now react to the triggered ability Nuances: - If the permanent is removed after its triggered ability enters the chain, the ability still resolves and does as much as possible - Vanilla permanents (without triggered abilities) cannot be reacted to during the play process since they leave the chain instantaneously

Ruling: The player draws a card (instead of gaining the 8th point), then discards a card for Zaun Wasteland's trigger, then draws another card from the discard effect. Sequence: - Draw a card (instead of gaining the point that would end the game) - Discard a card (Zaun Wasteland's on conquer trigger) - Draw a card (from the discard effect) Nuances: - The draw from conquering is not a trigger; it happens instead of the point gain and occurs before Zaun Wasteland's trigger resolves

Ruling: The first showdown at battlefield 1 completes fully before the second showdown at battlefield 2 begins. If the active player conquers both battlefields during this sequence, they win by reaching 8 points. An opponent cannot win on another player's turn by conquering only one battlefield. Sequence: - Showdown at battlefield 1 begins when Player A moves their unit there - Player B plays Ride the Wind, moving their unit to battlefield 2 - The showdown at battlefield 2 is marked as pending - The showdown at battlefield 1 completes first (Player A conquers it since they're the only one there) - The showdown at battlefield 2 then resolves - If Player A conquers both battlefields, they score their 8th point and win Nuances: - To win by conquest on an opponent's turn, you must score both battlefields in the same turn, not just conquer one - Simply controlling a battlefield on an opponent's turn does not score points; you must actively score both battlefields

Ruling: The attacker receives focus first after moving to a battlefield and should play any actions immediately if they intend to use them. Waiting to see if the opponent responds before playing your own action is considered angle shooting. Sequence: - Attacker moves their unit to the battlefield - Attacker receives focus first - Attacker should immediately play any actions/combat tricks they intend to use - If attacker passes focus, defender can then respond - Both players passing focus without actions ends the showdown Nuances: - At Nexus Nights with new players, judges would likely let ambiguous situations resolve and then educate players on proper focus passing - Players should explicitly confirm focus passing by asking "do you pass focus?" to avoid ambiguity - Focus passing should be more explicit than priority passing because it's more impactful (can end the showdown entirely) - Unlike priority in Magic, focus determines who can start a chain in a showdown and passing it without action can end the showdown phase - The attacker always gets first focus in a showdown

Ruling: The player who is attacking/contesting the battlefield gains both focus and priority first at the start of the showdown. Sequence: - The attacking player gains focus and priority when the showdown starts - Focus gives permission to play an action, which starts a chain - When the attacking player passes priority, they retain focus but the opponent can now add a reaction to the chain - After the chain completely resolves, the next relevant player gains both priority and focus - This continues until all relevant players pass Nuances: - Focus and priority are different mechanics - focus gives permission to play an action, while priority determines who can add to the chain - When you pass priority, you retain focus but allow your opponent to respond

Ruling: The units would be 6 might each. Sequence: - Units start at 1 might base - Trifarian War Camp gives +1 (units are at 2 might) - Watcher reduces them to 1 might and snapshots to give -1 until end of turn - Grand Strategem adds +5 might - Final calculation: 1 (current) + 5 (Grand Strategem) = 6 might each Nuances: - Watcher's effect is snapshot when it resolves, meaning it applies a fixed -1 modifier for the rest of the turn based on the unit's might at that moment, rather than continuously reducing might by 3

Ruling: Conquer effects are put on the chain after scoring occurs. The player draws a card from scoring first, then resolves Candlelit Sanctum's trigger. Sequence: - Player conquers Candlelit Sanctum while on 7 points - Scoring occurs and player draws a card - Candlelit Sanctum's conquer effect is put on the chain - Candlelit Sanctum's effect resolves (look at next two cards)

Ruling: Playing an add ability (like Kaisa or seal effects) does not change priority. When the add ability resolves, the next player still gets priority. The chain does not resolve all at once - after each card resolves normally, each player gets priority again. Sequence: - Player A plays an action (e.g., Void Seeker) - Player A uses Kaisa/seal effect (add ability) - Add ability resolves - Priority passes to next player - Player B can respond (e.g., with Discipline) - Discipline resolves (draw occurs) - Priority goes to player who owns next link in chain - Priority passes around again - Original action eventually resolves Nuances: - No matter how many add abilities are used, they don't affect priority passing - Each card resolution creates a new priority round before the next card in the chain resolves

Ruling: The controller of the unit (the player who possessed it) gets the Deathknell effect, while the card goes to the owner's trash. Nuances: - This ruling is based on developer intent (red text) rather than the current rulebook text - The rules will be updated in version 1.2 to reflect this clarification

Ruling: Yes, when a player scoops or loses, all facedown cards must be revealed to all players because the game is ending. Nuances: - If a player refuses to reveal their hidden cards when scooping, they should be suspected of hiding cards illegally and a judge should be called - This rule exists to prevent cheating by hiding cards that aren't allowed to be hidden

Ruling: No, [Add] abilities do not use the chain or affect the priority course. Nuances: - This means a player cannot respond to their own spell by having their opponent float energy first, as the [Add] ability does not give priority back to the active player

Ruling: The Attacker is the player whose unit(s) applied the Contested status to the Battlefield, regardless of who controlled the effect that caused the move. Nuances: - Even if you use Charm to force your opponent's unit to move to your battlefield, your opponent becomes the Attacker because their unit applied Contested - This affects how abilities like Assault and Shield function in the Combat

Ruling: Units that join an ongoing combat gain the attacker/defender designation based on their controller's role in that combat, which is determined by who initially applied the contested status to the battlefield. Sequence: - The attacking/defending player designation is set by whichever player initially applied the contested status to the battlefield - Units gain their attacker/defender designation based on their controller's role - Any unit that subsequently joins the combat (such as via Ride the Wind) gains the designation assigned to their controller for that combat Nuances: - Even if the battlefield is not controlled by either player, the attacker is still the player who applied the contested status to the battlefield

Ruling: A possessed unit goes to its owner's discard pile when it dies. Nuances: - This rule applies to all cards - they can only go to their owner's discard pile - The same principle applies when cards return to deck

Ruling: The chain resolves from last to first, meaning the last effect added to the chain resolves first. Sequence: - Player A plays reaction "Gust" (bounce a 3 might unit) - Player B responds with "Discipline" (give a unit +1) - "Discipline" resolves first (last in, first out) - "Gust" resolves second Nuances: - In this specific case, Discipline could increase a unit's might above 3 to prevent it from being bounced by Gust

Ruling: The unit is recalled in its current state. Since Ride the Wind doesn't exhaust the unit, it returns to base ready. Nuances: - Ride the Wind does not cause exhaustion on the unit using it - Units are recalled in whatever state they are in when recalled

Ruling: When neither unit dies in a showdown, the attacking unit is recalled back to base, so the defender retains control of the battlefield. Nuances: - A stunned unit with higher might will still cause the attacker to retreat if neither dies - Symbol of Solari gear changes this rule by forcing both players' units to retreat after a tie when you're the attacker

Ruling: When a card on the chain resolves, that chain closes. After a chain closes, the active player regains focus and can start a new chain with either an action or a reaction. Sequence: - Player initiates showdown and may play an action or reaction - Opponent responds with Stupefy (reaction) - Stupefy resolves, closing the chain - Focus passes back to the active player - Active player can now start a new chain with Cleave (action) or any other card - Combat damage occurs only when both players pass without starting a chain Nuances: - Resolving the last item on a chain closes that chain entirely - A closed chain allows the next player with focus to start fresh with either card type

Ruling: The attackers return to base normally because recall is not a move, so Vilemaw's Lair's "can't move" restriction does not prevent the recall. Nuances: - Vilemaw's Lair prevents moving but does not prevent recall - Recall is mechanically distinct from moving

Ruling: When a showdown starts, all "when attacking" triggers are placed on the chain in an order chosen by the controller of those units, then all "when defending" triggers are placed on the chain in an order chosen by the defender. After triggers are arranged, the defender has priority to add reactions first (as the player who owns the top item on the chain), then the attacker can add reactions. Once both players pass without playing reactions, the chain resolves from the most recent (last) item. Sequence: - All "when attacking" triggers go on the chain, order chosen by attacker - All "when defending" triggers go on the chain, order chosen by defender - Defender has opportunity to add reactions (as owner of top chain item) - Attacker can add reactions - Once both players pass, chain resolves from last to first Nuances: - The first player able to react to items in the chain is the player that owns the top item in the chain

Ruling: When a showdown begins, the active player gains Focus which allows them to play an Action, but they can also play Reactions. The player with Focus can open a chain with either an Action or a Reaction, and can continue playing Reactions as long as they have resources. The opponent can only play Reactions when they have priority but not Focus. Sequence: - Active player gains Focus at showdown start - Player with Focus can play an Action or Reaction to start a chain - Player with Focus can continue playing Reactions before passing priority - Once priority is passed, opponent can play Reactions - Once both players pass priority consecutively, the chain resolves one link at a time - Players can play Reactions as each link resolves - After the chain fully resolves, Focus automatically passes to the next player - The new Focus player can start a new chain with an Action or Reaction - Once both players pass Focus consecutively (voluntarily), the showdown ends Nuances: - Automatic Focus passing after chain resolution does not count as voluntarily passing Focus - If you did not voluntarily pass Focus, you will get Focus back after your opponent passes or after the next chain resolves - Moving to an empty battlefield starts a non-combat showdown where you gain Focus

Ruling: Yes, you can respond with a reaction (like Discipline) to boost a unit's might and prevent it from dying when damage is assigned to it. Nuances: - Units have only Might, not separate attack and health stats - A unit dies if it is assigned damage equal to or greater than its Might - "Buff" is a specific game object that gives +1 Might and stays until removed by a card effect - "Boost" refers to Might increases from non-Buff sources (like spells or abilities) - Most spell-based Might increases last until end of turn - Some abilities give conditional Might increases (e.g., while a unit is at a battlefield) - A unit can only hold one Buff at a time; attempting to Buff an already Buffed unit does nothing

Ruling: 'When you play' triggers occur when a card finishes resolving. The player who controls the spell at the time of resolution gets the triggers, not the original caster. Sequence: - Player 1 plays Void Seeker (or other spell) - Player 2 plays Mystic Reversal in response - Mystic Reversal resolves, stealing the spell - The stolen spell resolves under Player 2's control - Player 2 gets any 'when you play' triggers (like Legion or Ravenbloom Student buffs) - Player 1 gets no triggers because they never completed the process of playing the spell (having it resolve) Nuances: - If Player 2 has Ravenbloom Student, they get +2 total: one from Mystic Reversal resolving and one from the stolen Void Seeker resolving - The Ravenbloom Student trigger from Mystic Reversal goes on the chain on top of the stolen spell - Triggers that occur on 'choose' (like Dreaming Tree) happen when finalizing the spell and cannot be stolen, but the player who steals the spell can generate their own such triggers if they meet the conditions when changing targets

Ruling: When a spell deals damage to multiple units, all damage is dealt first, then the spell goes to trash, then the cleanup step runs and all units with damage >= might die simultaneously. Their 'When something dies' abilities cannot trigger because units that die at the same time do not see each other's death abilities. Sequence: - Spell deals all its damage - Spell goes to trash - Cleanup step runs - All units with damage >= might die simultaneously Nuances: - Units dying simultaneously do not see each other's 'When something dies' abilities

Ruling: The unit takes damage while still having the buff, then loses the buff after Lee Sin dies, then checks if it should die. The loss of the buff can cause the unit to die even if it survived the initial damage with the buff active. Sequence: - Lee Sin and the buffed unit take damage simultaneously - Lee Sin dies from the damage - The buffed unit loses the +2 might buff from Lee Sin - The buffed unit dies if damage >= might (now without the buff) Nuances: - A unit can survive the initial damage with the buff active but then die when the buff is removed, if the damage amount falls between its unbuffed and buffed might values

Ruling: The spell can no longer deal damage to the unit because it is no longer at the battlefield, but the spell still resolves as much as possible, so you still draw a card. Sequence: - Spell is cast targeting a unit at a battlefield - Opponent responds with Flash, recalling the unit to their base - Spell resolves but cannot deal damage (unit is no longer at a battlefield) - The draw card effect still resolves Nuances: - The spell is not countered entirely; it resolves as much as it can - The damage portion fails because the location requirement is no longer met - Other effects on the spell (like drawing a card) still happen

Ruling: When effects resolve that change a unit's Might, each effect is "snapshotted" when it resolves. The unit's Might is recalculated from its base value by applying all current increases first, then all current decreases. If a decrease would reduce a unit below 1 Might, that decrease is snapshotted to only reduce to 1 Might (the minimum), and subsequent increases are added normally. Sequence: - Start with the unit's printed base Might value - Apply all current increases from resolved effects - Apply all current decreases from resolved effects - If a decrease resolves and would reduce Might below 1, it gets snapshotted to only decrease to 1 Might for the rest of the turn - When the next effect resolves, recalculate from base Might using all currently active increases and decreases Nuances: - In the original example (3 Might unit, Smoke Screen resolves first reducing to 1, then Discipline adds +2): Final result is 3 Might (3 base - 2 snapshotted + 2 = 3) - Snapshotting only applies to non-passive decreases that hit the minimum threshold when they resolve - If a decrease can apply its full value without hitting the minimum, it does not get snapshotted and continues to apply its full decrease - The timing of when effects resolve matters significantly for snapshotting behavior - If decreases ever exceed increases during arithmetic, a unit can be at 0 or negative Might

Ruling: The stunned unit gets recalled back. Recall is not a move, so Vilemaw's Lair (which prevents movement) does not stop the cleanup recall that returns attacking units. Nuances: - This same principle applies to other recall effects like Zhonya's Hourglass - Vilemaw's Lair doesn't prevent Zhonya's Hourglass since hourglass recalls rather than moves

Ruling: Yes, a unit returns to base in whatever state it was in on the field unless the recall effect specifically states it changes state. Nuances: - Some recall effects explicitly change the unit's state (e.g., recalling a unit exhausted)

Ruling: Yes, you can reveal the hidden unit before the temporary token is removed. The temporary trigger can be responded to, allowing you to reveal Teemo first, which then resolves before the Sprite token is discarded. Sequence: - Temporary trigger goes on the chain during beginning phase - You have priority first and can respond by revealing Teemo - Teemo (as permanent) goes on chain and resolves - Teemo's WYPM trigger goes on chain - After all pass, Sprite temporary trigger resolves and token goes to trash - Teemo remains on battlefield and you score for holding Nuances: - If you had removed the token before revealing Teemo, you would lose control and Teemo would be discarded - Teemo will not be readied during activation phase because temporary happens during beginning phase (after awake phase)

Ruling: Both Mushroom Pouch and Temporary are triggered abilities that trigger at the start of your Beginning Phase, so you choose the order in which to put them on the chain. Sequence: - Both abilities trigger simultaneously at the start of Beginning Phase - The controlling player selects the order to place them on the chain - You can choose to have Mushroom Pouch resolve first (drawing a card before the unit dies) or have Temporary resolve first (killing the unit and trashing the hidden card without drawing) Nuances: - Temporary triggers "before scoring" but still allows player choice of ordering with other Beginning Phase triggers - You might choose not to draw first if concerned about burning out

Ruling: When a token unit is bounced to its owner's hand, it briefly touches the hand and then ceases to exist. It cannot be played on the next turn. Sequence: - Token unit is bounced to hand - Token briefly enters hand - Token ceases to exist

Ruling: When a unit affected by Hostile Takeover is retreated, the owner (the player whose deck the unit came from, not the controller or the owner of Hostile Takeover) exhausts the rune, and the unit returns to its owner's hand. Nuances: - Owner and controller are different: the owner is the player whose deck the unit came from, while the controller is the player who currently controls the unit and makes decisions about it. - Control of a unit can change during a game, but ownership does not. - For tokens, the owner is the player who controlled the source that played the tokens.

Ruling: If both players have units left after combat damage, the attacking unit always retreats. Nuances: - This is the default rule behavior - Specific cards (like Symbol of the Solari) can override this rule to make both units retreat