Riftbound Frequently Asked Questions

Ruling: When you play a unit from hidden, the unit goes onto the chain and auto-resolves with no reaction window. After the unit resolves, its "when you play me" trigger goes onto the chain, and then you get priority to react first. Sequence: - Play Teemo from hidden - Teemo (as a unit/permanent) goes onto the chain and auto-resolves - Teemo's "when you play me" trigger goes onto the chain - You get priority to react first Nuances: - Focus only exists in showdowns, not outside of them - You always have priority first to react to triggers you control - Units without "when you play me" triggers (like Paaka Cub) create no reaction window at all when played from hidden

Ruling: No, you cannot play a unit to a battlefield after your ganking unit leaves it empty. When you no longer have any units at a battlefield, you lose control of it, and you can only play units to battlefields you control. Sequence: - Your unit ganks and moves to another battlefield - The original battlefield becomes empty - You lose control of that battlefield - You cannot play units there anymore Nuances: - Standard Move (like ganking) does not use the chain, so you cannot use reactions in response to play a unit - If you move with a spell (like Ride the Wind), you could play a unit with Reaction before the spell resolves, because spells create a chain

Ruling: To hide a card with the Hidden ability, you must recycle a rune (put it back in your deck) to pay the 1 Power cost, not just exhaust (tap) it. Nuances: - Exhausting runes is for gaining Energy (numbers in black circles), not Power - Power is gained by recycling runes - Hidden cards cannot be played (flipped up) on the same turn they are hidden - When flipped from hidden as a reaction, the card goes on the stack like any other reaction - Cards must be hidden at a battlefield you control, not at your base - When played from hidden as a reaction, cards must target the battlefield they are hidden at

Ruling: No, the Leona stun does not occur before the defender's move. "When I attack" effects go on the chain before "when I defend" effects, and are resolved after. Sequence: - "When I attack" effects (like Leona's stun) go on the chain first - "When I defend" effects (like Reavers Row's move) go on the chain second - The chain resolves in reverse order, so the defender's move happens first, then the stun

Ruling: A lane is captured after damage assignment, which occurs only after both players have passed priority consecutively without playing cards. Units must survive through all chains (including any chains the opponent initiates after receiving focus) before the lane is captured. Sequence: - Combat is initiated and chains resolve - Both players must pass priority consecutively - Damage assignment occurs - Lane conquest/capture happens Nuances: - There is no limit to the number of chains that can occur - If both players pass consecutively, showdown ends - If the attacker (who has priority first) passes without playing anything and the opponent also passes, the attacker does not get another chance to play something

Ruling: Defender/attacker status only exists during combat (conquer attempts). You are not considered a defender or attacker when targeted with spells outside of combat. Sequence: - Combat begins when a unit moves to an occupied battlefield (or when an open showdown resolves with units present) - A combat showdown starts at this point - Attacker and defender are assigned during this showdown - The combat damage step occurs as one of the last parts of combat Nuances: - If a player tries to take an open battlefield and the opponent uses something like Ride The Wind to move a unit there, no units are attackers or defenders during the open showdown itself - When the open showdown resolves completely, a combat showdown immediately begins - The player who contested the battlefield first becomes the attacker; the opponent who moved in becomes the defender - Defenders are defined as the unit(s) at the battlefield that did not originally put the battlefield in Contested Status

Ruling: No, spending the buff after conquering will not kill the unit. Damage is healed before the conquer happens. Sequence: - Damage is healed from the unit first - Then the conquer effect occurs

Ruling: All damage (both combat damage and spell/ability damage) is healed at the end of combat and at the end of turn. There is no difference between combat damage and spell damage. Nuances: - You can damage an enemy unit with spells/abilities before combat to set it up to be destroyed during combat

Ruling: First player is determined after battlefields are placed. Battlefields are placed face-up in the battlefield zone (a public information zone) before turn order is chosen. Sequence: - Legend revealed - Chosen Champion revealed (already set during deck registration, modified during sideboarding) - Battlefields chosen and placed face-up - Decks shuffled and presented - Turn order determined (first player chosen) - Opening hands drawn - Mulligans Nuances: - Many players incorrectly hide battlefields and reveal them after choosing turn order, but this is not supported by the rules - Battlefields are public information once placed in the battlefield zone, so there is no rule requiring them to be "revealed" - they are simply placed face-up - During sideboarding (between matches), you do not know your opponent's battlefield before making sideboard decisions

Ruling: Repeat is an optional additional cost paid during the pay costs step of playing a spell. It creates one spell and one chain item, so there is no opportunity for your opponent to react between the initial effect and the repeat effect. Sequence: - When playing the spell, during the pay costs step, choose whether to pay the base cost or add the Repeat cost - If Repeat is paid, the spell goes on the chain as one item that will execute its effect twice - The opponent can only respond once the spell is on the chain, same as with any non-repeated spell Nuances: - Repeat can only be paid once per spell - Playing a spell with Repeat still only counts as playing the spell once

Ruling: Fortified Position activates during the Initial Chain, which happens before the main showdown phase. "When you Defend" is an Initial Chain trigger that resolves before players can use Actions. Sequence: - Opponent moves their unit to attack, triggering a showdown - Initial Chain triggers occur: "When I Attack" triggers first, then "When I Defend" triggers (like Fortified Position) - Initial Chain resolves in reverse order (Fortified Position gives +2 Might to the defending unit) - Attacker has first Focus and priority to play Actions/Reactions - Players alternate playing Actions until both pass - Combat damage is dealt - Damage is cleared, then attacked/defender tags are cleared Nuances: - The attacker always has first Focus during showdown, not the defender - The attacker also has priority to play Reactions to the Initial Chain

Ruling: During a losing showdown, the last moment to play a hidden card is at action speed timing when the defender has priority, before both players consecutively pass priority without doing anything (which would complete the showdown). Sequence: - Showdown is initiated - Players alternate getting priority at action speed timing - The defender (player with the hidden card) gets priority - This is the last moment to play the hidden card - If both players consecutively pass priority without doing anything, the showdown completes and damage is assigned Nuances: - Hidden cards gain the ability to be played at reaction speed - Hidden cards with location-relevant effects gain the additional text "here" (only affecting the battlefield where they are hidden) - The hidden card must have legal targets to be played, otherwise it moves to the graveyard when the battlefield changes state - If there's already a chain/spell being cast, that's never the "last moment" - you can respond to that chain before it resolves

Ruling: You can recycle a rune whenever you have priority (even without paying for anything) because recycling is a reaction ability that adds power to your pool. During combat, the last opportunity is when you have focus after your opponent's chain resolves, when your opponent passes focus to you, or after the initial chain if you are the attacker. Sequence: - Sivir's trigger occurs when an enemy dies (even if she's already exhausted) - In response to her trigger, you can recycle a rune - Then exhaust Sivir to create a gold token - When her trigger resolves, she readies Nuances: - You need priority to use reaction abilities like recycling - Deathknell or other triggers can create additional opportunities to recycle - Recycling a rune adds power to your pool (like floating mana in MTG) - If an ability specifically says "spend" the power (like Sivir Mercenary), you must actually use the power for a cost, not just recycle

Ruling: Yes, you can play reaction spells in response to Merchant's move trigger to empty your hand before it resolves, allowing you to discard 0 cards and draw 1 card. Sequence: - Move Merchant to battlefield - Merchant's move trigger goes on the stack - In response, you can play as many reaction spells as you want (potentially emptying your hand) - Resolve all reaction spells - Resolve Merchant's move ability (if hand is empty, discard 0 and draw 1) Nuances: - Action spells cannot be played onto a chain in response to cards/effects - You cannot "forget" the trigger and resolve it later after playing spells - this would be considered a missed trigger and would not be allowed in tournament play

Ruling: The triggered abilities do not occur simultaneously. Traveling Merchant's move trigger resolves first as a separate chain, then after resolution the showdown begins with attack/defend triggers forming the initial chain. Sequence: - Traveling Merchant's move trigger goes on the chain and resolves - After TM trigger resolution, showdown begins - Attack and/or defend triggers from both units go on the chain as the initial chain - Priority passes and reactions can be played before the initial chain resolves - After initial chain resolves, attacker keeps focus (but focus only allows playing Actions) Nuances: - Traveling Merchant is present at the battlefield when its trigger finalizes onto the chain - Move triggers resolve before defense and attack triggers - Focus only lets you play Actions, not other card types

Ruling: Yes, you discard nothing from your empty hand, then draw 1 card. Nuances: - If the card text said "discard 1 to draw 1" (with the word "to"), you would not be able to draw without discarding

Ruling: You move the Travelling Merchant to the battlefield, skip the discard (since you have no cards in hand), draw 1 card, then initiate the showdown. Sequence: - Move Merchant to battlefield - Skip discard (no cards in hand) - Draw 1 card - Initiate showdown

Ruling: No. You cannot play Rengar to the contested battlefield in response to the move trigger because you do not have attacker status yet. The move trigger being on the chain prevents combat from being initiated (the game is in a closed state, not neutral open). You only gain attacker status when combat actually begins, which happens after the move trigger resolves. Sequence: - Moving to a battlefield applies the contested status and triggers the move ability - The move trigger goes on the chain (game is now in closed state) - Combat is staged but cannot initiate until the chain is empty and the game returns to neutral open state - While the move trigger is on the chain, you are not yet an attacker - Once the move trigger resolves and combat begins, attacker/defender designations are given - By that point, Rengar would already be discarded Nuances: - Contested is a status applied to the battlefield, while attacker is a designation given to a player only when combat begins - You can play Rengar to your base or to a battlefield you control during the move trigger, just not to the contested battlefield - Applying contested to a battlefield leads to becoming the attacker, but these happen at different times

Ruling: When you move into a battlefield and showdown starts, the designated attacker has first priority and can play action cards before their opponent. Sequence: - Move units into battlefield, starting showdown - Designated attacker has first priority and can play actions (e.g., Facebreaker) - Opponent can respond with their own actions if able - Chain resolves in reverse order (last played resolves first) - After each effect resolves, the owner of the next effect on the chain gets priority - If both players pass consecutively, the next effect resolves Nuances: - Hidden cards can be played at action speed into the chain - If a card is not hidden, it cannot be played at action speed in response to another action - If a target becomes invalid (e.g., moved by another effect), the action will not find its target when it resolves

Ruling: Moving a unit to a battlefield occupied by an enemy unit creates a combat showdown directly. 'When I attack' abilities will trigger in the very next showdown without an opportunity for the opponent to play action or reaction cards beforehand. Nuances: - The only exception is if an enemy moves to an open battlefield (creating an open showdown) and you move your unit during that open showdown. In that case, you must finish the open showdown before starting the combat showdown.

Ruling: You can play actions after your opponent's spell resolves because both players must pass focus in sequence before a showdown can end, so you always get an opportunity to play actions. When Darius moves to the second battlefield, a combat becomes staged there, but the first battlefield's showdown must finish before the second combat can start. Sequence: - Opponent's spell resolves and damages Darius - You gain focus and can play Ride the Wind - First battlefield showdown must complete (both players pass back-to-back before damage calculation) - If first showdown was combat, damage clears from Darius when it ends - Second battlefield combat can then begin - You can continue playing actions/reactions as long as someone plays something and you receive focus Nuances: - Damage marked on Darius from the spell persists unless the first showdown was combat (in which case damage clears when that combat ends) - Both players must pass focus back-to-back to move to damage calculation - As long as someone plays something, you get passed focus again

Ruling: When you move a unit to initiate a showdown, you gain the first focus/priority and can choose whether to play action cards immediately or wait. However, if you need the card to win combat, you must play it during your first priority - if both players pass without playing cards, the combat resolves and you cannot play cards afterward. Sequence: - Move unit to battlefield (initiates showdown) - Moving player gains focus/priority first and can play actions/reactions - Opponent can play reactions in response - Chain resolves - Opponent gains focus/priority and can play actions/reactions - Moving player can play reactions in response - Chain resolves - Continue alternating until both players pass without playing cards Nuances: - If you need a card like En Garde to win the combat (e.g., throwing a 2 into a 2), you must play it during your first priority or the units will trade when both players pass - If you only need the card to counter an opponent's response (e.g., to avoid Gust), you can wait and only play it as a reaction if they actually play something - You can react with cards like En Garde to opponent's cards like Gust that are played in response to your move

Ruling: No, moving into an empty battlefield creates a showdown but not a combat. The unit does not receive attacker designation and Assault does not trigger. Sequence: - Moving into an empty battlefield creates a showdown - During the showdown, both players can play actions - Attacker/defender designations are only set during combat, not during showdowns - The contested status is applied to the battlefield, but this doesn't create attacker/defender designations unless combat actually occurs Nuances: - If a surprise defense occurs during the showdown (e.g., via Ride the Wind), then combat would begin and the moving player would become the attacker - Contested status exists outside of combat in case the showdown results in combat

Ruling: When you move a unit with a spell like Showstopper or Leona's spell, you cannot move other units alongside it - the unit must attack alone. Nuances: - You can only move multiple units together using the standard move option, not when moving via spells

Ruling: When doing a standard move, multiple units can move to the same destination at the same time. Nuances: - This matters for effects that trigger when units enter a battlefield, as moving simultaneously means the opponent must choose which unit is affected by single-target effects like Ahri's -2 might, rather than affecting all units if they moved one by one.

Ruling: Attempting to conquer starts a showdown, and you can use actions or reactions during this showdown. The showdown phase is never skipped, even when moving to an empty battlefield. Sequence: - Attempting to conquer starts a showdown - Players can play actions or reactions - Focus passes around every time the chain empties - Multiple actions can be played throughout the course of a showdown - When a player plays an action or reaction that starts a chain, if the opponent has no response, it resolves and focus is passed Nuances: - You cannot use spells that aren't actions or reactions during a showdown - Focus passes automatically after a chain empties, not through verbal agreement

Ruling: When you move units, 'When I move' triggers go on the chain first and must resolve completely before entering showdown/combat. After the 'When I move' triggers resolve, you then enter showdown where 'When I attack' triggers occur. Sequence: - Declare move to battlefield - 'When I move' triggers go on the chain - Opponents can respond to these triggers on the chain - 'When I move' triggers resolve - Combat/showdown begins - 'When I attack' triggers go on the chain - Combat proceeds Nuances: - Units do not have Assault bonuses while 'When I move' triggers are on the chain, since showdown has not started yet - Opponents can kill or remove units with reactions while 'When I move' triggers are on the chain, before combat starts - If there are no 'When I move' triggers, combat starts immediately with no chain - Even 'may' abilities ('When I move, you may...') still trigger and go on the chain; the 'may' choice is made at resolution - You cannot start combat while another chain is ongoing

Ruling: When multiple triggers share the same trigger condition (like conquering), you can order them as you please. Once a trigger is on the chain, it will wait and resolve even if other effects (like playing cards with their own triggers) resolve first. Sequence: - Both 'when you conquer' triggers go on the chain in your chosen order - The first trigger resolves (e.g., revealing and playing cards) - Any new triggers from played cards go on the chain and resolve - After all players pass on each effect, the original second trigger finally resolves Nuances: - Triggers execute their instructions as long as they are able to be performed, even after a long chain of other effects - Playing cards during one trigger's resolution (that themselves have triggers) does not cause you to lose timing on triggers already on the chain

Only one Showdown can exist at a time. The currently open Showdown must fully resolve completely before any other staged Showdown can begin. Once the open Showdown closes and a Cleanup occurs, then the next staged Showdown can open and resolve.

Ruling: When multiple triggers you control trigger at the same time, you choose the order in which they stack. Nuances: - This applies to any situation where multiple triggers you control occur simultaneously, not just conquer triggers

Ruling: You can play multiple reactions consecutively as long as you hold priority and do not pass. However, in the specific example given, the opponent has first priority in the showdown, so you can only react after they pass priority to you. Sequence: - Opponent moves unit to the battlefield (opponent has first priority in the showdown) - Opponent passes priority - You can now activate your first hidden card - If you hold priority, you can immediately activate your second hidden card without passing - Once you pass priority or a chain fully resolves, priority returns to the opponent Nuances: - You must explicitly state you are holding priority if you want to play multiple reactions consecutively (especially in tournament play) - When a chain finishes resolving, priority passes to the other player - Unless there are other trigger effects, the opponent controls when you first get priority in this scenario

Ruling: Unit tokens are played and resolved sequentially. Each recruit token triggers vision separately through Gemcraft Seer, and each vision trigger can recycle up to one card. If you recycle a card during a vision trigger, Karma's buff trigger goes on the chain after that vision trigger. Sequence: - First recruit token is finalized and resolves, vision trigger goes on chain - Second recruit token is finalized and resolves, second vision trigger goes on chain - Continue for all recruit tokens played - Resolve vision triggers sequentially with priority windows between each - For each vision trigger where you recycle a card, a Karma buff trigger goes on the chain - Buff triggers resolve with priority windows Nuances: - Gemcraft Seer grants vision 1, so you can recycle at most one card per vision trigger - If you choose not to recycle during a vision trigger (e.g., to preserve an important top card), no Karma buff trigger occurs for that vision - Multiple instances of vision on the same unit trigger separately, not simultaneously - Opponents can react at any point in this process except between the effect resolving and vision triggers being finalized on the chain - Recycling multiple cards simultaneously from a single effect only triggers Karma once (due to "one or more cards" wording)

Ruling: Order matters. Effects like Smoke Screen snapshot when they resolve and do not constantly re-check numbers throughout the turn. Sequence: - Effects resolve in the order they are played on the chain - When Smoke Screen resolves, it looks at the current Might value and reduces it by 4 (minimum 1), then locks in that reduction amount - Subsequent buffs like Back to Back add to the snapshotted value - Example: 1 Might unit gets +2 from Back to Back (now 3), opponent plays Smoke Screen which snapshots to -2 reduction (can't go below 1, so reduces from 3 to 1), then another Back to Back adds +2 (final result: 3 Might) Nuances: - The 'this turn' wording indicates the duration of the effect, not that it retroactively applies to future modifications - The 'to a minimum of 1' clause is what causes the snapshot behavior - it limits how much reduction actually occurs at resolution time - The Smoke Screen player ideally wants Back to Back to resolve first before playing Smoke Screen to maximize the reduction

Ruling: When multiple triggered abilities are placed on the chain simultaneously, you decide their order immediately, but decisions related to how those effects resolve are made during resolution, not when ordering them on the chain. Sequence: - Multiple triggers go on the chain at the same time - Controller decides the order of those triggers on the chain - As each trigger resolves (in the ordered sequence), the controller makes decisions for that specific effect Nuances: - You can strategically order triggers to enable certain plays (e.g., ordering Qiyana to resolve first to draw a card, then use that card to pay for Rocket's recovery when it resolves) - Players should still communicate clearly about chain order and announce changes to public information to maintain honest game state communication

Ruling: You choose the order of triggers that occur simultaneously. You can order Vayne's trigger first to bounce her to hand, then resolve SMDR's trigger to discard her. Nuances: - SMDR still triggers even if you have no cards in hand because the discard to retrieve it is optional on resolution

Ruling: When assigning damage, you combine all might on your side and must assign lethal damage to one unit before moving to the next. You cannot spread damage freely across multiple targets. Sequence: - Combine all might from your attacking units - Assign lethal damage to one defending unit - Only after assigning lethal can you assign remaining damage to another unit Nuances: - With effects like Imperial Decree that trigger on unit death, the optimal strategy is to send units in one at a time rather than all together, to maximize the number of triggers - Players can agree to shortcut multiple sequential attacks if the opponent is tapped out with no responses and no death triggers are relevant

Ruling: The controller of the Hourglass chooses which unit is recalled when multiple units die simultaneously.

Ruling: When multiple units die simultaneously, the player using Zhonya chooses which unit to save. The opponent does not determine the order of damage distribution in a way that restricts this choice. Nuances: - This same principle applies to other similar effects like Sett's legend ability

Ruling: The controller of Zhonya's Hourglass decides which unit to save. Multiple units die at the same time regardless of the order damage is assigned, so the Zhonya's controller chooses which one to save. Sequence: - During combat, damage is assigned by players in order (attacker first, then defender) - All damage is dealt simultaneously - Units don't die when they receive damage, but rather during a specific cleanup step - When multiple units would die at the same time, Zhonya's controller chooses which to save Nuances: - If Zhonya's is hidden at the battlefield, it must be flipped before the showdown ends and damage is assigned, as there is no window after combat to use it at reaction speed - The order in which damage is assigned does not affect when units die - they all die at the same moment - "Assigning damage" and "dealing damage" are treated as effectively the same for current game mechanics, though technically distinct concepts

Ruling: When multiple units die simultaneously, the Zhonya's Hourglass controller chooses which unit to save. Zhonya's must already be face-up at that moment. If you have multiple Zhonya's, you still lose one Zhonya per death prevented. Nuances: - All units marked with lethal damage die simultaneously during the resolution step after damage is assigned - Zhonya's is a mandatory effect that applies immediately without using the chain - You cannot choose not to activate Zhonya's if a unit would die

Ruling: The controller of Zhonya's Hourglass chooses which unit to bring back when multiple units die. Nuances: - Zhonya's Hourglass must trigger when a unit dies; the controller cannot choose to not activate it to save it for a later unit - The controller can choose the order if multiple units die simultaneously

Ruling: The entire Icathian Rain spell is countered. Not So Fast counters the spell itself, not just individual instructions. If Icathian Rain targets at least one of your units, you can play Not So Fast to counter it, preventing all six instances of 2 damage regardless of what they were targeting. Nuances: - The condition for playing Not So Fast is that the spell must "choose a friendly unit or gear" - if even one of Icathian Rain's six damage instances targets your unit, this condition is met - Rules about targets becoming invalid during resolution do not apply to counter effects like Not So Fast

Ruling: You can move units to different battlefields by moving them at different times. The "same destination" rule only applies when units move at the same time. Sequence: - Move some units to battlefield one and conquer it - Then move other units to battlefield two and conquer it Nuances: - If you have 7 points and would score a point but don't meet the criteria to score the 8th point, you draw a card instead

Ruling: The player who first caused the battlefield to be contested is the attacker, and the opponent who moved in second is the defender. Two showdowns occur in sequence. Sequence: - First player moves unit to empty battlefield, starting an open showdown - Opponent plays spell to move their unit to the same battlefield, which puts another showdown on the chain - The first open showdown must complete first, but does not result in a conquest because units of two players now exist in the battlefield - Then immediately, a second showdown begins with the second player attacking the first player's controlled battlefield Nuances: - It is not possible to change the type of showdown you are in (an open showdown cannot become a contested one) - Showdowns chain rather than transform into different types

Ruling: When Teemo Strategist is flipped to defend, his 'when I defend' trigger is immediately added to the chain. You can only respond with Reactions, not Actions. Moving Teemo in response will make the 'here' targeting invalid, so he will deal 0 damage, but the opponent still recycles 5 cards. Sequence: - Opponent flips Teemo to defend - Teemo's defend trigger is immediately added to the chain - You can respond with Reactions only (not Actions) - If you move Teemo, the damage portion fails but recycle 5 still happens Nuances: - The triggered ability cannot be prevented from being added to the chain once Teemo is revealed - Moving Teemo makes the 'here' targeting invalid, preventing damage but not the recycle effect - The ability resolves regardless, just with 0 damage if targeting becomes invalid - Not so Fast (green spell) is currently the only way to counter abilities and remove them from the chain - Targets are announced when the ability is put onto the chain, and hidden cards must target at the battlefield they were hidden at

Ruling: When you have focus and priority and the chain is empty, passing means you pass both focus and priority together (not just priority). If both players pass consecutively with nothing on the chain, the showdown ends. Sequence: - Contesting player (usually turn player) gains focus and priority at showdown start - If contesting player passes with empty chain, they pass both focus and priority to opponent - If opponent then passes with empty chain, both players have passed consecutively and the showdown closes - Combat continues to damage step Nuances: - Focus passes back and forth until both players pass consecutively - it's not about each player getting one turn - One player could play 5 actions while the other plays 0 if they keep passing focus back - The player who contests the battlefield gains focus (usually turn player, but not always) - Passing is contextual: passing with something on the chain only passes priority, passing with empty chain passes both focus and priority

Ruling: Yes, you can tap the rune to float energy before recycling it to pay for Nocturne's Power cost. Any time you have to pay resources (including Power), you can use Add abilities to generate any type of resource, even if that specific resource isn't required. Nuances: - Add abilities can be used during the resolution of other abilities, even when paying costs - The rule allows using Add abilities whenever "resources" (plural) need to be paid, meaning any resource payment triggers the ability to use Add abilities - This works even though you cannot normally react to permanents being played, because Add abilities have special timing rules

Ruling: No, Fae cannot target units outside of his battlefield when played from hidden. Only Tideturner has this unique ability among hidden cards. Nuances: - Tideturner is the only hidden card that can target outside of its battlefield when played from hidden - All other hidden cards (including Blastcone and Fae) can only target the same battlefield they are revealed from - Tideturner is receiving a text change to clarify its unique interaction

Ruling: When time is called and the match is tied 1-1, after the additional turns are completed, the player with the most points in that final game wins that game, resulting in a 2-1 match victory. Nuances: - If the final game ends in a point tie after additional turns, the match result is 1-1 (a draw) - If the match score is 1-0 when time is called in game 2, and the player who lost game 1 has more points after additional turns, the match ends 1-1 (not 1-0)

Ruling: When you play Blitzcrank to an open battlefield (using an ability like purple Miss Fortune) and hook an enemy unit, you are the attacker because your unit applied the Contested status to the battlefield first. Sequence: - You play Blitzcrank to the open battlefield - The showdown is marked as pending - Blitzcrank's hook ability resolves, pulling an enemy unit to the battlefield - When the chain resolves, the showdown starts - You are the attacker because Blitzcrank applied the Contested status first Nuances: - You need an ability like purple Miss Fortune to play a unit to an open battlefield in the first place - If you play Blitzcrank to a battlefield you already control, the enemy unit causes the Contested status, making you the defender instead