Riftbound Rules Questions (Page 129)

Can Retreat be cast on a champion that was played from the chosen champion zone (rather than from hand)?

Ruling: Yes, you can cast Retreat on a champion that was played from the chosen champion zone. Once a champion is played from the champion zone onto the board, it becomes a valid target for cards like Retreat that return units to hand.

How does Hextech Anomaly work, specifically how to use it to convert power into energy?

Ruling: Hextech Anomaly allows you to convert power into energy at a 1:1 ratio. Power and energy are distinct resources that go into a common pool and can be spent later in the turn.

Can Bellows Breath target the same unit multiple times with one cast to deal multiple damage to it?

Ruling: No, Bellows Breath cannot target the same unit multiple times. The spell deals 1 damage to up to three different units at the same location, where each target must be a distinct unit (though you can choose fewer than three targets).

Who are the relevant players during a Showdown in a 4 player FFA, and can players other than the attacker and defender play actions and reactions?

Ruling: In multiplayer games, all players can participate in a Showdown without needing invitations. Priority and focus pass in turn order.

When you have multiple Zero Drives in play, do you need to track which units were banished by each specific Zero Drive, or can triggering one Zero Drive's play effect return units banished by any Zero Drive?

Ruling: Each Zero Drive can only return units that were specifically banished by that individual Zero Drive's effect. Cards can only refer to things banished by their own effects, not by other cards with the same name.

Does Unyielding Spirit negate Vi's might increase or remove cleave effects?

Ruling: Unyielding Spirit does not affect Vi's might increase or cleave effects. These are normal combat damage, not spell damage or ability damage.

Can Gust target a 4 Might unit that has been damaged by Hextech Ray, or does the unit's Might stat need to be reduced below 4?

Ruling: Gust cannot target a 4 Might unit that has been damaged. Damage does not reduce a unit's Might stat; it only marks damage on the unit. To target a 4 Might unit with Gust, you must use an effect that reduces its Might stat (like Stupefy) to 3 or less.

When Ride the Wind is played on a unit at Vilemaw's Lair targeting the base as destination, what happens? Does the unit move nowhere, or must the opponent choose a different destination like the other battlefield?

Ruling: Ride the Wind resolves legally. The unit is readied, but does not move because Vilemaw's Lair prevents movement to base. The opponent is not forced to choose a different destination.

If Warwick attacks and his attack trigger is on the stack, can the trigger be stopped by Flight or Fright or Rebuke?

Ruling: Yes, Warwick's attack trigger can be stopped by Flight or Fright (or similar effects) if Warwick is removed before the trigger resolves. Rebuke cannot be used in response to the trigger because Rebuke is an action, not a reaction.

How does priority and spell casting work during a showdown in Riftbound, specifically regarding when players can play actions and reactions, and when the showdown ends?

Ruling: During a showdown, the active player has focus and can play actions or reactions without automatically passing priority - they can cast multiple spells before passing to their opponent. The showdown ends when both players consecutively pass focus without starting a new chain.

When the chain is resolving in Riftbound, can players play reactions between each spell resolution, or does the entire chain resolve at once?

Ruling: After both players pass priority, each chain item resolves one at a time. Before each chain item resolves, there is another round of priority where players can add reactions, starting with the owner of the next chain item to resolve.

Can a player exhaust a rune for no reason (without using the energy) in order to ready it again with Mana Flow and effectively gain an extra rune?

Ruling: Yes, you can exhaust a rune for no reason. Runes have the text "Exhaust - Add 1 energy" which can be activated without needing to use the energy generated, allowing you to exhaust it and then ready it again with Mana Flow.

If you are at 7 points with one open battlefield and another battlefield with a unit, do you win immediately by using Ride the Wind on the opponent's turn to conquer the second battlefield?

Ruling: No, you do not win immediately by using Ride the Wind to conquer a battlefield on your opponent's turn. You need to score both battlefields during the scoring phase to reach 8 points and win.

If Azir, Ascendant attacks and then uses its ability to swap with Azir, Sovereign from another battlefield, does Azir, Sovereign trigger its 'When I attack' ability and bring sand soldiers?

Ruling: Yes, Azir, Sovereign becomes an attacker when swapped into the attacking battlefield and triggers its 'When I attack' ability, allowing it to move sand soldier tokens.

If an opponent plays Cull the Weak targeting my only unit, can I respond with Gust to return that unit to my hand, and what happens to Cull the Weak if I have no other units?

Ruling: Yes, you can play Gust in response to move your unit back to your hand. If you have no units remaining in play after Gust resolves, your opponent must still sacrifice one of their own units to fulfill Cull the Weak's requirement.

If Hidden Blade is flipped from hidden to kill a unit at a battlefield, and in response Tideturner is flipped to move that unit to a different battlefield, does Hidden Blade lose its target?

Ruling: Yes, Hidden Blade loses its target and no unit will die and no cards will be drawn. However, the card is still considered played (so effects like Ravenbloom that trigger on playing cards still work).

When Forge of the Future recycles 4 cards at once, does Karma trigger 4 times (buffing 4 units) or only once?

Ruling: Karma only triggers once when Forge of the Future recycles multiple cards, because all the recycles happen simultaneously as a single instance.

When does Assault apply in relation to Ahri Legend's ability that reduces attacking units' Might by 1?

Ruling: Assault is a passive ability that applies as soon as a unit gains the attacker designation. By the time Ahri Nine-Tailed Fox's ability goes on the chain, the unit already has the attacker designation and thus already has the Assault bonus.

When Yasuo Remorseful's ability and a defender's ability (like Reavers Row) both trigger, does Yasuo have to choose his target before the defender chooses which unit to retreat?

Ruling: Yes, Yasuo must choose his target before the defender makes their choice. Attacker triggers go on the chain first, including all ordering and targeting decisions.

Does Sudden Storm deal 4 damage when a unit attacks an open battlefield?

Ruling: No, Sudden Storm does not deal 4 damage when moving to an open battlefield because moving to an open battlefield does not result in combat or attacking—it only starts contesting that battlefield. The 4 damage effect only applies if there is either a unit already there or a unit moved in during the showdown, making the first unit designated...

If a unit moves to a battlefield during an ongoing showdown at a different battlefield, does the new showdown interrupt the current one, or does the current showdown finish first?

Ruling: The ongoing showdown must always finish completely before a new showdown can begin at a different battlefield. Sequence: - Player A moves Kaisa Survivor to a battlefield, triggering a showdown - Player B plays Ride the Wind during this showdown to move a unit to the opposite battlefield - The original showdown with Kaisa finishes completely (including drawing the...

In a Showdown, does passing priority after playing an action count as 'passing' for the purpose of ending the Showdown, or does the rule only refer to the Pass action when you have focus?

Ruling: The rule refers specifically to the Pass action (voluntarily passing focus), not to passing priority. Passing priority after playing an action/reaction is a separate mechanic and does not count toward the sequence of passes that ends a Showdown.

When Irelia Fervent is chosen by a spell and then readied by Blade Dancer Irelia's ability, does she gain +1 or +2 Might total? Does Blade Dancer Irelia target?

Ruling: Blade Dancer Irelia does not target. Irelia Fervent gains +2 Might total: +1 from being chosen by the spell and +1 from being readied by Blade Dancer's ability.

Does the Watcher ability affect all enemy units count as 'choosing' them for the purpose of triggering 'when chosen by enemy spells or abilities' effects?

Ruling: The Watcher does not choose enemy units. It applies a blanket effect to all enemies, which is mechanically different from choosing.

If my only unit on Battlefield A is charmed to Battlefield B during my opponent's turn, and I use Ride the Wind to move it back to the now-empty Battlefield A, do I score a conquer point from Battlefield A?

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

Will a unit with both Skyfall and Trinity equipped score an additional point on conquest?

Ruling: Yes, a unit with both Skyfall and Trinity equipped will score an additional point on conquest. Equipment abilities are appended to the unit's text, allowing equipment to reference each other.

If I respond to Spinning Axe's temporary trigger with Angle Shot and attach it to a new unit, does the Spinning Axe still die?

Ruling: Yes, the Spinning Axe will still die. When you respond to the trigger with Angle Shot, the trigger is already on the chain, so it will resolve and destroy the Spinning Axe even though it has been moved to a different unit.

If my opponent plays Brynhir Thundersong off of my Promising Future, what happens to the card I chose to play? Can I still play it even though Brynhir's effect prevents playing cards?

Ruling: When Brynhir Thundersong is played from Promising Future, your chosen card can still resolve normally. Brynhir's "When You Play Me" (WYPM) effect that prevents opponents from playing cards only applies after all cards from Promising Future have already been played and placed on the chain as pending items.

When Viktor Innovator is played via Portal Rescue on opponent's turn, does he see himself being played and create a 1M Recruit?

Ruling: Viktor does not get a Recruit from Portal Rescue itself (since Viktor is played to pending while Portal Rescue is still resolving), but Viktor does see himself being played and creates a 1M Recruit from his own ability, similar to how red Darius works.

Does Sett's recall ability heal/remove the effect of Watcher?

Ruling: No, Sett's recall does not remove Watcher's effect. Heal only removes damage, and the unit is recalled with all other effects unchanged.

When playing Ride the Wind, do you have to declare the destination where the unit will move when playing the card, or only on resolution?

Ruling: You must declare the destination for the move when playing the card (when choosing targets), not on resolution. Sequence: - When playing Ride the Wind, select the unit to target - At the same time, declare the destination where that unit will move - On resolution, the move happens to the declared destination

Does Ezreal's ability allow paying 1 energy instead of a power to equip gears?

Ruling: Ezreal's ability reduces optional additional costs by either 1 energy or 1 power. Equip costs are not optional additional costs, so the ability does not reduce gear equip costs.

Does Irelia, Fervent get +1 might at the start of turn during the Awaken phase?

Ruling: Irelia, Fervent only gets +1 might at the start of turn if she is exhausted during the Awaken phase. If she is already ready, she does not trigger because a ready unit cannot be readied again.

Can you ready your opponents' runes with Annie in a free-for-all or 2v2 game?

Ruling: Yes, Annie can ready any runes on the board, including opponents' runes. You can ready up to two runes total, split however you want across any players.

Does 'Chosen Champion' refer only to the specific card separated at the start of the game, or does it refer to all copies of that card played throughout the game?

Ruling: 'Chosen Champion' refers to all cards with the same name as your chosen champion, not just the specific card separated at the start of the game.

Does Hidden Blade's "draw 2" effect still resolve if the targeted unit is moved away from the battlefield (e.g., by Flash) before Hidden Blade resolves?

Ruling: No, the draw 2 does not happen if the unit is moved away from the battlefield before Hidden Blade resolves, because the spell cannot identify the controller of a unit that is no longer at the battlefield.

Can an opponent play a reaction card (like Stupefy) in response to a 'when you play me' triggered ability on a unit (like Faithful Manufactor)?

Ruling: Yes, triggered abilities use the chain and each player gets an opportunity to react before the ability resolves, starting with the controller of the next ability.

Can the same battlefield be scored twice in one turn by different players (once by holding, once by conquering)?

Ruling: Yes, the same battlefield can be scored twice in one turn by different players. The restriction that "a player may only score once per battlefield per turn" applies to each individual player, not to both players collectively.

When Possession is played as the second card of the turn targeting Darius Trifarian, does Darius see it as the second card played and trigger his ability, or does he fail to see it because he was under opponent's control when Possession started resolving?

Ruling: Darius will see Possession as the second card played and trigger his ability. Darius is under your control when Possession becomes fully resolved/played, which is when it counts as "your second card played this turn."

What happens when attacking with lower Might than a stunned defender, and how does target selection work with multiple defenders when one is stunned?

Ruling: You still need enough Might to get over stunned units even though they can't kill your units. With multiple defenders where one is stunned, you can choose to kill other unstunned units if your Might is sufficient.

When using Baited Hook to look at the top 5 cards and choose one to play, can you reveal an Undertitan to get the +2 energy?

Ruling: No, Baited Hook does not trigger Undertitan's reveal ability. Reveal is a specific limited game action that only occurs when an effect explicitly uses the word "reveal" - you cannot reveal cards from a secret zone like your deck without permission from an effect.

If Azir, Sovereign moves into a battlefield and his ability goes on the chain, but the opponent uses Fate of the Fallen (FoF) in response to move him back to base, does his ability fail because 'this battlefield' is now NULL?

Ruling: Yes, the ability whiffs. When Azir, Sovereign is moved back to base by Fate of the Fallen before his ability resolves, the ability fails to resolve because "this battlefield" no longer refers to a valid location.

Can a unit with Weaponmaster equip an equipment when played during a reaction/action window?

Ruling: Yes, you can equip an equipment when playing a creature with Weaponmaster during a reaction/action window. Nuances: - Weaponmaster functions as a trigger on play ability, which can be activated even when the unit is played during a reaction/action window.

If I play a spell card with Repeat and my opponent Defies it, can I use Repeat to play it again, or does Defy prevent me from playing it entirely?

Ruling: When you cast a spell with Repeat, you must choose whether to use Repeat at the time of casting, before your opponent can respond. If you choose to Repeat and your opponent Defies the spell, the entire spell (including the repeated portion) is countered. You cannot choose to Repeat after a Defy.

When Yasuo Remorseful's attack trigger targets an enemy unit, and you respond by playing a discipline to increase his might before the trigger resolves, does the ability deal damage based on his might when triggered or when resolved?

Ruling: The ability deals damage equal to Yasuo's might at the time the ability resolves, not when it triggers. If you increase his might with a discipline in response to the trigger, the ability will deal the increased damage.

In 2v2 Team Format, can an opponent use Charm or Dragon's Rage to move my unit to my teammate's battlefield, and what happens if they try?

Ruling: No, it is illegal to move a unit to a teammate's battlefield for any reason. Teammates can never have units at the same battlefield.

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