Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 16 of 128 · 6,389 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
Can an opponent assign 4 damage to a single Watcher (with Sentry Deathknell) to prevent the draw trigger, even if it's non-lethal damage?
Ruling: Yes, an opponent can assign non-lethal damage to one unit as long as they only apply it to that one unit.
Can an unready unit conquer an unconquered battlefield when moved by a spell?
Ruling: A unit being ready or unready does not matter for conquering. Most units are exhausted when they conquer because that's the cost for moving them, but readiness status itself doesn't prevent conquest.
If a unit is moved to a battlefield during an ongoing showdown (after 'When I Attack' and 'When I Defend' triggers have already resolved), does that unit's 'When I Attack' trigger activate?
Ruling: Yes, 'When I Attack' and 'When I Defend' triggers activate anytime a unit joins a combat, including after combat has already started. The unit must be under the attacking player's control to be considered an attacker and trigger 'When I Attack' abilities.
Can I move an enemy unit to a battlefield where I have defending units, choose not to select an enemy unit (if none remain), and start a battle with my defending units against the attacking unit I just moved?
Ruling: Yes, this is legal. You can move an enemy unit to a battlefield and if there are no other enemy units there after the move, you would not choose an enemy unit, resulting in a battle starting on that battlefield with your defending units against the attacking unit you just moved.
Can you use a reaction to increase a unit's might in response to Tibbers being played, before his 'deal 3 damage to all units' trigger resolves?
Ruling: You cannot react to a unit being played, but once Tibbers is in play, his trigger goes on the chain and you can react to that trigger, allowing you to increase a unit's might before the damage resolves.
How does spell cost reduction interact with cards that reference a spell's cost (like counters, Kai'sa's conquer ability, and Lux's legend ability)?
Ruling: A card's cost is always its printed cost, not the cost after reductions or modifications. Cost reductions do not change what other cards see as the spell's cost.
If a unit is damaged before combat, then combat damage is prevented (e.g., by Hidden Blades removing the opposing unit), does the damaged unit still heal during combat cleanup?
Ruling: Yes, combat cleanup still occurs even when the combat damage step is skipped, so units heal marked damage at that time.
Can you Defy a spell cast from hidden?
Ruling: Yes, you can Defy a spell cast from hidden.
When paying a Power cost for Nocturne (who banishes himself and becomes a pending item), can you tap a rune you're about to recycle to float energy before recycling it?
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.
When Teemo, Strategist is revealed from hidden against Deadbloom Predator, must you activate Teemo's effect and pay the Deflect cost?
Ruling: Yes, you must activate Teemo, Strategist's effect when revealed and must pay Deadbloom Predator's Deflect cost because the effect is mandatory and requires targeting an enemy unit.
When you ready Irelia Fervent with Irelia's Legend, does she get an additional +1/+1 for being readied?
Ruling: Yes, when you ready Irelia Fervent using Irelia's Legend, she receives an additional +1/+1 from being readied, for a total of +4/+4 (+2/+2 from Discipline, +1/+1 from Irelia's Legend, and +1/+1 from being readied).
If a unit receives a temporary might increase from Discipline and survives a showdown with damage, does it keep the might increase after damage is removed?
Ruling: Yes, the unit keeps the might increase from Discipline. The might increase lasts for the entire turn, not just until the unit takes damage.
Does gear enter ready or exhausted?
Ruling: Gear enters ready unless the card states otherwise. Nuances: - Gear enters the base (not battlefield/board) - This applies to gear like seals and sun-disc
Can you use Baited Hook on a buffed unit, then use Sett's ability to save it but still get the Baited Hook effect (similar to how Hidden Blade lets you draw 2 if the unit gets saved)?
Ruling: No, you cannot get the full Baited Hook effect if you save the unit with Sett. Baited Hook references the might of the killed unit, and saving the unit means there is no killed unit.
If you play Tideturner at the same location as Travelling Merchant and choose it as a target, does Travelling Merchant trigger to let you draw?
Ruling: No, Travelling Merchant does not trigger if Tideturner targets it at the same location, because no movement occurs. Nuances: - Movement requires going from base to battleground, battleground to base, or battleground to battleground - If both cards are at the same location, no movement happens and the trigger condition is not met
Can I tap an energy to float 1, then recycle it with a seal to use the 1 floating energy to play a card?
Ruling: Yes, you can exhaust a rune for energy without spending it immediately, then recycle that rune to play a sigil using the floated energy.
In Riftbound, when Player A attacks an occupied battlefield and doesn't activate anything, and Player B (defender) also doesn't activate anything, can Player A then activate something?
Ruling: No, Player A cannot activate something after both players have passed. When the attacker passes priority and the defender passes back, both players have passed consecutively and combat resolves, moving to cleanup.
Can Charm move a unit from one battlefield to another battlefield even if there is no ganking present?
Ruling: Yes, Charm can move a unit from one battlefield to another battlefield even without ganking present. Nuances: - Charm specifically calls out "standard move" as what it restricts, which means it does not restrict other forms of movement including moving between battlefields.
When assigning lethal damage to a unit that already has marked damage, do you need to assign damage equal to its full Might value, or only enough to reach its Might value?
Ruling: When assigning lethal damage to a unit that already has marked damage, you only need to assign enough damage to reach its Might value (the remaining amount needed to destroy it), not its full Might value. Any excess damage must be assigned to other units if they exist.
If you attack an enemy-controlled battlefield and all units die, can you move another unit to that same battlefield on the same turn to conquer it?
Ruling: Yes, you can move another unit to the same battlefield on the same turn. If none of your attacking units survived, you haven't conquered it yet, so you can move to that battlefield again and start another combat to try and conquer it.
Does Carnivorous Snapvine's 'When you play me' effect trigger when playing the unit from hand, or when moving it to a battlefield?
Ruling: The 'When you play me' effect triggers when you play the unit from your hand onto the board. Moving a unit is not the same as playing it.
During a showdown, can a player start two different chains of actions (e.g., casting two Hextech Rays) before proceeding to combat?
Ruling: Yes, you can play multiple actions during a showdown, but not consecutively without your opponent having a chance to respond. The showdown ends when both players pass focus without creating a chain.
Can you cast spells after other spells resolve but before the chain ends?
Ruling: Yes, you can cast spells after other spells resolve but before the chain ends. This is different from Yu-Gi-Oh and more similar to Magic: The Gathering's stack.
During a Showdown, after the attacker starts a chain that resolves, then the defender starts a chain that resolves, can the attacker start another chain? Do both players need to pass without starting a chain to proceed to the next step?
Ruling: Yes, the attacker can start another chain. When the last item on a chain resolves during a Showdown, Focus passes and the next player gains both Focus and Priority, allowing them to start a new chain.
When Teemo Scout is played from hidden (gaining +3 might) and then Convergent Mutation is played targeting Ravenbloom Student, what is the correct order of resolution? Specifically, does Mutation resolve before Teemo Scout's ability, and when does Ravenbloom Student gain +1 might from its spell trigger?
Ruling: The timing depends on when Mutation is played. If Mutation is played immediately after Teemo Scout is added to the chain (before Teemo's ability resolves), Mutation resolves first when Teemo is still at 1 might. If players allow Teemo's ability to resolve first (raising Teemo to 4 might), then Mutation can be played afterward and will resolve before Discipline.
If you score a point from a battlefield with Hold, then lose control and move a unit with a 'when I conquer' trigger back to that battlefield, does the conquer trigger activate?
Ruling: No, the conquer trigger does not activate. You may only conquer each battlefield once per turn, regardless of how you scored from it (Hold or Conquer).
Can Teemo Strategist be removed (e.g., with Gust) between being revealed from Hidden and his defense trigger resolving, and what happens to his effect?
Ruling: Yes, Teemo Strategist can be removed with Gust after his defense trigger goes on the chain but before it resolves. When the trigger resolves with Teemo in hand, you still reveal the top 5 cards but deal 0 damage because "here" (the battlefield location) no longer exists, so no enemy unit can be chosen.
When a player taps runes or cycles to float energy in response to a spell, does this cause another round of priority passing?
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
If a unit with Assault takes damage that would be lethal after Assault is removed, does it die when it loses the Assault bonus?
Ruling: A unit with Assault that has marked damage less than its current Might (including Assault bonus) but equal to or exceeding its base Might will die when it loses the Assault bonus. The removal of attacker designation (which removes Assault) causes another cleanup, and during that second cleanup the unit dies due to having marked damage greater than or...
When both players are at 7 points with 0 cards in deck and Invert Timelines is played, who wins?
Ruling: The player who played Invert Timelines discards and draws first and loses. Sequence: - Invert Timelines forces players to take Limited Actions simultaneously - Turn order is referenced to resolve simultaneous actions - The player who played Invert Timelines resolves their discard and draw first - That player attempts to draw 4 cards with an empty deck and loses...
How does Whirlwind work? Can players choose any unit to return to hand, including opponents' units?
Ruling: Each player chooses any unit on the battlefield to return to hand, not just their own units. The "may" is included so players aren't forced to return their own units if there aren't enough opponent units available.
If Fading Memories is played on my unit by my opponent, and I control Mushroom Pouch, can I still use Mushroom Pouch's effect to draw a card at the beginning of my turn before my unit dies from Temporary?
Ruling: Yes, you can use Mushroom Pouch's effect to draw a card. Both Temporary (from Fading Memories) and Mushroom Pouch trigger at the start of your beginning phase simultaneously, and since you control both triggers, you choose the order in which they resolve.
If Warwick's ability is activated to destroy all damaged units, but Overzealous Fan chains to send Warwick to base before his ability resolves, will the damaged Mountain Drake die?
Ruling: When Overzealous Fan sends Warwick to base before his ability resolves, Mountain Drake will not die because Warwick's ability specifies "here" and he is no longer at that battlefield when his ability resolves.
After an attack effect's initial chain resolves, can players start a new chain with action cards?
Ruling: Yes, after the initial chain from an attack effect resolves, both players have the opportunity to play actions and reactions to start a new chain.
When Harnessed Dragon is played and then killed by a reaction like Hidden Blade, does the dragon's kill effect still trigger?
Ruling: Yes, Harnessed Dragon's kill effect still triggers even if the dragon is killed in response to being played. Nuances: - This differs from Anivia, which requires being "here" (on the battlefield) for its effect to resolve - If a unit is returned to hand (flashed back to base) in response to targeted damage effects like Comit or Void Seeker,...
Can actions be played in the middle of a chain, or only reactions? How does the pass/play priority system work when resolving chains?
Ruling: Actions can only BEGIN a chain, not be played in the middle of one. Once a chain exists, only reactions can be added to it. Both actions and reactions can be played when you have focus during a showdown (attacker first, defender second).
If one of Dragon's Rage's targets dies from a card effect (like Hidden Blade) before Dragon's Rage resolves, does the other target still take damage?
Ruling: No, the surviving unit takes no damage. When a unit dies before Dragon's Rage resolves, it has 0 might (or null), so there is no damage to deal.
During a showdown, when attack and defend triggers go on the chain, do they resolve separately or together, and which resolves first?
Ruling: When combat starts, all "when I attack" and "when I defend" triggers enter the chain together, with the attacking player's triggers added first. Chains resolve backwards (last in, first out), so the defending player's triggers resolve first.
Does floating mana from tapped runes reset after combat during special cleanups, or only at end of turn?
Ruling: Floating mana from runes only empties at end of draw step and at end of turn, not after combat during special cleanups.
When attacking a battlefield and starting a showdown, can the attacker use a reaction card (like Smoke Screen) when they have priority, or can showdowns only be started with actions?
Ruling: Yes, the attacker can play reaction cards when they have priority during a showdown. You can play any appropriately timed card (action or reaction) or activate any appropriately timed ability when you have priority.
If I own a Battlefield and my opponent attacks into it, then I move Yasuo into it with Ride The Wind, is Yasuo attacking (and therefore shooting) or not?
Ruling: Yasuo is defending, not attacking, so he does not shoot. Nuances: - The first player to move a unit to the battlefield and apply contested to it is the attacker - Since the opponent moved first to contest the battlefield, they are the attacker and Yasuo (moved second) is the defender
Does Tideturner work with cards in hand or only cards on the battlefield? Also, if Yasuo is swapped into a showdown using Tideturner, does his 'on attack' trigger?
Ruling: Tideturner only works with cards already on the battlefield, not cards in hand. When a unit with an Attack or Defend trigger enters combat mid-showdown via Tideturner, that trigger goes on the chain only if appropriate for their attacker/defender status.
If a unit's might is reduced due to another unit dying in combat, causing it to have damage equal to its might, does it die before being healed?
Ruling: The unit survives and is healed. Each cleanup only kills damaged units once, so a unit that survives the initial death check is then healed in the next step of the special cleanup.
Can Ahri leader give -1 to every unit attacking, and can the effect be used multiple times per turn since it doesn't say to tap Ahri?
Ruling: Ahri's effect triggers every time someone attacks into Ahri's battlefields, and every attacking unit gets -1. The effect does not require tapping and triggers separately for each attacking unit.
Can I play a unit to a battlefield I'm holding after moving my only unit away from it?
Ruling: No, you cannot play a unit to a battlefield after moving your only unit away from it, as you lose control when you no longer have units there.
When you add a rune with a seal, does it float, and if so, can you use it for anything or is it restricted?
Ruling: When you add a rune with a seal, it floats and is not restricted in use. However, seals pay for power costs, not energy costs.
When remedying missed draws, do 'when you draw' triggers activate? When remedying missed points, can this happen after the next player has taken actions?
Ruling: When remedying missed draws, 'when you draw' triggers do activate. For missed points from battlefields, they can be remedied if no more than a full round cycle has passed, but points from acknowledged triggers that weren't marked cannot be remedied later.
If you Awaken at 6 points, hold BF1 for +1 point in Beginning, and then conquer BF2 the same turn, do you win or draw?
Ruling: You win because you've scored on all battlefields that same turn, so you can earn the 8th point by conquering.
Can you play action cards (not just reactions) on your opponent's turn during combat?
Ruling: Yes, you can play action cards during combat on your opponent's turn when you have focus. Actions can only be played when you have focus and all triggers have resolved, while reactions can be played in response to actions or reactions.
When Master Yi's passive gives +2 might to a solo defending unit (Stalwart Poro) that has a hidden Pakaa Cub, does the Poro get the buff before revealing the Cub, and does it keep the buff after revealing?
Ruling: The Stalwart Poro gets the +2 might from Master Yi's passive while it is the only defending unit. When you reveal the Pakaa Cub, the Poro immediately loses the +2 might because Master Yi's passive requires you to control only one defending unit.