Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 2 of 128 · 6,389 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
Does Thousand-Tailed Watcher's ability apply to Shen if Shen is played as a reaction after Thousand-Tailed Watcher triggers on the same turn?
Ruling: If Shen is played as a reaction to Thousand-Tailed Watcher's trigger (or to anything that reacted to it), Shen will be affected by the ability because the chain resolves backwards and Shen hits the field before the trigger resolves. If Shen is played later in the turn after the trigger has already resolved, he will not be affected.
What happens when you try to reveal/look at the top X cards of your deck but have fewer than X cards remaining?
Ruling: You reveal/look at as many cards as you can and resolve the effect normally. You do not deck out because the cards you're looking at are still part of your main deck.
Can you react to Mobilize (a card that generates resources)?
Ruling: Yes, you can react to Mobilize with a reaction spell. The opponent playing Mobilize starts a chain, giving you an opportunity to react.
In combat, must a player assign might/damage if they have units with might, or can they choose not to assign any damage?
Ruling: Players must assign damage in combat if they have any might available. You cannot choose to take damage without assigning damage back if you have at least one might.
Can Cithria of Cloudfield's buff be used to pay for Kraken Hunter's power cost when playing Kraken Hunter?
Ruling: No, Cithria's buff cannot be used to pay for Kraken Hunter's power cost. Kraken Hunter's power requirement is a cost that must be paid before the card is played, while Cithria's "when you play" trigger doesn't happen until after Kraken Hunter is played.
Can you use a reaction spell immediately after your own action spell in a showdown, or does your opponent need to react first? Also, can action spells be used as reactions once the chain starts?
Ruling: You can use reaction spells in response to your own action spell before passing priority. Action spells can only be used to start a chain and cannot be used as reactions at any time.
Do seals add temporary mana that prevents recycling, or do they only produce power (colored resource) without providing energy (colorless resource)?
Ruling: Seals produce 1 Power of the respective color, which is an alternate way to produce power besides recycling a rune. They only produce power (the colored resource), not energy (the colorless/numerical resource).
Do legend abilities start a chain that can be reacted to?
Ruling: Yes, triggered abilities always start a chain regardless of the source, including legend abilities. You can play a reaction spell in response to a legend's triggered ability.
In what order do triggered abilities resolve when both the turn player and non-turn player have triggers at the same time?
Ruling: The turn player's triggers go on the stack first, then the non-turn player's triggers go on top. This means the non-turn player's triggers resolve first (last in, first out).
If Viktor (who makes a token when a unit dies) and another non-token unit are both killed by a board wipe like Icathian Rain, does Viktor see the other unit dying and trigger to make a token?
Ruling: No, Viktor does not trigger if he dies. When Viktor dies simultaneously with other units, he does not see those deaths and will not create a token.
Can you use Get Excited (an Action spell) to kill Warwick in response to his 'When I attack' trigger after he enters the battlefield via Bullet Time?
Ruling: No, you cannot use Get Excited to kill Warwick in response to his "When I attack" trigger. Action spells can only be played in an Open state (when no chain exists), and when Warwick attacks, his "When I attack" trigger is immediately put on the stack along with any "When I defend" triggers, creating a chain before you have...
Can you react with a reaction card to triggered abilities from permanents (like units) that start a chain, or does rule 538 prevent players from receiving priority before they resolve?
Ruling: You can react to triggered abilities from permanents. Rule 538 only applies when the actual card itself is played onto the chain, not when triggered abilities from permanents are added to the chain.
Does Leona's stun ability still work if Leona is killed or removed from the battlefield during combat before the ability resolves?
Ruling: If Leona is removed in response to her ability triggering, the ability does not work because "here" is undefined when Leona no longer exists on the board. However, if a unit is already stunned and then Leona is removed afterward, the unit stays stunned until end of turn.
What speed are Legend abilities (like Victor and Yasou) and when can they be activated?
Ruling: Legend abilities that don't say "Action" or "Reaction" are Base speed (also called "None" speed). They can only be activated on your turn in a neutral (non-showdown) and open (no chain) state.
Can Yasuo Legend be used during the opponent's turn, and if so, in which cases?
Ruling: No, Yasuo Legend cannot be used during the opponent's turn. Everything in the game operates at "base" speed (meaning on your turn, with no chain and no showdown) unless it specifically states Action or Reaction speed.
When an opponent moves a unit to an empty battlefield and you use Ride the Wind to move your unit to the same battlefield during the resulting showdown, who is the attacker in the subsequent combat?
Ruling: The opponent who initially moved to the empty battlefield is the attacker, and you are the defender in the subsequent combat.
After one player passes and the other plays and resolves an Action during the combat action/reaction window, can the first player then play an Action/Reaction, or does combat start immediately? Can players continue playing Actions back and forth until both pass in succession?
Ruling: Both players must pass in succession for combat to start. As long as one player keeps starting a new chain by playing an Action or Reaction, combat does not begin.
When can reactions be played in Riftbound, and how do chains and showdowns work with reactions?
Ruling: You can use reactions during your turn or during your opponent's turn only when you gain priority - either when there's an active chain and your opponent passes priority to you, OR during a showdown when you gain focus (and therefore priority). A chain must be started first; base speed discretionary actions (like playing vanilla units or moving to...
If Smoke Screen reduces Fiore to 1 Might, and she takes damage and dies, then the opponent removes the Smoke Screen buff to save her, will she still die?
Ruling: Fiore will not die. Units do not die simply from being at 0 Might - they must be dealt damage while at 0 Might to die.
Can a player use Sprite Call to play a sprite token directly to an uncontested battlefield when an opponent moves into it, triggering a showdown?
Ruling: No. While moving into an uncontested battlefield does start a showdown and players can play actions during showdowns, tokens and units can only be played at your base or battlefields you control. Since the opponent doesn't control the battlefield being moved into, they cannot play Sprite Call there.
Can a player holding priority play multiple cards to the chain before giving their opponent a chance to respond?
Ruling: Yes, when you have priority, you can play multiple cards to the chain before passing priority to your opponent.
Does Void Gate amplify damage done to a unit on it by Challenge?
Ruling: Void Gate does not amplify damage from Challenge. Nuances: - Challenge makes units deal damage to each other directly, rather than the effect itself dealing damage - Void Gate only amplifies damage from spells or abilities, not damage dealt by units to each other
If I have 6 points at the start of my turn and conquer two Battlefields in the same turn (first bringing me to 7, then to 8), do I win the game or draw?
Ruling: In 1v1, you win the game by scoring the 8th point. In multiplayer modes (FFA or 2v2), you must score on EVERY battlefield in a single turn to win with your final point, otherwise you draw a card but don't gain the point.
Can you play an action spell in response to a 'When attacking' trigger?
Ruling: You cannot play action spells while there are items on the chain, including triggers like 'When attacking' effects. Nuances: - Only reaction speed spells can be played in response to triggers on the chain - This restriction applies to all triggers, not just 'When attacking' triggers
What is the correct order of setup steps when playing a live match (choosing starting player, revealing Legend/Champion, revealing battlefield, drawing cards)?
Ruling: The setup order is: reveal Legend/Champion, place battlefield, determine starting player, reveal battlefield, then draw cards. All reveals happen simultaneously (cards are placed face-down then revealed together) to prevent counter-picking.
Can Sett use his ability to remove a buff when he is exhausted?
Ruling: Yes, Sett can spend his buff while exhausted, but it gives +4 Might instead of +8. Nuances: - If Sett is buffed again (such as by conquering) while exhausted, he can spend that buff for another +4 Might - The reduced effect (+4 instead of +8) applies because he is exhausted
When Snapevine deals damage to an Orange Volibear at a Bastion Fortress, does Volibear's might decrease or does it remain at full might with marked damage?
Ruling: Volibear remains at 10 might with 6 marked damage. The damage is marked on the unit rather than reducing its might value.
If you discard Immortal Phoenix with "Get Excited!" and kill a unit at a battlefield, can you summon the Phoenix to your base with its effect?
Ruling: Yes, you can summon Immortal Phoenix to your base with its effect after discarding it with "Get Excited!" to kill a unit at a battlefield.
What happens to a hidden card when the unit it's attached to is gusted away from a battlefield?
Ruling: When a unit with a hidden card is gusted away, the hidden card is put into trash at cleanup (after resolution). However, you can react with the hidden card before the gust resolves to try to get use out of it first.
Can a Champion Unit be targeted by Possession (i.e., is a Champion Unit considered a Unit)?
Ruling: Yes, Champion Units are units in every sense of the word and can be targeted by Possession. Nuances: - Champion Units can only be targeted by effects like Possession once they have been played onto the battlefield - You cannot use Possession to target a Champion Unit while it is still in the Champion Zone - The only difference...
Does Wielder of Water get its bonus if it starts combat with another unit, but that unit is killed by Hidden Blade during showdown?
Ruling: Yes, Wielder of Water will proc. Wielder of Water's ability is a permanent ability that checks if he is alone at the location, regardless of how combat started.
Does Deflect require recycling a rune when Ahri, Nine-Tailed Fox's triggered ability targets a unit, since the ability doesn't use the word 'choose'?
Ruling: Deflect does not apply to Ahri, Nine-Tailed Fox's triggered ability because the ability does not "choose" a target. Nuances: - Deflect only applies when an effect specifically uses the word "choose" - Ahri's triggered ability targets without choosing, so Deflect is not relevant
If a buffed unit would die, can you use Sett's legend effect to save it and also get the card's death effect?
Ruling: No, you cannot use Sett's legend effect to save a buffed unit and also trigger the card's death effect.
Does the rune icon on abilities mean Recycle 1 of any domain?
Ruling: The rune icon means pay 1 Power of any type. This can be paid by recycling a rune of any domain, or by using a seal.
If a player uses Zenith Blade on Lee Sin to move Sett into a showdown, can they then use a limited move action to add Cithria to the battlefield?
Ruling: No, you cannot use standard action moves (including limited move actions) while inside a showdown or while a chain is resolving.
If Lee Sin dies from combat damage and stops buffing another unit, causing that unit to have lethal damage marked on it, does the unit die before healing or does it heal and survive?
Ruling: The unit dies before healing. When Lee Sin dies and his might buff is removed, the other unit will have lethal damage and will die during a cleanup check before the healing step occurs.
Can you include both variations of a champion (like both versions of Jinx) in the same deck?
Ruling: You can play both versions of a champion unit in your deck, but you can only put one of them in the champion slot.
When units are removed during the Resolution step, does a unit with lethal damage survive if it would be healed after other units die?
Ruling: Units with lethal damage die first at one specific point in time, then remaining units heal. A unit that would drop to lethal damage after another unit dies will survive if it heals during the cleanup.
When does Warwick's effect activate, and does it remove units before combat damage is calculated?
Ruling: Warwick's effect activates after he lands on the battlefield during the chain phase, following reactions and "when defending" abilities. Units killed by Warwick's effect are removed before combat damage is calculated at the end of the showdown.
Are players expected to explicitly pass priority during chain resolution, or can they assume their opponent has passed after a reasonable window?
Ruling: Players should explicitly ask if their opponent wants to play something each time priority passes to avoid miscommunication and potential sharking. Being consistent with asking every time prevents giving away information about whether you have a response.
When playing Tideturner from hidden with Gemcrafter Seer's vision trigger, if you stack vision first and see/play a Nocturne, can Tideturner swap with that Nocturne?
Ruling: No, Tideturner cannot swap with Nocturne in this scenario. You must decide targets for a trigger when it goes on the chain, and since Nocturne isn't on the board at that time, it cannot be selected as a swap target.
When a unit is recalled (e.g., by Zhonya's), does it keep buffs, counters, and other persistent effects like tracking how many times it has moved?
Ruling: When a unit is recalled, it keeps everything except assigned damage. The card does not actually leave the board when recalled, so recall does not change anything on the card.
If a unit is targeted by an ability but moves to a different location before the ability resolves, does the ability still affect that unit?
Ruling: Abilities always resolve, but if the ability specifies a location requirement (like "here") and the target is no longer at that location, the ability mistargets and does not affect the unit.
Can an opponent use a reaction to reduce a unit's might below 5 to prevent Volibear Relentless Storm's legend ability from triggering and channeling a rune?
Ruling: No, you cannot prevent Volibear's trigger by reducing a unit's might after it is played. When a mighty unit (5+) is played and enters the board, Volibear's triggered ability is added to the chain and will resolve even if the unit's might is later reduced below 5.
Can Kai'Sa's legend ability be used to pay the power cost for a hidden spell card (like one from Consulting the Past)?
Ruling: No, Kai'Sa's legend ability cannot be used to pay for hidden spell cards. Hiding a card is not the same as playing it.
Can you allocate more damage from Icathian Rain to a unit than it has might, or must you redirect excess damage to other units?
Ruling: You are allowed to allocate more damage than a unit has might. You do not have to redirect damage to other units (including your own).
In Riftbound, when units die or trigger abilities during the Resolution Step of combat, do those triggers resolve immediately between Resolution Step actions, or does the entire Resolution Step complete first before any triggers resolve?
Ruling: The entire Resolution Step completes before any triggers (like deathknells) that were put onto the chain resolve. Healing happens right after units with lethal damage are killed, before any deathknells or other triggered abilities resolve.
Do you have to pay deflect cost when challenging a unit?
Ruling: Yes, you must pay the deflect cost when challenging a unit because you still target the unit when choosing it to fight.
What speed/timing does a tappable ability like Lee Sin legend have compared to spells, actions, or reactions?
Ruling: All activated abilities are base speed (playable on your turn, outside of showdown, and with empty chain) unless specified otherwise.
If all defending units are killed during the Showdown Step, does the Resolution Step get skipped, and if so, how are battlefield conquest and clearing Contested status handled?
Ruling: The rule reference to skipping to "step 4" when no units remain is incorrect. It should refer to skipping the Combat Damage Step, not skipping to step 4 (Cleanup), so that the Resolution Step still occurs.