Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 29 of 128 · 6,389 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
What happens to unspent energy or power at the end of your turn?
Ruling: Any energy and power remaining in your resource pool will disappear at the end of your turn. The runes that generated that energy/power remain in their current state (exhausted or ready) - only the generated resources are lost.
Does Yi's buff (+2 health and +1 might for defending) apply to a Stalwart Poro defending alone when targeted by removal spells like Gust or damage spells like Bullet Time outside of a showdown?
Ruling: Outside of showdowns, units do not have the Defender status, so Yi's abilities that buff defenders are not active. You can target and remove the unit with spells like Gust, and damage spells will only see the unit's base stats.
When Volibear attacks a battlefield, does his damage trigger resolve before Grand Stratagem can be played?
Ruling: Volibear's damage trigger resolves before Grand Stratagem can be played. Grand Stratagem has action speed, meaning it can only be played when there is no chain. By the time the chain is empty and you can play Grand Stratagem, Volibear's trigger will have already dealt its damage.
Can Not So Fast counter the Arcane Shift spell?
Ruling: Yes, Not So Fast can counter Arcane Shift. Sequence: - You target an enemy unit and a friendly unit when casting Arcane Shift - This targeting happens before the spell goes on the stack - Not So Fast can be activated to counter Arcane Shift at this point
Can action spells be played during showdowns, and what are the timing restrictions?
Ruling: Action spells can be played during showdowns (including on your opponent's turn), but only when the chain is empty and you have focus. You cannot chain action spells to other abilities.
Does moving a readied unit with an effect like Charm or Ride the Wind cause the unit to become exhausted?
Ruling: Only the Standard Move has an implicit exhaust cost. When card effects move units (like Charm or Ride the Wind), they only do what they say and do not exhaust the unit unless explicitly stated.
Can you reveal a hidden card from a battlefield where a showdown is not currently happening (e.g., revealing 'Consult the Past' to draw during a showdown at a different battlefield)?
Ruling: Yes, you can reveal hidden cards from any battlefield whenever you have priority, regardless of where the showdown is happening. The restrictions are on how you can use the card, not on when you can play it.
Can you play Ride the Wind during your opponent's turn to move to an empty battlefield and gain a conquest point?
Ruling: Yes, you can play Ride the Wind during your opponent's turn to move to an empty battlefield and gain a conquest point.
Can Icathian Rain target Teemo while he is hidden?
Ruling: You cannot target Teemo with Icathian Rain while he is hidden because you choose your targets when you put the spell on the chain.
When playing Hidden Blade on a unit while controlling Wraith of Echoes and Viktor Innovator, do the triggered abilities enter the chain simultaneously (allowing you to choose their order), or do they trigger at different times (fixing their order)?
Ruling: Wraith of Echoes triggers first when the unit dies, then Viktor Innovator triggers after the spell is played. They do not trigger simultaneously, so you cannot choose their order - they are finalized onto the chain in the order they became pending.
When Noxian Drummer's triggered ability resolves (creating a token when moved to a battlefield), can opponents react to the trigger before the token is created?
Ruling: Yes, opponents can react to Noxian Drummer's triggered ability before it resolves and creates the token. The triggered ability goes on the chain first, and only when it resolves does the token get placed on the chain (where it then resolves immediately as a permanent).
If you use Zenith Blade to move into a showdown, and that movement causes a unit you control to enter another battlefield with enemy units, does that create a second showdown that resolves after the first?
Ruling: Yes, moving a unit you control into another battlefield with enemy units creates a second showdown. Sequence: - The first showdown begins - The second showdown waits for the first one to finish - After the first showdown resolves, the second showdown resolves
Can Defy cancel Bullet Time regardless of how much power is invested in it?
Ruling: Yes, Defy can cancel Bullet Time regardless of how much power is invested. Defy cares about printed costs (the power symbols on the top left of the card), and Bullet Time's X power cost is not a printed cost.
Can Defy counter Bullet Time if a player recycles +2 to play it?
Ruling: Yes, Defy can counter Bullet Time even if the player recycles +2 to play it. Defy only looks at the printed/base cost of a card, not any additional costs or modifications.
Does using Yasuo, Unforgotten's ability to move a unit back to base cause that unit to become exhausted?
Ruling: No, the unit does not become exhausted. Exhausting a unit is a cost only for Standard Moves, and most other move effects (including Yasuo's ability) leave the unit in its current state.
Does the 5 drop red Darius unit read itself if it is the 2nd card being played in a turn?
Ruling: Yes, the Darius unit reads itself when played as the 2nd card in a turn. Sequence: - The card is played and fully resolves - The unit enters the board - The "play" ability triggers - Since the unit is now on the board, it counts itself
Can you activate cards like Defy or Salvage without a valid target or for no reason?
Ruling: You cannot play a spell or activate an ability without a legal target. Defy is not a "may" ability, so if you play it, you must counter a spell.
When Orange Sett conquers a battlefield that lets you spend a buff to draw, can you spend his buff to draw and then regain a buff from his conquer effect?
Ruling: Yes, you can spend Orange Sett's buff to draw a card from the battlefield effect and then regain a buff from his conquer trigger.
Do cost reductions from Kraken Hunter apply to additional costs like Accelerate?
Ruling: Yes, cost reductions apply to additional costs. Kraken Hunter's power cost reduction from spending buffs can be applied when using Accelerate, effectively changing the card to a 4 Energy 3 Power card.
When Yellow Sett has a buff, gets -3 power from Watcher, then Call to Glory is played (spending the buff and giving +3), what is Sett's final power?
Ruling: Sett's final power is 5. Power modifications are straightforward arithmetic: start with buffed Sett at 7 power (5 base + 1 from buff + 1 from Sett's passive doubling the buff), apply Watcher's -3 to get 4, remove the buff (losing 2 power) to get 2, then add Call to Glory's +3 to reach 5.
If a player uses Smoke Screen and the opponent reacts with Discipline (drawing Defy), can the opponent play the drawn Defy to cancel Smoke Screen?
Ruling: Yes, the opponent can use the drawn Defy on Smoke Screen. Players get reaction windows at each chain link as it resolves, not just when the entire chain resolves.
If a player starts their turn with a unit on a battlefield (scoring a point), then moves that unit back to base and moves a different unit to the same battlefield, do they score another point?
Ruling: No, you cannot score the same battlefield twice in one turn. A battlefield can only be conquered and scored once per turn, regardless of units moving in and out.
Can you stun a unit in an enemy base?
Ruling: Yes, you can stun units in bases. Whether you can target enemy units specifically depends on the exact wording of the ability or spell.
After a chain fully resolves in a showdown, can players play new action/reaction cards before units deal damage to each other, or does the window close?
Ruling: After a chain fully resolves in a showdown, players can play new action/reaction cards. The showdown only ends when both players pass focus without starting a chain.
Can you use Dragon's Rage to move an enemy unit to its controller's base, and if so, do they deal damage to one another?
Ruling: Yes, you can move an enemy unit to its controller's base with Dragon's Rage. A base is a valid location to which units can move, and Dragon's Rage doesn't restrict the effect to battlefields only.
Is there a contradiction between the rule stating gear found on a battlefield is 'immediately' recalled to the Controller's base as a corrective action versus the rule saying it will be corrected in the next Cleanup?
Ruling: Yes, there is a contradiction in the rulebook between these two statements about when gear is recalled from the battlefield.
Can you play a reaction card at the end of turn if no triggers are active?
Ruling: No, you cannot play a reaction at end of turn if there are no end of turn triggers. You can only play reactions when you get priority, which happens in showdowns or when a spell/ability is on the chain.
If you hold a battlefield with a unit and a facedown card at the start of your turn, score a point, then move the unit away using ganking, what happens to the facedown card? Can you score the battlefield again by moving another unit there?
Ruling: The hidden facedown card is trashed immediately once you lose control of the battlefield (when all units move away). You cannot score a battlefield twice in a turn, even if you held it and then try to retake it.
In a Showdown where opponent moves to an uncontested Vilemaw battlefield and I Ride the Wind a unit there, who is attacker/defender? If opponent stuns my larger unit, what happens - who recalls and who conquers?
Ruling: The opponent who initially moved to the uncontested battlefield is the attacker, and you (who used Ride the Wind) are the defender. If the attacker stuns your larger unit, the attacker's unit is recalled and you conquer the battlefield.
Can you stun the same unit multiple times to trigger Leona's hero power each time and add buffs?
Ruling: A unit that is already stunned cannot be stunned again. Nuances: - You can target already stunned units with stun effects, but the additional stun won't do anything - The rest of the effect (beyond the stun) will still resolve normally
If I retreat my own Viktor Innovator to my hand with Retreat on my opponent's turn, do I get the 1 might recruit?
Ruling: You do not get the 1 might recruit. When Retreat finishes resolving and is considered played, Viktor is already in your hand and cannot trigger.
When attacking a Deflect unit with a 'when I defend' ability (like Teemo), does the defending player pay Deflect when the ability is put on the stack, or can they cast a reaction spell (paying Deflect for that) and then not pay for the defend ability?
Ruling: The defending player must pay Deflect when the defend ability is put on the stack, before any reactions can be played. All targets must be chosen and Deflect costs paid for abilities to finalize before reactions are possible.
When playing Sabotage, do you reveal the opponent's hand and choose a card before or after reactions can be played?
Ruling: When you play Sabotage, you choose the opponent when playing it, then reactions can be played. Once Sabotage begins to resolve, you reveal their hand, choose a card, and recycle it all as one action. Countering the spell prevents the reveal from ever occurring.
When Blitzcrank yoinks an enemy unit to your battlefield, do you get defender bonuses like Shield?
Ruling: Yes, when you yoink an enemy unit to your battlefield with Blitzcrank, you get defender bonuses like Shield. Nuances: - This works the same way as Charm - You are controlling the battlefield and your opponent is now contesting it - The opponent is contesting not of their own free will, but still contesting
If I play Get Excited! during my opponent's turn, discarding Flame Chompers as part of the spell's effect and killing a unit with a Deathknell, what is the order of resolution for Flame Chompers, Immortal Phoenix, and the Deathknell trigger?
Ruling: Yes, you can play both Flame Chompers and Immortal Phoenix to your base on your opponent's turn. The discard happens during Get Excited's resolution (not as a cost), triggering Chompers. The unit death triggers both Phoenix and Deathknell during cleanup.
If my opponent attacks with Kaisa and I decline to trigger Reavers Row, then they use Flight or Fight on my Darius and it resolves, can I use Ride the Wind to have Darius attack again in the same combat? And can my opponent trigger Reavers Row at that point?
Ruling: You can use Ride the Wind after Flight or Fight resolves to have Darius attack again in the same combat, and your opponent cannot trigger Reavers Row because they are still the attackers in this combat.
For Promising Future, who reveals their card first when both players are choosing cards?
Ruling: The player whose turn it is reveals first. The lines before the relevant text establish that actions are done one at a time, with the active player going first, and their banished card stays revealed.
When does floating energy (and power) disappear from your pool?
Ruling: Energy and power disappear at the end of each turn and at the end of each draw phase. Nuances: - You can recycle runes to float power even when not paying a cost - The draw phase clearing almost never comes up; its purpose is to prevent exhausting and recycling 2 runes in your Beginning phase with an empty...
If Cleave is on the stack and the opponent has Stupify and Gust, can you use Gust on a 4 Might unit after using Stupify to make it a legal target?
Ruling: You cannot cast Gust on a 4 Might unit before Stupify resolves because it is not a legal target. You must cast Stupify, let it resolve completely, then cast Gust before Cleave resolves.
If I move Travelling Merchant to a battlefield occupied by my opponent's unit, then chain Flash to return my Merchant to base before the showdown starts, does a showdown occur at all?
Ruling: No showdown occurs. When Flash resolves and returns your Merchant to base, the battlefield is no longer contested because control is re-established (the opponent's unit still controls it, and no opposing unit is present). The staged combat is removed, and your Merchant triggers twice (once for moving to the battlefield, once for returning to base).
Does blue Teemo trigger twice when revealed on defense (once for being played from hidden and once for defending)?
Ruling: Teemo only triggers once when revealed on defense, not twice. Nuances: - If the opponent has a unit with a move trigger (like Travelling Merchant or Drummer), you can reveal Teemo while that trigger is pending but before the showdown begins, allowing Teemo to shoot the moving unit. Then Teemo triggers again when the showdown actually starts, resulting in...
Can Vi's ability be activated multiple times without a flip/exhaust cost, and is recycling a card from trash mandatory?
Ruling: Vi's ability is an activated ability that can be used as many times as you want on your turn, but you must pay the cost (recycle a card from trash) each time you use it.
If a unit has Buff status from Showstopper, and then receives -2 from Blastcone Fae, does it still have the Buff status for Sett Legend's ability to remove and recall the unit?
Ruling: Yes, the unit still has the Buff status and Sett Legend's ability can be used to remove it and recall the unit. Receiving negative stat modifications does not remove the Buff status.
When multiple triggered abilities are placed on the chain at the same time by the same controller, must all decisions related to those triggers (like choosing modes or targets) be announced when ordering them, or can decisions be made as each trigger resolves?
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.
Do units added to a battlefield (or revealed from hidden) during showdown participate in combat?
Ruling: Yes, units revealed from hidden or added to a battlefield during showdown fully participate in that showdown and contribute to combat damage.
If I have Gemcraft Seer and Karma on the board, can I use Vanguard Captain to get 3 separate Karma buffs (one from Vanguard Captain's Vision, one from each token's Vision)?
Ruling: Yes, you get 3 separate Karma buffs. Each unit being played (Vanguard Captain and the two recruit tokens) has its own instance of Vision, and each Vision trigger can trigger Karma if you recycle.
When Lee Sin's Centered aura gives +2 Might to a unit, and that unit receives -3 Might reduction (to a minimum of 1), does the aura reapply after the reduction, or is the final Might calculated as a snapshot?
Ruling: Might increasing effects are applied before might decreasing effects to determine what the reduction snapshots to. The reduction is calculated once at resolve and then applied continuously in the arithmetic layer.
When a unit with Deathknell is stolen via Possession and then dies, who gets the Deathknell trigger and where does the card go?
Ruling: When a unit with Deathknell is stolen via Possession and dies, the controller (the player who stole it) gets the Deathknell trigger, but the card goes to the owner's trash (the original owner).
Can Pack of Wonders target cards in the trash?
Ruling: No, Pack of Wonders cannot target cards in trash. Cards can only target things on the board unless explicitly specified otherwise.
When Shen is played at a contested battlefield you are defending, does he enter with 3 might and then gain 2 from Shield (triggering effects that care about units becoming mighty), or does he enter already at 5 might?
Ruling: Shen enters the board with 3 might and then becomes mighty (gaining 2 might from Shield) during the cleanup phase after he resolves. This does trigger effects that care about units becoming mighty.