Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 4 of 128 · 6,389 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
When casting Icathian Rain against a unit with Deflect, do you pay the Deflect cost once or for each time you target that unit?
Ruling: You must pay the Deflect cost for each time you target a unit with Deflect, even if you target the same unit multiple times. Since Icathian Rain targets 6 times, you may need to pay Deflect up to 6 times.
When two Auroras resolve (one playing a DeadBloom into battlefield, another playing a dragon), does the dragon's +8 effect resolve before or after the battle/showdown starts?
Ruling: The dragon's +8 effect resolves before the showdown starts. A showdown cannot start while there is an active chain - all triggers must be added to the chain and resolve before the showdown can begin.
When Charm moves an enemy unit into combat at Fortified Position, does the battlefield's 'When I defend' Shield 2 ability resolve before the opponent can play Bullet Time?
Ruling: The 'When I defend' ability from Fortified Position triggers and resolves first, giving Ahri Shield 2 before the opponent can play an action spell like Bullet Time. Ahri would be at 5 might when Bullet Time resolves.
When Unchecked Power deals damage to all units and the defending player has Zhonya's Hourglass, who chooses which unit is saved - does the attacker choose the first target hit, or does the defender choose which unit to save?
Ruling: The controller of Zhonya's Hourglass (the defender) chooses which unit to save. Sequence: - Unchecked Power deals damage to all units at all battlefields simultaneously - All units would die at the same time - Zhonya's Hourglass is a replacement effect that replaces a damage event that would kill a unit - Since damage is dealt simultaneously, the Zhonya's...
Can you play a unit with Assault readied from Promising Future if you pay the Assault cost?
Ruling: Yes, if you play a unit with Assault from Promising Future, you can choose to have it enter ready, but you must pay the Assault cost in full.
When conquering with Kaisa, can you score the point first and then use her effect to cast a spell from discard?
Ruling: Yes, Kaisa's ability triggers after you have scored the point from conquering, so you can use that point to cast a spell from discard.
How does the new Teemo's 'when I defend' trigger work - does he need to be played from hidden, or does it trigger whenever he becomes a defender?
Ruling: Teemo's trigger activates whenever and however he becomes a defender, not just when played from hidden. The 'or I'm played from Hidden' text has been removed from the card.
If a unit is damaged by a spell and then Stupefied, will the previously marked damage kill it when its Might is reduced?
Ruling: Yes, the unit will die at cleanup. Damage does not decrease Might - it is marked separately. At cleanup, if a unit has damage marked greater than or equal to its current Might, it dies.
Can Facebreaker be played if there is no friendly unit at a battlefield, or if the friendly unit is already stunned?
Ruling: Facebreaker requires both a friendly unit and an enemy unit to be at the same battlefield as valid targets when played. You can target an already stunned friendly unit (it just won't be stunned again), but you cannot play Facebreaker if no friendly unit is present at all.
Can you prevent a player from scoring battlefields by using Gust (or other reaction damage) in response to a hold trigger?
Ruling: No, you cannot use Gust or any reaction damage to prevent scoring from holding a battlefield. There is no 'hold trigger' when scoring from holding a battlefield at the beginning of the turn - the scoring happens without a trigger that can be responded to.
How do Seals work as resources in Riftbound - do they provide an additional Rune each turn or do they generate Power when exhausted?
Ruling: Seals generate Power (color-specific resource) when exhausted, not additional Runes. They function as an alternative way to generate Power beyond recycling Runes.
When Kog'Maw dies in combat against a 5 health unit, does the Deathknell 4 damage trigger before healing, potentially killing the other unit?
Ruling: Kog'Maw's Deathknell triggers and resolves before the healing step, dealing 5 total damage (1 from combat + 4 from Deathknell) and killing the other unit.
If I am in a showdown state and use an action to kill the sole attacking unit my opponent controls, will my opponent have a chance to respond with an action before damage refreshes?
Ruling: Yes, showdown/combat continues normally even when one player has no units remaining. Both players can still play actions, and at the end of combat all units still heal.
Can Hallowed Tomb return a copy of your chosen champion from trash to the Champion Zone if another copy of that champion is currently in your base or at a battlefield?
Ruling: Yes, you can return a copy of your chosen champion from trash to the Champion Zone even if another copy is in your base or at a battlefield. Your chosen champion is defined by the card name that started in the Champion Zone, not the specific physical card.
When playing a card with Blind Fury (ignoring its cost), do you still need to pay additional costs like acceleration costs?
Ruling: When playing a card ignoring its cost, the base Energy cost and base Power cost (shown in the upper left corner) are set to zero, but you must still pay any additional costs. Additional costs are mandatory unless they have a "may" clause.
Does Ember Monk get +2 if Player A plays a hidden spell card during showdown and Player B counters it with Defy?
Ruling: No, Ember Monk does not get +2. The hidden spell card must resolve to be considered played for Ember Monk's ability.
Do you need to have a gear in play (on base or battlefield) to use a card that says 'you may kill a gear'?
Ruling: Yes, you need to have at least one gear on board to use this card. The card requires a valid target to enter the chain.
When triggers occur simultaneously for both players, in what order are they placed on the chain?
Ruling: Simultaneous triggers are placed on the chain with the active player's triggers first, then following turn order. Sequence: - Active player's triggers go on the chain first - Other players' triggers follow in turn order
If Ahri - Inquisitive is killed by Hidden Blade before her 'When defending' trigger resolves, does the trigger still resolve?
Ruling: Yes, the trigger still resolves, but it does nothing because it tries to find Ahri "here" and is unable to find her since she has been killed.
When a unit receives a negative might modifier (like -3 from Thousands-Tailed Watcher), does that modifier persist through phases, or does it snapshot the unit's might at the time it's applied?
Ruling: Effects that apply a minus or plus might modifier (like Watcher or Stupify) snapshot the might at its current value when applied. They do not persist as ongoing modifiers.
When using Yasuo's legend ability to tap 2 and move a unit, does the moved unit get exhausted?
Ruling: No, the moved unit does not get exhausted. Exhausting a unit is only a cost for the standard move action. When a unit moves through any other effect (like Yasuo's ability), it does not get exhausted.
Do On Attack triggers all resolve before On Defend triggers start a chain?
Ruling: "When I attack" and "when I defend" triggers all go on one chain together. Attack triggers are put on the chain first, which means defend triggers will resolve first.
Can a ready Unit at your Battlefield move back to base during the opponent's turn when the Battlefield is attacked?
Ruling: No, you cannot move a Unit back to base during the opponent's turn to protect it from an attack.
Does a unit with a buff that is recalled by Zhonya lose its buff?
Ruling: A unit that is recalled keeps all of its buffs and modifications. The unit stays exactly as it is, just moved to its controller's base.
Can I react to an opponent moving Traveling Merchant to an open battlefield and using their effect with ACTION spells, or does it need to be a REACTION?
Ruling: You cannot play ACTION spells in response to Traveling Merchant being moved and using its effect. You can only play REACTION spells during those chains. You can play an ACTION spell only after you get focus.
When Hidden Blade says 'Kill a unit at a battlefield. its controller draws 2,' does 'its controller' refer to the controller of the killed unit or the controller of the battlefield?
Ruling: 'Its controller' refers to the controller of the killed unit, not the controller of the battlefield. Nuances: - The word 'unit' is the subject of the sentence, while 'at a battlefield' is a descriptor, so 'its' grammatically refers back to 'unit' - If it referred to the battlefield controller, the card would be poorly designed since when played as...
If Anivia is moved away from a battlefield before her 'When I attack' ability resolves, what happens to the damage effect?
Ruling: Anivia's ability will still trigger, but "here" now refers to her new location (the owner's base), so no damage is dealt to enemy units at the original battlefield.
If Teemo Strategist is hidden in a Bandle Tree controlled by a player, and that player has a unit on their opponent's battlefield, can Teemo be revealed and played to the opponent's battlefield in a later turn?
Ruling: No. Hidden units must be played to the battlefield they were hidden in. Nuances: - This restriction also prevents playing the hidden unit to your base - The hidden unit can only be played to the specific battlefield where it was originally hidden
Does a unit keep its buffs when it is returned to hand?
Ruling: When a unit leaves play, it loses everything on it, including buffs. Nuances: - This applies regardless of how the unit leaves play (e.g., being returned to hand by effects like Guff)
For Fight or Flight, do you choose the unit when the card is played or when it resolves?
Ruling: You must choose the unit when playing Fight or Flight, not when it resolves.
In FFA Format, if you invite another player to your showdown and they decline, do you lose focus?
Ruling: No, you do not lose focus if an invited player declines. You only lose the ability to invite that same player again, but you keep focus.
Who gets priority first to react when green Yasuo's ability goes on the stack?
Ruling: The controller of green Yasuo gets priority first to react to the ability on the stack, then priority passes in turn order.
If a hidden Hidden Blade targets a unit at one battlefield, but the unit moves to a different battlefield before Hidden Blade resolves, what happens?
Ruling: Hidden Blade will mistarget and have no effect. The unit will not be killed and no cards will be drawn.
If a player casts Blind Fury in a multiplayer game and reveals a Nocturne from an opponent's deck but doesn't choose to play it (recycling it instead), can that opponent play the Nocturne since they looked at it?
Ruling: Yes, the opponent can trigger and play the Nocturne. Even though you revealed it with your effect, all players looked at it, so the owner can trigger and play it.
If a defending unit is moved to a different battlefield during showdown using Ride the Wind, does the showdown end or continue?
Ruling: The showdown continues as normal with the original defender, even if they have no units on that battlefield. The defender will have a chance to play Actions and can bring the unit back before the showdown resolves.
Can multi-target spells re-target if a hidden card at a battlefield becomes a new unit after the spell is activated? Can you activate a hidden card after your unit dies to reclaim that battlefield?
Ruling: No to both. Targets are chosen when a spell enters the chain and cannot be changed afterward. Nuances: - Hidden cards that are revealed after a spell has entered the chain cannot become new targets for that spell - A hidden card cannot be activated after a unit dies from a resolving spell to reclaim the battlefield
Can you hold priority in Riftbound to play multiple Reaction spells before passing priority to your opponent, and what happens after both players pass priority during chain resolution?
Ruling: When you gain priority, you can hold it and play as many Reaction spells as you want before choosing to pass priority to your opponent. After each chain link resolves, the player controlling the next item on the chain gains priority, and all relevant players must pass priority sequentially before that next item can resolve.
When Mundo recycles cards from your trash, do you choose which cards are recycled, or are they taken from the top/bottom?
Ruling: You choose which cards are recycled from your trash. The chosen cards are then returned to the memory deck in a random order.
If I play Hidden Blade targeting my own unit and my opponent chains Gust on that unit (removing it from the battlefield), do I still draw 2 cards?
Ruling: No, you do not draw 2 cards. When Hidden Blade resolves, it checks if the target is still legal. Since the unit is no longer on the battlefield, it is not a legal target, and any check for information about an illegal target returns "zero" or "null", including "its controller", resulting in no draw.
When determining the Active Player after an effect resolves, should triggered abilities be ignored when checking for the most recent item on the Chain, or should the controller of the most recent item (even if it's a triggered ability) become the Active Player?
Ruling: The controller of the most recent item on the Chain becomes the Active Player, even if that item is a triggered ability. Do not ignore triggered abilities for this calculation.
What is 'floating mana' in Riftbound and how does it work?
Ruling: 'Floating mana' refers to exhausting a rune to gain 1 energy before recycling that rune. The energy persists for your entire turn and can be used at any point during that turn.
If you retreat a unit from a battlefield you already scored a point from by holding, and then conquer it again in the same turn, do you score another point?
Ruling: No, you cannot score another point. You can only score each battlefield once each turn, so if you gain a point by holding, you cannot conquer the same battlefield that turn.
Does damage dealt to a unit before a showdown reduce its Might contribution during the showdown?
Ruling: Damage does not reduce Might. If a unit is alive, it contributes its full Might to the showdown regardless of damage taken.
How do you determine when a card references a unit's original might versus its current might?
Ruling: Cards reference current might unless they specifically indicate otherwise. Might is a property of units, not cards. Nuances: - Gust references current might, not original might - The distinction matters for units whose might has been modified during play
Can I move one unit from base and one unit with Ganking to the same battlefield together using Standard Move?
Ruling: Yes, units moving together using Standard Move must have the same destination, but they may come from different locations.
When does the draw effect from a field trigger when casting a spell - on cast or on resolution? If the spell gets countered, do you still draw?
Ruling: You draw when you select targets for the spell (on cast), not when the spell resolves. If your spell gets countered, you still draw the card because the targeting already happened.
If I pay for Unlicensed Armory using Flame Chompers and pay to play Flame Chompers, does Flame Chompers resolve to the board before I have to choose a target with Unlicensed Armory?
Ruling: You must choose the target for Unlicensed Armory when the ability goes on the chain, which is before Flame Chompers is in play. Therefore, you cannot target Flame Chompers with Unlicensed Armory in this scenario.
Does Yasuo's 'When I attack, deal my might as damage to a unit' ability trigger and resolve before combat damage in a showdown, and can it kill the defending unit before combat occurs?
Ruling: When a showdown is initiated, triggered abilities go on the chain starting with the attacker's "When I attack" triggers, then the defender's "When I defend" triggers. After reactions are played and the chain resolves, combat occurs. A unit killed by Yasuo's ability during the initial chain will not be present for combat and does not contribute damage.
When playing as Sett, can you generate 1 energy before recycling 1 rune as a reaction to his replacement effect?
Ruling: You cannot directly react to a replacement effect, but you will virtually always have a chance to exhaust a rune and float energy before anything happens that kills one of your units. You can react to the spell or ability that's going to kill your unit, or exhaust a rune in combat before combat damage is dealt.
Does Mageseeker Warden stop Accelerate from working?
Ruling: Mageseeker Warden does not stop Accelerate from working. Accelerate causes a unit to enter ready, which is different from readying a unit.