Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 43 of 128 · 6,389 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
If an opponent attacks and Hidden Blade targets their unit, can they use Ride the Wind to escape it, and if so, does Hidden Blade then target your own unit?
Ruling: Ride the Wind cannot be used to escape Hidden Blade because Ride the Wind is an action, not a reaction. Actions can only start chains, not be added in the middle of an existing chain. Once Hidden Blade is revealed and starts a chain, only reactions can be added to that chain before it resolves.
Does Smokescreen hitting a unit with Deflect (e.g., Qiyanna) require additional power cost?
Ruling: Yes, Smokescreen requires the additional power cost when targeting a unit with Deflect. Deflect applies every time you target a unit with an ability or spell.
If an opponent moves to an occupied base, passes it, and the defender uses Rebuke, can the opponent use Challenge before Rebuke resolves?
Ruling: No, once Rebuke is on the chain, only reactions can be used. Actions can only be played after the chain resolves completely.
When an opponent moves 1-Might tokens into a battlefield controlled by Ahri, then uses Back to Back to give +2 Might to those units, do the tokens end up at 3 Might or 2 Might?
Ruling: The tokens will end up at 3 Might. Sequence: - Ahri's trigger snapshots to the minimum of 1 Might when the tokens enter (giving them -0 Might, assuming they're 1-Might recruit tokens) - When Back to Back gives them +2 Might, they go up to 3 Might total
How does the Tank keyword work when assigning damage in combat?
Ruling: When resolving a showdown, damage must be assigned to Tank units first, but any remaining damage can then be assigned to non-Tank units. Tank is most effective when protecting valuable units and when your total might exceeds the opponent's.
Who has the right to activate a reaction first when activating an action/reaction/regular spell?
Ruling: The player who activates the action/reaction/regular spell maintains priority to play first.
In team play, when does a team score points from controlling a battlefield - on both teammates' turns or only on the controlling player's turn?
Ruling: A team only scores points from a battlefield at the beginning of the turn of the player whose unit controls that battlefield. If your teammate controls a battlefield, your team does not score during your turn.
Does equipping gear to Irelia count as choosing her?
Ruling: Yes, equipping gear to Irelia counts as choosing her. In the context of Irelia, "choose" is equivalent to "target."
Can you play a unit from your hand directly to a battlefield you just conquered on the same turn?
Ruling: Yes, you can play units directly to battlefields you currently control, including battlefields you just conquered on the same turn.
Can a card with 'Spend my buff:' ability spend its own buff without other cards, and can it be used multiple times per turn?
Ruling: The card's ability itself spends the buff. The 'Spend my buff: effect' pattern is an activatable ability that can be activated as many times per turn as you can pay the cost.
Can tapped runes be recycled to pay power costs for abilities like Deflect and Bullet Time?
Ruling: Tapped runes can be activated and recycled to pay for power costs. This applies to abilities like Deflect and Bullet Time.
Can Teemo be hidden from the chosen champion zone, and can a hidden card be played as a reaction on the same turn it was hidden?
Ruling: Teemo cannot be hidden from the chosen champion zone because the champion zone only allows playing cards (not hiding them), and hiding is a separate game action from playing a card. A hidden card cannot be played on the same turn it was hidden, only on subsequent turns.
Can a player win by going from 6 points to 8 points in one turn, and what are the restrictions on scoring the 8th point?
Ruling: You can jump from 6 to 8 points in one turn to win. The only restriction is that you cannot win by conquering a single battlefield to go from 7 to 8 points.
If I play Thousand Tail Watcher and my opponent plays Grand Stratagem, do the -3 Might still apply to the tokens (making them 3 Might instead of 6)?
Ruling: The order matters. Watcher reduces Might by 3 to a minimum of 1 when it resolves. Buffs applied after Watcher increase Might from its current value, while buffs applied before Watcher get reduced.
When do you declare targets/make choices - when playing a card or upon resolution?
Ruling: Targeting and costs occur when an effect goes on the chain. Choices that are part of the effect (not costs) occur upon resolution.
Do cards like Kai'Sa or Qiyana that trigger on scoring/conquering work if you win combat at 7 points (where you don't gain a point)?
Ruling: Yes, you still score (conquer) the battlefield even at 7 points; you just draw a card instead of gaining the final point. Cards that trigger on scoring/conquering will still activate.
If Yellow Sett has 5+1 Might (5 base +1 from a buffing unit) and both Sett and the buffing unit are dealt 5 damage simultaneously, will Sett die?
Ruling: Yes, Sett will die, but only after the next cleanup occurs. When both units take 5 damage simultaneously, the buffing unit dies and Sett loses the +1 buff, leaving him at 5 Might with 5 damage marked. However, since this happens after cleanups have already occurred, Sett remains alive until the next cleanup is triggered.
Does Noxian Drummer's ability to play a 1 might Recruit unit token work when she moves to an enemy battlefield, or is it limited to only battlefields you control?
Ruling: Noxian Drummer's ability works on any battlefield, including enemy battlefields. The restriction that units are played to your base or a battlefield you control applies only when you choose to play units, but Drummer's ability does not involve choosing a location.
If I use Conquer to charm an opponent's character off a battlefield and then use Ride the Wind to move them back to that battlefield, do they score it again?
Ruling: Yes, the opponent can score the battlefield again on your turn if you use Ride the Wind to move them back to it.
In a higher level tournament setting, do you have to announce Ravenbloom trigger for every spell?
Ruling: You only need to announce the might change when it affects the board state such as damage or combat, not for every spell.
In a 3-player game at 7 victory points, what are the win conditions for reaching 8 VPs, particularly regarding battlefield control and conquering?
Ruling: To win the 8th point by conquering when at 7 points, you must score on ALL battlefields in a single turn. Holding battlefields at the start of your turn always gives you the 8th point with no restrictions.
If Fox-Fire targets two 2-Might units, and one is buffed to 4 Might with Discipline in response, can Fox-Fire still kill both units?
Ruling: Fox-Fire cannot kill both units. When Fox-Fire resolves, it can kill units with a total of up to 4 Might among its targets. Since the targets now total 6 Might (one 2-Might unit and one 4-Might unit), Fox-Fire can only kill one of them, not both.
Was the rule about 'Playing a unit to a battlefield you control' accidentally removed from the updated Comprehensive Rules?
Ruling: Yes, the rule about playing a unit to a battlefield you control was accidentally omitted from the updated Comprehensive Rules. A developer (Kelly) confirmed this omission.
Can Charm move an enemy unit without ganking from battlefield to battlefield?
Ruling: Yes, Charm can move an enemy unit from battlefield to battlefield without ganking. Nuances: - Ganking only matters for Standard Move (the usual way to move a unit) - Charm is not a Standard Move, so ganking restrictions do not apply
Can you draw a card from Warrens and Merchant effects if you have an empty hand and cannot discard?
Ruling: Yes, you can draw even if you discard 0 cards. The draw effect is not conditional on successfully discarding.
When playing a card with Hidden, do you have to pay both the energy cost and the power cost, or does Hidden remove both costs?
Ruling: When you play a card with Hidden, you ignore both the energy cost and the power cost printed in the top left corner of the card. You only pay the 1 recycle cost to put it into Hidden.
Can you react to a second unit being played to a battlefield?
Ruling: No, playing a unit does not grant priority, so you cannot react to a unit being played to a battlefield.
If you conquered a battlefield last turn, it returned to you, you recall your unit, and play a different unit into that battlefield, do you get a point for the new unit?
Ruling: No, you cannot score at the same battlefield more than once per turn. If you began your turn with control of a battlefield, you Held it for points, and you cannot conquer it again that turn.
For Bullet Time, when must the player declare how much power they are paying for the spell's effect - when the spell is played and placed on the chain (as a cost), or when the spell resolves?
Ruling: The power payment for Bullet Time is not a cost of the spell. The choice of how much power to pay and the actual payment happens on resolution, not when the spell is played and placed on the chain. The total cost to play Bullet Time is just 1 energy.
If Noxian Drummer moves to a battlefield and triggers her ability to play a Recruit token 'here', but she gets returned to hand by Gust before the ability resolves, does the Recruit token still get created?
Ruling: The token would not be created because Noxian Drummer is no longer on the board when the ability resolves, so "here" cannot be determined.
When Tideturner is played from hidden as a reaction, does its 'on play' effect trigger on the same chain or a new chain?
Ruling: Playing Tideturner starts a chain which immediately resolves since you cannot react to permanents (units or gear). After Tideturner is in play, its play effect triggers on a new chain to which players can react.
Is a unit that attacked Targon's Peak with Assault still considered an attacker while the Targon's Peak trigger is on the chain?
Ruling: Yes, a unit that attacked Targon's Peak with Assault is still considered an attacker while the Targon's Peak trigger is on the chain. Combat lasts through conquer.
Does a hidden unit get discarded if the only friendly unit on a conquered battlefield is killed or moved?
Ruling: Yes, the moment you lose control of a battlefield, all hidden cards there get discarded. Nuances: - You can react to whatever moved/killed your unit by playing the hidden card as a reaction before losing control of the battlefield
When Hook kills Ekko and reveals another Ekko from the top of the deck, can you use the first Ekko's deathknell runes to pay for the second Ekko's accelerate cost?
Ruling: No, you cannot pay for the revealed Ekko's accelerate cost with the killed Ekko's deathknell runes. The revealed Ekko will be played before the deathknell resolves.
If a spell is countered (e.g., by Defy), does it still count as having chosen/targeted for the purpose of triggering effects like Irelia Blade Dancer?
Ruling: Yes, choose/target triggers occur when the target is selected as the item finalizes, which happens before resolution. Even if the source spell is countered afterward, the trigger has already occurred and will resolve.
In 2v2, can teammates combine their battlefield holds and scores in the same round to win the final point, or does one player need to score all battlefields themselves?
Ruling: In 2v2, when scoring the final point from Conquer, a player must score each battlefield in the same turn, except for any battlefields that were occupied by their ally during that turn's Beginning Phase. Battlefields held by your teammate count as "phantom points" - you don't need to score them yourself.
If I conquered a battlefield on my turn, then my unit leaves and returns to that battlefield during my opponent's turn, does this count as a new conquest instance?
Ruling: Yes, this counts as a new conquest instance and you score a point. Sequence: - When your last unit leaves an uncontested battlefield, you lose control of that battlefield - When your unit returns to the now-open battlefield during your opponent's turn, you conquer it again - You score a point because you did not already score on that...
Can you make a standard move with a unit from base at the same time as moving a unit with Ride the Wind spell?
Ruling: You cannot move units simultaneously with a standard move and Ride the Wind. You must make the standard move first to start the showdown, then wait until you have focus to play Ride the Wind.
If Darius is played as the third card in a turn, can he be readied by playing a fourth card that same turn?
Ruling: No, Darius cannot be readied in this scenario. Darius can only count cards played in the turn that he was able to see, meaning cards played after he resolves. If he is the third card played, he did not see the second card being played, so his trigger condition cannot be fulfilled by playing additional cards after him.
When Teemo Strategist's ability reveals multiple Hidden traps against an attacker with Deflect, does the defender have to recycle one rune or multiple runes?
Ruling: Teemo Strategist's ability deals one source of damage that deals N damage total, not N separate sources of 1 damage each. Therefore, only 1 rune needs to be recycled for Deflect, regardless of how many Hidden traps are revealed.
Does Shen break the spell chain when played as a reaction, and does he enter the battlefield immediately?
Ruling: When you play Shen (or any permanent) as a reaction on the chain, it leaves the chain immediately and enters play. You do not automatically pass priority after playing something on the chain.
Can you exhaust a rune gear (Sigil) to pay the recycle rune cost of Sigil of the Storm battlefield?
Ruling: No, you cannot exhaust a Sigil to pay a recycle rune cost. Exhausting a Sigil and recycling a Rune are different actions that happen to produce the same resource (Power).
Does Thousand-Tailed Watcher's might reduction affect all units currently on the field or is it a passive effect on new units? If a unit's might is reduced and then increased by another effect, does it stack or stay at the reduced value?
Ruling: Thousand-Tailed Watcher only affects units currently in play when it enters. Might modifications stack - if a unit is reduced to 1 might by Watcher and later increased by 2, it becomes a 3 might unit.
During a showdown at one battlefield, can you play hidden cards or actions that target units at a different battlefield?
Ruling: Yes, you can play hidden cards and actions at any battlefield during a showdown, even if the showdown is happening at a different battlefield. The only restrictions are what the cards themselves specify.
If a stunned unit survives the damage in a showdown, does another showdown start?
Ruling: No, another showdown does not start. If units from both players remain at the end of combat, the attackers are recalled back to base.
If a hidden tideTurner is revealed at a Battlefield, its trigger targets a monk in base, and the opponent gusts the tideTurner before the trigger resolves, does the monk still move?
Ruling: No, the monk does not move. When tideTurner is removed before its trigger resolves, "my original location" cannot be determined because "my" is no longer resolvable during resolution.
Can you play Champion units (outside of the Champion Zone, just normally in your deck) in decks where the legend doesn't have the same champion tag?
Ruling: Yes, you can play Champion units in your deck even if they don't share the same champion tag as your Champion Legend, as long as they conform to normal domain identity rules.
When Hidden Blade or Baited Hook targets a unit that gets protected by Zhonya's, do their draw/summon effects still resolve?
Ruling: Hidden Blade will still draw 2 cards, but Baited Hook will not summon a unit. Nuances: - Hidden Blade references "its controller" which only requires the target was valid at resolution, not that the unit actually died - Baited Hook references "the killed unit" and its might, so if no unit died (protected by Zhonya's), no might value exists...
Can Forge of the Future recycle itself?
Ruling: No, Forge of the Future cannot recycle itself. Sequence: - You must choose targets before paying the cost - Since Forge of the Future is targeting, it must still be in play when targets are chosen - Therefore it cannot target itself to be recycled as part of its own cost
Can I summon units from my hand to a battlefield I'm currently attacking?
Ruling: No, you cannot summon units to join an attack at a battlefield you don't control. Sequence: - Moving a unit to a battlefield creates a showdown - During a showdown, base speed cards (including most units) cannot be played - Reaction speed units exist but require you to control the location where you're playing them - As the attacker,...