Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 52 of 128 · 6,389 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
When Dazzling Aurora reveals Nocturne as the first unit, does Nocturne's alternative cost effect trigger immediately and allow Aurora to continue searching, or does Aurora's effect end after revealing Nocturne?
Ruling: Dazzling Aurora stops when it first reveals a unit. If Nocturne is the first unit revealed, Aurora's effect ends there and plays Nocturne normally. Nocturne's alternative cost effect does not trigger from being revealed.
When a unit is recalled after being stunned on a different battlefield, does it return to its original battlefield or to the base?
Ruling: Recall always sends units to the base, not to their previous battlefield location. Nuances: - This clarification is present in the updated 1.1 version of the core rules, but was unclear in earlier versions
Does Cleave (Assault 3) stack when playing 2 copies, resulting in Assault 6?
Ruling: Yes, Cleave (Assault 3) stacks when playing 2 copies, resulting in Assault 6. Assault is a stacking keyword where each new occurrence adds to previous ones.
If I play Gust targeting my own Ravenbloom Student with 3 current Might, does Ravenbloom's ability trigger to increase its Might before Gust resolves?
Ruling: Gust resolves first and returns Ravenbloom to hand. Since Ravenbloom is no longer on the field, its effect does not activate.
When Fox-Fire is played from hidden, can it only target the battlefield it is on because it 'chooses'?
Ruling: Yes, when Fox-Fire is played from hidden, it can only target the battlefield it is on because it chooses a target.
When does Viktor - Innovator's ability trigger and resolve when casting a spell during an opponent's turn?
Ruling: "When you play" triggers occur after the spell resolves, and the trigger goes onto the chain as a triggered ability that allows responses before it resolves.
Can you react to VI's boosting ability after it's announced and paid for but before it resolves, and does each boost happen one at a time?
Ruling: Yes, you can react to VI's boosting ability after the cost is paid but before it resolves (for example, by bouncing VI back to hand with Gust). Each instance of the ability must be activated separately because it lacks the Reaction keyword.
How do hidden cards work, and what happens to them when units leave the battlefield?
Ruling: To hide a card, you must control a battlefield, and the hidden card is placed at that battlefield. If there are no units at the battlefield where the hidden card is located, the hidden card is sent to the trash.
Does Irelia Graceful (purple) reduce REPEAT cost?
Ruling: Yes, Irelia Graceful can reduce the REPEAT cost because REPEAT is an optional additional cost, and discounts can apply to additional costs. However, the discount only applies once per spell, as REPEAT repeats the spell's effect but is not itself a new spell.
When you gain Focus during a showdown and decide not to do anything, do you pass Priority first before passing Focus, or do you just pass Focus?
Ruling: You pass Focus directly. You cannot pass Priority when there is nothing on the chain. Sequence: - When you pass Focus, the next player in turn order gains both Focus and Priority
Can a hidden Fight or Fly at one battlefield be used to move an enemy unit back to their base when attacking a different battlefield?
Ruling: A hidden Fight or Fly can only target units at the battlefield where it is hidden, not units at other battlefields.
When conquering Candlelit Sanctum and seeing Nocturne in the top cards, can you exhaust runes to create floating mana before recycling to pay for Nocturne?
Ruling: Yes, you can exhaust runes to create floating mana before recycling to pay for Nocturne. Whenever you need to pay resources, you get a chance to tap and recycle as many runes as you want to float energy, or activate any other reaction add effects.
How much power do you need to spend to target a card with Deflect when no number is specified?
Ruling: When Deflect has no number specified, you pay 1 universal power to target it. If it's Deflect X, you pay X universal power.
When a unit is recalled after combat ends (because defenders remain at the battlefield), does the attacking unit become exhausted?
Ruling: Recalls do not change the state of a permanent unless specified, so the unit maintains its current ready/exhausted state.
If you have a hidden Zhonya's with one unit, can you let the unit die and reveal Zhonya's afterward to return it to base without it playing for the unit's death?
Ruling: You can only reveal a hidden Zhonya's after your unit dies if the battlefield is contested AND there is a deathknell ability (or similar chain-forming effect) that gives you an opportunity to react. If your only unit dies to combat damage with no deathknell triggers, you have no opportunity to react before combat resolves, and the hidden card will...
Can you play a copy of a gear you already have on the board (e.g., two Seal of Strengthening)?
Ruling: Yes, you can play multiple copies of the same gear. There is no legendary rule or uniqueness rule that prevents this in Riftbound.
If Zhonya's is hidden on a battlefield, does it automatically trigger when any unit dies, or can you choose which unit to save after seeing which one is targeted?
Ruling: A hidden card is never forced to be used and you can use it whenever you would play a reaction. You can choose which unit to save with Zhonya's as long as you activate it at the appropriate reaction timing.
Can you use Sett's Legend Power to protect a unit from Cull the Weak, and does it still work if the unit is already in base?
Ruling: Yes, Sett's Legend Power can protect a unit from Cull the Weak as long as the unit has a Buff and you can pay the power plus exhaust costs. Sett triggers when a unit would die, regardless of whether it's from an attack or event spell.
Can you play a reaction spell at the end of an opponent's turn (like in Magic: The Gathering)?
Ruling: No, you cannot play a reaction spell at the end of an opponent's turn without something to react to. You need something to initiate a chain or showdown in order to react during your opponent's turn.
Can you recycle an already exhausted rune to pay for a card's recycle cost (like Defy's 1 rune requirement)?
Ruling: Yes, you can recycle exhausted runes. The recycle cost can be paid regardless of whether the rune is readied or exhausted.
If you stun attacking units in combat and your defenders survive but the attackers also remain (due to stun), does the opponent conquer the battlefield since they have more might, even though you still have units there?
Ruling: If both attackers and defenders remain on the battlefield after combat damage has been assigned, all attacking units get recalled back to their owners base. The opponent does not conquer the battlefield.
Does a unit get defender status (and Yi's +2 might bonus) when targeted by a spell on a battlefield outside of combat?
Ruling: No, a unit does not have defender status when targeted by a spell outside of combat, so Yi's passive does not apply.
If a 0 Might unit attacks another 0 Might unit, or a unit is reduced to 0 damage, do the units die?
Ruling: 0 damage is not damage. Units do not die from 0 damage because lethal damage requires a non-zero amount of damage equal to or higher than their current Might.
What does 'pending' mean in relation to the chain and spell resolution?
Ruling: Something is pending when it is being added to the chain, but you haven't made the choices, determined cost, paid cost, and checked legality yet.
If you cast Ride the Wind during a showdown to move a unit to a battlefield where you already have units fighting, does the moved unit join the current combat or does it stage a second showdown?
Ruling: The unit joins the current combat. Nothing is staged when moving a unit to a battlefield where you already have units fighting.
When a defending unit with Shield from a battlefield effect (Fortified Position) survives combat, does it lose Might equal to the Shield when the effect ends, potentially dying to negative health?
Ruling: The unit does not lose Might or die. After combat damage kills units, combat cleanup clears damage from units before removing the "defender" designation and associated Shield effects.
Does Singularity's "up to 2" units mean 0-2 or 1-2 units? Can it target 0 units?
Ruling: "Up to 2" means 0-2 units, so you can choose to target 0 units with Singularity. Nuances: - This matters when the opponent has no units, allowing you to avoid killing your own units - If an opponent steals the spell, they can also choose to target nothing with it
If Dazzling Aurora triggers and gives Kadregrin, who draws a reaction spell with his ability, can that reaction spell be played before the turn ends and marked damage fades?
Ruling: No, the reaction spell cannot be played before the turn ends. After Kadregrin's when-you-play-me (WYPM) ability resolves from the chain, there is no additional priority window before the turn ends.
Does Taric Protector's Shield boost to allied units persist through combat when he dies, given that he has Tank and will likely die first?
Ruling: Taric's Shield boost persists through the damage assignment phase of combat. The boost only disappears after Taric is removed during cleanup, which happens after combat damage is assigned.
If my only unit at a battlefield with Merchant and hidden Tideturner is Charmed to my opponent's battlefield, can I activate Tideturner to move the Merchant back, or does it fizzle when Charm resolves?
Ruling: You won't have a window to activate Tideturner. You lose the battlefield as soon as you don't have a unit there, unless it's contested.
When Thousand Tail Watcher reduces a defending Poro's Might by 3 (from 2 to -1, resulting in 1 Might), does the Poro return to 4 Might when the opponent enters the battlefield (due to +1 Defender and +2 Wuju Style from Master Yi), or does the -3 Might debuff continue to apply?
Ruling: Might changes are done as a snapshot, so the Poro goes down to 1 Might from Thousand Tail Watcher's effect, and then returns to 4 Might when the opponent enters the battlefield and the defender/Wuju bonuses reapply.
If I use Hostile Takeover on an opponent's Ferrous Forerunner, attack with it, then Hidden Blade it, do I keep the mech tokens created by its Deathknell ability and draw cards from Hidden Blade?
Ruling: Yes, you keep both the mech tokens from Ferrous Forerunner's Deathknell and draw 2 cards from Hidden Blade. You own and control the Deathknell effect when it triggers, and Hidden Blade looks back to see you were the controller when the unit died.
Can Solari Shieldbearer stun itself when it enters?
Ruling: Yes, Solari Shieldbearer can stun itself when it enters. Nuances: - This self-stun will not trigger Leona's legend ability since she requires stunning enemies specifically.
When playing Blitzcrank to an open battlefield and hooking an enemy unit, who is the attacker and who is the defender in the resulting showdown?
Ruling: When you play Blitzcrank to an open battlefield (using an ability like purple Miss Fortune) and hook an enemy unit, you are the attacker because your unit applied the Contested status to the battlefield first.
Can you pay the accelerate cost when playing a unit with accelerate from a location other than your hand without paying costs (e.g., with Baited Hook)?
Ruling: Yes, you can pay the accelerate cost when playing a unit with accelerate from outside your hand without paying costs. When you ignore a cost, you only ignore the base cost, and the unit goes through the full process of play including choosing optional costs.
Can cards with exhaust effects be used during an opponent's turn or during showdown phase?
Ruling: Exhaust abilities can only be used during your turn when there is no showdown or chain active, unless they have an Action or Reaction tag.
When Teemo Strategist deals 3 damage to a unit with Deflect, does the controller pay 1 mana for Deflect or 3 mana (once per damage)?
Ruling: Deflect is paid once. There is only one instance of targeting, so you pay the Deflect cost one time regardless of how much damage is dealt.
Does a spell or ability fizzle if its target moves from one battlefield to another battlefield?
Ruling: Target requirements are checked again at resolution. If a spell targets "a unit at a battlefield" without specifying which battlefield, the target remains valid even if it moves to a different battlefield, and the effect will resolve normally.
If Hidden Blade is hidden at a battlefield, can you react with Hidden Blade to kill another unit at a different battlefield?
Ruling: No. Spells and play effects of units played from hidden can only target game objects at the battlefield where they were played from unless the targeting specifies otherwise.
Can you voluntarily exhaust a unit (like Pitt Rookie) without performing a standard move or other game action that causes exhaustion?
Ruling: No, you cannot voluntarily exhaust a unit without performing a game action. Exhausting is a limited action that can only be done when an effect or discretionary game action (like a standard move) instructs you to.
Does moving a ready unit from a battlefield back to your base start a chain that allows reactions?
Ruling: No, moving a unit does not start a chain or use the chain at all. Nuances: - Moving to a location you already control does not create a showdown
Can Zhongya's Hourglass (when set face-down as a Hidden card) be countered by Defy?
Ruling: Zhongya's Hourglass cannot be countered by Defy when set face-down on the battlefield because it is not a spell.
If a player uses Ride The Wind to move a defending unit to a battlefield they already scored on this turn cycle, can they score another point on that battlefield during the opponent's turn?
Ruling: Yes, you can score a point on a battlefield during your opponent's turn even if you already scored on that battlefield during your own turn.
Can I react with a hidden card at one battlefield when a showdown starts at a different battlefield?
Ruling: You can play a hidden card as a Reaction whenever you have priority to play a Reaction, but hidden cards can only target the battlefield they are hidden at.
Does moving a unit to your own battlefield start a chain (when there are no on-play effects, move effects, or end phase effects)?
Ruling: Moving a unit to a battlefield you already control does not start a chain, and your opponent does not get priority to react.
When do you decide who goes first - before or after revealing battlefields?
Ruling: You decide play order after determining battlefields. The sequence is: reveal legends, choose champions, determine battlefields, then decide play order.
When playing a card with Blind Fury, how do you pay for a card that has a different rune power cost than what you have available?
Ruling: When you play a card with Blind Fury, you ignore all costs and do not pay any power or rune costs.
If Yasuo attacks and triggers his ability ('When I attack, deal damage equal to my Might to an enemy unit here'), but the opponent plays Hidden Blade to kill Yasuo before the trigger resolves, does Yasuo still deal damage?
Ruling: Yasuo does not deal damage. When Hidden Blade resolves and kills Yasuo before his trigger resolves, Yasuo is no longer on the battlefield, so his ability cannot deal damage.
When Charm moves an opponent's unit to a battlefield that becomes empty (due to Gust removing the controller's unit first), does the moved unit conquer the battlefield and score a point?
Ruling: When Charm resolves and moves a unit to an empty battlefield (after Gust removed the controlling unit), the moved unit conquers the battlefield and gains a point.
If a Sprite Token holding a Buried Findings is about to die at the start of the turn (before scoring), can the opponent react to flip a hidden Consult the Past before the Sprite Token dies?
Ruling: Yes, the opponent can react to the temporary trigger before the Sprite Token dies. Sequence: - Sprite Token's temporary trigger occurs at the start of the turn (before scoring) - Opponent can react to this trigger - Opponent can flip Consult the Past during this reaction window - Then the Sprite Token dies