Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 130 of 152 · 7,585 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
I have Astral Heron on the battlefield. My opponent pushes my battlefield and I react, playing Retreat on my Heron. Does my next card gain the discount?
**No.** Heron's "if I'm at a battlefield" is part of its trigger condition, and that condition is checked *after* your first card of the turn fully resolves — by which point Retreat has already recalled Heron to hand, so the ability never triggers.
If I play Abandon in response to a card being played from discard through the flow mechanic, does it go back to trash or does it become banished?
**It becomes banished — it will not go to the trash, and it will not even go back to hand despite Abandon's text.**
For best of 1, when can you sideboard?
**By default, you can't sideboard at all in a standard Best-of-1** — sideboarding is only allowed between games of a match (Rule 403.4), and Rule 403.5 forbids using sideboard cards in the first game, which is the only game in a BO1.
Does Volibear channel a rune exhausted when playing a Mighty card or also when he makes a card Mighty?
**No — Volibear only triggers when you play a unit that is already Mighty at the moment it's played.** Relentless Storm reads "When you play a Mighty unit, you may exhaust me to channel 1 rune exhausted." The Mighty check happens in the trigger condition at the time of play — the unit must have 5+ Might when it resolves...
Can Mirror Image be discarded using Decree of Strength?
Yes — **Mirror Image can be chosen by Decree of Strength**, but it isn't *discarded*; it's **recycled**. Decree of Strength lets you pick a Mind (`[C]`) card from your opponent's revealed hand. Mirror Image is a Mind–Order spell, so it qualifies. However, the card doesn't go to the trash — Recycle puts it on the bottom of its owner's Main...
If my opponent has 2 gear in base and plays his Porobot, does he count as the 3rd gear to draw 1, or will there already be 3 gear?
No. Porobot needs **3 other gear** — he doesn't count himself. His ability reads "if you control 3 or more **other** gear, draw 1." With only 2 gears already on your Base, playing him gives you 3 gear total, but only 2 *other* gear — the condition fails and you draw nothing. You'd need a 3rd gear already in play...
If a Champion conquers a location with no monsters, would it be considered dealing excess damage in respect to something like the effect of "Vi, Piltover Enforcer"?
**No.** Conquering a battlefield with no enemy units doesn't assign any damage, so there's no excess damage for Piltover Enforcer.
If you move a unit to a combat showdown and have Mask of Foresight, can Akali Rogue Assassin move a unit from combat and then when moved back in that unit trigger Mask of Foresight a second time?
Yes — in this exact line, Mask of Foresight can trigger a second time, because the unit left the combat entirely and its re-entry starts a **new** Combat Showdown.
If my opponent attacks and puts a 'When I attack' trigger on the chain, when I reveal Mischievous Marai from Hidden as a Reaction, does it stack directly on top of the opponent's existing chain or start a new separate chain?
**Yes — it stacks directly on top of the existing chain.** Riftbound allows only one Chain at a time, and any card or ability played while a Chain exists is placed on that same Chain (Rule 330.1–330.2).
If my opponent plays Ride the Wind, can I chain a Temporal Breach on a Fizz at the battlefield to play a Hard Bargain from my trash, or would Fizz's play effect be on a separate chain?
**Yes — it all happens on the same chain.** Fizz's play effect doesn't start a new chain; it's added as a pending item on the existing chain, and you can use it to play Hard Bargain to counter Ride the Wind.
Does Dazzling Aurora enter the field first before the When You Play Me effect of Soul Gorger resolves? Basically, does Prefect exile Aurora?
**Yes — Aurora enters the field before Soulgorger's "When you play me" effect resolves, so Prefect cannot exile her.** Chain items finalize in the order they were appended, and a Gear resolves immediately upon finalizing (Rule 337.1.b, 337.2). So the order is: Soulgorger enters → **Aurora resolves and enters as a Gear** → then Soulgorger's WYPM trigger resolves and plays...
If my opponent attacks and puts a "When I attack" trigger on the chain, when I reveal Mischievous Marai from Hidden as a Reaction, it has "when you play...", does it stack directly on top of the opponent's existing chain or start a new separate chain?
**Same chain — it stacks directly on top.** There's only ever one Chain at a time (Rule 330.1), and anything played or triggered while a Chain exists is added to that Chain as the top item.
Does Diana Lunari trigger resolve if she gets gusted to hand in response?
Yes. Once Diana's "When a showdown begins here" trigger is on the chain, Gust only removes her — it doesn't counter her ability, and triggered abilities resolve independently of their source (FAQ #10222; Rule 392).
When I play Rebuttal, do I have to decide to pay 1 more power to take control of the spell, or will I wait until it resolves?
**You decide when Rebuttal resolves, not when you play it.** When you finalize Rebuttal, you only choose the target spell. The "You may pay [A]" isn't an additional cost of playing Rebuttal — it's a cost within an instruction, paid on resolution (Rule 204.3.b). So you play Rebuttal for its printed [1][P], and only when it resolves do you choose...
When I play Sacrifice to kill my Glasc Mixologist to play Vanguard Captain - will it enable its Legion to play 2 recruit tokens?
Yes — Sacrifice enables Vanguard Captain's Legion, so you get the two 1[M] Recruit tokens. Legion checks whether a different card has been **finalized** by you this turn (Rule 812.1.c), and Sacrifice was finalized when you played it — before Glasc Mixologist's Deathknell even resolves. So when the Deathknell plays Vanguard Captain from your trash, Legion is already active and...
I play Temporal Breach to a unit at a battlefield a hidden card. If they don't react it now, will the hidden card get discarded or can they play it later after the unit is played again and will they score this turn? This is my turn.
**No — the hidden card stays, and the Breach replay doesn't score.** Your control of that battlefield is never lost during the sequence. While Temporal Breach is on the chain (Closed State), no loss-of-control check happens, and after it resolves your unit is pending on the chain being played back — a pending unit prevents the cleanup from stripping your...
How does Switcheroo work with Orrn Forge God with a Sterakos and GA equipped and 7 gears in total against a tentacle token?
**Ornn ends at the Tentacle's Might (1), and the Tentacle ends at Ornn's full current Might** — Switcheroo counts every bonus, including Ornn's +1 per friendly gear and each gear's own Might bonus (Rule 433).
If I play Rumble, if opponent asks me how many might I have on a battlefield, do I have to tell him with or without apply of shield?
**You must give them the unit's current Might — which, outside of combat, is *without* Shield.** Shield is "While I am a defender, I have +X Might" (Rule 814.1.c), so it only adds to Might when the unit actually has the Defender designation. A unit sitting on a battlefield isn't a defender, so its current Might is its printed Might...
If I use Stupefy on an opponent's unit that has 2 might while I control an empowered Mel, Newly Awakened, does the opponent's unit get reduced to 1 might or 0 might?
**The unit ends at 1 Might, not 0.** Empowered Mel's ability modifies spells you control that "give −[S]" — so Stupefy's −1 becomes −2 Might. But the "to a minimum of 1 might" clause is part of Stupefy's own effect, so the floor still applies: 2 Might − 2 clamps to 1. This is the same snapshotting principle as Rule...
Can you use a quick draw gear after both passing focus and before assigning combat damage?
**No.** Once both players pass focus in sequence, the Showdown closes and combat proceeds directly to the damage step — there is no priority window to play anything, including a Quick-Draw gear at Reaction speed.
Emperor's Divide can be used to pull back units from multiple battlefields or just one?
**No — only one battlefield.** Emperor's Divide reads "any number of friendly units **at a battlefield**" (singular), so you pick a single battlefield and move any number of your units from that one location to base. It can't grab units from multiple battlefields (FAQ #10641). Units moved keep their current Ready/Exhausted state when they arrive.
Does Vi, Destructive ability I can use it as often as I want?
Yes — Vi, Destructive's ability can be used as many times per turn as you can pay for it, since nothing on the card limits the number of activations.
Can Frigid Jewel trigger more than once per turn, for example drawing 6 cards?
**No — Frigid Jewel triggers at most once per turn.** Its condition is "when you draw your **second** card each turn" — there's only one second card per turn. If you draw 6 cards, the ability fires on the 2nd draw and that's it; the 3rd–6th draws don't satisfy the condition. Even if you draw multiple cards at once (e.g.,...
If I play Kennen from Hidden, can I stun a unit in a different location?
**No.** Kennen's "When you play me... stun a unit" is a **play effect**, and Hidden restricts play-effect targets to units at the battlefield where Kennen was hidden (Rule 811.1.d.2) — so the stun target must be at that same battlefield.
If Blue Nasus and another unit trade on a Showdown, does the Blue Nasus trigger and channel 1 Rune Exhausted?
**No — Nasus's ability does not trigger.** Nasus, Guardian of Knowledge's trigger is "once each turn, when an enemy unit **here** dies." When he and the enemy unit both take lethal damage, they're killed together in the same combat cleanup step (Rule 323.5). Since Nasus leaves the board at the exact same instant the enemy unit dies, he can't evaluate...
If my opponent plays Fizz to use Hidden Blade targeting my Kayle, can I play Disposable Orders to remove the Hidden Blade from trash before Fizz uses it?
**Yes.** You can respond to Fizz's "When you play me" trigger with **Disposal Order** and recycle the targeted **Hidden Blade** — once it leaves the trash, Fizz's ability has no valid target and its instruction to play the spell is ignored (Rule 359.3.e.7; FAQ #10771).
When Lightning Rush looks at the top 3 cards and I see Undertitan, does that add 2 energy?
**No.** Lightning Rush says "Look at the top 3 cards," and looking is not revealing — Undertitan's energy ability only fires when an effect explicitly uses the word "reveal" (RiftJudge FAQ #4282/#251).
If I have a Stellacorn and Zhonya's Hidden on one battlefield, and I have Irelia and a Tideturner Hidden on another, if an opponent starts a showdown on the first battlefield, can I Ride the Wind my Irelia into the other battlefield while activating Tideturner to move my Stellacorn while keeping my Zhonya's Hidden?
**Yes — the whole line is legal, assuming Stellacorn and Irelia are actually in play (not hidden).** During the showdown at BF A, Ride the Wind is an Action, so it's playable in the Showdown Open State — it moves Irelia from B to A and readies her (joining the ongoing showdown is fine; the "no moving into combat" restriction...
Does Divine Judgment recycle trash and banish cards?
No — Divine Judgment only touches the card types it names: units, gear, and runes on the board, plus cards in hand. Cards in the trash or in banishment are not among the "rest" and stay exactly where they are.
Can you just exhaust Irelia without moving her?
No — you can't just exhaust Irelia without moving her. Exhausting is a Limited Action that only happens as a cost for an action/ability or when a card effect tells you to (Rule 414.3). The Standard Move is the only generic exhaust you have, and there "exhaust" is the cost while actually moving is the effect — per Rule 414.4,...
Does Red Akali deal marked damage when combined with Akali's Champion ability?
Yes — when the Akali legend (Rogue Assassin) moves Akali, Deadly Weapon out of a showdown, her "When I move" trigger fires and deals real damage: 1 (or 2 if she's Empowered) to a unit at the battlefield she moved from. That damage is marked on the unit as damage counters and counts as damage marked by you (Rules 142,...
Does Shuriken Flip cause the unit to exhaust?
No — Shuriken Flip moves the unit without exhausting it. Exhaustion is only the cost for a unit's **Standard Move** (Rule 144.2). Moving via a spell effect is not a Standard Move, and Shuriken Flip's text doesn't instruct you to exhaust the unit, so it keeps its current ready/exhausted state (see also FAQ #3678 for the same principle). The moved...
If I move to an enemy battlefield with Twilight Reveler and use Akali Champion ability to bring it back, is the card still considered an attacker?
**No** — once Twilight Reveler is moved back to base, it is no longer an attacker. Twilight Reveler gained the Attacker designation when combat opened at the enemy battlefield (Rule 464.2.c.3), but the designation is tied to that combat. When Akali's ability moves it to base, it no longer occupies the battlefield where combat is ongoing, and the designation is...
Can I use Akali champion to trigger Mournfull Witnesses?
**Yes.** On your turn you can activate the Akali legend (Rogue Assassin) ability to move Mournful Witness out of an ongoing combat to your base, and that ends the combat — Mournful Witness's "when a combat that I was in ends" trigger fires and it becomes Empowered.
If I counter a spell with Defile and my opponent counters my Defile with Abandoned and sends it to my hand, can I let Abandoned resolve and recast my Defile on the original target?
Yes — assuming you mean **Defy** (there's no card named "Defile"), you can let **Abandon** resolve and then recast **Defy** on the original spell.
If I play Draven Glorious Executioner, do I win a combat and draw a card if an enemy unit is pushed back by the ability of Overzealous Fan?
**No.** When Overzealous Fan kills itself to push your attacking unit back to Base, both players end up with zero units at the battlefield, so the combat result is **"No Result"** — not a win for you — and Glorious Executioner's "When you win a combat, draw 1" does not trigger.
Can I use Whirlwind or King's Edict to target Baron?
**Yes — both can hit Baron Nashor.** Neither spell targets or "chooses" units itself. Whirlwind and King's Edict both instruct players to make choices during resolution, and per Rule 355.10.e those player-made choices are not targeting. Since Baron's protection only blocks being chosen *by* enemy spells and abilities (not by players resolving them), he's a legal choice for both (FAQ...
If combat is resolving, I have a 5 might unit, and the enemy has a 7 might unit and a 4 might unit, can I assign my damage to the 7 might unit or do I have to assign lethal damage to the 4 might unit?
Yes — you can put all 5 damage on the 7 Might unit. Nothing forces you to kill the 4 Might unit first.
Does Mel and Ambessa Legends trigger on the same chain you empower a unit? For example, I empower a unit, it goes on the stack, and then Mel Legend triggers, that goes on the stack and will resolve first before the unit's empower trigger?
**No — it's the opposite order.** The unit's Empower resolves *first*; Mel (Soul's Reflection) and Ambessa (Matriarch of War) only trigger *after* that, on a fresh chain.
I have tapped legend LeBlanc and then conquer Hall of Legend battlefield, can I trigger Hall of Legend first to ready my legend and then use her ability?
**No — if LeBlanc is already exhausted when you conquer Hall of Legends, her Deceiver trigger never enters the Chain at all.**
When Bottled Constellation triggers and I have Patched Porobot on my board, is it possible that the Patched Porobot counts as 2 of these 3 needed to kill to trigger the Bottled Constellation?
**No.** Patched Porobot counts as **one** of the three kills, not two. Bottled Constellation requires you to kill **3 game objects** that are friendly units and/or gear. Patched Porobot is a single game object with both card types (Rule 178), so it's a valid choice for the kill — but it still satisfies only one of the three kills. This...
For rebuttal, to take control of it, do I pay the power on resolution or to put it on the chain?
**On resolution — not when you put it on the chain.** You play Rebuttal for its printed [1][P]. The "You may pay [A]" is a cost within an instruction paid when Rebuttal resolves, not an additional cost of playing it (FAQ #12038). When it resolves you choose: pay [A] and take control (making new choices), or decline and counter the...
For Ravenbloom Conservatory, opponent moves into that open bf. I play Ride the Wind to move my unit into Ravenbloom where he is attacking. Do I get the "when you defend" trigger?
**No — you don't get the trigger.** The battlefield has no Controller during the Showdown, so "you" in "When you defend here" refers to no one, and the ability stays dormant.
When my opponent plays Promising Future and reveals dazzling aurora, can I reveal thermobeam to destroy it, or will it resolve in such order that aurora will be played after thermobeam resolves?
**Yes — a Thermo Beam played through Promising Future will kill Dazzling Aurora, but Aurora still enters play first.** There is no response window to a permanent being played: gears and units finalize immediately and leave the chain (Rule 359.2), so you can't destroy it "before it's played."
Can Rebuttal counter or take control of Starfall?
**Yes — Rebuttal can target Falling Star** (there's no card named "Starfall" in the database; if you mean the Fury spell **Falling Star**, it has Energy cost 2, which is within Rebuttal's "no more than [4]" limit).
Gangplank Naval, if I use Starcrossed, can they use their ability? Will they get +3 and do they need to pull back to hand? Or can they stay at the same battlefield? It says "or put to hand," so you don't need to, right?
**Yes — if Gangplank is already Empowered, he stays on the board and gets +3 Shield this turn instead of being bounced.**
Does Ki Barrier stack with each other?
Yes — two Ki Barriers stack, giving the unit a combined 14 damage prevented this turn. Each Ki Barrier creates its own separate Prevent pool (Prevent 7) tracked on the unit (Rule 437.1.b.1). When damage would be dealt, both replacement effects apply in the order you choose (Rule 372), so the first pool absorbs up to 7 damage and the...
Can I destroy a non Chaos Gear with decree of unity?
No — Decree of Unity can only kill a **Chaos** gear. Its text reads "Kill an enemy Chaos ([C]) unit or gear," so a non-Chaos gear (e.g., a Calm or Order gear) doesn't meet the targeting requirement and can't be chosen (Rule 355.6). Chaos gear, on the other hand, is a perfectly legal target — Gear are Killable per Rule...
If I have Rengar Trophy Hunter with a buff (7 might) does he die when targeted by Singularity followed by a Stupify?
Yes — Rengar dies. With the buff he's at 7 Might. Singularity marks 6 damage on him (6 < 7, so he survives that alone), but when Stupefy resolves afterward it reduces his Might to 6 while the 6 damage is still marked. Lethal damage is checked whenever a chain item resolves: 6 damage ≥ 6 Might, so he's killed...
If a move into an open battlefield with Irresistible Faefolk and use her ability to pull in Fiora Peerless, does she get the bonus from her ability?
**Yes, Fiora, Peerless gets her bonus.** When Faefolk moves to the open battlefield, you applied Contested and are the attacker (FAQ #11891, Rule 459.2.b.1). Faefolk's trigger resolves, pulling Fiora in, and she gains the Defender designation when the Combat Showdown begins. At that exact moment the battlefield holds only Faefolk and Fiora — one on one — so her trigger...