Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 131 of 152 · 7,585 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
Can I attach Spinning Axe to my unit after my unit dies even though it's not my turn?
No — you can't re-attach Spinning Axe on a turn that isn't yours. **[Equip]** is an activated ability, and activated abilities can only be used on your own turn, in an Open State (chain empty, no Showdown) — Spinning Axe's Equip doesn't have **Reaction**, so it doesn't get special timing. Also note the Axe doesn't return to your Base immediately...
About Temporal Breach, when I banish a friendly unit, must I play it immediately or can I wait to play it anytime?
**No — the play-back is immediate, part of Temporal Breach's resolution.** You can't bank the banished unit and play it at a later time.
If I control an empowered blue mel, can my opponent rebuttal a spell of mine?
**Yes — your opponent can Rebuttal your spell even with an Empowered Mel, Newly Awakened on your side.** Mel's protection ("Your spells and abilities can't be countered") only stops the *counter* part of Rebuttal — it doesn't make your spell unchoosable, and Rebuttal's targeting only checks Energy cost (≤[4]). So Rebuttal is legal.
If I play Timewarp, do I get a point for holding on my extra turn?
Yes — your Time Warp extra turn is a full turn, so you go through your Beginning Phase and score holding points for each battlefield you control that you haven't already scored this turn (Core 735, 315.2.b.2).
Can I use spells without the keyword Action and Reaction during my opponent's turn?
No. Spells without **Action** or **Reaction** can only be played during your own turn, in an open state with nothing on the chain — never on your opponent's turn.
Can I play spells with flow keywords like Perfect Execution during my opponent's turn?
No — Flow doesn't change when you can play a spell, only where from (your trash instead of your hand).
Does Akali Deadly Weapons move trigger create a window for me to play actions before the showdown?
**No — Akali's "When I move" trigger doesn't create an Action window before the showdown; only Reactions can be played while her trigger is on the chain.**
Do units heal after a non-combat showdown and what is a non-combat showdown?
**No — units do not heal after a non-combat showdown.** A **non-combat showdown** is a showdown opened at a Contested battlefield where units controlled by different players are *not* present (Rule 344.2) — e.g., you move a unit into a battlefield you don't control and there are no enemy units there. If units of opposing players are present, the showdown...
On my Hwei ability, can I draw a Porobot and float 2 energy before discarding a Porobot to get two free energy?
**Yes — with the right timing.** You can't interrupt Hwei's ability mid-resolution, but you can float before it resolves. Here's the line that works:
I have two units in base, and my opponent has two units in base. My opponent casts Star Crossed targeting one of my units and one of theirs. I cast Rebuttal, and take control of Star Crossed. Can I reselect only the "enemy unit" portion of Star Crossed to target my opponent's other unit? If so, do one or two units return to their hand?
**Yes — you can retarget just the enemy-unit portion, and two units total go to hand (one yours, one theirs).**
I have two units in base, and my opponent has two units in base. My opponent casts Star Crossed targeting one of my units and one of theirs. I cast Rebuttal and take control of Star Crossed. Can I essentially bounce two of their units back by only reselecting, switching the target on my friend unit to their other unit?
**No** — when you gain control of Star-Crossed, "friendly" and "enemy" re-anchor to you as the new controller, so you still must choose one of your own units and one of your opponent's.
Looking at these two key rulings, I can see the distinction: a spell that fizzles due to invalid targets is still considered played because it completed the full play process, which means "when you play" triggers will fire. But a countered spell never finishes that process, so it doesn't count as played and won't trigger those effects. This means I should increment the cards played counter at the moment of play, before any resolution happens. The regulations are clear, and they partially refute the obvious repair: 350.1 — "A card is played when it has finished this process in its entirety." 359.3.e.10 — a spell whose targets all become invalid "has no effect but is still considered played" — and the example is literally "When you play a spell, give me +1 [M]". So: countered = never played, but target removed = played anyway
Your conclusion is correct — countered = never played, fizzled-by-invalid-targets = still played — but the timing model is not. Riftbound does **not** count a card as played when it hits the chain; per Rule 350.1, a card is only "Played when it has finished this process in its entirety," and for a spell that means actually resolving. That's exactly...
Your Riftjudge ruling #11530 — is against core rule 419.4.b. What stands here?
**The Core Rule stands — ruling #11530 is overruled.** A countered spell *does* count toward Battering Ram's discount, so Ram costs [4] (5 base, −1).
If an 8 might attacks my 9 might holding, can he then instantly bellows breathe and kill my unit?
It depends on when he plays it. - **During the Showdown, before combat damage:** Yes. Bellows Breath deals 1 damage (2 with Repeat), and that damage stays marked through combat (damage only clears at Combat Cleanup/end of turn). Combat then adds the attacker's 8 Might → 9 damage on your 9-Might unit = lethal, it's killed.
Can you explain to me the FEPR process and the combat changes made in Unleashed?
**FEPR** is the process Riftbound uses to resolve everything on the Chain: **Finalize → Execute → Pass → Resolve** (Rule 335–340). Its full name in current rules is **HOT FEPR** — *Handle Outstanding Tasks* first, then FEPR (FAQ #9397).
Can my opponent play a reaction spell to my Lilting Lullaby?
**Yes.** Reaction spells can be played during a Closed State on any player's turn, and your Lilting Lullaby is itself on the chain — so your opponent can add a Reaction spell on top of it (Rule 813.1.c.1).
Opponent plays Fizz Trickstarter. I want to play Disposal Order. When can I respond? When opp plays Fizz or when he chooses a card to play from trash? And what next? I play Disposal Order and he chooses another cards?
**You respond when Fizz's "When you play me" trigger goes on the Chain — that's the moment your opponent declares which spell in their trash Fizz will play (FAQ #10020, #12050).**
If I soul harvest an enemy unit in a battlefield in which I have no units on, can my opponent play an ambush card to put that unit into the battlefield?
**Yes — your opponent can play an Ambush unit to that battlefield in reaction to Soul Harvest.** Soul Harvest on the chain creates a Closed State, and since your opponent still controls the targeted unit at that battlefield, Ambush's condition is met: they may play a unit there and gain [Reaction] timing for that play (Rule 822.1.b). The Ambush unit...
Can I use 2 more reactions at once?
**Yes.** Priority doesn't leave you until you choose to pass it, so you can play as many Reactions as you can afford in a row (Rule 312; FAQ #4744).
When Red Akali moves into a battlefield where Blue Teemo is defending, does Teemo's "When I defend" go on the chain first, or can Akali instantly use her Legend ability and move Red Akali unit back as an action?
**No — Teemo's "When I defend" goes on the Chain first; you can't use the legend ability to preempt it.**
If I'm defending with Ravenbloom Student at the Battlefield Fortified Position, and my opponent comes in with Akali Deadly Weapon, activates the legend ability of Akali and moves Akali Deadly Weapon out, does my Ravenbloom Student survive from the Fortified Position shield proc? Or does Ravenbloom Student die from the 2 damage dealt to it?
**No — Ravenbloom Student dies from the 2 damage.** Fortified Position's "When you defend here" Shield never procs, because the Student is killed in the Cleanup **before** Combat is ever staged, so it never becomes the Defender.
Can I play Star Crossed as a reaction to an empower ability?
**Yes.** Empower is an activated ability (Rule 827), so it goes on the Chain as a Pending item and creates a Closed State (Rule 377.3). Star-Crossed has **[Reaction]**, so you can play it during that Closed State.
When you play Temporal Breach on a battlefield you control, does it start a showdown?
No — if the unit's owner already controls the battlefield, no showdown starts. Temporal Breach banishes a unit and its owner plays it back to the same location. Contested is only applied when a unit becomes present at a battlefield its controller doesn't already control (Rule 190.3.a.1). Replaying your own unit to a battlefield you control doesn't satisfy that, so...
Does Applied Researcher affect repeat costs?
Yes — once she's Empowered, Applied Researchers' discount applies to Repeat costs too. Repeat is an optional additional cost that gets added to the spell's total cost during finalization (Rule 356.2), and her "your spells cost [1] [A] less" is a total-cost discount applied after all costs are summed (Rule 356.4). So a spell that costs [2] plus a [Repeat]...
Does Vi Peacekeepers still stun if she gets bounced and no longer at that battlefield?
**No — if Vi is bounced before her attack trigger resolves, the stun fizzles.** Her ability reads "When I attack, [Stun] an enemy unit **here**." The word "here" requires Vi herself to still be at that battlefield when the ability resolves. If she's returned to hand (e.g., Star-Crossed or Flash) in response to the trigger, the chain resolves last-in-first-out —...
I play Imperial Decree, can I use my 2 Might unit to kill a 2M backline unit and 4M unit of opponent?
**No — you can't kill both.** Your 2 Might only reaches the 4M unit, so the 2M Backline unit survives untouched.
If I burn cards and I burn Flame Chompers, can I play it for through its effect?
**No.** Burning Flame Chompers does not trigger its ability — "discard" only means hand → trash (Rule 422.1), while Burn moves cards from the top of your Main Deck to trash (Rule 440.1). They're different game actions, so the "when you discard me" trigger never fires.
If there is damage on a unit, will it still die if I play Elder Dragon and bounce it?
**Yes — the damaged enemy unit dies the moment Elder Dragon enters, and bouncing Elder Dragon afterward won't undo it.**
If I have Mel awakened empowered and I stupefy my own empowered Gangplank, does he only gain 1 might instead of 2 or does he get 6?
**Neither — Gangplank gains +3 Might this turn, so he ends at 9 (6 base + 3). Mel's extra −1 never lands.**
Can the list ability be reacted to?
**Yes — but only the [T] activated ability, not the "as you play" naming.** The List's `[T]: Give a unit with the named tag -2 [S] this turn.` is an activated ability. Activated abilities go on the Chain just like a spell, which creates a Closed State and gives opponents a window to respond with Reactions (Rules 377.3, 406.4). So...
If my legend is Master Yi, I have a Fiora Peerless Duelist alone on a battlefield, and my opponent starts a showdown with only one unit, can I get the +2 might from Master Yi first before Fiora's might is doubled? What happens if I play a Punch first after the showdown starts? Would Fiora double that might as well?
**Yes — Fiora ends at 10 Might, and no, Punch First's +5 doesn't get doubled.** Your Master Yi (Wuju Bladesman, Starter) gives a **passive** +2 Might the moment Fiora is designated as the lone defender, before anything hits the chain (Arithmetic layer). Fiora goes 3 → 5, then her "when I defend one on one" trigger resolves and doubles her...
When Master Yi tempered attacks with 7 might to a Darius with 5 might, Draven player who has Darius reveal hidden card Switcheroo. Does the Master Yi which is at 7 might gain the might of Darius being at 5 or at 7 because he played the second card this turn?
**Master Yi gains 5 — Switcheroo swaps using each unit's *current* Might when it resolves, and Darius is sitting at 5.**
Am I allowed to empower Matriarch of War legend with "Kayle, Justified" second and third empower?
**Yes — you can activate Kayle's Empower a second and third time, and Matriarch of War's trigger fires each time — but only the first one does anything to her.**
If I play Temporal Breach on a defender at a battlefield, when they replay, are they now the attacker?
**No — the replayed unit is still the Defender, and its controller stays the Defender.** The Attacker is defined by who first applied **Contested** to that battlefield (Rule 459.2.b) — that's the player who moved in, and Temporal Breach doesn't change it. The defender controls the battlefield even while it's contested, so playing the unit back to the same location...
Hextech Anomaly if I pay a Ready Rune to get an energy, does that mean I get 2 Fleeting Energy, one from Hextech Anomaly and the other for floating a rune?
Yes — one ready rune can give you 2 floating energy, but only if you use its Recycle ability to fuel Hextech Anomaly.
Does Ivern Friend to All get the extra point if I have units with all the different tags at the same battlefield as him, or can they be anywhere in play (e.g., bird, poro, and cat with Ivern at battlefield and dog at base)?
Yes — they can be anywhere in play under your control. Ivern's ability says "if your **units** have all of the following tags **among them**," not "at this battlefield." So as long as you control at least one Bird, one Cat, one Dog, and one Poro across your base and all battlefields, the condition is met (FAQ #10315). A Dog...
If opponent has Frozen Fortress and forgot to trigger the Frozen Fortress and suddenly remembered, how does judge resolve this?
It depends on **when** they remember — the key is whether a new game action has been taken since the trigger's observable impact point.
When you play a unit from Kharox Empower, after that played unit dies, does it go to your trash or the enemy's?
**It goes to the opponent's trash — you control the unit, but they still own it.** When Kharox's Empower lets you play a unit from your opponent's trash, you gain control of it, but ownership doesn't change. If that unit is killed later, it goes to its owner's trash (Rule 56: a card can never enter a non-board zone belonging...
Explain to me how the interaction of Switcharoo targeting my Shadow Clone with Assault 4 has with an enemy unit with 7 might.
**Yes — it fully swaps the numbers: your clone becomes 7 Might and the enemy drops to 4, with Assault staying on the clone as part of that value.**
How does Star Crossed work when it gets rebuttal by a Mel deck?
**It depends on what you do when Rebuttal resolves — and you decide then, not when you play it.** Rebuttal (Mel's signature, [1] Mind/Chaos) can target Star-Crossed since its Energy cost of 3 is within the "no more than [4]" limit. On resolution, you either pay [A] to take control and make new choices, or decline and counter it (FAQ...
Can I tap Irelia legend when I select her during a showdown with a spell?
**Yes.** Playing a spell that chooses Irelia, Fervent during a Showdown triggers Blade Dancer's ability ("When you choose a friendly unit, you may exhaust me and pay [A] to ready it"), so you can tap the Legend and pay a Rune to ready her (FAQ #9382).
If I hide Zhonya and my Poro dies triggering its Deathknell, can I play Zhonya in response to the Deathknell?
Yes — you can flip Zhonya's Hourglass in response to the Deathknell trigger, but it won't save the Poro. Hidden cards gain Reaction when played from facedown (Rule 811), and the Deathknell trigger going on the chain puts the game in a Closed State — so you have a window to play it. However, Zhonya's is a replacement effect ("if...
Do units heal after Showdown? Open Showdown and Combat Showdown?
No — it depends on whether the showdown is a **combat** showdown or not. - **Combat Showdown** (Contested battlefield with units from opposing players): yes. After combat damage, Combat Cleanup heals **all units in play** — every unit everywhere, whether or not it fought (Rule 461.1.a.1). - **Non-Combat Showdown** (Contested battlefield where only one player has units): no healing. There's...
What is the difference between killing Poro with Hidden Zhonya in the Showdown and outside Showdown?
**The difference is when your last chance to flip Zhonya's happens — and whether it can actually save the Poro.**
Why can't you save Zhonya when opponent kill my poro with desthknell outside showdown?
You can flip Zhonya's in response to the Deathknell trigger outside a Showdown, but it won't save the Poro — the death has already happened by then.
When do I have to trash my hidden card? After showdown end or after my only unit killed?
**It depends on whether a Showdown is still running.** Your hidden card trashes when you **lose control of the battlefield** (Rule 323.7). That timing changes based on context:
Can an enemy Disposal Orders my trash before I choose to play something from my trash with Fizz?
They can't force you to choose first and then strike in a "blind" window — but the practical answer is **yes, they can still stop Fizz**. Here's the timing:
When I play Astral Heron to a battlefield, does my next card this turn get reduced by 2 energy and 2 power?
**Yes** — if Astral Heron is the first card you play that turn, your next card costs [2] Energy and [A][A] (2 Power, any domain) less.
If I use Facebraker in a battlefield where I have a unit, can I play it without an enemy in there?
No. Facebreaker requires both a friendly unit **and** an enemy unit at the same battlefield as valid targets when you play it — you can't play it with only your own unit present (RiftJudge FAQ #40).
Can I play 1 energy to give Renekton, Brute 1 might on the enemy turn?
**No.** Renekton, Brute's ability `[1]: Give me +1 [M] this turn` is a standard activated ability with no **Reaction** tag, so it can only be activated on your own turn, during your Main Phase, in an Open State (Rules 145.2, 381). On your opponent's turn you have no such window for it.