Browse Riftbound Rules Questions
Page 139 of 158 · 7,873 verified questions. Each links to the full ruling.
Can I play Back Off on my own Irelia Fervent and defy it myself (or abandon or hard bargain, doesn't matter), resulting in the spell not stunning Irelia BUT receiving a +1 from choosing her?
Yes — Irelia, Fervent keeps the +1, and Back Off gets countered. When you finalize Back Off and choose Irelia, her "when you choose me" trigger fires immediately and goes on the chain above the spell (the trigger is independent of the spell, so countering it doesn't undo the +1). You can then play Defy (or Abandon/Hard Bargain) targeting your...
When I play a Long Sword or a Sterak's Gage, can I attach it to a unit for free? Or do I have to recycle 1?
**Free on the initial play — no recycle needed.** Both Long Sword and Sterak's Gage have **Quick-Draw** (Rule 819): "When you play this, attach it to a Unit you control." That triggered ability attaches the gear for free as part of playing it — you only pay the printed Energy/Power cost. The `[C]` **Equip** cost (Recycle 1) is only used...
Can you Rebuke a Rengar reaction coming into the battlefield trying to conquer?
**No — not as a reaction to Rengar being played.** Rebuke is **[Action]**, not **[Reaction]**, so it can't be added to a chain or played during the Closed State while Rengar's play is resolving (Rules 338.1.a, 813; FAQ #3425).
Me and my opponent play Seat of Power, I conquer with my Lonely Poro and use Shuriken Flip to move it to the other battlefield, do I draw when I conquer?
**No, you don't draw.** Seat of Power's "When you conquer here" trigger goes on the Chain when you conquer. You can absolutely play Shuriken Flip before it resolves and move the Poro to the other battlefield — but moving there only applies **Contested** to that battlefield. You don't **Control** it until the resulting Showdown resolves with your units remaining (Rules...
When Twilight Reveler moves to an open battlefield does it count as attacking for her ability?
**No.** Moving Twilight Reveler to an open battlefield is a non-combat Showdown — she never gains the Attacker designation, so "When I attack" doesn't trigger (FAQ #8664, Rule 383.4.e).
If I move Akali, Deadly Weapon into a battlefield that my opponent controls with a 1 might tentacle at Threshold of the Gray, the tentacle would die from the Akali move trigger but would my opponent or me add 1 energy as per the battlefield?
**Neither player adds 1 energy — Threshold of the Gray's trigger never fires.** Here's why: Akali's "When I move" trigger resolves and deals 1 (or 2 if Empowered) to the tentacle *before* Combat is ever staged. In the following Cleanup, the tentacle is killed by that lethal damage, so when the Cleanup checks for opposing units to stage Combat, only...
Do I get a token from the yellow Viktor if my Sprite dies?
Yes — Sprite tokens are Fae units, not Recruits, so when one dies Viktor, Leader creates a 1 Might Recruit token (FAQ #4299; Rule 187.2).
When I cast Rengar Trophy Hunter on response to the Deathknell of a lonely Poro I had in defense on a battlefield, does my Rengar attack or defend?
**Rengar is the Defender — your opponent remains the Attacker.** Designations are set by Contested status, not by who reacted to what: the player whose unit first applied Contested to that battlefield is the Attacker (Rule 459.2.b), and any unit played into a battlefield already Contested by the opponent enters as the Defender. Your Lonely Poro dying doesn't change that...
I move in against a Tide Turner with an Empowered Akali deadly weapon. I assign the 2 damage to the Tide Turner. Can my opponent play Star Crossed on both units and save his Tide Turner?
Yes — if that 2 damage is Akali's Empowered move trigger, your opponent can play Star-Crossed in response and save the Tideturner. Star-Crossed is a [Reaction], so it's playable while your trigger is on the chain. It resolves first (LIFO), returning both units to hand; when your trigger then resolves, Tideturner is in a non-board zone and is no longer...
If someone cast a spell on my Master Yi with Repeat, does he have to pay Deflect cost for each repeat?
Yes — Deflect is a mandatory additional cost applied "for each time they choose me" (Rule 809.1.c), so each targeting instance costs extra.
Does Public Execution target the enemy unit on cast or resolution?
**On cast.** Public Execution chooses (targets) both the friendly unit and the enemy unit when it's finalized onto the chain — not on resolution.
If I'm holding 2 locations and I put Tide Turner hidden on location B and then it's the enemy turn and they contest Battlefield A, can I Tide Turner reveal location B and swap my Battlefield A and B unite?
Yes — you can. Playing a hidden **Tideturner** from Battlefield B to swap with your unit at Battlefield A during the opponent's Showdown at A is fully legal.
Does Flurry of Blades work on Barron?
Yes — Flurry of Blades hits Baron Nashor, though it won't kill him on its own. Flurry of Blades doesn't target or "choose" units; it programmatically affects all units at battlefields (Rule 352.10.d, FAQ #1583). Baron's protection only stops enemy spells/abilities from choosing him, so the 1 damage applies. Since Baron has 12 Might, he just takes 1 damage and...
Would a Flurry of Blades and Elder Dragon in the enemy base kill my Baron?
**Yes — your Baron dies.** Flurry of Blades deals 1 to all units at battlefields without choosing any targets, so Baron Nashor's "I can't be chosen by enemy spells and abilities" doesn't protect him — that protection only stops spells/abilities that choose or target him. Since your opponent controls Elder Dragon, that 1 damage is "their damage," and their passive...
Back Off being defy, has the card count been played or not? For the effect "if you played this from your hand, draw 1".
**No — you don't draw.** A countered spell is removed from the chain without resolving, so none of Back Off's instructions are carried out — including "If you played this from your hand, draw 1."
Are targets chosen for Cull the Weak when it is put on the stack or when it resolves?
No — **Cull the Weak** never targets. Its text "Each player kills one of their units" falls under Rule 355.10.e, so each player independently chooses a unit **as the spell resolves**, not when it's put on the chain. Nothing is locked in at play, and you can even cast it with an empty board — if you have no units...
How does winning combat constitute? Is it conquering or killing one unit?
**Neither — you win a combat by being the only player with units remaining at that battlefield when the Combat Result is determined (Rule 466.3.a).**
If I move red Akali to a battlefield where my enemy has a 1 might unit, my ability does 1 damage to his unit when I move to this battlefield, does my opponent can play a card action/reaction, or does it instantly die?
**They can play Reactions, but not Actions — and if they don't react, the 1-Might unit dies before any Action window opens.**
Can you have a hidden card on a battlefield with no other cards?
**Yes — but only temporarily, and only if you controlled that battlefield first.** You can't hide a card at a battlefield with no units to begin with: Hiding requires a **Battlefield you control** (Rule 811.1.b), and control is established by having units there (Rule 190.4). So the hidden card always starts alongside at least one unit.
On Jayce Ready trigger, can I place a Trinity Force on a unit at a battlefield if I have in base "Jax Unmatched" to double hold?
**Yes.** You can play Trinity Force from hand as a Reaction on Jayce's ready trigger (a Closed State) and attach it to a unit at a battlefield, and the unit will then double-hold.
Diana on Ravenbloom Conservatory. What triggers first, the when I defend or the when a showdown begins?
**Diana's "When a showdown begins here" triggers first.** Ravenbloom Conservatory's "When you defend here" is a Defend Trigger that only fires once the Defender designation is assigned — and that happens *after* the showdown begins.
If enemy held at battlefield A, moved his unit to battlefield B, then they used another unit to move to battlefield A again, can I react to that?
**Yes — you get a window to act, but not directly in response to the move itself.** A Standard Move never opens a chain (Rule 441.3), so you can't play a Reaction "on" the move as it happens.
If you cast a card that swaps position from Astral Heron like Resonating Strike to move him to a battlefield, do you get his trigger as the first spell would be Resonating Strike?
**Yes.** The "if I'm at a battlefield" check happens *after* your first card fully resolves (Rule 383.2.c), and Resonating Strike's move happens during that resolution — so when the condition is evaluated, Heron is already at the battlefield and the trigger fires. Your next card that turn costs [2][A][A] less.
Does Leblanc reflection copy equipped gear as well?
**No.** The Reflection copies only the unit's "copyable traits" (printed Might and Rules Text) — Gear is a separate object attached to the unit, so it does not carry over (FAQ #11044).
If Shady Spectacles is on a recruit token unit and it is copying a 4 might card, then conquers and Leblanc makes a reflection. Is the reflection a 1 might recruit or a 4 might other card?
**The Reflection is a copy of the 4-Might card, not a 1-Might Recruit.** Shady Spectacles makes the equipped Recruit token *become a copy* of the 4-Might card, and once a copy effect applies, the copied traits **become the unit's new copyable traits** ("If you copy a copy, the new copy becomes a copy of the originally copied object"). So at...
Can the purple vex stun Nash?
**Yes.** Vex, Apathetic's ability stuns Baron Nashor because "Stun it" programmatically selects the unit that triggered the ability — it's not a choice, so it never targets. Baron's "can't be chosen by enemy spells and abilities" only blocks targeting effects (Rule 355.10.c, 355.10.d; FAQ #8685).
Can you equip an equipped equipment? Like a Spinning Axe, can I change its target?
**No.** While Spinning Axe is attached to a unit, its Equip ability is inactive — attached cards' printed rules text is turned off — so you can't pay [A] to re-target it (Rule 718.2; FAQ #6999).
If I Temporal Breach a unit that's equipped, what happens?
**The equipment detaches and the unit comes back unequipped.** When Temporal Breach banishes the equipped unit, the unit moves from a board zone to a non-board zone (Banishment), which breaks the attachment — the gear detaches and stays at the unit's last location (Rule 435.4.b). The unit is then played back to that same location, ignoring its cost, as a...
If I gust a star crossed enemy unit while it's targeting my unit, does star cross fizzle?
**No — Star-Crossed doesn't fizzle; it still resolves and returns your unit.** You Gust the enemy unit that Star-Crossed is targeting. Gust resolves first, returning that unit to hand. Since that unit has now moved to a non-board zone, it's no longer the same game object, so Star-Crossed's instruction for it is ignored (Rule 359.3.e.8). But your unit remains a...
What happens if my Fizz, which is the target for my Star Crossed, gets removed from board at Reaction speed prior to Star Crossed completion? Does the spell activate anyway and my opponent's unit goes to hand?
**Yes — the enemy unit still goes to hand.** Star-Crossed doesn't fizzle when one target is removed; it resolves as much as possible and only the instruction affecting the now-invalid target is ignored (Rule 359.3.e.5, 359.3.e.8; FAQ #10311, #10736).
If I ambush a unit on Starspring and try to trigger it, but that unit gets gusted, can I play that unit again and still trigger Starspring?
**No.** Star Spring triggers only "the first time a player plays a non-token unit here each turn," and that first-time trigger is already used up for you this turn — Gusting your ambush unit doesn't reset it.
If I had 2 otterpus on turn 2 that conquered, do I draw 2 cards instead of one?
**No — you draw 1 card, not 2.** Otterpus's ability is a replacement effect ("would score 1 point... draw 1 instead"), and Rule 370.2 states a replacement effect can only be applied **once** to an event or to the events that replace it. When your first Otterpus replaces the scoring event with "draw 1," that draw is no longer a...
If you play Brynhir Thundersong on Frozen Fortress, then trigger Temporal Breach on your opponent's turn, does it get to play runes that turn?
Yes — the opponent still channels and uses their runes that turn. Brynhir only stops "playing cards"; channeling (Rule 430) is a game action, and rune abilities like "Add [1]" or "Recycle: Add [C]" are activations, not card plays — same logic as Brynhir not stopping gear abilities already on board (FAQ #8627).
Can I revive Gust Monk by empowering Matriarch without having to spend the extra energy?
**Yes — you can play Gust Monk off Tail-Cloaked Matriarch's Empower trigger without paying the extra [1].** "Play it to your base, ignoring its cost" only zeroes the base Energy and Power costs (Rule 356.1.b). Gust Monk's "[1] as an additional cost" is an *optional* additional cost — "may pay" — so you can simply decline it (Rule 356.2.b). He...
If I played Bellows Breath on a Stellacorn and then after that resolves I play a Thousand Tail, will the Stellacorn die?
**Yes, the Stellacorn dies.** Here's why: damage is "marked" on a unit and doesn't reduce its Might. Bellows Breath leaves 1 damage on the Stellacorn Herder (3 Might — not enough to kill it). Then Thousand-Tailed Watcher's "when you play me" trigger resolves, giving enemy units −3 Might this turn (minimum 1), dropping the Herder to 1 Might. Since the...
On Falling Star, when you say deal 3 to a unit, does it remove the full 3 might, or just the HP part of the unit?
**It just marks 3 damage — it doesn't touch the unit's Might at all.** In Riftbound, "dealing 3" puts 3 damage counters on the unit (Rule 417.1.b). Might and damage are tracked separately: a unit's Might stays at whatever its current modified value is, and damage just sits on it as a marker of how close it is to dying.
Can you play a reaction spell to Elder Dragons ability?
Yes. Elder Dragon's "When you play me" ability is a triggered ability that goes on the Chain, which creates a Closed State — so you can play a [Reaction] spell targeting that ability.
If enemy Elder Dragon targets a unit at each battlefield and then I react with Tideturner to swap my units, does Elder Dragon still kill the targeted unit I moved?
**No — your units live.** Tideturner's trigger resolves first (LIFO), so by the time Elder Dragon's play effect resolves, each originally targeted unit is at a different location than the one it was chosen at. Elder Dragon's ability is a series of per-location restrictions ("deal 1 to up to one enemy unit at battlefield A, ... at battlefield B, ..."),...
I have a hidden Pyke and one other unit, opponent uses Falling Star on the other unit, I react with the Pyke, can they choose Pyke after it has revealed or does their choice stick?
No — their choice sticks. Falling Star's targets are locked in when it's placed on the chain; revealing Pyke doesn't give them a new choice.
Can I use Punch First when enemy use Rampage on me?
**No.** Punch First is an **[Action]** spell, so it can only be played when the Chain is empty (Open State) — while Rampage is on the Chain, the game is in a Closed State and only **[Reaction]** cards can be played (Rule 334.1.a.1).
I have combined 4 Might as a Rengar player and I want to play Kinkou Initiate. Can I draw a card with using Rengar ability or is this ability after I played a card?
**Yes, you can draw.** Both abilities trigger at the same time ("When you play a unit" / "When you play me"), and since you control both, you choose the order they go on the chain (Rule 333.1).
If two Ekkos die at the same time, am I able to resolve one, float all my runes energy, then ready again off the second?
Yes — two Ekkos dying at once means two separate Deathknell triggers, so you can do the "double-dip" twice. Both triggers go on the Chain (you choose their order), and they resolve one at a time. First trigger resolves: recycle that Ekko, ready all runes. With the second trigger still on the Chain, you control the newest item and have...
Can you reveal a hidden Zhonyas at a battlefield to prevent a unit at base from dying from Public Execution?
**Yes.** A hidden Zhonya's Hourglass at a battlefield can be revealed in reaction to Public Execution to save a friendly unit at base from dying.
If I have a sprite that dies at the start of my turn due to Temporary, does Zhonya's Hourglass proc and save that sprite? If so, will the sprite still have the keyword Temporary?
Yes, Zhonya's Hourglass will proc and save the sprite. The replacement effect intercedes when Temporary triggers, killing Zhonya's Hourglass instead and recalling the sprite to base (healing and exhausting it). The sprite survives because base is a Board location, not a Non-Board Zone. The sprite retains Temporary because it never left the Board. However, this only buys one turn—next turn,...
If an opponent conquers a battlefield on their turn, then on my turn I charm their unit to my battlefield, and they respond with Ride the Wind to move it back to their original battlefield, do they conquer and score that battlefield again?
Yes, they do conquer and score that battlefield again. When their unit moves back via Ride the Wind, the battlefield becomes Contested, opening a new Showdown. Upon resolution, they establish control and conquer the battlefield. Since a rule states "once per Battlefield per turn" (meaning once per player's individual turn), they can score the same battlefield twice in one game...
When Smoke Screen (-4 Might to a minimum of 1) is used on Jinx during combat, and Jinx takes 1 damage that is cleared during cleanup, does Jinx die or survive after losing Attacker status and the Assault bonus?
Jinx survives with 0 Might and 0 marked damage. Smoke Screen reduces Jinx from 6 Might (4 base + 2 Assault) to 2 Might. The 1 damage taken is cleared during cleanup. When Jinx loses Attacker designation at the end of combat, the Assault bonus is removed (2 - 2 = 0 Might). Since the kill condition requires nonzero marked...
Can Azir's ability swap positions with a unit at Vilemaw's Lair, given that units cannot move from the Lair to base?
No. When Azir targets a unit at Vilemaw's Lair, Azir moves to the Lair successfully, but the unit cannot move to base due to Vilemaw's Lair's restriction ('Units can't move from here to base'). The unit's move fails and it stays at Vilemaw's Lair. Azir ends up at the Lair with the unit instead of swapping positions.
Can you pay Repeat on Hard Bargain to counter two different spells on the same chain?
Yes. When you pay Repeat, you can target different spells with each execution. According to a rule, choices made for the additional execution do not have to be the same as choices made for the initial execution. So you can counter one spell with the first execution and a different spell with the second execution from Repeat.
When multiple Showdowns are staged, which one resolves first if one is already open?
Only one Showdown can exist at a time. The currently open Showdown must fully resolve completely before any other staged Showdown can begin. Once the open Showdown closes and a Cleanup occurs, then the next staged Showdown can open and resolve.
If Tryndamere is brought in as a defender via Ride the Wind, wins combat, conquers the battlefield, and deals 5+ excess damage, does his ability trigger to score an additional point?
No. Tryndamere's ability reads 'When I conquer after an attack' — this triggers only when the Attacker conquers. Since Tryndamere conquered on defense (not as the Attacker), the ability does not trigger. Only 1 point is scored from the normal Conquer.