Erratas & Clarifications Riftbound

Si Kennen joué depuis [Hidden] est retiré du Battlefield en [Réaction] à son trigger de [Stun] (déplacé ou remis en main), l'unité ciblée sera tout de même [Stun].

811.1.d.3. If a hidden spell or a play effect of a hidden permanent causes you to play a unit, you must choose to play that unit at that battlefield.

Q: Je conquer avec [Kennen, Storm of Shuriken] sur [Minefield], est-ce que je peux donner [Flow] à une des cartes que je défausse avec le Battlefied ?

Non, Kennen cible le Sort à qui il donne [Burn]. Lorsque cette capacité est finalisée, [Minefield] n’a pas encore été résolu.

Q: Je joue [Decree of Focus] sur une unité en combat avec une unité Fury ennemie. Mon adversaire retire l’unité du combat avec par exemple [Star Crossed]. Est-ce que mon unité gagne tout de même +4[M] ?

Non, l’unité alliée ciblée n’est plus une cible légale, et [Decree of Focus] mistargets, ne lui donnant pas +4[M].

We previously ruled that copied units would retain their increased Might when both the copy effect and Might-setting effect occurred in the same layer. This ruling has now been updated.

When Copy effects are being applied at the trait-altering layer (477.1.b), they copy the printed values of the object being copied (477.1.b.1.b), unless they have copied a copyable trait.

This means that a Reflection token or a unit copying via Shady Spectacles that copies a unit set to 5 base Might by Dragon Form will not copy the Might from Dragon Form.

When evaluating copyable traits, disregard any other effects, other than Copy, at Layer 1. You can effectively think of Copy effects as occurring within another layer, Layer 0.

When can I react to my opponent playing Fallen Feline to a battlefield? And how does naming a card work?

You can react to the play effect of Fallen Feline, before they’ve named a spell.

Fallen Feline’s play effect instructs its controller to name a spell. This occurs on resolution of the triggered ability. If Fallen Feline is played to a battlefield, as soon as the ability resolves, opponents cannot play spells with that name. Meaning spells by that name can not be put onto a chain. Any spells already on the chain when Fallen Feline’s ability resolves will be unaffected. However, by the time you know the chosen spell it’s too late to play that spell.

Naming a card or tag has new rules with the Vendetta rules update. When naming something in this way, the overarching rule that applies to all naming is that you can’t name something that doesn’t exist in Riftbound. You can’t name the “Locke” tag, the “totem” type, nor a card named “Lingering Tentacles,” because none of those has been printed on cards or tokens in Riftbound.

However, you can name a card using information that uniquely identifies it. That information could be its name, but it could just as well be something like “the [3] spell with Flow that makes tentacles” or “the red Kai’Sa” or “Illaoi.” As long as there is no ambiguity as to what card is being named, a player can use whatever method is clear to their opponents and teammates. You can’t name a card by saying just “Kai’Sa” if there are two or more cards that could be identified in that way—you won’t have named a card if that’s all you say.

Relevant Rules: 761., 761.1., 761.2., 762., 762.1., 762.2.

What happens when my opponent’s Akshan, Mischievous steals my equipped Shady Spectacles? What happens if they want to copy Aphelios?

If it was attached to a unit, the equipped unit loses its copy effect. Akshan will then become a copy of a friendly unit of his controller’s choice. If he becomes a copy of Aphelios, his ability will not trigger.

This question deserves a bit more depth. As of the Vendetta rules update, we have clarified how effects like Shady Spectacles and Svellsongur work; they are replacement effects that replace the event of the equipment being attached to a unit with that event plus whatever their effect specifies.

In the case of Svellsongur, the resulting series of events will be:

Attach → Copy the equipped unit’s text to Svellsongur’s effect text for as long as Svellsongur is attached

For Shady Spectacles, the resulting series of events will be:

Attach → Choose a friendly unit and make the equipped unit a copy of that unit for as long as Shady Spectacles is attached

These events are not simultaneous. The attach event executes first, and then whatever event is instructed by the replacement effect is executed. Thus, the answer in the Spiritforged FAQ is no longer true: if you attach Svellsongur to Aphelios, he will not trigger twice. Svellsongur doesn’t have the copied effect text when the attach event executes.

Similarly here, if Akshan nabs Shady Spectacles from an opponent, it will attach and then make him a copy. If his controller chooses to make him a copy of Aphelios, it’s too late by that point for his new triggered ability to see the attachment event; it’s already been completed.

Relevant Rules: 369.1., 370.1.b.1., 370.1.a.2.

What is the difference between [Iascylla] and [Azir, Sovereign's] uses of “this battlefield”?

[Iascylla]’s delayed trigger refers to the battlefield that she held. [Azir, Sovereign's] attack trigger refers to the battlefield where he is located.

The difference between these two is that Iascylla has a delayed trigger that references implicit information from her trigger condition: the battlefield where she held. Azir, Sovereign’s attack trigger does not reference information from his trigger condition, which purely checks for the event of Azir gaining the attacker designation for the first time each combat. Without that information being checked from the trigger condition, the “this battlefield” in Azir, Sovereign’s attack trigger will be checked when the triggered ability resolves. If it resolves and he is not located at a battlefield, any instructions related to that battlefield will be ignored; otherwise, the battlefield he is currently located at will be used.

Comparatively, when a triggered ability refers to information from its trigger condition, that information is checked when the ability triggers and not on resolution. In the case of Iascylla, her delayed trigger is linked with her hold effect, so the information from the trigger condition of the hold effect can be shared with the delayed trigger.

In future sets, we’ve moved to use more precise templating and wording for abilities like Iascylla’s.

Relevant Rules: 359.3.f.1., 359.3.f.2., 359.3.f.3., 359.3.f.3.b.

What happens during combat damage assignment if my 4 [M] unit has both Ki Barrier and Lotus Trap played on it this turn and my opponent has a 4 [M] defender?

You can order the replacement effects on your unit. If Ki Barrier is first, your unit will take no damage and you will have 3 damage prevention remaining on your unit. If Lotus Trap is first, your unit will take 1 damage and will have no damage prevention remaining on your unit.

With the Vendetta rules update, we’ve streamlined how replacement effects that apply to damage work in combat. Specifically, any replacement effect that would apply to combat damage being dealt will apply instead to combat damage assignment. This was already the case for prevention effects like Ki Barrier or Counterstrike, to prevent several strange edge cases. Now, damage increasing replacement effects will also apply during damage assignment.

Relevant Rules: 465.2.c.4.a., 465.2.c.5.

I have a Ravenbloom Student on the board and I haven’t played any spells this turn. What happens when I play Rebuttal targeting my opponent’s Stupefy and pay [A] on resolution? After everything resolves, how much will Battering Ram cost? Will my opponent’s Legion abilities be active?

Ravenbloom Student will trigger twice, Battering Ram will cost [4], and your opponent’s Legion abilities will be active.

Ravenbloom Student’s triggered ability checks whether a spell that you control resolves. You gained control of the Stupefy, and it resolved, so you will have triggered Ravenbloom Student’s ability. Battering Ram and Legion, on the other hand, check whether cards were finalized. Although you gained control of Stupefy, you did not finalize it; you got it after it was already finalized by your opponent. Thus, your opponent’s Legion abilities will be active, and Battering Ram will only receive a [1] Energy discount.

Relevant Rules: 419.4., 419.4.a., 419.4.b.

But can I activate Kayle’s empower ability even if she’s already empowered?

Yes.

Kayle’s empower ability can be activated any number of times. If she has less than 3 empowered statuses, she will become empowered. If she has 3 empowered statuses, the ability can still be activated but nothing will happen when the ability resolves.

What happens when I play Moonfall choosing an enemy unit while I control an empowered Mel, Newly Awakened?

The chosen unit will be given -3 [M]. All other enemy units at the chosen battlefield will be given -2 [M].

Mel, Newly Awakened’s empowered ability is a replacement effect. It replaces the event of a spell or ability you control giving a unit it chooses -[M]. The event it replaces that with is the spell or ability giving an additional -1 [M].

Although Moonfall gives -[M] to multiple units, only one of them is chosen, and thus the only event that is eligible to be replaced is the chosen unit being given -2 [M]. It will be replaced with that unit being given -3 [M]. The events of the other units being given -[M] will not be affected by this replacement effect.

Relevant Rules: 370.1., 370.1.b.

What happens if I choose to copy an empowered unit when I equip an unempowered unit with Shady Spectacles?

Being empowered is a status and is not copyable, thus the equipped unit will remain unempowered.

Shady Spectacles applies a copy effect to the equipped unit. Copy effects copy the printed (or copied, if another copy effect has already been applied) traits of the unit being copied. empowered is a status, a temporary modification, and not part of the printed traits of the card, so it will not be copied by Shady Spectacles. Whatever temporary modifications are applied to the unit as the copy effect is executed on that unit will be unaffected by the copy effect. If the unit has Might increases or decreases, a buff, the empowered status, Temporary, attacker, defender, etc those will remain in place.

Relevant Rules: 477.1.b.1.b.

If my opponent plays two spells in succession, can I counter the first one with Crumbling Sands?

Yes.

Crumbling Sands uses the “finalize” meaning of play, because it checks whether cards have been “played” and isn’t a triggered ability. As long as an opponent (not even necessarily the one who played this spell) has chosen targets, paid costs, checked legality, and completed the process of finalizing another spell, even if that spell was countered, Crumbling Sands can counter a spell. That means it can counter the first spell played, as long as another spell was played by an opponent after that one.

Relevant Rules: 419.4.b.

My Sand Soldier has Shady Spectacles equipped and is a copy of Azir, Ascendent. What happens if I activate the copied Azir’s activatedability before detaching the Shady Spectacles and then attach them to the same Sand Soldier as a copy of the same Azir, Ascendent? Can I use the activated ability again?

You can.

Each instance of the copied ability is a different ability. The game object remains the same throughout this whole process, so any temporary modifications will remain on the Sand Soldier as it transforms, but the copied rules text is an entirely new instance of the ability. It is the same idea as Svellsongur’s copy of an ability being “refreshed” if Svellsongur is detached and then reattached to the same unit.

If I disempower a Kayle, Justified who has been empowered 3 times, does she lose all of her empowered statuses?

No. She will lose one of her empowered statuses.

For every Riftbound card other than Kayle, empowered is a binary status. They are either empowered or not. Kayle utilizes the golden rule “Card text supersedes rules text” to overcome this and be able to escape the normal bounds of what the empowered status means. On Kayle, empowered isn’t a binary status but a stacking status; she can have up to 3 empowered statuses. When Kayle is disempowered, the disempower action attempts to remove the empowered status. If she only has one empowered status, great, it’s gone. If she has more than one empowered status, the disempower action will remove one of the empowered statuses from Kayle.

Speaking of Mel, can my opponent play Abandon on my spell while I control an empowered Mel, Newly Awakened? What happens?

They can play Abandon targeting your spell. On resolution, they will Predict, but nothing else will happen.

Mel, Newly Awakened says “your spells and abilities can’t be countered.” If the spell can’t be countered, Abandon will attempt to counter it and fail, and then it will replace the event of it being put in the Trash with it being returned to its owner’s hand. However, that event never occurred, so there is nothing for the replacement effect to replace. Thus, Abandon will resolve to no effect. The replacement effect only functions within the limit of the resolution of the ability (it’s not a delayed replacement effect that specifies a duration), so even if the spell resolves later, it will go to the Trash as normal.

What happens when I discard a Patched Porobot with Hwei, Brooding Painter’s move trigger?

Two triggers will go on the chain, in the order of your choosing. One says “Give me +3 [M] this turn.” while the other says “Ready up to 2 runes.”

Hwei, Brooding Painter says “do the following based on the discarded card's type …” Unlike our previous reflexive triggers printed on cards that use a similar template (cf Twisted Fate, Gambler), Hwei doesn’t say “do one of the following …” As long as the card has the appropriate type, you will put the corresponding reflexive trigger on the chain. If somehow there existed a card that was a spell unit gear, you would put three reflexive triggers on the chain when you discard it to Hwei.

Relevant Rules: 387.1.b.

How does it work if I cast Abandon while having an empowered Mel, Newly Awakened but they [Rebuttal] my spell?

In the case of Rebuttal, gaining control of a spell is not the same thing as countering that spell. Effects that prevent spells being countered don’t prevent their controller from changing. If Rebuttal is played choosing your spell, and they pay [A] during resolution of Rebuttal, they will gain control of it. However, them not paying [A] does not mean the spell will be countered.

What happens when you play [Abandon] on a spell that was played for its Flow cost?

It will be banished when it attempts to leave the chain.

“[T]hen banish it” in flow’s text is short for “if it would leave the chain after becoming a finalized chain item, and leaving the chain wasn’t instructed by its own execution, banish it instead.” [Abandon] returns the countered card to hand after countering it, but for the purposes of flow’s “then banish it”, this is also leaving the chain. No matter how it happens, as long as the flow spell leaving the chain wasn’t instructed by the execution of the spell itself, it will be banished.

This also applies to effects like [Kai'Sa, Evolutionary] from Origins, or [Fizz, Trickster] from Spiritforged.

What happens when my opponent plays Switcheroo on their 2 [M] unit and my empowered Gangplank, Naval?

Gangplank, Naval will replace his Might being lowered with him being given +3 [M] this turn.

Swap calculates the difference in Might and generates two effects: an increase, and a decrease. When a swap effect is applied to two units’ Mights, it gives those units +[M] and -[M] respective to who has the higher Might.

Under the hood, Gangplank’s replacement effect sees the event of him being given -[M] and replaces it with him being given +3 [M] this turn instead. The event of the other unit being given +[M] is unaffected by Gangplank’s replacement effect. By the time we apply the replacement effect, the difference between the two units has been calculated. In the example with the 2 [M] unit, the final Mights of the two units will be 2 [M] → 6 [M], and 6 [M] → 9 [M].

The way this works is not immediately obvious based on how the swap game action rules are written. We will clarify this in a future rules update.

Note that this logic also applies to Mel, Newly Awakened and Switcheroo.