300

Playing the Game

Turns, the chain, combat, and how actions resolve.

Core Rules version 2026-03-30

In this chapter
301

The Turn

  1. 302. Play continues cyclically until one player wins.
  2. 303. The phases of a turn are rigid, but the actions taken during those steps can be done in any order, unless otherwise specified.
  3. 303.1. Game Actions of any nature are performed one at a time and are executed completely.
  4. 303.2. Game Actions cannot be performed simultaneously for any reason.
  5. 303.2.a. If one or more game actions, game effects, or Triggered Abilities are activated simultaneously, then Turn Order is referenced to organize the sequence of actions. See rule 382. Triggered Abilities for more information.
  6. 304. The Turn Player is the player taking the current turn.
  7. 305. When there are no items on the Chain and the Turn Player cannot or chooses not to perform any Discretionary Actions, the current phase or step of the turn ends and the next phase, step, or turn begins.
  8. 306. The Turn Player changes when the current Turn Player reaches the End of all of the Phases of their Turn.
307

States of the Turn

  1. 308. At any given time, the turn is in either a Neutral State or a Showdown State.
  2. 308.1. If a Showdown or Combat is in progress, the turn is in a Showdown State.
  3. 308.1.a. Only cards and abilities with the Action or Reaction keywords can be played or activated in a Showdown State.
  4. 308.2. If no Showdown or Combat is in progress, the turn is in a Neutral State.
  5. 309. At any given time, the turn is in either an Open State or a Closed State.
  6. 309.1. If a Chain exists, the turn is in a Closed State.
  7. 309.1.a. Only cards and abilities with the Reaction keyword can be played or activated in a Closed State.
  8. 309.2. If no Chain exists, the turn is in an Open State.
  9. 310. These descriptions can be combined, such that the turn is always in one of these four states:
  10. 310.1. Neutral Open: There is no Showdown or Combat in progress and no Chain exists.
  11. 310.1.a. By default, cards can be played and abilities activated only when a player has priority on their turn in a Neutral Open state.
  12. 310.2. Neutral Closed: There is no Showdown or Combat in progress and a Chain exists.
  13. 310.3. Showdown Open: A Showdown or Combat is in progress and no Chain exists.
  14. 310.4. Showdown Closed: A Showdown or Combat is in progress and a Chain exists.
311

Priority and Focus

  1. 312. At any given time, up to one player has Priority.
  2. 312.1. Priority is the singular exclusive right to take Discretionary Actions. See rule 410.1. Discretionary Actions for more information.
  3. 312.1.a. The player with Priority can take appropriately timed Discretionary Actions.
  4. 312.1.b. If no player has Priority, no player can take Discretionary Actions.
  5. 312.1.b.1. Players can always take and make choices for Limited Actions when instructed, regardless of Priority.
  6. 312.2. A player receives Priority at the following times:
  7. 312.2.a. When the turn is in a Neutral Open State during their Main Phase.
  8. 312.2.b. When the turn is in a Showdown State and they gain Focus.
  9. 312.2.c. When the turn is in a Closed State and they control the next item on the Chain.
  10. 312.2.d. When the turn is in a Closed State, they are the next Player in Turn Order, and the player with Priority passes.
  11. 312.3. When a player is granted Priority, it is either created if no player has it or taken from the player with Priority.
  12. 313. At any given time, up to one player has Focus.
  13. 313.1. Focus is the permission to take appropriately timed Discretionary Actions when the turn is in a Showdown Open State. See rule 307. States of the Turn for more information.
  14. 313.1.a. The player with Focus must obey any additional restrictions on which Discretionary Actions may be performed. Example: A player with Focus may not play spells or activate abilities that don't have the Action or Reaction keywords.
  15. 313.2. A player who gains Focus also gains Priority.
  16. 313.3. A player who passes Priority retains Focus.
  17. 313.4. A player may not make discretionary actions with Focus unless they also possess Priority.
  18. 313.5. If the turn is in a Neutral State, no player has Focus.
314

Phases of the Turn

315

Start of Turn

  1. 315.1. Awaken Phase
  2. 315.1.a. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  3. 315.1.b. 1. The Turn Player readies all Game Objects they control that are able to be readied. See rule 415. Ready for more information.
  4. 315.2. Beginning Phase
  5. 315.2.a. Beginning Step
  6. 315.2.a.1. At the start of Beginning Phase game effects take place.
  7. 315.2.b. Scoring Step
  8. 315.2.b.1. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  9. 315.2.b.2. 1. The Turn Player Holds all Battlefields they Control. See rule 462. Scoring for more information.
  10. 315.2.b.3. Reminder: In Modes of Play with Teams, Battlefields held by a Teammate of the Turn Player during this phase are disqualified from being scored this turn by the Turn Player.
  11. 315.3. Channel Phase
  12. 315.3.a. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  13. 315.3.b. 1. The Turn Player channels 2 runes from their Rune Deck. See rule 430. Channel for more information.
  14. 315.3.b.1. If there are fewer than 2 runes in the Rune Deck, they channel as many as possible.
  15. 315.4. Draw Phase
  16. 315.4.a. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  17. 315.4.b. 1. The Turn Player draws 1.
  18. 315.4.b.1. If there are no cards remaining in their Main Deck to draw, the Turn Player has been Burned Out. See rule 431. Burn Out for more information.
  19. 315.4.b.2. After completing the Burn Out the Turn Player still Draws 1.
  20. 315.4.c. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  21. 315.4.d. 1. Each player's Rune Pool empties. Any unspent Energy and Power are lost. See rule 164. Rune Pools for more information.
316

Main Phase

  1. 316.1. When all steps of the Start of Turn have been completed, the Main Phase begins.
  2. 316.2. The Main Phase has no defined structure.
  3. 316.2.a. A player may take any number of Discretionary Actions they are able to perform during this phase. See rule 410.1. Discretionary Actions for more information.
  4. 316.2.b. This is denoted as a Neutral Open State, and only the Turn Player has the ability to play spells or activate abilities. See rule 307. States of the Turn for more information.
  5. 316.2.b.1. In Modes of Play with teammates, the Turn Player's teammates may play spells and activate abilities, including ones without Action or Reaction. They can only do so when the Turn Player invites them to do so with their own Priority.
  6. 316.3. As a result of a player taking Discretionary Actions, one or more structured phases may occur.
  7. 316.4. Combat
  8. 316.4.a. A Combat occurs as a result of Units controlled by opposing players being present at the same Battlefield.
  9. 316.4.b. This could be the result of a Standard Move Standard Action, a Spell, or other Game Effect.
  10. 316.4.c. The source effect does not change the structure or flow of Combat once initiated.
  11. 316.4.d. A Combat can only occur between two players. See rule 454. Combat for more information.
  12. 316.4.e. Play proceeds following the steps of combat. See rule 458. The Steps of Combat for more information.
  13. 316.4.f. Combat will also include a Showdown.
  14. 316.5. Showdowns
  15. 316.5.a. A Showdown occurs when a Combat occurs.
  16. 316.5.a.1. Showdowns that occur as a result of Combat are a Sub-Phase of Combat.
  17. 316.5.b. A Showdown is marked as Staged at a Battlefield when the Contested status is applied to a Battlefield with no current controller.
  18. 316.5.b.1. Showdowns that occur as a result of a player moving to an empty Battlefield are a stand-alone Phase and do not create a Combat.
  19. 316.5.b.1.a. These Showdowns are called Non-Combat Showdowns. During the proceedings of a Non-Combat Showdown, units controlled by a different player may become present at the Battlefield where the Showdown is ongoing. This will cause the Showdown to become a Combat Showdown.
  20. 316.5.c. A Showdown is a structured Window of Opportunity where Players may play cards and activate abilities with Action or Reaction. See rule 341. Showdowns for more information.
  21. 316.6. When a player has no more Discretionary Actions they wish to execute, they must indicate they are ending their turn.
  22. 316.6.a. This ends the Main Phase.
  23. 316.6.b. Play proceeds to the Ending Phase.
317

Ending Phase

  1. 317.1. Ending Step
  2. 317.1.a. At the end of the turn Game Effects take place.
  3. 317.1.b. Specific game effects and abilities will reference this timing and phase as necessary.
  4. 317.2. Expiration Step
  5. 317.2.a. Invoke an Ending Special Cleanup. See rule 318. Cleanups for more information.
  6. 317.2.b. Insert “2c. Heal all Units.”
  7. 317.2.c. Insert “2d. All ‘this turn’ effects expire simultaneously.”
  8. 317.2.d. Insert “2e. Each player’s Rune Pool empties. Any unspent Energy and Power are lost.”
  9. 317.2.e. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  10. 317.2.f. 1. If any items underwent the FEPR process, return to the start of the Expiration Step
  11. 317.3. The next player with their Turn queued becomes the Turn Player.
318

Cleanups

  1. 319. A Cleanup will be made an Outstanding Task at the following times:
  2. 319.1. After the game transitions to or from an Open or Closed state
  3. 319.2. After the game transitions between Phases, unless specified otherwise
  4. 319.3. After a Pending Item is added to the Chain
  5. 319.4. After a Pending Item becomes a Legal Item on the Chain
  6. 319.5. After a Chain Item is removed from the Chain for any reason
  7. 319.6. After any number of Game Objects enter or leave the Board
  8. 319.7. After the status of any number of Game Objects changes for any reason
  9. 319.8. After a Move is completed
  10. 320. While a Cleanup is occurring, Chain Items cannot be Resolved.
  11. 320.1. New Pending Items can be added, but Legal Items cannot be executed and Priority and Focus are not passed or awarded.
  12. 321. Similarly, while Chain Items are Resolving, a Cleanup cannot occur.
  13. 321.1. If an event occurs during the Resolution of a Chain Item that qualifies for a Cleanup, that Cleanup will be made an Outstanding Task.
  14. 322. If an event occurs during a Cleanup that qualifies for a Cleanup, another Cleanup will occur immediately after the first completes, repeating until a Cleanup occurs with no new change in the game’s state.
  15. 322.1. These new Cleanups are themselves Outstanding Tasks.
  16. 323. When a Cleanup occurs, the following Tasks become Outstanding in the order described:
  17. 323.1. 1. If a player has points greater than or equal to the Victory Score, and more points than any opponent, that player wins.
  18. 323.2. 2. Assign or Remove the Attacker or Defender designation from Units as needed if there is a Combat in progress
  19. 323.2.a. If there are Units present at the Battlefield the Combat is taking place at, but do not have a designation, they gain the same designation as their Controller now
  20. 323.2.b. If there are Units present at the Battlefield the Combat is taking place at, but have the opposite designation of their controller, they lose that designation, and gain the same designation as their controller now
  21. 323.2.c. If there are Units at locations other than the Battlefield that the Combat is taking place at, but have either Attacker or Defender designations, they lose those designations now
  22. 323.3. 3. Handle outstanding board state
  23. 323.4. 3a. All Units that have non-zero Damage marked on them equalling or exceeding their Might that have Deathknell abilities will trigger their Deathknell ability now, making note of their current location, attributes, and other information relevant to add the trigger as a Pending Item See rule 808 Deathknell for more information.
  24. 323.5. 3b. All Units that have non-zero Damage marked on them equalling or exceeding their Might are killed and placed in their owners' Trash.
  25. 323.6. 4. If the turn is in an Open State, Battlefields with no Units occupying them and no Showdown or Combat ongoing become Uncontrolled.
  26. 323.7. 5. Recall all Unattached non-Unit Gear at Battlefields, and all Permanents and Runes in Bases other than their controller’s. Remove all Hidden cards from all Battlefields that are not controlled by the same player and place them in their owner's Trash.
  27. 323.8. 6. Mark a Showdown as Staged at each Battlefield that Contested was applied to.
  28. 323.8.a. The Showdown remains Staged at each Battlefield that is Contested and has units present controlled by the player that applied Contested.
  29. 323.9. 7. Mark a Combat as Staged at each Battlefield that Contested was applied to that have Units present controlled by opposing players.
  30. 323.9.a. The Combat remains Staged at that Battlefield as long as there are Units present from two opposing players there.
  31. 323.10. 7a. If Units of two opposing players are no longer present at a Battlefield that has a Combat Staged before it has opened, the Combat will cease being Staged
  32. 323.11. 8. If the current state is a Neutral Open State and one or more Showdowns are Staged, the Turn Player chooses one of those Battlefields. A Showdown begins there.
  33. 323.12. 8a. If a Showdown and Combat are staged at the same Battlefield and the turn player chooses to initiate the Showdown there, the Showdown will open as a Combat Showdown.
  34. 323.13. 9. If the current state is a Neutral Open State and Combat is Staged at one or more Battlefields, the Turn Player chooses one of those Battlefields. Combat begins there.
  35. 323.14. 9a. If the current state is Showdown Open State and Combat is Staged at a Battlefield where there is a Non-Combat Showdown ongoing, that Showdown becomes a Combat Showdown.
  36. 324. Special Cleanups are Cleanup steps invoked at specific times that have additional steps not present in a normal Cleanup.
  37. 324.1. When a Special Cleanup is invoked, the unique steps added will be inserted and defined by the sub-section that invokes it. Example: When a Combat Cleanup is invoked, the Combat section defines what steps are added to the Cleanup. See rule 461. The Resolution Step for more information. Example: When an End of Turn Cleanup is invoked, the End of Turn Phase subsection defines what steps are added to the Cleanup. See rule 317. The Ending Phase for more information.
  38. 324.2. If events during a Special Cleanup require another Cleanup, a normal Cleanup is invoked, not another iteration of the Special Cleanup.
325

Chains and Showdowns

  1. 326. Players can act during the following Windows of Opportunity that occur during the course of regular play:
  2. 326.1. During a Chain
  3. 326.2. During a Showdown
327

Chains

  1. 328. The Chain is a Non-Board Zone that temporarily exists whenever a card is played or an ability is activated.
  2. 328.1. Cards are placed here as part of the process of being played.
  3. 328.2. Abilities are queued here as part of the process of resolving. See rule 360. Abilities for more information.
  4. 329. Cards and abilities added to the chain are added as Pending Chain Items that become Finalized Chain Items.
  5. 329.1. Pending Items are on the Chain.
  6. 329.2. Chain Items are Pending until the “Check Legality” step of playing a card. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  7. 329.3. When a Pending Chain Item is no longer Pending it is finalized and becomes a Finalized Chain Item.
  8. 330. The Chain exists as long as a Chain Item is on it.
  9. 330.1. Only one Chain can exist at a time.
  10. 330.2. If a card would begin to be played while a Chain already exists, it is placed on the existing Chain.
  11. 331. The State of the Turn is partially determined by whether or not the Chain currently exists.
  12. 331.1. The turn is said to be in a Closed State if a Chain exists.
  13. 331.1.a. Cards of all Categories, by default, cannot be played during a Closed State.
  14. 331.1.b. Card abilities, by default, cannot be played during a Closed State.
  15. 331.2. The turn is said to be in an Open State if no Chain exists.
332

Steps of Resolving Chain Items

  1. 333. Whenever a card or token is played or an ability is activated or triggered, a Chain is created.
  2. 333.1. The player that created the chain becomes the first player with Priority.
  3. 334. A Task is one or more steps or processes that one or more Players must perform before continuing with any other actions.
  4. 334.1. Tasks include, but are not limited to: Cleanups, the actions performed during the Start of Turn Process, throughout Combat in its various steps, and the actions performed during the End of Turn Process. See rule 318. Cleanups for more information on Cleanups See rule 315. Start of Turn for more information on the Start of Turn process See rule 454. Combat for more information on the steps of Combat See rule 317. Ending Phase for more information.
  5. 335. Whenever a Player takes one or more actions that incur Tasks they should refer to the process of HOT FEPR: Handle Outstanding Tasks; then Finalize, Execute, Pass, Resolve.
  6. 335.1. In the course of Handling Outstanding Tasks, Chain Items may be added to the Chain. They will remain there until the Tasks are complete.
  7. 335.2. When all Outstanding Tasks are completed, all pending Chain Items will subsequently be processed by the FEPR process.
  8. 335.2.a. During the FEPR process, new Tasks may be incurred. Pause the process and complete the necessary Tasks before continuing.
  9. 335.3. If there are no Outstanding Tasks, no pending Chain Items, and it is the Main Phase, the Turn Player receives priority. If there are no Outstanding Tasks, no pending items, and it is any other phase of the turn, proceed to the next substep, step, phase, or turn.
  10. 336. When there are no outstanding Tasks and there are pending Chain Items on the Chain, players should refer to the FEPR process to proceed.
  11. 336.1. In the sequence of resolving FEPR more Chain Items may become Pending Chain Items. These will be processed by the same FEPR process that produced them.
337

Step 1: Finalize

  1. 337.1. If one or more Items are Pending, their controllers must complete the steps of Playing those Pending Items until they are Finalized Items or leave the Chain.
  2. 337.1.a. This process does not pass Priority.
  3. 337.1.b. Each Item is Finalized in the order it was appended to the Chain.
  4. 337.1.c. Units, Gear, and abilities that Add resources resolve immediately when Finalized and do not progress to Step 2: Execute. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  5. 337.1.c.1. If the Chain is empty, play proceeds in an Open State.
  6. 337.1.c.1.a. If this occurs during a Showdown, the next player in turn order gains Focus.
  7. 337.1.c.2. If the Chain is not empty and there are one or more Pending Items, repeat Step 1.
  8. 337.1.c.3. If the Chain is not empty and there are no Pending Items, the controller of the newest item on the chain gains Priority and becomes the Active Player. Proceed to Step 2: Execute.
338

Step 2: Execute

  1. 338.1. The player with Priority may do any the following:
  2. 338.1.a. Play a Card that is legally timed.
  3. 338.1.a.1. Cards, by default, cannot be played during a Closed State.
  4. 338.1.a.2. A Legally Timed Card would be a Card with Reaction or a card that will have Reaction when played under appropriate circumstances.
  5. 338.1.a.3. Other exceptions may be created during regular play.
  6. 338.1.a.4. The card will be added to the chain as a Pending Item, following the steps of playing a card.
  7. 338.1.a.5. This can be an additional card to the item that Started the Chain in the case of the first player with Priority after creating the Chain.
  8. 338.1.a.6. Whether a Card is legally timed is evaluated during the “Check Legality” step of Playing a Card. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  9. 338.1.a.7. Playing a card will create one or more Pending Items. Return to Step 1: Finalize.
  10. 338.1.b. Activate Abilities of Game Objects that are legally timed. See rule 398. Playing or Activating Abilities for more information.
  11. 338.1.b.1. All rules for legally timed cards apply to legally timed abilities.
  12. 338.1.b.2. Activating abilities will create one or more Pending Items. Return to Step 1: Finalize.
  13. 338.1.c. Pass Priority
  14. 338.1.c.1. The player with Priority passes Priority to the next Player in Turn Order. Proceed to Step 3: Pass.
339

Step 3: Pass

  1. 339.1. If all players have passed Priority without adding any items to the Chain, proceed to Step 4: Resolve.
  2. 339.2. Otherwise, the player with Priority passes Priority to the next Player in Turn Order. Return to Step 3: Execute.
340

Step 4: Resolve

  1. 340.1. The newest item on the Chain resolves. Execute its game effects in their entirety. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information on resolving spells. See rule 398. Playing or Activating Abilities for more information on resolving abilities.
  2. 340.2. If the Chain is empty, play proceeds in an Open State.
  3. 340.2.a. If this occurs during a Showdown, focus passes to the next player in turn order.
  4. 340.3. If the Chain is not empty and there are one or more Pending Items, return to Step 1: Finalize.
  5. 340.4. If the Chain is not empty and there are no Pending Items, the controller of the newest item on the chain gains Priority. Return to Step 2: Execute.
341

Showdowns

  1. 342. A Showdown is a Window of Opportunity in which Players have an Open State in which they may play Spells in an alternating fashion.
  2. 342.1. Each spell played this way creates a Chain as normal.
  3. 343. The State of the turn is partially determined by whether or not a Showdown or Combat is in progress.
  4. 343.1. The turn is said to be in a Showdown State if a Showdown or Combat is in progress.
  5. 343.1.a. Cards of all Categories, by default, cannot be played during a Showdown State.
  6. 343.1.b. Card abilities, by default, cannot be played during a Showdown State.
  7. 343.2. The turn is said to be in a Neutral State if no Showdown or Combat is in progress.
  8. 344. A Showdown begins when Control of a Battlefield is Contested and the turn is in a Neutral Open State.
  9. 344.1. If Control of a Battlefield is Contested between two players, then a Showdown will be opened as the first step of Combat. See rule 454. Combat for more information.
  10. 344.2. If Control of a Battlefield is Contested and the Battlefield in question is uncontrolled when it becomes Contested, a Showdown is opened during the Cleanup at the end of the action that caused the Battlefield to become Contested.
  11. 345. As a Showdown begins, the player who applied Contested status to the Battlefield gains Focus.
  12. 346. When the last item on the chain resolves and the turn returns to an Open State during a Showdown, Focus passes, and the next Player gains both Focus and Priority.
  13. 346.1. Focus will not pass in this way if the chain opened as a result of a triggered ability being added to the chain, nor if it opened as a result of an Add ability being added to the chain. Example: the Initial Chain opens as a result of triggered abilities being added to the chain, so when the last item on the Initial Chain resolves and the turn returns to an Open State, Focus will not pass.
  14. 347. During a Showdown, the player with Focus may do one of the following:
  15. 347.1. Play a card that is legally timed.
  16. 347.1.a. The card will start a Chain as normal.
  17. 347.2. Activate Abilities of Game Objects that are legally timed. See rule 360. Abilities for more information.
  18. 347.3. Pass.
  19. 347.3.a. If all Players have passed once in sequence, the Showdown ends.
  20. 347.3.a.1. Perform a Cleanup.
  21. 347.4. Otherwise, Focus passes to the next Player in Turn Order.
  22. 348. If all players pass Focus without playing a spell or activating an ability, then the Showdown Closes.
  23. 348.1. If it is a Combat Showdown, proceed with the remaining steps of Combat to resolve the phase. See rule 458. The Steps of Combat for more information.
  24. 348.2. If it is a Non-Combat Showdown, do the following:
  25. 348.2.a. If only one player’s Units remain at the Battlefield, and if that player does not already Control the Battlefield, that player establishes Control over the Battlefield. See rule 185. Control for more information on Control. See rule 464.1. for more information on Conquering.
  26. 348.2.a.1. This results in a Conquer if that player has not yet scored that Battlefield this turn.
349

Playing Cards

  1. 350. Playing a card is the act of a player utilizing their cards.
  2. 350.1. A card is Played when it has finished this process in its entirety.
  3. 350.2. Tokens are not cards, but can still be Played. See rule 176. Tokens for more information.
  4. 351. Cards have different behaviors when played.
  5. 351.1. Permanents become Game Objects when Played.
  6. 351.2. Spells create game effects that are executed, then the card is placed in the trash when Played.
  7. 352. Cards have different states during the process of being played.
  8. 352.1. When initially being played cards are Pending, as Pending Chain Items.
  9. 352.2. Near the end of the process cards will cease being Pending and become Finalized Chain Items.
353

The Process of Play

  1. 354. 1. Remove the card from the zone you are playing it from and put it onto the Chain.
  2. 354.1. This Closes the State. See rule 307. States of the Turn for more information.
  3. 354.2. This item becomes Pending, awaiting the finalization process (steps 2 - 5)
  4. 354.3. If another Card Effect or ability is currently resolving, continue resolving it before proceeding with any further steps of this process.
  5. 354.4. If there are Tasks outstanding or currently being handled, finish those Tasks before continuing this process. See rule 334. for more information on Tasks.
  6. 355. 2. Make relevant choices.
  7. 355.1. If the card is a spell, or has an effect that specifies a choice "As I am played," those choices are made now.
  8. 355.2. For Units, choose a valid Location where that Unit will be placed upon being Played.
  9. 355.2.a. By default, Valid locations include the controller’s Base or a Battlefield the controller controls.
  10. 355.2.b. Some Game Effects may grant players permission to play Units to locations that are not normally Valid. Such locations become Valid for the purposes of Playing the Unit.
  11. 355.3. For Spells and Abilities with a bulleted list of modes to choose from, make the appropriate choices now.
  12. 355.4. For Spells and Abilities that Move one or more Units, choose a valid Location as the Move Destination for each Move that will be performed.
  13. 355.4.a. A valid Location is one other than the Units’ current Location where they are allowed to be present.
  14. 355.5. If a card requires you to specifically choose one or more Game Objects, that choice is made now.
  15. 355.5.a. This does not include cards that affect one or more Game Objects based on criteria. Example: "Stun a unit at a battlefield" is a Choice. Example: "Kill all gear" is not a Choice.
  16. 355.5.b. This does not include making choices for Triggered Abilities of permanents, even if those abilities trigger when the permanent is played. Example: A unit with a triggered ability that says "When I'm played, kill a unit" does not require you to choose a target as it's played. The target will be chosen when the ability triggers. See rule 382. Triggered Abilities for more information.
  17. 355.6. Targeting
  18. 355.7. When a card Chooses one or more specific Game Objects to affect, it is Targeted unless indicated otherwise by the rules in this section.
  19. 355.8. In order to put a spell or ability on the chain, valid choices must be made for all targets.
  20. 355.9. A target is a valid choice if it meets all of the following requirements:
  21. 355.9.a. It is a permanent or rune on the board, a spell or ability on the chain, a player or zone, or specified explicitly or implicitly as being in some other zone. e.g., “Kill a unit” targets a unit on the board. e.g., “Recycle a unit from your trash” targets a unit card in your trash.
  22. 355.9.a.1. “Unit,” “gear,” and “rune” refer to objects on the Board unless specified otherwise.
  23. 355.9.a.2. “Spell” and “ability” refer to objects on the Chain unless specified otherwise.
  24. 355.9.a.3. “Facedown card” refers to a card in a Facedown Zone unless specified otherwise.
  25. 355.9.a.4. “Legend” refers to a legend in the Legend Zone.
  26. 355.9.a.5. “Chosen Champion” and “unit in the Champion Zone” refer to a unit in the Champion Zone unless specified otherwise.
  27. 355.9.b. It meets all targeting restrictions. e.g., A unit is a valid target for a spell that refers to a “unit at a battlefield,” “enemy unit,” “unit you control,” or “unit with Might 4 or greater” only if it meets the appropriate criteria.
  28. 355.9.c. It is not the spell or ability itself. e.g., A spell that says “Counter a spell” cannot target itself. e.g., An ability of a permanent can target that permanent, because abilities and their sources are separate objects.
  29. 355.10. A game object, player, or zone mentioned in the text of a spell, activated ability, or triggered ability is a target UNLESS any of the following are true:
  30. 355.10.a. It is in a zone whose information status is not Public. e.g., “Ready a legend” targets a legend, because the Legend Zone is Public. e.g., “Return a unit from your trash to your hand” targets a unit card in your trash, because your trash is Public. e.g., “You may play a unit from your hand, ignoring its costs” does not target a unit card in your hand, because your hand is not a public zone.
  31. 355.10.a.1. Public zones are Battlefield Zones, Bases, Trashes, Legend Zones, Champion Zones, and Facedown Zones.
  32. 355.10.b. It is included only as part of a targeting restriction for another choice. e.g., “Kill a unit at a battlefield” targets a unit, but not a battlefield, because the units are targets and “at a battlefield” is a restriction. e.g., “Kill all units at a battlefield” targets a battlefield, but not any units.
  33. 355.10.c. It is included only as part of a cost, trigger condition, or replacement effect. e.g., “As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit” doesn’t target anything. e.g., “When a friendly unit dies, kill a gear” targets a gear, but not a friendly unit. e.g., “When you play me, the next time a friendly unit would die this turn, return it to your hand instead” doesn’t target anything. The replacement effect applies when any friendly unit dies. e.g., “Choose a friendly unit. The next time it would die this turn, return it to your hand instead” targets a friendly unit, because “choose a friendly unit” is not part of the replacement effect.
  34. 355.10.c.1. This includes costs within instructions, identified by phrases like “[do X] to [do Y].” The cost within that instruction is “[do X].” e.g., “When I hold, you may kill another friendly unit here to draw 1” does not target anything. e.g., “When you play me, you may spend a buff to move a friendly unit” targets the friendly unit, but not the buff.
  35. 355.10.d. It is programmatically selected based on its characteristics rather than chosen by the spell or ability’s controller. e.g., “Kill all units at a battlefield” targets a battlefield, but does not target any units. e.g., “Kill all units at battlefields” doesn’t target anything. e.g., “Destroy a unit. Its controller draws 2 cards” targets the unit, but not its controller. e.g., “Ready your legend” doesn’t target anything, because you can only have one legend. e.g., “Ready a friendly legend” targets a legend, because in a 2v2 game there are two friendly legends. e.g., “Recycle all cards in your trash” doesn’t target anything, because it affects all cards and you only have one trash.
  36. 355.10.d.1. This exception applies solely to objects for which no choice is ever possible.
  37. 355.10.d.2. This exception does not apply to objects that are the only valid choice at the moment a spell or ability is placed on the chain, but which would require a choice under other circumstances. e.g., “Kill a unit at a battlefield” always targets a unit, even if that unit is the only unit currently at a battlefield.
  38. 355.10.e. It is part of a set of objects chosen in whole or in part by other players. e.g., “Each player kills a unit they control” does not target. Each player, including the one who played the spell, chooses a unit to kill as the spell or ability resolves.
  39. 355.10.f. It is identified in an instruction that a player “must” complete. e.g., “You must recycle one of your runes” doesn’t target anything. You choose from among your runes as the spell or ability resolves. e.g., “Recycle a rune you control” targets a rune. You choose a rune you control as you put the spell or ability on the chain.
  40. 355.11. Some cards identify a group of Targets with Targeting Requirements that must be met by the group as a whole.
  41. 355.11.a. As they’re finalized on the chain, such cards can choose any group of valid targets that collectively fulfill the targeting restriction.
  42. 355.11.b. If the group of targets no longer collectively fulfill the targeting restriction as the spell or ability resolves, that spell or ability’s controller can choose a subset of the original targets that fulfills the targeting requirement for the spell or ability to affect. Example: A player plays Fox-Fire, a spell that says in part “Kill any number of units at a battlefield with total Might 4 or less.” That player chooses four 1 [M] Recruit tokens at a single battlefield. As a Reaction, another player gives two of those Recruits +1 [M], so the Recruits’ Mights are 1, 1, 2, and 2. Then Fox-Fire resolves. The Recruits no longer have total Might 4 or less, so Fox-Fire’s controller must choose a legal subset of the original targets to affect. They could choose to kill the two 2 [M] Recruits, or the two 1 [M] Recruits plus one 2 [M] Recruit. The units they choose are Fox-Fire’s remaining legal targets. They can’t choose to affect units at the same battlefield that weren’t initially chosen as targets. They can, however, choose to affect units that were initially chosen as targets that left the chosen battlefield before Fox-Fire resolved as long as those units are all located at the same battlefield.
  43. 355.12. If a spell specifies that a player may perform a Game Action on some number of Game Objects, then all choices are considered targeted and chosen independently of the decision to perform the Game Action.
  44. 355.13. If a card specifies that a player chooses “any number” or “up to” some number of Game Objects to be affected, they may choose any number of available targets, including zero. If they choose zero, the spell or ability can be played without any targets.
  45. 355.14. Splitting
  46. 355.14.a. If a card specifies that an amount of damage may be split among some number of Units, then each Unit chosen is Targeted.
  47. 355.14.b. The Targets are chosen when the spell or ability is finalized on the chain.
  48. 355.14.c. A number of Targets can only be chosen up to, and not exceeding, the initial amount of damage available when the spell is played. Example: A player playing a spell that instructs them to "Split 5 damage" may only choose up to 5 units, but may choose fewer.
  49. 355.14.d. Each Target is valid, and contributes to Chosen triggers individually.
  50. 355.14.e. The choice of how much damage is divided across the split is not decided until the resolution of the spell or ability.
  51. 355.14.f. Each Target must receive a valid amount of damage.
  52. 355.14.g. Valid damage is a positive integer amount, greater than or equal to 1 damage. See rule 417. Deal for more information.
  53. 355.14.h. If, at resolution of the spell or effect, there are more Targets than available damage to divide, then the player who controls the effect dealing damage determines which Targets cease being Targets.
  54. 355.14.i. Any costs that were paid, or effects that were triggered as a result of those Game Objects being chosen as Targets remain in effect, paid, or otherwise triggered.
  55. 355.15. These choices cannot be changed after this step.
  56. 355.16. A player may not make choices during this step that will deterministically result in illegal choices or actions later in this process unless they have no choice. Example: A player plays a card which reads “as an additional cost to play this, kill the unit you control with the most Might. Give a friendly unit +[M] equal to the killed unit’s Might this turn. Predict 2.” They cannot choose to target their unit with the highest Might during this step of finalization.
  57. 355.17. If a spell or ability requires one or more players to make choices that are not outlined in this section, they are made on resolution.
  58. 356. 3. Determine Total Cost.
  59. 356.1. Apply base cost modifications in any order.
  60. 356.1.a. If an ability or instruction allows you to play a card “for [Cost]”, replace the card’s Base Costs with [Cost].
  61. 356.1.b. If an ability or instruction allows you to "ignore" one or more of a card's costs, set the appropriate Base Cost(s) of the card to zero.
  62. 356.1.b.1. If a card allows a player to play a card "ignoring its cost," its base Energy cost and base Power cost are set to zero.
  63. 356.1.b.2. If a card instructs a player to play a card "ignoring its Energy cost" or "ignoring its Power cost," only the appropriate cost is set to zero, and the remaining cost still applies.
  64. 356.1.b.3. Further additional costs and/or cost increases applied in subsequent steps may raise the card's Total Cost above zero. Example: Legion Rearguard is a Fury unit that costs 2 Energy and 0 Power and has Accelerate. A player plays Legion Rearguard and is instructed to ignore its costs, but chooses to pay the Accelerate cost. They ignore Legion Rearguard's Base Cost of 2 Energy, but the optional additional cost of 1 Energy and 1 Fury Power is added to its Total Cost and must be paid.
  65. 356.2. Apply additional costs in any order.
  66. 356.2.a. Mandatory Additional Costs
  67. 356.2.a.1. Some Additional Costs specified by Passive Abilities on the card being played or another card are Mandatory, and must be paid to complete playing the card. They use the phrase "as an additional cost" and don't include the word "may." Example: A unit has the passive ability "As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit." To play that unit, a player must kill a friendly unit. See rule 363. Passive Abilities for more information.
  68. 356.2.a.2. The cost imposed by the Deflect keyword is a Mandatory Additional Cost. See rule 809. Deflect for more information.
  69. 356.2.b. Optional Additional Costs
  70. 356.2.b.1. Some Optional Costs specified by Passive Abilities on the card being played or another card are Non-Mandatory, and must be paid only if the player made the choice to pay them in step 2. They use the phrase "as an additional cost" and the word "may." Example: A unit has the ability "As you play me, you may discard 1 as an additional cost. If you do, reduce my cost by [2]." While playing the unit, its controller declares their intention to pay the additional cost in step 2, applies that additional cost in rule 356.2, applies the discount granted by paying that cost in rule 356.4, and discards a card to pay that additional cost in rule 357.2. See rule 363. Passive Abilities for more information.
  71. 356.3. Apply cost increases.
  72. 356.4. Apply discounts.
  73. 356.4.a. Discounts may be applied by the card being played or by any other card or effect.
  74. 356.4.b. Discounts may say that cards "cost [amount] less" or that one or more of their costs are "reduced by [amount]."
  75. 356.4.c. Discounts that only apply to a component of the cost will be applied when that component is added to the cost of the spell and before any other discounts. Example: Ezreal, Prodigy reads “optional additional costs you pay cost [1] or [A] less.” When playing a Frigid Touch and choosing to pay the additional cost in step 2, as soon as the additional cost is added to the cost of the spell, Ezreal, Prodigy’s discount is applied to it.
  76. 356.4.c.1. Discounts that apply to a given component of a spell’s cost may be applied in any order to that component.
  77. 356.4.d. Discounts that apply to the total cost of a spell and not any one component of the cost must be applied after any discount that applies only to a component of the cost.
  78. 356.4.d.1. These discounts may be applied in any order as long as they are applied after component discounts.
  79. 356.4.e. If a discount applies a minimum cost, that minimum applies only to that discount. Example: Eager Apprentice says "While I'm at a battlefield, the Energy costs for spells you play is reduced by [1], to a minimum of [1]." A player who controls Eager Apprentice and a unit with 7 Might plays Sky Splitter, a spell that costs 8 Energy and says "This spell's Energy cost is reduced by the highest Might among units you control." That player can choose to apply Eager Apprentice's discount first, reducing Sky Splitter's Energy cost to 7, then apply Sky Splitter's discount, reducing its Energy cost to 0. If they applied these discounts in the other order, Sky Splitter's Energy cost would be 1.
  80. 356.4.f. Discounts can reduce additional costs, including to 0.
  81. 356.4.f.1. An optional additional cost was "paid" if the player made the decision to pay it. It doesn't matter how much the player actually paid. Example: Clockwork Keeper is a unit that costs 2 Energy and 0 Power and says "As you play me, you may pay [C] as an additional cost. If you do, draw 1." A player controls a card that says "Units you play cost [A] less." That player plays Clockwork Keeper and chooses to pay the optional additional cost of [C]. They will draw a card, even though the optional additional cost was reduced to 0.
  82. 356.5. Energy and Power costs can't be reduced below 0.
  83. 356.6. Costs may be Energy costs, Power costs, or non-standard costs. Example: A card reads "As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit." Killing a friendly unit is an additional cost to play that card.
  84. 357. 4. Pay the card's costs.
  85. 357.1. In total, pay the combined Energy cost (if any) and Power cost (if any).
  86. 357.1.a. During this step, the card's controller can use activated abilities with the Reaction tag that Add resources to add Energy and Power to pay the card's costs. See rule 164. Rune Pools and rule 429. Add for more information.
  87. 357.2. In addition, pay any non-standard Cost summed in step 3 in any order.
  88. 357.2.a. Costs that are replaced with other events by replacement effects are still considered paid. Example: A player plays Cruel Patron, which says "As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit." They also control Zhonya’s Hourglass, which says “If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it.” They choose to kill a friendly unit during step 3, but as they pay the cost in step 4, Zhonya’s Hourglass replaces that unit’s death. The cost is considered paid, and the player can continue playing Cruel Patron.
  89. 357.3. A player may not pay costs during this step that will deterministically result in illegal choices or actions later in this process unless they have no choice. Example: A player plays a card which reads “as an additional cost to play this, you may kill a friendly unit. Give a friendly unit +2 [M] this turn. If you paid the cost, give that unit +7 [M] this turn instead” If they chose to pay the cost, they must choose to kill a unit other than the targeted unit unless they have no choice.
  90. 358. 5. Check legality.
  91. 358.1. Check that all chosen targets are legal.
  92. 358.2. Ensure that the outcome of the effect of this card being played would not create an illegal state. Example: Check that a spell's execution does not create a state where a Battlefield has Units controlled by 3 different players.
  93. 358.3. Ensure that the card has the appropriate permissions to be played at this timing. Example: If the state is Showdown Closed and the card was the one that Closed the state, ensure that it has [Action] or [Reaction]. Example: If the state is Closed and the card wasn’t the one that Closed the state, ensure that it has [Reaction].
  94. 358.4. If the card, if continued to be played, would create an illegal state, or if a choice or action at this state is illegal, the actions taken in this process are undone and the action is cancelled.
  95. 359. 6. Finish finalizing this card and proceed with the card's category of Play.
  96. 359.1. This card is no longer Pending.
  97. 359.2. A Permanent leaves the Chain and becomes a Game Object.
  98. 359.2.a. Any passive abilities become active.
  99. 359.2.b. Execute all rules text on the card, from top to bottom.
  100. 359.2.c. If it is a Unit, it enters the Board exhausted at the Location that was chosen.
  101. 359.2.d. If it is a Gear, it enters the Board Ready at the player's Base.
  102. 359.3. A Spell lingers on the Chain.
  103. 359.3.a. This card becomes a Finalized Chain Item.
  104. 359.3.b. If there are other Pending Items on the Chain, then the controller of those Pending Items completes Steps 2 through 5 of Playing Cards for those items before continuing. See rule 327. Chains for more information.
  105. 359.3.c. Other players have an opportunity to play Reactions before the resolution of spells. See rule 327. Chains for more information.
  106. 359.3.d. Otherwise, execute the game effect of the spell, from top to bottom of the rules text of the card and then place the card in the Trash of the owning player.
  107. 359.3.e. Handling illegal and impossible instructions
  108. 359.3.e.1. The spell resolves even if some or all of its targets are illegal.
  109. 359.3.e.2. A target is illegal as the spell resolves if it no longer meets the targeting requirements of the spell, or if it has changed Zones to or from a Non-Board Zone.
  110. 359.3.e.3. If a target ceases to meet the targeting requirements while the spell is on the chain, then meets them again, it's a legal target. Example: A spell targets "a unit at a battlefield." A player reacts with a spell that moves the unit to base, then another player reacts with a spell that moves it back to that battlefield, then the original spell resolves. The unit is a legal target.
  111. 359.3.e.4. If a target changes Zones to or from a Non-Board Zone and then returns to its original zone, it is no longer a legal target, because it's not treated as the same object. Examples: An enemy unit at a battlefield is no longer a legal target if it is no longer an enemy, no longer a unit, or no longer at a battlefield. A unit with 3 or less Might is no longer a legal target if it is no longer a unit or if its Might is greater than 3. Something that's exhausted is no longer a legal target if it is no longer exhausted. (It can't stop being "something.") A spell that's played from hidden can normally only target its own battlefield or something at that battlefield. A target for such a spell may cease to be a legal target if it moves from the battlefield where that spell was played, even if the spell has no location targeting requirement otherwise.
  112. 359.3.e.5. If any of the spell's targets are no longer legal, those targets are unaffected by the spell as it resolves. Example: A player plays Void Seeker, a spell that says "Deal 4 to a unit at a battlefield. Draw 1." The unit's controller uses a Reaction to move the unit to their base. Since the unit is no longer a legal target, it is not dealt any damage. Void Seeker's controller still draws 1.
  113. 359.3.e.6. Instructions that can't be followed, either because of illegal targets or other circumstances, are ignored.
  114. 359.3.e.7. If all of an instruction's Targets become Invalid or Unavailable by the time the spell is finished being played, that instruction will not execute.
  115. 359.3.e.8. If an instruction has more than one Target and fewer than all of the Targets become Invalid or Unavailable by the time the spell is finished being played, the instruction will execute, with only the Targets available and valid being operated on.
  116. 359.3.e.9. The process for a card's choice becoming Invalid or Unavailable is referred to as mistargeting. Example: A spell has the instruction "Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield." Before that instruction can execute, the chosen unit is moved to its base. The instruction will not be executed, because it specifies that the unit it chooses must be at a Battlefield, and by the time it attempted to execute, the unit was no longer valid as a choice.
  117. 359.3.e.10. It is possible for none of a spell's instructions to be executed as it resolves, due to all of them requiring targets to act on and all of those targets becoming Invalid or Unavailable. In this case, the spell has no effect but is still considered played. Example: A player plays a spell that reads "Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield" with no other instructions, and chooses an enemy unit at a battlefield. They also control a unit with the ability "When you play a spell, give me +1 [M] this turn." Before the spell resolves, the chosen unit is moved to its base. The spell resolves and its only instruction cannot be executed, but the unit's ability still triggers as the spell resolves and gives it +1 [M].
  118. 359.3.e.11. Instructions that can be partially followed are followed as much as possible and ignored otherwise. Example: A player plays a spell that says "Discard 2, then draw 2" If their hand is empty, the instruction to discard 2 will be ignored. They'll still draw 2. If they had 1 card in hand, they would discard it and draw 2.
  119. 359.3.e.12. If the spell checks information about a target that is no longer legal or a card or permanent whose location, zone, or status has changed such that that information is no longer available, that check returns "null" and all calculations based on it are ignored. Examples: A unit that is no longer on the board is treated as having null Might, null cost, etc. A unit that is no longer on the board has no location, is neither exhausted nor readied, etc. Baited Hook says "[1][C], [E]: Kill a friendly unit. Look at the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. You may banish a unit from among them that has Might up to 1 more than the killed unit and play it, ignoring its cost. Then recycle the rest." While Baited Hook’s ability is on the chain, an opponent reacts with a spell that returns the friendly unit to its owner's hand. Because the friendly unit is no longer a legal target, it can't be killed and its Might is treated as null. Baited Hook’s controller looks at the top 5 cards of their Main Deck, but can’t choose any unit from among them.
  120. 359.3.e.12.a. If the spell checks information about a target that is legal, or a card or permanent whose location, zone, or status has not changed such that information is no longer available, that information is accessible.
  121. 359.3.e.13. A spell or ability that moves something to a different zone as a cost or effect can "look back" at its characteristics before it changes zones.
  122. 359.3.e.14. Some instructions may reference Game Objects affected by, or Game Actions performed in, other instructions in a card. The referenced and referencing instructions are called “linked instructions.”
  123. 359.3.e.14.a. In order for a later linked instruction to execute, its earlier linked instruction must have executed. If the earlier linked instruction is ignored for any reason, the later linked instruction will also be ignored.
  124. 359.3.e.14.b. If the Game Action performed in an earlier linked instruction is replaced, this will not affect the later linked instruction.
  125. 359.3.e.15. A spell or ability that leaves the chain during the process of its resolution will cease further execution of its instructions. This immediately causes the spell or ability to finish resolving.
  126. 359.3.f. Referents
  127. 359.3.f.1. Some information used by abilities is referenced from the source of those abilities, or from one or more targets of a spell or ability. This can usually be recognized by the presence of words like “here,” “my,” or “its.”
  128. 359.3.f.2. Information referenced in an instruction in this way will be checked on execution of the instruction. Examples: ​ A player moves Yasuo, Remorseful to an occupied enemy battlefield and initiates combat there. In reaction to the Yasuo, Remorseful attack trigger, their opponent plays Fight or Flight from hidden targeting Yasuo, moving him back to base. When the attack trigger resolves, “here” is no longer the battlefield where combat is ongoing and the attack trigger mistargets. In reaction to a Yasuo, Remorseful attack trigger, an opponent plays Stupefy targeting Yasuo. When Yasuo’s attack trigger resolves, it will deal damage equal to his current Might of 5.
  129. 359.3.f.3. Some information used by triggered abilities is referenced from the trigger condition of the ability. This information is checked when the trigger condition is fulfilled. Example: Lillia, Fae Fawn reads “when I move from a location, play a 3 [M] Sprite token with Temporary there.” If Lillia moves to a battlefield, her triggered ability will be placed on the chain and it will note the location she moved from when it does so. If she moves to a non-board zone in reaction to the triggered ability on the chain, it will not affect where the Sprite token will be played when the triggered ability resolves.
  130. 359.3.f.3.a. In the case of a delayed triggered ability, the information is referenced when the triggered ability is created unless specified otherwise. 359.3.f.3.a.1 In the case of a linked ability that references information from a linked triggered ability, that information may be referenced from the trigger condition of the linked triggered ability if specified.
  131. 359.3.f.4. Some information used by the effect of a triggered ability is referenced from the triggered ability itself, such as “enemy” and “friendly” status. This information is checked on execution of the referencing instruction. Example: Yasuo, Remorseful reads “when I attack, deal damage equal to my Might to an enemy unit here.” Yasuo moves to an occupied enemy battlefield and his attack trigger goes on the chain. In reaction to the attack trigger, the defending player plays a hidden Hostile Takeover and gains control of Yasuo. The triggered ability is unaffected by Yasuo changing controllers, and “enemy” is in reference to the triggered ability itself, so it will resolve with no issue. Example: In reaction to the same Yasuo, Remorseful trigger, say the defending player had instead played a spell that reads “[Reaction]. Gain control of a triggered ability. You may make new choices for it.” They chose the attack trigger. When Yasuo’s attack trigger resolves, if they didn’t make new choices for the trigger, the controller of the triggered ability will no longer be an enemy to the targeted unit, so the triggered ability will mistarget and do nothing. If they instead chose Yasuo with the attack trigger, he would be an enemy unit to the triggered ability and so it would deal damage equal to his Might to himself.
360

Abilities

  1. 361. An Ability is the structured rules and capabilities of Game Objects or Spells.
  2. 361.1. An Ability has multiple structures. Passive Abilities Replacement Effects Activated Abilities Triggered Abilities Delayed Abilities
  3. 362. A card can have more than one Ability and more than one type of Ability.
363

Passive Abilities

  1. 364. Conditions, rules, constraints, or statements that affect the course of regular play.
  2. 364.1. These abilities have a wide variety of formats to recognize. Example: "I get +1 [M] while you have 2 or more cards in your hand." Example: "Friendly Yordles at my battlefield have [Shield]."
  3. 364.2. They can be recognized by being statements of fact.
  4. 364.3. Passive Abilities can be conditional.
  5. 364.3.a. Conditional Passive Abilities can be recognized by the occurrence of "if" or "while" as part of the statement of the ability. Example: "While I'm attacking or defending alone, I have +2 [M]." Example: "If an opponent controls a battlefield, I enter ready."
365

Presence on Permanents

  1. 365.1. Passive Abilities of Permanents are typically only active while on the Board.
366

Presence on Card outside of the Board

  1. 366.1. Passive Abilities of cards in zones that are outside of the Board will self-describe their context. Example: The passive ability "Play me only during an opponent's turn." applies in any zone from which that card can be played.
  2. 366.2. Passive Abilities can alter the costs of cards as they are played.
  3. 366.2.a. These apply at all times in any zone from which the card with the ability can be played.
367

Replacement Effects

  1. 368. An ability that alters the application of another game effect or game rule.
  2. 368.1. Passive Abilities can be Replacement Effects.
  3. 369. Replacement Effects intercede during the execution of a Game Effect and alter its execution.
  4. 369.1. A Replacement Effect can usually be identified by the presence of the terms “would” or "instead." Example: Zhonya's Hourglass reads "The next time a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it." This is a replacement effect that alters the execution of any Game Effect that would kill a friendly unit.
  5. 369.2. Some Game Actions are themselves Replacement Effects. Example: Burning Out is a replacement effect.​ Example: Preventing Damage is a replacement effect.
  6. 370. A Replacement Effect can alter the typical flow of play, including other cards' executions.
  7. 370.1. Replacement Effects apply to any event or instruction that qualifies for their application. A Replacement Effect will specify the circumstances by which an event or instruction will qualify to be replaced.
  8. 370.1.a. When a Replacement Effect applies, it replaces the qualifying event with one or more Game Actions or events, or the qualifying instruction with another instruction.
  9. 370.2. A Replacement Effect can only be applied once to an event, or to any Game Actions or events that replace that event. Example: A player plays a spell that reads “gear you control become 1 [M] gear units this turn.” They control two copies of Zhonya’s Hourglass when the spell resolves. If one of those copies is killed, both of their Replacement Effects will be applied. Whichever is applied first, that Replacement Effect can’t be applied again. When it is applied, it kills its source, which creates an event the other can apply its Replacement Effect to. Once they’ve both applied their Replacement Effect to the original death event and the event that replaced it, they cannot go any further. At that point, whichever Zhonya’s Hourglass applied its Replacement Effect last will die.
  10. 370.3. If a Game Object has a Replacement Effect that is active in a specific zone, it is evaluated and subsequently applied if it enters that zone before an event occurs that it could replace. Example: A unit that reads “if a unit you control would die, you may banish me from your trash instead. If you do, heal that unit, exhaust it and recall it.” The first unit dies simultaneously with a 1 [M] Recruit token. It does not enter the trash before the Recruit dies, so it will not be able to replace its death.
  11. 371. Some Replacement Effects will begin with “once each turn.”
  12. 371.1. When an event the Replacement Effect could apply to occurs, the player who controls the Replacement Effect may choose to apply it to the event.
  13. 371.2. If they do not, it has not been applied this turn.
  14. 372. If more than one Replacement Effect applies to the same event being executed, then the owner of the object being acted on determines the order the Replacement Effects will apply.
  15. 372.1. If it is a player being acted on, that player decides the order the Replacement Effects will apply.
  16. 372.2. If the affected object is an Uncontrolled Battlefield then the Current Turn Player decides the order the Replacement Effects will apply.
  17. 373. If more than one event occurs simultaneously that Replacement Effects could apply to, each event is treated separately and individually for the purposes of Replacement Effects, and Replacement Effects with the same controller are applied in the order of their controller’s choosing. Example: Two units controlled by the same player die in the same cleanup. That player also controls Zhonya’s Hourglass. They must decide which event to apply Zhonya’s Hourglass to first.
  18. 373.1. Although these events are simultaneous, the applied Replacement Effects are ordered. If multiple applied Replacement Effects with different controllers would execute simultaneously, they execute in turn order.
  19. 373.2. When applying Replacement Effects to events that occur simultaneously, each Replacement Effect may only be applied in one sequence, to any number of events that are qualified to be replaced. Example: Soraka, Wanderer reads “If another unit you control here would die, if it has less Might than me, instead heal it, exhaust it, and recall it.” Soraka dies simultaneously with two 1 [M] Recruit tokens at the same battlefield and two 1 [M] Recruit tokens in base. Soraka has a Guardian Angel attached to her when she dies, which appends “If I would die, kill Guardian Angel instead. Heal me, exhaust me, and recall me” to Soraka’s rules text. There are several possible ways to order the Replacement Effects being applied to the various events: If Soraka’s Replacement Effect is applied first, it saves the Recruits at the same battlefield as her but not the Recruits in base. If the Replacement Effect appended by Guardian Angel then saves Soraka, she cannot apply her Replacement Effect to the Recruits in base as her Replacement Effect has already been applied to an event simultaneous with it dying. If the Replacement Effect appended by Guardian Angel is applied first, it saves Soraka and recalls her - then when Soraka’s Replacement Effect is applied, it can only save the Recruits in base.
  20. 373.2.a. A sequence of Replacement Effects is an uninterrupted series of applications to a set of simultaneous events.
  21. 373.2.a.1. A Replacement Effect that replaces an event or Game Action that is part of another Replacement Effect will not interrupt the sequence of the replaced Replacement Effect’s application.
  22. 374. A Replacement Effect’s controller is the player that controls the source of the Replacement Effect.
  23. 375. If an event that a Replacement Effect applies to would be modified by a Game Effect, or the results of that event would be modified by a Game Action, the Replacement Effect will inherit those modifications. Example: Treasure Hunter reads “When I move, play a Gold gear token exhausted.” A Replacement Effect that says “if you would play a token gear, play that token and an additional copy instead” is applied to the event of the Gold gear token being played. The additional copy will also be exhausted, as it inherits the “exhausted” modification. Example: Another Replacement Effect says “if you would play a token, draw 1 instead.” The modification cannot apply, so we ignore it. Example: A spell reads “play a ready 3 [M] Mech token. Then do this: Give it Temporary.” A Replacement Effect that says “if you would play a unit token, play that token and a 1 [M] Recruit token instead” is applied to the event of the Mech token being made. The Recruit token enters ready and is given Temporary.
376

Activated Abilities

  1. 377. Activated Abilities are repeatable effects with a cost. They follow a process of going onto the chain and resolving, similar to Playing a Card. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  2. 377.1. Activated Abilities are recognized by the presence of a ":" in the text of the card, preceded by a cost and succeeded by an effect. Example: "[2]: Draw 1" is an activated ability. The cost is 2 energy. The effect is to draw 1 card.
  3. 377.2. Card text will refer to activating Activated Abilities with the word “use.”
  4. 377.2.a. If “using” an Activated Ability is part of a trigger condition, that condition is fulfilled when the Activated Ability resolves.
  5. 377.2.b. If an Activated Ability has a condition on “using” it, that condition must be true in order to activate the ability in question. Example: Ultrasoft Poro reads “[E]: Play two 1 [M] Bird unit tokens with [Deflect]. Use this ability only while I'm at a battlefield.” In order to activate the ability, Ultrasoft Poro must be located at a battlefield.
  6. 377.3. Activated Abilities use the chain.
  7. 377.3.a. Declare activation of the Ability.
  8. 377.3.a.1. The ability goes on the chain but has no card to represent it, so players need to take note that it is now a Closed State.
  9. 377.3.b. Proceed with executing the Chain.
  10. 377.3.b.1. Follow the steps of “Playing or Activating Abilities” in rule 398. This ability will become a Pending Chain Item.
  11. 377.3.b.2. Opponents have an opportunity to respond, as appropriate, as if a card was played onto the chain.
  12. 377.3.b.3. If no further action is taken, execute the Activated Ability.
  13. 378. The controlling player chooses when and whether to activate an Activated Ability.
  14. 379. Activated abilities are present on Game Objects and some Spells.
  15. 380. Can primarily be activated while on the Board.
  16. 381. All Activated Abilities can only be activated on the Controlling Player's Turn and during an Open State.
382

Triggered Abilities

  1. 383. Triggered Abilities are repeatable effects that happen when a Condition is met.
  2. 383.1. Triggered Abilities can usually be recognized by the word "when" followed by a game action or event; the word "at" followed by a point in time during the turn sequence; or the phrase “the [Nth] time” followed by a game action or event. Examples: "When you conquer here, you may spend a buff to draw 1." "At the end of your turn, ready 2 runes." “The first time I move each turn, you may ready something else that's exhausted.”
  3. 383.1.a. The phrases that identify triggered abilities do not always appear at the beginning of sentences or abilities.
  4. 383.1.b. If an ability triggers “the [Nth] time” something happens and that trigger condition is met multiple times simultaneously, the ability’s controller picks one of those instances to serve as the trigger condition. The ability triggers only once, due to the chosen condition. Example: Wraith of Echoes reads “The first time another friendly unit dies each turn, draw 1.” That ability hasn’t triggered yet this turn. Two other friendly units die simultaneously (say, due to combat damage). The Wraith’s controller chooses one of those deaths to trigger Wraith’s ability.
  5. 383.2. Triggered Abilities have a Condition and an Effect.
  6. 383.2.a. The Condition follows the When.
  7. 383.2.b. The Effect is the Instruction that follows the comma after the Condition.
  8. 383.2.c. The Condition of a Trigger is evaluated after a potentially inciting event has been processed.
  9. 383.2.c.1. If a Game Object with a Triggered Ability that is active in a specific zone, it is evaluated and subsequently triggered if it enters that zone at the same time that its Trigger’s condition is met. Example: Immortal Phoenix says “When you kill a unit with a spell, you may pay [1][C] to play me from your trash.” This ability triggers if Immortal Phoenix is in your trash immediately after you kill a unit with a spell, even if the unit you killed with a spell was that Immortal Phoenix.
  10. 383.2.c.2. A Game Object will not be able to successfully be able to evaluate its Trigger Condition, however, if it leaves the zone that its Trigger is active from at the same time that its Trigger is satisfied. Example: Viktor, Leader says “When another non-Recruit unit you control dies, play a 1 [M] Recruit unit token into your base.” This ability triggers if Viktor is on the board immediately after another non-Recruit unit you control dies. It does not trigger if Viktor and another non-Recruit unit you control die during the same game action (for instance, if they are both killed in the same Cleanup due to the damage dealt by Unchecked Power).
  11. 383.3. When a Condition is met, a Triggered Ability behaves like an Activated Ability and is placed on the Chain.
  12. 383.3.a. If a Triggered Ability says “you may” as the first part of its Effect, the controller of its source will choose whether or not to place the Triggered Ability on the chain when its trigger Condition is fulfilled.
  13. 383.3.b. If a Triggered Ability contains a cost within instructions, that cost is treated as the base cost of the Triggered Ability.
  14. 383.3.b.1. The cost must be paid in order to finalize the Triggered Ability to the Chain.
  15. 383.3.b.2. Costs within instructions for Triggered Abilities are not paid on resolution, unlike costs within instructions for Spells.
  16. 383.3.c. Triggered Abilities can be put on the Chain during Closed States or Open States on any player's turn.
  17. 383.3.d. If more than one Triggered Ability is Triggered simultaneously, then the player that controls the Abilities selects the order to place them on the Chain.
  18. 383.3.d.1. If multiple players separately control Triggered Abilities that are Triggered simultaneously, then starting with the Turn Player and proceeding in Turn Order, each player orders their Triggered Abilities on the Chain.
  19. 383.3.e. If a triggered ability has a conditional statement following the Condition, that conditional statement must be true in order for the trigger to be placed on the Chain. Example: Sona, Harmonious reads “At the end of your turn, if I'm at a battlefield, ready up to 4 friendly runes.” Her Trigger Ability’s Condition will be fulfilled in the Ending Step, but the Triggered Ability will only be placed on the chain if she is located at a battlefield when the Condition is fulfilled.
  20. 383.3.f. Some Triggered Abilities will trigger “once each turn.”
  21. 383.3.f.1. When the Condition is fulfilled, the player who controls the source of the Triggered Ability may choose to place it on the chain.
  22. 383.3.f.2. If they do not, it has not Triggered this turn.
  23. 383.4. Some Conditions are commonly used and structured in a way that explicitly defines their use and other properties of the Effect that is associated with it.
  24. 383.4.a. Play Effects are Triggered Abilities with the Condition that the Permanent that has the Play Effect being played to the board.
  25. 383.4.a.1. These are commonly structured as “When you play me…” for Units and “When you play this…” for Gear.
  26. 383.4.a.2. These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Permanent these effects correspond to is finalized and enters the board.
  27. 383.4.a.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Play Effects.
  28. 383.4.a.4. Abilities that trigger when another object is played are not considered Play Effects.
  29. 383.4.b. Targeting Effects are Triggered Abilities with the Condition that a Game Object becomes targeted.
  30. 383.4.b.1. These are commonly structured as “When you choose me …” or “When you choose a [Game Object] …”
  31. 383.4.b.2. These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after a spell or ability that targets an appropriate Game Object is Finalized.
  32. 383.4.b.3. Although these abilities say “choose” in their Condition, they trigger specifically when an appropriate Game Object is Targeted. See rule 355.6. Targeting for more information on what counts as Targeting.
  33. 383.4.b.4. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Targeting Effects.
  34. 383.4.c. Conquer Effects are Triggered Abilities with a Condition of a Unit participating in, and successfully Conquering a Battlefield.
  35. 383.4.c.1. These are commonly structured as “When I conquer…” and “When you conquer…”
  36. 383.4.c.2. This category of Triggered Abilities encompasses only those that are triggered from Units that were present during the Conquer action, or Abilities that reference the player that performed the Conquer action.
  37. 383.4.c.2.a. The Conquer Abilities of Units are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit(s) these effects correspond to are present at a Battlefield when a player gains control of it and gains 1 Victory Point from Conquering.
  38. 383.4.c.2.b. The Conquer Abilities of anything that references the player Conquering is put on the Chain as a Pending Item when the Condition that the player that controls the triggering source has performed a Conquer and gained 1 Victory Point.
  39. 383.4.c.2.c. If the act of gaining one point from Conquering is negated or replaced in any way, the Conquer Effect will still trigger.
  40. 383.4.c.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Conquer Effects.
  41. 383.4.d. Hold Effects are Triggered Abilities with a Condition of a Unit being present at a Battlefield during the Beginning phase when a player scores Victory Points from Holding.
  42. 383.4.d.1. These are commonly structured as “When I hold…” or “When you hold…”
  43. 383.4.d.2. This category of Triggered Abilities encompasses only those that are triggered from Units that were present during the Hold action, or Abilities that reference the player that performed the Hold action.
  44. 383.4.d.2.a. The Hold Abilities of Units are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit these effects correspond to are present at a Battlefield when a player maintains control of it and Gains 1 Victory Point during their Beginning Phase from Holding.
  45. 383.4.d.2.b. The Hold Abilities of anything that references the player Holding is put on the Chain as a Pending Item when the Condition that the player that controls the triggering source has performed a Hold and gained 1 Victory Point.
  46. 383.4.d.2.c. If the act of gaining one point from Holding is negated or replaced in any way, the Hold Effect will still trigger.
  47. 383.4.d.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Hold Effects.
  48. 383.4.e. Attack Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit gains the Attacker designation for the first time during a combat.
  49. 383.4.e.1. These are commonly structured as “When I attack…”
  50. 383.4.e.2. These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit these effects correspond to gains the Attacker designation during Combat.
  51. 383.4.e.2.a. These triggers will only have their condition checked once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Attacker designation multiple times in the same combat.
  52. 383.4.e.2.b. If the trigger condition contains other requirements besides attacking and if those requirements are not fulfilled when the unit gains the Attacker designation, it will not trigger in that combat.
  53. 383.4.e.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Attack Triggers.
  54. 383.4.f. Defend Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit gains the Defender designation for the first time during a combat.
  55. 383.4.f.1. These are commonly structured as “When I defend…”
  56. 383.4.f.2. These Triggered Abilities are put on the Chain as Pending Items after the Unit these effects correspond to gains the Defender designation during Combat.
  57. 383.4.f.2.a. These triggers will only have their condition checked once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Defender designation multiple times in the same combat.
  58. 383.4.f.2.b. If the trigger condition contains other requirements besides defending and if those requirements are not fulfilled when the unit gains the Defender designation, it will not trigger in that combat.
  59. 383.4.f.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Defend Triggers.
384

Presence on Permanents

  1. 384.1. Typically active while on the Board.
  2. 384.2. Triggered Abilities of Permanents are only able to have their Conditions evaluated while on the Board.
385

Presence on Cards outside of the Board

  1. 385.1. Triggered Abilities on cards outside of the Board rely on the Information Level of the zone they are in.
  2. 385.2. Triggered Abilities outside of the Board will self-describe their context. Example: The triggered ability "When you conquer, you may discard 1 to return this from your trash to your hand." triggers while the card it's on is in the trash, and not anywhere else.
386

Reflexive Triggers

  1. 387. Reflexive Triggers are a type of Triggered Ability that create one or more Chain Items when their condition is met.
  2. 387.1. Reflexive Triggers can be recognized by the phrase “Do this:” or “Do one of the following:”.
  3. 387.1.a. “Do this” can be followed by “N times.” The Reflexive Trigger will thus be added to the chain N times when its condition is met.
  4. 387.2. Reflexive Triggers will be preceded by their conditions, if any. If no condition is present in the ability then the Reflexive Trigger will always be added to the Chain.
  5. 387.3. If present, the Condition of a Reflexive Trigger will follow the same format as a Triggered Ability.
  6. 388. Reflexive Triggers use the Chain.
  7. 388.1. A new ability is created and added to the chain as a Pending Item. See rule 398. Playing or Activating Abilities for more information.
  8. 388.2. If a Reflexive Trigger creates more than one Pending Item it creates them all in order, but does not go beyond the first step of adding them to the Chain. See rule 398. Playing or Activating Abilities for more information.
389

Delayed Abilities

  1. 390. Delayed Abilities are a type of Ability whose trigger Condition identifies a specific time during a turn or a specific event that can occur during a specific timeframe.
  2. 390.1. Delayed Abilities can be any other type of Ability, and contain all of the properties of that type in addition to the properties of Delayed Abilities.
  3. 390.2. Delayed Triggers are Triggered Abilities that can be recognized by describing a specific time of the turn, or by structuring a Triggered Ability with a specific frame of time as a restriction.
  4. 390.3. Delayed Replacements are Replacement Effects that can be recognized by specifying the effect they are replacing at a specific time, or “the [Nth] time” in the description of the effect as it resolves.
  5. 390.4. Delayed Passive Abilities are Passive Abilities that are applicable only during a specified window of time. The time that the Delayed Passive Ability applies will be recognized in the effect that initiates it.
  6. 390.5. Delayed Linked Abilities are Linked Abilities that are generated by another Ability and reference that Ability or Game Objects it affects. Delayed Linked Abilities don’t necessarily identify a specific window of time, and instead are defined by the Ability they are linked with.
  7. 390.5.a. If that Ability affects a Game Object, the Delayed Linked Ability’s window will be as long as that Game Object is in an appropriate zone.
  8. 390.5.b. If the Delayed Linked Ability references the source of the abilities, its window will be as long as the source is in an appropriate zone. Refl391. Delayed Abilities will resolve or be active just like the ability they augment, but only during the specified time in the effect that created the Delayed Ability. Example: Ravenborn Tome reads “The next spell you play this turn deals 1 Bonus Damage” is a Delayed Passive Ability that passively adds 1 damage to just the next spell played. The next spell is a specific time, and the 1 Bonus Damage is a passive ability. Example: Noxian Guillotine reads “Choose a unit. Kill it the next time it takes damage this turn.” When the chosen unit takes damage is the specified time, and killing it is the condition for a Delayed Triggered Ability.
  9. 392. Delayed Abilities are not associated with Units or Gear; they are created by other Abilities or Spells. As such they are executed when their condition and/or specified time occurs regardless of whether the source of the Delayed Ability is still on the board or not.
393

Linked Abilities

  1. 394. Linked Abilities are a set of Abilities with one or more of the component Abilities referencing the other Abilities in the set.
  2. 395. In order for a set of Abilities to be Linked, they must be present in the printed Effect or Rules Text of the same Game Object, or be granted by the same source to another Game Object.
  3. 396. Linked Abilities can contain component Abilities of any type.
  4. 397. A component Linked Ability that references a Game Object affected by another Ability in the set may only interact with Game Objects affected by the Abilities it is Linked with.
398

Playing or Activating Abilities

  1. 399. Playing or activating Abilities follows the same steps of playing cards.
  2. 400. Abilities when added to the Chain become Pending Items until they complete the steps of Playing.
  3. 400.1. When an Ability finishes the steps of playing it becomes a Chain Item just like a Spell.
  4. 400.2. When an Ability with the [Add] action is finalized it resolves immediately instead of becoming a Chain Item, like a Unit or Gear.
401

1. Activate or trigger the Ability

  1. 401.1. Add a Pending Item to the chain representing the Ability that is either being Activated or Triggered. Notably, although this Chain Item will not have a card representing it, this will create a Closed State. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  2. 401.2. If there is currently a game effect being resolved, continue resolving the game effect instead of continuing the following steps.
402

2. Make relevant choices

  1. 402.1. Make all choices required for this ability, such as targets, modes, or other relevant decisions. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information
  2. 402.2. If legal options are not available for an Activated Ability, it is not legal to activate it.
  3. 402.3. If there are not enough options to make legal choices for a Triggered Ability that has been put on the chain, remove it from the Chain now. It ceases to be a Pending Item but never becomes a Chain Item.
  4. 402.3.a. This is not an Ability being countered.
  5. 402.3.b. If there are legal options to choose, the ability’s controller must choose them. They may not decline this stage of playing a Trigger.
403

3. Determine Total Cost

  1. 403.1. Determine the base cost of the Ability.
  2. 403.1.a. Activated Abilities will have a cost listed before the “:” in their text.
  3. 403.1.b. Triggered Abilities will typically not have a base cost associated with them when placed on the chain due to their conditions.
  4. 403.1.b.1. If a Triggered Ability has a cost within instructions (e.g. “[do X] to [do Y]”), the cost is taken as the base cost. See rule 742.1. for more information on costs within instructions.
  5. 403.2. Apply cost increases and decreases as a result of choices made in the prior step. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  6. 403.3. Apply any other cost increases or decreases as necessary. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
404

4. Pay Costs

  1. 404.1. Pay costs as determined in the prior step. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
  2. 404.2. At this stage, players may decline to pay for Triggered Abilities that have incurred a cost. If they do, the ability will cease being a Pending Item and be removed from the Chain. It never becomes a Chain Item.
  3. 404.2.a. This is not an Ability being countered.
405

5. Check Legality

  1. 405.1. Ensure that the Ability’s targets are still legal.
  2. 405.2. Ensure that the Ability’s effect would not create an illegal state. If it would, resolve in the same way you would resolve a Card that creates an illegal state. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information.
406

6. Proceed with Play

  1. 406.1. This Ability is no longer Pending.
  2. 406.2. This Ability becomes a Chain Item.
  3. 406.3. If there are other Pending Items on the Chain, their controllers perform the remaining steps of playing now.
  4. 406.4. Other players have an opportunity to play Reactions before the resolution of spells. See rule 327. Chains for more information.
  5. 406.5. Otherwise, execute the Ability just like a Spell, then clear the Chain Item from the Chain.
407

Game Actions

  1. 408. Game Actions are actions players may perform at any given time during the game.
  2. 409. A player, unless otherwise specified or prompted, may only perform actions on their turn.
  3. 410. There are two types of Game Actions:
  4. 410.1. Discretionary Actions
  5. 410.1.a. A Discretionary Action is a Game Action that may be performed at any time during a player's turn during a Neutral Open State. See rule 307. States of the Turn for more information.
  6. 410.1.b. A player may take any number of Discretionary Actions available to them during their turn.
  7. 410.1.b.1. As long as any conditions, if applicable, are met.
  8. 410.1.b.2. As long as any costs, if applicable, are paid.
  9. 410.1.b.3. As long as it does not result in any forbidden action being taken or game state being created. Example: A player can't use the Standard Move discretionary action to move a unit to a Battlefield that's already occupied by Units controlled by two other players.
  10. 410.2. Limited Actions
  11. 410.2.a. A Limited Action is a game action that a spell, ability, or circumstance of the turn's progression causes the player to perform. A player cannot perform these actions at-will.
  12. 410.2.b. These actions can only be taken when a player is instructed to do so as the execution of an effect or during their specified occasion during the turn. Example: A player may Draw during the Draw Step of the Beginning Phase of their turn or when instructed to do so by a spell or ability. They can't choose to Draw at any other time.
411

Responsibility

  1. 411.1. Game Actions may be the responsibility of up to one player. The player that performs the Game Action is responsible for it.
  2. 411.2. In the case where a Game Action is performed by procedures of the game and not by any player, that Game Action is not the responsibility of any player.
  3. 411.3. Certain rules assign responsibility to players for Game Actions that they are not normally responsible for.
  4. 411.4. If an ability triggers when “you” do something, it triggers when a Game Action that you are responsible for occurs. Example: A gear reads “When you move an enemy unit, you may exhaust this to [Stun] it.” It will trigger whenever a move game action that you are responsible for causes an enemy unit to move. If an opponent plays a spell that reads “choose a Battlefield. Each player may move a unit they don’t control to that battlefield,” and a player that controls the gear chooses to move an enemy unit, their gear will trigger.
  5. 411.5. Note that certain Game Actions, specifically Kill, can be attributed to spells and abilities. This attribution is not the same as the responsibility a given player has for the kill game action.
  6. 411.5.a. Spells and abilities have attribution for game actions, while players have responsibility.
412

Types of Actions

413

Draw

  1. 413.1. Drawing a card takes a single card from a zone and adding it to the player's Hand.
  2. 413.1.a. Unless specified otherwise, drawing takes cards from the Main Deck.
  3. 413.2. This is a Limited Action.
  4. 413.2.a. Each player draws 1 during the Draw Step of their Beginning Phase.
  5. 413.2.b. The player may draw cards when instructed to do so by other game effects.
  6. 413.3. This action, when instructed, is formatted as "Draw X."
  7. 413.4. If a player attempts to draw more cards than are available in their Main Deck, they do the following:
  8. 413.4.a. Draw as many as possible.
  9. 413.4.b. Perform a Burn Out. See rule 431. Burn Out for more information.
  10. 413.4.c. Draw the remaining cards needed to complete the Draw action.
414

Exhaust

  1. 414.1. Exhausting is an action that marks a non-spell Game Object on the board as "spent."
  2. 414.1.a. To mark it, rotate the card 90 degrees opposite of Readying, so that the orientation of the card is lengthwise in front of you.
  3. 414.1.b. A Unit that is already Exhausted cannot be Exhausted again.
  4. 414.1.c. If a Unit is instructed to be Exhausted while it is already Exhausted, nothing additional happens.
  5. 414.2. "Exhausted" is a state for Game Objects on the board that other game effects and rules can reference.
  6. 414.3. This is a Limited Action.
  7. 414.3.a. Most Exhaust actions will be costs for Activated Abilities or Discretionary Actions. Example: A unit's Standard Move exhausts the unit as a cost.
  8. 414.4. When Exhausting is listed as a Cost, then the Action must be able to be completed for the cost to be paid. Example: A spell says "As an additional cost to play this, you may exhaust a friendly unit." An exhausted friendly unit may not be exhausted again as the additional cost for the spell, and the additional cost has not been paid.
  9. 414.5. In abilities, the Exhaust symbol represents the cost "Exhaust this" or "Exhaust me." It resembles a card turning sideways.
415

Ready

  1. 415.1. Readying is an action that marks a non-spell Game Object on the board as available for action.
  2. 415.1.a. To mark it, rotate the card 90 degrees opposite of Exhausting, so that it is vertically oriented in front of you.
  3. 415.1.b. A Unit that is already Ready cannot be Readied again.
  4. 415.1.c. If a Unit is instructed to be Readied while it is already Ready, nothing additional happens.
  5. 415.2. "Ready" is a state for Game Objects on the board that other game effects and rules can reference.
  6. 415.3. This is a Limited Action.
  7. 415.3.a. A player Readies all non-spell Game Objects they Control during the Ready Step of the Beginning Phase on their turn.
  8. 415.3.b. Players may also Ready Game Objects on the board when effects or spells instruct them to do so.
416

Recycle

  1. 416.1. Recycling cards is the action in which a player takes one or more cards from a specific zone and then puts it on the bottom of the corresponding deck.
  2. 416.1.a. Main Deck cards are Recycled to the Main Deck.
  3. 416.1.b. Runes are Recycled to the Rune Deck.
  4. 416.1.c. Each player Recycles cards to their own Main Deck and Rune Deck, regardless of which player is instructed to perform the Recycle action.
  5. 416.2. This is a Limited Action.
  6. 416.2.a. The player must Recycle cards from the specified zones when instructed to do so by game effects or costs.
  7. 416.3. When Recycling is listed as a Cost, the action must be able to be completed for the cost to be paid. Example: Vi, Destructive has the ability "Recycle 1 from your trash: Give me +1 [M] this turn." Each time a player activates the ability, they must recycle 1 card from their trash to pay its cost. If they have no cards in their trash, they can't activate the ability, because they can't pay its cost.
  8. 416.4. When Recycling is part of an effect, a player must Recycle as many cards as possible from the specified zone or zones.
  9. 416.5. If 2 or more cards are Recycled to the Main Deck simultaneously, they are placed on the bottom of that deck in a random order. Example: Garbage Grabber has the ability "Recycle 3 from your trash, [1], [E]: Draw " To pay the cost of activating this ability, its controller chooses 3 cards from their trash and places them on the bottom of their Main Deck in a random order.
  10. 416.5.a. If 2 or more cards are Recycled to the Rune Deck simultaneously, they are placed on the bottom of that deck in the order of their owner's choosing.
  11. 416.6. This action, when instructed, is sometimes formatted as "Recycle X from [Zone]." That means to take X cards of the instructed player's choice from the relevant zone and recycle them. Example: Dr. Mundo, Expert has the ability "At the start of your Beginning Phase, recycle 3 from your trash." As that ability resolves, its controller recycles 3 cards from their trash. If there are fewer than 3 cards in that player's trash, they recycle as many as they can.
417

Deal

  1. 417.1. Spells, Units, Abilities, and other game effects may Deal Damage to units.
  2. 417.1.a. Assigning Damage during the Combat Damage Step is not Dealing Damage, but will cause Damage to be Dealt when assignment is complete.
  3. 417.1.b. To Deal Damage to Units, mark the specified amount of Damage on the Unit.
  4. 417.1.c. Damage is marked on each unit separately.
  5. 417.1.d. Damage can be Dealt to more than one Unit at the same time.
  6. 417.1.e. Valid Damage is a positive integer amount, greater than or equal to 1 Damage.
  7. 417.1.e.1. Only Valid Damage is Dealt. Example: A unit has “when I take damage, give me +2 [M] this turn.” A spell is played that Prevents the next 3 damage the unit would take. If a player plays Hextech Ray targeting the unit, it will take no damage and its triggered ability will not trigger. If that player had played Void Seeker instead, it would be Dealt 1 and trigger its ability. Example: A unit is present at Void Gate. A spell is played that Prevents the next 3 damage the unit would take. If a player plays Hextech Ray targeting the unit, it will take no damage - in order to apply the Bonus Damage from Void Gate, the Deal game action would have to occur, and Hextech Ray did not Deal any damage.
  8. 417.2. Only Damage can be Dealt.
  9. 417.3. Dealing Damage is a Limited Action.
  10. 417.3.a. Assigning Damage causes Damage to be dealt outside of being directed to Deal Damage. See rule 454. Combat for more information.
  11. 417.4. Dealing can have the intrinsic property of Bonus Damage.
  12. 417.5. Bonus Damage is a property granted to the action of Dealing and alters the amount of Damage distributed by this action. See rule 712. Bonus Damage for more information.
  13. 417.6. Deal actions can originate from one or more sources.
  14. 417.6.a. If a game effect does not specify a source, the game effect describing the Deal action is the source. Example: Void Seeker is a spell that reads “Deal 4 to a unit at a battlefield. Draw 1.” The damage that Void Seeker instructs you to deal is dealt by Void Seeker.
  15. 417.6.b. If a game effect does specify a source, then that source is what is considered the origin of the Damage for this Deal action.
  16. 417.6.b.1. Units and Spells can be the source of Damage for Deal actions.
  17. 417.6.b.2. Abilities can be the source of Damage for Deal actions.
  18. 417.6.b.2.a. When an Ability is the source of Damage for a Deal action, it is in addition to the Spell or Unit that created that Ability. Example: Iron Ballista is a gear that says “[E]: Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield.” This damage is dealt both by a gear and by an ability.
  19. 417.6.b.3. When a spell or ability specifies a Unit as the source of the Damage for the Deal action, it is not in addition to the spell or ability that specified it. Example: Challenge is a spell that reads “Choose a friendly unit and an enemy unit. They deal damage equal to their Mights to each other.” The damage that Challenge causes to be dealt is dealt by the chosen units, not by Challenge.
  20. 417.6.c. Damage Dealt as a result of being assigned during Combat has the Units as its source.
  21. 417.6.c.1. The Damage assigned, and subsequently Dealt, to attackers has the defenders as the source and vice versa.
  22. 417.7. Deal actions can distribute Damage as part of combat actions or non-combat actions.
418

Heal

  1. 418.1. Damage being cleared from Units is Healing.
  2. 418.1.a. If Damage is cleared for any reason it is considered Healing.
  3. 418.2. More than one Unit can be Healed at the same time.
  4. 418.3. Healing is a Limited Action.
  5. 418.3.a. Players may only Heal units when game effects instruct them to, or at specific points in the turn.
419

Play

  1. 419.1. A player Plays cards by placing them on the chain and queuing them to be finalized. See rule 349. Playing Cards for more information on playing cards. See rule 337. Finalize for more information on finalizing cards.
  2. 419.1.a. By default, a player can only Play cards from their hand or their Chosen Champion zone.
  3. 419.2. This is a Discretionary Action.
  4. 419.2.a. As long as a player has the resources to pay the costs associated with the card and legal choices to make for their cards, they may Play cards.
  5. 419.3. Game effects may result in cards being played as part of their resolution.
  6. 419.3.a. This treats Play as a Limited Action.
  7. 419.3.b. Treat all steps of Play as normal, except as noted by the game effect creating this Limited Play Effect.
  8. 419.3.c. If there are no eligible cards to Play when instructed to Play in this manner like this, then nothing happens and resolution continues.
  9. 419.4. Some Abilities trigger when cards are played or otherwise check whether cards have been played.
  10. 419.4.a. These abilities trigger when the act of playing the card has been completed by the resolution of the card.
  11. 419.4.b. If a game effect prevents the resolution of the card—for example, because the card was countered—the card wasn't played and no abilities that trigger on playing cards trigger. See rule 425. Counter for more information.
420

Move

  1. 420.1. Moving is the act of a Game Object moving between two Locations on The Board. See rule 440. Movement for more information on movement.
  2. 420.2. Moving is a Limited Action.
  3. 420.2.a. Players may only move Game Objects when instructed to do so by Game Effects or costs.
  4. 420.2.b. The Standard Move inherent to Units may also cause Movement. See rule 144. for more information on the Standard Move.
  5. 420.3. The Standard Move inherent to Units is a Discretionary Action.
  6. 420.3.a. The Cost is Exhausting one or more Units.
  7. 420.3.b. The Effect is Moving those Unit.
421

Hide

  1. 421.1. Hiding a card is the act of placing a card facedown at a Battlefield you control.
  2. 421.2. Hiding is a Discretionary Action.
  3. 421.2.a. The Hidden keyword allows a player to pay a cost to Hide a card any time they have a Hidden card in their hand or Champion Zone and meet the prerequisites. See rule 811. Hidden for more information.
  4. 421.3. Cards that are facedown at Battlefields have their gameplay properties and permissions defined by the effect that put them there. Example: Cards that players Hide with the Hidden keyword can be Played for [0] on any subsequent turn as a property of the Hidden keyword.
  5. 421.4. If a facedown card would change zones or if the game ends, its owner reveals it to all players. See rule 128. Privacy for more information.
422

Discard

  1. 422.1. Discarding a card is moving it from a player's hand directly into their trash without activating or executing its normal rules text.
  2. 422.1.a. The player who is performing the action chooses which cards to send to their Trash, and may use Private Information to do so.
  3. 422.1.b. “When I am discarded” abilities or other Triggered Abilities that trigger on discarding are executed after discarding has occurred.
  4. 422.2. Discarding is a Limited Action.
  5. 422.2.a. A player must Discard cards when instructed to do so by game effects or costs.
  6. 422.3. When Discarding is listed as a Cost, then the Action must be able to be completed for the cost to be paid. Example: A card has the ability "Discard 2: Deal 2 damage to a unit at a battlefield." To activate the ability, the card's controller must have at least 2 cards in hand and must be able to discard them.
  7. 422.4. When Discarding is part of an effect, then a player must Discard as many cards as possible from their hand. If instructed to discard more cards than they have in their hand, further discard instructions are ignored. Example: Undercover Agent has the ability "[Deathknell][>] Discard 2, then draw 2. (When I die, get the effect.)" If Undercover Agent's controller has 2 or more cards in hand, they must discard 2. If they have 1 card in hand, they discard 1, and the rest of the discard instruction is ignored. If they have no cards in hand, the entire discard instruction is ignored. Regardless of how many cards they discard, they then draw 2.
  8. 422.5. This action is formatted as "Discard X."
423

Stun

  1. 423.1. Stunning is the act of selecting one or more Units on the Board and rendering them Stunned.
  2. 423.1.a. Stunned is a binary state. A Unit is Stunned or it isn't.
  3. 423.1.a.1. A Stunned Unit can not be Stunned again. Example: Eclipse Herald has the ability "When you stun an enemy unit, ready me and give me +1 [M] this turn." Its controller plays a spell that reads "Stun a unit." They may choose a unit that's already stunned, but if they do, Eclipse Herald will not trigger.
  4. 423.1.a.2. Stunned Units lose the Stunned status at the beginning of the next Ending Step.
  5. 423.1.b. A Stunned Unit does not contribute its might to damage in the combat damage step. See rule 460. The Combat Damage Step for more information.
  6. 423.1.c. A Stunned Unit must still have damage applied to it equal to, or greater than, its full might value to be killed.
  7. 423.2. Stunning is a Limited Action.
  8. 423.2.a. Players may only Stun Units when directed to by Game Effects.
424

Reveal

  1. 424.1. Revealing is the act of presenting a card to all players from a zone that one or more players do not have access to the information of.
  2. 424.1.a. Revealed is a temporary state and is not a zone.
  3. 424.1.a.1. Other cards, including the card being revealed, can reference the act of being Revealed.
  4. 424.1.a.2. Cards remain in the zone they are being Revealed from. Example: If a card is being Revealed from the top of a player's Main Deck, it is still the top card of that player's Main Deck.
  5. 424.1.b. Unless otherwise described, Revealed cards do nothing else beyond become temporarily known information to all players.
  6. 424.2. Revealing is a Limited Action.
  7. 424.2.a. Players may only Reveal cards from Private or Secret zones when instructed to do so by Game Effects.
  8. 424.2.b. During the course of a game of Riftbound, a player may choose to show Private information to one or more other players. This does not count as revealing and does not trigger any effects that trigger when cards are revealed.
  9. 424.3. This action is formatted as "Reveal cards from [zone]." Example: "Reveal 2 cards from the top of your Main Deck" would be executed by taking the two cards from the top of your Main Deck, and then presenting them to all players to clearly read and understand at the table. Then, when all players have had a chance to understand the revealed information, return them to the top of the deck in the same order.
  10. 424.4. Game Effects can manipulate or modify the cards Revealed while they are Revealed
  11. 424.4.a. While cards are Revealed, those cards can be further manipulated, or accessed. They can even have their destination modified for when the Reveal ends. Example: "Reveal 2 cards from the top of your Main Deck. Put one into your hand and Recycle the other" would be executed by taking the top two cards from your Main Deck to the table, and once every player present has had a chance to understand them you would make the selection of one of them to add to your hand. The one you did not select would then be Recycled to the bottom of the Main Deck.
425

Counter

  1. 425.1. Countering is the act of negating the execution, activation, or otherwise playing of a card or ability by a player.
  2. 425.1.a. A card or ability that is Countered does nothing and is cleared from the chain.
  3. 425.1.b. A card that is Countered is not considered to have been played.
  4. 425.1.c. Countering does not refund any costs paid to play a card, activate an ability, or trigger an ability.
  5. 425.1.c.1. This includes additional costs.
  6. 425.2. Countering is a Limited Action.
  7. 425.2.a. Players may only Counter cards and abilities when directed to by Game Effects.
  8. 425.3. This action is formatted as "Counter [a card or ability on the chain]."
426

Buff

  1. 426.1. Buffing is the action of placing a Buff counter on a Unit. See rule 701. Buffs for more information.
  2. 426.1.a. A Buff is also an object.
  3. 426.1.b. To Buff a unit, place a Buff Counter on it if it does not have one already
  4. 426.1.b.1. If the unit already has a Buff Counter on it, it does not get another one.
  5. 426.1.c. Units with Buff Counters can still be chosen for actions that Buff units, but will not be Buffed as part of the execution. Example: A spell reads "Buff a unit. Then, if it was buffed this way, draw a card." It will place a buff counter on a unit that has no buff counter, and then its controller will draw a card. However, if the player chooses a unit with a buff counter on it already, then the card will not be drawn.
  6. 426.2. Buffing is a Limited Action.
  7. 426.2.a. Players may only Buff units when Game Effects direct them to do so.
  8. 426.3. This action is formatted as "Buff [one or more units]." e.g., "Buff a unit." e.g., "Buff a friendly unit." e.g., "Buff two friendly units at the same battlefield."
427

Banish

  1. 427.1. Banishing is the action of placing a card from any zone to Banishment. See 107.5. Banishment for more information.
  2. 427.2. When a card is Banished it is placed directly into the Banishment zone from its origin.
  3. 427.2.a. Banish is not a subset of Kill.
  4. 427.2.b. Banish is not a subset of Discard.
  5. 427.3. Cards and effects can refer to cards that were banished by the same object.
  6. 427.3.a. Separate instances of an object or effect banishing cards do not reference other banished cards by objects of the same name or effects originating from cards of the same name. Example: A spell reads "Banish the top card of your Main Deck. When you conquer this turn, draw it." This card effect allows you to draw the banished card from banishment if a condition is met. If more than one of these effects is played, each one triggers separately. Each card will be drawn separately. If the turn player passes the turn without playing the card, the card remains in banishment indefinitely. If the same player plays another copy of the same spell, banishes another card, and satisfies its condition, they could play the new banished card, but not the original banished card. See rule 393. Linked Abilities for more information.
  7. 427.4. Banishing is a Limited Action.
  8. 427.4.a. Players may only Banish cards or permanents when Game Effects direct them to do so.
  9. 427.5. This action is formatted as "Banish [one or more permanents or cards]." e.g., "Banish a card from your hand." e.g., "Banish 2 cards from your trash." e.g., "Look at the top 2 cards of your Main Deck. Draw one of them and banish the other."
428

Kill

  1. 428.1. Killing is the action of a Permanent going to the trash from the board.
  2. 428.1.a. This can be Active or Passive.
  3. 428.1.a.1. Active Kill is when the action is taken when instructed by a game effect or as a cost for a card or ability.
  4. 428.1.a.1.a. This is referred to as a Kill Instruction.
  5. 428.1.a.1.b. When a unit with a Deathknell is to be put in the Trash due to a Kill Instruction, it first has its Deathknell added to the chain as a Pending Item. Note the unit’s location, attributes, and other relevant information to process its Deathknell when finalized before completing this Kill Instruction.
  6. 428.1.a.2. Passive Kill is when the action is taken as a result of Lethal Damage or as a consequence for any other state.
  7. 428.2. When a permanent is killed it is placed directly in the trash from its place of origin.
  8. 428.2.a. It is only considered Killed if its origin was any zone on the board.
  9. 428.2.b. This is not a subset of Move.
  10. 428.3. Killing is a Limited Action.
  11. 428.3.a. Players may only Kill units when Game Effects direct them to do so.
  12. 428.4. Killing can also be the result of resolving a Cleanup.
  13. 428.5. Killing can be attributed to one or more Game Objects.
  14. 428.5.a. The Killed Unit or Gear is said to be Killed by that Game Object.
  15. 428.5.b. A spell or ability that contains a Kill instruction is responsible for Killing the Unit or Gear.
  16. 428.5.c. When one or more Units is killed due to a Cleanup, that kill action is attributed to the spell or ability that resolved immediately prior to that Cleanup that dealt damage to the Unit or Units. The player responsible for the deal action is responsible for the kill action.
  17. 428.5.d. Abilities originating from Game Objects that are attributed Kill Actions are attributed in addition to the Game Object that created them. Example: There is a spell that says “Do this twice: Deal 3 to a unit.” Immortal Phoenix is a unit that says “When you kill a unit with a spell, you may pay [1][C] to play me from your trash.” A player plays the spell while Immortal Phoenix is in their trash. The “do this” phrasing means that it has a reflexive triggered ability, which places two triggered abilities on the chain. As each of those triggered abilities resolve, it deals damage to the unit chosen for that ability. If one of these abilities deals lethal damage to a unit, both the spell and its ability are considered sources of the damage, and so both the spell and its ability receive attribution for killing the unit. This means that the spell’s controller killed a unit with a spell, so Immortal Phoenix’s ability will trigger.
  18. 428.5.e. In order to Kill something “with” a spell or ability, the Kill action must be attributed to the spell or ability, the player must control that spell or ability, and the player must be responsible for the Kill action.
  19. 428.6. This action is formatted as "Kill [one or more permanents]." e.g., "Kill an enemy unit." e.g., "Kill this, [2]: Draw 1." e.g., "Kill all gear."
429

Add

  1. 429.1. Adding is the action of putting resources into a player's Rune Pool.
  2. 429.2. Spells, triggered abilities, and activated abilities that Add resources finalize immediately.
  3. 429.2.a. Priority and Focus will not pass from Add abilities being finalized or resolving, and will resolve before any other outstanding items on the chain are finalized.
  4. 429.3. Activated abilities that Add resources and have the Reaction tag can be activated during the playing or resolution of other spells and abilities, any time that those spells or abilities require resources be paid. Example: A player can add Energy and Power through any means before initiating the process of playing a spell. After initiating that process, in the Pay Costs step, they may activate Add Reactions to add Energy or Power to pay costs.
  5. 429.3.a. When an Add ability is activated in this way, it immediately finalizes and resolves, even during the resolution of spells and abilities.
  6. 429.4. Adding is a Limited Action.
  7. 429.4.a. Players may only Add resources when Game Effects direct them to do so.
  8. 429.5. This action is formatted as "Add [one or more resources]." e.g., "Add [2]." means "Add 2 Energy." e.g., "[E]: Add [Y]." means "Add 1 Power of the Order domain." e.g., "Add [1][G]." means "Add 1 Energy and 1 Power of the Calm domain."
430

Channel

  1. 430.1. Channeling is the action of taking one or more Runes from the top of a player's Rune Deck and putting them on the board.
  2. 430.2. The Game Effect that instructs a player to channel 1 or more runes may specify the conditions or circumstances under which those runes enter the board. Example: A spell reads "Channel 1 rune exhausted." As that spell resolves, its controller puts the top rune of their rune deck onto the board and that rune enters the board exhausted rather than ready.
  3. 430.3. Channeling is a Limited Action.
  4. 430.3.a. Players may only channel runes when Game Effects direct them to do so.
  5. 430.4. This action is formatted as "Channel X rune(s)," optionally followed by conditions or stipulations. e.g., "Channel 1 rune." e.g., "When you play me, channel 1 rune exhausted." e.g., "Channel 2 runes exhausted. If you couldn't channel 2 runes this way, draw 1."
431

Burn Out

  1. 431.1. Burning Out is an action a player must perform if they attempt to move one or more cards from their Main Deck to any other zone in excess of the number of cards remaining in their Main Deck:
  2. 431.1.a. If a player must Draw cards in excess to the number of cards in their deck, they will Draw as many as possible, perform this action, then Draw the remaining amount instructed.
  3. 431.1.b. If a player must put one or more cards from their Main Deck in any other zone, such as the Trash, in excess of the number of cards in their deck they will do so as much as possible, perform this action, and then complete the remaining number required by the instruction.
  4. 431.1.c. If an instruction directs a player to look at or reveal cards in excess to the number of cards in a player’s Main Deck, that player looks at or Reveals as many as possible, but does not Burn Out, then proceeds with the rest of the instruction.
  5. 431.1.c.1. If there are insufficient cards among the looked at or revealed cards to perform subsequent actions to the revealed or looked at cards, any further instructions are ignored. This does not cause a Burn Out, even if those instructions would cause those cards to change zones. Reminder: Cards are considered in the zone of origin while being looked at or revealed, in this case the Main Deck.
  6. 431.2. To Burn Out, a player does the following in sequence:
  7. 431.2.a. Performs as much of the prescribed action as possible.
  8. 431.2.b. Recycles their trash into their Main Deck. Reminder: When multiple cards are Recycled to the Main Deck at the same time, those cards must be randomized
  9. 431.2.c. Chooses an opponent to gain 1 point.
  10. 431.2.d. Completes the remainder of the action that caused them to burn out. Example: A player attempts to draw 1 during their Draw Phase while their Main Deck is empty. That player instead recycles their trash into their Main Deck, randomizing it as normal, then chooses an opponent to gain 1 point, and then draws 1.
  11. 431.3. A player's Main Deck may remain empty as they Burn Out, usually because their trash is also empty. When they attempt to perform the original action again, it will cause another Burn Out.
  12. 431.3.a. Unless some effect intervenes, this will result in them burning out repeatedly, giving 1 point to an opponent each time, until an opponent passes the Victory Score and wins the game.
  13. 431.3.b. Points gained after the first Burn Out being processed in sequence cannot be replaced or prevented by any means. Points gained after the first Burn Out being processed in sequence that cause a player to reach or surpass the Victory Score for their game mode will cause that player to win the game if they also have more points than any opponent. The player wins immediately, without needing to wait for a cleanup to occur.
  14. 431.4. Burning Out is a Limited Action.
  15. 431.4.a. Players may only burn out when Game Effects direct them to do so.
  16. 431.5. Burning Out is a Replacement Effect. See rule 367. Replacement Effects for more information.
432

Double

  1. 432.1. Doubling is the act of increasing a numeric attribute by an amount equal to that attribute’s current value.
  2. 432.1.a. This creates an effect that modulates that attribute by that specific amount for the duration specified by the Game Effect that instructed the player to perform this action. Example: A unit with 3 base Might and Shield 2 is in combat as a Defender. Since Shield applies, its current Might is 5. A player chooses it as the target for Last Stand, a spell that reads in part “Double a friendly unit's Might this turn.” Its current Might is 5, so it gets +5 Might this turn, for a current Might of 10. After combat, Shield no longer applies, but the +5 Might from Last Stand does, so the unit’s Might is 8.
  3. 432.2. Doubling is a Limited Action.
  4. 432.2.a. Players may only Double when Game Effects direct them to do so.
433

Swap

  1. 433.1. Swapping is the act of increasing one numeric value and decreasing another numeric value on some number of Game Objects such that their values are reversed.
  2. 433.1.a. Swapping creates two different effects that apply to each attribute. One that Increases one value and one that Decreases the other.
  3. 433.1.b. To accomplish this, determine the difference between these values and then apply an Increase for that amount to the lower value of the two attributes, and a Decrease of that amount to the higher value of the two attributes.
  4. 433.1.c. If both attributes are the same numeric value, Swapping has no effect.
  5. 433.2. Swapping is a Limited Action.
  6. 433.2.a. Players may only swap when Game Effects direct them to do so.
434

Attach

  1. 434.1. Attaching is the act of linking two cards on the board together to combine their effects in some way. This causes one or more cards to become Attached and at least one card to become a Top-Most Card. See rule 716. Attachment for more information.
  2. 434.1.a. Attaching affects two cards at once.
  3. 434.1.a.1. One card will be designated as the one being Attached, and thus become Attached. The other will become the Top-Most Card.
  4. 434.1.b. This is represented by physically laying the Top-Most card on top of the other or others such that all Effect Texts and Might Bonuses are showing, but nothing else from the card or cards Attached.
  5. 434.1.b.1. In the situation where there is more than one card attached to the Top-Most card, they should be stacked in such a way that all Effect Text boxes and Might Bonuses are readable. The order of the Attached cards has no bearing on the application of effects.
  6. 434.1.c. The Top-Most card has all Effect Text of all cards Attached to it appended to its Rules Text.
  7. 434.1.d. The Top-Most Card has its Might modulated by the Might Bonus of all cards Attached to it.
  8. 434.1.e. Attaching one or more cards will cause those cards’ Rules Text to become Inactive for as long as they remain Attached. See rule 716. Attachment for more information.
  9. 434.1.f. Attaching a card to a new Top-Most Card will cause it to Detach from the card to which it is currently Attached.
  10. 434.1.g. Attaching a card to its current Top-Most Card will not have any effect.
  11. 434.1.h. If a Game Effect instructs a player to Attach a card to its current Top-Most Card, nothing additional happens.
  12. 434.2. Attaching is a Limited Action.
  13. 434.2.a. Players may only Attach cards when directed to by Game Effects.
  14. 434.3. Attaching cards does not inherently choose or specify a target. However, Game Effects that Attach cards may do so.
  15. 434.4. When a card Attaches to a card, its location becomes the same as the new Top-Most Card.
  16. 434.4.a. This is not a Move.
435

Detach

  1. 435.1. Detaching is the act of unlinking two cards that are currently linked through the act of Attaching. This causes one to cease being Attached, and potentially causes the other to cease being a Top-Most card.
  2. 435.1.a. Detaching affects only cards that are currently Attached to another card.
  3. 435.1.a.1. Game effects that instruct a player to Detach a card that is currently not Attached to anything will do nothing.
  4. 435.1.b. When one or more cards become Detached, they cease to be in the Attached state.
  5. 435.1.b.1. To represent this, these cards should no longer be placed under the card they were previously placed under as Top-Most Card.
  6. 435.1.b.2. If the Top-Most Card no longer has any cards Attached to it after this, it is no longer a Top-Most Card.
  7. 435.1.c. The card being Detached has its Effect Text become Inactive and its Rules Text cease being Inactive.
  8. 435.1.d. The Top-Most Card ceases to have the Effect Text of the card being Detached appended to its Rules Text.
  9. 435.1.e. The Top-Most Card ceases to have its Might modulated by the Might Bonus of the card being Detached.
  10. 435.2. Detaching is a Limited Action.
  11. 435.2.a. Players may only Detach cards when directed to by Game Effects.
  12. 435.3. Detaching cards does not inherently choose, or specify a target. However, Game Effects that Detach cards may.
  13. 435.4. When a card Detaches from a Top-Most Card, its location is the same as the Top-Most Card from which it Detached.
  14. 435.4.a. If the Detached card was a Gear and this causes it to become present at a Battlefield, it will be Recalled during the next Cleanup.
  15. 435.4.b. If the Attached card was Detached because the Top-Most Card changed zones from a board zone to a non-board zone, then the location that the Attached Card will Detach to is the last location the Top-Most Card was at before changing from a board zone to a non-board zone.
436

Predict

  1. 436.1. Predicting a card is the act of looking at a single card from the top of the Main Deck and choosing whether or not to Recycle it.
  2. 436.1.a. When more than one card is Predicted, the Predicting player looks at that many cards and Recycles any number of them.
  3. 436.1.b. The Player who performs the game action may rearrange any cards not Recycled in this way.
  4. 436.2. Predicting is a Limited Action.
  5. 436.2.a. Players may only Predict cards when instructed to do so by game effects.
  6. 436.3. This action, when instructed, is formatted as "Predict X."
  7. 436.3.a. If omitted, X is presumed to be 1.
  8. 436.4. If a player attempts to Predict more cards than are available in their Main Deck, they will Predict as many as possible instead.
  9. 436.4.a. The Player will not perform a Burn Out as a result of Predicting with too few cards in their deck.
437

Prevent

  1. 437.1. Preventing damage is the act of reducing the Damage a set of game objects would take.
  2. 437.1.a. Prevent is an action that interacts with Damage.
  3. 437.1.b. Prevent appears in statements that define an amount of damage and the source of the damage it will affect, as well as the timespan it will be relevant for.
  4. 437.1.b.1. Prevent actions are usually formatted as “Prevent the next X [source] damage that would be dealt to a [unit] this turn.”
  5. 437.1.b.1.a. The X is referred to as the Prevent Value.
  6. 437.1.b.1.b. X can be “All,” which specifies an infinite amount of damage.
  7. 437.1.b.2. Prevent will always apply to the next damage that would be dealt to a unit affected by the Prevent action.
  8. 437.2. When damage is Prevented, it is replaced with an event where it deals that much damage reduced by the Prevent Value tracked on the Unit specifically.
  9. 437.2.a. The damage being dealt as a result of Preventing can never be less than 0, but can be 0. This is equivalent to not dealing damage.
  10. 437.3. When damage is dealt this way, reduce the Prevent Value being tracked on the Unit affected by the Prevent action by the prevented amount.
  11. 437.3.a. If the Prevent Value is 0 or less, then Prevent is no longer being tracked on the Unit in question, and the effect expires.
  12. 437.3.b. The reduced value is the newly tracked Prevent Value.
  13. 437.3.c. If the Prevent Value is “All” then it remains “All.”
  14. 437.4. Damage dealt to a Unit that has that all of that damage Prevented is not considered to have been dealt to it at all.
  15. 437.5. Damage can still be assigned to Units in combat that are affected by Prevent. The damage dealt as a result of that assignment will be affected by the Prevent action.
  16. 437.5.a. Damage can be assigned to a Unit up to a value that would be Lethal considering the Prevent Value of all Prevent Actions on a Unit. Example: A unit with 2 [M] is being assigned damage in the combat damage step. The unit has “prevent the first 3 damage I would take each combat.” The unit would need to be assigned 5 damage in order to have lethal damage assigned to it.
  17. 437.5.b. No amount of damage is ever considered lethal if the Prevent Value is “All.”
  18. 437.6. Prevent is a Limited Action.
  19. 437.6.a. Players may only Prevent Damage when directed to by Game Effects.
  20. 437.7. Prevent is a Delayed Replacement Effect. See rule 367. Replacement Effects for more information. See rule 389. Delayed Abilities for more information.
438

Replace

  1. 438.1. Replacing is the act of Creating a token in the place of another card or token without playing it while inheriting all effects or statuses of the game object it replaced.
  2. 438.2. Replacing is a Limited Action.
  3. 438.2.a. The player may Replace cards and tokens when instructed to do so by other game effects.
  4. 438.3. This action, when instructed, is formatted as "Replace [X] with [Y]."
  5. 438.3.a. The [X] is the target to be Replaced.
  6. 438.3.b. The [Y] is the object that will Replace the target.
  7. 438.3.b.1. This will always specify a Token to create.
  8. 438.4. Replacing is not a subset of Banishing.
  9. 438.5. The card or token that is Replaced is placed in Banishment.
  10. 438.5.a. While it resides in Banishment, it is considered to have been Replaced and not Banished.
  11. 438.6. If a token is Replaced it will stop existing once it begins its occupancy in Banishment.
  12. 438.6.a. This does not invalidate the token created, or the act of Replacement.
  13. 438.7. Tokens that have been Created through a Replace action can be instructed to be “Swapped back.”
  14. 438.7.a. “Swapping Back” is an extension of the Replace action.
  15. 438.7.b. To Swap Back, the token stops existing and the original card is returned to the space that the token just occupied, inheriting all current effects and statuses.
  16. 438.7.c. If there is nothing in Banishment to swap back to, usually because a token was replaced, then this object can never swap back.
439

Create

  1. 439.1. Creating is the act of producing a Game Object that previously did not exist in the game.
  2. 439.2. Effects that Create one or more Game Objects will direct where those Game Objects must go - the Game Objects are Created directly to the zones in question.
  3. 439.2.a. Prior to being Created, these Game Objects did not exist outside of the zone they were Created to. After being Created, they may change zones as appropriate for Game Objects of their type.
  4. 439.2.b. If a zone is not specified by the effect, the Game Object will be created to the appropriate zone for its type. Permanents will be Created to any location on the Board that they can be played to.
  5. 439.2.b.1. Spells will be Created to the Chain.
  6. 439.2.b.2. Runes will be Created to base.
  7. 439.2.b.3. Legends will be Created to the Legend Zone.
  8. 439.2.b.4. Battlefields will be Created to the Battlefield Zone.
  9. 439.3. An effect that Creates a Game Object will specify the nature of the Game Object created.
  10. 439.3.a. If the Game Object is a token, it will follow the normal rules for tokens. See rule 176. Tokens for more information.
  11. 439.4. Unless specified otherwise by the Game Effect that Creates a Game Object, any such Game Object is owned by the player who Created it. Control is established as usual for Game Objects of the appropriate type.
  12. 439.4.a. A Created permanent, rune, legend, or spell is controlled by its owner as it is created.
  13. 439.4.b. A Created battlefield is uncontrolled as it is created.
  14. 439.5. This action, when instructed, is usually formatted as "Create [X] to [Y]" or “Add [X] to [Y].”
  15. 439.6. Creating is a Limited Action.
  16. 439.6.a. Players may only Create Game Objects when directed to by Game Effects.
440

Movement

  1. 441. Moving is a Limited Action.
  2. 441.1. A Permanent changing its position from any space on the Board to another space on the Board is a Move, unless it is caused by a corrective Recall. See rule 420. Move for more information.
  3. 441.2. A card changing game zones does not in itself constitute a Move.
  4. 441.3. Moving is instantaneous.
  5. 441.3.a. There is no state for Permanents between locations.
  6. 441.3.b. Permanents are either at their Origin before Moving or their Destination after Moving.
  7. 441.3.c. Moving does not use the Chain, nor is it able to be Reacted to.
  8. 442. Moving is defined by the Origin and Destination of the Permanent that is changing locations.
  9. 442.1. The Origin is where the Permanent is starting from.
  10. 442.2. The Destination is where the Permanent is going to.
  11. 442.2.a. In Modes of Play with more than two players, Battlefields with Staged Combats or Combats in Progress are Invalid Destinations for Moves of all kinds (Standard Moves or otherwise) by Units controlled by Players not involved in those Combats or who don't already have permanents at that Battlefield.
  12. 442.2.b. In Modes of Play with teammates, Battlefields Controlled by a player’s teammates are Invalid Destinations for Moves of all kinds (Standard Moves or otherwise) by Units that player controls.
  13. 442.2.c. If an action would require a Move that would cause a Unit to become present in a Location where it cannot move for any reason, such as a Battlefield with two players that are not the controller of the Unit performing this Move action are in a Combat or such a Combat is Staged, it instead Recalls. See rule 449. Recalls for more information.
  14. 442.3. Units are the only Permanents that can Move.
  15. 443. Players may choose to move their Units with the Standard Move. See rule 144. for more information on the Standard Move.
  16. 444. Spells, Abilities, or other effects may cause a Move to occur.
  17. 444.1. The source of the Move will provide details on any restrictions on legality for Destination.
  18. 444.2. Units cannot Move to a Battlefield that already has units from 2 other players present by any means.
  19. 445. The Destination becomes Contested if it is a Battlefield not controlled by the controller of the Unit or Units that moved.
  20. 446. Units may cause a Showdown without a Combat when they Move.
  21. 446.1. A Showdown is opened when a Move causes a Battlefield to become Contested while it has no Units present from any player other than those that just moved.
  22. 447. Units may cause Combat when they Move.
  23. 447.1. A Combat is opened when a Move causes a Battlefield to become Contested and Units controlled by opposing players, or when a Move causes Units controlled by opposing players to become present in the same Battlefield where a Showdown is ongoing. See rule 454. Combat for more information.
  24. 448. When a Move action is complete, perform a Cleanup.
449

Recalls

  1. 450. A Recall is when a Permanent is relocated from anywhere to its Base without it being a Move.
  2. 451. Recalls are not Moves.
  3. 451.1. They do not cause Triggered Abilities to trigger that are triggered by Move actions.
  4. 451.2. A Recall causes a Permanent to change locations.
  5. 451.3. A Recall cannot be prevented by actions and Game Effects that restrict or block Movement.
  6. 452. Gear can be Recalled.
  7. 452.1. When an un-attached Gear is created or played at a battlefield, or is at a battlefield for any other reason, it is Recalled to its controller's base during the next Cleanup. Example: An Equipment is attached to a unit at a battlefield, so the Equipment is present at that battlefield. If the unit dies, the Equipment will be recalled during the next cleanup.
  8. 453. Recalls do not affect the state of the Permanent being recalled.
  9. 453.1. Unless otherwise stated by the source of the Recall, Damage, Exhausted Status, Buffed Status, and applied Layer alterations will all remain unaffected by a Recall.
454

Combat

  1. 455. A Combat occurs when a Cleanup occurs, there are no items on the Chain, there is a staged Combat at a Battlefield, and no Showdown or Combat is ongoing at any other Battlefield. See rule 318. Cleanups for more information.
  2. 455.1. If there is an ongoing Showdown at the Battlefield where the Combat is staged, that Showdown will become a Combat Showdown and a Combat will be initiated there.
  3. 456. Combat is considered Staged if there are units controlled by two opposing players at a Battlefield but the Steps of Combat have not been initiated.
  4. 456.1. If more than one Battlefield has Units controlled by opposing players at it at the same time, the Turn Player decides which Combat to resolve first.
  5. 456.2. If Staged Combats stop being Staged before the Steps of Combat are initiated, they are not resolved or executed.
  6. 456.3. If a Combat and Showdown are staged at the same Battlefield and the turn player initiates the Showdown, it will open as a Combat Showdown.
  7. 457. Combat can only occur between Units controlled by exactly two players.
  8. 457.1. In Modes of Play with more than two players, Battlefields with Staged Combats or Combats in Progress are Invalid Destinations for Moves of all kinds (Standard Moves or otherwise) by Units controlled by Players not involved in those Combats or who don't already have Units at that Battlefield. See rule 442.2.a. for more information on Invalid Destinations.
  9. 457.2. In Modes of Play with more than two players, Battlefields with Staged Combats or Combats in Progress are Invalid to be chosen as a location to play one or more Units by a player not involved in that Combat by any means,
  10. 457.2.a. If an effect would require a Unit be played to a Battlefield with a Staged Combat or a Combat in Progress, where the controller of the played unit is not a participant, instead the Unit is played to its controller's Base.
  11. 457.2.b. Any subsequent reference to "here" in the corresponding effect is reassigned to the Controller's Base, where the Unit was played. Any further effects that may be invalidated are invalidated as if the effect was mistargeted. See rule 355.6. Targeting for more information on Mistargeting.
  12. 457.3. All choices that would result in a Combat occurring between more than two players simultaneously are invalid and ineligible to be completed.
458

The Steps of Combat

459

Step 1: The Combat Showdown Step

  1. 459.1. Combat will open in one of two ways: when a Combat and Showdown are staged at the same Battlefield and the turn player initiates the Showdown; or when the turn is in a Showdown Open State and a Combat is staged at the Battlefield where the current Showdown is ongoing. See rule 318. Cleanups for more information.
  2. 459.2. When Combat opens, it either opens with a Combat Showdown, or the current Showdown becomes a Combat Showdown.
  3. 459.2.a. The following Tasks become Outstanding, in the order described:
  4. 459.2.b. 1. Establish who is Attacker and who is Defender.
  5. 459.2.b.1. The Attacker is the player whose unit(s) applied the Contested status to the Battlefield. They gain the Attacker designation now.
  6. 459.2.b.1.a. This player gains Focus as the showdown begins.
  7. 459.2.b.2. The Defender is the player who did not apply the Contested status to the Battlefield. They gain the Defender designation now.
  8. 459.2.b.3. Units at the Contested Battlefield controlled by the Attacker gain the Attacker designation now.
  9. 459.2.b.3.a. If a Unit controlled by the Attacker becomes present at this Battlefield after this moment, it will gain the Attacker designation during the Cleanup phase following the action that caused it to become present
  10. 459.2.b.4. Units at the Contested Battlefield controlled by the Defender gain the Defender designation now.
  11. 459.2.b.4.a. If a Unit controlled by the Defender becomes present at this Battlefield after this moment it will gain the Defender designation during the Cleanup phase following the action that caused it to become present
  12. 459.2.c. 2. The Attacker gains Focus.
  13. 459.2.d. 3. Add items to the Combat Chain if establishing Attacker and Defender has caused Triggered Abilities to become Pending.
  14. 459.2.d.1. The Attacking player, who has Focus, places Triggered Abilities on the Chain first, followed by all non-Defender players in Turn Order, followed by the Defending Player.
  15. 459.2.e. The State Closes if a Combat Chain was created.
  16. 459.2.e.1. Otherwise the Combat Showdown continues, with the State Open as normal.
  17. 459.2.f. Players proceed with any play on the Chain as normal.
  18. 459.2.g. Focus does not pass upon closure of the Combat Chain, if any.
460

Step 2: The Combat Damage Step

  1. 460.1. If both Attacking and Defending units remain at this battlefield, the following Tasks become Outstanding, in the specified order:
  2. 460.2. 1. When the Showdown closes, Attackers and Defenders resolve Combat Damage at the Battlefield that was attacked, using their current Might.
  3. 460.2.a. Sum the Might of all Attacking Units.
  4. 460.2.b. Sum the Might of all Defending Units.
  5. 460.2.c. Starting with the Attacker, each player assigns an amount of damage equal to their summed Might among the other's Units.
  6. 460.2.c.1. Assigning Damage is not Dealing Damage.
  7. 460.2.c.1.a. When all Damage is assigned, it will be Dealt simultaneously. These actions are not synonymous.
  8. 460.2.c.2. Abilities or effects may influence the order in which damage is assigned. Reminder: Lethal Damage is non-zero damage equaling or exceeding the Might of a Unit.
  9. 460.2.c.3. Units must have lethal damage assigned to them in full before damage is assigned to a different Unit. Example: If a player has 5 damage to distribute among four 3 Might units, they may not choose to assign 2 damage to one of the units and 1 damage to each of the remaining 3. They must assign at least 3 damage to one, and the remaining 2 to another.
  10. 460.2.c.4. Units cannot have more damage assigned to them than the minimum required to constitute lethal damage unless no further units remain to have damage assigned to them.
  11. 460.2.c.5. A player must obey all requirements and restrictions on damage assignment if able. Example: A player is assigning damage to the following units: a unit with Tank ("I must be assigned combat damage first."); Caitlyn, Patrolling ("I must be assigned combat damage last."); and another unit without any abilities. That player must assign combat damage first to the unit with Tank, then to the unit with no abilities, then to Caitlyn.
  12. 460.2.c.6. If multiple Units have abilities or effects that require a player to assign them damage with the same priority, that player may assign damage to those units in any order. Example: A player is assigning damage to the following units: two units with Tank ("I must be assigned combat damage first.") and one unit with no abilities. That player chooses one of the units with Tank and assigns combat damage to it. Then they must assign any remaining damage first to the other unit with Tank, then to the unit with no abilities.
  13. 460.2.c.7. If a Unit has one or more Abilities or effects applying to it that demand it be assigned damage in a specific way that is exclusionary, then the assigning player chooses only one of those abilities to apply when assigning damage. Example: Caitlyn, Patrolling ("I must be assigned combat damage last.") has been given the Tank ability ("I must be assigned combat damage first."). A player is assigning damage to this Caitlyn with Tank and two units with no abilities. That player can’t fulfill both of Caitlyn’s damage requirements, so they may choose to assign damage to Caitlyn first, fulfilling the Tank requirement, or last, fulfilling Caitlyn’s printed requirement. They can’t choose to apply damage to Caitlyn in between the other two units, because that wouldn’t fulfill either requirement.
  14. 460.2.c.8. If there is more than one unit in which this situation applies to, each unit is dealt with individually. The assigning player chooses which ability or effect applies, and then resolves the assignment. If this creates a situation where now more than one unit must be assigned with the same priority, those units may be assigned damage in any order as normal within that priority. Example: Two copies of Caitlyn, Patrolling ("I must be assigned combat damage last.") have been given the Tank ability ("I must be assigned combat damage first."). A player assigning damage to these two Caitlyns and one unit with no abilities could choose to fulfill both Caitlyns’ Tank requirements by assigning them both damage before the other unit.
  15. 460.2.c.9. If a unit cannot be dealt damage, then no amount of damage can be considered lethal. Such a unit is exempt from any considerations of mandatory assignment. Example: Kayn, Unleashed says “If I have moved twice this turn, I don't take damage.” While Kayn can’t take damage, it is ignored for the purposes of assigning lethal damage in combat.
  16. 460.2.d. Deal Damage to each unit equal to the amount assigned to it.
  17. 460.3. 2. Skip the FEPR process and proceed to the Resolution Step.
461

Step 3: The Resolution Step

  1. 461.1. 1. Perform a Combat Cleanup.
  2. 461.1.a. Invoke a Combat Special Cleanup.
  3. 461.1.a.1. Insert “3c. Heal all Units.”
  4. 461.1.a.2. Insert “3d. Recall Attackers present at the Battlefield if Defenders are still present.” See rule 449. Recalls for more information.
  5. 461.2. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  6. 461.3. 1. Determine Combat Result
  7. 461.3.a. A Player has won a combat if they received either the attacker or defender designation and are the only Player that has units remaining at this battlefield during this step.
  8. 461.3.b. A Player has lost a combat if they received either the attacker or defender designation and are the only Player that does not have any units remaining at this battlefield during this step.
  9. 461.3.c. Units at this battlefield inherit the same combat result as their controllers
  10. 461.3.d. There is “No Result” if either both Players have units present during this step, or neither player has units present during this step.
  11. 461.3.d.1. If “No Result” was reached, and both players have units remaining, stage a Combat at this battlefield. 461.4 The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  12. 461.5. 1. If no Showdown or Combat is staged at this location, the player with Units remaining here Establishes Control.
  13. 461.5.a. Clear the Contested Status.
  14. 461.5.b. If there are no Units remaining here controlled by any player, the Battlefield becomes Uncontrolled.
  15. 461.5.c. Remove all Hidden cards from this Battlefield that do not share a controller with the Battlefield.
  16. 461.5.d. Establishing Control results in a Conquer if that player has not yet scored this Battlefield this turn. See rule 185. Control for more information on Control. See rule 464.1. for more information on Conquering.
  17. 461.5.e. This does not have to be the player that applied Contested to the Battlefield.
  18. 461.6. The following Task becomes Outstanding:
  19. 461.7. 1. Combat ends.
  20. 461.7.a. Remove Attacker and Defender Designation from all Units and Players. 461.7.b All “this combat” effects expire simultaneously.
462

Scoring

  1. 463. Scoring is the act of a Player gaining a point through the process of seizing or maintaining control over Battlefields.
  2. 463.1. Every instance of Scoring is also an instance of Gaining points
  3. 464. A player Scores in one of two ways:
  4. 464.1. Conquer: A player gains Control of a Battlefield they did not yet Score this turn.
  5. 464.1.a. In Modes of Play with teammates, Battlefields under the Control of a teammate during the Beginning Phase are also disqualified from being Scored through Conquer by any means.
  6. 464.1.b. A player will gain control of a Battlefield after establishing Control by applying Contested first.
  7. 464.2. Hold: A player maintains Control of a Battlefield during their Beginning Phase.
  8. 465. A player may only Score, from either method, once per Battlefield per turn.
  9. 466. When a player Scores, two things occur:
  10. 466.1. The player Gains up to one Point, depending on their current score.
  11. 466.1.a. The Winning Point has additional restrictions.
  12. 466.1.a.1. Notably, points Gained from sources that are not Conquer or Hold are not beholden to these restrictions.
  13. 466.1.b. When a player tries to Gain a Point through a Score, and their current Point Total is 1 point from the Victory Score of the Mode of Play or higher, the following occurs:
  14. 466.1.b.1. If the player has Scored through Hold, that player Gains the Winning Point.
  15. 466.1.b.2. If the player has Scored through a Conquer and has Scored every Battlefield through either method this turn, that player Gains the Winning Point. If the player has Scored through a Conquer and has not Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player draws a card.
  16. 466.2. Trigger Score abilities at the Battlefield that Scored.
  17. 466.2.a. Conquer abilities trigger at a Battlefield that was Conquered.
  18. 466.2.b. Hold abilities trigger at a Battlefield that was Held.
  19. 466.2.c. These will only trigger when the Battlefield is Scored; I.E. These cannot be triggered more than once per turn for a player.
  20. 467. When a cleanup occurs and a player has accrued Points greater than or equal to the Victory Score for their Mode of Play, and if they have more points than any opponent, they Win the Game.
468

Layers

  1. 469. Layers are the mechanism in which Game Effects alter the Traits, Intrinsic Abilities, or other properties of Game Objects.
  2. 470. Layers are an organizational structure.
  3. 470.1. Layers only serve to structure the application and order that Game Effects apply to Game Objects to maintain consistency.
  4. 471. The layers are applied repeatedly until all effects operating on objects have been applied once and no changes have been processed.
  5. 471.1. Layers are applied in sequence. Each effect in them is applied as soon as able, and only a single time across all sequences.
  6. 471.2. When a sequence of applications completes, recur the process, and evaluate each layer again applying any effects that may now be applicable.
  7. 471.3. The removal or disqualification of an effect is separate from the application of the effect, but still can only be applied once. Example: Fiora, Victorious has printed Might 4 and says “While I'm Mighty, I have Deflect, Ganking, and Shield.” If a player places a buff on Fiora, her Might is increased in the Arithmetic layer, after the layer for Ability-Altering Effects. The Ability-Altering Effect layer is then re-checked and the abilities Deflect, Ganking, and Shield applied. Since each effect has been applied once and there are no other effects to apply, Fiora’s characteristics are finalized as 5 Might with Deflect, Ganking, and Shield. While a buffed Fiora, Victorious is in combat as a defender, an additional +1 Might will be applied in the Arithmetic layer, giving her 6 Might and the 3 keywords. Example: A buffed Fiora, Victorious is in combat as a defender when her buff is removed. Reevaluating the layers in sequence, she no longer gains Deflect, Ganking, and Shield during the Ability-Altering Effect layer, so when the Arithmetic layer is evaluated, neither the buff (which is gone) nor Shield (which she no longer has) apply. She goes directly from 6 Might with three keywords to 4 Might with no keywords.
  8. 472. Layers are applied in the following order:
  9. 472.1. 1. Trait-Altering Effects
  10. 472.1.a. This layer deals with effects that grant, remove, or replace inherent traits of Game Objects. Name Super Type Type Tags Controller Cost Domain
  11. 472.1.a.1. Assignment of Might is dealt with in this layer. Example: A spell reads "A unit's Might becomes 4 this turn." The unit's Might is set to 4 in this layer.
  12. 472.1.b. Copy effects are applied in this layer.
  13. 472.1.b.1. When one Game Object becomes a copy of another, all Traits, including the Rules Text, replace or are added to those of the original Game Object as specified by the Game Effect directing the Copy. This is applied in this layer.
  14. 472.1.b.2. Some Game Effects may specify copying certain traits of a card - only the traits specified by the Game Effect will be copied.
  15. 472.1.b.3. Copy effects will copy the copyable traits of a Game Object: by default, those are the printed traits of the Game Object. When a Game Object becomes a copy of something, its copyable traits are updated to the new traits it has received. Example: A player triggers Leblanc, Deceiver’s hold effect and plays a Reflection token, making it a copy of Honest Broker. That player then plays Mirror Image, targeting the Reflection token. When the Mirror Image Reflection token is played, it copies all of the copyable traits of the original Reflection token - which are currently those of Honest Broker which it is a copy of. That player will have three units named Honest Broker in play, two of which are token Copies with Temporary.
  16. 472.1.c. Effects for this layer can be identified by the phrase "become(s)", "give," "is," or "are" in the text. Example: A permanent has the ability "Other friendly units are Yordles." Other friendly units gain the Yordle tag in this layer.
  17. 472.2. 2. Ability-Altering Effects
  18. 472.2.a. This layer deals with effects that grant, remove, or replace the abilities or rules text of Game Objects. Keywords Passive Abilities Appending rules text Removing rules text Duplicating Rules Text from one Game Object to another
  19. 472.2.b. Effects for this layer can be identified by the phrase "become(s)," "give," "lose(s)," "have," "has," "is," or "are" in the text. Example: A permanent has the ability "Other friendly units have [Vision]." Other friendly units gain the Vision keyword in this layer.
  20. 472.2.c. Abilities of Effect Text of Attached cards are appended in this layer.
  21. 472.3. 3. Arithmetic
  22. 472.3.a. This layer deals with the mathematics of increasing and decreasing the numeric values of the traits of Game Objects. Might Energy Cost Power Cost
  23. 472.3.b. When an arithmetic effect has a limitation that applies, it is limited at the time of its application, and is “remembered” at that limited level for the duration of its effect. This process is called “snapshotting.” Example: If an effect gives a unit “-4 [M] to a min of 1 this turn” choosing a unit with 2 [M], then the effect will generate -1 [M] this turn.
  24. 472.3.c. Might Bonuses of Attached cards are applied in this layer.
  25. 472.3.d. This layer applies arithmetic in the following way.
  26. 472.3.d.1. 1. Increases
  27. 472.3.d.1.a. Positive values, or increases, to Might are applied first.
  28. 472.3.d.1.b. If there is a restriction or limitation to this increase, the limitation is “snapshotted” for the duration of the effect.
  29. 472.3.d.2. 2. Decreases
  30. 472.3.d.2.a. Negative values, or decreases, to Might are applied last.
  31. 472.3.d.2.b. If there is a restriction or limitation to this decrease, the limitation is snapshotted for the duration of the effect.
  32. 473. If more than one effect applies to the same Game Object in the Same Layer, or to each other in the same layer, then both effects will apply but their order may be determined by Dependency.
  33. 473.1. A Dependency is established if:
  34. 473.1.a. Applying one of the effects alters the existence of the other; or
  35. 473.1.b. Applying one of the effects alters the number of objects the other effect can influence
  36. 473.1.c. Applying one of the effects alters the outcome when applying the other.
  37. 474. To determine which effect Depends on another, determine which of the prior criteria applies, and then also which effect’s evaluation is altered by the sequence of applications. That effect is said to Depend on the other.
  38. 474.1. To resolve a dependency, the effects within the same layer that created the dependency must be applied such that: 1. Identify which effect Depends on the other within the Layer. 2. Apply the effect that is depended on first. 3. Immediately apply the effect that Depends on the first effect next.
  39. 475. If more than one effect applies in the same layer but no dependency is established, then Timestamp order is applied to the effects within that layer and sublayer
  40. 475.1. When an effect begins applying, it establishes a time for which it is compared against other Game Effects for purposes of resolving Layered effects as its Timestamp.
  41. 475.1.a. Timestamps are not rote values.
  42. 475.1.b. Timestamps are relative comparisons between effects and when they began applying to the game.
  43. 475.1.c. Timestamps are not referenced by Game Effects in any way. They are only used to finalize layered effects.
  44. 475.2. When Rules Text becomes Inactive for any reason, it loses its Timestamp. When it ceases to be Inactive, a new Timestamp is established.
  45. 475.3. Effects are applied such that the earliest Timestamp within each Layer and Sublayer applies first, followed by other Effects in that Layer and Sublayer in chronological order.
476

Modes of Play

  1. 477. There are multiple methods of playing Riftbound.
  2. 478. A Mode of Play must define several variables for the game.
  3. 478.1. Number of Players: How many people are playing the game.
  4. 478.2. Formation of Players: How the players are organized while playing.
  5. 478.2.a. This defines if a player is alone or on a team.
  6. 478.2.b. This defines the number of opponents.
  7. 478.3. Victory Score: The point total a player or team must reach to win.
  8. 478.3.a. Victory Scores can be any positive number.
  9. 478.4. Battlefield Count: Determines how many Battlefields are in play, contributed by players, during play.
  10. 478.4.a. This may influence deck building requirements in competitive settings.
  11. 478.4.b. This may involve utilizing less Battlefields than there are players.
  12. 478.5. Setup: Any changes to initial setup required for this mode.
  13. 478.6. Format: Conditions to win or additional rules added over play.
  14. 478.7. First Turn Process: Adjustments to each player's first turn.
  15. 478.8. Unique Rules
  16. 478.8.a. If any, they will be appended here.
479

Sanctioned Modes

480

1v1 (Duel)

  1. 480.1. 2 Players
  2. 480.2. 1v1 1 opponent each No teams
  3. 480.3. Victory Score: 8
  4. 480.4. Battlefield Count: 2
  5. 480.4.a. Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building. Only 1 will be used, chosen during setup.
  6. 480.5. Setup: Each player randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are removed and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously in the Battlefield Zone.
  7. 480.6. Format: Best of 1. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
  8. 480.7. First Turn Process: The player going second channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
481

1v1 (Match)

  1. 481.1. 2 Players
  2. 481.2. 1v1 1 opponent each No teams
  3. 481.3. Victory Score: 8
  4. 481.4. Battlefield Count: 2
  5. 481.4.a. Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building. Only 1 will be used, chosen during setup.
  6. 481.5. Setup: Each player selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are set aside and will not be used for this round of play. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously in the Battlefield Zone. After this game, the Battlefields that were used are to be removed and not selected again for this Match. One of the remaining Battlefields that were set aside must be chosen instead.
  7. 481.6. Format: Best of 3. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the game. The winner of that game earns One Game Win. Players then reset the game state, remove the Battlefields in play from the game, choose new Battlefields from those set aside, and play again. The first player to earn Two Game Wins wins the match.
  8. 481.7. First Turn Process: The player going second channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
482

FFA3 (Skirmish)

  1. 482.1. 3 Players
  2. 482.2. FFA 2 opponents each No teams
  3. 482.3. Victory Score: 8
  4. 482.4. Battlefield Count: 3
  5. 482.4.a. Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building. Only 1 will be used, chosen during setup.
  6. 482.5. Setup: Each player randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are discarded and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously between the three Players before play and will be used for this game.
  7. 482.6. Format: Best of 1. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
  8. 482.7. First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
483

FFA4 (War)

  1. 483.1. 4 Players
  2. 483.2. FFA 3 opponents each No teams
  3. 483.3. Victory Score: 8
  4. 483.4. Battlefield Count: 3
  5. 483.4.a. Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building.
  6. 483.4.b. The player who is taking the first turn removes their Battlefields. They will not be used.
  7. 483.5. Setup: Each player who is not going first randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are removed and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously between the players before play and will be used for this game.
  8. 483.6. Format: Best of 1. The first player to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
  9. 483.7. First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
484

2v2 (Magma Chamber)

  1. 484.1. 4 Players
  2. 484.2. 2v2 2 opponents each 1 teammate
  3. 484.3. Victory Score: 11
  4. 484.4. Battlefield Count: 3
  5. 484.4.a. Each player provides three (3) Battlefields, included in their deck during deck building.
  6. 484.5. Setup:
  7. 484.5.a. Each player who is not going first randomly selects one (1) of their three (3) Battlefields. The other two are removed and will not be used for this game. The selected Battlefields are placed simultaneously between the players before play and will be used for this game.
  8. 484.5.b. The player who is taking the first turn removes their Battlefields. They will not be used.
  9. 484.5.c. Turn order alternates teams.
  10. 484.5.c.1. The first player will be followed by an opponent, then the first player's teammate, then the first opponent's teammate, and so on.
  11. 484.5.c.2. If allies are sitting across from each other, turn order proceeds clockwise as normal.
  12. 484.5.c.3. If allies are sitting next to each other, turn order is passed across the table.
  13. 484.6. Format: Best of 1. The first team to reach the Victory Score in Points wins the Match.
  14. 484.6.a. Teammates win or lose together.
  15. 484.6.a.1. If one player Concedes, then the entire team loses.
  16. 484.6.a.2. If one player Loses, then the entire team loses.
  17. 484.6.a.3. If one player Wins, then the entire team wins.
  18. 484.7. First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game.
  19. 484.8. Unique Rules
  20. 484.8.a. Players may play spells or activate abilities during their Teammate's Turn. In order to do so, their Teammate will invite them to play a spell or activate an ability using their own Priority.
  21. 484.8.b. Battlefields controlled during the Beginning Phase of a player's turn by that player's teammate are disqualified from being scored by that Team, that turn. Example: A player may not induce their partner to retreat, and then conquer a Battlefield their teammate was controlling.
  22. 484.8.c. Control is not shared.
  23. 484.8.c.1. Players may not Hide cards at Battlefields controlled by their Teammate.
  24. 484.8.c.2. Players may not issue Standard Movement to their Teammate's Units.
  25. 484.8.d. Friendly describes controlled Game Objects by a player or their Teammate. Example: "When I am played, ready a friendly unit" could target a player's own Units or their teammate's Units.
  26. 484.8.e. Hands are Private Information. Players may show their Private Information to one or more players at any time during play, including their teammate.
  27. 484.8.e.1. Revealing Cards is still a game action and cannot be done unless instructed. See rule 424. Reveal for more information.
  28. 484.8.f. The Final Point has an adjustment to the criteria when scoring.
  29. 484.8.f.1. When scoring the Final Point from Conquer, a player must Score each Battlefield in the same turn, excepting any that were occupied by their ally during that turn’s Beginning Phase.
  30. 484.8.f.2. No other changes to Final Point restrictions.
  31. 484.8.g. Teammates may not utilize the same Champion Legend.
  32. 484.8.h. Teammates may not utilize the same Battlefields.
649

Conceding

  1. 650. A player may concede at any time.
  2. 651. When a player concedes, they are removed from the game in progress.
  3. 651.1. If only one other player is remaining after a player has conceded, the player remaining Wins.
  4. 651.2. If more than one player remains after a concession, follow the steps for the Removal of a Player.
  5. 651.3. Removal of a player involves them no longer being able to make choices or otherwise influence the game.
  6. 651.4. If the player has Teammates due to the Mode of Play, that player’s Teammates also lose and are removed from the game.
  7. 652. If the game continues, follow these steps for Removal of a Player.
  8. 652.1. Banish all permanents, runes, and facedown cards they currently control and all permanents, runes, and facedown cards they own.
  9. 652.2. Remove the Battlefield they contributed to the game if it is in use.
  10. 652.2.a. If it was in use, Replace it with a token battlefield with no abilities.
  11. 652.2.b. Any units or hidden cards there do not move and are otherwise unaffected by this process. See rule 438. Replace for more information.
  12. 652.2.c. If the removed battlefield was applying any continuous effects, those continuous effects immediately cease, which may cause changes in the characteristics of units or hidden cards there. Example: A battlefield reads "Units here have +1 [M]." If that battlefield's owner concedes and the battlefield is removed from the game as a result, units there immediately cease to get +1 [M].
  13. 652.3. Remove all cards they own from the game.
  14. 652.4. Counter all spells and abilities of all types controlled by the player that has conceded.
  15. 652.5. Proceed with the game.
  16. 652.5.a. Turn
  17. 652.5.a.1. If the removed player was the Turn Player, play proceeds in Turn Order to the next available player in order.
  18. 652.5.b. Focus
  19. 652.5.b.1. If the removed player had Focus in a Showdown, the next Player in order receives Focus.
  20. 652.5.b.2. If the player being removed creates a state where all Players have Passed their Focus, the Showdown ends and play proceeds as necessary, E.G. Combat is resolved or a Cleanup is completed.
  21. 652.5.c. Priority
  22. 652.5.c.1. If the removed player had Priority during a Chain, the next Player in order receives Priority.
  23. 652.5.c.2. If the player being removed creates a state where all Players have passed Priority, then the most recent spell or ability on the Chain will resolve with Priority being re-established as appropriate for the state after the resolution of that spell or ability.