357. Abilities

358. An Ability is the structured rules and capabilities of Game Objects or Spells.

• 358.1. An Ability has multiple structures. Passive Abilities Replacement Effects Activated Abilities Triggered Abilities Delayed Abilities

359. A card can have more than one Ability and more than one type of Ability.

360. Passive Abilities

361. Conditions, rules, constraints, or statements that affect the course of regular play.

• 361.1. 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]."

• 361.2. They can be recognized by being statements of fact.

• 361.3. Passive Abilities can be conditional.

  • 361.3.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."

362. Presence on Permanents

• 362.1. Passive Abilities of Permanents are typically only active while on the Board.

363. Presence on Card outside of the Board

• 363.1. 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.

• 363.2. Passive Abilities can alter the costs of cards as they are played.

  • 363.2.a. These apply at all times in any zone from which the card with the ability can be played.

364. Replacement Effects

365. An ability that alters the application of another game effect or game rule.

• 365.1. Passive Abilities can be Replacement Effects.

• 365.2. Triggered Abilities can be Replacement Effects.

366. Replacement Effects intercede during the execution of a Game Effect and alter its execution.

• 366.1. A Replacement Effect can be identified by the presence of the term "instead." Example: Zhonya's Hourglass reads "The next time a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Recall that unit exhausted." This is a replacement effect that alters the execution of any Game Effect that would kill a friendly unit.

367. A Replacement Effect can alter the typical flow of play, including other cards' executions.

368. 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.

• 368.1. If it is a player being acted on, that player decides the order the Replacement Effects will apply.

• 368.2. If the affected object is an Uncontrolled Battlefield then the Current Turn Player decides the order the Replacement Effects will apply.

369. Activated Abilities

370. 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 346. Playing Cards for more information.

• 370.1. 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.

• 370.2. Activated Abilities use the chain.

  • 370.2.a. Declare activation of the Ability.

    • 370.2.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.

  • 370.2.b. Proceed with executing the Chain.

    • 370.2.b.1. Follow the steps of “Playing or Activating Abilities” in rule 386. This ability will become a Pending Chain Item.

    • 370.2.b.2. Opponents have an opportunity to respond, as appropriate, as if a card was played onto the chain.

    • 370.2.b.3. If no further action is taken, execute the Activated Ability.

371. The controlling player chooses when and whether to activate an Activated Ability.

372. Activated abilities are present on Game Objects and some Spells.

373. Can primarily be activated while on the Board.

374. All Activated Abilities can only be activated on the Controlling Player's Turn and during an Open State.

375. Triggered Abilities

376. Triggered Abilities are repeatable effects that happen when a Condition is met.

• 376.1. 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.”

  • 376.1.a. The phrases that identify triggered abilities do not always appear at the beginning of sentences or abilities. Example: Sona, Harmonious says “While I'm at a battlefield, ready up to 4 friendly runes at the end of your turn.” Although the ability starts with a conditional, “while,” the phrase “at the end of your turn” identifies this as a triggered ability. It can only trigger while that condition is met.

  • 376.1.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.

• 376.2. Triggered Abilities have a Condition and an Effect.

  • 376.2.a. The Condition follows the When.

  • 376.2.b. The Effect is the Instruction that follows the comma after the Condition.

  • 376.2.c. The Condition of a Trigger is evaluated after a potentially inciting event has been processed.

    • 376.2.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.

    • 376.2.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).

• 376.3. When a Condition is met, a Triggered Ability behaves like an Activated Ability and is placed on the Chain.

  • 376.3.a. Triggered Abilities can be put on the Chain during Closed States or Open States on any player's turn.

  • 376.3.b. 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.

    • 376.3.b.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.

• 376.4. 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.

  • 376.4.a. Play Effects are Triggered Abilities with the Condition that the Permanent that has the Play Effect being played to the board.

    • 376.4.a.1. These are commonly structured as “When you play me…” for Units and “When you play this…” for Gear.

    • 376.4.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.

    • 376.4.a.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Play Effects.

    • 376.4.a.4. Abilities that trigger when another object is played are not considered Play Effects.

  • 376.4.b. Conquer Effects are Triggered Abilities with a Condition of a Unit participating in, and successfully Conquering a Battlefield.

    • 376.4.b.1. These are commonly structured as “When I conquer…” and “When you conquer…”

    • 376.4.b.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.

      • 376.4.b.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.

      • 376.4.b.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.

      • 376.4.b.2.c. If the act of gaining one point from Conquering is negated or replaced in any way, the Conquer Effect will still trigger.

    • 376.4.b.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Conquer Effects.

  • 376.4.c. 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.

    • 376.4.c.1. These are commonly structured as “When I hold…” or “When you hold…”

    • 376.4.c.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.

      • 376.4.c.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.

      • 376.4.c.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.

      • 376.4.c.2.c. If the act of gaining one point from Holding is negated or replaced in any way, the Hold Effect will still trigger.

    • 376.4.c.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Hold Effects.

  • 376.4.d. Attack Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit gains the Attacker designation for the first time during a combat.

    • 376.4.d.1. These are commonly structured as “When I attack…”

    • 376.4.d.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.

      • 376.4.d.2.a. These triggers can only become fulfilled once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Attacker designation multiple times in the same combat.

    • 376.4.d.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Attack Triggers.

  • 376.4.e. Defend Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit gains the Defender designation for the first time during a combat.

    • 376.4.e.1. These are commonly structured as “When I defend…”

    • 376.4.e.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.

      • 376.4.e.2.a. These triggers can only become fulfilled once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Defender designation multiple times in the same combat.

    • 376.4.e.3. These Triggered Abilities can be referred to as Defend Triggers.

377. Presence on Permanents

• 377.1. Typically active while on the Board.

• 377.2. Triggered Abilities of Permanents are only able to have their Conditions evaluated while on the Board.

378. Presence on Cards outside of the Board

• 378.1. Triggered Abilities on cards outside of the Board rely on the Information Level of the zone they are in.

• 378.2. 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.

379. Reflexive Triggers

380. Reflexive Triggers are a type of Triggered Ability that create one or more Chain Items when their condition is met.

• 380.1. Reflexive Triggers can be recognized by the phrase “Do this:” or “Do one of the following:”.

  • 380.1.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.

• 380.2. 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.

• 380.3. If present, the Condition of a Reflexive Trigger will follow the same format as a Triggered Ability.

381. Reflexive Triggers use the Chain.

• 381.1. A new ability is created and added to the chain as a Pending Item. See rule 386. Playing or Activating Abilities for more information.

• 381.2. 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 386. Playing or Activating Abilities for more information.

382. Delayed Abilities

383. 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.

• 383.1. 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.

• 383.2. 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.

• 383.3. 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.

• 383.4. 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.

384. 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.

385. 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.

386. Playing or Activating Abilities

387. Playing or activating Abilities follows the same steps of playing cards.

388. Abilities when added to the Chain become Pending Items until they complete the steps of Playing.

• 388.1. When an Ability finishes the steps of playing it becomes a Chain Item just like a Spell.

• 388.2. When an Ability with the [Add] action is finalized it resolves immediately instead of becoming a Chain Item, like a Unit or Gear.

389. 1. Activate or trigger the Ability

• 389.1. 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 346. Playing Cards for more information.

• 389.2. If there is currently a game effect being resolved, continue resolving the game effect instead of continuing the following steps.

390. 2. Make relevant choices

• 390.1. Make all choices required for this ability, such as targets, options, or other relevant decisions. See rule 346. Playing Cards for more information

• 390.2. If legal options are not available for an Activated Ability, it is not legal to activate it.

• 390.3. 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.

  • 390.3.a. This is not an Ability being countered.

  • 390.3.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.

391. 3. Determine Total Cost

• 391.1. Determine the base cost of the Ability.

  • 391.1.a. Activated Abilities will have a cost listed before the “:” in their text.

  • 391.1.b. Triggered Abilities will typically not have a base cost associated with them when placed on the chain due to their conditions.

• 391.2. Apply cost increases and decreases as a result of choices made in the prior step. See rule 346. Playing Cards for more information.

• 391.3. Apply any other cost increases or decreases as necessary. See rule 346. Playing Cards for more information.

392. 4. Pay Costs

• 392.1. Pay costs as determined in the prior step. See rule 346. Playing Cards for more information.

• 392.2. 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.

  • 392.2.a. This is not an Ability being countered.

393. 5. Check Legality

• 393.1. Ensure that the Ability’s targets are still legal.

• 393.2. 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 346. Playing Cards for more information.

394. 6. Proceed with Play

• 394.1. This Ability is no longer Pending.

• 394.2. This Ability becomes a Chain Item.

• 394.3. If there are other Pending Items on the Chain, their controllers perform the remaining steps of playing now.

• 394.4. Other players have an opportunity to play Reactions before the resolution of spells. See rule 326. Chains for more information.

• 394.5. Otherwise, execute the Ability just like a Spell, then clear the Chain Item from the Chain.

395. Game Actions

396. Game Actions are actions players may perform at any given time during the game.

397. A player, unless otherwise specified or prompted, may only perform actions on their turn.

398. There are two types of Game Actions:

• 398.1. Discretionary Actions

  • 398.1.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.

  • 398.1.b. A player may take any number of Discretionary Actions available to them during their turn.

    • 398.1.b.1. As long as any conditions, if applicable, are met.

    • 398.1.b.2. As long as any costs, if applicable, are paid.

    • 398.1.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.

• 398.2. Limited Actions

  • 398.2.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.

  • 398.2.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.

399. Types of Actions

400. Draw

• 400.1. Drawing a card takes a single card from the top of the Main Deck and adds it to the player's Hand.

• 400.2. This is a Limited Action.

  • 400.2.a. Each player draws 1 during the Draw Step of their Beginning Phase.

  • 400.2.b. The player may draw cards when instructed to do so by other game effects.

• 400.3. This action, when instructed, is formatted as "Draw X."

• 400.4. If a player attempts to draw more cards than are available in their Main Deck, they do the following:

  • 400.4.a. Draw as many as possible.

  • 400.4.b. Perform a Burn Out. See rule 418. Burn Out for more information.

  • 400.4.c. Draw the remaining cards needed to complete the Draw action.

401. Exhaust

• 401.1. Exhausting is an action that marks a non-spell Game Object as "spent."

  • 401.1.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.

  • 401.1.b. A Unit that is already Exhausted cannot be Exhausted again.

  • 401.1.c. If a Unit is instructed to be Exhausted while it is already Exhausted, nothing additional happens.

• 401.2. "Exhausted" is a state for Game Objects that other game effects and rules can reference.

• 401.3. This is a Limited Action.

  • 401.3.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.

• 401.4. 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.

• 401.5. In abilities, the Exhaust symbol represents the cost "Exhaust this" or "Exhaust me." It resembles a card turning sideways.

402. Ready

• 402.1. Readying is an action that marks a non-spell Game Object as available for action.

  • 402.1.a. To mark it, rotate the card 90 degrees opposite of Exhausting, so that it is vertically oriented in front of you.

  • 402.1.b. A Unit that is already Ready cannot be Readied again.

  • 402.1.c. If a Unit is instructed to be Readied while it is already Ready, nothing additional happens.

• 402.2. "Ready" is a state for Game Objects that other game effects and rules can reference.

• 402.3. This is a Limited Action.

  • 402.3.a. A player Readies all non-spell Game Objects they Control during the Ready Step of the Beginning Phase on their turn.

  • 402.3.b. The player may also Ready their Game Objects when effects or spells instruct them to do so.

403. Recycle

• 403.1. 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.

  • 403.1.a. Main Deck cards are Recycled to the Main Deck.

  • 403.1.b. Runes are Recycled to the Rune Deck.

  • 403.1.c. Each player Recycles cards to their own Main Deck and Rune Deck, regardless of which player is instructed to perform the Recycle action.

• 403.2. This is a Limited Action.

  • 403.2.a. The player must Recycle cards from the specified zones when instructed to do so by game effects or costs.

• 403.3. 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.

• 403.4. When Recycling is part of an effect, a player must Recycle as many cards as possible from the specified zone or zones.

• 403.5. 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.

  • 403.5.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.

• 403.6. 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.

404. Deal

• 404.1. Spells, Units, Abilities, and other game effects may Deal Damage to units.

  • 404.1.a. Assigning Damage during Combat Resolution is not Dealing Damage, but will cause Damage to be Dealt when assignment is complete.

  • 404.1.b. To Deal Damage to Units, mark the specified amount of Damage on the Unit.

  • 404.1.c. Damage is marked on each unit separately.

  • 404.1.d. Damage can be Dealt to more than one Unit at the same time.

• 404.2. Only Damage can be Dealt.

• 404.3. Dealing Damage is a Limited Action.

  • 404.3.a. Assigning Damage causes Damage to be dealt outside of being directed to Deal Damage. See rule 433. Combat for more information.

• 404.4. Dealing can have the intrinsic property of Bonus Damage.

• 404.5. 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.

• 404.6. Deal actions can originate from one or more sources.

  • 404.6.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.

  • 404.6.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.

    • 404.6.b.1. Units and Spells can be the source of Damage for Deal actions.

    • 404.6.b.2. Abilities can be the source of Damage for Deal actions.

      • 404.6.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.

    • 404.6.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.

  • 404.6.c. Damage Dealt as a result of being assigned during Combat has the Units as its source.

    • 404.6.c.1. The Damage assigned, and subsequently Dealt, to attackers has the defenders as the source and vice versa.

• 404.7. Deal actions can distribute Damage as part of combat actions or non-combat actions.

405. Heal

• 405.1. Damage being cleared from Units is Healing.

  • 405.1.a. If Damage is cleared for any reason it is considered Healing.

• 405.2. More than one Unit can be Healed at the same time.

• 405.3. Healing is a Limited Action.

  • 405.3.a. Players may only Heal units when game effects instruct them to, or at specific points in the turn.

406. Play

• 406.1. A player Plays cards by paying costs associated with that card. See rule 346. Playing Cards for more information.

• 406.2. This is a Discretionary Action.

  • 406.2.a. As long as a player has the resources to pay the costs associated with the card, they may play cards.

• 406.3. Game effects may result in cards being played as part of their resolution.

  • 406.3.a. This treats Play as a Limited Action.

  • 406.3.b. Treat all steps of Play as normal, except as noted by the game effect creating this Limited Play Effect.

  • 406.3.c. If there are no eligible cards to Play when instructed to Play in this manner like this, then nothing happens and resolution continues.

• 406.4. Some Abilities trigger when cards are played or otherwise check whether cards have been played.

  • 406.4.a. These abilities trigger when the act of playing the card has been completed by the resolution of the card.

  • 406.4.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 412. Counter for more information.

407. Move

• 407.1. Moving is the act of a Game Object moving between two Locations on The Board.

• 407.2. Moving is a Limited Action.

  • 407.2.a. Players may only move Game Objects when instructed to do so by Game Effects or costs.

  • 407.2.b. The Standard Move inherent to Units may also cause Movement. See rule 140 for more information on the Standard Move.

• 407.3. The Standard Move inherent to Units is a Discretionary Action.

  • 407.3.a. The Cost is Exhausting one or more Units.

  • 407.3.b. The Effect is Moving those Unit.

408. Hide

• 408.1. Hiding a card is the act of placing a card facedown at a Battlefield you control.

• 408.2. Hiding is a Discretionary Action.

  • 408.2.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 727. Hidden for more information.

• 408.3. 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.

• 408.4. If a facedown card would be put into a zone whose Privacy is Private or Secret, or if the game ends, its owner reveals it to all players. See rule 127. Privacy for more information.

409. Discard

• 409.1. Discarding a card is moving it from a player's hand directly into their trash without activating or executing its normal rules text.

  • 409.1.a. The player who is performing the action chooses which cards to send to their Trash, and may use Private Information to do so.

  • 409.1.b. “When I am discarded” abilities or other Triggered Abilities that trigger on discarding are executed after discarding has occurred.

• 409.2. Discarding is a Limited Action.

  • 409.2.a. A player must Discard cards when instructed to do so by game effects or costs.

• 409.3. 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.

• 409.4. 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.

• 409.5. This action is formatted as "Discard X."

410. Stun

• 410.1. Stunning is the act of selecting one or more Units on the Board and rendering them Stunned.

  • 410.1.a. Stunned is a binary state. A Unit is Stunned or it isn't.

    • 410.1.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.

    • 410.1.a.2. Stunned Units lose the Stunned status at the beginning of the next Ending Step.

  • 410.1.b. A Stunned Unit does not contribute its might to damage in combat.

  • 410.1.c. A Stunned Unit must still have damage applied to it equal to, or greater than, its full might value to be killed.

• 410.2. Stunning is a Limited Action.

  • 410.2.a. Players may only Stun Units when directed to by Game Effects.

411. Reveal

• 411.1. 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.

  • 411.1.a. Revealed is a temporary state and is not a zone.

    • 411.1.a.1. Other cards, including the card being revealed, can reference the act of being Revealed.

    • 411.1.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.

  • 411.1.b. Unless otherwise described, Revealed cards do nothing else beyond become temporarily known information to all players.

• 411.2. Revealing is a Limited Action.

  • 411.2.a. Players may only Reveal cards from Private or Secret zones when instructed to do so by Game Effects.

  • 411.2.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.

• 411.3. 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.

• 411.4. Game Effects can manipulate or modify the cards Revealed while they are Revealed

  • 411.4.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.