Zhonya's Hourglass

Rules Text

[Hidden] (Hide now for Any Rune to react with later for 0 Energy.) If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.)

Keywords

• Hidden

Errata

• Errata 2025-10-21 (Origins): the text now reads “[Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.)”. It previously read “[Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) The next time a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Recall that unit exhausted. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.)”.

Meta Statistics

Inclusion rate 53.8%. Win rate 51.2% across 935 decks with results.

Price

Market price $16.83 on TCGPlayer, updated Sep 28, 2026.

Related FAQ (2)

What about Zhonya's Hourglass and Stand United? When they're played from hidden, are their effects restricted to the battlefield where they were played?

Only effects that choose are restricted. Zhonya's Hourglass saves the next friendly unit that dies anywhere. Stand United can only give a buff to a unit at the battlefield where it was hidden, but its other effect, which causes buffs to grant an additional bonus, applies everywhere. This is a change from previous rulings on these cards, intended to simplify the question of what hidden cards can and can't do. Zhonya's Hourglass has additional rulings and minor errata related to saving dying units; see below.

When I replace a unit's death with a card like Unlicensed Armory, does damage on the unit stay? If the unit died to lethal damage, doesn't it just die again?

The intent behind these four cards is to save your unit from dying, whether it died due to direct kill like Hidden Blade or due to lethal damage. To better communicate this, these cards will receive updated wordings. Two of them, Highlander (from the Proving Grounds boxed set) and Unlicensed Armory, have straightforward fixes, adding “heal" and listing “exhaust" and “recall" as separate actions. Choose a friendly unit. The next time it dies this turn, heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.) Discard 1, (E) Choose a friendly unit. The next time it would die this turn, you may pay (C) to heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.) Zhonya's Hourglass also has a slightly updated wording making it clearer that its ability applies any time a friendly unit dies, not just on the turn you play it. If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.) The Boss was mistakenly worded like a triggered ability. It's receiving updated wording to make it clear that its ability is a replacement effect.

All Riftbound rules FAQ

Tournament Decks

• Master Yi — Team 33 (Steven/Allen Wu/Evan Sonnenberg-Rhim) (10W-0L), Breach the Bay 2 Riftbound 15k Team Trios
• Akali — Collin Kaiser (9W-2L), CCS $25,000 Showdown Series Event - Riftbound Invitational Qualifier #5
• Irelia — Joey Nguyen (9W-3L), CCS $25,000 Showdown Series Event - Riftbound Invitational Qualifier #5
• Vex — Daniel C III (7W-2L), CCS $25,000 Showdown Series Event - Riftbound Invitational Qualifier #5
• Shen — Jose Aponte (7W-3L), CCS $25,000 Showdown Series Event - Riftbound Invitational Qualifier #5

Related Cards

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• Tideturner — 2 Energy, Unit
• Fight or Flight — 2 Energy, Spell
• Back Off — 3 Energy, Spell
• Switcheroo — 2 Energy, Spell
• Wages of Pain — 3 Energy, Spell
• Consult the Past — 4 Energy, Spell
• Pyke, Dockside Butcher — 3 Energy, Unit