How Accelerate Works in Riftbound — Rules

Pay an extra 1 Energy and a matching Power as you play the unit and it enters play ready.

Section 805 — 12 rules

What is Accelerate in Riftbound?

Accelerate is a Unit ability. Accelerate is functionally short for "As you play me, you may pay [1][C] as an additional cost. If you do, I enter ready."

805.1.
Accelerate is a Unit ability.
805.1.a.
Accelerate is functionally short for "As you play me, you may pay [1][C] as an additional cost. If you do, I enter ready."
805.1.a.1.
If the unit has one or more domains, the Power portion of the Accelerate cost can be paid only with a Power that matches one of the domains of the unit.
805.1.a.2.
If the unit has no domain, the Power portion of the Accelerate cost can be paid with [A] (a Power of any domain).
805.2.
Accelerate is an Optional Additional Cost to be paid as a player plays the unit with the ability.
805.2.a.
Accelerate costs cannot be paid while the unit is on the board, only as part of the steps of playing a card.
805.2.b.
Paying the cost generates a delayed Replacement Effect. Even if the unit loses the accelerate keyword during the finalization process, as long as the cost was paid, that unit will still enter ready.
805.3.
Accelerate has no function while on the board.
805.4.
Multiple instances of Accelerate are redundant.
805.5.
Accelerate, and whether or not a unit has Accelerate, is a characteristic of the Unit and may be checked or referenced by other Game Effects.
805.6.
Accelerate generates a delayed replacement effect that replaces a unit entering the board exhausted with it entering ready. It does not enter exhausted and then become ready.
805.6.a.
Accelerate will not interact with, or trigger, abilities that are affected by units becoming ready.

Related FAQ (4)

How much do I pay for an Accelerate cost?

Accelerate costs 1 energy and also 1 power of the unit's domain/color. Usually you'll do this by taking an additional ready rune of the appropriate domain/color, exhaust it, and then recycle that same rune. For example, if a fury/red unit normally costs (3) (or 3 energy) and you want to accelerate it, its total cost would be (4)(R) (or 4 energy and 1 power of the fury/red domain).

What costs does Ezreal, Prodigy reduce? Does he reduce Repeat costs? Accelerate costs? Equip costs?

Ezreal reduces optional additional costs using both "additional cost" and "may." Repeat and Accelerate qualify, but not Equip costs - that's an activation cost for an ability, so it's neither optional nor additional.

What happens if I play Atakhan from my deck with Rek'Sai, Breacher on the board? Can I pay the Accelerate cost and kill Rek'Sai for the Atakhan additional cost? Will it enter ready?

Yes, Atakhan enters ready. Accelerate creates a delayed replacement effect that causes Atakhan to enter ready. Although he lacks the Accelerate keyword when he resolves, he still has the delayed replacement effect that Accelerate generates.

How does Accelerate work in Riftbound? Can I pay for Accelerate after the unit is on the board?

No, only as you play the unit. Accelerate is an optional additional cost paid while playing the unit: pay 1 Energy plus 1 Power, and the unit enters ready instead of exhausted (rules 805.1.a and 805.2). The Power must match one of the unit's domains; a unit with no domain can use Power of any domain (rules 805.1.a.1 and 805.1.a.2). The cost cannot be paid once the unit is on the board (rule 805.2.a), and Accelerate does nothing there (rule 805.3). The unit enters ready directly; it does not enter exhausted and then ready up, so abilities that trigger on a unit becoming ready do not trigger (rules 805.6 and 805.6.a). If you paid the cost, the unit still enters ready even if it loses Accelerate before it finishes entering (rule 805.2.b). Extra copies of Accelerate do nothing (rule 805.4).

Cards with Accelerate (26)