Kill — Riftbound Rules

428.1.

Killing is the action of a Permanent going to the trash from the board.

428.1.a.

This can be Active or Passive.

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.

428.1.a.1.a.

This is referred to as a Kill Instruction.

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.

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.

428.2.

When a permanent is killed it is placed directly in the trash from its place of origin.

428.2.a.

It is only considered Killed if its origin was any zone on the board.

428.2.b.

This is not a subset of Move.

428.3.

Killing is a Limited Action.

428.3.a.

Players may only Kill units when Game Effects direct them to do so.

428.4.

Killing can also be the result of resolving a Cleanup.

428.5.

Killing can be attributed to one or more Game Objects.

428.5.a.

The Killed Unit or Gear is said to be Killed by that Game Object.

428.5.b.

A spell or ability that contains a Kill instruction is responsible for Killing the Unit or Gear.

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.

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.

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.

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."

Related FAQ (8)

What happens if I use an effect like Unlicensed Armory to prevent the death of the friendly unit I chose to kill with Baited Hook?

Baited Hook kills a unit, then uses information about “the killed unit." If you prevent that unit's death, there's no killed unit, so Baited Hook can't evaluate its Might. As a result, the check for the Might of the “killed unit" returns a null value, and you're not able to play any unit. If the unit is killed before the ability of Baited Hook resolves, the outcome is the same.

Does that mean if the units I originally chose die, move, or lose Might as a Reaction, I can pick additional units at that battlefield to kill?

No. You can only kill units from among the ones you initially chose.

How does Disintegrate work? Doesn't the damage kill the unit after the spell has resolved?

Disintegrate is a funny one—it looks like it works, but the more you understand the rules, the more it looks like it might not work after all. Units dealt lethal damage by a spell aren't killed immediately, they're killed right after that spell resolves. To solve this little rules conundrum, we're using the new reflexive trigger wording here as well. Deal 3 to a unit at a battlefield. If this kills it, do this: draw 1.

If I play Cruel Patron and kill one of my units for its additional cost, but one of these cards replaces that unit's death, does the cost still count as paid?

Yes. You made the decision to pay the cost and took the action to pay it. What happened after that doesn't matter.

What does it mean to “kill a unit with a spell?" It seems like Hidden Blade counts, but what about a spell that deals damage? A spell that causes a unit to deal damage? A spell that causes a unit to die in some other way, like Stupefy on a unit that has 1 more Might than it has damage currently marked on it?

This is unclear under existing rules, so the updated rules will clarify. “When you kill a unit with a spell" triggers immediately after a spell you control resolves if either of the following is true: 1. That spell instructs you to kill a unit during its resolution, and that unit is put into the trash this way. 2. A spell instructs you to deal damage to a unit during its resolution, and that unit is put into the trash during the cleanup immediately following that spell's resolution. This includes “direct kill" spells you control like Hidden Blade. It also includes damage spells like Void Seeker, provided they mark lethal damage on the unit that immediately causes it to die. In all cases, the unit has to actually die—if that death is replaced by a card like Unlicensed Armory, then you didn't kill a unit with a spell. Notably, the following do not count as you killing a unit with a spell: ● You are instructed to kill a unit by a spell another player controls, even if the spell instructs you to kill the unit (e.g., another player's Cull the Weak). ● Another player is instructed to kill a unit by a spell you control (e.g., your Cull the Weak, if you don't kill any of your own units with it). ● You play a spell like Challenge that causes a unit to deal lethal damage to another unit. ● You use a spell to mark damage on a unit and the unit dies later in the turn, even if that damage later became lethal damage for any reason. ● You use a spell to directly or indirectly lower the Might of a unit, causing damage it's already taken to become lethal damage. For example: ○ You use a spell like Stupefy to lower the Might of a unit that has already taken damage, causing that damage to become lethal damage. ○ You use a spell like Charm to move a unit with damage on it away from Trifarian War Camp, indirectly lowering its Might and causing that damage to become lethal damage. ○ You use a spell like Rebuke to return Lee Sin, Centered to its owner's hand, indirectly lowering the Might of a buffed unit at the same battlefield that has damage on it, causing that damage to become lethal damage. ● You do anything else with a spell that causes a unit to die in any other way than the two methods listed above, or at any time other than during or immediately after the spell's resolution. ● You do any of the above, but the unit doesn't actually die.

Is the first friendly unit on Deathgrip a cost or a target? When do I kill it, and what happens if I don't?

Deathgrip uses nonstandard wording. The friendly unit is a target chosen with the other unit and killed as the spell resolves. If you don't kill it because it's no longer legal or its death was prevented, you do not give the second friendly unit any Might.

Can Pickpocket kill a Gold token?

Yes. The rules use NULL for unavailable values, but token costs should be treated as 0. We feel that results in unintuitive situations, like not being able to kill a Gold token with Pickpocket.

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.