Reaction — Riftbound Rules

813.1.

Reaction is a Permissive keyword.

813.1.a.

It can be present on Cards, Rune Abilities, Legend Abilities and Permanent Abilities.

813.1.b.

Reaction grants the corresponding card or effect all abilities and permissions of Action.

813.1.c.

Reaction, additionally, is functionally short for the following:

813.1.c.1.

On Cards: "This can be played during Closed States on any player's turn."

813.1.c.2.

On Rune, Legend, or Permanent Abilities: "This can be activated during Closed States on any player's turn."

813.1.d.

Reaction is formatted as “[Reaction]” on cards, or “[Reaction][>]” on abilities.

813.2.

The corresponding card or effect with this keyword is not restricted to Closed States or Showdowns. This permission is inclusive of all other timings and options available to the ability as written, Action's permissions, or by default.

813.3.

Reaction does not alter the function of any instruction of the Card, Rune, or Effect it is on. It is only Permission.

813.3.a.

Playing Units with Reaction still has the inherent restrictions of playing Units without Reaction. It can only be played to the controlling player's base or a battlefield they control.

813.4.

Some passive abilities may grant a card or ability Reaction under certain conditions. The card or ability does not have the Reaction keyword unless and until those circumstances are true.

813.4.a.

Those conditions might only be fulfilled while the card or ability is on the chain. In such a case, it can still be played or activated at the appropriate timing as long as doing so could fulfill the conditions.

813.4.b.

If the chain item does not fulfill the conditions by the time step 5: check legality has been reached, the actions taken while playing or activating the chain item are undone and it is returned to the zone it was played from if it is a card.

813.5.

Reaction is a referencable characteristic.

813.5.a.

Whether or not a Game Object has Reaction is a characteristic of that Game Object and may be checked or referenced by other Game Effects.

813.5.b.

Whether or not a Spell has Reaction is a characteristic of that Spell and may be checked or referenced by other Game Effects.

813.5.c.

Whether or not an Ability has Reaction is a characteristic of that Ability and may be checked or referenced by other Game Effects.

Related FAQ (5)

I have a Reaction spell. Can I play it at the end of my opponent's turn?

No. The only time you can do this is if another ability triggers at the end of your opponent's turn, such as the Dark Child - Starter legend.

Are the units I choose for Fox-Fire targets? What happens if some of them gain Might as a reaction?

Fox-Fire is unusual (currently unique) in that its targets' legality is evaluated as a group rather than individually. The updated rules will explain how to handle this. As you play Fox-Fire, you'll choose any number of units at a single battlefield whose current total Might is 4 or less. Then, after any appropriate Reactions, Fox-Fire resolves and checks target legality again. If the units no longer meet the group targeting restriction because some of them have gained Might, you choose any number of the original targets whose Might adds up to no more than 4. Here are a few examples to illustrate. In all of them, Fox-Fire initially chooses 4 Recruits with 1 Might each, and some of those Recruits have gained Might before Fox-Fire resolves. ● One Recruit gets 1 Might. You can choose either to exclude that Recruit and kill the other three (total Might 3), or exclude one other Recruit and kill the 2 Might Recruit and two 1 Might Recruits (total Might 4). ● One Recruit gets 3 Might. You can choose either to exclude that Recruit and kill the other three (total Might 3), or exclude the other three and kill just that one (total Might 4). ● One Recruit gets 6 Might. You must choose to exclude that Recruit, because its Might alone takes you above your total. You must kill the other three (total Might 3). ● Two Recruits get 1 Might. You can either kill the two 2 Might Recruits, or one 2 Might Recruit and the two 1 Might Recruits. ● All four Recruits get 1 Might. You must choose two of the Recruits to kill, and the other two will survive. ● All four Recruits get 3 Might. You choose one Recruit to kill (total Might 4) and exclude the rest. ● All four Recruits get 6 Might. You no longer have a valid subset of targets, because even a single Recruit takes you over the Might limit. Fox-Fire does nothing.

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.

My opponent plays Elder Dragon and targets my two units at the two battlefields, as well as one of my units in base. If I play Flash in reaction, moving the two units at battlefields to base, will they be dealt damage?

No. Elder Dragon's effect has targeting restrictions for each location separately. Moving units to different locations breaks those restrictions. Units that no longer fulfill targeting restrictions will be unaffected by the ability as it resolves.

I play Alpha Strike targeting my Master Yi, Unstoppable and splitting 12 damage among three of the four enemy units at battlefields. If my opponent plays Flash in reaction, moving two of the targeted units to base, can they then play Repulse and counter my Alpha Strike?

No, unless units move to non-board zones. Targeting relationships persist even when targets no longer fulfill restrictions. Units at base still count toward Repulse's requirement. Only movement to non-board zones severs the relationship entirely per rule 359.3.e.3.