The Board — Riftbound Rules

107.1.

Bases

107.1.a.

Each player has their own Base.

107.1.b.

Each Base is a Location. See rule 197. Locations for more information.

107.1.c.

Permanents and Runes controlled by a player reside in that player's Base.

107.1.c.1.

Permanents attached to Permanents controlled by a player may also be found in that player’s Base, regardless of their controller.

107.1.d.

Permanents and Runes in Bases are Public Information.

107.2.

Battlefield Zone

107.2.a.

The Battlefield Zone houses multiple Battlefields.

107.2.b.

Each Battlefield is individually a Location. See rule 197. Locations for more information.

107.2.c.

Battlefields and permanents at Battlefields are Public Information.

107.3.

Facedown Zones

107.3.a.

Each Battlefield is associated with a sub-zone called a Facedown Zone, a single logical space that a card can be put facedown in through various Game Effects.

107.3.b.

Each Facedown Zone has a maximum occupancy of one card.

107.3.b.1.

The maximum occupancy of a Facedown Zone can increase or decrease.

107.3.b.2.

If the maximum occupancy of a Facedown Zone decreases to a number less than the number of cards currently located there, the controller of that Facedown Zone must put a number of cards equal to the difference in the trash from the Facedown Zone.

107.3.c.

Cards can only be placed in or occupy the Facedown Zone if the controller of the card also controls the associated Battlefield.

107.3.d.

If a player loses Control of a Battlefield, any cards in the Facedown Zone associated with that Battlefield are removed during the next Cleanup. See rule 318. Cleanups for more information. See rule 422. Hide for more information.

107.3.e.

Facedown Zones are not locations.

107.3.f.

Facedown Zones are Public Zones, though facedown cards located there are Private.

107.4.

Legend Zone

107.4.a.

The space for each player's Champion Legend.

107.4.b.

This is not a location.

107.4.c.

The Champion Legend here is a Game Object. See rule 119. Game Objects for more information.

107.4.d.

The Champion Legend cannot be removed, moved, or displaced from this zone.

107.4.d.1.

Some effects may add a legend card or token to the Legend Zone. These legends are not Champion Legends.

107.4.d.2.

Non-Champion legends may be removed from the Legend Zone. They cannot exist in any zone other than the Legend Zone or Banishment.

Related FAQ (7)

Do I put my Chosen Champion back in the Champion Zone when it leaves the board?

No. Once you play a Champion from your Champion Zone, it acts like any other card from your Main Deck. When it dies, it goes to the Trash.

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.

What happens when the unit on the board that I Showed Off with Primordial Roar is returned to my hand with Star-Crossed? Do I still deal damage? What about if I play Lunar Boon and discard the unit from hand?

You still deal damage in both cases. The characteristics a card references from shown-off objects are locked in when you show them off, so the card that showed them off can still check that information whatever happens to them afterward. It also means giving the unit +Might or -Might after showing it off doesn't change the damage Primordial Roar deals (rule 832.1.d.1).

If I control Hunters' Circle and play Baron Nashor without a Baron Pit on the board, does he cost [1] less?

Yes, so you can play him for [9] and 3 Power. Hunters' Circle reduces the cost of the first unit or gear each player plays there on their turn. Baron Nashor entering at the Baron Pit is a replacement effect that applies as he resolves and enters the board. Hunters' Circle's reduction applies earlier, during finalization, when you choose the play location (step 2) and determine the total cost (step 3). By the time Baron Nashor's replacement effect applies, his cost has already been determined and paid (rule 355.2).

If I control a battlefield and my legend is Riven, The Exile, can I play Baron Nashor without a Baron Pit on the board and have him enter ready?

Yes. Riven, The Exile applies a replacement effect to units you play to a battlefield you control, which you pick as the play location in step 2 of finalization: they enter ready. When Baron Nashor enters in this case, two replacement effects apply to the event: entering ready, and entering at the Baron Pit. In either order, he enters ready at the Baron Pit (rule 355.2).

Are tokens cards in Riftbound? What happens to a token that leaves the board?

No. Tokens are game objects created by spells and abilities (rule 180) and are not cards (rule 185): a token can never become a card and a card can never become a token (rules 185.1.a and 185.1.b). A token follows all the rules for its type, so a token unit enters exhausted, can take the Standard Move, deals damage equal to its Might, and can be chosen by anything that chooses units (rule 185.2.d). Tokens have no cost and no domain unless an effect adds one; their cost counts as 0 (rules 185.3.a and 185.3.b). Tokens exist only on the board or on the chain (rule 186): a token put into any other zone, such as the trash or a hand, ceases to exist as soon as it gets there (rule 186.1). Anything can stand in for a token; the printed tokens in booster packs are not required (rule 181).

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.b 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.b.1 and 805.1.b.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).