This document contains a few rules clarifications and some explanation about tournament policy for the Riftbound regional qualifier in Bologna 2026. Written by Riccardo Tessitori (HJ).
These are the rulingand the tournament procedures as we understood them; if you notice any significant issue or if you are missing any important information, please get in contact with one of the Bologna judges.
This document has been written by non native English speakers; there might be some unclear sentences; please don’t read anything “between the lines”; we do our best in communicating in a language we don’t master.
Rules
QUESTION:
“Last known information” for actions on the chain
Player A targets a unit with Stupefy.
Player B reacts with Riposte, targeting Stupefy and the unit Player A targeted.
Player A reacts with Defy, countering his own Stupefy.
When Riposte resolves, will it give additional might to the unit?
ANSWER:
When Riposte resolves, it will NOT give additional might to the unit.
When a target is illegal, no information about the target can be obtained.
The concept of “last known information” exists in Riftbound (356.3.e.13) but it’s not valid to be referenced for target(s) becoming illegal.
QUESTION:
Combat Winning/Losing exact moment:
When does a player win a combat, and when do “Win a combat” triggered abilities are added to the chain?
ANSWER:
The winner of a combat is determined during the special combat cleanup, after units are dealt damage and die or get healed.
Deathknell would trigger first, Win a combat would trigger (just a little) later; they would go on the chain in this order, and Win a combat triggers would resolve first.
QUESTION:
What happens when a repeated spell is banished as part of its resolution?
I activate Temporal Portal, then play Time Warp. Do I get two turns, or do I banish Time Warp during the first iteration, and then the repeated instructions do nothing because the card is no longer on the chain? More generally, does something continue resolving even if it somehow leaves the chain during its resolution?
ANSWER:
If the spell is repeated, it does not resolve a second time because it is no longer on the chain.
The process ends there. So if you spent your 20 energy and gave Time Warp a repeat, you would still only get one turn out of it. Another thing: Kai’sa evolutionary (the blue one) says that you play a spell from your trash, then recycle it. That is different. That’s happening after the spell is done resolving. So, you would If you have a spell that wasn’t banishing itself or anything, you would go through it twice and then Kaisa would recycle it.
QUESTION:
How does a repeated Hidden Blade work?
Does the unit’s controller draw two or four?
ANSWER:
If targeting the same target, you can only draw 2 cards. When the spell repeats, the second target is found as NULL.
QUESTION:
When do combat type effects expire exactly?
(e.g. if your Fiora Peerless wins a one-on-one combat and conquers Sunken Temple, will she be mighty when she does?)
ANSWER:
These combat effects expires before conquering and scoring
Fiora’s ability and even, like, assault do not apply for Sunken Temple.
QUESTION:
How does Soraka wanderer interact with other death replacement effects?
Let’s say Soraka and the second unit out of the battlefield are dealt six damage by Singularity while Soraka has Guardian Angel attached to her. Can she save the second unit? What if they’re both in base? What if the unit is in base but Soraka is at a battlefield?
ANSWER:
Soraka must still be alive in order to replace the death of an allied unit in the same location.
Soraka in base + unit in base → *Saved*
Soraka on battlefield + unit on battlefield → *Not saved*
Soraka on battlefield + unit in base → We can order replacement effects so that *Soraka saves the unit.*
QUESTION:
Repeated Temptation exchanging two units, is it possible?
ANSWER:
If there are only two units at different locations, you could legally target both of the units, but it’ll fail execute the second one.
If there is only one unit across the two locations we want to swap, it works like Hidden Blade. Since rule 356.3.e.13 does not apply, we move the first unit, then the second one cannot move because the location is no longer valid.
QUESTION:
Does Tideturner always target or is targeting a choice?
ANSWER:
You may choose means you may either put this ability on the chain or just skip putting it on the chain.
Tideturner has unique wording that will be reflected in a future rules update.
For now, it should be treated as an optional trigger (not mandatory): you may choose whether to put it on the stack. If it goes on the stack with a target, the movement must then occur.
QUESTION:
How does Volibear Imposing work, especially with regards to involuntary movements such as Charm?
ANSWER:
When an opponent moves any number of units to a battlefield other than mine, you draw one (ONLY ONE PER MOVEMENT ACTION).
A: Volibear Imposing says “when an opponent moves to a battlefield other than mine”.
For our understanding of this effect the subject is “the opponent”, not their unit. Therefore if the opponent moves more than one unit with the same action, you still draw one card.
The effect should be something like: “When an opponent moves any numer of units to a battlefild other than Volibear’s, Volibear’s controller draws a card”.
QUESTION:
Is Quick-draw attach effect mandatory?
ANSWER:
745.1.d. Quick-Draw is functionally short for “[Reaction]” and “When you play this, attach it to a Unit you control.”
Quick-draw attach effect is mandatory.
QUESTION:
Ho do multiple cost reductions (Vex + Ezreal type interactions) apply?
ANSWER:
353.4. Apply discounts in any order.
Open battlefield = Uncontrolled battlefield, meaning that no units were there.
Expressions like “many units at a battlefield” need to be at a single battlefield and you need to say which battlefield; for example, imagine that Emperor’s Divide had this text: Move any number of friendly units at a *single target* battlefield to their base.
Tournament policy
50 or 60 minutes per round?
60 minutes rounds + 3 additional turns.
Draws and concessions
Intentional draws and concessions are allowed.
Taking notes
Taking notes is legal, in a timely manner.
Reprinted and multiple versions cards
If a card exists in different variants, all of them are considered to be equal.
Unpaid costs and rewind or “time to pay now”
If a cost hasn’t been fully paid, it must be paid; first option is to rewind; if it’s not possible to rewind, the player who made the mistake cannot cancel playing the spell, and must pay what they didn’t pay.
Illegal choices and full rewind
If an illegal target is chosen for a spell, the entire (illegal) action is reversed; the player who made the mistake is not forced to choose a different, valid target.
Missed Awaken
General rule: forgetting the awaken is not equivalent to missing a triggered ability; it’s a general error with a rewind when appropriate.
Note: this is an interesting topic, and we are discussing it among judges; I don’t exclude solutions like “consider a virtual rewind, that is practically a partial fix”, “legends always awake” or “case by case, and we prepare a report at the end of the event”:
When is a triggered ability missed?
Triggered abilities need to be announced before they have a visual impact on the game; opponent is not required to point out triggers.
“Judge, I changed my mind!”
Takebacks are allowed in Riftbound only for the last action and as long as no strategic information has been gained.
NOTE: during the Bologna weekend, we will collect the most interesting situations, in order to give to UVS our best summary of cases and recommendations.
How to handle slow play
If a player plays slowly, the role of the judges is to mention to them that it’s time to play; it’s not with warning penalties that we can help them to play at an acceptable pace.
Starting a round when the previous has not finished
If necessary, which means if we have all results expect “a few” from tables that still have a significant time in the round, we can start the next round before they finish; this is one of the focuses of the “re-pair” team.
Incorrect sequencing and missed triggers
Players will not lose their triggers for not performing physical movements in an incorrect way, as long as they show that they are aware of the trigger
Byes
Players who won a round 1 bye will be automatically given the bye.
Boosters with irregular number or rarity
At limited events, in the remote case of irregular boosters (with incorrect rarities), the boosters will not be replaced. (extreme cases will be of course analyzed)
“What did you say your might was?”
Dice can be used to represent numerical elements of the game (specifically, the might at battlefields). We noticed that it makes games faster. The important is that both players make sure that numerical values are represented correctly.
“Judge, wo bu shuo zhong wen!”
Some players will play with Chinese cards, that most if not all other players will not be able to read. In addition to calling a judge to have the English text, it’s a good idea to bring a printed English version or to keep screenshot on the phone to quickly show them to the opponent (who may want to read the text multiple times during the game).
“Judge, my opponent has a marked deck!”
We currently have two sets and two languages, with potentially a mix of card with four slightly different mechanical and physical characteristics (we have been reported differences between English and Chinese cards and also between English Origins and English Spiritforged cards).
Players should be able to play with the product they purchased, and judges and organizers will do their best to assist them. We heard about come players ironing cards and others putting them in plastic bags with higher humidity. We may issue proxies, when necessary, to deal with extreme cases.
Bologna will surely be an opportunity to analyze at what levels decks are marked, with cards coming from different production and printing facilities and also coming from countries with different values of temperature and humidity.