Baron Nashor
Unofficial Riftbound rulings for Baron Nashor, with rules explanations, examples, and Core Rules citations.
Does Baron Nashor move to the Baron Pit when it's created as part of playing him?
No. Baron Nashor enters the Baron Pit directly; he does not move there.
Moving means changing position between spaces on the board, while entering the board from another zone is a zone change. When Baron Nashor creates the Baron Pit, his replacement effect changes his entry location from the originally chosen location to the Baron Pit.
What happens after Baron Nashor enters the Baron Pit?
Baron Nashor's entry contests the newly created Baron Pit and leads to a non-combat showdown there. The Baron Pit remains uncontrolled until that showdown closes.
Entry and Showdown Opening
The Baron Pit is created uncontrolled.
Baron Nashor enters it and contests it for his controller.
His entry causes a cleanup, which stages a showdown at the Baron Pit.
That showdown normally begins during the cleanup. If multiple showdowns are ready to begin, the turn player chooses which one begins.
The Baron Pit remains uncontrolled while the showdown is ongoing.
Closing and Conquest
The showdown closes after every player passes focus in sequence without playing a card or activating an ability. If Baron Nashor's controller is then the only player with units there, they establish control of the Baron Pit and conquer it if they have not scored it that turn.
Does the Baron Pit need to be scored to win by conquering?
Yes, when the potential winning point would come from conquering. At match point, a player gains the final point from a conquer only if they have scored every battlefield on the board that turn, including the Baron Pit. If they have not scored every battlefield, they draw a card instead.
Can a unit survive combat damage that becomes lethal when Baron Nashor dies in the same combat?
Yes, if the unit does not have lethal damage when the cleanup checks it while Baron Nashor's +2 might still applies. The cleanup checks all units for lethal damage only once, so a unit that becomes lethal after Baron Nashor leaves is not checked again during that cleanup.
Steps
Suppose Baron Nashor is assigned lethal combat damage and a friendly Evelynn, Entrancing is assigned 2 combat damage.
Lethal-damage check: Baron Nashor has lethal damage, while Evelynn's 2 marked damage is less than her current 4 might: 2 printed might plus Baron Nashor's +2. Of the two, only Baron Nashor has lethal damage during the check, so the cleanup kills him and not Evelynn.
Baron Nashor's passive ability stops applying when he leaves the board. Evelynn therefore returns to 2 might after the lethal-damage check has finished. Her 2 marked damage is now lethal. That cleanup does not check her again.
Combat healing: The combat special cleanup heals all units, clearing Evelynn's marked damage.
Baron Nashor's departure causes another cleanup. Evelynn has no marked damage when that cleanup checks for lethal damage, so she is not killed.
Can I play Baron Nashor while an opponent's Mageseeker Warden is at a battlefield?
Yes. You choose your base as Baron Nashor's play location because Mageseeker Warden makes it the only legal option.
If the Baron Pit is not on the board, Baron Nashor's "as you play me" instruction adds it and his replacement effect changes his entry from your chosen base to the Baron Pit.
If the Baron Pit is already on the board, Baron Nashor does not add it, so the conditional replacement does not apply and he enters your chosen base.
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Written by Christian “Near” Ivicevic.
Last updated on .