Temporal Breach
Unofficial Riftbound rulings for Temporal Breach, with rules explanations, examples, and Core Rules citations.
When I play Temporal Breach from Hidden, can it banish a unit at a different battlefield?
No. "Banish a unit" targets the mentioned unit, and when you play Temporal Breach from Hidden, you must choose its targets from the battlefield where it was hidden. A unit at another battlefield or a base is therefore not a legal target.
If you play Temporal Breach normally, the Hidden restriction does not apply. You may target an otherwise legal unit at any battlefield or base.
Does a unit keep temporary modifications or statuses when Temporal Breach banishes it and its owner plays it again?
No. Moving from the board to banishment makes the unit a new game object and clears its temporary modifications and statuses. For example, Stupefy's might reduction no longer applies, and the unit is no longer Empowered.
What happens to equipment attached to a unit banished by Temporal Breach?
The equipment detaches at the unit's previous location and does not reattach when the unit is played again. Moving the unit from the board to banishment detaches its attached cards at that last location. The unit entering the board is a new game object, and Temporal Breach does not instruct the equipment to attach again.
Detached equipment at a battlefield is recalled to its controller's base during the next cleanup. Detached equipment at a base its controller does not control is recalled to its controller's base during cleanup. Equipment already at its controller's base remains there.
Can Temporal Breach cause a unit's attack or defend ability to trigger again during the same combat?
Yes, if the unit enters the battlefield where combat is occurring and its attack or defend condition is otherwise fulfilled. The unit entering the battlefield is a new game object, so its attack or defend condition has not been checked during that combat. During the cleanup after it re-enters, it gains the same attacker or defender designation as its controller. Gaining that designation checks the corresponding attack or defend trigger.
Example
Ahri, Inquisitive's "When I attack or defend" ability triggers when she first gains the defender designation. If Temporal Breach then banishes her and her owner plays her again at that battlefield, the new Ahri object gains the designation during cleanup and can trigger the ability again.
Does Ravenbloom Conservatory trigger again if Temporal Breach banishes my only defending unit and I play it again?
No. "You" in Ravenbloom Conservatory's ability means its controller, so if you control Ravenbloom Conservatory, it checks its "When you defend here" condition when you gain the defender designation as combat opens. That defend condition is checked only once per combat.
The unit becomes a new game object, but Ravenbloom Conservatory does not. As the defending player, you keep the defender designation until combat ends, so the unit's return does not cause you to gain it again.
What happens if Temporal Breach banishes a token unit?
The token ceases to exist in banishment, so its owner cannot play it again. Tokens can exist only on the board or the chain and cease to exist immediately after entering another non-board zone.
Can I pay optional additional costs, like Accelerate, when playing a unit banished by Temporal Breach?
Yes. Playing the unit "ignoring its cost" sets only its base energy and power costs to zero. Additional costs apply afterward and can raise the total cost above zero. As the unit's owner, you may therefore choose and pay an optional additional cost during finalization. For example, Accelerate remains available because it is an optional additional cost paid while playing the unit.
What happens if a unit's owner can't pay a mandatory additional cost when Temporal Breach instructs them to play it?
The attempted play is cancelled, and the unit returns to its owner's banishment. Temporal Breach sets only the unit's base energy and power costs to zero, so mandatory additional costs must still be paid. If the owner cannot pay one, the play fails its cost check. The play is then cancelled and its actions are undone, returning the unit from the chain to its owner's banishment without undoing Temporal Breach's earlier, completed instruction.
Example
If Temporal Breach banishes Cruel Patron and its owner has no other friendly unit, they can't pay Cruel Patron's mandatory additional cost to kill a friendly unit. Cruel Patron cannot finish finalizing and returns to its owner's banishment.
If the unit banished by Temporal Breach has Hidden, can its owner hide it instead of playing it?
No. Hide is a separate action, not a way to play a card. Playing puts the unit on the chain for finalization, while hiding would put it facedown at a battlefield. The unit is also in banishment, but Hidden permits hiding only from hand or the champion zone.
Can Temporal Breach make me conquer the same battlefield again on my opponent's turn?
No. You retain control of the battlefield while Temporal Breach banishes your only unit there and that unit is played again, so you do not conquer it again. The unit remains pending on the chain through cleanup, so you do not lose and regain control of the battlefield. Cleanup can remove your control of an empty battlefield only when no chain exists.
Resolution Sequence
Banishment leaves you with no units at the battlefield and incurs a cleanup, but that cleanup waits for Temporal Breach to finish resolving.
The unit's owner begins playing it by moving it to the chain, where it remains pending while Temporal Breach finishes resolving.
The pending unit remains on the chain throughout the cleanup, so you retain control.
The unit then finalizes and enters the same battlefield under its owner's control.
Can Rockfall Path or Brynhir Thundersong stop the unit from being played after Temporal Breach banishes it?
The unit remains banished if either effect prevents its owner from playing it. Temporal Breach still resolves, but the applicable effect prevents the instructed play. The earlier banish instruction remains completed. The unit remains banished because Rockfall Path prevents its owner from playing it back to that location. If Brynhir Thundersong's play effect has resolved and prevents the unit's owner from playing cards, the unit remains banished.
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Written by Christian “Near” Ivicevic.
Last updated on .