Abilities
Commonly asked questions about Abilities in Riftbound
When do I pay costs within instructions using "may"?
On resolution.
In rules text phrased as "[do X] to [do Y]," the [do X] part is considered a cost within instructions. These costs within instructions are not targets for the purposes of finalising an ability and are not paid during finalisation (CR 352.10, CR 352.10.c, CR 352.10.c.1). Therefore, opponents who react to this Triggered Ability will not know whether the controller will choose to pay the cost or not.
Example
Vayne, Hunter's "When I conquer, you may pay 1 to return me to my owner's hand." will trigger when you conquer, opening a moment of opportunity to react. On resolution of this ability, you can decline to pay the 1 cost, and the ability will resolve to no effect.
This reasoning also applies to spells and activated abilities that use the "[do X] to [do Y]" pattern.
For example, the spell Guards! reads "Play a 2 Might Sand Soldier unit token.
You may pay 
to ready it."
The cost to ready the token is paid on resolution of the spell.
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