Empower
Unofficial answers about the Empower mechanic in Riftbound, with examples and Core Rules citations.
Can opponents react to an Empower ability?
Yes. Empower is an activated ability keyword, and activated abilities use the chain. After the ability is finalized and no other cards or abilities are waiting to finalize, opponents have an opportunity to play Reactions before it resolves.
When can I activate an Empower ability?
By default, you can activate an Empower ability whose source you control only while its source is not Empowered and during your own Main Phase when you have priority and no showdown, combat, or chain is in progress. These timing rules apply because Empower is an activated ability.
If the source has or gains permission to be empowered multiple times, it ignores Empower's normal restriction against activating while already Empowered. An Empower ability may also include text that changes its timing. If it has or gains Action, you may activate it during showdowns on any player's turn, but not while a chain exists. If it has Reaction, it gains all of Action's permissions and may also be activated during closed states on any player's turn.
Does a "When I become Empowered" ability trigger if the unit leaves the board before its Empower ability resolves?
No. If the unit leaves the board before its Empower ability resolves, it does not become Empowered, so its "When I become Empowered" ability does not trigger.
Removing the unit does not counter its already-finalized Empower ability, so that ability remains on the chain.
Example
You activate Mel, Defiant Soul's Empower ability and discard a spell to pay its cost. Your opponent responds with Star-Crossed, returning Mel and one of their own units, each to its owner's hand. Star-Crossed resolves first, so Mel leaves the board while her Empower ability remains on the chain. Mel's Empower ability then resolves, but Mel cannot become Empowered while she is off the board, so her banish ability does not trigger.
When the Empower ability resolves, it tries to empower the unit whose ability was activated. Only a game object on the board can become Empowered. While the original unit is off the board, it cannot become Empowered or evaluate its triggered ability's condition.
If the card returns from a non-board zone before the Empower ability resolves, the returned card is a new object rather than the original unit.
Can a unit or gear without an Empower or Empowered ability become Empowered?
Yes, if a game effect instructs you to empower it. A unit or gear does not need a printed Empower or Empowered ability because the Empowered state can apply to any game object on the board.
Example
Sanction can empower an unempowered legal unit and Hextech Formula can empower another gear; neither object needs a printed reference to Empower or Empowered.
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Written by Christian “Near” Ivicevic.
Last updated on .