Page last updated: 15 May 2026.See every keyword with pictured card examples on RiftboundSymbols.com.
For a deeper explanation of the three new Unleashed mechanics see the Riftbound Unleashed Mechanics Guide.
Riftbound Keywords Explained
A plain English guide to every keyword ability in Riftbound and what each one means.
Accelerate: A unit with Accelerate enters the board ready instead of exhausted. Normally units come into play turned sideways and cannot act until your next turn. Accelerate lets them act straight away.
Assault: Assault gives a unit bonus Might while it is attacking. The bonus only applies when attacking, not when defending. Multiple sources of Assault stack together.
Ambush: Units with Ambush can be played as a Reaction to a Battlefield where you already have units present. This lets you deploy a unit mid-action during your opponent’s turn, rather than waiting for your own.
Backline: A unit with Backline must be assigned lethal combat damage last, after every other friendly unit without Backline has been assigned lethal damage first.
Deathknell: When a unit with Deathknell is destroyed, its Deathknell ability triggers. Dying activates a final effect, sometimes making it worth letting your own unit be killed on purpose.
Deflect: A unit with Deflect makes it more expensive for your opponent to target it with spells and abilities. They must pay additional Power to choose it as a target.
Echo: Echo appears on spells in the Spiritforged set. Pay the listed additional cost when you play the spell and its effect happens twice instead of once.
Equip: Equip appears on Equipment cards, which are a new type of Gear in Spiritforged. Pay the listed cost to attach the Equipment to a unit you control. Once attached it grants that unit Might bonuses and additional abilities.
Ganking: A unit with Ganking can move directly from one Battlefield to another. Normally units can only move between your Base and a Battlefield. Ganking lets them join a fight already in progress elsewhere.
Hunt: Units with Hunt earn XP when they conquer or hold a Battlefield. Hunt rewards you for pushing forward and maintaining control rather than sitting back.
Hidden: Hidden lets you play a card face down at a Battlefield you control on your turn. You then reveal it during a later turn and play it for free. There can only be one hidden card per Battlefield at a time. Hiding a card does not count as playing a card and does not start a chain, so your opponent cannot react when you hide it. When the hidden card is later revealed and played it gains the Reaction keyword, and that does count as playing a card. If you lose control of the Battlefield where you have a hidden card, that card goes to the Trash.
Legion: Legion triggers an effect if you have already played another Main Deck card this turn. Playing cards in sequence to activate Legion abilities is one of the core rhythms of Riftbound.
Domain matters here. See our Domains Explained guide if you haven’t chosen your colour yet.
Level: is a keyword that appears with a number i.e. Level 3. Once your total XP reaches that number, the Level ability activates and stays active as long as your XP remains at or above that threshold. Level abilities do not cost XP; they are passive unlocks triggered by your XP total.
Mighty: A unit is Mighty when its Might is 5 or greater. This can be its printed Might or its Might after Buffs are applied. Some cards reward you for having Mighty units on the board.
Predict: Predict lets you look at one or more cards from the top of your main deck, recycle any you do not want, and put the rest back on top in any order you choose.
Quick-Draw: Quick-Draw appears on Equipment cards in Spiritforged. You may play a Quick-Draw Equipment as a Reaction. If you do, it attaches to a unit you control immediately when it enters the board.
Shield: A unit with Shield has additional Might while it is defending. This bonus only applies when the unit is on the defending side of a combat.
Tank: A unit with Tank takes combat damage first. Your opponent must assign damage to your Tank unit before they can assign damage to any of your other units. It acts as a wall protecting everything behind it.
Tank only comes into play during combat. If you’re not sure how damage assignment works, the Combat Guide explains the full sequence.
Temporary: A unit with Temporary is killed at the start of your Beginning phase, before you score points that turn. It is a short-term threat that hits hard but does not stick around.
Unique: You may only include a single copy of a card with Unique in your deck, regardless of the normal three-copy limit.
Vision: When you play a card with Vision, you look at the top card of your Main Deck. You may then recycle it, sending it to the bottom of your deck.
Weaponmaster: Weaponmaster appears on units in Spiritforged. When you play a unit with Weaponmaster, you may choose any Equipment you control and attach it to that unit by paying the Equipment’s Equip cost reduced by one Power. This works even if the Equipment is already attached to another unit.
XP: XP is a resource that accumulates on a unit throughout the game and also tracks its level. Cards with XP abilities unlock new effects when the unit reaches certain thresholds. Unlike Energy or Power, XP carries between turns and is not lost at the end of your turn.
Other Game Terms
Buff: Buffing a unit means giving it a Buff token, which adds +1 Might. A unit can only hold one Buff token at a time. Further Buffs are ignored unless the existing one is spent first. Some cards let you spend a Buff on any of your units to trigger an effect.