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Your first gameLesson 7 of 75 min read

Scoring points

Conquer and Hold, the once-per-battlefield-per-turn limit, and the special rule for the final point.

Before this: Moving to a battlefield

Scoring is gaining a point by seizing or keeping control of a battlefield.Rule 468. Scoring is the act of a Player gaining a point through the process of seizing or maintaining control over Battlefields. Open in the rules browser There are two ways to do it:

  • Conquer: you gain control of a battlefield you did not yet score this turn.Rule 469.1. Conquer: A player gains Control of a Battlefield they did not yet Score this turn. Open in the rules browser
  • Hold: during your Beginning Phase you keep control of a battlefield you did not yet score this turn.Rule 469.2. Hold: A player maintains Control of a Battlefield they did not yet Score this turn during their Beginning Phase. Open in the rules browser The Beginning Phase has a Scoring Step where that happens.Rule 315.2.b.2. 1. The Turn Player Holds all Battlefields they Control. See rule 467. Scoring for more information. Open in the rules browser

Either way, a battlefield scores you at most once per turn, from either method.Rule 470. A player may only Score, from either method, once per Battlefield per turn. Open in the rules browser Take a battlefield during your turn and it scores once for the Conquer; still control it when your next Beginning Phase comes round and it scores again for the Hold.

One point from victory, with a battlefield you have not scored this turn

Your turn, Main Phase.

Opponent: 5 points, 3 cards in hand, 0 Energy in the rune pool, 23 in the main deck, 3 in the rune deck, 8 in the trash, legend in the Legend Zone.

Opponent's Base: no units.

Battlefield Riverfork Crossing (uncontrolled): no units.

Battlefield Silent Shrine (controlled by opponent): opponent's Stone Sentinel, Might 3, ready, Tank.

You: 7 points, 2 cards in hand, 0 Energy in the rune pool, 22 in the main deck, 2 in the rune deck, 9 in the trash, legend in the Legend Zone.

Your Base: your Kindling Volunteer, Might 2, ready.

Callout 1: Uncontrolled. Conquering here would be your eighth point, and the Final Point rule above is the one that decides what happens next.

Callout 2: Held by your opponent, and unscored by you this turn.

One point from victory, with a battlefield you have not scored this turn

Card names in this diagram are RiftBounce teaching samples, not official Riftbound cards.

  1. 1Uncontrolled. Conquering here would be your eighth point, and the Final Point rule above is the one that decides what happens next.
  2. 2Held by your opponent, and unscored by you this turn.

The final point

The point that wins the game Rule 471.1.a. The Final Point has additional restrictions. Open in the rules browser, and they land on Conquer alone. They apply once your point total is one point from the Victory Score or beyond it (rule 471.1.b.). From there, a Conquer gives you the point only if you have scored every battlefield this turn; if you have not, you draw a card instead.Rule 471.1.b.1. If the player has Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player Gains the Final Point. If the player has not Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player draws a card instead. Open in the rules browser Points from anything that is not a Conquer, such as a Hold or a card that hands you one, are not restricted this way.Rule 471.1.a.1. Notably, points Gained from sources that are not Conquer are not beholden to these restrictions. Open in the rules browser

The win itself is settled in a cleanup that finds you with points greater than or equal to the Victory Score and more points than any other player.Rule 472. When a cleanup occurs and a player has accrued Points greater than or equal to the Victory Score for their Mode of Play, and if they have more points than any opponent, they Win the Game. Open in the rules browser That threshold, the Victory Score, is 8 by default.Rule 194.3. The Victory Score is 8 points by default. Open in the rules browser

Rules cited in this lesson

  1. Rule 468. Scoring is the act of a Player gaining a point through the process of seizing or maintaining control over Battlefields.
  2. Rule 469.1. Conquer: A player gains Control of a Battlefield they did not yet Score this turn.
  3. Rule 469.2. Hold: A player maintains Control of a Battlefield they did not yet Score this turn during their Beginning Phase.
  4. Rule 315.2.b.2. 1. The Turn Player Holds all Battlefields they Control. See rule 467. Scoring for more information.
  5. Rule 470. A player may only Score, from either method, once per Battlefield per turn.
  6. Rule 471.1.a. The Final Point has additional restrictions.
  7. Rule 471.1.b. When a player tries to Gain a Point through a Conquer, and their current Point Total is 1 point from the Victory Score of the Mode of Play or higher, the following occurs:
  8. Rule 471.1.b.1. If the player has Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player Gains the Final Point. If the player has not Scored every Battlefield this turn, that player draws a card instead.
  9. Rule 471.1.a.1. Notably, points Gained from sources that are not Conquer are not beholden to these restrictions.
  10. Rule 472. When a cleanup occurs and a player has accrued Points greater than or equal to the Victory Score for their Mode of Play, and if they have more points than any opponent, they Win the Game.
  11. Rule 194.3. The Victory Score is 8 points by default.