Abilities
Commonly asked questions about Abilities in Riftbound
When do triggered abilities trigger?
When their condition is met, triggered abilities go on the chain immediately, regardless of whose turn it is (CR 376.3, CR 376.3.a).
The Reaction keyword is not required for this to work on an opponent's turn. Unlike spells and activated abilities which require Reaction to be played outside your turn, triggered abilities are automatic and will trigger whenever their condition is met, on any player's turn.
Example
Blade Dancer triggers when you choose a friendly unit. This can happen on your opponent's turn, for example when you play a Reaction spell that targets one of your own units.
Can I react to triggered and activated abilities?
Yes, with one important exception: abilities that use the Add keyword.
All triggered and activated abilities are placed on the chain. However, abilities that add resources resolve immediately when finalized, which means players do not receive priority to react to them (CR 333.1.c, CR 416.2.a).
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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