Riftbound keyword
Ambush
Ambush is a Riftbound keyword on units: you may play the unit as a Reaction to a battlefield where you already have units, even in the middle of a combat.
15 cardsFirst seen in UnleashedCore Rules 822
Official text
On the cards
Ambush (You may play me as a Reaction to a battlefield where you have units.)
Core Rules
- 822.1
- Ambush is a Passive Ability keyword.
- 822.1.a
- It is normally present on Units.
- 822.1.b
- It is functionally short for "I may be played to a battlefield where you control Units" and “I have [Reaction] as long as I’m being played to a battlefield where you control Units.”
- 822.1.c
- It is a passive ability that adds options to locations that are valid for a Unit to be played to during the Make Relevant Choices step of Playing a Card
- 822.1.d
- Ambush can also appear as a verb on a card. In such a case, the verb is taken to mean “play with the permissions of the Ambush keyword.”
- 822.2
- Multiple instances of Ambush are redundant.
- 822.3
- If there are no units at the location chosen before Finalization completes for any reason, then it is no longer a valid location by Ambush’s reasoning and cannot be played there
Riftbound Core Rules, updated October 9, 2026
How Ambush works
What does Ambush do?
Two things. You may play the unit to a battlefield where you have units, not just to your base or a battlefield you control. And while you're playing it there, it has Reaction, so you can play it on any player's turn, during showdowns and in response to spells.
Core Rules 822.1.b, 355.2.a, 813.1.c.1Riftbound Core Rules: Unleashed Patch Notes
Can I Ambush to a battlefield where I don't have units?
Not with Ambush alone: one of your units has to be there already. A few cards widen it. Rengar, Trophy Hunter can Ambush to a battlefield with enemy units even if you have none there, and Stalking Wolf can Ambush to the battlefield of the Bird, Cat, Dog or Poro you killed to play it.
Core Rules 822.1.b, 822.1.dVendetta Errata Updates
Does the unit have Reaction if I play it to my base?
No. It only has Reaction while it's being played to a battlefield where you have units. Played to your base, it follows the normal timing for units: on your turn, with no showdown and nothing on the chain.
Core Rules 822.1.b, 813.4, 310.1.a
Can I Ambush a unit into a combat?
Yes, that's what it's for. If your units are fighting at a battlefield, you can play an Ambush unit there during the combat. In the next cleanup it becomes an attacker or defender like your other units there, and it adds its Might to their combat damage.
Core Rules 466.2.c.3.a, 467.2
Do attack triggers work on a unit I Ambush into my attack?
Yes. Attack triggers fire the first time a unit becomes an attacker in a combat, and a unit that joins your attack becomes an attacker in the next cleanup. So Vi, Peacekeeper Ambushed into your attack still stuns an enemy unit there.
Core Rules 383.4.e, 466.2.c.3.a
What if my units leave before the Ambush unit is played?
Then Ambush no longer lets you play it there. If you have no units at that battlefield by the time the unit finishes being played, the play is undone and the card goes back to your hand.
Core Rules 822.3, 813.4.b, 358.5
Does an Ambushed unit enter ready?
No. Like any unit, it enters exhausted. That doesn't stop it fighting: every attacker and defender at the battlefield deals combat damage, exhausted or not.
Core Rules 143.4, 467.2
Example: Vi joins the attack
You attack an enemy battlefield with a 3 Might unit, and your opponent defends with a 4 Might unit. During the combat's showdown, you play Vi, Peacekeeper there as a Reaction with Ambush. The next cleanup makes Vi an attacker, so Vi's attack ability stuns the defender, and a stunned unit deals no combat damage. Your 8 total Might kills the defender, and your units take no damage.
From Riftbound Core Rules
Official rulings
Riot's own words, from its rules articles.
The bot gank lives on in the Ambush keyword appearing on some units in Unleashed. Units with Ambush have two passive abilities: the first reads “I may be played to a battlefield where you control Units” while the second reads “I have Reaction as long as I’m being played to a battlefield where you control Units.”
NEW RULE: Conditional permissive abilities might only be fulfilled while the card or ability with them is on the chain. In such a case, it can still be played or activated at the appropriate timing as long as doing so could fulfill the conditions.
NEW RULE: If the chain item does not fulfill the conditions by the time “step 5: check legality” has been reached, the actions taken while playing or activating the chain item are undone and it is returned to the zone it was played from if it is a card.
Every Ambush card (15)
kw:ambush
