Riftbound keyword
Deflect
Deflect is a Riftbound keyword: each time an opponent's spell or ability chooses a card with Deflect, they must pay one extra power of any domain (two for Deflect 2).
53 cardsFirst seen in OriginsCore Rules 809
Official text
On the cards
Deflect (Opponents must pay 
Any Rune to choose me with a spell or ability.)
Deflect 2 (Opponents must pay Any RuneAny Rune to choose me with a spell or ability.)
Core Rules
- 809.1.b
- It is formatted as "Deflect [X]".
- 809.1.b.2
- The X is referred to as the Deflect Value.
- 809.1.b.3
- If X is omitted, it is presumed to be 1.
- 809.1.c
- It is functionally short for "Spells and abilities an opponent controls that target [me/this] cost an amount of Power equal to [Deflect Value] more to play as an additional cost for each time they choose [me/this]."
- 809.1.c.1
- The Power used to pay this cost may always be of any Domain.
- 809.1.d
- It is an effect that imposes a Mandatory Additional Cost on Spells and Abilities that choose the Game Object that has this ability.
- 809.2
- If a Game Object has Deflect, or has been granted Deflect, and is granted Deflect by an additional source, the Deflect Value of all granted Deflect keywords is summed.
Riftbound Core Rules, updated October 9, 2026
How Deflect works
Does Deflect affect my own spells?
No. Only spells and abilities your opponents control pay for Deflect, so you can choose your own Deflect cards for free.
Core Rules 809.1.c
What do I pay the Deflect cost with?
Power of any domain, whatever the domain of your spell or of the card you're choosing. Deflect 2 costs two power, Deflect 3 three, and plain Deflect is Deflect 1.
Core Rules 809.1.b.3, 809.1.c.1
What if I choose the same Deflect card more than once?
You pay each time. A spell that chooses a Deflect unit twice costs two extra power. Riot changed the rule to work this way in the Spiritforged FAQ (January 2026).
Core Rules 809.1.cRiftbound Spiritforged FAQ
Does Deflect stack?
Yes. When a card with Deflect gets Deflect from another source, the values add up, so Deflect plus Deflect is Deflect 2. Spirit's Refuge avoids this by only giving Deflect to units that don't already have it.
Core Rules 809.2
Can I choose not to pay?
Not for a spell or an activated ability. Deflect is a mandatory additional cost, so you can't play them without paying it. Discounts on optional costs, like Ezreal, Prodigy's, don't reduce it.
Core Rules 356.2.a.2, 809.1.dRiftbound Spiritforged FAQ
What about triggered abilities?
A triggered ability chooses its targets when it triggers. If it would choose a Deflect card, you may refuse to pay, and then the ability doesn't happen.
Core Rules 355.5.bRiftbound Core Rules: Patch Notes
Does Deflect protect against effects that hit everything?
No. Deflect only taxes spells and abilities that choose it. An effect like "kill all gear" applies to every card that matches without choosing any of them.
Core Rules 355.5.a
Do I still pay Deflect when I play a spell ignoring its cost?
Yes. Ignoring a card's cost only sets its base energy and power costs to zero. Deflect is an additional cost added on top, so you still pay it.
Core Rules 356.1.b.1, 356.1.b.3
Can anything ignore Deflect?
Yes. Decree of Insight ignores Deflect while paying its own cost, and at Heisho, Shell of the World players ignore Deflect for spells and abilities that choose something there. Ignoring Deflect only applies to that one spell or ability.
Core Rules 766, 767Vendetta Rules FAQ and Clarifications
Example: Icathian Rain into Irelia
Your opponent controls Irelia, Fervent, who has Deflect. You play Icathian Rain, which deals 2 to a unit six times, and choose Irelia for five of them. You pay Icathian Rain's cost plus five power of any domain, one for each time you chose her. But if one of your six choices is a unit at Heisho, Shell of the World, you ignore Deflect and pay nothing extra.
From Riftbound Spiritforged FAQVendetta Rules FAQ and Clarifications
Official rulings
Riot's own words, from its rules articles.
Players can now refuse Deflect costs incurred by triggered abilities. This will result in the triggered ability failing to finalize on the chain.
We’ve realized that our design team and rules team weren’t in agreement about how Deflect was supposed to work. In the rules, a target’s Deflect cost was paid once for each spell or ability. In the design team’s playtesting, it was paid once for each time that target was chosen. … we want the cards to play as the design team intended.
What about Deflect costs? Aren’t those optional now?
No, Ezreal won’t help with Deflect costs, and Deflect is not optional. Deflect is a mandatory additional cost, meaning you must pay it if you want to finalize a spell or ability that chooses something with Deflect. It’s true that you can choose not to pay Deflect costs for triggered abilities by choosing not to finalize them, but that doesn’t make it an optional cost.
If I play Turn to Dust on an attached Equipment, will the Equipment die in the Beginning Phase?
Attached Equipment only have their printed rules text made inactive per rules 718.2. and 135.4. This means that any granted rules text will still be active; granted Temporary will trigger and kill attached Equipment and granted Deflect will add
Any Rune to the cost of enemy spells and abilities that target them.What happens when I play Icathian Rain choosing a Recruit at Heisho, Shell of the World once and Irelia, Fervent in base five times? How many times do I pay for deflect?
You will not pay for deflect. While your spell or ability chooses a unit at Heisho, Shell of the World, you ignore deflect while paying for the spell. … This only applies to the specified spell or ability.
Every Deflect card (53)
kw:deflectCards with Deflect · 29
Cards that give or gain Deflect · 22
Cards that ignore Deflect · 2
