Riftbound keyword
Empowered
Empowered is a Riftbound keyword: the ability after it only works while the card is Empowered, a status it keeps until it leaves the board or is disempowered.
42 cardsFirst seen in VendettaCore Rules 828
Official text
On the cards
Empowered I have +2 
Might.
Empowered I have Assault 2. (+2 Might while I'm an attacker.)
Core Rules
- 828.1
- Empowered is a Dependent Keyword.
- 828.1.a
- It is formatted as “[Empowered][>] [Text].”
- 828.1.b.1
- It is functionally short for “While I have the Empowered status, this card gains ‘[Text]’.”
- 828.1.c
- As long as the Game Object has the Empowered status, then the Dependent Ability will be active.
- 828.1.d
- If the Dependent Ability is a Triggered Ability whose condition is “When I become Empowered,” or a permutation thereof, it will be active and trigger when its source becomes Empowered.
- 442.1.a
- Empowered is a binary state. A Game Object is Empowered or it isn’t.
- 442.2
- “Empowered” is a state for Game Objects on the board that other game effects and abilities can reference.
Riftbound Core Rules, updated October 9, 2026
How Empowered works
What does Empowered do?
On its own, nothing: it's a status that other text checks. A line that starts with Empowered only works while its card is Empowered, and many cards also say "if I'm Empowered" to get a stronger effect.
Core Rules 828.1.b.1, 828.1.c, 442.2Core Rules: Vendetta Patch Notes
How does a card become Empowered?
Usually by paying its Empower cost. Some effects empower cards directly, like Sanction, which can empower a unit until the end of the turn.
Core Rules 827.2, 442.1
How long does Empowered last?
Until the card leaves the board or is disempowered. It doesn't end with the turn. If the card leaves the board and comes back, it starts out not Empowered.
Core Rules 124.1, 443.1Core Rules: Vendetta Patch Notes
Do "when I become Empowered" abilities trigger?
Yes. Becoming Empowered is an event that triggers abilities like Kharox's, and even an Empowered ability that starts "when I become Empowered" triggers at that moment.
Core Rules 442.2.a, 828.1.d
Can my opponent take Empowered away?
Yes, by disempowering the card, which switches its Empowered abilities off. Lacerate disempowers a unit, and Tomb-Raider Barbara can disempower an enemy gear.
Core Rules 443.1, 828.1.c
Is Empowered copied by copy effects?
No. Empowered is a status, not part of a card's printed traits, so a unit that becomes a copy of an Empowered unit isn't Empowered.
Core Rules 124.2Vendetta Rules FAQ and Clarifications
Can a card be Empowered more than once?
Only Kayle, Justified, who can be Empowered up to three times. For every other card it's on or off. Disempowering Kayle removes one of her Empowered statuses, not all three.
Core Rules 442.1.a, 442.1.c.1, 443.1.bVendetta Rules FAQ and Clarifications
Does an Empowered ability exist while the card isn't Empowered?
Yes, for other cards to see and copy, but it does nothing until the card is Empowered.
Core Rules 727.1.b, 727.1.b.1Vendetta Rules FAQ and Clarifications
Example: Lacerate on an Empowered Solari Sunhawk
Your opponent's Solari Sunhawk is Empowered, so it has 4 Might and Deflect 2. You play Lacerate on it and pay two extra power of any domain for Deflect 2. Lacerate disempowers it, so it drops back to 3 Might and loses Deflect, and then kills it, because it now has 3 Might or less.
From Riftbound Core Rules
Official rulings
Riot's own words, from its rules articles.
Empowered is a status that lasts indefinitely until the card leaves the board or is disempowered. The empowered status does nothing on its own, but can be referenced by other effects.
What happens if I choose to copy an empowered unit when I equip an unempowered unit with Shady Spectacles?
Being empowered is a status and is not copyable, thus the equipped unit will remain unempowered.
If I disempower a Kayle, Justified who has been empowered 3 times, does she lose all of her empowered statuses?
No. She will lose one of her empowered statuses. For every Riftbound card other than Kayle, empowered is a binary status. They are either empowered or not.
Can I activate an empowered Heimerdinger, Inventor to ready 2 gear if my Jayce, Defender of Tomorrow legend isn’t empowered? What about if my Heimerdinger isn’t empowered?
You can activate Heimerdinger’s ability if he is empowered, regardless of the empowered status of Jayce, Defender of Tomorrow. … Second is that a dependent keyword’s dependent ability still exists and can be referenced while it is inactive—that is, if its condition isn’t met.
Every Empowered card (42)
kw:empoweredCards with Empowered abilities · 28
Cards that check or change Empowered · 14
