# Riftbound turn structure: every phase in order > A Riftbound turn has six phases: Awaken, Beginning, Channel, Draw, Main and Ending. You ready, hold battlefields, channel 2 runes, draw 1, play cards, then units heal. Riftbound rules explained by Runeweave: https://runeweave.com/rules/turn-structure Symbols in Riot's text: [M] Might, [A] one power of any domain, [C] one power of the card's own domain, [E] exhaust, [2] two energy. ## Explanation Every Riftbound turn has the same six phases, always in this order: Awaken, Beginning, Channel, Draw, Main and Ending. The first four make up the Start of Turn, a fixed set of tasks for the player whose turn it is. The Main Phase is where you decide what to do. The Ending Phase cleans up. In the Awaken Phase, you ready everything you control that can be readied, such as your units, gear and runes. The Beginning Phase has two steps. First, effects that happen at the start of your Beginning Phase take place, such as [Temporary](https://runeweave.com/keywords/temporary) killing its card or [Loose Cannon](https://runeweave.com/card/loose-cannon) drawing you a card. Then, in the scoring step, you hold every battlefield you control, and each one you hold scores a point. [Scoring](https://runeweave.com/rules/scoring) explains holding and conquering. In the Channel Phase, you channel 2 runes: the top 2 cards of your rune deck go onto the board, ready. If fewer than 2 are left, you channel as many as you can. In the Draw Phase, you draw 1 card. If your main deck is empty, you burn out: you recycle your trash into your main deck, choose an opponent to gain 1 point, and then draw. The Main Phase begins by emptying every player's rune pool, and then start-of-Main-Phase effects take place. After that it has no set order. You can play cards, activate abilities and move units as many times as you can pay for, in any order. Moving units can start a showdown or a [combat](https://runeweave.com/rules/combat), which plays out before you carry on. When you're done, you declare that you're ending your turn. [Timing](https://runeweave.com/rules/timing) covers who can play what, and when. The Ending Phase has two steps. In the ending step, end-of-turn effects take place. In the expiration step, all units heal, every "this turn" effect ends, and every rune pool empties. If any spell or ability goes on the chain during the expiration step, the step repeats. Then the next player in turn order starts their turn, unless someone has an extra turn queued. Some modes change the first turn. In 1v1 Duel and Match, the player going second channels 3 runes in their first Channel Phase. In Skirmish, War and Magma Chamber, the player going first doesn't draw in their first Draw Phase, and the player going last channels 3 runes in their first Channel Phase. [Game modes](https://runeweave.com/rules/game-modes) covers each mode. ## What the Core Rules say - **315.1.b** 1. The Turn Player readies all Game Objects they control that are able to be readied. - **315.2.a.1** At the start of Beginning Phase game effects take place. - **315.2.b.2** 1. The Turn Player Holds all Battlefields they Control. - **315.3.b** 1. The Turn Player channels 2 runes from their Rune Deck. - **315.4.b** 1. The Turn Player draws 1. - **316.5.a** A player may take any number of Discretionary Actions they are able to perform during this phase. - **167** Every player's Rune Pool empties at the start of each player's Main Phase and the end of each player's turn. - **317.1.a** At the end of this turn and at the end of turn Game Effects take place. - **317.2.b** Insert “3c. Heal all Units.” - **317.2.c** Insert “3d. All ‘this turn’ effects expire simultaneously.” - **487.7** First Turn Process: The player going second channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game. - **489.7** First Turn Process: The player going first does not draw a card during their first Draw Phase of the game. The player going last channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game. ## Common questions ### What are the phases of a turn in Riftbound? Six, in this order: Awaken, Beginning, Channel, Draw, Main and Ending. You ready your cards in the Awaken Phase, hold your battlefields in the Beginning Phase, channel 2 runes in the Channel Phase, draw 1 card in the Draw Phase, play cards and fight in the Main Phase, and heal units and end "this turn" effects in the Ending Phase. Source: Core Rules 315.1.b, 315.2.b.2, 315.3.b, 315.4.b, 316.5.a, 317.2.b, 317.2.c ### What happens in the Beginning Phase? Two steps, in order. First, effects that happen at the start of your Beginning Phase take place, such as [Temporary](https://runeweave.com/keywords/temporary) killing its card. Then, in the scoring step, you hold every battlefield you control, and each one you hold scores a point. Because the first step comes before scoring, your Temporary units are gone before you hold. Source: Core Rules 315.2.a.1, 315.2.b.2, 471.2, 816.1.b ### How many runes do you channel each turn in Riftbound? 2, in your Channel Phase. They come from the top of your rune deck and enter ready. If fewer than 2 are left, you channel as many as you can. In 1v1, the player going second channels 3 on their first turn. Source: Core Rules 315.3.b, 315.3.b.1, 431.2.a, 487.7 ### What happens when your main deck runs out? When you need to draw from an empty main deck, you burn out. You recycle your trash into your main deck in a random order, choose an opponent to gain 1 point, and then draw. If your trash is empty too, you keep burning out and giving points until an opponent wins. Having to [burn](https://runeweave.com/keywords/burn) more cards than your main deck holds makes you burn out as well. Source: Core Rules 315.4.b.1, 432.2.b, 432.2.c, 315.4.b.2, 432.3.a, 441.4 ### When do units heal in Riftbound? At two times: at the end of every player's turn, and in the cleanup right after combat damage in every combat. Each time, all units heal, not only the ones that fought. Otherwise, damage stays on a unit until a card heals it. Source: Core Rules 143.3.b.1, 143.3.b.2, 317.2.b, 468.1.a.1, 419.3.a ### Does unspent energy carry over to the next turn? No. Every player's rune pool empties at the start of each Main Phase and at the end of each turn, and any unspent energy and power are lost. Runes you didn't exhaust stay ready, though, so you can still use them later, including on an opponent's turn to pay for a [Reaction](https://runeweave.com/keywords/reaction). Source: Core Rules 167, 167.1, 164.2.a, 430.3 ### What can you do in the Main Phase? Anything you're able to do and can pay for, as often as you like and in any order: play units, gear and spells, activate abilities, and move units. Moving units can start a showdown or a combat, which plays out before you continue. The Main Phase ends when you declare that you're ending your turn. Source: Core Rules 316.5.a, 411.1.b, 316.6, 316.7.a, 316.9 ### When do "this turn" effects end? In the expiration step of the Ending Phase, after end-of-turn effects. All "this turn" effects end at the same time, together with units healing and rune pools emptying. If any spell or ability goes on the chain during that step, the step repeats, so a "this turn" effect created during it still ends this turn. Source: Core Rules 317.1.a, 317.2.c, 317.2.f; [Riftbound Core Rules: Unleashed Patch Notes](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/riftbound-core-rules-unleashed-patch-notes/), March 30, 2026 ### Do you draw a card on your first turn in Riftbound? In 1v1, yes. Both players draw in their first Draw Phase, and the player going second also channels 3 runes on their first turn instead of 2. In Skirmish, War and 2v2, the player going first skips their first draw, and the player going last channels 3 runes on their first turn. Source: Core Rules 315.4.b, 487.7, 488.7, 489.7, 490.7, 491.7 ### How do extra turns work in Riftbound? A card like [Time Warp](https://runeweave.com/card/time-warp), which says "Take a turn after this one," gives you an additional turn right after the current one. When it's over, play continues in the normal turn order; extra turns never change it. Each extra turn is inserted right after the current turn, so if several are created in one turn, the last one created is taken first. Source: Core Rules 735, 737, 738; [Riftbound Core Rules: Unleashed Patch Notes](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/riftbound-core-rules-unleashed-patch-notes/), March 30, 2026 ## Example: A third turn with Loose Cannon It's your third turn of a 1v1 game, and your legend is Jinx's [Loose Cannon](https://runeweave.com/card/loose-cannon). You control one battlefield, where the unit you moved there last turn is still exhausted. Awaken: you ready that unit and all your runes. Beginning: Loose Cannon goes first, and since you have only 1 card in hand, you draw 1. Then you hold your battlefield and score 1 point. Channel: you channel 2 more runes. Draw: you draw 1. Main: you exhaust 3 runes for 3 energy and play a unit that costs 3 energy to the battlefield you control. Ending: all units heal, "this turn" effects end, and your rune pool empties. Your opponent's turn begins with their Awaken Phase. ## Official rulings > This is secretly two changes in one: the first, is that we’re renaming the end of turn phase to the ending phase. The second, now that we have the machinery of HOT FEPR, is to make the expiration step properly loop. In Spiritforged we saw the first instance of a triggered ability triggering in the expiration step, and it produced some very unintuitive results: things like “this turn” effects applied in reaction to an expiration step trigger lasting until the next turn, and damage applied in the expiration step carrying over to the next turn. To avoid things getting even weirder going forward, the expiration step will now repeat if any items underwent the FEPR process during it. — [Riftbound Core Rules: Unleashed Patch Notes](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/riftbound-core-rules-unleashed-patch-notes/), March 30, 2026 **How does HOT FEPR actually work?** > HOT FEPR stands for Handle Outstanding Tasks; then Finalize, Execute, Pass, Resolve. Outstanding Tasks include the various procedures of the turn: things like readying all of your game objects on the board in the Awakening Phase, scoring battlefields in the Beginning Phase, drawing 1 in the Draw Phase, the steps of a cleanup, and the substeps of the Combat Phase, among other procedures. Each of these tasks is made outstanding when a player is expected to perform them, and a player must handle any outstanding tasks before proceeding to the next substep, step, phase, or turn. — [Unleashed Rules FAQ and Clarifications](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/unleashed-rules-faq-and-clarifications/), April 29, 2026 > CLARIFIED: When an additional turn is created, it is owned by the player instructed to take it and inserted directly after the current turn into the repeating queue of turns generated at the start of the game. … CLARIFIED: Turn order remains unaffected by any additional turns. — [Riftbound Core Rules: Unleashed Patch Notes](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/riftbound-core-rules-unleashed-patch-notes/), March 30, 2026 > When “at end of turn” appears on card text, it is used synonymously with “at the end of this turn.” — [Core Rules: Radiance Patch Notes (Effective October 16, 2026)](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/announcements/core-rules-radiance-patch-notes-effective-october-16-2026/), October 9, 2026 ## Sources - [Riftbound Core Rules](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/rules-hub/), October 9, 2026 - [Riftbound Core Rules: Unleashed Patch Notes](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/riftbound-core-rules-unleashed-patch-notes/), March 30, 2026 - [Unleashed Rules FAQ and Clarifications](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/rules-and-releases/unleashed-rules-faq-and-clarifications/), April 29, 2026 - [Core Rules: Radiance Patch Notes (Effective October 16, 2026)](https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/announcements/core-rules-radiance-patch-notes-effective-october-16-2026/), October 9, 2026 Checked against these sources on October 15, 2026.