Official Riftbound ruling
My opponent plays Elder Dragon and targets my two units at the two battlefields, as well as one of my units in base. If I play Flash in reaction, moving the two units at battlefields to base, will they be dealt damage?
They will not.
Elder Dragon’s play effect has a number of targeting restrictions equal to the number of locations on the board. Its controller chooses up to one enemy unit at each of those locations to target with the ability and each of those units must follow their respective targeting restriction. It is the equivalent to saying “Deal 1 to up to one enemy unit at battlefield A. Deal 1 to up to one enemy unit at battlefield B. Deal 1 to up to one enemy unit in your base. Deal 1 to up to one enemy unit in Opponent A’s Base. …” Each of those targeting restrictions is fulfilled separately for each unit targeted.
If you play Flash in reaction to the play effect of Elder Dragon, any units that are moved to a location other than the one where they were targeted will no longer fulfill the targeting restriction of the Elder Dragon play effect and will be unaffected by the ability as it resolves.
Riot's question and answer, word for word, from theUnleashed Rules FAQ and Clarifications
The cards
- Elder Dragon
Unit
Any amount of your damage is enough to kill enemy units.
When you play me, choose up to one enemy unit at each location. Deal 1 to them.
More rulings on these cards
- What happens if my opponent plays Flash on their Akali, Silent that’s currently in combat after I play Star-Crossed targeting her?
- What happens when I play Temporal Breach targeting my Elder Dragon in base and pay
Any Rune
Any Rune for Dragon Roost while playing Elder Dragon? Will it be played to base or to Dragon Roost?
- What happens when I play Hextech Ray on an Elder Dragon while Imperial Decree’s delayed trigger is active and I have an Immortal Phoenix in the Trash? Can I play Immortal Phoenix from the Trash?
- If I play Counter Strike in response to my opponent’s Elder Dragon’s play effect, will the chosen unit still die?
- I play Alpha Strike targeting my Master Yi, Unstoppable and splitting 12 damage among three of the four enemy units at battlefields. If my opponent plays Flash in reaction to my Alpha Strike, moving two of the targeted units to base, can they then play Repulse and counter my Alpha Strike?

