Learn to Play

Glossary

Every word the course teaches, in one sentence each. Keywords are the words in brackets on the cards. Tap a lesson to see the word in action.

2-for-1: Spending one card to remove two of theirs, which leaves you a card ahead. Lesson: Card Advantage →
[Accelerate]: As you play the unit, you may pay 1 Energy and 1 Power of its Domain more, and it enters Ready instead of exhausted. Lesson: Fast Units →
[Action]: Lets a card also be played during Showdowns, on either player's turn. Lesson: Actions →
Activated ability: An ability you choose to use by paying its cost, written "cost: effect". Lesson: Activated Abilities →
[Add]: Put Energy or Power straight into your Rune Pool. Lesson: Extra Resources →
Additional cost: A cost you pay on top of a card's normal cost. Cards say "as an additional cost". Lesson: Extra Resources →
[Ambush]: You may play this unit as a [Reaction] to a battlefield where you already have units. Lesson: Responding on Their Turn →
[Assault]: +1 Might while the unit is attacking ([Assault 2] is +2). Lesson: Combat Keywords →
Attacker: A unit that moved into a battlefield to fight there. Lesson: Showdowns →
Awaken: The first step of your turn: ready everything you control. Lesson: The Turn →
[Backline]: This unit must be assigned combat damage last. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Ban list: Cards Riot doesn't allow in organized play. Lesson: Deckbuilding basics →
Banishment: A face-up place for cards removed in a hard-to-undo way. Lesson: Zones →
Base: Your safe zone on the board, where new units usually arrive. Lesson: The Goal →
Battlefield: A place you fight over for points. A duel has two, one chosen by each player. Lesson: The Goal →
Beginning Phase: Where "at the start of your turn" effects happen, then your Holds score. Lesson: The Turn →
Budget: The Energy and Power your runes can give you this turn. Count it before you play anything. Lesson: Spending a Whole Turn →
[Buff]: +1 Might that stays on a unit. A unit can have only one buff. Lesson: Playing Units →
[Burn]: Put the top cards of your Main Deck into your trash ([Burn 3] is three). Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Burn Out: Drawing from an empty deck: you shuffle your trash in as a new deck, your opponent gains a point, then you draw. Lesson: Burn Out →
Card advantage: Being ahead on cards: your opponent has lost more cards than you have spent. Lesson: Card Advantage →
Chain: The pile of spells and abilities waiting to happen. The newest one happens first. Lesson: The Chain →
Champion unit: A unit tagged with a champion's name. Your Chosen Champion is one. Lesson: Card Types →
Champion Zone: Where your Chosen Champion waits until you play it. Lesson: Zones →
Channel: Putting runes from your Rune Deck onto the board, ready to use. You channel 2 each turn. Lesson: Runes →
Chosen Champion: One champion unit that matches your Legend. It starts beside your Legend, so you can always play it. Lesson: The Goal →
Clock: How many turns a player needs to reach 8, counting their Holds and Conquers. Lesson: Racing →
Coach: A helper in the coached game that points out a clear mistake right after you make it. Lesson: Coached game →
Combat: A fight at a battlefield where both players have units: each side deals damage equal to its total Might. Lesson: Showdowns →
Conquer: Scoring a battlefield by taking control of it during a turn. Lesson: The Goal →
Contested: A battlefield someone has moved into without controlling it. Lesson: Moving →
Control: A battlefield is yours as long as you have units there. You lose it when your last unit there leaves. Lesson: Holding Ground →
Copy: One card of a name. A Main Deck may hold up to 3 copies of a name. Lesson: Deckbuilding basics →
Cost: The number in a card's top-left corner. You pay it to play the card. Lesson: Reading a Card →
Cost reduction: An effect that makes a card cost less, to a minimum of 0 or what the card says. Lesson: Extra Resources →
Counter: To cancel a spell while it waits on the Chain: it does nothing, and its cost stays paid. Lesson: Responding on Their Turn →
Damage: What a unit takes in a fight. When its damage reaches its Might, it dies; damage heals when the fight ends. Lesson: Damage →
[Deathknell]: "When I die": an effect that happens as this unit dies. Lesson: Triggers →
Defender: A unit that was already at the battlefield when the enemy moved in. Lesson: Showdowns →
[Deflect]: A spell or ability an opponent aims at this unit costs them 1 more Power of any Domain. Lesson: Combat Keywords →
Deny: Taking or emptying a battlefield before the opponent's turn starts, so they can't Hold it. Lesson: Counting to 8 →
[Deploy]: This gear is played to a battlefield (any one), stays there, and is killed when an opponent holds that battlefield. Lesson: Gear and [Equip] →
[Disarm]: When this unit attacks, an enemy unit there gets -1 Might this turn ([Disarm 2] is -2). Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Discard: Put a card from your hand into your trash. Lesson: Zones →
Domain: One of the six colours: Fury, Calm, Mind, Body, Chaos and Order. Every rune and card belongs to one or more. Lesson: Runes →
Domain identity: The two Domains on your Legend. Your deck can only use cards in them. Lesson: Your Legend and Chosen Champion →
Duel: A one-on-one game, the kind you play here. Lesson: Setting up →
[Empower]: Pay the cost to make this Empowered, if it isn't already. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
[Empowered]: A unit that's Empowered gets the bonus printed after [Empowered] on its card. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Ending Phase: End-of-turn effects, then damage heals and "this turn" effects wear off. Lesson: The Turn →
Energy: The plain number in a card's top corner. Tap any rune to add 1 Energy. Lesson: Runes →
[Equip]: Pay the cost to attach this gear to a unit you control. It only works on gear that isn't attached. Lesson: Gear and [Equip] →
Equipment: Gear with an [Equip] cost that attaches to a unit to help it. Lesson: Gear and [Equip] →
Exhaust: Turn a card sideways to show it's used up. It can't be exhausted again until it's readied. Lesson: Your Legend and Chosen Champion →
Exhaust cost: A cost written [Exhaust]: turn this card sideways. An already-exhausted card can't pay it. Lesson: Activated Abilities →
Exhausted: Turned sideways. A unit that just arrived or just moved is exhausted and can't move until it readies. Lesson: Playing Units →
First player: The player who takes the first turn. The other player channels an extra rune on their first turn. Lesson: Setting up →
Floating: Energy or Power you added but haven't spent yet. It is lost when the pool empties. Lesson: The Pool Empties →
[Flow]: You may play this spell from your trash for its Flow cost; then it's removed from the game. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Focus: In a Showdown, your turn to play an [Action] or [Reaction] card or pass. Whoever contested the battlefield gets it first. Lesson: Showdowns →
Friendly: On your side: your own units. Lesson: Playing Units →
[Ganking]: Lets a unit move from one battlefield straight to another, without going home first. Lesson: Battlefield to Battlefield →
Gear: A card you play to your base that stays on the board. Lesson: Card Types →
Gold: A token piece of gear. Kill it to add one Power of any Domain. Lesson: Tokens →
Graduate: Finish Learn to Play by winning, or reaching 6+ points in, a game with no help. Lesson: Graduation →
Hand: Cards you've drawn, which you play from. Only you can read them. Lesson: Zones →
[Hidden]: Pay 1 Power to hide this card face down at a battlefield you control; from the very next turn on (your opponent's), it's a [Reaction] you may play for free while that battlefield is yours. Lesson: Hidden →
Hold: Scoring a battlefield you still control at the start of your turn. Lesson: The Goal →
[Hunt]: When this unit conquers or holds, you gain 1 XP ([Hunt 3] is 3). Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Keyword: A word in [brackets] that names a longer rule. Each is explained in a later lesson. Lesson: Reading a Card →
Kill: Sending a unit straight to the trash, whatever its Might or damage. Lesson: Stun, Kill, Buffs →
Legend: The card beside the board all game: it sets your deck's two Domains, and most Legends have an ability you can use. Lesson: The Goal →
Legend ability: Text on your Legend that you can choose to use, like "[2], [Exhaust]: ...". The part before the colon is the cost. Lesson: Your Legend and Chosen Champion →
[Legion]: A bonus that works only if you've already played another card this turn. Lesson: Triggers →
[Level]: While you have the listed amount of XP or more, this card gets the effect. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Main Deck: Your face-down draw pile. Its order is secret. Lesson: Zones →
Main Phase: The part of your turn where you play cards, move and fight, in any order, until you end your turn. Lesson: The Turn →
Might: The number on a unit: how much damage it deals in a fight, and how much it takes to kill it. Lesson: Playing Units →
[Mighty]: A unit is Mighty while it has 5 or more Might. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Move: Sending a Ready unit from your base to a battlefield, or from a battlefield back to your base. Moving exhausts it. Lesson: Moving →
Mulligan: Once, before the first turn: set aside up to 2 cards from your hand, draw that many, then put the set-aside cards on the bottom of your Main Deck. Lesson: Setting up →
On curve: Spending all your runes on cards every turn: a 2-cost with 2 runes, a 4-cost with 4. Lesson: Your first turns →
Once per turn: Each battlefield can score you only one point per turn, however often it changes hands. Lesson: Once per Battlefield per Turn →
Open runes: The runes a player still has ready on a turn that isn't theirs: they show what they could still pay for. Lesson: Reading Open Runes →
Opening hand: The 4 cards you draw before the game starts. Lesson: Setting up →
Overcommit: Sending so many units into a fight that nothing is left to guard what they can still reach. Lesson: When to Fight, When to Hold →
Pass: Choosing to do nothing when it's your move. When both players pass in a row, the Showdown ends. Lesson: Showdowns →
Permanent: A unit or gear. It stays on the board after you play it. Lesson: Card Types →
Play around: Choosing a line that still wins if they have the card you fear: worth it only when they can really play it. Lesson: Reading Your Opponent →
Points: You score points from battlefields; the first player to 8 points wins. Lesson: The Goal →
Power: The coloured part of a cost, like 1 Fury. Recycle a rune to add 1 Power of its Domain. Lesson: Runes →
Power icon: A Domain's rune icon under a card's cost, like [Fury]. You pay that Power as well as the cost (recycle 1 Fury rune). Lesson: Reading a Card →
[Predict]: Look at the top card of your Main Deck. You may recycle it. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Priority: Your chance to respond to what's on the Chain before it resolves. Lesson: Reactions →
Private: Only you can look at it, like your hand. Lesson: Zones →
Public: Anyone can look at it, like the board and both trashes. Lesson: Zones →
Put them on a hand: Working out which cards your opponent could hold, from their Legend, the cards you've seen, how many they hold and their ready runes. Lesson: Reading Your Opponent →
[Quick-Draw]: This gear has Reaction, and when you play it, it attaches to a unit you control. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Racing: Ignoring their board and scoring, because you will reach 8 before they do. Lesson: Racing →
Rainbow [C]: Power of any Domain. In a cost any rune pays it; when a card adds it, it pays any Domain cost. Lesson: Power and Domains →
[Reaction]: Everything [Action] allows, plus playing the card while something is on the Chain. Lesson: Reactions →
Ready: Upright and able to act. Your cards ready at the start of each of your turns. Lesson: Playing Units →
Recruit: A token unit with 1 Might. Lesson: Tokens →
Recycle: Sending a rune from the board back into your Rune Deck to add 1 Power of its Domain. Lesson: Runes →
Reminder text: Words in (parentheses) that re-explain a rule. They never change it. Lesson: Reading a Card →
[Repeat]: Pay the extra cost to do the spell's effect a second time. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Resolve: When something on the Chain finally happens. Lesson: The Chain →
Rules text: The part of a card that says what it does. Lesson: Reading a Card →
Rune: A card from your separate 12-card Rune Deck. Runes make the Energy and Power you pay for cards with. Lesson: Runes →
Rune Deck: Your small separate deck of runes. Chapter 2 explains it. Lesson: Zones →
Rune Pool: Where the Energy and Power you add wait until you spend them. It empties at the start of each Main Phase and at the end of each turn. Lesson: Runes →
Score: Gaining a point from a battlefield, by a Conquer or a Hold. Lesson: Conquer and Hold →
Sequencing: The order you play your cards and moves in. The same cards can win or lose depending on it. Lesson: Sequencing →
[Shield]: +1 Might while the unit is defending ([Shield 2] is +2). Lesson: Combat Keywords →
[Show Off]: As you play the card, you may reveal a fitting card from your hand or pick one of yours on the board, for a bonus. Lesson: Show Off →
Showdown: A pause at a contested battlefield where the players take turns to play an [Action] or [Reaction] card, or pass. Lesson: Showdowns →
Signature card: A card tied to one champion. Allowed only if it matches your Legend, and at most 3 in a deck. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Spell: A card that does what its text says, then goes to your trash. It never stays on the board. Lesson: Card Types →
Starter deck: A ready-made legal deck for learning: here, Master Yi or Ahri. Lesson: Deckbuilding basics →
[Stun]: A Stunned unit deals no combat damage this turn, but still needs its full Might in damage to die. Lesson: Stun, Kill, Buffs →
Tag: An extra word on a card. It does nothing alone, but other cards can look for it. Lesson: Reading a Card →
[Tank]: In a fight, the damage dealt to this unit's side must give it lethal damage before its friends without [Tank]. Lesson: Combat Keywords →
Tap: Exhausting a card (turning it sideways) to use it, like tapping a rune for 1 Energy. Lesson: Runes →
Tapped out: Having every rune tapped: no Energy left, so nothing that costs Energy can be played until your next turn. Lesson: Reading Open Runes →
Tempo: Speed: spending your runes and cards now to score or take a battlefield before the other player can answer. Lesson: Tempo vs Value →
[Temporary]: The unit is killed at the start of its controller's next turn, before they score. Lesson: Stun, Kill, Buffs →
The Final Point: One point from winning, a Conquer gives the last point only if you've scored every battlefield this turn; otherwise you draw a card instead. A Hold has no such catch. Lesson: The Final Point →
This turn: A change that wears off at the end of the turn. Lesson: Stun, Kill, Buffs →
Threat: A unit or card that can hurt you on their turn, such as a unit that can reach a battlefield you hold. Lesson: When to Fight, When to Hold →
Token: A unit or gear made by a card's effect, not from a deck. Lesson: Card Types →
Trash: Your face-up pile of used spells, defeated units and discarded cards. Lesson: Zones →
Trigger: An ability that happens by itself when something happens ("When…", "At…"). It goes on the Chain like a spell. Lesson: Triggers →
Type line: The line that says what a card is, like Unit or Spell. Lesson: Reading a Card →
Uncontrolled: A battlefield nobody controls, like one where both sides were wiped out. Lesson: Ties, Wipes and Leftovers →
[Unique]: Your deck can have only 1 card with this name. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
Unit: A fighter. You play it to your base or to a battlefield you control. Lesson: Playing Units →
Value: Getting the most out of a card by keeping it (and your runes) ready for a better moment. Lesson: Tempo vs Value →
Victory Score: The points you need to win, with more than your opponent. In a duel it's 8. Lesson: The Final Point →
[Vision]: When you play this, look at the top card of your Main Deck. You may recycle it. Lesson: Keyword Reference →
[Weaponmaster]: When you play this unit, you may attach one of your Equipment to it for free. Lesson: Gear and [Equip] →
Zone: A place a card can be, like your hand or your trash. Lesson: Zones →