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The second burn buys Anivia's life, not a kill, and Level 11 only hides her for a turn

Issue #358 (a slice of #200), 2026-10-14. Constructed, Duel (485). Rules version 2026-07-16. Card text verbatim from data/corpus_flat.txt; rules pasted from data/Riftbound-Core-Rules-2026-07-16.txt. Read the unopposed clock for the baseline this is measured against.

Subject: anivia-svellsongur-double-burn, the Calm/Body ENGINE in which SFD-059 Svellsongur copies OGN-148 Anivia, Primal's "When I attack, deal 3 to all enemy units here", so one attack sweeps the battlefield for 6, and UNL-191 Wuju Master's Level 11 lets her attack the turn she lands. Walked as a game going first, the sweep came on T5 and killed a seven-body garrison. The first sweep and her own 9 Might would have killed all seven anyway. What the second sweep bought was that no defender was left for the damage step, so she lived and conquered. Level 11 was live on T5, but it did not make the attack earlier. Landed on T4 without it, she is ready on T5 too. What it bought is that she was never on the board during their turn. The entry prices the line at 9 Energy and 2 Power, and its own addends make 11 and 4. The cheapest break needs no card: a body kept in base on their T2 trades into the Hunt bodies on their T3, and Level 11 misses T5. The cheapest answer to Anivia herself is one rune: OGN-213 Hidden Blade hidden at the battlefield she attacks kills her with both sweeps on the chain, and the sweeps then have no "here".

Why this line. scripts/sequence-pick.mjs --unplayed, re-run on 2026-10-14 at 1f72233, reads 773 entries, 262 with forced-ordering language, 102 in the queue and 33 of them with no play, unchanged from the issue. The pick is by global rank, skipping entries that already have a play: this entry is rank 71 (a hit on before), second in the list. The other entry of this slice is rank 70, OGN-027 Darius, Trifarian with UNL-184 Thrill of the Hunt, played in Darius is an eight only where they attack, and his ready pays on your turn. The same legend's XP faucet is walked in The Gardens buy Level 6 a turn early, and a ready attacker on their T2 takes them first, which quotes the Level rules this play relies on.

1. Needs

LegendUNL-191 Wuju Master (Calm/Body)
The payoffOGN-148 Anivia, Primal (Body, E7 + 2 Power, M8)
The copierSFD-059 Svellsongur (Calm Equipment, E3 + 1 Power, M+0, [Equip] 1 Energy + 1 Calm Power)
The XPUNL-109 Blood Rose (Body, E1), UNL-094 Gemhand Hunter (Body, E2, M2), UNL-040 Wuju Apprentice (Calm, E2, M2), UNL-092 Demacian Diplomat (Body, E2, M2), and the Chosen Champion UNL-113 Master Yi, Tempered (Body, E4, M4)

None of these cards is Signature (data/cards.json), and none is in data/legality.src.json. The Chosen Champion starts the game in the Champion Zone, 103.2.a.1: "This will be placed in the Champion Zone at the start of the game." And 108.3.d: "The Chosen Champion can be played from here as normal, following the rules of Playing a Card." So Master Yi is in every game.

The card text the play turns on:

2. What two sweeps are, and what they cost

The copy is a second trigger on Anivia. 725.1: "If an Attached card has a Passive or Replacement ability that applies during the process of Attaching or a Triggered ability that triggers off of Attaching, that text exists and can be processed as it Attaches." Then 434.1.c: "The Top-Most card has all Effect Text of all cards Attached to it appended to its Rules Text." Anivia carries the sentence twice, and the "I" in the copy is her. The count stands on R6 = A (ruled on issue #11). Her sentence has no "each turn" cap, so the open question OQ-SVELL-CAP does not reach it.

Each copy fires once per combat, and only into a garrison. 383.4.e.2.a: "These triggers will only have their condition checked once per combat, despite a Unit being able to gain and lose the Attacker designation multiple times in the same combat." A combat needs units of both players, 323.9: "7. Mark a Combat as Staged at each Battlefield that Contested was applied to that have Units present controlled by opposing players." Walked into an empty battlefield she conquers it and deals nothing.

Six to everything ends the combat before the damage step. 465.1: "If both Attacking and Defending units remain at this battlefield, the following Tasks become Outstanding, in the specified order:" With no defender left, nobody deals her combat damage. 466.5.d: "Establishing Control results in a Conquer if that player has not yet scored this Battlefield this turn." One sweep of 3 marks damage that stays for the damage step. 142.4.b: "Lethal Damage for a Unit is a non-zero amount greater than or equal to that Unit’s Might." So a survivor of Might m needs only m − 3 more from her, but it still deals its full Might to her.

"Here" is read when each sweep resolves. 359.3.f.2: "Information referenced in an instruction in this way will be checked on execution of the instruction." Its worked example is an attack trigger whose unit was sent to base in response: "When the attack trigger resolves, “here” is no longer the battlefield where combat is ongoing and the attack trigger mistargets." §5 uses this.

The price is 11 Energy and 4 Power. Anivia is E7 + 2 Body Power, Svellsongur E3 + 1 Calm, its Equip E1 + 1 Calm. A rune pays Energy by exhausting and Power by being recycled. 164.2.b: "Recycle this: [Reaction] — Add [C]." A rune exhausted for Energy can still be recycled the same turn, which takes it off the board. 416.1: "Recycling cards is the action in which a player takes one or more cards from a specific zone and then puts it on the bottom of the corresponding deck." Going first, you have 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 runes on T1 to T5, less every rune recycled before.

So T5 is the first turn of the attack, Level 11 or not. Svellsongur has to be on the board before its Equip, and its Calm Power costs one rune. That leaves 7 runes on T4, and Anivia plus the Equip is 8 Energy. On T4 she can be played but not equipped, and she enters exhausted, 143.4: "Units enter the Board exhausted." Level 11 replaces that, 143.4.a: "This can be altered by Accelerate or similar game effects." But Level 11 cannot bring the attack forward to T4, because T4 is one Energy short. Scope: basic runes only. Cards that add Energy, such as UNL-093 Dragonsoul Sage, are not walked.

3. Their deck: Body/Order, everything to B

UNL-203 Keeper of the Hammer (Body/Order): "When you hold, gain 1 XP. Spend 3 XP, :rb_exhaust:: Draw 1." Its Chosen Champion carries the Poppy tag, here UNL-116 Poppy, Paragon (Body, E5, M5). They play SFD-159 Trusty Ramhound (Order, E2, M2): "While you have another unit here, I have +1 :rb_might:.", OGN-130 Crackshot Corsair (Body, E3, M3): "When I attack, deal 1 to an enemy unit here.", OGN-219 Vanguard Sergeant (Order, E4, M4, no text) and OGN-215 Petty Officer (Order, E5, M5): "[Assault] (+1 :rb_might: while I'm an attacker.)" Defending, the Corsair and the Officer are a 3 and a 5. After their first unit, they play every unit straight to B. 355.2.a: "By default, Valid locations include the controller’s Base or a Battlefield the controller controls." That scores B every turn, and leaves them nothing in base.

4. The turns, going first

Calm/Body against Body/Order. Your battlefield is OGN-281 Hallowed Tomb ("When you hold here, you may return your Chosen Champion from your trash to your Champion Zone if it is empty."), A; theirs is OGN-277 Back-Alley Bar ("When a unit moves from here, give it +1 :rb_might: this turn."), B. Neither battlefield's text does anything in the walk. Your opening four are Gemhand Hunter, Svellsongur, Blood Rose and Wuju Apprentice. Your T1 draw is Demacian Diplomat, your T2 draw Anivia, and your T3 draw a second Gemhand Hunter. They go second, 485.7: "First Turn Process: The player going second channels an extra Rune from their Rune Deck during their first Channel Phase of the game."

turn    runes   your turn                                                 XP   points
T1      2       Gemhand Hunter (E2) to base.                              0    0
their T1        Trusty Ramhound (E2) to base. Three runes, one left.
T2      4       Gemhand walks to A, Conquer: +1, its Hunt +1 XP.          1    1
                Svellsongur (E3, its Calm Power from one of those three
                runes, recycled). Blood Rose (E1). Three runes stay on
                the board.
their T2        Ramhound walks to B, Conquer. Crackshot Corsair (E3) and
                a second Ramhound (E2) straight to B. Five runes, none
                left.
T3      5       Hold A: +1, Hunt +1 XP. Wuju Apprentice (E2) to A, Blood  4    2
                Rose's E1 +1 XP. Demacian Diplomat (E2) to A, +1 XP. No
                runes left.
their T3        Hold B. Vanguard Sergeant (E4) and a second Corsair (E3)
                to B. Seven runes, none left.
T4      7       Hold A: +1, two Hunts +2 XP (6), Level 6 is live. Master   7    3
                Yi (E4) from the Champion Zone to A, Blood Rose's E1 +1
                XP. The second Gemhand Hunter (E2) to A. No runes left.
their T4        Hold B. Petty Officer (E5) and a second Sergeant (E4) to
                B. Nine runes, none left.
T5      9       Hold A: +1, three Hunts +3 and Yi's Hunt 2 +2 XP (12),    13   5
                Level 11 is live. Anivia (E7 + 2 Body, two runes
                recycled) to base, enters ready. Blood Rose's E1 +1 XP.
                Svellsongur's Equip (E1 + 1 Calm, one rune recycled) on
                Anivia. She walks to B: two sweeps of 3, all seven die.
                Conquer: +1. Six runes stay on the board.

Their points: 0 after their T1, 1 after their T2, 2 after their T3, 3 after their T4. After your T5 it is 5 to 3, B is yours, and they have no unit on the board. The Hold is the first task of your turn, 315.2.b.2: "1. The Turn Player Holds all Battlefields they Control." So the five XP of the T5 Hold are in before Anivia is played, and 823.1.c.1 says what each Hunt pays: "Hunt is functionally short for: “When I Conquer or Hold, my controller gains X XP.”"

Why they never attacked A. After their T1, every unit they played went straight to B, and the T1 Ramhound walked there on their T2. A unit at B reaches A only with [Ganking], 144.4.c: "Ganking is a unique ability that affects a Unit's Standard Move". None of theirs has it. From their T2 on they had nothing that could attack A. §5 walks the other choice, and it is the cheapest break.

Your T5, where the copy fires. Level 6 makes Anivia a 9. B holds two Ramhounds (3 each, with another unit there), two Corsairs (3), two Sergeants (4) and the Officer (5): seven units, 25 Might. She walks in, she and they gain their designations (464.2.c.3), and both of her attack triggers go on the chain. Their runes are all exhausted, so nothing answers. The first sweep kills the four 3s, and the second kills the two Sergeants and the Officer, which had 3 marked each. No defender remains, so 465.1 skips the damage step, and you conquer B.

What the second sweep bought. Take Svellsongur off and the one sweep kills the four 3s. The Sergeants and the Officer survive with 3 marked, and 4 + 4 + 5 = 13 against her 9. You assign first (465.2.c), and 1 + 2 + 1 = 4 of your 9 kill all three. Their 13 kill her. Nobody is left, 466.5.b: "If there are no Units remaining here controlled by any player, the Battlefield becomes Uncontrolled." It is 4 to 3 instead of 5 to 3, and you have no Anivia. The second sweep killed nothing that the first sweep and her 9 did not. It bought her survival, the Conquer, and B. Against a garrison whose survivors of one sweep total less than her Might, it buys nothing. Here, three 4-or-5s were enough.

What Level 11 bought. Without it, Anivia lands on T4 for all seven runes (E7 + 2 Body, both recycled) instead of Master Yi and the second Gemhand, and she is ready on T5 (315.1.b). The Equip and the attack come on T5, the same turn. The difference is their T4. She stands in your base through it, where OGN-229 Vengeance (Order, E4 + 2 Power: "Kill a unit.") reaches her, and they can see her before they place their T4 plays. Played to base, the Officer (6 as an attacker) and the second Sergeant (4) stay out of the sweep. On their T5 they walk into B, 10 against her 9, and assign her lethal first. Master Yi, played to B after your Conquer with four of the six Energy left after the Equip, keeps B (your 14 against their 10), but Anivia dies a turn after she lands. Level 11 was worth hiding her for a turn, not a turn of speed.

How often this happens. The draw pile is 39 cards, the 40 of Tournament Rules 402.1 less the Chosen Champion, which 103.2.a.1 places in the Champion Zone. With three Svellsongur and three Anivia (103.2.b), going first, you have seen 6 cards by T2 and 9 by T5 (four opening, one draw a turn). Svellsongur among the first 6 and Anivia among the first 9, as in the walk, is 21.14%. Svellsongur needs only to be cast by T4 (8 cards seen), which makes it 26.77%. Master Yi needs no draw. These figures count only the two finisher cards, not the Hunt bodies the Level 11 count needs.

5. Breaks to

The cheapest break needs no card: a body kept home on their T2 trades into A on their T3, and Level 11 misses T5. On their T2 the Ramhound walks to B and conquers it, and the Sergeant (E4) goes to their base instead of the Corsair and the second Ramhound. On their T3 they Hold B, and the Sergeant, readied by their Awaken (315.1.b), walks to A: 4 against Gemhand, Apprentice and Diplomat, three 2s, since your XP is 4 and Level 6 is not live. They assign 4 first and kill Gemhand and Apprentice, your two Hunt bodies (465.2.c.3), and your 6 kill the Sergeant. A stays yours with the Diplomat. Your T4 Hold has no Hunt, so XP is 4, and Master Yi with Blood Rose and the second Gemhand make it 5. Your T5 Hold adds Yi's 2 and Gemhand's 1: 8. Level 11 is not live on T5. Anivia played on T5 enters exhausted, and the attack waits for T6. The other way is Anivia on T4, exposed through their T4 as in §4. It needs no card beyond the walk's own, and the trade is one of their cards for two of yours.

The cheapest answer to Anivia herself costs one rune: OGN-213 Hidden Blade hidden at B. Its text: "[Hidden] (Hide now for :rb_rune_rainbow: to react with later for :rb_energy_0:.) [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Kill a unit at a battlefield. Its controller draws 2." On their T4 they hide it at B. Its [A] is one Power of any domain, from recycling one of the nine runes they exhausted for the Officer and the second Sergeant, so their T4 plays are unchanged. On your T5, 811.1.b gives the reason it can answer: "Beginning on the next turn, this gains [Reaction] and you may play this, ignoring its base cost." 811.6 adds: "A card that is Hidden gains Reaction while facedown or played from facedown, and may be played any time a card with Reaction may be played as a result." Anivia walks into B, her two triggers go on the chain, and they play the Blade on her, a unit at B (811.1.d.2). She dies, you draw 2, and then both triggers resolve. "Here" is read on execution (359.3.f.2), and 359.3.e.12's example gives a unit off the board no location: "A unit that is no longer on the board has no location, is neither exhausted nor readied, etc." Neither sweep reaches anyone, and their seven still stand. Svellsongur detaches, 719.5: "When a Top-Most Card changes zones from a board zone to a non-board zone, all Attached cards Detach from it, remaining in their current zones." Then 457.1 sends it home: "When an un-attached non-Unit Gear is created or played at a battlefield, or is at a battlefield for any other reason, it is Recalled to its controller's base during the next Cleanup." After your T5 it is 4 to 3 with B theirs. It cost you Anivia, the Equip and the turn, and them a card and a rune. Going second, they have seen 8 cards by their T4. With three Hidden Blade in 39 cards, one is among them in 50.82%.

The second sweep alone dies to OGN-224 Salvage (Order, E2 + 1 Power): "[Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) You may kill up to one gear. Draw 1." Svellsongur sits in your base from T2 on. Salvage on their T4 costs them the second Sergeant (seven of their nine Energy go to the Officer and Salvage), and they draw 1. On your T5 the one sweep kills the four 3s. The other Sergeant (4) and the Officer (5) survive it, and their 9 kill her 9 while her 9 kill both. Nobody is left, B is uncontrolled (466.5.b), and it is 4 to 3.

The scope of the one-rune verdict. A Body/Order deck plays Body, Order and Body/Order cards (103.1.b.1), and no colourless spell or gear in data/corpus_flat.txt kills a unit. Four of the spells and gear in those domains kill a unit the caster chooses, at any Might: Hidden Blade (E2 + 1), Vengeance (E4 + 2), SFD-164 Drag Under (E5 + 1, E2 less from anywhere other than hand) and OGS-012 Blast of Power (E6 + 1). The first, third and fourth reach only "a unit at a battlefield", and none of the four prints [Reaction]. With her triggers on the chain the turn is in a Closed State (309.1: "If a Chain exists, the turn is in a Closed State."), and only a [Reaction] card can be played there, 813.1.c.1: "This can be played during Closed States on any player's turn." Hidden Blade gains it from facedown. Of the four, it is the only one that kills her before either sweep resolves. Left out of the four: the cards whose kill is capped by Might, VEN-154 Public Execution (only an enemy with less Might than a friendly unit), UNL-159 Soul Harvest and VEN-127 Lacerate (3 or less) and SFD-162 Blood Money (2 or less), VEN-131 Decree of Unity (only a Chaos unit or gear), the ones where the victim's controller picks it (OGN-209 Cull the Weak, OGN-237 King's Edict, VEN-090 Cataclysmic Duel), OGN-221 Imperial Decree (only units that take damage) and UNL-180 The Ruination (E9 + 3, all units).

6. Verdict

Right about the six and about Level 11 letting her attack the turn she lands; wrong about the price, and about what the second sweep is worth. Her 9 and one sweep would have killed the seven-body garrison anyway. The second sweep ended the combat before the damage step, so she lived and conquered: 5 to 3 instead of 4 to 3 with no Anivia. Going first on basic runes, T5 is the first turn of the equipped attack with or without Level 11. Level 11 kept her off the board through their T4. It rests on four Hunt bodies holding A, and a Sergeant kept in their base on T2 kills two of them on their T3 for no card. Hidden Blade, hidden at B for one rune, kills her with both sweeps on the chain, and neither sweep then has anywhere to land.

7. Not verified

Your rune deck is six Calm and six Body. Svellsongur on T2 needs a Calm among the first four runes, which fails in 15 of 495 deals, 3.03%. On T5 the Equip and Anivia need one Calm and two Body among the nine runes on the board. Those are the first ten channelled less the T2 Calm, which 416.1 put at the bottom. Ten of twelve at six and six hold at least four of each, so this holds in every deal. Their walk costs Energy only. Hidden Blade's [A] is any domain. Salvage needs one Order and Vengeance two among the nine runes of their T4, which at six and six holds in every deal.

The dead-source reading in §5 joins 359.3.f.2 (an ability's "here" is read on execution) to the example under 359.3.e.12, which is written for spells. If a sweep instead read her last location, it would kill their seven and leave B uncontrolled. She would still be dead, and you would have drawn 2.

I did not walk Calm answers to the facedown card, attacking with Yi first to draw it out, the combat showdown after the sweeps (where an [Action] removal could still kill her), Energy from cards (UNL-093 Dragonsoul Sage), Gardens of Becoming as your battlefield, going second, the mulligan, or 2v2. The probabilities in §4 and §5 count only the cards named, in hand by the turn named.

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