Might in Riftbound, Explained
One number does everything in this game. Here's how Might works, what actually changes it, and the healing rule that trips up almost every new player.
Might is attack and health at the same time
Most card games give a unit two numbers, one for hitting and one for surviving. Riftbound gives it one. A unit's Might is how much damage it deals in combat, and it's also how much damage it takes to kill it. A 4 Might unit hits for 4 and dies to 4.
That's the whole stat. Everything else on this page is about the ways that number moves during a game.
Might vs. damage
Damage doesn't lower Might. If your 5 Might unit takes 3 damage, it's still a 5 Might unit with 3 damage sitting on it. A unit dies when the damage on it is equal to or greater than its Might.
Here's the part that catches people: damage doesn't stick around. Units heal all damage at the end of each combat, and again at the end of every turn. You can't chip a big unit down across two turns. Whatever you throw at it has to add up to lethal within a single combat or it walks away clean.
What actually changes Might
In practice, four things:
- Spells and abilities. Lots of cards grant temporary Might. Draven - Vanquisher, for example, reads: "When I attack or defend, you may pay Fury. If you do, give me +2 Might this turn." Effects like this wear off at the end of the turn.
- Buff tokens. Buffing a unit means putting a Buff token on it, worth +1 Might. It stays on the unit until something removes it. A unit can only hold one Buff token at a time, so Buffs don't stack.
- Assault. A unit with Assault gets bonus Might while it's attacking. Only while attacking — on defense the keyword does nothing.
- Shield. The mirror of Assault: bonus Might while defending. And it's combat-only. Shield does not reduce damage from spells or abilities.
One related term worth knowing: a unit is Mighty when its Might is 5 or greater, counting Buffs. Some cards check for it, so a +1 Buff pushing a 4 Might unit to 5 can matter more than it looks.
Why players end up tracking this
Take one ordinary combat. Your 3 Might unit has a Buff token (4), it's attacking with Assault 1 (5), and mid-combat you pay Fury on an ability for +2 (7). Your opponent responds with a debuff. Now what's the number?
That math is fine once — it's the fourth combat of the game where someone at the table misremembers, and the game state quietly goes wrong. This is why most players put something physical next to the unit: the official modifier tokens, a spare die, whatever's handy.
The reason this page exists
We make a rotating magnetic Might tracker for exactly this: it sits next to the unit, shows +1 to +4 or −1 to −4, and snaps to each value so it can't drift when the table gets bumped. 3D printed in the US, inlaid numbers that don't wear off. There's also a compact Might & Damage version with a damage face, so one die tracks both a unit's modifier and the damage marked on it.
See the Might Tracker on Etsy →Quick answers
Does damage carry over between turns? No. Units heal fully at the end of each combat and at the end of every turn.
Do Buff tokens stack? No. One Buff token per unit, worth +1 Might.
Does Shield help against spells? No. Assault and Shield only apply while the unit is attacking or defending in combat.
Does taking damage reduce the damage a unit deals? No. A damaged unit still deals its full Might in damage — damage and Might are separate.
Fact-checked July 2026 against the current Riftbound Core Rules and printed card text. Riftbound rules get patched — if something here has gone stale, tell us and we'll fix it. Turn Phase Trinkets is not affiliated with Riot Games or UVS Games.