Two Astral Herons, two discounts in one turn
A single frame from the Chinese broadcast of the Shenyang Regional Open set off the most technical thread of the week on r/riftboundtcg: an Akali player lands a second Astral Heron and, in the same turn, pays for two different cards with two different discounts. The comments spent half a day arguing about whether that was legal. It is, and the answer was already on record: Riot spelled it out in the Vendetta rules FAQ, erratum included. With the ban list live on September 18 and heron lists already tipped as the deck to beat, this is worth knowing before you sit down.
The playWhat happens in round three at Shenyang
The account comes from u/Quote-Tiny, rewatching round three of the Chinese event, a Shen against an Akali. The Akali player moves a heron to a battlefield, plays a second Astral Heron leaving a single rune untapped, then chains Discipline, Falling Star and finally Charm off that last rune. On paper the maths does not work: one discount does not pay for that sequence.
The step people miss is the first one. The second heron arrives as the first card of the turn, and at that moment both herons meet the condition: the one already on the battlefield, and the one just landed, which is on a battlefield by the time it resolves and therefore sees itself. Two triggers on the chain, not one.
The chainWhy the two discounts do not collapse into one
Everything hinges on a window most players never use: between one chain item resolving and the next, Focus and Priority really do pass, and a reaction can be played. The Core Rules patch notes confirm it by exception, noting that Focus and Priority do not pass on the resolution of “Add” abilities. We covered the difference between the two terms yesterday, and it applies exactly here.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | You play the second Astral Heron as your first card of the turn: two triggers go on the chain. |
| 2 | You let the first trigger resolve: your next card played costs two energy and two runes less. |
| 3 | Before the second trigger resolves, you play Discipline as a reaction and spend the discount you just gained. |
| 4 | The second trigger resolves: once again, the next card played costs two energy and two runes less. |
| 5 | You play the following card with the second discount. |
The confirmationRiot had already written it, with an erratum
The Vendetta rules FAQ, published on August 14, carries the exact question: which card does Astral Heron’s triggered ability discount? The official answer is the next card played that turn “after the ability resolves.” Those last three words settle it: two triggers resolving at two different moments open two different windows. The same page also flags an erratum to the card text, which explains why half the thread was arguing past itself.
Printed text
“Your next card costs two energy and two runes less” reads as though there were only ever one discounted card.
Errata text
“The next card you play this turn costs two energy and two runes less” points at the moment, not at a specific card.
The pushbackThe objections, and why they fail
Two alternative readings held the floor. For u/BiggestBlackestLotus, if the card says “your next card” then there is only one next card and both triggers should discount it — an objection built on the printed wording, which the erratum dismantles. For u/DarkLordPengu the second trigger should instead do nothing, because by the time it resolves you have already played two cards. u/alkair20 answers that one: a trigger’s condition is checked when it goes on the chain, not when it resolves.
Why this matters to us. From September 18 the global ban list removes Stacked Deck from the format, and Astral Heron lists are already being named as the deck to beat. In Italian store tournaments this sequence will hit the table within the weekend, and without a client counting triggers for anyone: if you are on the receiving end you need to know it is legal, and if you are executing it you need to announce it calmly, one trigger at a time.
The short version
- Two Astral Herons can discount two different cards in the same turn: play a reaction between the first trigger resolving and the second.
- Riot’s official Vendetta FAQ confirms it: the discount applies to the next card played after the ability resolves.
- The card received an erratum clarifying the wording; many online databases still show the printed version.
Source: Vendetta Rules FAQ and Clarifications and r/riftboundtcg. Images: Riot Games.
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