How does Ride the Wind interact with conquering battlefields and scoring points, particularly regarding timing and whether you can score on an opponent's turn?

Question

Accepted Answer

You can use Ride The Wind in a Showdown (including on an opponent’s turn if a Showdown is open) to move and ready a friendly unit. If that move causes you to be the only player with Units at a Battlefield and you do not already Control it, you will establish Control when the Showdown closes and that can produce a Conquer (and thus a Score) provided you haven’t already Scored that Battlefield this turn.

Playing Ride The Wind in a Showdown to move a friendly unit can lead to a Conquer and Score on an opponent’s turn, because the card’s “play in showdowns” permission lets you act during the Showdown, and Conquer is awarded when a Showdown closes and a player who didn’t control the Battlefield establishes Control by being the only player’s Units remaining there [348]. Conquers are Scores if you have not already Scored that Battlefield this turn [464]. Note that if special end-of-game limits apply when gaining a point, those are handled per the Score rules (see [466] and [FAQ:unleashed#12]).

You or an opponent have a Showdown open at a Battlefield (Showdown is the context in which Ride The Wind can be played outside your turn). You play Ride The Wind in that Showdown to move a friendly unit and ready it (card text: Play on your turn or in showdowns.). If moving that unit causes only your Units to remain at a Battlefield and you do not already Control it, that player will establish Control when the Showdown closes (see [348]). When that Control is established as part of the Showdown closing, it is a Conquer if you have not already Scored that Battlefield this turn [464]. A Conquer is a Score, and resolving a Score causes the point gain and follow-up behavior described in the Score rules (including the special handling near the Victory Score) [466].

If the Showdown is a Combat Showdown, Combat resolution steps apply first; Conquer behavior can still occur as part of Showdown/Combat resolution per the combat and resolution rules [348] [461]. If you already Control the Battlefield, moving your unit there with Ride The Wind will not Conquer/Score it (Conquer only applies when you gain Control of a Battlefield you did not yet Score this turn) [464]. If you move your teammate’s Unit (it is a valid target for “friendly”) you can cause your teammate to establish Control per the teammate-friendly definition [484.8.d]. If the Conquer would grant the Winning Point or interact with victory conditions, follow the special handling for Scores near the Victory Score (you may draw instead of gaining the point in some Conquer cases) [466] [FAQ:unleashed#12]. If other effects apply when the unit moves (for example effects that remove it, prevent it from being considered present, or immediately change control), those effects may prevent the Conquer — this ruling assumes no such interfering effects are present.

Because Ride The Wind is explicitly playable “in showdowns,” you may play it while a Showdown is open even when it is not your turn (card text allows Showdown play). When you move a friendly unit into or out of a Battlefield during that Showdown, the game checks Control conditions when the Showdown closes. Per rule [348], if a Non-Combat Showdown closes and only one player’s Units remain at the Battlefield and that player did not already Control it, that player establishes Control and that establishment results in a Conquer if they have not yet Scored that Battlefield this turn [348]. Conquers are Scores by definition and Scores cause the player to Gain up to one Point and trigger Score follow-ups (with special handling for end-of-game conditions) [464] [466]. The rules FAQ also clarifies how Showdowns are staged when a battlefield becomes Contested by moving a unit there, reinforcing that moving a unit can cause a Showdown to be staged and then resolved in cleanup, which is when these Control/Conquer checks occur [FAQ:unleashed#5]. Therefore, using Ride The Wind in a Showdown on an opponent’s turn can indeed lead to you conquering and scoring a Battlefield if the move results in you being the only player with Units at that Battlefield when the Showdown closes, and provided you haven’t already Scored that Battlefield this turn [348] [464]. Finally, remember Score-specific restrictions: gaining a point via Conquer when you are one point from the Victory Score has additional behavior (see [466] and [FAQ:unleashed#12]).