Riftbound Accelerate: what it does
GlossaryAccelerate is a Riftbound unit ability that lets you pay an optional extra cost as you play the unit to have it enter the board already readied, instead of exhausted. It's a one-time tempo boost paid for at the moment of playing the card — Accelerate has no function once the unit is already on the board.
How Accelerate's cost and payoff work
Accelerate is short for "as you play me, you may pay [1][Power] as an additional cost — if you do, I enter ready." The Power portion must match one of the unit's own domains if it has any, or can be paid with Power of any domain if the unit is domainless. It can only be paid during the steps of playing the card, never afterward, and the effect is a delayed replacement — even if the unit somehow lost Accelerate mid-resolution, paying the cost still guarantees it enters ready rather than exhausted.
Why entering readied matters
A unit that enters exhausted (the default) can't attack, block, or use tap abilities that turn — Accelerate skips that downtime for an extra cost, letting the unit act the moment it lands. That makes it a pure tempo tool: pay more now, get to use the unit immediately instead of waiting a turn. See the Growth Keywords guide for how it compares to Riftbound's other resource-investment keywords.
War Scout is a real, officially revealed Radiance card printed with Accelerate — open it to see the exact printed rules text and its live price across stores.
Every Accelerate card
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Accelerate FAQ
What does Accelerate do in Riftbound?
Accelerate lets you pay an optional extra cost as you play a unit so it enters the board readied instead of exhausted, letting it act immediately.
Can you pay Accelerate's cost after the unit is already on the board?
No — it can only be paid during the steps of playing the card, as an additional cost, not afterward.
What Power can pay Accelerate's cost?
Power matching one of the unit's own domains, or Power of any domain if the unit is domainless.