Riftbound Tank: what it does
GlossaryTank is a Riftbound keyword on units that changes how combat damage gets assigned to your side. A unit with Tank must be assigned lethal damage before any of your other units without Tank — it steps in front of the rest of your board, soaking up damage that would otherwise land somewhere else, as long as another Tank unit hasn't already claimed the assignment.
How Tank changes damage assignment
During the Combat Damage step, an attacker assigning damage across your units must give a Tank unit lethal damage before it's allowed to assign any to a unit without Tank. If you control more than one Tank unit, the attacker can choose between them freely — Tank units without Tank simply aren't valid targets until every Tank unit has already taken lethal.
Tank vs Shield vs Backline
Tank forces damage toward itself; Shield makes a unit tougher while it's the one being attacked; Backline does the opposite of Tank, pushing damage away until other units have taken their share. Building a defensive line usually means combining more than one of these — see the Combat Keywords guide for how they stack.
Dune Surfer is a real, officially revealed Vendetta card printed with Tank — open it to see the exact printed rules text and its live price across stores.
Every Tank card
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Tank FAQ
What does Tank do in Riftbound?
A unit with Tank must be assigned lethal combat damage before any of the same controller's units that don't have Tank — it's forced to absorb damage that would otherwise land elsewhere on your board.
What if I have more than one unit with Tank?
The attacker can choose which Tank unit gets the damage first — units without Tank still can't be assigned any until every Tank unit has taken lethal.
Is Tank the opposite of Backline?
Functionally yes — Tank must be assigned lethal damage first, while Backline must be assigned it last, after every non-Backline unit already has.