Updated for Vendetta

Ambessa

Matriarch of War

Body

OrderIntermediate

Ambessa turns Empower into another ready unit, then uses that extra attack to make a strong board count for more.

Key Cards

Matriarch of War gives you a ready when you have something worth empowering and a unit worth using again. The Wolf is a reliable way to start: empowering her makes her 7 Might and protects her from damage outside combat. Punch First serves a different purpose. Its +5 Might lasts only for the turn and does not empower anything, but it can turn a small attacker into a real threat or let a damage spell remove a much larger unit. Know which resource you need before spending it. Empower sets up the Legend and improves the unit beyond this turn; a pump spell is there to win a particular exchange.

Ambessa, The Wolf
Chosen Champion · Body

Ambessa’s Field Guide

Ambessa rewards you for planning the turn before the fight starts. Whenever you empower something else, Matriarch of War becomes empowered too. You can then disempower and exhaust the Legend, paying 1 Power, to ready a unit. That lets a newly played unit at base make its first move this turn, or lets a surviving attacker act again. The ability has neither Action nor Reaction. Use it during the open part of your own Main Phase, not during a Showdown or in response to a removal spell. Decide what you will ready, what it can legally reach, and how you will protect it before committing to combat.

How Ambessa wins

Build a unit the opponent cannot trade with cheaply, clear the defender in its way, then use the Legend's ready to make the turn harder to contain. A large unit also improves Public Execution and the damage from Challenge or Rampage, so growing your board can remove theirs at the same time. You do not need to spend the ready on the unit you empowered. Sometimes the better attack comes from a second unit that just entered at base. If your first attacker is already at a battlefield, check its movement: readying it does not give it Ganking or a direct route to the other battlefield.

Key interactions

Let The Wolf clear the fight before entering it

Ambessa, The Wolf · Rampage · Challenge

An empowered Wolf is 7 Might and cannot be dealt damage while she is outside combat. Use Rampage or Challenge while she is at base and she deals her Might to the enemy without taking the return damage. These spells do not start combat by themselves. Paying Rampage's extra Body Power also gives her +2 Might first, so an otherwise unmodified empowered Wolf deals 9. The protection stops as soon as she is in combat; a damage spell can hurt her there just like combat damage can. Challenge has Action and can be played in an open Showdown, but Rampage cannot. Neither is a Reaction to a spell already on the chain.

Use the Might boost before Public Execution

Guttural Roar · Punch First · Public Execution

Public Execution kills an enemy with strictly less Might than the friendly unit you choose. An empowered Wolf at 7 Might can kill a 6-Might enemy; an equal 7-Might enemy is out of range. Guttural Roar gives an empowered unit +4 for the turn, putting that Wolf at 11 and bringing a 10-Might enemy into range. Let the boost resolve, then play Execution. Punch First gives +5 whether the unit is empowered or not, but costs 2 Body Power as well as its 1 Energy. Use the cheaper boost that actually reaches the target. Roar and Punch First have Action, not Reaction, and Execution has neither, so make this removal sequence during your own open Main Phase.

Grow Kayle without counting extra Legend readies

Kayle, Justified · Profiteer · Matriarch of War

Kayle gains +2 Might for each Empower, reaching 5, 7 and then 9 Might. At three she also gets Deflect 3 and Ganking, which gives her the direct battlefield-to-battlefield move an ordinary readied unit lacks. While Kayle has fewer than three Empower statuses, Profiteer can disempower your Legend to give her another. That new Empower triggers Matriarch again, so the Legend ends up empowered while Kayle keeps the upgrade. This does not ready the Legend. If you already exhausted it to ready a unit this turn, growing Kayle again does not buy another activation. Plan around one useful Legend ready, and remember that Deflect makes enemy targeting cost more rather than preventing it.

Strengths

The Legend can ready a newly played threat at base, so the opponent has to consider an attack from a unit that was not on the board when your turn began.
Might does two jobs: it wins combat and sets the reach of Public Execution, Challenge and Rampage. An empowered Wolf can use the damage exchanges safely while she stays outside combat.
Empower upgrades can carry into later turns. You do not have to keep spending a new pump spell just to make the same unit a credible threat.

Weaknesses

Empowering a unit, paying for the Legend and protecting the attack all compete for resources. A large unit with no Power left for the next play can leave you with fewer options than two smaller units.
Readying does not heal a unit or give it Ganking, and the Legend cannot be activated during a Showdown. Check the unit's damage and its next legal move before spending the ready.
The Wolf's protection does not stop an outright kill, recall or banish, and it does not stop damage while she is in combat. Spreading your threats matters when the opponent can remove the unit you spent the turn upgrading.

Shadow's Pick

Ambessa tournament list by XXT.贪吃鬼

3rd place · Chancenova Riftbound Grand Opening Tournament, 2026-08-25

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Deck total $104.56

Legend (1)

1x$0.11 ea.

Runes (12)

6x$0.11 ea.
6x$0.10 ea.

Battlefields (3)

1x$0.11 ea.
1x$0.17 ea.
1x$0.10 ea.

Spells (20)

1x$0.22 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
1x$0.30 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
1x$0.36 ea.
Energy
2
3x$0.16 ea.
Energy
2
2x$0.88 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
1x$0.13 ea.
Energy
4
3x$7.01 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
2x$0.16 ea.
Power
2
Energy
1
2x$0.19 ea.
Energy
3
2x$1.70 ea.
Energy
1
1x$4.21 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
1x$0.28 ea.
Energy
2

Gear (2)

1x$15.27 ea.
Power
1
Energy
0
1x$0.12 ea.
Energy
4

Units (18)

1xChosen$0.42 ea.
Might
4
Energy
4
1x$2.29 ea.
Might
5
Energy
5
2x$0.17 ea.
Might
7
Power
3
Energy
10
2x$0.11 ea.
Might
4
Energy
4
2x$0.08 ea.
Might
1
Energy
2
2x$0.13 ea.
Might
2
Energy
2
2x$0.54 ea.
Might
3
Energy
3
3x$0.11 ea.
Might
2
Energy
2
1x$0.11 ea.
Might
4
Energy
4
2x$19.41 ea.
Might
6
Power
1
Energy
5

Sideboard (10)

2x$0.24 ea.
Energy
1
2x$0.23 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
2x$0.21 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2
2x$0.37 ea.
Might
5
Energy
6
2x$4.21 ea.
Power
1
Energy
2

Shadow's take

I like this Ambessa list because the early units still do something useful when they stop winning fights. Carrion Dredger leaves a Bird behind and Honest Broker leaves Gold, so you can trade them away without losing everything they contributed. Baccai Witherclaw gives the same idea a bigger payoff: empower it, use the 6-Might body, then turn its death into runes when you need Sacrifice's cards or an Atakhan turn. That matters in a deck which can spend a lot of resources on one attack. The Wolf gives those setup turns a clear purpose. Once empowered, she can stay outside combat and use Rampage to clear a defender without taking the return damage, while Guttural Roar puts larger enemies in range of Public Execution. I would rather make those exchanges and keep a follow-up than spend every pump spell on the first fight. Atakhan gives the list a way to finish after that work is done: attack one battlefield, then use the Legend's ready and Ganking to threaten the other after the first fight ends. Save the last Guttural Roar for that second fight if Atakhan can already win the first.

The Game Plan

Early gameLook for Legion Marauder, Carrion Dredger or Honest Broker and a hand that can develop before the expensive units become useful. The Wolf is already in the Champion Zone, so you do not need to keep Atakhan just to have a threat later. Marauder's Empower costs either 1 Energy or 1 Body Power. Pay the version that leaves you able to make the next play, including the separate Power for the Legend if you need a unit ready now. Dredger and Broker can contest an empty battlefield or be the unit you give up later: Dredger leaves a Bird at base when it dies, while Broker leaves an exhausted Gold. That is a reason to accept an ordinary trade, not to spend Punch First saving every small unit. Get a board down before investing a turn in Tools of Empire or several Kayle upgrades. Against early pressure, those investments need to wait until you can still contest a point.
MidgameDecide which defender has to leave before sending The Wolf into combat. Empower her while she is still safe at base, then use Rampage or Challenge for the damage exchange, or increase her Might for Public Execution. Keep enough resources for the ready and the move afterward; clearing the board is not much help if your only attacker remains exhausted at base. Respected and Feared is the other attacking option in this list. Empowered, she has 7 Might while attacking and her attack trigger can kill an enemy there with less Might. She still has to survive the fight that follows. Hidden Blade can remove a unit at a battlefield without a Might comparison, but gives its controller two cards. Hide it in advance when you need a Reaction on a later turn; from hand it only has Action. Tactical Retreat is for a unit whose survival matters more than its current position. It saves the unit from its next death, but returns it to base exhausted. It also prevents Baccai's Deathknell, so do not count both the saved unit and the two runes.
Late gameUse an empowered Baccai to rebuild resources when keeping its 6-Might body is no longer worth more than the next play. Sacrifice kills it as an additional cost: Baccai's death channels two exhausted runes, and Sacrifice draws two cards and channels another if it resolves. With enough runes left, that is three exhausted runes. They cannot add Energy immediately, but you can recycle them for Power. Deathgrip costs 2 Energy and is a Reaction, so use it when another unit needs Baccai's Might to win the current fight. It kills Baccai as it resolves, not as an additional cost. If that 6-Might Baccai actually dies, the other friendly unit gets +6 Might for the turn and Baccai's Deathknell channels two exhausted runes; Deathgrip also draws a card. Atakhan is a different use for the body. Killing Baccai to pay Atakhan's extra cost reduces Atakhan from 10 Energy and 3 Order Power to 6 Energy and 3 Order Power. The discount uses Baccai's printed cost, not its Empower payment or Might, and its Deathknell runes do not help pay Atakhan's cost first. Once Atakhan is ready to attack, keep Matriarch ready and empowered if a second battlefield matters. After the first combat ends, ready Atakhan and use Ganking to attack the other; the defender must kill a unit there on each attack. Onslaught and Public Execution can be played again from the trash through Flow when you need more Might or another kill. Do that during your own open Main Phase, and budget their Flow costs instead of expecting a free replay.

Battlefields

Blind

Risen Altar

Risen Altar makes the Empower turn easier to afford without needing a particular opposing board. While you control Altar, you can reduce The Wolf's Empower payment here by 1 Energy or 1 Power. If you have to fight to take it, finish that Showdown before empowering her. Choose the discount that leaves the resources you need for removal and the Legend's ready. It only discounts the Empower ability of one of your units at Altar; it does not discount playing the unit, empowering Tools of Empire at base, or activating the Legend. If the opponent takes control, the discount applies to their units instead. If reaching Altar would mean sending an unempowered Wolf into a fight she cannot survive, pay for her at base instead of forcing the discount.

Going First

Sunken Temple

Sunken Temple is the choice when you expect to turn the first attack into more cards. Conquer with a Mighty unit and you may pay 1 Energy to draw. An empowered Wolf, a once-empowered Kayle or Rengar already meets that 5-Might requirement. Leave the Energy available if you want the card; the trigger comes after the conquest, so it cannot supply a trick needed to win that fight. Do not spend a pump spell only to qualify a small unit for a draw unless it also changes the combat or earns the point. Holding Temple gives no extra draw, and an opposing Mighty attacker gets the same reward for taking it from you.

Going Second

The Papertree

The Papertree helps you reach the turns where you can develop a large unit and still afford to use it. Each hold channels an exhausted rune for both players. If the opponent gets the first hold, you get a rune too, even though they keep the point. That can help you catch up with The Wolf or Baccai instead of needing to win the battlefield before receiving any benefit. The rune enters exhausted, so do not count it as immediate extra Energy. I would choose Papertree when my hand can use the extra resources; it is less appealing if the opponent's expensive cards are the ones I am struggling to beat. The shared rune does not make repeated uncontested holds an acceptable trade near the end of the game.

Sideboard

Take the answer out of their hand

Decree of Strength

Bring in Decree of Strength when a Mind card in hand is stopping you from committing the important unit. It reveals the opponent's hand and lets you choose a Mind card for them to recycle. Use it during your own open Main Phase, before spending on the Empower turn; it cannot answer a card they have already played. The information also tells you whether the rest of the hand still has a way to break the attack. I would make room among the removal spells that had poor targets in game one, rather than cut early units and make the setup slower. If their relevant answers are not Mind cards, leave the Decrees out.

Remove a Chaos threat without building a bigger unit

Decree of Unity

Decree of Unity kills an enemy Chaos unit or Gear without Public Execution's Might comparison. Bring it in when a large Chaos unit is forcing you to spend a boost and removal together, or when a Chaos Gear needs to leave before you can fight. It still chooses the target, and it has neither Action nor Reaction. Cast it during your own open Main Phase, not as an answer in the middle of a Showdown. Replace the removal that has been too conditional: Rampage when the exchange cannot kill the threat safely, or Cull the Weak when they always have a small unit to give up instead. Keep enough units to turn the removal into a conquest.

Match the protection to what is killing your units

Ki Barrier · Ruin Runner

Ki Barrier is a Reaction that prevents the next 7 damage to the chosen unit this turn. Bring it in when damage is taking away the attacker or defender you need to keep. Unlike Guttural Roar, it can respond to a pending spell, but it will not stop an outright kill and the opponent can assign extra combat damage to get through it. Ruin Runner is the alternative when enemy targeting is the bigger problem: enemy spells and abilities cannot choose it. It can still lose combat or die to an effect that does not choose it. Swap Runner for a slower threat when the opponent keeps removing your upgraded units before they attack; do not simply add both copies on top of all the expensive cards. Keep some Might boosts if you still need them to reach Public Execution's targets.

Remove the Gear that keeps undoing your trades

Salvage

The two sideboard Salvages join the one already in the main deck when Gear is the reason a normal trade will not work. Salvage can kill a Gear and draws a card, so you can answer it without ending the exchange a card down. It has Action, which lets you use it in an open Showdown, but it cannot be played in response to a spell or ability already on the chain. Remove the Gear before committing the pump spells or removal it would undermine. Make room by trimming a situational removal spell or a slow value card that has not helped in this matchup. You can cast Salvage with no Gear target to draw, but that alone is not a reason to bring all three against a deck with no relevant Gear.

Updated for Vendetta

Ambessa

Matriarch of War

Body

OrderIntermediate

Ambessa turns Empower into another ready unit, then uses that extra attack to make a strong board count for more.

Key Cards