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+// This file recomposed via https://web.archive.org/web/19990429041350/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Fifth_Ed_Rulebook/Welcome.html
+
+Welcome to Magic: The Gathering!
+Object of the Game
+Magic: The Gathering®, or Magic, is a trading card game in which you and your opponent are rival wizards dueling for control of a magical plane. Reduce your opponent's score from 20 to 0 before he or she does the same to you!
+
+Summary of Play
+Each player builds a deck of at least forty cards from his or her collection and plays that deck against the opponent's.
+
+Each player begins by shuffling his or her deck and drawing seven cards. Players alternate taking turns. Your turn is made up of a series of actions, such as playing cards and attacking your opponent.
+
+There are several types of cards you can play. Lands are the most basic, providing the magical energy you need to play all other cards. Creature cards represent creatures in play to fight for you, either by attacking your opponent or by fighting off her creatures. Other cards represent spells you can cast to hurt your opponent or help your creatures.
+
+The basic strategy of Magic lies in choosing when to play your cards and when to use your creatures to attack your opponent or protect yourself. More complex strategies involve combining your cards to make them more powerful and choosing which cards to use in your deck to make it most effective.
+
+Rulebook Construction
+This rulebook is divided into four sections.
+
+Section I: Learning the Game is intended as a tutorial, to bring the new player to the point where she can usually play without having to consult the rulebook. The first half of this section teaches the basics of the game: how creatures work, how to bring them into play, and how to fight with them. The second half of this section expands the rules, addressing the other types of spells, describing how less basic game mechanics work, and so on. Once a player is familiar with Section I, she should be able to understand most common and uncommon cards.
+
+However, Section I often omits minor details of the rules it presents and occasionally contradicts the normal rules in the interests of accustoming new players to the game. Section II: Expanding Your Knowledge details most of the rules that are actually needed during play and corrects the omissions and simplifications in Section I. This section is presented more for rules reference than as a tutorial.
+
+Section III: Exploring the Rules describes some of the nooks and crannies of the rules. Only the advanced player needs to know all of the rules in this section.
+
+In Section IV: Game Support, you'll find the contact information for questions regarding rules, tournaments, and so on.
+
+Following Section IV is a glossary of common terms. The first time any of these terms appears in the text, it's linked to its entry in the glossary. 
+
+Section I: Learning the Game
+The First Rule of Magic
+Occasionally, a card contradicts the rules. In these cases, the card text always takes precedence.
+
+The Very Basics
+Take a few moments to glance at the cards in your deck. You'll notice that their backgrounds are white, blue, black, red, or green. These are the colors of Magic, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. Understanding these characteristics can help you build more powerful decks as you become a more advanced player. As a beginner, however, you'll find that the colors will serve mostly to help you organize your hand and determine which cards you can play at any given time.
+
+Any card with a background of one of the five colors is a spell; the remaining colorless cards are either artifacts (another type of spell) or lands. Take a closer look at your cards and separate the spells from the lands. (To determine which colorless cards are lands and which are artifacts, read the card type printed just below the artwork.) Lands are important, because they create the energy you need to play spells. The only spells you should be concerned with right now are summon spells, which produce creatures. You'll use creatures to attack your opponent, in an effort to reduce her life total to 0 or less and therefore win. Creatures are easily identified; each has a pair of numbers (written in an X/Y format) in the bottom right corner of the card. A sample creature is shown below.
+
+Throughout a duel, you can cast summon spells that become creatures like the Hurloon Minotaur. Once you have them in play, you can use creatures to attack your opponent. If you launch enough successful attacks, you can drive your opponent's life total to 0 or less and win the duel. Winning a Magic duel often depends on the strategies you build with creatures like this Minotaur.
+
+Of course, your opponent isn't going to just sit there while your creatures attack. She's going to put her own creatures into play and use them to attack you or to block your attackers. If she chooses to block, your attacking creatures fight her blocking creatures instead of damaging her.
+
+Putting creatures into play is a little more complicated than just deciding you want to. You have to pay for them with mana, which is typically produced by lands. Not much can happen in the game if you don't have the mana to pay for your creatures (or, later, other spells).
+
+Mana
+Just as there are five colors in Magic, there are five colors of mana, each with its own mana symbol: white (), blue (), black (), red (), and green (). Mana can also be colorless, though colorless mana doesn't have a symbol associated with it.
+
+The cost of playing a creature is called its casting cost. This cost includes one or more of the mana symbols and appears in the top right corner of the card. Each time a colored mana symbol appears as part of a cost, it means that you have to pay one mana of that color to satisfy the cost. Thus, a cost of "" can be paid only with two red mana.
+
+A casting cost may also include generic mana, which can be paid with any type of mana, including colorless mana. Generic mana costs are shown as numbers inside a gray circle. For example, in order to play a spell with a casting cost of , you must pay one blue mana and two generic mana.
+
+So what does this mean for the Hurloon Minotaur? The top right corner of the card lists its casting cost as , so you know you have to pay two red mana and one generic mana in order to play it. Of course, you have to get mana from somewhere, and lands are the usual source.
+
+Producing Mana from Lands
+In Magic, there are five basic land types, each producing a different color of mana. Plains make white (), islands make blue (), swamps make black (), mountains make red (), and forests make green (). Pull out a few lands from your deck. Note that although a land's background doesn't match any of the five colors, its text box is shaded to match the color of mana it produces. The ability of a land is to produce mana, so it's considered a mana source.
+
+When you use a land to produce mana, you tap it, or turn it sideways; this is signified by the tap symbol (). A tapped card can't be used to do anything that requires tapping it. Thus, a land can produce only one mana each turn. At the beginning of your turn, untap all your cards in play (that is, turn them back upright) so that you can use them again.
+
+For example, each mountain you play allows you to generate one red mana each turn. However, you can't store up mana for several turns by using your lands every turn. When a land produces mana, that mana is added to your mana pool and is stored there until you spend it. At the end of every turn, both players lose any mana they haven't spent. You may play only one land each turn, so building up your mana potential takes several turns.
+
+The amount and type of mana available in your pool determines which spells you can cast. To demonstrate, let's return to the Hurloon Minotaur, which has a casting cost of . Suppose that after three turns you've played three lands: two forests (green mana) and one mountain (red mana). Even though you have three lands in play, you can't afford to cast the Minotaur until you play another mountain.
+
+Throughout the game, you continue to play lands, increasing your mana potential. Remember, any type of mana can be used to pay generic mana costs; the color associated with a land is important only when you have to pay mana of a certain color. In other words, if your hand is full of green spells, playing mountains can still help you play the more expensive ones even though mountains produce red mana.
+
+Here, Critter, Critter!
+Now, pull a few creature cards out of your deck. They're easy to find because each one has two numbers (a power and toughness rating) in its bottom right corner. Creatures have a variety of power and toughness ratings. These numbers reflect a creature's effectiveness in combat. When a creature attacks, it deals combat damage equal to its power, whether to your opponent or to creatures that block it. A creature's toughness represents how much damage is required to kill it. If one of your creatures takes an amount of damage equal to or exceeding its toughness over the course of a turn, it's taken lethal damage and is put into your graveyard, or discard pile.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Creatures tap when they attack, and tapped creatures can't block. Therefore, committing a creature to an attack prevents you from blocking with it on your opponent's next turn, when she can attack you. Remember, though, that all your cards untap at the start of your turn, so you can attack with a creature numerous turns in a row, or attack with it now and block with it later on in the game.
+
+The Flow of the Game
+Before a duel begins, players randomly determine who goes first. Each player starts the game with 20 life and draws a hand of seven cards from his or her deck. The players then alternate taking turns, beginning with the "first" player. During a turn, a player can do any or all of the following: play a land, play creatures, and attack with creatures already in play. The following outlines the basic turn structure:
+
+    Untap: At the beginning of every turn, untap any creatures or lands that were tapped during the previous turn. Untapping a card makes it available for use.
+
+    Draw: Draw a card from your library.
+
+    Land: Play a land, if you have any in your hand.
+
+    Attack: You may attack with any or all of your creatures. (If you don't attack, skip ahead to "Play Creatures.") You can attack only with your creatures, and they can attack only your opponent. If you want to kill one of your opponent's creatures, you'll have to attack and hope he blocks with it. Attacking with a creature taps it.
+
+    Defense: When attacked, your opponent may block with some, all, or none of his creatures. Each creature can block only a single attacker, but more than one creature can gang up to block the same attacker. Blocking doesn't tap creatures, but tapped creatures can't block (so a creature that attacked during your opponent's last turn can't block this turn).
+
+    Damage Dealing: Each attacking creature that wasn't blocked deals its power in damage to your opponent. If this reduces his life total to 0 or less, you win. A creature that's blocked deals its damage to whatever blocked it and vice versa. If a creature has more than one blocker, you can distribute its damage among them as you like. For example, if your Hurloon Minotaur (2/3) is blocked by three Mons's Goblin Raiders (1/1), you can divide its 2 damage between two of the Raiders, killing them both, but the three Raiders will kill the Minotaur in return.
+
+    Play Creatures: You can play as many creatures as you can afford. Remember, you have to pay a creature's casting cost to play it, which requires tapping your lands for mana.
+
+    Discard: If you have more than seven cards in your hand at the end of your turn, discard down to seven. 
+
+Game Setup
+During a game, it's easy to build up quite a few cards in play. For this reason, you'll want to find a dry, flat surface to use as a playing area. You'll also need something to help you keep track of your life total, such as spare change or a pencil and paper.
+
+Each player begins the game with a deck of at least forty cards, which compose his or her library. Before play begins, each player shuffles his or her deck and offers it to the opponent, who may shuffle and/or cut it. Next, one player decides who will play first and who will draw first; whoever takes the first turn of the game doesn't draw a card that turn. If you and your opponent have just finished a game, the player who lost that game decides who plays first; if the game was a draw, whoever decided who went first that game does so again. If this is your first game in a series, determine randomly who decides.
+
+Now, play a few games to get a feel for what you've learned. The point of these games is to become familiar with how lands and mana work and with the basics of creature combat. Whether you win a game isn't very important. In your first few games, if you draw a card that's not a basic land or a creature, set it aside and draw another card. When you play a creature, pay attention only to its power and toughness; for now, ignore its text box.
+
+When you play these games you might want to leave the rulebook open to the turn sequence above or to the tipsheet below. 
+
+Don't Forget...
+Life Total
+Each player starts the game with 20 life. If a creature damages you, deduct the damage from your life total. If you drop to 0 life or less, you lose the game.  Lands and Spells
+Every card is either a land or a spell. The card type, listed below the art, tells you what it is.
+Mana
+Every spell has a casting cost, which lists the amount and type of mana needed to play the spell. Lands provide the mana to cast spells.  Creatures
+For now, the only spells you're playing with are those that become creatures when cast. Creatures remain in play and fight for you until they're killed.
+Power and Toughness
+Every creature has a power and toughness rating, which represents its effectiveness in combat. These numbers are printed in the lower right corener of the card and aid in identifying creature cards as such.  Tap
+Lands are tapped, or turned sideways, when they produce mana. Also, creatures are tapped when they attack. All of your lands and creatures untap at the start of your turn.
+Attacking and Blocking
+Once during your turn, you can attack your opponent with some, all, or none of your creatures. When your opponent attacks you, your untapped creatures can block hers.  Damage
+When a creature attacks, it deals damage equal to its power. If the creature is blocked, it deals that damage to whatever blocks it; otherwise, it deals the damage to your opponent.
+Lethal Damage
+If a creature suffers damage equal to or greater than its toughness during a combat, it dies and is put into your graveyard, or discard pile.
+
+Expanding the Game
+The first few games you just played were probably rather simple. During your turn, you drew a card, played a land if you had any, attacked if you wanted to, and played creatures if you had any. During your opponent's turn, you could do nothing but block. Creatures themselves didn't do anything other than attack or block. These are the basic moves of Magic.
+
+In a normal game of Magic, you can assist your creatures in battle by playing spells that make them bigger, help them evade other creatures, and so on. Spells may also hinder or kill your opponent's creatures, and some spells even let you affect your opponent directly.
+
+The remainder of this section adds to the basics you've already learned. It looks at other types of spells, more detailed turn and attack sequences, and some basic creature abilities. Once you're comfortable with the contents of this section, you should be able to play quite a few games of Magic without having to refer to Section II.
+
+Other Types of Spells
+So far, you've only played spells that generated creatures: summon spells and artifact creature spells. As you played your first few games, you probably set aside spells of most of the other types. (If you haven't played yet, take a moment to examine the spells in your deck.) Those other spells are divided into two categories.
+
+Spells in the first category remain in play when cast. Once in play, these cards become permanents. In addition to the summon and artifact creature spells you've already seen, artifact spells, enchantment spells, and lands become permanents when played (see "More about Permanents").
+
+Spells in the second category don't become permanents when you play them, but instead take effect once and are then put into your graveyard. Each of these spells is identified on its card type line as "Instant," "Interrupt," "Sorcery," or "Mana Source." Remember that all spells, except artifacts, will have a background of one of the five colors.
+
+More about Permanents
+The four types of permanents are artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and lands. A permanent can be of more than one type; artifact creature spells, for example, become permanents that are both artifacts and creatures and that will be affected by spells and abilities that affect either.
+
+Once you've played a land or paid to cast a spell that becomes a permanent, it remains in play until something specifically removes it. You don't have to keep paying its casting cost to keep it around, but you also can't get rid of it just because you want to. You've already seen that creatures leave play if they sustain lethal damage; in addition, it's possible to destroy or bury a permanent. Either sort of effect sends the permanent to its owner's graveyard. (See "Regeneration" for the difference between the two effects.)
+
+Most permanents have special abilities of some kind. These are generally explained on the card, but some creature abilities are described in the rulebook (see "Basic Creature Abilities"). Some abilities take effect as soon as the permanent enters play and end only when the permanent leaves play; such abilities are called continuous abilities.
+
+Continuous abilities are always "on," even if the ability's effect is working against you at the moment. Usually, the only way to stop a continuous ability from taking effect is to remove the appropriate permanent from play. If an artifact becomes tapped, however, its continuous abilities "shut off" until it untaps (unless it also counts as a creature and/or land). Many abilities have an associated cost that must be paid in order to use the ability. Such abilities are played when you pay the appropriate cost. These abilities are typically written in a "cost: ability" format and are said to have an activation cost.
+
+An activation cost typically involves paying mana but may also require tapping the card itself. When the card must be tapped to use a special ability, the symbol appears. You can't use the abilities of an artifact that's tapped unless it also counts as a creature and/or land.
+
+Every permanent has a controller, who decides when to use its abilities, when to attack or block with it, and so on. A permanent enters play under the control of whoever played it. Other effects may change who controls it, in which case it's moved to the territory of its new controller. Whenever card text says "you" or "your" or speaks in the imperative, it's referring to the card's controller.
+
+Playing Spells and Abilities
+Playing a spell or an ability of a permanent involves the following steps.
+
+1. Review your hand and what you have in play and decide which spells or abilities to play. This decision is based largely on what you can afford and how many spells or abilities you think you'll want to use this turn. The chosen card isn't considered part of your hand for purposes of the following steps.
+
+2. Pay any costs required to play the spell or ability. This is typically limited to the casting cost of a spell or the activation cost of an ability.
+
+Some spells and abilities include "" as part of their costs. These have a variable effect that depends on the amount of mana that's paid. To determine how much of the effect is generated, pick a value for X and pay that amount of generic mana. The spell's text explains what the X value generates, with each X becoming whatever you paid. Because the cost is variable, you decide how much mana you spend, unless X is restricted to certain values.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Some spells and abilities list additional costs in their text. Such costs aren't part of the casting cost but are still paid at this time. Spells with additional costs typically list them in the "cost: effect" format. This format may resemble an ability's, but the spell is still played and paid for only once; it doesn't grant a long-term ability.
+
+3. Choose any required target(s). Some spells and abilities can be played under any circumstances, while others must have one or more targets. Such spells and abilities describe what they target in a phrase beginning with the word "target," such as "target creature" or "target blue enchantment." You can play such a spell or ability only if you choose valid targets for it; for example, you can't play a spell that targets a creature if there aren't any creatures in play. If a spell or ability requires choosing more than one target, you can't choose the same target twice.
+
+4. Make any other choices called for by the spell or ability. Certain spells and abilities can be used in one of several ways. Decide what the spell or ability will do when it's played this time.
+
+5. When you complete steps 2 through 4, the spell or ability is played. (If you couldn't complete any of those steps--for example, if you didn't choose a valid target for a targeted spell--you couldn't play the spell or ability in the first place.) If you played a spell, it leaves your hand; when it takes effect, it goes into play if it becomes a permanent, and into your graveyard otherwise. If you played an ability, its effect is considered separate from the source--but that effect "remembers" everything true of the source at the time you played the ability. Removing or altering the source of an effect won't alter the effect.
+
+Enchantments
+There are two types of enchantments: global and local. Global enchantments are simply put into play, but local enchantments are played only on permanents. Every local enchantment targets a category of permanents. Rather than using a phrase such as "target creature" in its text, however, it defines its target in its card type.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+If the target of a local enchantment becomes invalid or leaves play, the enchantment is buried in its owner's graveyard. Changing control of a permanent doesn't change who controls any enchantments played on that permanent.
+
+Special Lands
+In addition to the five basic land types, there are various special lands with their own abilities. Many of these lands produce mana, but only if a mana-producing ability is listed in the text box. Special lands count as basic land types only if they say so, and even then they aren't considered basic lands.
+
+Creatures
+Creatures are the battle troops of Magic. Some act as support personnel, helping other creatures, but most of them do their work on the battlefield.
+
+A creature's power and toughness ratings are written in an X/Y format, where X is power and Y is toughness. Effects that modify a creature's rating use the same format.
+
+When you gain control of a creature (when you play a spell that becomes a creature, for example), you can't tap it to pay for its ability or attack with it until the beginning of your next turn. This is called summoning sickness and affects all creatures, including artifact creatures. Once a creature has had at least one turn to recover, it's no longer "sick" and is free to attack or use its abilities.
+
+Some creatures are Walls and can't attack. This includes any creature whose card type is "Summon Wall." Walls are treated like other creatures in all other respects.
+
+Damage
+Certain spells or abilities deal damage to creatures and/or players. Also, a creature in combat deals an amount of damage equal to its power. When a player receives damage, it's simply deducted from his life total, but damage dealt to creatures accumulates for the whole turn. If the damage accumulated by a creature is equal to or greater than its toughness, it suffers lethal damage and is destroyed.
+
+Whenever damage is dealt, players have the opportunity to play spells or abilities that prevent or redirect damage; this step is called damage prevention. Effects that prevent damage remove it as if it never occurred. Effects that redirect damage change who the damage is being dealt to; the damage will affect its new target unless prevented or again redirected.
+
+When both players are done with such effects, any remaining damage is applied to the creature or player it's dealt to. Once damage has been applied to a creature or player, you don't get another chance to prevent or redirect it. For example, if your opponent does something during her discard phase that damages you, you can't take advantage of that opportunity to prevent damage that was dealt to you during combat.
+
+Regeneration
+When a creature is destroyed, whether as the result of a destroy effect or of lethal damage, it can be regenerated instead of being put into its owner's graveyard. Spells or abilities that regenerate a creature can't be used if the creature is being put into a graveyard by other types of effects, such as burial. Because regeneration is used in place of putting the creature into its owner's graveyard, rather than after the creature is in that graveyard, you can't regenerate a creature that's already in your graveyard.
+
+A creature that regenerates becomes tapped as a part of the regeneration's effect; note that since it's tapping as part of the effect, not as a cost, a tapped creature can regenerate. All damage successfully dealt to the creature so far this turn is erased. Because a regenerated creature doesn't actually leave play, any effects applying to it continue for their normal duration, all enchantments played on it remain in place, and so on. If the creature is attacking or blocking, regenerating it removes it from combat.
+
+Basic Creature Abilities
+Certain abilities are standard among creatures. This section explains some of the simpler abilities, and Section II details some that are more complex. It's important to remember that abilities without a cost are continuous and so are in effect regardless of whether you want them to be.
+
+Flying: Creatures without flying can't be assigned to block those with flying. In other words, creatures with flying must be blocked in the air. Creatures with flying can be assigned to block those without the ability, however.
+
+Landwalk: Landwalk is a group of abilities; a creature never has "landwalk," but "islandwalk," "swampwalk," and so on instead. If the defending player controls any lands of the appropriate type, that player can't assign any creatures to block an attacking creature with a landwalk ability.
+
+Landhome: Landhome is a group of abilities similar to landwalk. Creatures with a landhome ability can't attack if the defending player controls no lands of the appropriate type. Also, any creatures with landhome a player controls are buried if at any time that player controls no lands of the appropriate type.
+
+First Strike: When damage dealing begins, creatures are divided into two groups: those with first strike, and those without. Creatures in the first group deal their damage during the first damage-dealing step of combat; the others deal their damage during the second one. If a creature is killed in the first damage-dealing step, it won't deal damage during the second one, as dead creatures don't deal damage.
+
+Trample: Attacking creatures with trample attempt to deal as much damage as possible to the defending player, even when they're blocked. If an attacker with trample is blocked, all damage it deals to its blockers over what is needed to destroy them is redirected to the defending player. If it can't deal damage to the blocking creatures (if none of them can receive combat damage this turn, for example), it assigns its full damage to the defending player.
+
+The amount of damage redirected from a blocking creature to the defending player is calculated at the end of damage prevention, not when damage is assigned (see "Damage Prevention"). Thus, if you prevent damage dealt to that creature, you reduce the amount redirected to you, rather than saving the creature while leaving the trample damage intact.
+
+Parts of the Turn
+As a player takes her turn, she's required to go through each of the phases outlined below even if she's not required to do anything during a given phase. Either player can play fast effects (instants, interrupts, and mana sources) during any of these phases except for untap and cleanup.
+
+Untap: Untap all of your permanents. Untapping your lands, creatures, and so on makes them available for use again.
+
+Upkeep: If a permanent does something every turn, it typically does it during this phase.
+
+Draw: Draw one card from your library. Drawing a card usually gives you new options during a turn.
+
+Main: This phase is where most of the action occurs. During your main phase, you can play any kind of card, including lands and non--fast effects. You may play only one land each turn. Once during your main phase, you may attack (see "Attack!"). Once the attack is over, your main phase resumes, and you may get the opportunity to play more spells or to play a land if you haven't already. Remember, creatures enter play with summoning sickness, so if you play a creature before the attack, you can't attack with it this turn.
+
+Discard: If you have more than seven cards in your hand at the end of this phase, discard down to seven.
+
+Cleanup: All damage dealt to creatures during this turn is erased. Effects that last "until end of turn" wear off at the same time damage is erased. Effects that occur "at end of turn" happen at the end of this phase.
+
+If either player has less than 1 life at the end of any phase or at the beginning or end of an attack, that player loses and the game is over. If both players have less than 1 life at that time, the game is a draw and neither player wins.
+
+Attack!
+Once during the main phase of your turn, you can declare that you're going to attack instead of starting a batch of effects or declining to do so (see "Series and Batches"). You then send one or more of your creatures over to attack your opponent. She may choose to block them and avoid damage. You attack your opponent with the intention of reducing her life total; you can't attack her creatures directly. Your creatures will fight hers if and only if she chooses to block them.
+
+You can attack with as many creatures as you like, but you can attack only once a turn. This means that you can't send over one wave of attackers and then another later on in the turn. (Abilities that happen to deal damage aren't attacks, so they're not bound by these restrictions.) Whenever you try to attack, your opponent can avoid it by beginning a batch of effects; in this case, you can declare the attack again later in your main phase.
+
+The attack follows certain steps, outlined here (see also "Step by Step").
+
+Declare Attackers: You declare the total number of attackers. A creature can attack as long as it's untapped, doesn't have summoning sickness, and isn't a Wall. Attacking with a creature causes it to tap. Creatures normally attack individually rather than in groups. Once a creature attacks, it remains in the attack until the end of combat; tapping or untapping an attacker doesn't remove it from combat.
+
+Fast Effects before Blocking: Both players can play as many fast effects as they wish.
+
+Declare Blockers: Your opponent can now assign her creatures, one at a time, to block yours. Tapped creatures can't block, although creatures with summoning sickness can. A creature is assigned to block only one attacker; however, you may assign several creatures to block the same attacker. Once an attacking creature is blocked, it remains blocked for the rest of the combat even if all of its blockers are killed (or otherwise leave play) before damage dealing. If an attacker is blocked, the defending player will not receive combat damage from that attacker. Even if the attacker has more than enough power to kill a given blocking creature, the block keeps the defending player from receiving damage.
+
+Fast Effects after Blocking: Both players can play fast effects again; these effects are generally influenced by the blocking assignments or lack thereof. Players can play as many fast effects as they wish.
+
+Damage Dealing: Unblocked creatures deal their damage to the defending player. Blocked creatures deal their damage to the creatures blocking them, and blocking creatures deal their damage to the attackers they're blocking. Once all damage has been assigned, players may prevent damage. Any creatures that still have lethal damage after that are destroyed.
+
+Timing Simplified
+Magic has fairly rigid rules about when players can and can't do certain things. We'll touch on the major points here and then cover the topic in detail in Section II.
+
+Instants are the foundation of timing; they form the largest group of spells and abilities. Whenever an instant is successfully cast, there's a pause before it takes effect in order to give each player an opportunity to respond with another instant. If any player responds, the first instant is put on hold, there's another pause to see if there's a response to the second instant, and so on. If both players want to respond to a given instant, the active player (the player whose turn it is) gets the first chance. A group of instants played this way is called a batch. The first instant played starts the batch; the last finishes it.
+
+When both players have finished playing instants, those in the batch start to resolve, or take effect, in last-in, first-out order. Each effect in the batch resolves completely before the next one begins, and no new batches may be started while a batch is resolving.
+
+When a phase begins, the active player gets the first chance to begin a batch of effects. If that player declines, the opponent may begin a batch. If the opponent also declines, the phase ends. If either player starts a batch, this process is repeated once that batch has resolved.
+
+Noncontinuous abilities of permanents are played as if they were instants unless they require special circumstances to be usable, such as spells or abilities that prevent damage. Remember, once an ability has been played, removing or changing the source will do nothing to the effect.
+
+Interrupts will be covered in Section II (see "Interrupts"). It's best to ignore them for now. Instants, interrupts, and mana sources are collectively called fast effects; the term includes both spells and abilities. You may play fast effects during any phase of either player's turn unless otherwise noted.
+
+Sorceries, and spells that become permanents, can only start a batch. Otherwise, they follow the same rule as instants, so although they can't be played in response to other spells or abilities, instants can always be played in response to them. You can play such spells only during your main phase and not while an attack is in progress.
+
+And You're Off!
+You should have a basic idea of how to play Magic now, so go ahead and try it out. Refer back to the rules as often as necessary, but don't get bogged down with cards you don't understand or that have abilities that haven't been explained yet. If you draw a card with unfamiliar abilities, just set it aside and draw again. Right now, learning to play is more important that winning.
+
+When you're comfortable with what's been covered so far, start reading Section II. Once you've learned what's there, you should be able to understand any card in the basic set. 
+
+Section II: Expanding Your Knowledge
+Color
+Every card in Magic has a color definition which describes it as being one, many, or none of the five colors: white, blue, black, red, and green. A card with more than one color is called multicolored; a card with no colors is called colorless. A card's basic color is defined by the colored mana symbols in its casting cost. Lands, which don't have casting costs, are considered colorless, as are artifacts that don't have colored mana symbols in their casting costs. Any effect that changes a card's color replaces the old color definition with a new one.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+More on Creatures
+A creature's most important feature is its power and toughness rating. If an effect causes a creature's power to drop to less than 0, consider the power 0 for all purposes except that of raising or lowering it (see "New Math"). Whenever a creature's toughness is reduced, check to see whether its accumulated damage for the turn equals or exceeds its new toughness; if so, the creature dies. Thus, if a creature's toughness drops to less than 1, it dies automatically. Note that regenerating a creature with a toughness of 0 or less is generally pointless, as its toughness will probably still be 0 or less after it regenerates, so it will just be destroyed again.
+
+If you haven't had control of a creature since the start of your most recent turn (counting the current one), you can't use any of its abilities with in the activation cost, and you can't attack with it. This is called summoning sickness, as it normally applies to a creature you've just summoned, but it applies to all of your creatures.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Some effects search for creatures of a given type, just as with lands. A creature's type isn't defined by its name, but by its card type, and sometimes by its card text. On the Hurloon Minotaur, for example, having "Summon Minotaur" as its card type indicates that the creature type is Minotaur. Artifact creature spells don't have a default creature type.
+
+Plurality and gender aren't important when checking for a creature type match.
+
+Advanced Creature Abilities
+Banding: Banding is an ability with two distinct features. The first allows you to group creatures so that they can attack your opponent with their combined power. The second gives you control over the distribution of combat damage.
+
+An attacking band can contain any number of creatures with banding and up to one creature without it. Once a band's been formed, the creatures within the band attack as a group. Creatures in the band keep their special abilities but don't share them with the others in the band. Once you've finished declaring attackers, you can't choose to form any new bands or break up existing ones. Creatures with banding aren't required to be part of a band when they attack.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Any creature assigned to block one member of a band automatically blocks the other members as well. In other words, the defending player has to either block the creatures as a group or let them all through.
+
+Creatures don't form bands when blocking; they have to block individually. For example, if a single Scryb Sprites (1/1, flying) attacks you, your Mesa Pegasus doesn't allow your creatures without flying to be assigned to block the Sprites.
+
+The second feature of banding applies only during the damage-dealing step. If combat damage is assigned to a group of creatures that includes at least one creature with banding, whoever controls those creatures decides how the damage is assigned. Such a group is typically either an attacking band or a group of creatures that blocked the same attacker and happened to include at least one creature with banding.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Protection: A creature with protection is largely immune to spells, abilities, and permanents with a given characteristic (usually a certain color). This ability is written as "protection from [characteristic]," such as "protection from blue."
+
+All forms of protection provide an equivalent set of abilities. For example, if a creature has protection from blue:
+
+    blue creatures can't be assigned to block it;
+    all damage dealt to it by blue sources is reduced to 0;
+    it can't be the target of blue spells, abilities, or enchantments.
+
+Blue spells and abilities that don't target anything and don't deal damage are the only things that can get through this protection. Note, however, that creature abilities are active only while the creature is in play; therefore, a blue spell can target the card while it's being cast, in a graveyard, and so on. Finally, because the creature can't be the target of blue enchantments, if a blue enchantment ever does end up on the creature, the enchantment is buried (see "Enchantments").
+
+Rampage: Creatures with rampage get bigger as more creatures are assigned to block them. Rampage always has a certain value, written as "Rampage X." If more than one creature is assigned to block an attacking creature with rampage X, that creature gets +X/+X until the end of the turn for each creature assigned to block it after the first.
+
+More on Enchantments
+Some local enchantments say to only play them, or not to play them, on a subclass of permanents. Such stipulations are part of the enchantment's targeting requirement, so the enchantment will be buried if they're not followed.
+
+Ownership
+Each player owns the cards he or she starts the game with. Whenever a card is sent to anyone's hand, library, or graveyard, it's sent to its owner's. Ownership of a card changes only when specifically indicated on a card. Changing control of a permanent doesn't change who owns it.
+
+Tokens
+Certain effects put tokens into play. Tokens represent artifacts, creatures, and so on, and their characteristics are defined by the effects that create them. They can be cards, coins, or anything else; if possible, use something that reminds you what the token represents.
+
+Tokens are treated like any other permanent, except that they aren't cards. A token's basic color definition is provided by the text of the effect that produced it, not by that effect's color. Since tokens were never spells, their total casting cost is 0. If a token enters play as a creature, its creature type is the same as its name as well as any described in the text of that effect. Each token is owned, and initially controlled, by the controller of the effect that generated it. If a token leaves play, it's permanently removed from the game.
+
+Counters
+Some effects instruct players to add counters to certain permanents. Whenever this happens, simply put the specified number of counters on the card. Coins, beads, or anything else that's handy can be used as counters.
+
+Counters generally serve one of two functions. First, they can be used to mark long-term changes to a permanent, such as giving a creature +1/+1 permanently. In this case, a single counter is placed on the card to remind the players of the change to that permanent. Second, counters are often used to mark how often an ability may be used. For instance, a card might build up counters of a certain type and then spend them on an ability.
+
+Counters that have the same name are considered interchangeable. For example, all effects that give a player poison counters say that a player with ten or more poison counters loses the game. Because these counters are called the same thing, their source isn't important when checking whether a player loses. Also, all poison counters are considered the same for purposes of an effect that removes them.
+
+Note that counters aren't tokens, and tokens aren't counters. Tokens are permanents, while counters are used as markers or reminders that a permanent does something special.
+
+Sacrifices
+To sacrifice a permanent is to put it into its owner's graveyard. Nothing can prevent this; for example, a sacrificed creature can't be regenerated. Sacrifices are typically called for as part of the cost of playing a spell or ability but will occasionally be called for by an effect or as a penalty for doing something. Sacrificing something as a cost follows the normal rules for costs; for example, countering a spell won't recover anything sacrificed to it. You can sacrifice only permanents you control; whether you own them is irrelevant. Abilities that trigger when certain permanents are put into a graveyard from play trigger, as appropriate, when a permanent is sacrificed (see "Triggered Abilities").
+
+Resolving Effects
+Characteristics of anything other than the source of an effect aren't determined until the effect begins resolving. Only the current characteristics of something are relevant; for example, effects that depend on a creature's power rely on its current power, not its base power. Thus, changing the characteristics of something in response to a spell or ability can change the results of the effect.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Effects that search for everything with a certain characteristic (such as a color) find everything with that characteristic, even if it has a related characteristic as well (such as a second color). Conversely, effects that ignore everything with a certain characteristic don't care what other related characteristics something might have.
+
+Effects that interact with players, the cards in your hand, your graveyard, and so on state so explicitly; otherwise, effects interact only with permanents.
+
+If the source of an effect leaves play, any effect that depends on the source being in a certain state, such as tapped or under your control, end. If a permanent leaves play, all effects that applied to it end with respect to that permanent.
+
+If an effect lasts only as long as a certain condition is met, and that condition is no longer met when the effect resolves, the effect ends as soon as it begins. If an effect has some additional effect when a certain condition is met, and that condition has been met by the time the effect resolves, the additional effect also occurs.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+If a card instructs you to do something, you're forced to do it only if you have the resources available (such as mana in your mana pool, untapped creatures, and so on).
+
+Each new effect that resolves is applied after any existing effects. Thus, it's possible for one effect to override another. If an effect gives a creature flying and a later effect removes flying from it, for instance, the result is a creature without flying. The result of a continuous effect is not necessarily final when the effect is first applied to a card, permanent, and so on; if one continuous effect ends, later effects are reevaluated.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Giving a permanent an ability it already has often accomplishes nothing, as most abilities are redundant. An effect that causes the permanent to lose the duplicated ability will still cause it to lose the ability entirely, not just the most recent instance of the ability.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Effects are always applied to permanents, players, and so forth in the order in which those effects resolve. Permanents are therefore considered to have been in play before any other effects resolved. For example, an enchantment that says all creatures lose flying will apply to creatures that enter play after the enchantment.
+
+Paying Costs
+All spells have a casting cost, even if it's . Look in the upper right corner of the card to determine a spell's casting cost. (Costs described in the spell's text don't count as part of the casting cost.) Each represents a variable amount of mana. While the spell is being cast, X is the amount of mana that was spent on it when the spell was played; at all other times, X is 0. The total casting cost of a spell is the total amount of mana paid, ignoring the color(s) specified in the casting cost.
+
+You must have all the necessary resources available to pay a cost; for example, you tap lands for mana before playing a spell, not while you're playing it. Some abilities require additional mana to be paid to play a spell. This one-time "fee" is immediate and doesn't affect the spell's casting cost. In the same way, abilities that say a spell costs less to cast don't change a spell's casting cost but instead pay for some of that cost.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Many abilities also have costs to use. Typically these abilities are written in a "cost: effect" format, where "cost" is the activation cost of the ability. The activation cost is normally some amount of mana and/or the symbol but might have other components, such as paying life or removing counters from the permanent. If you want to generate an ability's effect more than once, you'll have to play the ability that many times, paying for the effect once each time.
+
+Nothing can stop a cost from being paid, and you can't play abilities that might do so. For example, a sacrificed creature is put into its owner's graveyard without giving anyone the chance to play abilities such as regeneration.
+
+More on Targeting
+A targeted spell or ability can't be played on an illegal target, which means that you can't play a spell or ability on an illegal target and later adjust either so that the match is valid. If a spell or ability targets more than one thing, you can't choose the same thing as more than one target.
+
+A target of an effect might have disappeared or become illegal by the time the effect resolves. In this case, the effect fizzles with respect to that target. If the effect has multiple targets, it fizzles or succeeds against each of them separately. If an effect fizzles with respect to all of its targets, any nontargeted parts of the effect are ignored.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Once a spell or ability has been played, its targets are not checked again until the effect resolves. If an effect resolves successfully, it does its best to apply itself to the target for the stated duration, even if the target becomes illegal at some point. Making the target illegal does not end the effect prematurely. (See "Enchantments" for the exception to this rule.)
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Certain permanents target something when the permanent itself is played rather than when its abilities are played. Such targets must be chosen when the permanent is played, just like the target for any other spell. Once the target's selected, it can't be changed at any point.
+
+Timing
+Timing systems serve two purposes: they dictate when cards can be played, and they mediate when both players want to do something at the same time or each wants to see what the other does first. In Magic, mediation between players is fairly straightforward, so we'll touch on it first.
+
+When both players want to do something, one of the players is given priority to do so. Typically this will be the active player, with some exceptions noted in the rules or the card text. The player with priority continues to play spells or abilities as long as she desires. When she's done, she yields priority to the other player, who then plays as many spells and abilities as he desires. Once that player yields priority, the chance to play spells and abilities has passed; for example, the first player can't reclaim priority just because the other player has yielded it.
+
+The same rules apply when both players are required to do something. If a player is both required and allowed to do something at the same time, she can interchange doing something she's required to do and playing spells and abilities she wants to. A player is free to ignore instructions that can't be followed, such as to play a targeted effect when there are no valid targets for it, but she can't otherwise yield priority if she's required to do something.
+
+Series and Batches
+Two kinds of effects exist in Magic. The first are played in series, wherein each spell or ability resolves as soon as it's successfully cast. During a series of effects, one player plays all of his spells and abilities, followed by the other; as always, assume that the active player has priority unless otherwise noted. Spells and abilities that become legal can be played, though once the player who starts with priority is done, he doesn't get to play spells and abilities during the series again and ignores such effects that he'd otherwise be required to play. Only spells and abilities that are part of the series can be played, and each legal spell or ability can be played only once during the series, by any player. A typical example of a series of effects is that of spells and abilities played at the beginning of a phase.
+
+The second kind of effects are played in batches, which can occur when the game is in a neutral state, in which both players have the chance to play effects of a certain type. Typical examples of a neutral state are when both players have the chance to play instants during a phase or to play interrupts during the casting of a spell or effect.
+
+Each neutral state begins with one player having priority in playing spells or abilities; as always, this is the active player unless otherwise noted. That player can either play a spell or ability, and thus begin a batch of effects, or yield priority to his opponent. The opponent can then either begin a batch of effects or also yield priority. If both players yield priority to begin a batch, that chance to play effects passes; if both players decline to begin a batch of interrupts, for example, the spell being cast becomes successfully cast.
+
+If either player begins a batch, both players have the chance to respond to the spell or ability that started the batch. If either player does respond, they can both respond to the second spell or ability, and so on. Whoever had priority to begin the batch of effects always has priority to respond in this way. Once both players yield priority in responding, the batch is complete and begins to resolve in last-in, first-out order; neither player can add another spell or ability to the batch at this point. Once the batch has finished resolving, the game is back to the neutral state.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+A player can't yield priority during a series of effects or decline to begin a batch of effects if there are any spells or abilities he's is required to play. If he can't legally play such a spell or ability, it's ignored. Neutralizing the ability (by destroying the source or tapping an artifact source, for example) also removes the requirement to play it.
+
+Interrupts
+Playing a spell or ability isn't as simple as just paying the costs and making any required choices. Once the spell or ability has been played, it or its effect (as appropriate) is considered "being cast" and enters a neutral state from which batches of interrupts can be played. For purposes of playing interrupts, the controller of the spell or effect being interrupted, not necessarily the active player, has priority.
+
+Any spell or effect other than mana sources can be interrupted. Interrupts can target only the spell or effect that they interrupt. Since all interrupts target a spell or effect, spells and abilities that interrupt another spell or effect can target only that spell or effect.
+
+Some interrupts counter the targeted spell or effect. In this event, the spell or effect is canceled and, if a spell, put into its owner's graveyard. None of the costs paid for the spell or effect are recovered. Any remaining interrupts in the countering interrupt's batch fizzle when they resolve, as they're all targeting the spell or effect that's been countered and which is now an illegal target for interrupts, and the casting does not return to the neutral state.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+If none of the interrupts played while a spell or effect is being cast counter it or if (as is normally the case) no interrupts are played at all, it's considered successfully cast. The spell or effect will then resolve at the appropriate time--when its turn comes up if it was part of a batch, immediately in most other cases.
+
+Some spells that list "Interrupt" as their spell type can be used in several ways, some of which don't target spells or effects. As with any spell or ability that can be used in more than one way, the different ways of playing such spells are played at the appropriate times, rather than necessarily as interrupts.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Mana Sources
+You may play mana sources whenever you have priority to play any kind of spell or ability, including times such as the untap phase (when you have priority to play untap abilities) or the resolution of an effect (when you have priority to play specialized abilities; see "Specialized Abilities"). Thus, you can't use mana sources concurrently with some other event. For example, you can't use them while playing a spell (but you can do so beforehand), and you can't use them while destroying creatures that have lethal damage. You may play mana sources regardless of whether you intend to do anything with the resulting mana.
+
+Mana sources are played, successfully cast, and resolved in one timing step; there's no opportunity to interrupt them, for example. Also, abilities that trigger on one of these events aren't played until after the mana source has resolved.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Triggered Abilities
+Some spells and abilities are played only after a certain type of event occurs, with the spell's or ability's text describing when it's appropriate to use. These are collectively called triggered abilities, as very few spells are used in this way. Triggered abilities wait for an appropriate event to occur and are then played after the timing step (spell or ability being played, effect resolution, and so on) during which the event occurred. Following each timing step, a series of all the abilities that triggered during the step is played, even if they triggered at different points in the timing step.
+
+Most triggered abilities must be played; others are optional and typically have a cost. If you don't play a triggered ability during the appropriate series, it can't be played at all. Characteristics of a source are locked in when the ability triggers, not when the ability is played. Thus, once an ability triggers you can (and often must) play it regardless of what happens to the source later.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+If damage is assigned and abilities are triggered during a timing step, triggered abilities are played before damage prevention begins. If the effect of a triggered ability assigns damage or triggers more abilities, those are handled before playing more triggered abilities from the original series.
+
+Specialized Abilities
+Some spells and abilities are played during a timing step rather than as part of a batch (as are instants) or after a timing step is over (as are triggered abilities). These spells and abilities are collectively called specialized abilities. While some of these spells and abilities fall into this category because they specify that they can be played during the timing step--for example, those which can be played only when attackers are declared--most replace one kind of event with another, such as replacing a card draw with some other effect, so are used just prior to the event that they replace.
+
+Before each event, a series of specialized abilities is played. These follow the normal rules for series of effects except that if an ability is played to modify an event, the serial process starts again from scratch, with both players able to modify what the event has become. If an event does more than one thing, it's possible to replace just part of it with another effect.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Remember that triggered abilities are never played, and damage prevention never occurs, within a timing step. Therefore, if a specialized ability triggers another ability or causes damage, that effect is delayed until after the timing step during which the specialized ability was played.
+
+Phase Structure
+Each turn has six phases: untap, upkeep, draw, main, discard, and cleanup. Each phase serves a purpose, so they're never skipped just because a player expects nothing to happen. For details about how the phases differ, see "More on the Turn."
+
+Fast effects may be played during each phase except untap and cleanup. Every phase goes through the same basic stages, however:
+
+    Abilities that apply at the beginning of the phase are played as a series.
+    The bulk of the phase. The phase begins in the "neutral state," with both players having the chance to play instants. If both players yield priority the chance to play instants is over; move on to the next step.
+    Abilities that apply at the end of the phase are played as a series.
+    Check all players for mana burn (see "Mana Burn").
+    Check each player's life total. Each player whose life total is 0 or less at this point loses the game.
+
+Some abilities are phrased as "During this phase, this happens" or "During this phase, you may do this." These are phase abilities, and they're played only during the appropriate phase, as instants, and only once during each such phase. Remember, a player can't decline to start a batch if there's an ability she's required to play unless it would be illegal. Also, destroying a permanent gets rid of its ability, and the abilities of a tapped artifact that doesn't count as a creature and/or land don't apply.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+At the beginning and end of each phase, spells and abilities that are played only at the beginning or end of that phase are played as a series. Effects that were delayed until this time are also played as part of the series.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Some permanents have a cost paid during a certain phase. These phase costs are written much like phase abilities, typically as "During this phase, pay this or this happens," but occasionally as "During this phase, pay this. If you cannot, this happens." The former are optional, but if they're not paid, they have the listed consequences. The latter must be paid if you have the resources available, but you don't have to provide those resources.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Each phase cost is played according to the rules for instants. When you play this "ability," you either pay the phase cost to play an effect that does nothing or pay nothing to play an effect that does whatever's listed as the penalty. You can't, for example, pay just part of the cost. You can't use any activated abilities of permanents with phase costs until the phase cost's effect has finished resolving, regardless of whether you paid the cost when you played the ability. As usual, if the source of a phase cost leaves play, you can't play that phase cost ability. Tapping an artifact, however, doesn't suppress its phase costs.
+
+If a permanent has more than one phase cost that's paid at the beginning of, during, or at the end of a given phase, they combine into a single phase cost, which must be paid in full or carry all of the listed consequences. This cost is played at the latest time any of the individual costs would've been paid. If a permanent's current phase costs are paid and new phase costs appear at or before the time they would be paid, the new costs must still be paid as appropriate.
+
+Damage Prevention
+A damage-prevention step occurs after any timing step in which damage is assigned, typically the resolution of an effect or a damage-dealing step of combat. All damage assigned during a step is handled by the same damage-prevention step, even if the damage was assigned at different times. If a single source damaged a given creature or player more than once during a step, treat it as if it had assigned damage to that creature or player only once, for the total amount of damage.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+At the beginning of damage prevention, abilities that automatically prevent damage or that otherwise trigger when damage is assigned are played as a series of triggered abilities.
+
+Damage prevention begins in the "neutral state," with only fast effects that prevent or redirect damage being legal. At the end of damage prevention, abilities that automatically redirect damage are played as a series of effects, followed by all other abilities that trigger when damage is dealt. If any damage is generated or redirected at the end of damage prevention, it's all handled during a damage-prevention step following the current one. Deducting damage from players' life totals and destroying creatures with lethal damage happens as a single step just after the current damage-prevention step but before the next one.
+
+If all damage assigned from a source to a creature or player is prevented, that source is no longer considered to be damaging that creature or player. For example, effects that trigger when the source deals damage wouldn't trigger on the damage just prevented. Redirecting damage from a creature or player prevents the damage to the old recipient and creates an identical amount and type of damage being dealt to the new one.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+New damage generated within the context of a damage-prevention step is absorbed into the current damage-prevention step rather than starting a new one, with the exceptions noted above. As usual, the new damage triggers spells and abilities used only when damage is assigned, so it will be prevented automatically by appropriate effects.
+
+Only spells and abilities that prevent or redirect damage may be used during damage prevention, and none of those spells or abilities may be used outside of damage prevention. Spells and abilities that coincidentally let a creature avoid or survive damage can't be played. Spells or abilities that can be played to do more than one thing follow the normal rules for such. For example, if such a spell or ability is played during damage prevention, it can be used only in ways legal during damage prevention.
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+More on the Turn
+Fast effects are legal during every phase unless otherwise noted. A phase's special effects apply only to the active player.
+
+Untap: No fast effects are allowed. As a phase ability, all your permanents untap simultaneously. Any choices you might be required to make about what to untap are made when you play the ability.
+
+Upkeep: Most phase abilities and phase costs are played during this phase. Additionally, some permanents may have untap costs paid during or at the end of upkeep. Untap costs paid during upkeep are played as instants and may be played more than once each turn. Those paid at the end of upkeep are played as part of your "end of upkeep" series. As with phase costs, multiple untap costs are combined into a single cost, which is paid when the last of the individual costs would've been paid. Cards that have or provide untap costs also say that the permanent with the untap cost doesn't untap during the untap phase; this distinguishes them from fast effects that happen to untap something.
+
+Draw: As a phase ability, draw a card. Each ability instructing you to draw additional cards is its own phase ability.
+
+Main: You have three additional options whenever the main phase is in the neutral state. First, you may begin a batch of effects with a non­fast effect such as a sorcery instead of with a fast effect. Second, if you haven't played a land this turn, you may do so; the land comes into play, and the main phase returns to the neutral state. Finally, if you haven't attacked this turn, you may declare your intention to attack. If your opponent starts a batch of effects, the attack is aborted and you may later that turn again declare your intention to attack. If your opponent doesn't start a batch of effects, the attack begins. This is treated much like the end of a phase, so players take mana burn as appropriate, and their life totals are checked, before the attack begins. Once the attack is over, the main phase returns to the neutral state.
+
+Discard: As an "end of discard" ability, if you have more than seven cards in your hand. discard down to seven.
+
+Cleanup: No fast effects are allowed. As a phase ability, all damage dealt to permanents this turn wears off, as do all effects that last until end of turn. Once this phase effect resolves, "until end of turn" effects wear off as soon as they resolve, and damage that doesn't destroy a creature is ignored. All "at end of turn" abilities, and effects that happen then, are played as abilities that are played as a series at end of cleanup. This means that once the active player is done playing "at end of turn" effects, any new "at end of turn" effects he controls are ignored.
+
+More on Combat
+Once a creature has been declared as an attacker or blocker, it's attacking or blocking until end of combat, unless an effect changes this. A creature that's regenerated, whose controller changes, or that stops being a creature is removed from combat prematurely. Tapping or untapping a creature doesn't remove it from combat, and removing it from combat doesn't untap it.
+
+Abilities that apply to combat damage apply only to damage assigned during the damage-dealing steps of combat, not to other damage that happens to be assigned during combat.
+
+Step by Step
+Declare Attackers: A creature can attack as long as it's untapped, doesn't have summoning sickness, and isn't a Wall. Attacking with a creature causes it to tap. Having a power of 0 or less doesn't prevent a creature from attacking; it just means the creature assigns no combat damage. If any of your creatures are required to attack, you must declare them as attackers before or at the same time as declaring any other attackers. Otherwise, you may decline to declare any attackers at all, although such a null attack still counts as your one attack for the turn.
+
+Fast Effects before Blocking: There can be any number of batches of effects here. Note that once the attack begins, this is the first chance to play fast effects during combat.
+
+Declare Blockers: The defending player can assign some, all, or none of her untapped creatures to block a single attacker each. If a creature is assigned to block a member of a band, it's considered to block the other member(s) of the band as well, but not to be assigned to block them. Once a creature is blocked, it remains blocked for the rest of the combat, even if all its blockers are removed or a blocking assignment somehow becomes illegal. Tapped creatures can't block.
+
+All creatures required to block something must be assigned as blockers, if possible, before or at the same time as any other creatures are assigned to block. If a creature's required to block more creatures than is legally allowed (normally more than one), it blocks as many of those creatures as it can (again, normally one).
+
+Evasion abilities, such as flying and landwalk, restrict the sort of creatures that can block an attacker. If a creature has multiple evasion abilities, a would-be blocker has to deal with all of them before it can be assigned to block the attacker. For example, a creature with both flying and islandwalk can't be blocked, even by creatures with flying, if the defending player controls any islands. Evasion abilities apply only during this step; thus, it's not possible to cancel a block by giving the attacker an evasion ability later in combat.
+
+Fast Effects after Blocking: There can be any number of batches of effects here. Remember, destroying a blocker or otherwise removing it from combat doesn't cause whatever it blocked to become unblocked.
+
+First-Strike Damage Dealing and Normal Damage Dealing: The two damage-dealing steps follow virtually the same rules. The only difference is who deals damage during each step: creatures with first strike during the first step, and creatures without first strike during the second.
+
+All damage assigned during each step is dealt simultaneously, but the active player makes all choices of how to distribute damage first.
+
+Attacking creatures that aren't blocked deal combat damage to the defending player. Attacking creatures that are blocked assign combat damage to their blockers. If all of a creature's blockers have disappeared, it doesn't deal combat damage at all unless it has trample.
+
+Untapped blocking creatures deal combat damage to whatever they're blocking. A blocker that became tapped before its damage-dealing step (to pay for an ability, for example) doesn't deal combat damage.
+
+If damage is being assigned to a group of creatures, the player assigning the damage decides how to distribute the damage among the group. The damage may be piled on one creature, distributed among all the creatures, or anything in between. A creature that can't receive damage can't have any damage assigned to it at all.
+
+If any damage is assigned during either of these steps, the step is followed by damage prevention.
+
+End of Combat: The end of combat is treated like the end of a phase. Spells and abilities played at end of combat, as well as effects delayed until then, are played as a series. Players are checked for mana burn, and then their life totals are checked. Assuming neither player loses the game at this point, the main phase resumes.
+
+This Is Your Life
+You begin the game with 20 life. If you drop to 0 or less life for any reason, you're treated as being at 0 life for all purposes except adjusting your life total. If your life total is 0 or less at the end of any phase or at the start or end of an attack, you lose the game. If your opponent is also at less than 1 life, the game is a draw. There's no limit to the amount of life you can have, but you can't spend more life than you currently have to pay for costs.
+
+If you're instructed to lose some amount of life, simply deduct that amount from your life total; you can go to a negative life total in this way. It's not possible to prevent or redirect any loss of life that results from effects that flatly reduce your life total, because that's not considered damage. If an effect says to lose some fraction of your life and you're already at negative life, your life total doesn't change (see "New Math").
+
+Mana Burn
+The mana pool is a repository for mana. When you want to do something requiring mana, you draw mana from your mana sources and put it into your mana pool. You then take the mana out of your pool to pay for a spell or ability.
+
+You can't store mana in your pool indefinitely, however. Whenever a player's life total is checked (at the end of a phase and at the start and end of an attack), she must first check to see if she has any mana left in her mana pool. Any player with mana in her pool at this point loses that mana and an equivalent amount of life. This is known as mana burn. As with other loss-of-life effects, mana burn can't be prevented or redirected.
+
+Other Ways to Lose
+In addition to losing because he runs out of life, a player loses if he has to draw a card from his library but can't because it has no cards. Also, certain cards will create a new losing condition for one or both players. If a player loses by means other than running out of life, he doesn't survive until the end of the phase; he loses immediately.
+
+A player can concede the game at any time, in which case he loses immediately. Nothing can be done in response to this action; the game is simply over.
+
+Drawing and Discarding
+When you're instructed to draw a card, put the top card of your library into your hand. When you're instructed to discard a card, put a card from your hand onto the top of your graveyard. Abilities that trigger when a card is drawn or discarded or that modify how cards are drawn or discarded apply only when you're told specifically to draw or discard a card. If an effect simply moves a card from your library into your hand or from your hand into your graveyard, that isn't considered drawing or discarding a card.
+
+New Math
+The results of some effects depend on the characteristics of a card, permanent, or player, and specifically on the value of that characteristic. For example, the effect of a spell might depend on a creature's power, or only be usable when a player's life total is below a certain amount. If the value of that characteristic is less than 0, it is treated as 0 for all purposes except raising it above 0 again.
+
+The value is also treated as 0 if the card, permanent, or player doesn't have a value for that characteristic. Lands and tokens, for example, don't have casting costs, so they're considered to have a total casting cost of 0. 
+
+More on Enchantments
+Some effects move a local enchantment from one permanent to another. In these cases, the enchantment is considered to have been played "from scratch." Previous changes made to it are ignored, choices made when playing it are made again, and so on. Other abilities, however, interact with the enchantment as if it were just moved, not as if it were cast again. Abilities that trigger on the casting of a spell, for example, won't trigger on the enchantment being moved. In particular, because the enchantment is just a permanent, it can be moved onto permanents that can't be the targets of spells or effects (unless, of course, they prohibit enchantments from targeting them).
+
+EXAMPLE
+
+Zones of Play
+In Magic, each player's cards are divided into various zones, such as your hand, your library, your graveyard, and the cards you have in play. Other players know how many cards are in your hand but not what they are. Everyone knows how many cards are in your library but not what they are. Anyone can examine the cards you have in play or in your graveyard.
+
+If a card leaves one zone for another, it "forgets" where it used to be. For example, cards in your graveyard don't know whether they came from your hand, from play, or from somewhere else. Additionally, if a card leaves play for any other zone, it loses all memory of what happened in play, and any effects expecting it to be in play lose track of it. Any changes made to the card are erased, all counters are lost, and so on.
+
+Some effects set a card aside, with instructions for what to do with it later. The card isn't considered to be in play and may be examined by anyone who could've seen it where it used to be; for example, nobody may examine a card set aside from a library.
+
+Cards removed from the game are unavailable until the game is over but may be examined by anyone.
+
+Modifying Mana Production
+The type of mana produced by a spell or ability is determined after applying all effects that might modify either what the source is or what type of mana is produced by it. Effects that cause the spell or ability to produce additional mana cause it to produce mana of that type.
+
+Counts As . . .
+Some cards say in their card text that they count as a certain creature type, land type, color, or other characteristic. These cards have the appropriate characteristic in addition to any other related characteristics they might have--even when they're not in play. If a card counts as having the stated characteristic instead of the normal ones, it says so.
+
+Older Releases
+As the game of Magic has evolved, so have the rules. Earlier editions of Magic used slightly different sets of rules, and the wordings on the cards have changed over time. Keep this in mind when playing with older cards (whether they're yours or your opponent's). For example, many older spells and abilities could legally be played as interrupts when printed but can't under the new rules; these should be played as the appropriate type of spell or ability. In addition, some older cards refer to rules that applied only to that expansion; those rules aren't covered in this rulebook.
+
+Section IV: Game Support
+Getting Help
+If you have any questions or concerns about Magic, we're here to help you. For answers to quick rules questions, call (206) 624-0933 between 8 A.M. and 9 P.M. (PST) Monday through Saturday and ask to speak to a customer service rep. Also feel free to write us at our U.S. office: Wizards of the Coast, P.O. Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, attn: Magic Customer Service.
+
+We also provide electronic customer support, including mailing lists and reps on many online services as well as rules support. Email us at [email protected] with rules questions or requests for information. For general comments, including any regarding damaged product, email us at [email protected].
+
+If you're in the United Kingdom, you can call our UK office at 0345-125599 or email us at [email protected]. You can also write us Wizards of the Coast UK Ltd., P.O. Box 1562, Glasgow, G2 8BW, SCOTLAND, attn: Magic Customer Service.
+
+If you're in France, you can call our France office at +33-1-43-96-35-65 or send postal mail to Wizards of the Coast, France, BP 103, 94222 Charenton Cedex, FRANCE, attn: Magic Customer Service.
+
+In other European countries, you can call our Belgium office at +32-14-44-30-44, fax us at +32-14-44-30-88, or email us at [email protected]. You can also write us at Wizards of the Coast, Belgium, P.B. Box 34, 2300 Turnhout, BELGIUM, attn: Magic Customer Service, or send email or postal mail to our UK office.
+
+Rulings
+Because Magic is based on the interactions of card wordings, sometimes it's unclear what should happen when cards interact. In those cases, we provide rulings and rules clarifications for you. These are published periodically on the Internet wherever we have a Netrep, such as on the rec.games.trading-cards.magic-rules newsgroup or the mailing list at [email protected]. The latest rulings are also published in each issue of The Duelist magazine.
+
+Read All about It
+To find out more about Magic, check out The Duelist, our official trading card game magazine. With deck-building advice, strategy tips, preview cards, and more, The Duelist is the definitive Magic reference for beginners and experts alike. For more information, write to our U.S. office (attn: The Duelist) or call (425) 226-6500 and ask for The Duelist. [Before May 1997, please call (206) 226-6500.] To subscribe or renew only, call 1-800-395-7760.
+
+Playing Nicely with Others
+
+Many retailers sponsor in-house tournaments and/or leagues, in which you can meet and compete with other Magic players. In addition, Arena--The League for Magic: The Gathering offers players the chance to participate in official international league play through their local Magic retailers. For more information, write to our U.S. office (attn: Arena) or check out Arena's website at http://www.wizards.com/Arena.
+
+For serious players, we've formed Duelists' Convocation International, our official tournament organization. Membership allows you the opportunity to earn an official rating through sanctioned tournaments. For more information, write to our U.S. office (attn: DCI) or call (425) 204-8032. [Before May 1997, please call (206) 204-8032.]

002-6ED-Classic Sixth Edition.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
==============================================================================

COMPREHENSIVE RULES                                                   04/23/99

==============================================================================

This rule information is copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast (see the end of
the file for details).

Converted to text from the Word document format by "[email protected]".
You can get this file from "http://www.crystalkeep.com/magic/rules".


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction
1. The Game
     100. General
     101. Starting the Game
     102. Winning and Losing
     103. The Golden Rule
2. Cards
     200. General
     201. Parts of a Card
     202. Name
     203. Mana Cost
     204. Illustration
     205. Type
     206. Expansion Symbol
     207. Text Box
     208. Power/Toughness
     209. Credit
     210. Legal Text
     211. Collector Number
     212. Card Type
     213. Spell Type
     214. Permanent Type
     215. Legends and Legendary Types
     216. Tokens
     217. Zones
3. Turn Structure
     300. General
     301. Beginning Phase
     302. Untap Step
     303. Upkeep Step
     304. Draw Step
     305. Main Phase
     306. Combat Phase
     307. Beginning of Combat Step
     308. Declare Attackers Step
     309. Declare Blockers Step
     310. Combat Damage Step
     311. End of Combat Step
     312. End Phase
     313. End of Turn Step
     314. Cleanup Step
4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
     400. General
     401. Spells
     402. Abilities
     403. Activated Abilities
     404. Triggered Abilities
     405. Static Abilities
     406. Ability Subtypes
     407. Adding and Removing Abilities
     408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
     409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
     410. Handling Triggered Abilities
     411. Playing Mana Abilities
     412. Handling Static Abilities
     413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
     414. Countering Spells and Abilities
     415. Editing a Spell or Ability
     416. Effects
     417. One-Shot Effects
     418. Continuous Effects
     419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
     420. State-Based Effects
     421. Handling "Infinite" Loops
     422. Handling Illegal Actions
5. Additional Combat Rules
     500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
     501. Evasion Abilities
     502. Keyword Abilities
Glossary
Index



In response to play issues and to keep these rules as 
current as possible, changes may have been made to this 
document since its printing. See the Wizards of the Coast¨ 
website for the current version of the official rules.

www.wizards.com


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic: The Gathering(R)  Comprehensive Rules
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction

This book is designed for people who've moved beyond the basic 
Magic: The Gathering(R) game. If you're a beginning Magic(R) player, you'll
probably find these rules pretty intimidating. They're intended to be the 
ultimate authority to the game, and you won't usually need to refer to them 
except in specific cases or during a tournament.

For casual play, and nearly every ordinary situation, you'll find what you 
need in the general rulebook included with the Magic: The Gathering _Classic_
game box. That's also the best place to begin if you're moving up from a 
starter-level Magic product such as the Magic: The Gathering _Portal_ or 
_Portal Second Age_ sets. If you're sure this is where you want to be, keep 
reading.

This document is organized in a series of numbered rules. Many of these rules
are in turn subdivided, and each separate rule of the game has its own number. 
Words or phrases in italics are defined in the glossary.

We at Wizards of the Coast(R) recognize that no matter how detailed the rules,
there will always be situations in which the interactions of specific cards 
require a precise answer. If you have questions, you can get the answers from
us. See the end of this file for contact information.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Game
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

100. General
------------

100.1. These Magic rules assume a game between two players. Optional rules 
allow for more players but aren't discussed here. These can be found at the 
Wizards of the Coast(R) website at <www.wizards.com>.

100.2. In constructed-deck play, each player needs his or her own deck of at 
least sixty cards with no more than four copies of any card except basic 
lands; small objects to represent any tokens and counters; and some way to 
clearly track life totals.

100.3. For sealed-deck or draft play, only forty cards are required in a deck,
and a player may use as many copies of a card as he or shLine truncated

0100-MID-Innistrad Midnight Hunt.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are effective as of September 24, 2021.

Introduction

This document is the ultimate authority for Magic: The Gathering® competitive game play. It consists of a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. (Note that subrules skip the letters “l” and “o” due to potential confusion with the numbers “1” and “0”; subrule 704.5k is followed by 704.5m, then 704.5n, then 704.5p, for example.)

Changes may have been made to this document since its publication. You can download the most recent version from the Magic rules website at Magic.Wizards.com/Rules. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at Support.Wizards.com.
+Contents

1. Game Concepts
100. General
101. The Magic Golden Rules
102. Players
103. Starting the Game
104. Ending the Game
105. Colors
106. Mana
107. Numbers and Symbols
108. Cards
109. Objects
110. Permanents
111. Tokens
112. Spells
113. Abilities
114. Emblems
115. Targets
116. Special Actions
117. Timing and Priority
118. Costs
119. Life
120. Damage
121. Drawing a Card
122. Counters

2. Parts of a Card
200. General
201. Name
202. Mana Cost and Color
203. Illustration
204. Color Indicator
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Loyalty
210. Hand Modifier
211. Life Modifier
212. Information Below the Text Box

3. Card Types
300. General
301. Artifacts
302. Creatures
303. Enchantments
304. Instants
305. Lands
306. Planeswalkers
307. Sorceries
308. Tribals
309. Dungeons
310. Planes
311. Phenomena
312. Vanguards
313. Schemes
314. Conspiracies

4. Zones
400. General
401. Library
402. Hand
403. Battlefield
404. Graveyard
405. Stack
406. Exile
407. Ante
408. Command

5. Turn Structure
500. General
501. Beginning Phase
502. Untap Step
503. Upkeep Step
504. Draw Step
505. Main Phase
506. Combat Phase
507. Beginning of Combat Step
508. Declare Attackers Step
509. Declare Blockers Step
510. Combat Damage Step
511. End of Combat Step
512. Ending Phase
513. End Step
514. Cleanup Step

6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
600. General
601. Casting Spells
602. Activating Activated Abilities
603. Handling Triggered Abilities
604. Handling Static Abilities
605. Mana Abilities
606. Loyalty Abilities
607. Linked Abilities
608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
609. Effects
610. One-Shot Effects
611. Continuous Effects
612. Text-Changing Effects
613. Interaction of Continuous Effects
614. Replacement Effects
615. Prevention Effects
616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects

7. Additional Rules
700. General
701. Keyword Actions
702. Keyword Abilities
703. Turn-Based Actions
704. State-Based Actions
705. Flipping a Coin
706. Rolling a Die
707. Copying Objects
708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
709. Split Cards
710. Flip Cards
711. Leveler Cards
712. Double-Faced Cards
713. Meld Cards
714. Substitute Cards
715. Saga Cards
716. Adventurer Cards
717. Class Cards
718. Controlling Another Player
719. Ending Turns and Phases
720. The Monarch
721. Restarting the Game
722. Subgames
723. Merging with Permanents
724. Day and Night
725. Taking Shortcuts
726. Handling Illegal Actions

8. Multiplayer Rules
800. General
801. Limited Range of Influence Option
802. Attack Multiple Players Option
803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
804. Deploy Creatures Option
805. Shared Team Turns Option
806. Free-for-All Variant
807. Grand Melee Variant
808. Team vs. Team Variant
809. Emperor Variant
810. Two-Headed Giant Variant
811. Alternating Teams Variant

9. Casual Variants
900. General
901. Planechase
902. Vanguard
903. Commander
904. Archenemy
905. Conspiracy Draft

Glossary

Credits
+1. Game Concepts

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 8, “Multiplayer Rules.”

100.2. To play, each player needs their own deck of traditional Magic cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck has a minimum deck size of 60 cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.2b In limited play (a way of playing in which each player gets the same quantity of unopened Magic product such as booster packs and creates their own deck using only this product and basic land cards), each deck has a minimum deck size of 40 cards. A limited deck may contain as many duplicates of a card as are included with the product.

100.2c Commander decks are subject to additional deckbuilding restrictions and requirements. See rule 903, “Commander,” for details.

100.3. Some cards require coins or traditional dice. Some casual variants require additional items, such as specially designated cards, nontraditional Magic cards, and specialized dice.

100.4. Each player may also have a sideboard, which is a group of additional cards the player may use to modify their deck between games of a match.

100.4a In constructed play, a sideboard may contain no more than fifteen cards. The four-card limit (see rule 100.2a) applies to the combined deck and sideboard.

100.4b In limited play involving individual players, all cards in a player’s card pool not included in their deck are in that player’s sideboard.

100.4c In limited play involving the Two-Headed Giant multiplayer variant, all cards in a team’s card pool but not in either player’s deck are in that team’s sideboard.

100.4d In limited play involving other multiplayer team variants, each card in a team’s card pool but not in any player’s deck is assigned to the sideboard of one of those players. Each player has their own sideboard; cards may not be transferred between players.

100.5. If a deck must contain at least a certain number of cards, that number is referred to as a minimum deck size. There is no maximum deck size for non-Commander decks.

100.6. Most Magic tournaments (organized play activities where players compete against other players to win prizes) have additional rules covered in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules (found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents). These rules may limit the use of some cards, including barring all cards from some older sets.

100.6a Tournaments usually consist of a series of matches. A two-player match usually involves playing until one player has won two games. A multiplayer match usually consists of only one game.

100.6b Players can use the Magic Store & Event Locator at Wizards.com/Locator to find tournaments in their area.

100.7. Certain promotional cards and cards in the Unglued, Unhinged, and Unstable sets are printed with a silver border. These cards are intended for casual play and may have features and text that aren’t covered by these rules.

101. The Magic Golden Rules

101.1. Whenever a card’s text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence. The card overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation. The only exception is that a player can concede the game at any time (see rule 104.3a).

101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.
Example: If one effect reads “You may play an additional land this turn” and another reads “You can’t play lands this turn,” the effect that precludes you from playing lands wins.

101.2a Adding abilities to objects and removing abilities from objects don’t fall under this rule. (See rule 113.10.)

101.3. Any part of an instruction that’s impossible to perform is ignored. (In many cases the card will specify consequences for this; if it doesn’t, there’s no effect.)

101.4. If multiple players would make choices and/or take actions at the same time, the active player (the player whose turn it is) makes any choices required, then the next player in turn order (usually the player seated to the active player’s left) makes any choices required, followed by the remaining nonactive players in turn order. Then the actions happen simultaneously. This rule is often referred to as the “Active Player, Nonactive Player (APNAP) order” rule.
Example: A card reads “Each player sacrifices a creature.” First, the active player chooses a creature they control. ThenLine truncated
+2. Parts of a Card

200. General

200.1. The parts of a card are name, mana cost, illustration, color indicator, type line, expansion symbol, text box, power and toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, life modifier, illustration credit, legal text, and collector number. Some cards may have more than one of any or all of these parts.

200.2. Some parts of a card are also characteristics of the object that has them. See rule 109.3.

200.3. Some objects that aren’t cards (tokens, copies of cards, and copies of spells) have some of the parts of a card, but only the ones that are also characteristics. See rule 111 and rule 707.

201. Name

201.1. The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.

201.2. A card’s name is always considered to be the English version of its name, regardless of printed language.

201.2a Two or more objects have the same name if they have at least one name in common, even if one or more of those objects have additional names. An object with no name doesn’t have the same name as any other object, including another object with no name.

201.2b Some spells and abilities refer to two or more objects with different names. Those objects have different names only if each of them has at least one name and no two objects in that group have a name in common.
Example: A player controls Liliana’s Contract, which says, in part, “At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control four or more Demons with different names, you win the game.” That player controls three Demons with different names and a face-down creature with no name, with an effect making it a Demon. Because the four creatures include one with no name, those four creatures don’t count as four Demons with different names. The ability of Liliana’s Contract won’t trigger.

201.2c Some spells or abilities check if one object has a different name than a second object or group of objects. The first object has a different name than those objects if the first object has at least one name and has no names in common with any of the other objects, even if one or more of the other objects have no names. If the first object has no name, it does not have a different name than any of the other objects, even if those other objects themselves have names.

201.3. If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the player must choose the name of a card in the Oracle card reference. (See rule 108.1.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.

201.3a If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, the player must choose the name of a card whose Oracle text matches those characteristics. (See rule 108.1.)
Example: Dispossess reads, in part, “Choose an artifact card name.” The player can choose the name of any artifact card, even one that’s not legal in the format of the current game. The player can’t choose Island, even if an Island on the battlefield has been turned into artifact by some effect.

201.3b If a player wants to choose the name of a split card, the player must choose the name of one of its halves, but not both. (See rule 709.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only that half’s characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3c If a player wants to choose a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 710.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3d If a player wants to choose the name of the back face of a double-faced card, the player may do so. (See rule 712.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3e If a player wants to choose the name of the combined back face of a meld pair, the player may do so. (See rule 713.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the combined back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3f If a player wants to choose an adventurer card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 716.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4. Text that refers to the object it’s on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.

201.4a If an ability’s effect grants another ability to an object, and that second ability refers to that first ability’s source by name, the name refers only to the specific object which is that first ability’s source. The second ability does not refer to any other object with the sameLine truncated
+3. Card Types

300. General

300.1. The card types are artifact, conspiracy, creature, dungeon, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard.

300.2. Some objects have more than one card type (for example, an artifact creature). Such objects combine the aspects of each of those card types, and are subject to spells and abilities that affect either or all of those card types.

300.2a An object that’s both a land and another card type (for example, an artifact land) can only be played as a land. It can’t be cast as a spell.

300.2b Each tribal card has another card type. Casting and resolving a tribal card follow the rules for casting and resolving a card of the other card type.

301. Artifacts

301.1. A player who has priority may cast an artifact card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting an artifact as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)

301.2. When an artifact spell resolves, its controller puts it onto the battlefield under their control.

301.3. Artifact subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Artifact — Equipment.” Artifact subtypes are also called artifact types. Artifacts may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3g for the complete list of artifact types.

301.4. Artifacts have no characteristics specific to their card type. Most artifacts have no colored mana symbols in their mana costs, and are therefore colorless. However, there is no correlation between being colorless and being an artifact: artifacts may be colored, and colorless objects may be card types other than artifact.

301.5. Some artifacts have the subtype “Equipment.” An Equipment can be attached to a creature. It can’t legally be attached to anything that isn’t a creature.

301.5a The creature an Equipment is attached to is called the “equipped creature.” The Equipment is attached to, or “equips,” that creature.

301.5b Equipment spells are cast like other artifact spells. Equipment enter the battlefield like other artifacts. They don’t enter the battlefield attached to a creature. The equip keyword ability attaches the Equipment to a creature you control (see rule 702.6, “Equip”). Control of the creature matters only when the equip ability is activated and when it resolves. Spells and other abilities may also attach an Equipment to a creature. If an effect attempts to attach an Equipment to an object that can’t be equipped by it, the Equipment doesn’t move.

301.5c An Equipment that’s also a creature can’t equip a creature. An Equipment that loses the subtype “Equipment” can’t equip a creature. An Equipment can’t equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent becomes unattached from that permanent but remains on the battlefield. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.) An Equipment can’t equip more than one creature. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.

301.5d An Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment, and vice versa. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Equipment grants an ability to the equipped creature (with “gains” or “has”), the equipped creature’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.

301.5e An ability of a permanent that refers to the “equipped creature” refers to whatever creature that permanent is attached to, even if the permanent with the ability isn’t an Equipment.

301.6. Some artifacts have the subtype “Fortification.” A Fortification can be attached to a land. It can’t legally be attached to an object that isn’t a land. Fortification’s analog to the equip keyword ability is the fortify keyword ability. Rules 301.5a–e apply to Fortifications in relation to lands just as they apply to Equipment in relation to creatures, with one clarification relating to rule 301.5c: a Fortification that’s also a creature (not a land) can’t fortify a land. (See rule 702.67, “Fortify.”)

301.7. Some artifacts have the subtype “Vehicle.” Most Vehicles have a crew ability which allows them to become artifact creatures. See rule 702.122, “Crew.”

301.7a Each Vehicle has a printed power and toughness, but it has these characteristics only if it’s also a creature. See rule 208.3.

301.7b If a Vehicle becomes a creature, it immediately has its printed power and toughness. Other effects, including the effect that makes it a creature, may modify these values or set them to different values.

302. Creatures

302.1. A player who has priority may cast a creature card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting a creature Line truncated
+4. Zones

400. General

400.1. A zone is a place where objects can be during a game. There are normally seven zones: library, hand, battlefield, graveyard, stack, exile, and command. Some older cards also use the ante zone. Each player has their own library, hand, and graveyard. The other zones are shared by all players.

400.2. Public zones are zones in which all players can see the cards’ faces, except for those cards that some rule or effect specifically allow to be face down. Graveyard, battlefield, stack, exile, ante, and command are public zones. Hidden zones are zones in which not all players can be expected to see the cards’ faces. Library and hand are hidden zones, even if all the cards in one such zone happen to be revealed.

400.3. If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner’s corresponding zone.

400.4. Cards with certain card types can’t enter certain zones.

400.4a If an instant or sorcery card would enter the battlefield, it remains in its previous zone.

400.4b If a conspiracy, phenomenon, plane, scheme, or vanguard card would leave the command zone, it remains in the command zone.

400.5. The order of objects in a library, in a graveyard, or on the stack can’t be changed except when effects or rules allow it. The same is true for objects arranged in face-down piles in other zones. Other objects in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those objects, whether they’re tapped or flipped, and what other objects are attached to them must remain clear to all players.

400.6. If an object would move from one zone to another, determine what event is moving the object. If the object is moving to a public zone and its owner will be able to look at it in that zone, its owner looks at it to see if it has any abilities that would affect the move. If the object is moving to the battlefield, each other player who will be able to look at it in that zone does so. Then any appropriate replacement effects, whether they come from that object or from elsewhere, are applied to that event. If any effects or rules try to do two or more contradictory or mutually exclusive things to a particular object, that object’s controller—or its owner if it has no controller—chooses which effect to apply, and what that effect does. (Note that multiple instances of the same thing may be mutually exclusive; for example, two simultaneous “destroy” effects.) Then the event moves the object.
Example: Exquisite Archangel has an ability which reads “If you would lose the game, instead exile Exquisite Archangel and your life total becomes equal to your starting life total.” A spell deals 5 damage to a player with 5 life and 5 damage to an Exquisite Archangel under that player’s control. As state-based actions are performed, that player’s life total becomes equal to their starting life total, and that player chooses whether Exquisite Archangel moves to its owner’s graveyard or to exile.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

400.7a Effects from spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities that change the characteristics or controller of a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7b Prevention effects that apply to damage from a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to damage from the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7c An ability of a permanent can reference information about the spell that became that permanent as it resolved, including what costs were paid to cast that spell or what mana was spent to pay those costs.

400.7d Abilities that trigger when an object moves from one zone to another (for example, “When Rancor is put into a graveyard from the battlefield”) can find the new object that it became in the zone it moved to when the ability triggered, if that zone is a public zone.

400.7e Abilities of Auras that trigger when the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield can find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard if it was put into that graveyard at the same time the enchanted permanent left the battlefield. It can also find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard as a result of being put there as a state-based action for not being attached to a permanent. (See rule 704.5m.)

400.7f If an effect grants a nonland card an ability that allows it to be cast, that ability will continue to apply to the new object that card became after it moved to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7g If an effect allows a nonland card to be cast, other parts of that effect can find the new object that card becomes after it moves to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7h If an effect causes an object to move to a public zone, other parts of that eLine truncated
+5. Turn Structure

500. General

500.1. A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of these phases takes place every turn, even if nothing happens during the phase. The beginning, combat, and ending phases are further broken down into steps, which proceed in order.

500.2. A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession. Simply having the stack become empty doesn’t cause such a phase or step to end; all players have to pass in succession with the stack empty. Because of this, each player gets a chance to add new things to the stack before that phase or step ends.

500.3. A step in which no players receive priority ends when all specified actions that take place during that step are completed. The only such steps are the untap step (see rule 502) and certain cleanup steps (see rule 514).

500.4. When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

500.5. When a phase or step ends, any effects scheduled to last “until end of” that phase or step expire. When a phase or step begins, any effects scheduled to last “until” that phase or step expire. Effects that last “until end of combat” expire at the end of the combat phase, not at the beginning of the end of combat step. Effects that last “until end of turn” are subject to special rules; see rule 514.2.

500.6. When a phase or step begins, any abilities that trigger “at the beginning of” that phase or step trigger. They are put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

500.7. Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a player is given multiple extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time. If multiple players are given extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time, in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). The most recently created turn will be taken first.

500.8. Some effects can add phases to a turn. They do this by adding the phases directly after the specified phase. If multiple extra phases are created after the same phase, the most recently created phase will occur first.

500.9. Some effects can add steps to a phase. They do this by adding the steps directly after a specified step or directly before a specified step. If multiple extra steps are created after the same step, the most recently created step will occur first.

500.10. Some effects can cause a step, phase, or turn to be skipped. To skip a step, phase, or turn is to proceed past it as though it didn’t exist. See rule 614.10.

500.11. No game events can occur between turns, phases, or steps.

501. Beginning Phase

501.1. The beginning phase consists of three steps, in this order: untap, upkeep, and draw.

502. Untap Step

502.1. First, all phased-in permanents with phasing that the active player controls phase out, and all phased-out permanents that the active player controlled when they phased out phase in. This all happens simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 702.26, “Phasing.”

502.2. Second, if it’s day and the previous turn’s active player didn’t cast any spells during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and the previous turn’s active player cast two or more spells during that turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither.

502.2a Multiplayer games using the shared team turns option use a modified rule. If it’s day and no player on the previous turn’s active team cast a spell during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and any player on the previous turn’s active team cast two or more spells during the previous turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither.

502.3. Third, the active player determines which permanents they control will untap. Then they untap them all simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. Normally, all of a player’s permanents untap, but effects can keep one or more of a player’s permanents from untapping.

502.4. No player receives priority during the untap step, so no spells can be cast or resolve and no abilities can be activated or resolve. Any ability that triggers during this step will be held until the next time a player would receive priority, which is usually during the upkeep step. (See rule 503, “Upkeep Step.”)

503. Upkeep Step

503.1. The upkeep step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

503.1a Any abilities that triggered during the untap step and any abilities that triggered at the beginning of the upkeep are put onto the stack before the active player gets priority; the order in whiLine truncated
+6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects

600. General

601. Casting Spells

601.1. Previously, the action of casting a spell, or casting a card as a spell, was referred to on cards as “playing” that spell or that card. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to “casting” that spell or that card.

601.1a Some effects still refer to “playing” a card. “Playing a card” means playing that card as a land or casting that card as a spell, whichever is appropriate.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal ; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 726, “Handling Illegal Actions”).

601.2a To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it resolves, it’s countered, or a rule or effect moves it elsewhere.

601.2b If the spell is modal, the player announces the mode choice (see rule 700.2). If the player wishes to splice any cards onto the spell (see rule 702.47), they reveal those cards in their hand. If the spell has alternative or additional costs that will be paid as it’s being cast such as buyback or kicker costs (see rules 118.8 and 118.9), the player announces their intentions to pay any or all of those costs (see rule 601.2f). A player can’t apply two alternative methods of casting or two alternative costs to a single spell. If the spell has a variable cost that will be paid as it’s being cast (such as an {X} in its mana cost; see rule 107.3), the player announces the value of that variable. If the value of that variable is defined in the text of the spell by a choice that player would make later in the announcement or resolution of the spell, that player makes that choice at this time instead of that later time. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes hybrid mana symbols, the player announces the nonhybrid equivalent cost they intend to pay. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes Phyrexian mana symbols, the player announces whether they intend to pay 2 life or the corresponding colored mana cost for each of those symbols. Previously made choices (such as choosing to cast a spell with flashback from a graveyard or choosing to cast a creature with morph face down) may restrict the player’s options when making these choices.

601.2c The player announces their choice of an appropriate object or player for each target the spell requires. A spell may require some targets only if an alternative or additional cost (such as a kicker cost) or a particular mode was chosen for it; otherwise, the spell is cast as though it did not require those targets. Similarly, a spell may require alternative targets only if an alternative or additional cost was chosen for it. If the spell has a variable number of targets, the player announces how many targets they will choose before they announce those targets. In some cases, the number of targets will be defined by the spell’s text. Once the number of targets the spell has is determined, that number doesn’t change, even if the information used to determine the number of targets does. The same target can’t be chosen multiple times for any one instance of the word “target” on the spell. However, if the spell uses the word “target” in multiple places, the same object or player can be chosen once for each instance of the word “target” (as long as it fits the targeting criteria). If any effects say that an object or player must be chosen as a target, the player chooses targets so that they obey the maximum possible number of such effects without violating any rules or effects that say that an object or player can’t be chosen as a target. The chosen objects and/or players each become a target of that spell. (Any abilities that trigger when those objects and/or players become the target of a spell trigger at this point; they’ll wait to be put on the stack until the spell has finished being cast.)
Example: If a spell says “Tap two target creatures,” then the same creature can’t be chosen twice; the spell requires two different legal targets. A spell that says Line truncated
+7. Additional Rules

700. General

700.1. Anything that happens in a game is an event. Multiple events may take place during the resolution of a spell or ability. The text of triggered abilities and replacement effects defines the event they’re looking for. One “happening” may be treated as a single event by one ability and as multiple events by another.
Example: If an attacking creature is blocked by two creatures, this is one event for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked” but two events for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked by a creature.”

700.2. A spell or ability is modal if it has two or more options in a bulleted list preceded by instructions for a player to choose a number of those options, such as “Choose one —.” Each of those options is a mode. Modal cards printed prior to the Khans of Tarkir® set didn’t use bulleted lists for the modes; these cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference so the modes do appear in a bulleted list.

700.2a The controller of a modal spell or activated ability chooses the mode(s) as part of casting that spell or activating that ability. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. (See rule 601.2b.)

700.2b The controller of a modal triggered ability chooses the mode(s) as part of putting that ability on the stack. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. If no mode is chosen, the ability is removed from the stack. (See rule 603.3c.)

700.2c If a spell or ability targets one or more targets only if a particular mode is chosen for it, its controller will need to choose those targets only if they chose that mode. Otherwise, the spell or ability is treated as though it did not have those targets. (See rule 601.2c.)

700.2d If a player is allowed to choose more than one mode for a modal spell or ability, that player normally can’t choose the same mode more than once. However, a few modal spells include the instruction “You may choose the same mode more than once.” If a particular mode is chosen multiple times, the spell is treated as if that mode appeared that many times in sequence. If that mode requires a target, the same player or object may be chosen as the target for each of those modes, or different targets may be chosen.

700.2e Some spells and abilities specify that a player other than their controller chooses a mode for it. In that case, the other player does so when the spell or ability’s controller normally would do so. If there is more than one other player who could make such a choice, the spell or ability’s controller decides which of those players will make the choice.

700.2f Modal spells and abilities may have different targeting requirements for each mode. Changing a spell or ability’s target can’t change its mode.

700.2g A copy of a modal spell or ability copies the mode(s) chosen for it. The controller of the copy can’t choose a different mode. (See rule 707.10.)

700.3. Some effects cause objects to be temporarily grouped into piles.

700.3a Each of the affected objects must be put into exactly one of those piles, unless the effect specifies otherwise.

700.3b Each object in a pile is still an individual object. The pile is not an object.

700.3c Objects grouped into piles don’t leave the zone they’re currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained.
Example: Fact or Fiction reads, “Reveal the top five cards of your library. An opponent separates those cards into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard.” While an opponent is separating the revealed cards into piles, they’re still in their owner’s library. They don’t leave the library until they’re put into their owner’s hand or graveyard.

700.3d A pile can contain zero or more objects.

700.4. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”

700.5. A player’s devotion to [color] is equal to the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents that player controls. A player’s devotion to [color 1] and [color 2] is equal to the number of mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents that player controls that are [color 1], [color 2], or both colors.

700.5a A player’s devotion to each color and combination of colors, taking into account any effects that modify devotion, is calculated after considering any copy, control, or text-changing effects but before any other effects that modify the characteristics of permanents. This is an exception to 613.10. See also rule 613, “Interaction of Continuous Effects.”
Example: Altar of the Pantheon is an artifact with no colored mana in its cost and an ability that says “Your devotion to each color and each comLine truncated
+8. Multiplayer Rules

800. General

800.1. A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for multiplayer play.

800.2. These rules consist of a series of options that can be added to a multiplayer game and a number of variant styles of multiplayer play. A single game may use multiple options but only one variant.

800.3. Many multiplayer Magic tournaments have additional rules not included here, including rules for deck construction. See the most current Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules for more information. They can be found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents.

800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.

800.4a When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game and any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end. Then, if that player controlled any objects on the stack not represented by cards, those objects cease to exist. Then, if there are any objects still controlled by that player, those objects are exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the player leaves the game. If the player who left the game had priority at the time they left, priority passes to the next player in turn order who’s still in the game.
Example: Alex casts Mind Control, an Aura that reads, “You control enchanted creature,” on Bianca’s Assault Griffin. If Alex leaves the game, so does Mind Control, and Assault Griffin reverts to Bianca’s control. If, instead, Bianca leaves the game, so does Assault Griffin, and Mind Control is put into Alex’s graveyard.
Example: Alex casts Act of Treason, which reads, in part, “Gain control of target creature until end of turn,” targeting Bianca’s Runeclaw Bears. If Alex leaves the game, Act of Treason’s change-of-control effect ends and Runeclaw Bears reverts to Bianca’s control.
Example: Alex casts Bribery, which reads, “Search target opponent’s library for a creature card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player shuffles their library,” targeting Bianca. Alex puts Serra Angel onto the battlefield from Bianca’s library. If Bianca leaves the game, Serra Angel also leaves the game. If, instead, Alex leaves the game, Serra Angel is exiled.
Example: Alex controls Genesis Chamber, which reads, “Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield, if Genesis Chamber is untapped, that creature’s controller creates a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.” If Alex leaves the game, all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under Alex’s control leave the game, and all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under any other player’s control remain in the game.

800.4b If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a token would be created under the control of a player who has left the game, no token is created. If an object would be put onto the battlefield or onto the stack under the control of a player who has left the game, that object remains in its current zone. If a player would be controlled by a player who has left the game, they aren’t.

800.4c If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.

800.4d If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any zone, it isn’t created. If a triggered ability that would be controlled by a player who has left the game would be put onto the stack, it isn’t put on the stack.
Example: Astral Slide is an enchantment that reads, “Whenever a player cycles a card, you may exile target creature. If you do, return that creature to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.” During Alex’s turn, Bianca uses Astral Slide’s ability to exile Alex’s Hypnotic Specter. Before the end of that turn, Bianca leaves the game. At the beginning of the end step, the delayed triggered ability generated by Astral Slide that would return Hypnotic Specter to the battlefield triggers, but it isn’t put on the stack. Hypnotic Specter never returns to the battlefield.

800.4e If combat damage would be assigned to a player who has left the game, that damage isn’t assigned.

800.4f If an object requires a player who has left the game to pay a cost or choose whether to pay a cost, that cost is not paid.

800.4g If an object requires a player who has left the game to make a choice other than whether to pay a cost, the controller of the object chooses another player to make that choice. If the original choice was toLine truncated
+9. Casual Variants

900. General

900.1. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for certain casual game variants. It is by no means comprehensive.

900.2. The casual variants detailed here use supplemental zones, rules, cards, and other game implements not used in traditional Magic games.

901. Planechase

901.1. In the Planechase variant, plane cards and phenomenon cards add additional abilities and randomness to the game. The Planechase variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.

901.2. A Planechase game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 806, “Free-for-All Variant.”

901.3. In addition to the normal game materials, each player needs a planar deck of at least ten plane and/or phenomenon cards and the game needs one planar die. No more than two cards in a planar deck can be phenomenon cards. Each card in a planar deck must have a different English name. (See rule 310, “Planes,” and rule 311, “Phenomena.”)

901.3a A planar die is a six-sided die. One face has the Planeswalker symbol {PW}. One face has the chaos symbol {CHAOS}. The other faces are blank.
901.4. At the start of the game, each player shuffles their planar deck so that the cards are in a random order. Each deck is placed face down next to its owner’s library. All plane and phenomenon cards remain in the command zone throughout the game, both while they’re part of a planar deck and while they’re face up.

901.5. Once all players have kept their opening hands and used the abilities of cards that allow them to take an action with those cards from their opening hands, the starting player moves the top card of their planar deck off that planar deck and turns it face up. If it’s a phenomenon card, the player puts that card on the bottom of their planar deck and repeats this process until a plane card is turned face up. (See rule 103.6.) No abilities of any card turned face up this way trigger during this process. The face-up plane card becomes the starting plane.

901.6. The owner of a plane or phenomenon card is the player who started the game with it in their planar deck. The controller of a face-up plane or phenomenon card is the player designated as the planar controller. Normally, the planar controller is whoever the active player is. However, if the current planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in turn order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. The new planar controller retains that designation until they leave the game or a different player becomes the active player, whichever comes first.

901.7. Any abilities of a face-up plane card or phenomenon card in the command zone function from that zone. The card’s static abilities affect the game, its triggered abilities may trigger, and its activated abilities may be activated.

901.7a A face-up plane card or phenomenon card that’s turned face down becomes a new object.

901.8. Planechase games have an inherent triggered ability known as the “planeswalking ability.” The full text of this ability is “Whenever you roll {PW}, planeswalk.” (See rule 701.24, “Planeswalk.”) This ability has no source and is controlled by the player whose planar die roll caused it to trigger. This is an exception to rule 113.8.

901.9. Any time the active player has priority and the stack is empty, but only during a main phase of their turn, that player may roll the planar die. Taking this action costs a player an amount of mana equal to the number of times they have previously taken this action on that turn. This is a special action and doesn’t use the stack. Note that this number won’t be equal to the number of times the player has rolled the planar die that turn if an effect has caused the player to roll the planar die that turn. (See rule 116.2i.)

901.9a If the die roll is a blank face, nothing happens. The active player gets priority.

901.9b If the die roll is the chaos symbol {CHAOS}, any ability of a face-up plane that starts “When you roll {CHAOS}” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority.

901.9c If the die roll is the Planeswalker symbol {PW}, the “planeswalking ability” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority. (See rule 901.8.)

901.9d Rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result of a die roll, including ones that compare the results of that roll to other rolls or to a given number, ignores the rolling of the planar die. See 706, “Rolling a Die.”

901.10. When a player leaves the game, all objects owned by that player except abilities from phenomena leave theLine truncated
+Glossary

Abandon
To turn a face-up ongoing scheme card face down and put it on the bottom of its owner’s scheme deck. See rule 701.26, “Abandon.”

Ability
1. Text on an object that explains what that object does or can do.
2. An activated or triggered ability on the stack. This kind of ability is an object.
See rule 113, “Abilities,” and section 6, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”

Ability Word
An italicized word with no rules meaning that ties together abilities on different cards that have similar functionality. See rule 207.2c.

Absorb
A keyword ability that prevents damage. See rule 702.64, “Absorb.”

Activate
To put an activated ability onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. See rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activated Ability
A kind of ability. Activated abilities are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]” See rule 113, “Abilities,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activation Cost
Everything that appears before the colon in an activated ability’s text. It must be paid to activate the ability. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Active Player
The player whose turn it is. See rule 102.1.

Active Player, Nonactive Player Order
A system that determines the order by which players make choices if multiple players are instructed to make choices at the same time. See rule 101.4. This rule is modified for games using the shared team turns option; see rule 805.6.

Active Team
The team whose turn it is in a game using the shared team turns option. See rule 805.4a.

Adapt
A keyword action that puts +1/+1 counters on a creature that doesn’t have any yet. See rule 701.43, “Adapt.”

Additional Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller may pay (or, in some cases, must pay) in addition to its mana cost to cast that spell. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Adventurer Card
Cards with a two-part card frame (one part of which is inset on the left) on a single card. See rule 716, “Adventurer Cards.”
Affinity
A keyword ability that reduces how much mana you need to spend to cast a spell. See rule 702.41, “Affinity.”

Afflict
A keyword ability that makes the defending player lose life for blocking. See rule 702.130, “Afflict.”

Afterlife
A keyword ability that leaves behind Spirit creature tokens when certain creatures die. See rule 702.135, “Afterlife.”

Aftermath
A keyword ability that lets a player cast one half of a split card only from their graveyard. See rule 702.127, “Aftermath.”

Alternating Teams Variant
A multiplayer variant played among two or more teams of equal size. See rule 811, “Alternating Teams Variant.”

Alternative Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller can pay rather than paying its mana cost. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Amass
A keyword action than gives you a Zombie Army creature token or grows an Army you already have. See rule 701.44, “Amass.”

Amplify
A keyword ability than can have a creature enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it. See rule 702.38, “Amplify.”

Anchor Word
A word that precedes one of two abilities a permanent may enter the battlefield with. See rule 614.12b.

Annihilator
A keyword ability that can make a creature particularly brutal when it attacks. See rule 702.86, “Annihilator.”

Ante
1. A zone used only when playing “for keeps.”
2. To put a card into the ante zone.
See rule 407, “Ante.”

Any Target
A spell or ability may require “any target.” “Any target” is the same as “target creature, player, or planeswalker.” See rule 115.4.

APNAP Order
See Active Player, Nonactive Player Order.

Archenemy
1. A casual variant in which a team of players faces off against a single opponent strengthened with powerful scheme cards. See rule 904, “Archenemy.”
2. A player in an Archenemy game who is playing with a scheme deck.

Artifact
A card type. An artifact is a permanent. See rule 301, “Artifacts.”

Artifact Creature
A combination of artifact and creature that’s subject to the rules for both. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 302, “Creatures.”

Artifact Land
A combination of artifact and land that’s subject to the rules for both. Artifact lands can only be played as lands, not cast as spells. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 305, “Lands.”

Artifact Type
A subtype that’s correlated to the artifact card type. See rule 301, “Artifacts.” See rule 205.3g for the list of artifact types.

As Though
Text used to indicate that the game, for some specific purpose, treats a condition as true even though it’s not. See rule 609.4.

Ascend
A keyword causing a player to get the designation of the city’s blessing once they control ten permanents. See rule 702.131, “Ascend.”

Assemble
Assemble is a keyword action in the UnsLine truncated
+Credits

Magic: The Gathering Original Game Design: Richard Garfield
Comprehensive Rules Design and Development: Paul Barclay, Mark L. Gottlieb, Beth Moursund, Bill Rose, Eli Shiffrin, and Matt Tabak, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, John Carter, Elaine Chase, Laurie Cheers, Stephen D’Angelo, Dave DeLaney, Brady Dommermuth, Mike Donais, Skaff Elias, Mike Elliott, Richard Garfield, Dan Gray, Robert Gutschera, Collin Jackson, William Jockusch, Jeff Jordan, Yonemura Kaoru, Russell Linnemann, Jim Lin, Steve Lord, Sheldon Menery, Michael Phoenix, Mark Rosewater, David Sachs, Lee Sharpe, Henry Stern, Donald X. Vaccarino, Thijs van Ommen, Ingo Warnke, Tom Wylie, and Bryan Zembruski
Editing: Del Laugel (lead), Lyz Liddell, Gregg Luben, Nat Moes, Samantha Phelan, Matt Tabak, Michael Zhang, and Hans Ziegler
Magic Rules Management: Jess Dunks, Eli Shiffrin, and Matt Tabak

The Magic: The Gathering game was designed by Richard Garfield, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, Skaff Elias, Don Felice, Tom Fontaine, Jim Lin, Joel Mick, Chris Page, Dave Pettey, Barry “Bit” Reich, Bill Rose, and Elliott Segal. The mana symbols were designed by Christopher Rush.

Thanks to all our project team members and the many others too numerous to mention who have contributed to this product.












These rules are effective as of September 24, 2021.

Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Magic, their respective logos, Mirrodin, Kamigawa, Lorwyn, Zendikar, Innistrad, Ravnica, Khans of Tarkir, Magic Origins, Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy, Ixalan, Unglued, Unstable, Dominaria, Ikoria, Kaldheim, and Planeswalker Decks are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the USA and other countries. ©2021 Wizards. U.S. Pat. No. RE 37,957.

0102-NEO-Kamigawa Neon Dynasty.txt

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+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are effective as of February 18, 2022.

Introduction

This document is the ultimate authority for Magic: The Gathering® competitive game play. It consists of a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. (Note that subrules skip the letters “l” and “o” due to potential confusion with the numbers “1” and “0”; subrule 704.5k is followed by 704.5m, then 704.5n, then 704.5p, for example.)

Changes may have been made to this document since its publication. You can download the most recent version from the Magic rules website at Magic.Wizards.com/Rules. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at Support.Wizards.com.
+Contents

1. Game Concepts
100. General
101. The Magic Golden Rules
102. Players
103. Starting the Game
104. Ending the Game
105. Colors
106. Mana
107. Numbers and Symbols
108. Cards
109. Objects
110. Permanents
111. Tokens
112. Spells
113. Abilities
114. Emblems
115. Targets
116. Special Actions
117. Timing and Priority
118. Costs
119. Life
120. Damage
121. Drawing a Card
122. Counters

2. Parts of a Card
200. General
201. Name
202. Mana Cost and Color
203. Illustration
204. Color Indicator
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Loyalty
210. Hand Modifier
211. Life Modifier
212. Information Below the Text Box

3. Card Types
300. General
301. Artifacts
302. Creatures
303. Enchantments
304. Instants
305. Lands
306. Planeswalkers
307. Sorceries
308. Tribals
309. Dungeons
310. Planes
311. Phenomena
312. Vanguards
313. Schemes
314. Conspiracies

4. Zones
400. General
401. Library
402. Hand
403. Battlefield
404. Graveyard
405. Stack
406. Exile
407. Ante
408. Command

5. Turn Structure
500. General
501. Beginning Phase
502. Untap Step
503. Upkeep Step
504. Draw Step
505. Main Phase
506. Combat Phase
507. Beginning of Combat Step
508. Declare Attackers Step
509. Declare Blockers Step
510. Combat Damage Step
511. End of Combat Step
512. Ending Phase
513. End Step
514. Cleanup Step

6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
600. General
601. Casting Spells
602. Activating Activated Abilities
603. Handling Triggered Abilities
604. Handling Static Abilities
605. Mana Abilities
606. Loyalty Abilities
607. Linked Abilities
608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
609. Effects
610. One-Shot Effects
611. Continuous Effects
612. Text-Changing Effects
613. Interaction of Continuous Effects
614. Replacement Effects
615. Prevention Effects
616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects

7. Additional Rules
700. General
701. Keyword Actions
702. Keyword Abilities
703. Turn-Based Actions
704. State-Based Actions
705. Flipping a Coin
706. Rolling a Die
707. Copying Objects
708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
709. Split Cards
710. Flip Cards
711. Leveler Cards
712. Double-Faced Cards
713. Meld Cards
714. Substitute Cards
715. Saga Cards
716. Adventurer Cards
717. Class Cards
718. Controlling Another Player
719. Ending Turns and Phases
720. The Monarch
721. Restarting the Game
722. Subgames
723. Merging with Permanents
724. Day and Night
725. Taking Shortcuts
726. Handling Illegal Actions

8. Multiplayer Rules
800. General
801. Limited Range of Influence Option
802. Attack Multiple Players Option
803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
804. Deploy Creatures Option
805. Shared Team Turns Option
806. Free-for-All Variant
807. Grand Melee Variant
808. Team vs. Team Variant
809. Emperor Variant
810. Two-Headed Giant Variant
811. Alternating Teams Variant

9. Casual Variants
900. General
901. Planechase
902. Vanguard
903. Commander
904. Archenemy
905. Conspiracy Draft

Glossary

Credits
+1. Game Concepts

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 8, “Multiplayer Rules.”

100.2. To play, each player needs their own deck of traditional Magic cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck has a minimum deck size of 60 cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.2b In limited play (a way of playing in which each player gets the same quantity of unopened Magic product such as booster packs and creates their own deck using only this product and basic land cards), each deck has a minimum deck size of 40 cards. A limited deck may contain as many duplicates of a card as are included with the product.

100.2c Commander decks are subject to additional deckbuilding restrictions and requirements. See rule 903, “Commander,” for details.

100.3. Some cards require coins or traditional dice. Some casual variants require additional items, such as specially designated cards, nontraditional Magic cards, and specialized dice.

100.4. Each player may also have a sideboard, which is a group of additional cards the player may use to modify their deck between games of a match.

100.4a In constructed play, a sideboard may contain no more than fifteen cards. The four-card limit (see rule 100.2a) applies to the combined deck and sideboard.

100.4b In limited play involving individual players, all cards in a player’s card pool not included in their deck are in that player’s sideboard.

100.4c In limited play involving the Two-Headed Giant multiplayer variant, all cards in a team’s card pool but not in either player’s deck are in that team’s sideboard.

100.4d In limited play involving other multiplayer team variants, each card in a team’s card pool but not in any player’s deck is assigned to the sideboard of one of those players. Each player has their own sideboard; cards may not be transferred between players.

100.5. If a deck must contain at least a certain number of cards, that number is referred to as a minimum deck size. There is no maximum deck size for non-Commander decks.

100.6. Most Magic tournaments (organized play activities where players compete against other players to win prizes) have additional rules covered in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules (found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents). These rules may limit the use of some cards, including barring all cards from some older sets.

100.6a Tournaments usually consist of a series of matches. A two-player match usually involves playing until one player has won two games. A multiplayer match usually consists of only one game.

100.6b Players can use the Magic Store & Event Locator at Wizards.com/Locator to find tournaments in their area.

100.7. Certain promotional cards and cards in the Unglued, Unhinged, and Unstable sets are printed with a silver border. These cards are intended for casual play and may have features and text that aren’t covered by these rules.

101. The Magic Golden Rules

101.1. Whenever a card’s text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence. The card overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation. The only exception is that a player can concede the game at any time (see rule 104.3a).

101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.
Example: If one effect reads “You may play an additional land this turn” and another reads “You can’t play lands this turn,” the effect that precludes you from playing lands wins.

101.2a Adding abilities to objects and removing abilities from objects don’t fall under this rule. (See rule 113.10.)

101.3. Any part of an instruction that’s impossible to perform is ignored. (In many cases the card will specify consequences for this; if it doesn’t, there’s no effect.)

101.4. If multiple players would make choices and/or take actions at the same time, the active player (the player whose turn it is) makes any choices required, then the next player in turn order (usually the player seated to the active player’s left) makes any choices required, followed by the remaining nonactive players in turn order. Then the actions happen simultaneously. This rule is often referred to as the “Active Player, Nonactive Player (APNAP) order” rule.
Example: A card reads “Each player sacrifices a creature.” First, the active player chooses a creature they control. ThenLine truncated
+2. Parts of a Card

200. General

200.1. The parts of a card are name, mana cost, illustration, color indicator, type line, expansion symbol, text box, power and toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, life modifier, illustration credit, legal text, and collector number. Some cards may have more than one of any or all of these parts.

200.2. Some parts of a card are also characteristics of the object that has them. See rule 109.3.

200.3. Some objects that aren’t cards (tokens, copies of cards, and copies of spells) have some of the parts of a card, but only the ones that are also characteristics. See rule 111 and rule 707.

201. Name

201.1. The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.

201.2. A card’s name is always considered to be the English version of its name, regardless of printed language.

201.2a Two or more objects have the same name if they have at least one name in common, even if one or more of those objects have additional names. An object with no name doesn’t have the same name as any other object, including another object with no name.

201.2b Some spells and abilities refer to two or more objects with different names. Those objects have different names only if each of them has at least one name and no two objects in that group have a name in common.
Example: A player controls Liliana’s Contract, which says, in part, “At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control four or more Demons with different names, you win the game.” That player controls three Demons with different names and a face-down creature with no name, with an effect making it a Demon. Because the four creatures include one with no name, those four creatures don’t count as four Demons with different names. The ability of Liliana’s Contract won’t trigger.

201.2c Some spells or abilities check if one object has a different name than a second object or group of objects. The first object has a different name than those objects if the first object has at least one name and has no names in common with any of the other objects, even if one or more of the other objects have no names. If the first object has no name, it does not have a different name than any of the other objects, even if those other objects themselves have names.

201.3. If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the player must choose the name of a card in the Oracle card reference. (See rule 108.1.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.

201.3a If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, the player must choose the name of a card whose Oracle text matches those characteristics. (See rule 108.1.)
Example: Dispossess reads, in part, “Choose an artifact card name.” The player can choose the name of any artifact card, even one that’s not legal in the format of the current game. The player can’t choose Island, even if an Island on the battlefield has been turned into artifact by some effect.

201.3b If a player wants to choose the name of a split card, the player must choose the name of one of its halves, but not both. (See rule 709.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only that half’s characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3c If a player wants to choose a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 710.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3d If a player wants to choose the name of the back face of a double-faced card, the player may do so. (See rule 712.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3e If a player wants to choose the name of the combined back face of a meld pair, the player may do so. (See rule 713.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the combined back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.3f If a player wants to choose an adventurer card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 716.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4. Text that refers to the object it’s on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.

201.4a If an ability’s effect grants another ability to an object, and that second ability refers to that first ability’s source by name, the name refers only to the specific object which is that first ability’s source. The second ability does not refer to any other object with the sameLine truncated
+3. Card Types

300. General

300.1. The card types are artifact, conspiracy, creature, dungeon, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard.

300.2. Some objects have more than one card type (for example, an artifact creature). Such objects combine the aspects of each of those card types, and are subject to spells and abilities that affect either or all of those card types.

300.2a An object that’s both a land and another card type (for example, an artifact land) can only be played as a land. It can’t be cast as a spell.

300.2b Each tribal card has another card type. Casting and resolving a tribal card follow the rules for casting and resolving a card of the other card type.

301. Artifacts

301.1. A player who has priority may cast an artifact card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting an artifact as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)

301.2. When an artifact spell resolves, its controller puts it onto the battlefield under their control.

301.3. Artifact subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Artifact — Equipment.” Artifact subtypes are also called artifact types. Artifacts may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3g for the complete list of artifact types.

301.4. Artifacts have no characteristics specific to their card type. Most artifacts have no colored mana symbols in their mana costs, and are therefore colorless. However, there is no correlation between being colorless and being an artifact: artifacts may be colored, and colorless objects may be card types other than artifact.

301.5. Some artifacts have the subtype “Equipment.” An Equipment can be attached to a creature. It can’t legally be attached to anything that isn’t a creature.

301.5a The creature an Equipment is attached to is called the “equipped creature.” The Equipment is attached to, or “equips,” that creature.

301.5b Equipment spells are cast like other artifact spells. Equipment enter the battlefield like other artifacts. They don’t enter the battlefield attached to a creature. The equip keyword ability attaches the Equipment to a creature you control (see rule 702.6, “Equip”). Control of the creature matters only when the equip ability is activated and when it resolves. Spells and other abilities may also attach an Equipment to a creature. If an effect attempts to attach an Equipment to an object that can’t be equipped by it, the Equipment doesn’t move.

301.5c An Equipment that’s also a creature can’t equip a creature unless that Equipment has reconfigure (see rule 702.151, “Reconfigure”). An Equipment that loses the subtype “Equipment” can’t equip a creature. An Equipment can’t equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent becomes unattached from that permanent but remains on the battlefield. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.) An Equipment can’t equip more than one creature. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.

301.5d An Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment, and vice versa. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Equipment grants an ability to the equipped creature (with “gains” or “has”), the equipped creature’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.

301.5e An ability of a permanent that refers to the “equipped creature” refers to whatever creature that permanent is attached to, even if the permanent with the ability isn’t an Equipment.

301.6. Some artifacts have the subtype “Fortification.” A Fortification can be attached to a land. It can’t legally be attached to an object that isn’t a land. Fortification’s analog to the equip keyword ability is the fortify keyword ability. Rules 301.5a–e apply to Fortifications in relation to lands just as they apply to Equipment in relation to creatures, with one clarification relating to rule 301.5c: a Fortification that’s also a creature (not a land) can’t fortify a land. (See rule 702.67, “Fortify.”)

301.7. Some artifacts have the subtype “Vehicle.” Most Vehicles have a crew ability which allows them to become artifact creatures. See rule 702.122, “Crew.”

301.7a Each Vehicle has a printed power and toughness, but it has these characteristics only if it’s also a creature. See rule 208.3.

301.7b If a Vehicle becomes a creature, it immediately has its printed power and toughness. Other effects, including the effect that makes it a creature, may modify these values or set them to different values.

302. Creatures

302.1. A player who has priority may cast a creature card from their hand duLine truncated
+4. Zones

400. General

400.1. A zone is a place where objects can be during a game. There are normally seven zones: library, hand, battlefield, graveyard, stack, exile, and command. Some older cards also use the ante zone. Each player has their own library, hand, and graveyard. The other zones are shared by all players.

400.2. Public zones are zones in which all players can see the cards’ faces, except for those cards that some rule or effect specifically allow to be face down. Graveyard, battlefield, stack, exile, ante, and command are public zones. Hidden zones are zones in which not all players can be expected to see the cards’ faces. Library and hand are hidden zones, even if all the cards in one such zone happen to be revealed.

400.3. If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner’s corresponding zone.

400.4. Cards with certain card types can’t enter certain zones.

400.4a If an instant or sorcery card would enter the battlefield, it remains in its previous zone.

400.4b If a conspiracy, phenomenon, plane, scheme, or vanguard card would leave the command zone, it remains in the command zone.

400.5. The order of objects in a library, in a graveyard, or on the stack can’t be changed except when effects or rules allow it. The same is true for objects arranged in face-down piles in other zones. Other objects in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those objects, whether they’re tapped or flipped, and what other objects are attached to them must remain clear to all players.

400.6. If an object would move from one zone to another, determine what event is moving the object. If the object is moving to a public zone and its owner will be able to look at it in that zone, its owner looks at it to see if it has any abilities that would affect the move. If the object is moving to the battlefield, each other player who will be able to look at it in that zone does so. Then any appropriate replacement effects, whether they come from that object or from elsewhere, are applied to that event. If any effects or rules try to do two or more contradictory or mutually exclusive things to a particular object, that object’s controller—or its owner if it has no controller—chooses which effect to apply, and what that effect does. (Note that multiple instances of the same thing may be mutually exclusive; for example, two simultaneous “destroy” effects.) Then the event moves the object.
Example: Exquisite Archangel has an ability which reads “If you would lose the game, instead exile Exquisite Archangel and your life total becomes equal to your starting life total.” A spell deals 5 damage to a player with 5 life and 5 damage to an Exquisite Archangel under that player’s control. As state-based actions are performed, that player’s life total becomes equal to their starting life total, and that player chooses whether Exquisite Archangel moves to its owner’s graveyard or to exile.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

400.7a Effects from spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities that change the characteristics or controller of a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7b Prevention effects that apply to damage from a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to damage from the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7c An ability of a permanent can reference information about the spell that became that permanent as it resolved, including what costs were paid to cast that spell or what mana was spent to pay those costs.

400.7d Abilities that trigger when an object moves from one zone to another (for example, “When Rancor is put into a graveyard from the battlefield”) can find the new object that it became in the zone it moved to when the ability triggered, if that zone is a public zone.

400.7e Abilities of Auras that trigger when the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield can find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard if it was put into that graveyard at the same time the enchanted permanent left the battlefield. It can also find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard as a result of being put there as a state-based action for not being attached to a permanent. (See rule 704.5m.)

400.7f If an effect grants a nonland card an ability that allows it to be cast, that ability will continue to apply to the new object that card became after it moved to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7g If an effect allows a nonland card to be cast, other parts of that effect can find the new object that card becomes after it moves to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7h If an effect causes an object to move to a public zone, other parts of that eLine truncated
+5. Turn Structure

500. General

500.1. A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of these phases takes place every turn, even if nothing happens during the phase. The beginning, combat, and ending phases are further broken down into steps, which proceed in order.

500.2. A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession. Simply having the stack become empty doesn’t cause such a phase or step to end; all players have to pass in succession with the stack empty. Because of this, each player gets a chance to add new things to the stack before that phase or step ends.

500.3. A step in which no players receive priority ends when all specified actions that take place during that step are completed. The only such steps are the untap step (see rule 502) and certain cleanup steps (see rule 514).

500.4. When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

500.5. When a phase or step ends, any effects scheduled to last “until end of” that phase or step expire. When a phase or step begins, any effects scheduled to last “until” that phase or step expire. Effects that last “until end of combat” expire at the end of the combat phase, not at the beginning of the end of combat step. Effects that last “until end of turn” are subject to special rules; see rule 514.2.

500.6. When a phase or step begins, any abilities that trigger “at the beginning of” that phase or step trigger. They are put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

500.7. Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a player is given multiple extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time. If multiple players are given extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time, in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). The most recently created turn will be taken first.

500.8. Some effects can add phases to a turn. They do this by adding the phases directly after the specified phase. If multiple extra phases are created after the same phase, the most recently created phase will occur first.

500.9. Some effects can add steps to a phase. They do this by adding the steps directly after a specified step or directly before a specified step. If multiple extra steps are created after the same step, the most recently created step will occur first.

500.10. Some effects can cause a step, phase, or turn to be skipped. To skip a step, phase, or turn is to proceed past it as though it didn’t exist. See rule 614.10.

500.11. No game events can occur between turns, phases, or steps.

501. Beginning Phase

501.1. The beginning phase consists of three steps, in this order: untap, upkeep, and draw.

502. Untap Step

502.1. First, all phased-in permanents with phasing that the active player controls phase out, and all phased-out permanents that the active player controlled when they phased out phase in. This all happens simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 702.26, “Phasing.”

502.2. Second, if it’s day and the previous turn’s active player didn’t cast any spells during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and the previous turn’s active player cast two or more spells during that turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 724, “Day and Night.”

502.2a Multiplayer games using the shared team turns option use a modified rule. If it’s day and no player on the previous turn’s active team cast a spell during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and any player on the previous turn’s active team cast two or more spells during the previous turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

502.3. Third, the active player determines which permanents they control will untap. Then they untap them all simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. Normally, all of a player’s permanents untap, but effects can keep one or more of a player’s permanents from untapping.

502.4. No player receives priority during the untap step, so no spells can be cast or resolve and no abilities can be activated or resolve. Any ability that triggers during this step will be held until the next time a player would receive priority, which is usually during the upkeep step. (See rule 503, “Upkeep Step.”)

503. Upkeep Step

503.1. The upkeep step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

503.1a Any abilities that triggered during the untap step and any abilLine truncated
+6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects

600. General

601. Casting Spells

601.1. Previously, the action of casting a spell, or casting a card as a spell, was referred to on cards as “playing” that spell or that card. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to “casting” that spell or that card.

601.1a Some effects still refer to “playing” a card. “Playing a card” means playing that card as a land or casting that card as a spell, whichever is appropriate.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal ; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 726, “Handling Illegal Actions”).

601.2a To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it resolves, it’s countered, or a rule or effect moves it elsewhere.

601.2b If the spell is modal, the player announces the mode choice (see rule 700.2). If the player wishes to splice any cards onto the spell (see rule 702.47), they reveal those cards in their hand. If the spell has alternative or additional costs that will be paid as it’s being cast such as buyback or kicker costs (see rules 118.8 and 118.9), the player announces their intentions to pay any or all of those costs (see rule 601.2f). A player can’t apply two alternative methods of casting or two alternative costs to a single spell. If the spell has a variable cost that will be paid as it’s being cast (such as an {X} in its mana cost; see rule 107.3), the player announces the value of that variable. If the value of that variable is defined in the text of the spell by a choice that player would make later in the announcement or resolution of the spell, that player makes that choice at this time instead of that later time. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes hybrid mana symbols, the player announces the nonhybrid equivalent cost they intend to pay. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes Phyrexian mana symbols, the player announces whether they intend to pay 2 life or a corresponding colored mana cost for each of those symbols. Previously made choices (such as choosing to cast a spell with flashback from a graveyard or choosing to cast a creature with morph face down) may restrict the player’s options when making these choices.

601.2c The player announces their choice of an appropriate object or player for each target the spell requires. A spell may require some targets only if an alternative or additional cost (such as a kicker cost) or a particular mode was chosen for it; otherwise, the spell is cast as though it did not require those targets. Similarly, a spell may require alternative targets only if an alternative or additional cost was chosen for it. If the spell has a variable number of targets, the player announces how many targets they will choose before they announce those targets. In some cases, the number of targets will be defined by the spell’s text. Once the number of targets the spell has is determined, that number doesn’t change, even if the information used to determine the number of targets does. The same target can’t be chosen multiple times for any one instance of the word “target” on the spell. However, if the spell uses the word “target” in multiple places, the same object or player can be chosen once for each instance of the word “target” (as long as it fits the targeting criteria). If any effects say that an object or player must be chosen as a target, the player chooses targets so that they obey the maximum possible number of such effects without violating any rules or effects that say that an object or player can’t be chosen as a target. The chosen objects and/or players each become a target of that spell. (Any abilities that trigger when those objects and/or players become the target of a spell trigger at this point; they’ll wait to be put on the stack until the spell has finished being cast.)
Example: If a spell says “Tap two target creatures,” then the same creature can’t be chosen twice; the spell requires two different legal targets. A spell that says “Line truncated
+7. Additional Rules

700. General

700.1. Anything that happens in a game is an event. Multiple events may take place during the resolution of a spell or ability. The text of triggered abilities and replacement effects defines the event they’re looking for. One “happening” may be treated as a single event by one ability and as multiple events by another.
Example: If an attacking creature is blocked by two creatures, this is one event for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked” but two events for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked by a creature.”

700.2. A spell or ability is modal if it has two or more options in a bulleted list preceded by instructions for a player to choose a number of those options, such as “Choose one —.” Each of those options is a mode. Modal cards printed prior to the Khans of Tarkir® set didn’t use bulleted lists for the modes; these cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference so the modes do appear in a bulleted list.

700.2a The controller of a modal spell or activated ability chooses the mode(s) as part of casting that spell or activating that ability. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. (See rule 601.2b.)

700.2b The controller of a modal triggered ability chooses the mode(s) as part of putting that ability on the stack. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. If no mode is chosen, the ability is removed from the stack. (See rule 603.3c.)

700.2c If a spell or ability targets one or more targets only if a particular mode is chosen for it, its controller will need to choose those targets only if they chose that mode. Otherwise, the spell or ability is treated as though it did not have those targets. (See rule 601.2c.)

700.2d If a player is allowed to choose more than one mode for a modal spell or ability, that player normally can’t choose the same mode more than once. However, a few modal spells include the instruction “You may choose the same mode more than once.” If a particular mode is chosen multiple times, the spell is treated as if that mode appeared that many times in sequence. If that mode requires a target, the same player or object may be chosen as the target for each of those modes, or different targets may be chosen.

700.2e Some spells and abilities specify that a player other than their controller chooses a mode for it. In that case, the other player does so when the spell or ability’s controller normally would do so. If there is more than one other player who could make such a choice, the spell or ability’s controller decides which of those players will make the choice.

700.2f Modal spells and abilities may have different targeting requirements for each mode. Changing a spell or ability’s target can’t change its mode.

700.2g A copy of a modal spell or ability copies the mode(s) chosen for it. The controller of the copy can’t choose a different mode. (See rule 707.10.)

700.3. Some effects cause objects to be temporarily grouped into piles.

700.3a Each of the affected objects must be put into exactly one of those piles, unless the effect specifies otherwise.

700.3b Each object in a pile is still an individual object. The pile is not an object.

700.3c Objects grouped into piles don’t leave the zone they’re currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained.
Example: Fact or Fiction reads, “Reveal the top five cards of your library. An opponent separates those cards into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard.” While an opponent is separating the revealed cards into piles, they’re still in their owner’s library. They don’t leave the library until they’re put into their owner’s hand or graveyard.

700.3d A pile can contain zero or more objects.

700.4. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”

700.5. A player’s devotion to [color] is equal to the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents that player controls. A player’s devotion to [color 1] and [color 2] is equal to the number of mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents that player controls that are [color 1], [color 2], or both colors.

700.5a A player’s devotion to each color and combination of colors, taking into account any effects that modify devotion, is calculated after considering any copy, control, or text-changing effects but before any other effects that modify the characteristics of permanents. This is an exception to 613.10. See also rule 613, “Interaction of Continuous Effects.”
Example: Altar of the Pantheon is an artifact with no colored mana in its cost and an ability that says “Your devotion to each color and each comLine truncated
+8. Multiplayer Rules

800. General

800.1. A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for multiplayer play.

800.2. These rules consist of a series of options that can be added to a multiplayer game and a number of variant styles of multiplayer play. A single game may use multiple options but only one variant.

800.3. Many multiplayer Magic tournaments have additional rules not included here, including rules for deck construction. See the most current Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules for more information. They can be found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents.

800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.

800.4a When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game and any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end. Then, if that player controlled any objects on the stack not represented by cards, those objects cease to exist. Then, if there are any objects still controlled by that player, those objects are exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the player leaves the game. If the player who left the game had priority at the time they left, priority passes to the next player in turn order who’s still in the game.
Example: Alex casts Mind Control, an Aura that reads, “You control enchanted creature,” on Bianca’s Assault Griffin. If Alex leaves the game, so does Mind Control, and Assault Griffin reverts to Bianca’s control. If, instead, Bianca leaves the game, so does Assault Griffin, and Mind Control is put into Alex’s graveyard.
Example: Alex casts Act of Treason, which reads, in part, “Gain control of target creature until end of turn,” targeting Bianca’s Runeclaw Bears. If Alex leaves the game, Act of Treason’s change-of-control effect ends and Runeclaw Bears reverts to Bianca’s control.
Example: Alex casts Bribery, which reads, “Search target opponent’s library for a creature card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player shuffles their library,” targeting Bianca. Alex puts Serra Angel onto the battlefield from Bianca’s library. If Bianca leaves the game, Serra Angel also leaves the game. If, instead, Alex leaves the game, Serra Angel is exiled.
Example: Alex controls Genesis Chamber, which reads, “Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield, if Genesis Chamber is untapped, that creature’s controller creates a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.” If Alex leaves the game, all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under Alex’s control leave the game, and all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under any other player’s control remain in the game.

800.4b If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a token would be created under the control of a player who has left the game, no token is created. If an object would be put onto the battlefield or onto the stack under the control of a player who has left the game, that object remains in its current zone. If a player would be controlled by a player who has left the game, they aren’t.

800.4c If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.

800.4d If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any zone, it isn’t created. If a triggered ability that would be controlled by a player who has left the game would be put onto the stack, it isn’t put on the stack.
Example: Astral Slide is an enchantment that reads, “Whenever a player cycles a card, you may exile target creature. If you do, return that creature to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.” During Alex’s turn, Bianca uses Astral Slide’s ability to exile Alex’s Hypnotic Specter. Before the end of that turn, Bianca leaves the game. At the beginning of the end step, the delayed triggered ability generated by Astral Slide that would return Hypnotic Specter to the battlefield triggers, but it isn’t put on the stack. Hypnotic Specter never returns to the battlefield.

800.4e If combat damage would be assigned to a player who has left the game, that damage isn’t assigned.

800.4f If an object requires a player who has left the game to pay a cost or choose whether to pay a cost, that cost is not paid.

800.4g If an object requires a player who has left the game to make a choice other than whether to pay a cost, the controller of the object chooses another player to make that choice. If the original choice was toLine truncated
+9. Casual Variants

900. General

900.1. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for certain casual game variants. It is by no means comprehensive.

900.2. The casual variants detailed here use supplemental zones, rules, cards, and other game implements not used in traditional Magic games.

901. Planechase

901.1. In the Planechase variant, plane cards and phenomenon cards add additional abilities and randomness to the game. The Planechase variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.

901.2. A Planechase game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 806, “Free-for-All Variant.”

901.3. In addition to the normal game materials, each player needs a planar deck of at least ten plane and/or phenomenon cards and the game needs one planar die. No more than two cards in a planar deck can be phenomenon cards. Each card in a planar deck must have a different English name. (See rule 310, “Planes,” and rule 311, “Phenomena.”)

901.3a A planar die is a six-sided die. One face has the Planeswalker symbol {PW}. One face has the chaos symbol {CHAOS}. The other faces are blank.
901.4. At the start of the game, each player shuffles their planar deck so that the cards are in a random order. Each deck is placed face down next to its owner’s library. All plane and phenomenon cards remain in the command zone throughout the game, both while they’re part of a planar deck and while they’re face up.

901.5. Once all players have kept their opening hands and used the abilities of cards that allow them to take an action with those cards from their opening hands, the starting player moves the top card of their planar deck off that planar deck and turns it face up. If it’s a phenomenon card, the player puts that card on the bottom of their planar deck and repeats this process until a plane card is turned face up. (See rule 103.6.) No abilities of any card turned face up this way trigger during this process. The face-up plane card becomes the starting plane.

901.6. The owner of a plane or phenomenon card is the player who started the game with it in their planar deck. The controller of a face-up plane or phenomenon card is the player designated as the planar controller. Normally, the planar controller is whoever the active player is. However, if the current planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in turn order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. The new planar controller retains that designation until they leave the game or a different player becomes the active player, whichever comes first.

901.7. Any abilities of a face-up plane card or phenomenon card in the command zone function from that zone. The card’s static abilities affect the game, its triggered abilities may trigger, and its activated abilities may be activated.

901.7a A face-up plane card or phenomenon card that’s turned face down becomes a new object.

901.8. Planechase games have an inherent triggered ability known as the “planeswalking ability.” The full text of this ability is “Whenever you roll {PW}, planeswalk.” (See rule 701.24, “Planeswalk.”) This ability has no source and is controlled by the player whose planar die roll caused it to trigger. This is an exception to rule 113.8.

901.9. Any time the active player has priority and the stack is empty, but only during a main phase of their turn, that player may roll the planar die. Taking this action costs a player an amount of mana equal to the number of times they have previously taken this action on that turn. This is a special action and doesn’t use the stack. Note that this number won’t be equal to the number of times the player has rolled the planar die that turn if an effect has caused the player to roll the planar die that turn. (See rule 116.2i.)

901.9a If the die roll is a blank face, nothing happens. The active player gets priority.

901.9b If the die roll is the chaos symbol {CHAOS}, any ability of a face-up plane that starts “When you roll {CHAOS}” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority.

901.9c If the die roll is the Planeswalker symbol {PW}, the “planeswalking ability” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority. (See rule 901.8.)

901.9d Rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result of a die roll, including ones that compare the results of that roll to other rolls or to a given number, ignores the rolling of the planar die. See 706, “Rolling a Die.”

901.10. When a player leaves the game, all objects owned by that player except abilities from phenomena leave theLine truncated
+Glossary

Abandon
To turn a face-up ongoing scheme card face down and put it on the bottom of its owner’s scheme deck. See rule 701.26, “Abandon.”

Ability
1. Text on an object that explains what that object does or can do.
2. An activated or triggered ability on the stack. This kind of ability is an object.
See rule 113, “Abilities,” and section 6, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”

Ability Word
An italicized word with no rules meaning that ties together abilities on different cards that have similar functionality. See rule 207.2c.

Absorb
A keyword ability that prevents damage. See rule 702.64, “Absorb.”

Activate
To put an activated ability onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. See rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activated Ability
A kind of ability. Activated abilities are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]” See rule 113, “Abilities,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activation Cost
Everything that appears before the colon in an activated ability’s text. It must be paid to activate the ability. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Active Player
The player whose turn it is. See rule 102.1.

Active Player, Nonactive Player Order
A system that determines the order by which players make choices if multiple players are instructed to make choices at the same time. See rule 101.4. This rule is modified for games using the shared team turns option; see rule 805.6.

Active Team
The team whose turn it is in a game using the shared team turns option. See rule 805.4a.

Adapt
A keyword action that puts +1/+1 counters on a creature that doesn’t have any yet. See rule 701.43, “Adapt.”

Additional Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller may pay (or, in some cases, must pay) in addition to its mana cost to cast that spell. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Adventurer Card
Cards with a two-part card frame (one part of which is inset on the left) on a single card. See rule 716, “Adventurer Cards.”
Affinity
A keyword ability that reduces how much mana you need to spend to cast a spell. See rule 702.41, “Affinity.”

Afflict
A keyword ability that makes the defending player lose life for blocking. See rule 702.130, “Afflict.”

Afterlife
A keyword ability that leaves behind Spirit creature tokens when certain creatures die. See rule 702.135, “Afterlife.”

Aftermath
A keyword ability that lets a player cast one half of a split card only from their graveyard. See rule 702.127, “Aftermath.”

Alternating Teams Variant
A multiplayer variant played among two or more teams of equal size. See rule 811, “Alternating Teams Variant.”

Alternative Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller can pay rather than paying its mana cost. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Alternate Name
A different name used on promotional or alternate-art versions of some cards. This name has no rules meaning. See rule 201.5.

Amass
A keyword action than gives you a Zombie Army creature token or grows an Army you already have. See rule 701.44, “Amass.”

Amplify
A keyword ability than can have a creature enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it. See rule 702.38, “Amplify.”

Anchor Word
A word that precedes one of two abilities a permanent may enter the battlefield with. See rule 614.12b.

Annihilator
A keyword ability that can make a creature particularly brutal when it attacks. See rule 702.86, “Annihilator.”

Ante
1. A zone used only when playing “for keeps.”
2. To put a card into the ante zone.
See rule 407, “Ante.”

Any Target
A spell or ability may require “any target.” “Any target” is the same as “target creature, player, or planeswalker.” See rule 115.4.

APNAP Order
See Active Player, Nonactive Player Order.

Archenemy
1. A casual variant in which a team of players faces off against a single opponent strengthened with powerful scheme cards. See rule 904, “Archenemy.”
2. A player in an Archenemy game who is playing with a scheme deck.

Artifact
A card type. An artifact is a permanent. See rule 301, “Artifacts.”

Artifact Creature
A combination of artifact and creature that’s subject to the rules for both. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 302, “Creatures.”

Artifact Land
A combination of artifact and land that’s subject to the rules for both. Artifact lands can only be played as lands, not cast as spells. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 305, “Lands.”

Artifact Type
A subtype that’s correlated to the artifact card type. See rule 301, “Artifacts.” See rule 205.3g for the list of artifact types.

As Though
Text used to indicate that the game, for some specific purpose, treats a condition as true even though it’s not. See rule 609.4.

Ascend
A keyword causing a player to get the designatioLine truncated
+Credits

Magic: The Gathering Original Game Design: Richard Garfield
Comprehensive Rules Design and Development: Paul Barclay, Mark L. Gottlieb, Beth Moursund, Bill Rose, Eli Shiffrin, and Matt Tabak, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, John Carter, Elaine Chase, Laurie Cheers, Stephen D’Angelo, Dave DeLaney, Brady Dommermuth, Mike Donais, Skaff Elias, Mike Elliott, Richard Garfield, Dan Gray, Robert Gutschera, Collin Jackson, William Jockusch, Jeff Jordan, Yonemura Kaoru, Russell Linnemann, Jim Lin, Steve Lord, Sheldon Menery, Michael Phoenix, Mark Rosewater, David Sachs, Lee Sharpe, Henry Stern, Donald X. Vaccarino, Thijs van Ommen, Ingo Warnke, Tom Wylie, and Bryan Zembruski
Editing: Del Laugel (lead), Lyz Liddell, Gregg Luben, Nat Moes, Samantha Phelan, Matt Tabak, Michael Zhang, and Hans Ziegler
Magic Rules Management: Jess Dunks

The Magic: The Gathering game was designed by Richard Garfield, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, Skaff Elias, Don Felice, Tom Fontaine, Jim Lin, Joel Mick, Chris Page, Dave Pettey, Barry “Bit” Reich, Bill Rose, and Elliott Segal. The mana symbols were designed by Christopher Rush.

Thanks to all our project team members and the many others too numerous to mention who have contributed to this product.












These rules are effective as of February 18, 2022.

Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Magic, their respective logos, Mirrodin, Kamigawa, Lorwyn, Zendikar, Innistrad, Ravnica, Khans of Tarkir, Magic Origins, Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy, Ixalan, Unglued, Unstable, Dominaria, Ikoria, Kaldheim, and Planeswalker Decks are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the USA and other countries. ©2022 Wizards. U.S. Pat. No. RE 37,957.

0103-SNC-Streets of New Capenna.txt

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+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are effective as of April 29, 2022.

Introduction

This document is the ultimate authority for Magic: The Gathering® competitive game play. It consists of a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. (Note that subrules skip the letters “l” and “o” due to potential confusion with the numbers “1” and “0”; subrule 704.5k is followed by 704.5m, then 704.5n, then 704.5p, for example.)

Changes may have been made to this document since its publication. You can download the most recent version from the Magic rules website at Magic.Wizards.com/Rules. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at Support.Wizards.com.
+Contents

1. Game Concepts
100. General
101. The Magic Golden Rules
102. Players
103. Starting the Game
104. Ending the Game
105. Colors
106. Mana
107. Numbers and Symbols
108. Cards
109. Objects
110. Permanents
111. Tokens
112. Spells
113. Abilities
114. Emblems
115. Targets
116. Special Actions
117. Timing and Priority
118. Costs
119. Life
120. Damage
121. Drawing a Card
122. Counters

2. Parts of a Card
200. General
201. Name
202. Mana Cost and Color
203. Illustration
204. Color Indicator
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Loyalty
210. Hand Modifier
211. Life Modifier
212. Information Below the Text Box

3. Card Types
300. General
301. Artifacts
302. Creatures
303. Enchantments
304. Instants
305. Lands
306. Planeswalkers
307. Sorceries
308. Tribals
309. Dungeons
310. Planes
311. Phenomena
312. Vanguards
313. Schemes
314. Conspiracies

4. Zones
400. General
401. Library
402. Hand
403. Battlefield
404. Graveyard
405. Stack
406. Exile
407. Ante
408. Command

5. Turn Structure
500. General
501. Beginning Phase
502. Untap Step
503. Upkeep Step
504. Draw Step
505. Main Phase
506. Combat Phase
507. Beginning of Combat Step
508. Declare Attackers Step
509. Declare Blockers Step
510. Combat Damage Step
511. End of Combat Step
512. Ending Phase
513. End Step
514. Cleanup Step

6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
600. General
601. Casting Spells
602. Activating Activated Abilities
603. Handling Triggered Abilities
604. Handling Static Abilities
605. Mana Abilities
606. Loyalty Abilities
607. Linked Abilities
608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
609. Effects
610. One-Shot Effects
611. Continuous Effects
612. Text-Changing Effects
613. Interaction of Continuous Effects
614. Replacement Effects
615. Prevention Effects
616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects

7. Additional Rules
700. General
701. Keyword Actions
702. Keyword Abilities
703. Turn-Based Actions
704. State-Based Actions
705. Flipping a Coin
706. Rolling a Die
707. Copying Objects
708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
709. Split Cards
710. Flip Cards
711. Leveler Cards
712. Double-Faced Cards
713. Meld Cards
714. Substitute Cards
715. Saga Cards
716. Adventurer Cards
717. Class Cards
718. Controlling Another Player
719. Ending Turns and Phases
720. The Monarch
721. Restarting the Game
722. Subgames
723. Merging with Permanents
724. Day and Night
725. Taking Shortcuts
726. Handling Illegal Actions

8. Multiplayer Rules
800. General
801. Limited Range of Influence Option
802. Attack Multiple Players Option
803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
804. Deploy Creatures Option
805. Shared Team Turns Option
806. Free-for-All Variant
807. Grand Melee Variant
808. Team vs. Team Variant
809. Emperor Variant
810. Two-Headed Giant Variant
811. Alternating Teams Variant

9. Casual Variants
900. General
901. Planechase
902. Vanguard
903. Commander
904. Archenemy
905. Conspiracy Draft

Glossary

Credits
+1. Game Concepts

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 8, “Multiplayer Rules.”

100.2. To play, each player needs their own deck of traditional Magic cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck has a minimum deck size of 60 cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards. For the purposes of deck construction, cards with interchangeable names have the same English name (see rule 201.3).

100.2b In limited play (a way of playing in which each player gets the same quantity of unopened Magic product such as booster packs and creates their own deck using only this product and basic land cards), each deck has a minimum deck size of 40 cards. A limited deck may contain as many duplicates of a card as are included with the product.

100.2c Commander decks are subject to additional deckbuilding restrictions and requirements. See rule 903, “Commander,” for details.

100.3. Some cards require coins or traditional dice. Some casual variants require additional items, such as specially designated cards, nontraditional Magic cards, and specialized dice.

100.4. Each player may also have a sideboard, which is a group of additional cards the player may use to modify their deck between games of a match.

100.4a In constructed play, a sideboard may contain no more than fifteen cards. The four-card limit (see rule 100.2a) applies to the combined deck and sideboard.

100.4b In limited play involving individual players, all cards in a player’s card pool not included in their deck are in that player’s sideboard.

100.4c In limited play involving the Two-Headed Giant multiplayer variant, all cards in a team’s card pool but not in either player’s deck are in that team’s sideboard.

100.4d In limited play involving other multiplayer team variants, each card in a team’s card pool but not in any player’s deck is assigned to the sideboard of one of those players. Each player has their own sideboard; cards may not be transferred between players.

100.5. If a deck must contain at least a certain number of cards, that number is referred to as a minimum deck size. There is no maximum deck size for non-Commander decks.

100.6. Most Magic tournaments (organized play activities where players compete against other players to win prizes) have additional rules covered in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules (found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents). These rules may limit the use of some cards, including barring all cards from some older sets.

100.6a Tournaments usually consist of a series of matches. A two-player match usually involves playing until one player has won two games. A multiplayer match usually consists of only one game.

100.6b Players can use the Magic Store & Event Locator at Wizards.com/Locator to find tournaments in their area.

100.7. Certain promotional cards and cards in the Unglued, Unhinged, and Unstable sets are printed with a silver border. These cards are intended for casual play and may have features and text that aren’t covered by these rules.

101. The Magic Golden Rules

101.1. Whenever a card’s text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence. The card overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation. The only exception is that a player can concede the game at any time (see rule 104.3a).

101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.
Example: If one effect reads “You may play an additional land this turn” and another reads “You can’t play lands this turn,” the effect that precludes you from playing lands wins.

101.2a Adding abilities to objects and removing abilities from objects don’t fall under this rule. (See rule 113.10.)

101.3. Any part of an instruction that’s impossible to perform is ignored. (In many cases the card will specify consequences for this; if it doesn’t, there’s no effect.)

101.4. If multiple players would make choices and/or take actions at the same time, the active player (the player whose turn it is) makes any choices required, then the next player in turn order (usually the player seated to the active player’s left) makes any choices required, followed by the remaining nonactive players in turn order. Then the actions happen simultaneously. This rule is often referred to as the “Active Player, Nonactive Player (APNAP) order” rule.
Example:Line truncated
+2. Parts of a Card

200. General

200.1. The parts of a card are name, mana cost, illustration, color indicator, type line, expansion symbol, text box, power and toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, life modifier, illustration credit, legal text, and collector number. Some cards may have more than one of any or all of these parts.

200.2. Some parts of a card are also characteristics of the object that has them. See rule 109.3.

200.3. Some objects that aren’t cards (tokens, copies of cards, and copies of spells) have some of the parts of a card, but only the ones that are also characteristics. See rule 111 and rule 707.

201. Name

201.1. The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.

201.2. A card’s name is always considered to be the English version of its name, regardless of printed language.

201.2a Two or more objects have the same name if they have at least one name in common, even if one or more of those objects have additional names. An object with no name doesn’t have the same name as any other object, including another object with no name.

201.2b Some spells and abilities refer to two or more objects with different names. Those objects have different names only if each of them has at least one name and no two objects in that group have a name in common.
Example: A player controls Liliana’s Contract, which says, in part, “At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control four or more Demons with different names, you win the game.” That player controls three Demons with different names and a face-down creature with no name, with an effect making it a Demon. Because the four creatures include one with no name, those four creatures don’t count as four Demons with different names. The ability of Liliana’s Contract won’t trigger.

201.2c Some spells or abilities check if one object has a different name than a second object or group of objects. The first object has a different name than those objects if the first object has at least one name and has no names in common with any of the other objects, even if one or more of the other objects have no names. If the first object has no name, it does not have a different name than any of the other objects, even if those other objects themselves have names.

201.3.  Some cards with different English names are treated as though they had the same English name. Pairs of cards with this property have names that are interchangeable.

201.3a For the purposes of all rules, abilities, and effects that refer to a card’s name, objects with interchangeable names have the same name. (See rules 201.2a–b.)

201.3b For the purposes of deck construction and format legality, cards with interchangeable names have the same name.

201.3c If a card has later printings with interchangeable names, the later printings will have an interchangeable names indicator in the bottom left-hand corner referring to the original printing’s three-letter set code and collector number (see rule 212.1d).

201.4. If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the player must choose the name of a card in the Oracle card reference. (See rule 108.1.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.

201.4a If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, the player must choose the name of a card whose Oracle text matches those characteristics. (See rule 108.1.)
Example: Dispossess reads, in part, “Choose an artifact card name.” The player can choose the name of any artifact card, even one that’s not legal in the format of the current game. The player can’t choose Island, even if an Island on the battlefield has been turned into artifact by some effect.

201.4b If a player wants to choose the name of a split card, the player must choose the name of one of its halves, but not both. (See rule 709.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only that half’s characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4c If a player wants to choose a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 710.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4d If a player wants to choose the name of the back face of a double-faced card, the player may do so. (See rule 712.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4e If a player wants to choose the name of the combined back face of a meld pair, the player may do so. (See rule 713.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the combined back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4f If a player wants to choose an adventurer card’s alternatLine truncated
+3. Card Types

300. General

300.1. The card types are artifact, conspiracy, creature, dungeon, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard.

300.2. Some objects have more than one card type (for example, an artifact creature). Such objects combine the aspects of each of those card types, and are subject to spells and abilities that affect either or all of those card types.

300.2a An object that’s both a land and another card type (for example, an artifact land) can only be played as a land. It can’t be cast as a spell.

300.2b Each tribal card has another card type. Casting and resolving a tribal card follow the rules for casting and resolving a card of the other card type.

301. Artifacts

301.1. A player who has priority may cast an artifact card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting an artifact as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)

301.2. When an artifact spell resolves, its controller puts it onto the battlefield under their control.

301.3. Artifact subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Artifact — Equipment.” Artifact subtypes are also called artifact types. Artifacts may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3g for the complete list of artifact types.

301.4. Artifacts have no characteristics specific to their card type. Most artifacts have no colored mana symbols in their mana costs, and are therefore colorless. However, there is no correlation between being colorless and being an artifact: artifacts may be colored, and colorless objects may be card types other than artifact.

301.5. Some artifacts have the subtype “Equipment.” An Equipment can be attached to a creature. It can’t legally be attached to anything that isn’t a creature.

301.5a The creature an Equipment is attached to is called the “equipped creature.” The Equipment is attached to, or “equips,” that creature.

301.5b Equipment spells are cast like other artifact spells. Equipment enter the battlefield like other artifacts. They don’t enter the battlefield attached to a creature. The equip keyword ability attaches the Equipment to a creature you control (see rule 702.6, “Equip”). Control of the creature matters only when the equip ability is activated and when it resolves. Spells and other abilities may also attach an Equipment to a creature. If an effect attempts to attach an Equipment to an object that can’t be equipped by it, the Equipment doesn’t move.

301.5c An Equipment that’s also a creature can’t equip a creature unless that Equipment has reconfigure (see rule 702.151, “Reconfigure”). An Equipment that loses the subtype “Equipment” can’t equip a creature. An Equipment can’t equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent becomes unattached from that permanent but remains on the battlefield. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.) An Equipment can’t equip more than one creature. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.

301.5d An Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment, and vice versa. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Equipment grants an ability to the equipped creature (with “gains” or “has”), the equipped creature’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.

301.5e An ability of a permanent that refers to the “equipped creature” refers to whatever creature that permanent is attached to, even if the permanent with the ability isn’t an Equipment.

301.6. Some artifacts have the subtype “Fortification.” A Fortification can be attached to a land. It can’t legally be attached to an object that isn’t a land. Fortification’s analog to the equip keyword ability is the fortify keyword ability. Rules 301.5a–e apply to Fortifications in relation to lands just as they apply to Equipment in relation to creatures, with one clarification relating to rule 301.5c: a Fortification that’s also a creature (not a land) can’t fortify a land. (See rule 702.67, “Fortify.”)

301.7. Some artifacts have the subtype “Vehicle.” Most Vehicles have a crew ability which allows them to become artifact creatures. See rule 702.122, “Crew.”

301.7a Each Vehicle has a printed power and toughness, but it has these characteristics only if it’s also a creature. See rule 208.3.

301.7b If a Vehicle becomes a creature, it immediately has its printed power and toughness. Other effects, including the effect that makes it a creature, may modify these values or set them to different values.

302. Creatures

302.1. A player who has priority may cast a creature card from their hand duLine truncated
+4. Zones

400. General

400.1. A zone is a place where objects can be during a game. There are normally seven zones: library, hand, battlefield, graveyard, stack, exile, and command. Some older cards also use the ante zone. Each player has their own library, hand, and graveyard. The other zones are shared by all players.

400.2. Public zones are zones in which all players can see the cards’ faces, except for those cards that some rule or effect specifically allow to be face down. Graveyard, battlefield, stack, exile, ante, and command are public zones. Hidden zones are zones in which not all players can be expected to see the cards’ faces. Library and hand are hidden zones, even if all the cards in one such zone happen to be revealed.

400.3. If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner’s corresponding zone.

400.4. Cards with certain card types can’t enter certain zones.

400.4a If an instant or sorcery card would enter the battlefield, it remains in its previous zone.

400.4b If a conspiracy, phenomenon, plane, scheme, or vanguard card would leave the command zone, it remains in the command zone.

400.5. The order of objects in a library, in a graveyard, or on the stack can’t be changed except when effects or rules allow it. The same is true for objects arranged in face-down piles in other zones. Other objects in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those objects, whether they’re tapped or flipped, and what other objects are attached to them must remain clear to all players.

400.6. If an object would move from one zone to another, determine what event is moving the object. If the object is moving to a public zone and its owner will be able to look at it in that zone, its owner looks at it to see if it has any abilities that would affect the move. If the object is moving to the battlefield, each other player who will be able to look at it in that zone does so. Then any appropriate replacement effects, whether they come from that object or from elsewhere, are applied to that event. If any effects or rules try to do two or more contradictory or mutually exclusive things to a particular object, that object’s controller—or its owner if it has no controller—chooses which effect to apply, and what that effect does. (Note that multiple instances of the same thing may be mutually exclusive; for example, two simultaneous “destroy” effects.) Then the event moves the object.
Example: Exquisite Archangel has an ability which reads “If you would lose the game, instead exile Exquisite Archangel and your life total becomes equal to your starting life total.” A spell deals 5 damage to a player with 5 life and 5 damage to an Exquisite Archangel under that player’s control. As state-based actions are performed, that player’s life total becomes equal to their starting life total, and that player chooses whether Exquisite Archangel moves to its owner’s graveyard or to exile.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

400.7a Effects from spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities that change the characteristics or controller of a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7b Prevention effects that apply to damage from a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to damage from the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7c An ability of a permanent can reference information about the spell that became that permanent as it resolved, including what costs were paid to cast that spell or what mana was spent to pay those costs.

400.7d Abilities that trigger when an object moves from one zone to another (for example, “When Rancor is put into a graveyard from the battlefield”) can find the new object that it became in the zone it moved to when the ability triggered, if that zone is a public zone.

400.7e Abilities of Auras that trigger when the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield can find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard if it was put into that graveyard at the same time the enchanted permanent left the battlefield. It can also find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard as a result of being put there as a state-based action for not being attached to a permanent. (See rule 704.5m.)

400.7f If an effect grants a nonland card an ability that allows it to be cast, that ability will continue to apply to the new object that card became after it moved to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7g If an effect allows a nonland card to be cast, other parts of that effect can find the new object that card becomes after it moves to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7h If an effect causes an object to move to a public zone, other parts of that eLine truncated
+5. Turn Structure

500. General

500.1. A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of these phases takes place every turn, even if nothing happens during the phase. The beginning, combat, and ending phases are further broken down into steps, which proceed in order.

500.2. A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession. Simply having the stack become empty doesn’t cause such a phase or step to end; all players have to pass in succession with the stack empty. Because of this, each player gets a chance to add new things to the stack before that phase or step ends.

500.3. A step in which no players receive priority ends when all specified actions that take place during that step are completed. The only such steps are the untap step (see rule 502) and certain cleanup steps (see rule 514).

500.4. When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

500.5. When a phase or step ends, any effects scheduled to last “until end of” that phase or step expire. When a phase or step begins, any effects scheduled to last “until” that phase or step expire. Effects that last “until end of combat” expire at the end of the combat phase, not at the beginning of the end of combat step. Effects that last “until end of turn” are subject to special rules; see rule 514.2.

500.6. When a phase or step begins, any abilities that trigger “at the beginning of” that phase or step trigger. They are put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

500.7. Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a player is given multiple extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time. If multiple players are given extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time, in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). The most recently created turn will be taken first.

500.8. Some effects can add phases to a turn. They do this by adding the phases directly after the specified phase. If multiple extra phases are created after the same phase, the most recently created phase will occur first.

500.9. Some effects can add steps to a phase. They do this by adding the steps directly after a specified step or directly before a specified step. If multiple extra steps are created after the same step, the most recently created step will occur first.

500.10. Some effects can cause a step, phase, or turn to be skipped. To skip a step, phase, or turn is to proceed past it as though it didn’t exist. See rule 614.10.

500.11. No game events can occur between turns, phases, or steps.

501. Beginning Phase

501.1. The beginning phase consists of three steps, in this order: untap, upkeep, and draw.

502. Untap Step

502.1. First, all phased-in permanents with phasing that the active player controls phase out, and all phased-out permanents that the active player controlled when they phased out phase in. This all happens simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 702.26, “Phasing.”

502.2. Second, if it’s day and the previous turn’s active player didn’t cast any spells during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and the previous turn’s active player cast two or more spells during that turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 724, “Day and Night.”

502.2a Multiplayer games using the shared team turns option use a modified rule. If it’s day and no player on the previous turn’s active team cast a spell during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and any player on the previous turn’s active team cast two or more spells during the previous turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

502.3. Third, the active player determines which permanents they control will untap. Then they untap them all simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. Normally, all of a player’s permanents untap, but effects can keep one or more of a player’s permanents from untapping.

502.4. No player receives priority during the untap step, so no spells can be cast or resolve and no abilities can be activated or resolve. Any ability that triggers during this step will be held until the next time a player would receive priority, which is usually during the upkeep step. (See rule 503, “Upkeep Step.”)

503. Upkeep Step

503.1. The upkeep step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

503.1a Any abilities that triggered during the untap step and any abilLine truncated
+6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects

600. General

601. Casting Spells

601.1. Previously, the action of casting a spell, or casting a card as a spell, was referred to on cards as “playing” that spell or that card. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to “casting” that spell or that card.

601.1a Some effects still refer to “playing” a card. “Playing a card” means playing that card as a land or casting that card as a spell, whichever is appropriate.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal ; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 726, “Handling Illegal Actions”).

601.2a To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it resolves, it’s countered, or a rule or effect moves it elsewhere.

601.2b If the spell is modal, the player announces the mode choice (see rule 700.2). If the player wishes to splice any cards onto the spell (see rule 702.47), they reveal those cards in their hand. If the spell has alternative or additional costs that will be paid as it’s being cast such as buyback or kicker costs (see rules 118.8 and 118.9), the player announces their intentions to pay any or all of those costs (see rule 601.2f). A player can’t apply two alternative methods of casting or two alternative costs to a single spell. If the spell has a variable cost that will be paid as it’s being cast (such as an {X} in its mana cost; see rule 107.3), the player announces the value of that variable. If the value of that variable is defined in the text of the spell by a choice that player would make later in the announcement or resolution of the spell, that player makes that choice at this time instead of that later time. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes hybrid mana symbols, the player announces the nonhybrid equivalent cost they intend to pay. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes Phyrexian mana symbols, the player announces whether they intend to pay 2 life or a corresponding colored mana cost for each of those symbols. Previously made choices (such as choosing to cast a spell with flashback from a graveyard or choosing to cast a creature with morph face down) may restrict the player’s options when making these choices.

601.2c The player announces their choice of an appropriate object or player for each target the spell requires. A spell may require some targets only if an alternative or additional cost (such as a kicker cost) or a particular mode was chosen for it; otherwise, the spell is cast as though it did not require those targets. Similarly, a spell may require alternative targets only if an alternative or additional cost was chosen for it. If the spell has a variable number of targets, the player announces how many targets they will choose before they announce those targets. In some cases, the number of targets will be defined by the spell’s text. Once the number of targets the spell has is determined, that number doesn’t change, even if the information used to determine the number of targets does. The same target can’t be chosen multiple times for any one instance of the word “target” on the spell. However, if the spell uses the word “target” in multiple places, the same object or player can be chosen once for each instance of the word “target” (as long as it fits the targeting criteria). If any effects say that an object or player must be chosen as a target, the player chooses targets so that they obey the maximum possible number of such effects without violating any rules or effects that say that an object or player can’t be chosen as a target. The chosen objects and/or players each become a target of that spell. (Any abilities that trigger when those objects and/or players become the target of a spell trigger at this point; they’ll wait to be put on the stack until the spell has finished being cast.)
Example: If a spell says “Tap two target creatures,” then the same creature can’t be chosen twice; the spell requires two different legal targets. A spell that says “Line truncated
+7. Additional Rules

700. General

700.1. Anything that happens in a game is an event. Multiple events may take place during the resolution of a spell or ability. The text of triggered abilities and replacement effects defines the event they’re looking for. One “happening” may be treated as a single event by one ability and as multiple events by another.
Example: If an attacking creature is blocked by two creatures, this is one event for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked” but two events for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked by a creature.”

700.2. A spell or ability is modal if it has two or more options in a bulleted list preceded by instructions for a player to choose a number of those options, such as “Choose one —.” Each of those options is a mode. Modal cards printed prior to the Khans of Tarkir® set didn’t use bulleted lists for the modes; these cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference so the modes do appear in a bulleted list.

700.2a The controller of a modal spell or activated ability chooses the mode(s) as part of casting that spell or activating that ability. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. (See rule 601.2b.)

700.2b The controller of a modal triggered ability chooses the mode(s) as part of putting that ability on the stack. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. If no mode is chosen, the ability is removed from the stack. (See rule 603.3c.)

700.2c If a spell or ability targets one or more targets only if a particular mode is chosen for it, its controller will need to choose those targets only if they chose that mode. Otherwise, the spell or ability is treated as though it did not have those targets. (See rule 601.2c.)

700.2d If a player is allowed to choose more than one mode for a modal spell or ability, that player normally can’t choose the same mode more than once. However, a few modal spells include the instruction “You may choose the same mode more than once.” If a particular mode is chosen multiple times, the spell is treated as if that mode appeared that many times in sequence. If that mode requires a target, the same player or object may be chosen as the target for each of those modes, or different targets may be chosen.

700.2e Some spells and abilities specify that a player other than their controller chooses a mode for it. In that case, the other player does so when the spell or ability’s controller normally would do so. If there is more than one other player who could make such a choice, the spell or ability’s controller decides which of those players will make the choice.

700.2f Modal spells and abilities may have different targeting requirements for each mode. Changing a spell or ability’s target can’t change its mode.

700.2g A copy of a modal spell or ability copies the mode(s) chosen for it. The controller of the copy can’t choose a different mode. (See rule 707.10.)

700.3. Some effects cause objects to be temporarily grouped into piles.

700.3a Each of the affected objects must be put into exactly one of those piles, unless the effect specifies otherwise.

700.3b Each object in a pile is still an individual object. The pile is not an object.

700.3c Objects grouped into piles don’t leave the zone they’re currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained.
Example: Fact or Fiction reads, “Reveal the top five cards of your library. An opponent separates those cards into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard.” While an opponent is separating the revealed cards into piles, they’re still in their owner’s library. They don’t leave the library until they’re put into their owner’s hand or graveyard.

700.3d A pile can contain zero or more objects.

700.4. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”

700.5. A player’s devotion to [color] is equal to the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents that player controls. A player’s devotion to [color 1] and [color 2] is equal to the number of mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents that player controls that are [color 1], [color 2], or both colors.

700.5a A player’s devotion to each color and combination of colors, taking into account any effects that modify devotion, is calculated after considering any copy, control, or text-changing effects but before any other effects that modify the characteristics of permanents. This is an exception to 613.10. See also rule 613, “Interaction of Continuous Effects.”
Example: Altar of the Pantheon is an artifact with no colored mana in its cost and an ability that says “Your devotion to each color and each comLine truncated
+8. Multiplayer Rules

800. General

800.1. A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for multiplayer play.

800.2. These rules consist of a series of options that can be added to a multiplayer game and a number of variant styles of multiplayer play. A single game may use multiple options but only one variant.

800.3. Many multiplayer Magic tournaments have additional rules not included here, including rules for deck construction. See the most current Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules for more information. They can be found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents.

800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.

800.4a When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game and any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end. Then, if that player controlled any objects on the stack not represented by cards, those objects cease to exist. Then, if there are any objects still controlled by that player, those objects are exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the player leaves the game. If the player who left the game had priority at the time they left, priority passes to the next player in turn order who’s still in the game.
Example: Alex casts Mind Control, an Aura that reads, “You control enchanted creature,” on Bianca’s Assault Griffin. If Alex leaves the game, so does Mind Control, and Assault Griffin reverts to Bianca’s control. If, instead, Bianca leaves the game, so does Assault Griffin, and Mind Control is put into Alex’s graveyard.
Example: Alex casts Act of Treason, which reads, in part, “Gain control of target creature until end of turn,” targeting Bianca’s Runeclaw Bears. If Alex leaves the game, Act of Treason’s change-of-control effect ends and Runeclaw Bears reverts to Bianca’s control.
Example: Alex casts Bribery, which reads, “Search target opponent’s library for a creature card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player shuffles their library,” targeting Bianca. Alex puts Serra Angel onto the battlefield from Bianca’s library. If Bianca leaves the game, Serra Angel also leaves the game. If, instead, Alex leaves the game, Serra Angel is exiled.
Example: Alex controls Genesis Chamber, which reads, “Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield, if Genesis Chamber is untapped, that creature’s controller creates a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.” If Alex leaves the game, all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under Alex’s control leave the game, and all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under any other player’s control remain in the game.

800.4b If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a token would be created under the control of a player who has left the game, no token is created. If an object would be put onto the battlefield or onto the stack under the control of a player who has left the game, that object remains in its current zone. If a player would be controlled by a player who has left the game, they aren’t.

800.4c If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.

800.4d If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any zone, it isn’t created. If a triggered ability that would be controlled by a player who has left the game would be put onto the stack, it isn’t put on the stack.
Example: Astral Slide is an enchantment that reads, “Whenever a player cycles a card, you may exile target creature. If you do, return that creature to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.” During Alex’s turn, Bianca uses Astral Slide’s ability to exile Alex’s Hypnotic Specter. Before the end of that turn, Bianca leaves the game. At the beginning of the end step, the delayed triggered ability generated by Astral Slide that would return Hypnotic Specter to the battlefield triggers, but it isn’t put on the stack. Hypnotic Specter never returns to the battlefield.

800.4e If combat damage would be assigned to a player who has left the game, that damage isn’t assigned.

800.4f If an object requires a player who has left the game to pay a cost or choose whether to pay a cost, that cost is not paid.

800.4g If an object requires a player who has left the game to make a choice other than whether to pay a cost, the controller of the object chooses another player to make that choice. If the original choice was toLine truncated
+9. Casual Variants

900. General

900.1. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for certain casual game variants. It is by no means comprehensive.

900.2. The casual variants detailed here use supplemental zones, rules, cards, and other game implements not used in traditional Magic games.

901. Planechase

901.1. In the Planechase variant, plane cards and phenomenon cards add additional abilities and randomness to the game. The Planechase variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.

901.2. A Planechase game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 806, “Free-for-All Variant.”

901.3. In addition to the normal game materials, each player needs a planar deck of at least ten plane and/or phenomenon cards and the game needs one planar die. No more than two cards in a planar deck can be phenomenon cards. Each card in a planar deck must have a different English name. (See rule 310, “Planes,” and rule 311, “Phenomena.”)

901.3a A planar die is a six-sided die. One face has the Planeswalker symbol {PW}. One face has the chaos symbol {CHAOS}. The other faces are blank.

901.4. At the start of the game, each player shuffles their planar deck so that the cards are in a random order. Each deck is placed face down next to its owner’s library. All plane and phenomenon cards remain in the command zone throughout the game, both while they’re part of a planar deck and while they’re face up.

901.5. Once all players have kept their opening hands and used the abilities of cards that allow them to take an action with those cards from their opening hands, the starting player moves the top card of their planar deck off that planar deck and turns it face up. If it’s a phenomenon card, the player puts that card on the bottom of their planar deck and repeats this process until a plane card is turned face up. (See rule 103.6.) No abilities of any card turned face up this way trigger during this process. The face-up plane card becomes the starting plane.

901.6. The owner of a plane or phenomenon card is the player who started the game with it in their planar deck. The controller of a face-up plane or phenomenon card is the player designated as the planar controller. Normally, the planar controller is whoever the active player is. However, if the current planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in turn order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. The new planar controller retains that designation until they leave the game or a different player becomes the active player, whichever comes first.

901.7. Any abilities of a face-up plane card or phenomenon card in the command zone function from that zone. The card’s static abilities affect the game, its triggered abilities may trigger, and its activated abilities may be activated.

901.7a A face-up plane card or phenomenon card that’s turned face down becomes a new object.

901.8. Planechase games have an inherent triggered ability known as the “planeswalking ability.” The full text of this ability is “Whenever you roll {PW}, planeswalk.” (See rule 701.24, “Planeswalk.”) This ability has no source and is controlled by the player whose planar die roll caused it to trigger. This is an exception to rule 113.8.

901.9. Any time the active player has priority and the stack is empty, but only during a main phase of their turn, that player may roll the planar die. Taking this action costs a player an amount of mana equal to the number of times they have previously taken this action on that turn. This is a special action and doesn’t use the stack. Note that this number won’t be equal to the number of times the player has rolled the planar die that turn if an effect has caused the player to roll the planar die that turn. (See rule 116.2i.)

901.9a If the die roll is a blank face, nothing happens. The active player gets priority.

901.9b If the die roll is the chaos symbol {CHAOS}, any ability of a face-up plane that starts “When you roll {CHAOS}” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority.

901.9c If the die roll is the Planeswalker symbol {PW}, the “planeswalking ability” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority. (See rule 901.8.)

901.9d Rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result of a die roll, including ones that compare the results of that roll to other rolls or to a given number, ignores the rolling of the planar die. See 706, “Rolling a Die.”

901.10. When a player leaves the game, all objects owned by that player except abilities from phenomena leave thLine truncated
+Glossary

Abandon
To turn a face-up ongoing scheme card face down and put it on the bottom of its owner’s scheme deck. See rule 701.26, “Abandon.”

Ability
1. Text on an object that explains what that object does or can do.
2. An activated or triggered ability on the stack. This kind of ability is an object.
See rule 113, “Abilities,” and section 6, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”

Ability Word
An italicized word with no rules meaning that ties together abilities on different cards that have similar functionality. See rule 207.2c.

Absorb
A keyword ability that prevents damage. See rule 702.64, “Absorb.”

Activate
To put an activated ability onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. See rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activated Ability
A kind of ability. Activated abilities are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]” See rule 113, “Abilities,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activation Cost
Everything that appears before the colon in an activated ability’s text. It must be paid to activate the ability. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Active Player
The player whose turn it is. See rule 102.1.

Active Player, Nonactive Player Order
A system that determines the order by which players make choices if multiple players are instructed to make choices at the same time. See rule 101.4. This rule is modified for games using the shared team turns option; see rule 805.6.

Active Team
The team whose turn it is in a game using the shared team turns option. See rule 805.4a.

Adapt
A keyword action that puts +1/+1 counters on a creature that doesn’t have any yet. See rule 701.43, “Adapt.”

Additional Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller may pay (or, in some cases, must pay) in addition to its mana cost to cast that spell. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Adventurer Card
Cards with a two-part card frame (one part of which is inset on the left) on a single card. See rule 716, “Adventurer Cards.”
Affinity
A keyword ability that reduces how much mana you need to spend to cast a spell. See rule 702.41, “Affinity.”

Afflict
A keyword ability that makes the defending player lose life for blocking. See rule 702.130, “Afflict.”

Afterlife
A keyword ability that leaves behind Spirit creature tokens when certain creatures die. See rule 702.135, “Afterlife.”

Aftermath
A keyword ability that lets a player cast one half of a split card only from their graveyard. See rule 702.127, “Aftermath.”

Alternating Teams Variant
A multiplayer variant played among two or more teams of equal size. See rule 811, “Alternating Teams Variant.”

Alternative Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller can pay rather than paying its mana cost. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Alternate Name
A different name used on promotional or alternate-art versions of some cards. This name has no rules meaning. See rule 201.6.

Amass
A keyword action than gives you a Zombie Army creature token or grows an Army you already have. See rule 701.44, “Amass.”

Amplify
A keyword ability than can have a creature enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it. See rule 702.38, “Amplify.”

Anchor Word
A word that precedes one of two abilities a permanent may enter the battlefield with. See rule 614.12b.

Annihilator
A keyword ability that can make a creature particularly brutal when it attacks. See rule 702.86, “Annihilator.”

Ante
1. A zone used only when playing “for keeps.”
2. To put a card into the ante zone.
See rule 407, “Ante.”

Any Target
A spell or ability may require “any target.” “Any target” is the same as “target creature, player, or planeswalker.” See rule 115.4.

APNAP Order
See Active Player, Nonactive Player Order.

Archenemy
1. A casual variant in which a team of players faces off against a single opponent strengthened with powerful scheme cards. See rule 904, “Archenemy.”
2. A player in an Archenemy game who is playing with a scheme deck.

Artifact
A card type. An artifact is a permanent. See rule 301, “Artifacts.”

Artifact Creature
A combination of artifact and creature that’s subject to the rules for both. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 302, “Creatures.”

Artifact Land
A combination of artifact and land that’s subject to the rules for both. Artifact lands can only be played as lands, not cast as spells. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 305, “Lands.”

Artifact Type
A subtype that’s correlated to the artifact card type. See rule 301, “Artifacts.” See rule 205.3g for the list of artifact types.

As Though
Text used to indicate that the game, for some specific purpose, treats a condition as true even though it’s not. See rule 609.4.

Ascend
A keyword causing a player to get the designatioLine truncated
+Credits

Magic: The Gathering Original Game Design: Richard Garfield
Comprehensive Rules Design and Development: Paul Barclay, Mark L. Gottlieb, Beth Moursund, Bill Rose, Eli Shiffrin, and Matt Tabak, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, John Carter, Elaine Chase, Laurie Cheers, Stephen D’Angelo, Dave DeLaney, Brady Dommermuth, Mike Donais, Skaff Elias, Mike Elliott, Richard Garfield, Dan Gray, Robert Gutschera, Collin Jackson, William Jockusch, Jeff Jordan, Yonemura Kaoru, Russell Linnemann, Jim Lin, Steve Lord, Sheldon Menery, Michael Phoenix, Mark Rosewater, David Sachs, Lee Sharpe, Henry Stern, Donald X. Vaccarino, Thijs van Ommen, Ingo Warnke, Tom Wylie, and Bryan Zembruski
Editing: Del Laugel (lead), Lyz Liddell, Gregg Luben, Nat Moes, Samantha Phelan, Matt Tabak, Michael Zhang, and Hans Ziegler
Magic Rules Management: Jess Dunks

The Magic: The Gathering game was designed by Richard Garfield, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, Skaff Elias, Don Felice, Tom Fontaine, Jim Lin, Joel Mick, Chris Page, Dave Pettey, Barry “Bit” Reich, Bill Rose, and Elliott Segal. The mana symbols were designed by Christopher Rush.

Thanks to all our project team members and the many others too numerous to mention who have contributed to this product.












These rules are effective as of April 29, 2022.

Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Magic, their respective logos, Mirrodin, Kamigawa, Lorwyn, Zendikar, Innistrad, Ravnica, Khans of Tarkir, Magic Origins, Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy, Ixalan, Unglued, Unstable, Dominaria, Ikoria, Kaldheim, and Planeswalker Decks are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the USA and other countries. ©2022 Wizards. U.S. Pat. No. RE 37,957.

0104-CLB-Commander Legends Battle for Baldur’s Gate.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are effective as of June 10, 2022.

Introduction

This document is the ultimate authority for Magic: The Gathering® competitive game play. It consists of a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. (Note that subrules skip the letters “l” and “o” due to potential confusion with the numbers “1” and “0”; subrule 704.5k is followed by 704.5m, then 704.5n, then 704.5p, for example.)

Changes may have been made to this document since its publication. You can download the most recent version from the Magic rules website at Magic.Wizards.com/Rules. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at Support.Wizards.com.
+Contents

1. Game Concepts
100. General
101. The Magic Golden Rules
102. Players
103. Starting the Game
104. Ending the Game
105. Colors
106. Mana
107. Numbers and Symbols
108. Cards
109. Objects
110. Permanents
111. Tokens
112. Spells
113. Abilities
114. Emblems
115. Targets
116. Special Actions
117. Timing and Priority
118. Costs
119. Life
120. Damage
121. Drawing a Card
122. Counters

2. Parts of a Card
200. General
201. Name
202. Mana Cost and Color
203. Illustration
204. Color Indicator
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Loyalty
210. Hand Modifier
211. Life Modifier
212. Information Below the Text Box

3. Card Types
300. General
301. Artifacts
302. Creatures
303. Enchantments
304. Instants
305. Lands
306. Planeswalkers
307. Sorceries
308. Tribals
309. Dungeons
310. Planes
311. Phenomena
312. Vanguards
313. Schemes
314. Conspiracies

4. Zones
400. General
401. Library
402. Hand
403. Battlefield
404. Graveyard
405. Stack
406. Exile
407. Ante
408. Command

5. Turn Structure
500. General
501. Beginning Phase
502. Untap Step
503. Upkeep Step
504. Draw Step
505. Main Phase
506. Combat Phase
507. Beginning of Combat Step
508. Declare Attackers Step
509. Declare Blockers Step
510. Combat Damage Step
511. End of Combat Step
512. Ending Phase
513. End Step
514. Cleanup Step

6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
600. General
601. Casting Spells
602. Activating Activated Abilities
603. Handling Triggered Abilities
604. Handling Static Abilities
605. Mana Abilities
606. Loyalty Abilities
607. Linked Abilities
608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
609. Effects
610. One-Shot Effects
611. Continuous Effects
612. Text-Changing Effects
613. Interaction of Continuous Effects
614. Replacement Effects
615. Prevention Effects
616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects

7. Additional Rules
700. General
701. Keyword Actions
702. Keyword Abilities
703. Turn-Based Actions
704. State-Based Actions
705. Flipping a Coin
706. Rolling a Die
707. Copying Objects
708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
709. Split Cards
710. Flip Cards
711. Leveler Cards
712. Double-Faced Cards
713. Meld Cards
714. Substitute Cards
715. Saga Cards
716. Adventurer Cards
717. Class Cards
718. Controlling Another Player
719. Ending Turns and Phases
720. The Monarch
721. Initiative
722. Restarting the Game
723. Subgames
724. Merging with Permanents
725. Day and Night
726. Taking Shortcuts
727. Handling Illegal Actions

8. Multiplayer Rules
800. General
801. Limited Range of Influence Option
802. Attack Multiple Players Option
803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
804. Deploy Creatures Option
805. Shared Team Turns Option
806. Free-for-All Variant
807. Grand Melee Variant
808. Team vs. Team Variant
809. Emperor Variant
810. Two-Headed Giant Variant
811. Alternating Teams Variant

9. Casual Variants
900. General
901. Planechase
902. Vanguard
903. Commander
904. Archenemy
905. Conspiracy Draft

Glossary

Credits
+1. Game Concepts

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 8, “Multiplayer Rules.”

100.2. To play, each player needs their own deck of traditional Magic cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck has a minimum deck size of 60 cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards. For the purposes of deck construction, cards with interchangeable names have the same English name (see rule 201.3).

100.2b In limited play (a way of playing in which each player gets the same quantity of unopened Magic product such as booster packs and creates their own deck using only this product and basic land cards), each deck has a minimum deck size of 40 cards. A limited deck may contain as many duplicates of a card as are included with the product.

100.2c Commander decks are subject to additional deckbuilding restrictions and requirements. See rule 903, “Commander,” for details.

100.3. Some cards require coins or traditional dice. Some casual variants require additional items, such as specially designated cards, nontraditional Magic cards, and specialized dice.

100.4. Each player may also have a sideboard, which is a group of additional cards the player may use to modify their deck between games of a match.

100.4a In constructed play, a sideboard may contain no more than fifteen cards. The four-card limit (see rule 100.2a) applies to the combined deck and sideboard.

100.4b In limited play involving individual players, all cards in a player’s card pool not included in their deck are in that player’s sideboard.

100.4c In limited play involving the Two-Headed Giant multiplayer variant, all cards in a team’s card pool but not in either player’s deck are in that team’s sideboard.

100.4d In limited play involving other multiplayer team variants, each card in a team’s card pool but not in any player’s deck is assigned to the sideboard of one of those players. Each player has their own sideboard; cards may not be transferred between players.

100.5. If a deck must contain at least a certain number of cards, that number is referred to as a minimum deck size. There is no maximum deck size for non-Commander decks.

100.6. Most Magic tournaments (organized play activities where players compete against other players to win prizes) have additional rules covered in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules (found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents). These rules may limit the use of some cards, including barring all cards from some older sets.

100.6a Tournaments usually consist of a series of matches. A two-player match usually involves playing until one player has won two games. A multiplayer match usually consists of only one game.

100.6b Players can use the Magic Store & Event Locator at Wizards.com/Locator to find tournaments in their area.

100.7. Certain promotional cards and cards in the Unglued, Unhinged, and Unstable sets are printed with a silver border. These cards are intended for casual play and may have features and text that aren’t covered by these rules.

101. The Magic Golden Rules

101.1. Whenever a card’s text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence. The card overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation. The only exception is that a player can concede the game at any time (see rule 104.3a).

101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.
Example: If one effect reads “You may play an additional land this turn” and another reads “You can’t play lands this turn,” the effect that precludes you from playing lands wins.

101.2a Adding abilities to objects and removing abilities from objects don’t fall under this rule. (See rule 113.10.)

101.3. Any part of an instruction that’s impossible to perform is ignored. (In many cases the card will specify consequences for this; if it doesn’t, there’s no effect.)

101.4. If multiple players would make choices and/or take actions at the same time, the active player (the player whose turn it is) makes any choices required, then the next player in turn order (usually the player seated to the active player’s left) makes any choices required, followed by the remaining nonactive players in turn order. Then the actions happen simultaneously. This rule is often referred to as the “Active Player, Nonactive Player (APNAP) order” rule.
Example:Line truncated
+2. Parts of a Card

200. General

200.1. The parts of a card are name, mana cost, illustration, color indicator, type line, expansion symbol, text box, power and toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, life modifier, illustration credit, legal text, and collector number. Some cards may have more than one of any or all of these parts.

200.2. Some parts of a card are also characteristics of the object that has them. See rule 109.3.

200.3. Some objects that aren’t cards (tokens, copies of cards, and copies of spells) have some of the parts of a card, but only the ones that are also characteristics. See rule 111 and rule 707.

201. Name

201.1. The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.

201.2. A card’s name is always considered to be the English version of its name, regardless of printed language.

201.2a Two or more objects have the same name if they have at least one name in common, even if one or more of those objects have additional names. An object with no name doesn’t have the same name as any other object, including another object with no name.

201.2b Some spells and abilities refer to two or more objects with different names. Those objects have different names only if each of them has at least one name and no two objects in that group have a name in common.
Example: A player controls Liliana’s Contract, which says, in part, “At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control four or more Demons with different names, you win the game.” That player controls three Demons with different names and a face-down creature with no name, with an effect making it a Demon. Because the four creatures include one with no name, those four creatures don’t count as four Demons with different names. The ability of Liliana’s Contract won’t trigger.

201.2c Some spells or abilities check if one object has a different name than a second object or group of objects. The first object has a different name than those objects if the first object has at least one name and has no names in common with any of the other objects, even if one or more of the other objects have no names. If the first object has no name, it does not have a different name than any of the other objects, even if those other objects themselves have names.

201.3.  Some cards with different English names are treated as though they had the same English name. Pairs of cards with this property have names that are interchangeable.

201.3a For the purposes of all rules, abilities, and effects that refer to a card’s name, objects with interchangeable names have the same name. (See rules 201.2a–b.)

201.3b For the purposes of deck construction and format legality, cards with interchangeable names have the same name.

201.3c If a card has later printings with interchangeable names, the later printings will have an interchangeable names indicator in the bottom left-hand corner referring to the original printing’s three-letter set code and collector number (see rule 212.1d).

201.4. If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the player must choose the name of a card in the Oracle card reference. (See rule 108.1.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.

201.4a If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, the player must choose the name of a card whose Oracle text matches those characteristics. (See rule 108.1.)
Example: Dispossess reads, in part, “Choose an artifact card name.” The player can choose the name of any artifact card, even one that’s not legal in the format of the current game. The player can’t choose Island, even if an Island on the battlefield has been turned into artifact by some effect.

201.4b If a player wants to choose the name of a split card, the player must choose the name of one of its halves, but not both. (See rule 709.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only that half’s characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4c If a player wants to choose a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 710.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4d If a player wants to choose the name of the back face of a double-faced card, the player may do so. (See rule 712.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4e If a player wants to choose the name of the combined back face of a meld pair, the player may do so. (See rule 713.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the combined back face to determine if this name can be chosen.

201.4f If a player wants to choose an adventurer card’s alternatLine truncated
+3. Card Types

300. General

300.1. The card types are artifact, conspiracy, creature, dungeon, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard.

300.2. Some objects have more than one card type (for example, an artifact creature). Such objects combine the aspects of each of those card types, and are subject to spells and abilities that affect either or all of those card types.

300.2a An object that’s both a land and another card type (for example, an artifact land) can only be played as a land. It can’t be cast as a spell.

300.2b Each tribal card has another card type. Casting and resolving a tribal card follow the rules for casting and resolving a card of the other card type.

301. Artifacts

301.1. A player who has priority may cast an artifact card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting an artifact as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)

301.2. When an artifact spell resolves, its controller puts it onto the battlefield under their control.

301.3. Artifact subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Artifact — Equipment.” Artifact subtypes are also called artifact types. Artifacts may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3g for the complete list of artifact types.

301.4. Artifacts have no characteristics specific to their card type. Most artifacts have no colored mana symbols in their mana costs, and are therefore colorless. However, there is no correlation between being colorless and being an artifact: artifacts may be colored, and colorless objects may be card types other than artifact.

301.5. Some artifacts have the subtype “Equipment.” An Equipment can be attached to a creature. It can’t legally be attached to anything that isn’t a creature.

301.5a The creature an Equipment is attached to is called the “equipped creature.” The Equipment is attached to, or “equips,” that creature.

301.5b Equipment spells are cast like other artifact spells. Equipment enter the battlefield like other artifacts. They don’t enter the battlefield attached to a creature. The equip keyword ability attaches the Equipment to a creature you control (see rule 702.6, “Equip”). Control of the creature matters only when the equip ability is activated and when it resolves. Spells and other abilities may also attach an Equipment to a creature. If an effect attempts to attach an Equipment to an object that can’t be equipped by it, the Equipment doesn’t move.

301.5c An Equipment that’s also a creature can’t equip a creature unless that Equipment has reconfigure (see rule 702.151, “Reconfigure”). An Equipment that loses the subtype “Equipment” can’t equip a creature. An Equipment can’t equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent becomes unattached from that permanent but remains on the battlefield. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.) An Equipment can’t equip more than one creature. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.

301.5d An Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment, and vice versa. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Equipment grants an ability to the equipped creature (with “gains” or “has”), the equipped creature’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.

301.5e An ability of a permanent that refers to the “equipped creature” refers to whatever creature that permanent is attached to, even if the permanent with the ability isn’t an Equipment.

301.6. Some artifacts have the subtype “Fortification.” A Fortification can be attached to a land. It can’t legally be attached to an object that isn’t a land. Fortification’s analog to the equip keyword ability is the fortify keyword ability. Rules 301.5a–e apply to Fortifications in relation to lands just as they apply to Equipment in relation to creatures, with one clarification relating to rule 301.5c: a Fortification that’s also a creature (not a land) can’t fortify a land. (See rule 702.67, “Fortify.”)

301.7. Some artifacts have the subtype “Vehicle.” Most Vehicles have a crew ability which allows them to become artifact creatures. See rule 702.122, “Crew.”

301.7a Each Vehicle has a printed power and toughness, but it has these characteristics only if it’s also a creature. See rule 208.3.

301.7b If a Vehicle becomes a creature, it immediately has its printed power and toughness. Other effects, including the effect that makes it a creature, may modify these values or set them to different values.

302. Creatures

302.1. A player who has priority may cast a creature card from their hand duLine truncated
+4. Zones

400. General

400.1. A zone is a place where objects can be during a game. There are normally seven zones: library, hand, battlefield, graveyard, stack, exile, and command. Some older cards also use the ante zone. Each player has their own library, hand, and graveyard. The other zones are shared by all players.

400.2. Public zones are zones in which all players can see the cards’ faces, except for those cards that some rule or effect specifically allow to be face down. Graveyard, battlefield, stack, exile, ante, and command are public zones. Hidden zones are zones in which not all players can be expected to see the cards’ faces. Library and hand are hidden zones, even if all the cards in one such zone happen to be revealed.

400.3. If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner’s corresponding zone.

400.4. Cards with certain card types can’t enter certain zones.

400.4a If an instant or sorcery card would enter the battlefield, it remains in its previous zone.

400.4b If a conspiracy, phenomenon, plane, scheme, or vanguard card would leave the command zone, it remains in the command zone.

400.5. The order of objects in a library, in a graveyard, or on the stack can’t be changed except when effects or rules allow it. The same is true for objects arranged in face-down piles in other zones. Other objects in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those objects, whether they’re tapped or flipped, and what other objects are attached to them must remain clear to all players.

400.6. If an object would move from one zone to another, determine what event is moving the object. If the object is moving to a public zone and its owner will be able to look at it in that zone, its owner looks at it to see if it has any abilities that would affect the move. If the object is moving to the battlefield, each other player who will be able to look at it in that zone does so. Then any appropriate replacement effects, whether they come from that object or from elsewhere, are applied to that event. If any effects or rules try to do two or more contradictory or mutually exclusive things to a particular object, that object’s controller—or its owner if it has no controller—chooses which effect to apply, and what that effect does. (Note that multiple instances of the same thing may be mutually exclusive; for example, two simultaneous “destroy” effects.) Then the event moves the object.
Example: Exquisite Archangel has an ability which reads “If you would lose the game, instead exile Exquisite Archangel and your life total becomes equal to your starting life total.” A spell deals 5 damage to a player with 5 life and 5 damage to an Exquisite Archangel under that player’s control. As state-based actions are performed, that player’s life total becomes equal to their starting life total, and that player chooses whether Exquisite Archangel moves to its owner’s graveyard or to exile.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

400.7a Effects from spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities that change the characteristics or controller of a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes. Effects from static abilities that give a permanent spell on the stack an ability that allows it to be cast for an alternative cost continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7b Prevention effects that apply to damage from a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to damage from the permanent that spell becomes.

400.7c An ability of a permanent can reference information about the spell that became that permanent as it resolved, including what costs were paid to cast that spell or what mana was spent to pay those costs.

400.7d Abilities that trigger when an object moves from one zone to another (for example, “When Rancor is put into a graveyard from the battlefield”) can find the new object that it became in the zone it moved to when the ability triggered, if that zone is a public zone.

400.7e Abilities of Auras that trigger when the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield can find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard if it was put into that graveyard at the same time the enchanted permanent left the battlefield. It can also find the new object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard as a result of being put there as a state-based action for not being attached to a permanent. (See rule 704.5m.)

400.7f If an effect grants a nonland card an ability that allows it to be cast, that ability will continue to apply to the new object that card became after it moved to the stack as a result of being cast this way.

400.7g If an effect allows a nonland card to be cast, other parts of that effect can Line truncated
+5. Turn Structure

500. General

500.1. A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of these phases takes place every turn, even if nothing happens during the phase. The beginning, combat, and ending phases are further broken down into steps, which proceed in order.

500.2. A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession. Simply having the stack become empty doesn’t cause such a phase or step to end; all players have to pass in succession with the stack empty. Because of this, each player gets a chance to add new things to the stack before that phase or step ends.

500.3. A step in which no players receive priority ends when all specified actions that take place during that step are completed. The only such steps are the untap step (see rule 502) and certain cleanup steps (see rule 514).

500.4. When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

500.5. When a phase or step ends, any effects scheduled to last “until end of” that phase or step expire. When a phase or step begins, any effects scheduled to last “until” that phase or step expire. Effects that last “until end of combat” expire at the end of the combat phase, not at the beginning of the end of combat step. Effects that last “until end of turn” are subject to special rules; see rule 514.2.

500.6. When a phase or step begins, any abilities that trigger “at the beginning of” that phase or step trigger. They are put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

500.7. Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a player is given multiple extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time. If multiple players are given extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time, in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). The most recently created turn will be taken first.

500.8. Some effects can add phases to a turn. They do this by adding the phases directly after the specified phase. If multiple extra phases are created after the same phase, the most recently created phase will occur first.

500.9. Some effects can add steps to a phase. They do this by adding the steps directly after a specified step or directly before a specified step. If multiple extra steps are created after the same step, the most recently created step will occur first.

500.10. Some effects can cause a step, phase, or turn to be skipped. To skip a step, phase, or turn is to proceed past it as though it didn’t exist. See rule 614.10.

500.11. No game events can occur between turns, phases, or steps.

501. Beginning Phase

501.1. The beginning phase consists of three steps, in this order: untap, upkeep, and draw.

502. Untap Step

502.1. First, all phased-in permanents with phasing that the active player controls phase out, and all phased-out permanents that the active player controlled when they phased out phase in. This all happens simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 702.26, “Phasing.”

502.2. Second, if it’s day and the previous turn’s active player didn’t cast any spells during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and the previous turn’s active player cast two or more spells during that turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 725, “Day and Night.”

502.2a Multiplayer games using the shared team turns option use a modified rule. If it’s day and no player on the previous turn’s active team cast a spell during that turn, it becomes night. If it’s night and any player on the previous turn’s active team cast two or more spells during the previous turn, it becomes day. If it’s neither day nor night, this check doesn’t happen and it remains neither. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

502.3. Third, the active player determines which permanents they control will untap. Then they untap them all simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. Normally, all of a player’s permanents untap, but effects can keep one or more of a player’s permanents from untapping.

502.4. No player receives priority during the untap step, so no spells can be cast or resolve and no abilities can be activated or resolve. Any ability that triggers during this step will be held until the next time a player would receive priority, which is usually during the upkeep step. (See rule 503, “Upkeep Step.”)

503. Upkeep Step

503.1. The upkeep step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

503.1a Any abilities that triggered during the untap step and any abilLine truncated
+6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects

600. General

601. Casting Spells

601.1. Previously, the action of casting a spell, or casting a card as a spell, was referred to on cards as “playing” that spell or that card. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to “casting” that spell or that card.

601.1a Some effects still refer to “playing” a card. “Playing a card” means playing that card as a land or casting that card as a spell, whichever is appropriate.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell includes proposal of the spell (rules 601.2a–d) and determination and payment of costs (rules 601.2f–h). To cast a spell, a player follows the steps listed below, in order. A player must be legally allowed to cast the spell to begin this process (see rule 601.3). If a player is unable to comply with the requirements of a step listed below while performing that step, the casting of the spell is illegal ; the game returns to the moment before the casting of that spell was proposed (see rule 727, “Handling Illegal Actions”).

601.2a To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it resolves, it’s countered, or a rule or effect moves it elsewhere.

601.2b If the spell is modal, the player announces the mode choice (see rule 700.2). If the player wishes to splice any cards onto the spell (see rule 702.47), they reveal those cards in their hand. If the spell has alternative or additional costs that will be paid as it’s being cast such as buyback or kicker costs (see rules 118.8 and 118.9), the player announces their intentions to pay any or all of those costs (see rule 601.2f). A player can’t apply two alternative methods of casting or two alternative costs to a single spell. If the spell has a variable cost that will be paid as it’s being cast (such as an {X} in its mana cost; see rule 107.3), the player announces the value of that variable. If the value of that variable is defined in the text of the spell by a choice that player would make later in the announcement or resolution of the spell, that player makes that choice at this time instead of that later time. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes hybrid mana symbols, the player announces the nonhybrid equivalent cost they intend to pay. If a cost that will be paid as the spell is being cast includes Phyrexian mana symbols, the player announces whether they intend to pay 2 life or a corresponding colored mana cost for each of those symbols. Previously made choices (such as choosing to cast a spell with flashback from a graveyard or choosing to cast a creature with morph face down) may restrict the player’s options when making these choices.

601.2c The player announces their choice of an appropriate object or player for each target the spell requires. A spell may require some targets only if an alternative or additional cost (such as a kicker cost) or a particular mode was chosen for it; otherwise, the spell is cast as though it did not require those targets. Similarly, a spell may require alternative targets only if an alternative or additional cost was chosen for it. If the spell has a variable number of targets, the player announces how many targets they will choose before they announce those targets. In some cases, the number of targets will be defined by the spell’s text. Once the number of targets the spell has is determined, that number doesn’t change, even if the information used to determine the number of targets does. The same target can’t be chosen multiple times for any one instance of the word “target” on the spell. However, if the spell uses the word “target” in multiple places, the same object or player can be chosen once for each instance of the word “target” (as long as it fits the targeting criteria). If any effects say that an object or player must be chosen as a target, the player chooses targets so that they obey the maximum possible number of such effects without violating any rules or effects that say that an object or player can’t be chosen as a target. The chosen objects and/or players each become a target of that spell. (Any abilities that trigger when those objects and/or players become the target of a spell trigger at this point; they’ll wait to be put on the stack until the spell has finished being cast.)
Example: If a spell says “Tap two target creatures,” then the same creature can’t be chosen twice; the spell requires two different legal targets. A spell that says “Line truncated
+7. Additional Rules

700. General

700.1. Anything that happens in a game is an event. Multiple events may take place during the resolution of a spell or ability. The text of triggered abilities and replacement effects defines the event they’re looking for. One “happening” may be treated as a single event by one ability and as multiple events by another.
Example: If an attacking creature is blocked by two creatures, this is one event for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked” but two events for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [this creature] becomes blocked by a creature.”

700.2. A spell or ability is modal if it has two or more options in a bulleted list preceded by instructions for a player to choose a number of those options, such as “Choose one —.” Each of those options is a mode. Modal cards printed prior to the Khans of Tarkir® set didn’t use bulleted lists for the modes; these cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference so the modes do appear in a bulleted list.

700.2a The controller of a modal spell or activated ability chooses the mode(s) as part of casting that spell or activating that ability. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. (See rule 601.2b.)

700.2b The controller of a modal triggered ability chooses the mode(s) as part of putting that ability on the stack. If one of the modes would be illegal (due to an inability to choose legal targets, for example), that mode can’t be chosen. If no mode is chosen, the ability is removed from the stack. (See rule 603.3c.)

700.2c If a spell or ability targets one or more targets only if a particular mode is chosen for it, its controller will need to choose those targets only if they chose that mode. Otherwise, the spell or ability is treated as though it did not have those targets. (See rule 601.2c.)

700.2d If a player is allowed to choose more than one mode for a modal spell or ability, that player normally can’t choose the same mode more than once. However, a few modal spells include the instruction “You may choose the same mode more than once.” If a particular mode is chosen multiple times, the spell is treated as if that mode appeared that many times in sequence. If that mode requires a target, the same player or object may be chosen as the target for each of those modes, or different targets may be chosen.

700.2e Some spells and abilities specify that a player other than their controller chooses a mode for it. In that case, the other player does so when the spell or ability’s controller normally would do so. If there is more than one other player who could make such a choice, the spell or ability’s controller decides which of those players will make the choice.

700.2f Modal spells and abilities may have different targeting requirements for each mode. Changing a spell or ability’s target can’t change its mode.

700.2g A copy of a modal spell or ability copies the mode(s) chosen for it. The controller of the copy can’t choose a different mode. (See rule 707.10.)

700.3. Some effects cause objects to be temporarily grouped into piles.

700.3a Each of the affected objects must be put into exactly one of those piles, unless the effect specifies otherwise.

700.3b Each object in a pile is still an individual object. The pile is not an object.

700.3c Objects grouped into piles don’t leave the zone they’re currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained.
Example: Fact or Fiction reads, “Reveal the top five cards of your library. An opponent separates those cards into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard.” While an opponent is separating the revealed cards into piles, they’re still in their owner’s library. They don’t leave the library until they’re put into their owner’s hand or graveyard.

700.3d A pile can contain zero or more objects.

700.4. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”

700.5. A player’s devotion to [color] is equal to the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents that player controls. A player’s devotion to [color 1] and [color 2] is equal to the number of mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents that player controls that are [color 1], [color 2], or both colors.

700.5a A player’s devotion to each color and combination of colors, taking into account any effects that modify devotion, is calculated after considering any copy, control, or text-changing effects but before any other effects that modify the characteristics of permanents. This is an exception to 613.10. See also rule 613, “Interaction of Continuous Effects.”
Example: Altar of the Pantheon is an artifact with no colored mana in its cost and an ability that says “Your devotion to each color and each comLine truncated
+8. Multiplayer Rules

800. General

800.1. A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for multiplayer play.

800.2. These rules consist of a series of options that can be added to a multiplayer game and a number of variant styles of multiplayer play. A single game may use multiple options but only one variant.

800.3. Many multiplayer Magic tournaments have additional rules not included here, including rules for deck construction. See the most current Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules for more information. They can be found at WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents.

800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.

800.4a When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game and any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end. Then, if that player controlled any objects on the stack not represented by cards, those objects cease to exist. Then, if there are any objects still controlled by that player, those objects are exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the player leaves the game. If the player who left the game had priority at the time they left, priority passes to the next player in turn order who’s still in the game.
Example: Alex casts Mind Control, an Aura that reads, “You control enchanted creature,” on Bianca’s Assault Griffin. If Alex leaves the game, so does Mind Control, and Assault Griffin reverts to Bianca’s control. If, instead, Bianca leaves the game, so does Assault Griffin, and Mind Control is put into Alex’s graveyard.
Example: Alex casts Act of Treason, which reads, in part, “Gain control of target creature until end of turn,” targeting Bianca’s Runeclaw Bears. If Alex leaves the game, Act of Treason’s change-of-control effect ends and Runeclaw Bears reverts to Bianca’s control.
Example: Alex casts Bribery, which reads, “Search target opponent’s library for a creature card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player shuffles their library,” targeting Bianca. Alex puts Serra Angel onto the battlefield from Bianca’s library. If Bianca leaves the game, Serra Angel also leaves the game. If, instead, Alex leaves the game, Serra Angel is exiled.
Example: Alex controls Genesis Chamber, which reads, “Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield, if Genesis Chamber is untapped, that creature’s controller creates a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.” If Alex leaves the game, all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under Alex’s control leave the game, and all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under any other player’s control remain in the game.

800.4b If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a token would be created under the control of a player who has left the game, no token is created. If an object would be put onto the battlefield or onto the stack under the control of a player who has left the game, that object remains in its current zone. If a player would be controlled by a player who has left the game, they aren’t.

800.4c If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.

800.4d If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any zone, it isn’t created. If a triggered ability that would be controlled by a player who has left the game would be put onto the stack, it isn’t put on the stack.
Example: Astral Slide is an enchantment that reads, “Whenever a player cycles a card, you may exile target creature. If you do, return that creature to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.” During Alex’s turn, Bianca uses Astral Slide’s ability to exile Alex’s Hypnotic Specter. Before the end of that turn, Bianca leaves the game. At the beginning of the end step, the delayed triggered ability generated by Astral Slide that would return Hypnotic Specter to the battlefield triggers, but it isn’t put on the stack. Hypnotic Specter never returns to the battlefield.

800.4e If combat damage would be assigned to a player who has left the game, that damage isn’t assigned.

800.4f If an object requires a player who has left the game to pay a cost or choose whether to pay a cost, that cost is not paid.

800.4g If an object requires a player who has left the game to make a choice other than whether to pay a cost, the controller of the object chooses another player to make that choice. If the original choice was toLine truncated
+9. Casual Variants

900. General

900.1. This section contains additional optional rules that can be used for certain casual game variants. It is by no means comprehensive.

900.2. The casual variants detailed here use supplemental zones, rules, cards, and other game implements not used in traditional Magic games.

901. Planechase

901.1. In the Planechase variant, plane cards and phenomenon cards add additional abilities and randomness to the game. The Planechase variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.

901.2. A Planechase game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 806, “Free-for-All Variant.”

901.3. In addition to the normal game materials, each player needs a planar deck of at least ten plane and/or phenomenon cards and the game needs one planar die. No more than two cards in a planar deck can be phenomenon cards. Each card in a planar deck must have a different English name. (See rule 310, “Planes,” and rule 311, “Phenomena.”)

901.3a A planar die is a six-sided die. One face has the Planeswalker symbol {PW}. One face has the chaos symbol {CHAOS}. The other faces are blank.

901.4. At the start of the game, each player shuffles their planar deck so that the cards are in a random order. Each deck is placed face down next to its owner’s library. All plane and phenomenon cards remain in the command zone throughout the game, both while they’re part of a planar deck and while they’re face up.

901.5. Once all players have kept their opening hands and used the abilities of cards that allow them to take an action with those cards from their opening hands, the starting player moves the top card of their planar deck off that planar deck and turns it face up. If it’s a phenomenon card, the player puts that card on the bottom of their planar deck and repeats this process until a plane card is turned face up. (See rule 103.6.) No abilities of any card turned face up this way trigger during this process. The face-up plane card becomes the starting plane.

901.6. The owner of a plane or phenomenon card is the player who started the game with it in their planar deck. The controller of a face-up plane or phenomenon card is the player designated as the planar controller. Normally, the planar controller is whoever the active player is. However, if the current planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in turn order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. The new planar controller retains that designation until they leave the game or a different player becomes the active player, whichever comes first.

901.7. Any abilities of a face-up plane card or phenomenon card in the command zone function from that zone. The card’s static abilities affect the game, its triggered abilities may trigger, and its activated abilities may be activated.

901.7a A face-up plane card or phenomenon card that’s turned face down becomes a new object.

901.8. Planechase games have an inherent triggered ability known as the “planeswalking ability.” The full text of this ability is “Whenever you roll {PW}, planeswalk.” (See rule 701.24, “Planeswalk.”) This ability has no source and is controlled by the player whose planar die roll caused it to trigger. This is an exception to rule 113.8.

901.9. Any time the active player has priority and the stack is empty, but only during a main phase of their turn, that player may roll the planar die. Taking this action costs a player an amount of mana equal to the number of times they have previously taken this action on that turn. This is a special action and doesn’t use the stack. Note that this number won’t be equal to the number of times the player has rolled the planar die that turn if an effect has caused the player to roll the planar die that turn. (See rule 116.2i.)

901.9a If the die roll is a blank face, nothing happens. The active player gets priority.

901.9b If the die roll is the chaos symbol {CHAOS}, any ability of a face-up plane that starts “When you roll {CHAOS}” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority.

901.9c If the die roll is the Planeswalker symbol {PW}, the “planeswalking ability” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority. (See rule 901.8.)

901.9d Rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result of a die roll, including ones that compare the results of that roll to other rolls or to a given number, ignores the rolling of the planar die. See 706, “Rolling a Die.”

901.10. When a player leaves the game, all objects owned by that player except abilities from phenomena leave thLine truncated
+Glossary

Abandon
To turn a face-up ongoing scheme card face down and put it on the bottom of its owner’s scheme deck. See rule 701.26, “Abandon.”

Ability
1. Text on an object that explains what that object does or can do.
2. An activated or triggered ability on the stack. This kind of ability is an object.
See rule 113, “Abilities,” and section 6, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”

Ability Word
An italicized word with no rules meaning that ties together abilities on different cards that have similar functionality. See rule 207.2c.

Absorb
A keyword ability that prevents damage. See rule 702.64, “Absorb.”

Activate
To put an activated ability onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. See rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activated Ability
A kind of ability. Activated abilities are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]” See rule 113, “Abilities,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Activation Cost
Everything that appears before the colon in an activated ability’s text. It must be paid to activate the ability. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 602, “Activating Activated Abilities.”

Active Player
The player whose turn it is. See rule 102.1.

Active Player, Nonactive Player Order
A system that determines the order by which players make choices if multiple players are instructed to make choices at the same time. See rule 101.4. This rule is modified for games using the shared team turns option; see rule 805.6.

Active Team
The team whose turn it is in a game using the shared team turns option. See rule 805.4a.

Adapt
A keyword action that puts +1/+1 counters on a creature that doesn’t have any yet. See rule 701.43, “Adapt.”

Additional Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller may pay (or, in some cases, must pay) in addition to its mana cost to cast that spell. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Adventurer Card
Cards with a two-part card frame (one part of which is inset on the left) on a single card. See rule 716, “Adventurer Cards.”
Affinity
A keyword ability that reduces how much mana you need to spend to cast a spell. See rule 702.41, “Affinity.”

Afflict
A keyword ability that makes the defending player lose life for blocking. See rule 702.130, “Afflict.”

Afterlife
A keyword ability that leaves behind Spirit creature tokens when certain creatures die. See rule 702.135, “Afterlife.”

Aftermath
A keyword ability that lets a player cast one half of a split card only from their graveyard. See rule 702.127, “Aftermath.”

Alternating Teams Variant
A multiplayer variant played among two or more teams of equal size. See rule 811, “Alternating Teams Variant.”

Alternative Cost
A cost a spell may have that its controller can pay rather than paying its mana cost. See rule 118, “Costs,” and rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

Alternate Name
A different name used on promotional or alternate-art versions of some cards. This name has no rules meaning. See rule 201.6.

Amass
A keyword action than gives you a Zombie Army creature token or grows an Army you already have. See rule 701.44, “Amass.”

Amplify
A keyword ability than can have a creature enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it. See rule 702.38, “Amplify.”

Anchor Word
A word that precedes one of two abilities a permanent may enter the battlefield with. See rule 614.12b.

Annihilator
A keyword ability that can make a creature particularly brutal when it attacks. See rule 702.86, “Annihilator.”

Ante
1. A zone used only when playing “for keeps.”
2. To put a card into the ante zone.
See rule 407, “Ante.”

Any Target
A spell or ability may require “any target.” “Any target” is the same as “target creature, player, or planeswalker.” See rule 115.4.

APNAP Order
See Active Player, Nonactive Player Order.

Archenemy
1. A casual variant in which a team of players faces off against a single opponent strengthened with powerful scheme cards. See rule 904, “Archenemy.”
2. A player in an Archenemy game who is playing with a scheme deck.

Artifact
A card type. An artifact is a permanent. See rule 301, “Artifacts.”

Artifact Creature
A combination of artifact and creature that’s subject to the rules for both. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 302, “Creatures.”

Artifact Land
A combination of artifact and land that’s subject to the rules for both. Artifact lands can only be played as lands, not cast as spells. See rule 301, “Artifacts,” and rule 305, “Lands.”

Artifact Type
A subtype that’s correlated to the artifact card type. See rule 301, “Artifacts.” See rule 205.3g for the list of artifact types.

As Though
Text used to indicate that the game, for some specific purpose, treats a condition as true even though it’s not. See rule 609.4.

Ascend
A keyword causing a player to get the designatioLine truncated
+Credits

Magic: The Gathering Original Game Design: Richard Garfield
Comprehensive Rules Design and Development: Paul Barclay, Mark L. Gottlieb, Beth Moursund, Bill Rose, Eli Shiffrin, and Matt Tabak, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, John Carter, Elaine Chase, Laurie Cheers, Stephen D’Angelo, Dave DeLaney, Brady Dommermuth, Mike Donais, Skaff Elias, Mike Elliott, Richard Garfield, Dan Gray, Robert Gutschera, Collin Jackson, William Jockusch, Jeff Jordan, Yonemura Kaoru, Russell Linnemann, Jim Lin, Steve Lord, Sheldon Menery, Michael Phoenix, Mark Rosewater, David Sachs, Lee Sharpe, Henry Stern, Donald X. Vaccarino, Thijs van Ommen, Ingo Warnke, Tom Wylie, and Bryan Zembruski
Editing: Del Laugel (lead), Lyz Liddell, Gregg Luben, Nat Moes, Samantha Phelan, Matt Tabak, Michael Zhang, and Hans Ziegler
Magic Rules Management: Jess Dunks

The Magic: The Gathering game was designed by Richard Garfield, with contributions from Charlie Cátinò, Skaff Elias, Don Felice, Tom Fontaine, Jim Lin, Joel Mick, Chris Page, Dave Pettey, Barry “Bit” Reich, Bill Rose, and Elliott Segal. The mana symbols were designed by Christopher Rush.

Thanks to all our project team members and the many others too numerous to mention who have contributed to this product.












These rules are effective as of June 10, 2022.

Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Magic, their respective logos, Mirrodin, Kamigawa, Lorwyn, Zendikar, Innistrad, Ravnica, Khans of Tarkir, Magic Origins, Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy, Ixalan, Unglued, Unstable, Dominaria, Ikoria, Kaldheim, Baldur’s Gate, and Planeswalker Decks are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the USA and other countries. ©2022 Wizards. U.S. Pat. No. RE 37,957.

021-TSP-Time Spiral.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are current as of October 1, 2006.

Introduction

This booklet is designed for people who've moved beyond the basics of the Magic: The Gathering(r) game. If you're a beginning Magic(tm) player, you'll probably find these rules intimidating. They're intended to be the ultimate authority for the game, and you won't usually need to refer to them except in specific cases or during competitive games.

For casual play and most ordinary situations, you'll find what you need in the general rulebook included in the Magic: The Gathering core game. You can download a copy of that rulebook from the Wizards of the Coast(tm) Magic rules website at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules. If you're sure this is where you want to be, keep reading.

This document includes a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. The glossary defines many of the words and phrases used in these rules, along with a few concepts that don't really fit anywhere among the numbered rules. So if you can't find what you're looking for, check the glossary.

We at Wizards of the Coast recognize that no matter how detailed the rules, situations will arise in which the interaction of specific cards requires a precise answer. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at www.wizards.com/customerservice. Additional contact information is on the last page of these rules.



In response to play issues and to keep these rules as current as possible, changes may have been made to this document since its publication. See the Wizards of the Coast website for the current version of the official rules.

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules


Contents

1. The Game
100. General
101. Starting the Game
102. Winning and Losing
103. The Magic Golden Rules
104. Numbers and Symbols

2. Parts of the Game
200. General
201. Characteristics
202. Name
203. Mana Cost and Color
204. Illustration
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Illustration Credit
210. Legal Text
211. Collector Number
212. Type, Supertype, and Subtype
213. Spells
214. Permanents
216. Tokens
217. Zones

3. Turn Structure
300. General
301. Beginning Phase
302. Untap Step
303. Upkeep Step
304. Draw Step
305. Main Phase
306. Combat Phase
307. Beginning of Combat Step
308. Declare Attackers Step
309. Declare Blockers Step
310. Combat Damage Step
311. End of Combat Step
312. End Phase
313. End of Turn Step
314. Cleanup Step

4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
400. General
401. Spells on the Stack
402. Abilities
403. Activated Abilities
404. Triggered Abilities
405. Static Abilities
406. Mana Abilities
407. Adding and Removing Abilities
408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
410. Handling Triggered Abilities
411. Playing Mana Abilities
412. Handling Static Abilities
413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
414. Countering Spells and Abilities
415. Targeted Spells and Abilities
416. Effects
417. One-Shot Effects
418. Continuous Effects
419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
420. State-Based Effects
421. Handling "Infinite" Loops
422. Handling Illegal Actions
423. Drawing a Card

5. Additional Rules
500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
501. Evasion Abilities
502. Keyword Abilities
503. Copying Objects
504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
505. Split Cards
506. Subgames
507. Controlling Another Player's Turn
508. Flip Cards
509. Ending the Turn
510. Status
511. Flipping a Coin

6. Multiplayer Rules
600. General
601. Limited Range of Influence Option
602. Attack Multiple Players Option
603. Deploy Creatures Option
604. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
605. Free-for-All Variant
606. Two-Headed Giant Variant
607. Emperor Variant
608. Grand Melee Variant
609. Teams Variant

Glossary

Credits

Questions?

1. The Game

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 6, "Multiplayer Rules."

100.2. In constructed play, each player needs his or her own deck of at least sixty cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals. A constructed deck can have any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.3. For sealed deck or draft play, only forty cards are required in a deck, and a player may use as many duplicates of a card as he or she has. Each player still needs small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.4. There is no maximum deck size.

100.5. Most Magic tournaments have special rules (not included here) and may limit the Line truncated

022-PLC-Planar Chaos.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are current as of February 1, 2007.

Introduction

This booklet is designed for people who've moved beyond the basics of the Magic: The Gathering(r) game. If you're a beginning Magic(tm) player, you'll probably find these rules intimidating. They're intended to be the ultimate authority for the game, and you won't usually need to refer to them except in specific cases or during competitive games.

For casual play and most ordinary situations, you'll find what you need in the general rulebook included in the Magic: The Gathering core game. You can download a copy of that rulebook from the Wizards of the Coast(tm) Magic rules website at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules. If you're sure this is where you want to be, keep reading.

This document includes a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. The glossary defines many of the words and phrases used in these rules, along with a few concepts that don't really fit anywhere among the numbered rules. So if you can't find what you're looking for, check the glossary.

We at Wizards of the Coast recognize that no matter how detailed the rules, situations will arise in which the interaction of specific cards requires a precise answer. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at www.wizards.com/customerservice. Additional contact information is on the last page of these rules.



In response to play issues and to keep these rules as current as possible, changes may have been made to this document since its publication. See the Wizards of the Coast website for the current version of the official rules.

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules


Contents

1. The Game
100. General
101. Starting the Game
102. Winning and Losing
103. The Magic Golden Rules
104. Numbers and Symbols

2. Parts of the Game
200. General
201. Characteristics
202. Name
203. Mana Cost and Color
204. Illustration
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Illustration Credit
210. Legal Text
211. Collector Number
212. Type, Supertype, and Subtype
213. Spells
214. Permanents
216. Tokens
217. Zones

3. Turn Structure
300. General
301. Beginning Phase
302. Untap Step
303. Upkeep Step
304. Draw Step
305. Main Phase
306. Combat Phase
307. Beginning of Combat Step
308. Declare Attackers Step
309. Declare Blockers Step
310. Combat Damage Step
311. End of Combat Step
312. End Phase
313. End of Turn Step
314. Cleanup Step

4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
400. General
401. Spells on the Stack
402. Abilities
403. Activated Abilities
404. Triggered Abilities
405. Static Abilities
406. Mana Abilities
407. Adding and Removing Abilities
408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
410. Handling Triggered Abilities
411. Playing Mana Abilities
412. Handling Static Abilities
413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
414. Countering Spells and Abilities
415. Targeted Spells and Abilities
416. Effects
417. One-Shot Effects
418. Continuous Effects
419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
420. State-Based Effects
421. Handling "Infinite" Loops
422. Handling Illegal Actions
423. Drawing a Card

5. Additional Rules
500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
501. Evasion Abilities
502. Keyword Abilities
503. Copying Objects
504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
505. Split Cards
506. Subgames
507. Controlling Another Player's Turn
508. Flip Cards
509. Ending the Turn
510. Status
511. Flipping a Coin

6. Multiplayer Rules
600. General
601. Limited Range of Influence Option
602. Attack Multiple Players Option
603. Deploy Creatures Option
604. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
605. Free-for-All Variant
606. Two-Headed Giant Variant
607. Emperor Variant
608. Grand Melee Variant
609. Teams Variant

Glossary

Credits

Questions?

1. The Game

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 6, "Multiplayer Rules."

100.2. In constructed play, each player needs his or her own deck of at least sixty cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals. A constructed deck can have any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.3. For sealed deck or draft play, only forty cards are required in a deck, and a player may use as many duplicates of a card as he or she has. Each player still needs small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.4. There is no maximum deck size.

100.5. Most Magic tournaments have special rules (not included here) and may limit theLine truncated

024-10E-Tenth Edition.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are current as of July 13, 2007.

Introduction

This booklet is designed for people who've moved beyond the basics of the Magic: The Gathering(r) game. If you're a beginning Magic(tm) player, you'll probably find these rules intimidating. They're intended to be the ultimate authority for the game, and you won't usually need to refer to them except in specific cases or during competitive games.

For casual play and most ordinary situations, you'll find what you need in the Magic: The Gathering basic rulebook. You can download a copy of that rulebook from the Wizards of the Coast(r) Magic rules website at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules. If you're sure this is where you want to be, keep reading.

This document includes a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. The glossary defines many of the words and phrases used in these rules, along with a few concepts that don't really fit anywhere among the numbered rules. So if you can't find what you're looking for, check the glossary.

We at Wizards of the Coast recognize that no matter how detailed the rules, situations will arise in which the interaction of specific cards requires a precise answer. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at www.wizards.com/customerservice. Additional contact information is on the last page of these rules.



In response to play issues and to keep these rules as current as possible, changes may have been made to this document since its publication. See the Wizards of the Coast website for the current version of the official rules.

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules


Contents

1. The Game
100. General
101. Starting the Game
102. Winning and Losing
103. The Magic Golden Rules
104. Numbers and Symbols

2. Parts of the Game
200. General
201. Characteristics
202. Name
203. Mana Cost and Color
204. Illustration
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Illustration Credit
210. Legal Text
211. Collector Number
212. Type, Supertype, and Subtype
213. Spells
214. Permanents
215. Life
216. Tokens
217. Zones

3. Turn Structure
300. General
301. Beginning Phase
302. Untap Step
303. Upkeep Step
304. Draw Step
305. Main Phase
306. Combat Phase
307. Beginning of Combat Step
308. Declare Attackers Step
309. Declare Blockers Step
310. Combat Damage Step
311. End of Combat Step
312. End Phase
313. End of Turn Step
314. Cleanup Step

4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
400. General
401. Spells on the Stack
402. Abilities
403. Activated Abilities
404. Triggered Abilities
405. Static Abilities
406. Mana Abilities
407. Adding and Removing Abilities
408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
410. Handling Triggered Abilities
411. Playing Mana Abilities
412. Handling Static Abilities
413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
414. Countering Spells and Abilities
415. Targeted Spells and Abilities
416. Effects
417. One-Shot Effects
418. Continuous Effects
419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
420. State-Based Effects
421. Handling "Infinite" Loops
422. Handling Illegal Actions
423. Drawing a Card
424. Costs

5. Additional Rules
500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
501. Keyword Actions
502. Keyword Abilities
503. Copying Objects
504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
505. Split Cards
506. Subgames
507. Controlling Another Player's Turn
508. Flip Cards
509. Ending the Turn
510. Status
511. Flipping a Coin

6. Multiplayer Rules
600. General
601. Limited Range of Influence Option
602. Attack Multiple Players Option
603. Deploy Creatures Option
604. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
605. Free-for-All Variant
606. Two-Headed Giant Variant
607. Emperor Variant
608. Grand Melee Variant
609. Teams Variant

Glossary

Credits

Questions?

1. The Game

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 6, "Multiplayer Rules."

100.2. In constructed play, each player needs his or her own deck of at least sixty cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals. A constructed deck can have any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.3. For sealed deck or draft play, only forty cards are required in a deck, and a player may use as many duplicates of a card as he or she has. Each player still needs small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.4. There is no maximum deck size.

100.5. Most Magic tournaments have special rules (not included here) and may limit the use of some Line truncated

025-ME1-Masters Edition.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are current as of September 7, 2007.

Introduction

This booklet is designed for people who've moved beyond the basics of the Magic: The Gathering(r) game. If you're a beginning Magic(tm) player, you'll probably find these rules intimidating. They're intended to be the ultimate authority for the game, and you won't usually need to refer to them except in specific cases or during competitive games.

For casual play and most ordinary situations, you'll find what you need in the Magic: The Gathering basic rulebook. You can download a copy of that rulebook from the Wizards of the Coast(r) Magic rules website at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules. If you're sure this is where you want to be, keep reading.

This document includes a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. The glossary defines many of the words and phrases used in these rules, along with a few concepts that don't really fit anywhere among the numbered rules. So if you can't find what you're looking for, check the glossary.

We at Wizards of the Coast recognize that no matter how detailed the rules, situations will arise in which the interaction of specific cards requires a precise answer. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at www.wizards.com/customerservice. Additional contact information is on the last page of these rules.



In response to play issues and to keep these rules as current as possible, changes may have been made to this document since its publication. See the Wizards of the Coast website for the current version of the official rules.

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules


Contents

1. The Game
100. General
101. Starting the Game
102. Winning and Losing
103. The Magic Golden Rules
104. Numbers and Symbols

2. Parts of the Game
200. General
201. Characteristics
202. Name
203. Mana Cost and Color
204. Illustration
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Illustration Credit
210. Legal Text
211. Collector Number
212. Type, Supertype, and Subtype
213. Spells
214. Permanents
215. Life
216. Tokens
217. Zones

3. Turn Structure
300. General
301. Beginning Phase
302. Untap Step
303. Upkeep Step
304. Draw Step
305. Main Phase
306. Combat Phase
307. Beginning of Combat Step
308. Declare Attackers Step
309. Declare Blockers Step
310. Combat Damage Step
311. End of Combat Step
312. End Phase
313. End of Turn Step
314. Cleanup Step

4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
400. General
401. Spells on the Stack
402. Abilities
403. Activated Abilities
404. Triggered Abilities
405. Static Abilities
406. Mana Abilities
407. Adding and Removing Abilities
408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
410. Handling Triggered Abilities
411. Playing Mana Abilities
412. Handling Static Abilities
413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
414. Countering Spells and Abilities
415. Targeted Spells and Abilities
416. Effects
417. One-Shot Effects
418. Continuous Effects
419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
420. State-Based Effects
421. Handling "Infinite" Loops
422. Handling Illegal Actions
423. Drawing a Card
424. Costs

5. Additional Rules
500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
501. Keyword Actions
502. Keyword Abilities
503. Copying Objects
504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
505. Split Cards
506. Subgames
507. Controlling Another Player's Turn
508. Flip Cards
509. Ending the Turn
510. Status
511. Flipping a Coin

6. Multiplayer Rules
600. General
601. Limited Range of Influence Option
602. Attack Multiple Players Option
603. Deploy Creatures Option
604. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
605. Free-for-All Variant
606. Two-Headed Giant Variant
607. Emperor Variant
608. Grand Melee Variant
609. Teams Variant

Glossary

Credits

Questions?

1. The Game

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 6, "Multiplayer Rules."

100.2. In constructed play, each player needs his or her own deck of at least sixty cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals. A constructed deck can have any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.3. For sealed deck or draft play, only forty cards are required in a deck, and a player may use as many duplicates of a card as he or she has. Each player still needs small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.4. There is no maximum deck size.

100.5. Most Magic tournaments have special rules (not included here) and may limit the use of sLine truncated

026-LRW-Lorwyn.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

These rules are current as of October 1, 2007.

Introduction

This booklet is designed for people who've moved beyond the basics of the Magic: The Gathering(r) game. If you're a beginning Magic(tm) player, you'll probably find these rules intimidating. They're intended to be the ultimate authority for the game, and you won't usually need to refer to them except in specific cases or during competitive games.

For casual play and most ordinary situations, you'll find what you need in the Magic: The Gathering basic rulebook. You can download a copy of that rulebook from the Wizards of the Coast(r) Magic rules website at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules. If you're sure this is where you want to be, keep reading.

This document includes a series of numbered rules followed by a glossary. Many of the numbered rules are divided into subrules, and each separate rule and subrule of the game has its own number. The glossary defines many of the words and phrases used in these rules, along with a few concepts that don't really fit anywhere among the numbered rules. So if you can't find what you're looking for, check the glossary.

We at Wizards of the Coast recognize that no matter how detailed the rules, situations will arise in which the interaction of specific cards requires a precise answer. If you have questions, you can get the answers from us at www.wizards.com/customerservice. Additional contact information is on the last page of these rules.



In response to play issues and to keep these rules as current as possible, changes may have been made to this document since its publication. See the Wizards of the Coast website for the current version of the official rules.

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules


Contents

1. The Game
100. General
101. Starting the Game
102. Winning and Losing
103. The Magic Golden Rules
104. Numbers and Symbols

2. Parts of the Game
200. General
201. Characteristics
202. Name
203. Mana Cost and Color
204. Illustration
205. Type Line
206. Expansion Symbol
207. Text Box
208. Power/Toughness
209. Loyalty
210. Information Below the Text Box
212. Card Type, Supertype, and Subtype
213. Spells
214. Permanents
215. Life
216. Tokens
217. Zones

3. Turn Structure
300. General
301. Beginning Phase
302. Untap Step
303. Upkeep Step
304. Draw Step
305. Main Phase
306. Combat Phase
307. Beginning of Combat Step
308. Declare Attackers Step
309. Declare Blockers Step
310. Combat Damage Step
311. End of Combat Step
312. End Phase
313. End of Turn Step
314. Cleanup Step

4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
400. General
401. Spells on the Stack
402. Abilities
403. Activated Abilities
404. Triggered Abilities
405. Static Abilities
406. Mana Abilities
407. Adding and Removing Abilities
408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
410. Handling Triggered Abilities
411. Playing Mana Abilities
412. Handling Static Abilities
413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
414. Countering Spells and Abilities
415. Targeted Spells and Abilities
416. Effects
417. One-Shot Effects
418. Continuous Effects
419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
420. State-Based Effects
421. Handling "Infinite" Loops
422. Handling Illegal Actions
423. Drawing a Card
424. Costs

5. Additional Rules
500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
501. Keyword Actions
502. Keyword Abilities
503. Copying Objects
504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
505. Split Cards
506. Subgames
507. Controlling Another Player's Turn
508. Flip Cards
509. Ending the Turn
510. Status
511. Flipping a Coin

6. Multiplayer Rules
600. General
601. Limited Range of Influence Option
602. Attack Multiple Players Option
603. Deploy Creatures Option
604. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
605. Free-for-All Variant
606. Two-Headed Giant Variant
607. Emperor Variant
608. Grand Melee Variant
609. Teams Variant

Glossary

Credits

Questions?

1. The Game

100. General

100.1. These Magic rules apply to any Magic game with two or more players, including two-player games and multiplayer games.

100.1a A two-player game is a game that begins with only two players.

100.1b A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. See section 6, "Multiplayer Rules."

100.2. In constructed play, each player needs his or her own deck of at least sixty cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals. A constructed deck can have any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

100.3. For sealed deck or draft play, only forty cards are required in a deck, and a player may use as many duplicates of a card as he or she has. Each player still needs small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals.

100.4. There is no maximum deck size.

100.5. Most Magic tournaments have special rules (not included here) and may limit the use of some cards, Line truncated