Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules
Mark L. Gottlieb
This booklet is designed for people who’ve moved beyond the basics of the Magic: The Gathering ® game. If you’re a beginning Magic ™ 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™ 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.
Mark L. Gottlieb
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 ® game. If you’re a beginning Magic ™ 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™ 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
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, including barring all cards from some older sets. See the most current Magic: The Gathering DCI® Floor Rules for more information. They can be found at www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/doccenter/home.
101. Starting the Game
101.1. At the start of a game, each player shuffles his or her deck so that the cards are in a random order. Each player may then shuffle his or her opponents’ decks. The players’ decks become their libraries.
101.2. After the decks have been shuffled, the players determine who chooses which player goes first using any mutually agreeable method (flipping a coin, rolling dice, etc.). In a match of several games, the loser of the previous game decides who will take the first turn. If the previous game was a draw, the person who determined who would take the first turn in the previous game decides.
101.3. Once the starting player has been determined, each player sets his or her life total to 20 and draws a hand of seven cards.
101.4. A player who is dissatisfied with his or her initial hand may mulligan. First, the starting player takes any mulligans. To take a mulligan, that player shuffles his or her hand back into the deck and then draws a new hand of six cards. He or she may repeat this process as many times as desired, drawing one fewer card each time, until the hand size reaches zero cards. Once the starting player has decided to keep a hand, those cards become his or her opening hand. Then each other player (in turn order) may take any number of mulligans. A player can’t take any mulligans once he or she has decided to keep an opening hand.
101.4a The Two-Headed Giant variant uses the standard mulligan rule, with some modifications. First, the starting team takes any mulligans. For a team to take a mulligan, each player on that team decides whether or not to take a mulligan, then all players who chose to do so take their mulligans at the same time. The first time a player takes a mulligan, he or she draws a new hand of seven cards. After each player on that team who took a mulligan looks at his or her new hand, the team repeats the process. (Subsequent hands decrease by one card as normal.) Once a player has decided to keep a hand, those cards become his or her opening hand. That player can’t take any more mulligans, but his or her teammate may. Once each player on the starting team decides to keep an opening hand, the other team may take mulligans.
Example: Bob and Clare are the starting team in a Two-Headed Giant game. They’ve each draw seven cards. After reviewing each other’s hands, both Bob and Clare decide to mulligan. Each shuffles his or her hand into his or her deck and draws seven cards. Clare isn’t sure about Bob’s new hand, but he decides to keep it. Clare decides to take another mulligan. Bob’s hand becomes his opening hand, and Clare shuffles her hand into her deck and draws six cards. Then only Clare has the option to mulligan. She decides to keep her hand of six cards and that becomes her opening hand. After that, the other team decides whether to take mulligans.
101.5. Once all players have kept their opening hands, the starting player takes his or her first turn.
101.5a In a two-player game, the player who plays first skips the draw step (see rule 304, “Draw Step”) of his or her first turn.
101.5b In multiplayer games, no player skips the draw step of his or her first turn. However, the Two-Headed Giant variant has a special rule: Although the starting team’s first draw step isn’t skipped, only the secondary player on that team draws a card during that step. See rule 606, “Two-Headed Giant Variant.”
102. Winning and Losing
102.1. A game ends immediately when either a player wins or the game is a draw.
102.2. There are several ways to win the game.
102.2a A player still in the game wins the game if all of that player’s opponents have lost the game.
102.2b An effect may state that a player wins the game.
102.2c. In a multiplayer game between teams, a team with at least one player still in the game wins the game if all other teams have lost the game. Each player on the winning team wins the game, even if one or more of those players had previously lost that game.
> 102.3. There are several ways to lose the game.
102.3a A player can concede the game at any time. A player who concedes loses the game immediately.
102.3b If a player’s life total is 0 or less, he or she loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. (This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.)
102.3c When a player is required to draw more cards than are left in his or her library, he or she draws the remaining cards, and then loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. (This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.)
102.3d If a player has ten or more poison counters, he or she loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. (This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.)
102.3e If a player would both win and lose simultaneously, he or she loses.
102.3f In a multiplayer game between teams, a team loses the game if all players on that team have lost.
102.4. There are several ways to draw the game.
102.4a If all the players remaining in a game lose simultaneously, the game is a draw.
102.4b If the game somehow enters a “loop,” repeating a sequence of events with no way to stop, the game is a draw. Loops that contain an optional action don’t result in a draw.
102.4c In a multiplayer game between teams, the game is a draw if all remaining teams lose at once.
102.5. If a player loses the game, he or she leaves the game. Likewise, if a player leaves the game, he or she loses the game. The multiplayer rules handle what happens when a player leaves the game; see rule 600.4.
103. The Magic Golden Rules
103.1. 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 102.3a).
103.2. When a rule or effect says something can happen and another effect says it can’t, the “can’t” effect wins. For example, if one effect reads “You may play an additional land this turn” and another reads “You can’t play land cards this turn,” the effect that keeps you from playing lands wins out. Note that adding abilities to objects and removing abilities from objects don’t fall under this rule. See rule 407, “Adding and Removing Abilities.”
103.3. If an instruction requires taking an impossible action, it’s ignored. (In many cases the card will specify consequences for this; if it doesn’t, there’s no effect.)
103.4. 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 he or she controls. Then each of the nonactive players chooses a creature he or she controls. Then all creatures are sacrificed simultaneously.
103.4a A player knows the choices made by the previous players when he or she makes his or her choice.
103.4b If a player would make more than one choice at the same time, the player makes the choices in the order written, or in the order he or she chooses if the choices aren’t ordered.
104. Numbers and Symbols
104.1. The Magic game uses only natural numbers. You can’t choose a fractional number, deal fractional damage, and so on. When a spell or ability could generate a fractional number, the spell or ability will tell you whether to round up or down.
104.2. If a creature’s power or toughness, a mana cost, a player’s life total, or an amount of damage would be less than 0, it’s treated as 0 for all purposes except changing that total. If anything needs to use a number that can’t be determined, it uses 0 instead.
Example: If a 3/3 creature gets -5/-0, it deals 0 damage in combat. But to raise its power back to 1, you’d have to give it +3/+0 (3 minus 5 plus 3 is 1).
Example: If you control no permanents, the “highest converted mana cost among permanents you control” can’t be determined, so 0 is used instead.
104.3. The mana symbols are {W}, {U}, {B}, {R}, {G}, {X}, {Y}, and {Z}; the numerals {0}, {1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, and so on; the hybrid symbols {W/U}, {W/B}, {U/B}, {U/R}, {B/R}, {B/G}, {R/G}, {R/W}, {G/W}, and {G/U}; and the snow symbol {S}.
104.3a Each of the colored mana symbols represents one colored mana: {W} is white, {U} blue, {B} black, {R} red, and {G} green.
104.3b Numeral symbols (such as {1}) are generic mana costs and represent an amount of mana that can be paid with any color of, or colorless, mana.
104.3c The symbols {X}, {Y}, and {Z} represent unspecified amounts of mana; when playing a spell or activated ability with {X}, {Y}, or {Z} in its cost, its controller decides the value of that variable.
104.3d Numeral symbols (such as {1}) and variable symbols (such as {X}) can also represent colorless mana if they appear in the effect of a spell or ability that reads “add [mana symbol] to your mana pool” or something similar.
104.3e The symbol {0} represents zero mana and is used as a placeholder when a spell or activated ability costs nothing to play. A spell or ability whose cost is {0} must still be played the same way as one with a cost greater than zero; it won’t play itself automatically.
104.3f Each of the hybrid mana symbols represents a cost that can be paid with one of two colors: {W/U} in a cost can be paid with either white or blue mana, {W/B} white or black, {U/B} blue or black, {U/R} blue or red, {B/R} black or red, {B/G} black or green, {R/G} red or green, {R/W} red or white, {G/W} green or white, and {G/U} green or blue.
Example: {G/W}{G/W} can be paid by spending {G}{G}, {G}{W}, or {W}{W}.
104.3g If an effect would add one mana represented by a hybrid mana symbol to a player’s mana pool, that player chooses either of that symbol’s colors and adds one mana of that color to his or her mana pool.
104.3h The snow mana symbol {S} represents a cost that can be paid with one mana produced by a snow permanent. This is a generic mana cost that can be paid with any color of, or colorless, mana. Effects that reduce the amount of generic mana you pay don’t affect {S} costs.
104.4. The tap symbol is {T}. The tap symbol in an activation cost means “Tap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already tapped can’t be tapped again to pay the cost. Creatures that haven’t been under a player’s control continuously since the beginning of his or her most recent turn can’t use any ability with the tap symbol in the cost. See rule 212.3d.
104.5. A tombstone icon appears to the left of the name of many Odyssey™ block cards with abilities that are relevant in a player’s graveyard. The purpose of the icon is to make those cards stand out when they’re in a graveyard. This icon has no effect on game play.
2. Parts of the Game
200. General
200.1. When a rule or text on a card refers to a “card,” it means a Magic card with a Magic card front and the Magic card back. Tokens aren’t considered cards-even a card that represents a token isn’t considered a card for rules purposes.
200.1a A card’s owner is the player who started the game with it in his or her deck or, for cards that didn’t start the game in a player’s deck, the player who brought the card into the game.
200.2. Use the Oracle™ card reference when determining a card’s wording. A card’s Oracle text can be found using the Gatherer card database at http://gatherer.wizards.com.
200.3. A player is one of the people in the game. The active player is the player whose turn it is. The other players are nonactive players.
200.3a In a multiplayer game between teams, a player’s teammates are the other players on his or her team, and the player’s opponents are all players not on his or her team.
200.4. A token is a marker used to represent any
permanent that isn’t represented by a card. (See rule 216, “Tokens.”)
200.4a A token’s owner is the player who controlled the spell or ability that put it into play. A token’s controller is the player who put it into play.
200.5. A spell is a card, or copy of a spell or card, that’s on the stack. (See rule 213, “Spells.”)
200.5a A spell’s owner is the same as the owner of the card that represents it. A spell’s controller is the player who played it.
200.6. A permanent is a card or token that’s in play. (See rule 214, “Permanents.”)
200.6a A nontoken permanent’s owner is the same as the owner of the card that represents it. A permanent’s controller is the player who put it into play.
200.7. An ability can be one of two things. First, it can be an activated or triggered ability on the stack. Second, it can be text on an object that explains what the object does. (See rule 402, “Abilities,” and section 4, “Spells, Abilities, and Effects.”)
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