Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules
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If the “attack multiple players” option is used in a multiplayer game, there can be more than one defending player. See rule 602, “Attack Multiple Players Option.” The Two-Headed Giant variant uses different combat rules than other multiplayer variants; see rule 606.7.
Delayed Triggered Ability
A delayed triggered ability is created by effects generated when some spells or abilities resolve. See rule 404.4.
Depend On
An effect is said to “depend on” another if it is applied at the same time as the other effect and applying the other would change the text or the existence of the first effect, what it applies to, or what it does to any of the things it applies to. See rule 418.5, “Interaction of Continuous Effects.”
Deploy Creatures Option
Some multiplayer games allow players to give creatures to their teammates. If the deploy creatures option is used, each creature has the ability “{T}: Target teammate gains control of this creature. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.” See rule 603, “Deploy Creatures Option.”
Destroy
To destroy a permanent is to move it from the in-play zone to its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration or other destruction-replacement effects can replace this action. See rule 419, “Replacement and Prevention Effects.”
Discard
A player discards a card by putting a card from his or her hand into his or her graveyard. By default, effects that cause a player to discard a card allow the affected player to choose which card to discard. Some effects, however, require a random discard or allow another player to choose which card is discarded.
Distribute
Distribute has its normal English meaning in the Magic game. If a spell or ability requires a player to distribute something (such as counters) as he or she chooses among one or more targets, or among any number of untargeted objects or players, then each of these targets, objects, or players must receive at least one of whatever is being distributed. See rules 409.1e and 310.2.
Divide
Divide has its normal English meaning in the Magic game. If a spell or ability requires a player to divide something (such as damage or counters) as he or she chooses among one or more targets, or any number of untargeted objects or players, then each of these targets, objects, or players must receive at least one of whatever is being divided. This doesn’t apply to dividing combat damage. See rules 409.1e and 310.2.
Double Strike
Double strike is a static ability that modifies the rules for the combat damage step. Creatures with double strike deal combat damage in both the first-strike combat damage step and the normal combat damage step. See rule 502.28, “Double Strike.”
Draw
Draw has two meanings in the Magic game.
1. A player draws a card by putting the top card of his or her library into his or her hand. This is done as a game action during each player’s draw step. It may also be done as part of a cost or effect of a spell or ability. If an effect moves cards from a player’s library to that player’s hand without using the word “draw,” the player has not drawn those cards. This makes a difference for abilities that trigger on drawing cards or that replace card draws, as well as if the player’s library is empty. See rule 423, “Drawing a Card.”
2. A drawn game is a game where the game ends and there is no winner. See rule 102.4.
Draw Step
The draw step is the third step of the beginning phase. As the draw step begins, the active player draws a card (this game action does not use the stack). Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities. See rule 304, “Draw Step.”
Dredge
Dredge is a static ability that functions only while the card with dredge is in a player’s graveyard. “Dredge N” means “As long as you have at least N cards in your library, if you would draw a card, you may instead put N cards from the top of your library into your graveyard and return this card from your graveyard to your hand.” A player with fewer cards in his or her library than the number required by a dredge ability can’t put any of them into his or her graveyard this way. See rule 502.47, “Dredge.”
Dual Land (Informal)
The Ravnica™ block and early Magic core sets contain “dual lands”; each of these has two basic land types. For example, Temple Garden has the land types Forest and Plains. Dual land cards have the default abilities of both basic land types and are treated as both by all spells and abilities that specifically refer to those types. However, they are not basic lands. A dual land doesn’t count as two lands while in play-it’s just one land with multiple land types.
During (Obsolete)
Some older cards used the phrase “during [phase], [action].” These abilities were called “phase abilities.” In general, cards that were printed with phase abilities now have abilities that trigger at the beginning of a step or phase. “During” still appears in current card text, but only in its normal English sense and not as game terminology.
Echo
Echo is a triggered ability. “Echo [cost]” means “At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost.” Urza block cards with the echo ability were printed without an echo cost; these cards have been given errata to have an echo cost equal to their mana cost. See rule 502.19, “Echo.”
Effect
“Ability” and “effect” are often confused with one another. When a spell or ability resolves, it may create one or more one-shot or continuous effects. Static abilities may create one or more continuous effects. Some effects are replacement effects or prevention effects. State-based effects are not created by spells or abilities; they are generated by specific states of the game. See rule 416, “Effects.”
Emperor
Emperor is a multiplayer variant with its own rules. The Emperor variant involves two or more teams of three players each. Each team sits together on one side of the table. Each team has one emperor, who sits in the middle of the team. The remaining players on the team are generals whose job is to protect the emperor. In addition to the normal rules for winning and losing, a team loses if its emperor loses the game. See rule 607, “Emperor Variant.”
The Emperor variant uses the following default options: (a) The range of influence is limited to 2 for emperors and 1 for generals (see rule 601), (b) Emperor games use the deploy creatures option (see rule 603), and (c) a player can attack only an opponent seated immediately next to him or her.
Enchant
Enchant is a static ability, written “Enchant [permanent or player].” The enchant ability restricts what an Aura spell can target and what an Aura can enchant. See rule 212.4, “Enchantment,” and rule 502.45, “Enchant.”
Enchant Opponent, Enchant Player
Auras with the “enchant opponent” or “enchant player” ability can target and be attached to players. Such Auras can’t target permanents and can’t be attached to permanents. Rules 212.4d-k apply to an Aura with enchant player or enchant opponent in relation to players as they normally would for permanents. See also Aura, Enchant.
Enchantment
Enchantment is a type. The active player may play enchantments during his or her main phase when the stack is empty. See rule 212.4, “Enchantments.” See also Aura.
Enchantment Type
Enchantment subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Enchantment – Shrine.” Enchantment subtypes are also called enchantment types.
The list of enchantment types, updated through the Time Spiral set, is as follows: Aura, Shrine.
End of Combat Step
The end of combat step is the fifth step of the combat phase. A player may play spells and abilities during this step whenever he or she has priority. See rule 311, “End of Combat Step.”
End of Turn Step
This is the first step of the end phase. A player may play spells and abilities during thi
s step whenever he or she has priority. See rule 313, “End of Turn Step.”
End Phase
The end phase is the fifth and final phase of the turn. It has two steps: end of turn and cleanup. See rule 312, “End Phase.”
Ending the Turn
One card (Time Stop) ends the turn when its resolves. When an effect ends the turn, follow these steps in order: Remove every object on the stack from the game. Remove all attacking and blocking creatures, if any, from combat. Check state-based effects. The current step and/or phase ends. The game skips straight to the cleanup step. See rule 509, “Ending the Turn.”
Entwine
Entwine is a static ability that functions while the spell is on the stack. “Entwine [cost]” means “You may choose to use all modes of this spell instead of just one. If you do, you pay an additional [cost].” When the spell resolves, if the entwine cost was paid, follow the text of each of the modes in the order they’re written on the card. See rule 502.32, “Entwine.”
Epic
Epic represents both a static ability and a delayed triggered ability. “Epic” means, “For the rest of the game, you can’t play spells,” and “At the beginning of each of your upkeeps, copy this spell except for its epic ability. If the spell has any targets, you may choose new targets for the copy.” See rule 502.44, “Epic.”
Equip
Equip is an activated ability. “Equip [cost]” means “[Cost]: Attach this Equipment to target creature you control. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.” See rule 502.33, “Equip,” and rule 212.2, “Artifacts.”
Equipment
Some artifacts have the subtype “Equipment.” These artifacts can be attached to (can “equip”) creatures. They can’t equip objects that aren’t creatures. An Equipment is played and comes into play just like any other artifact. Equipment doesn’t come into play equipping a creature. The equip keyword ability moves the Equipment onto a creature you control. (See rule 502.33, “Equip.”) The creature an Equipment is attached to is called “equipped.” The Equipment is attached to, or “equips,” that creature.
An Equipment that’s also a creature or 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 in play. (This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.)
Evasion Ability
Evasion abilities restrict what creatures can block an attacking creature. These are static abilities that modify the declare blockers step of the combat phase. See rule 501, “Evasion Abilities.”
Event
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 defending creatures, this is one event for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [name] becomes blocked” but two events for a triggered ability that reads “Whenever [name] becomes blocked by a creature.”
Exchange
A spell or ability may instruct two players to exchange something (for example, life totals or control of two permanents) as part of its resolution. When such a spell or ability resolves, if it can’t exchange the chosen things, it has no effect on them.
Example: If a spell attempts to exchange control of two target creatures but one of those creatures is destroyed before the spell resolves, the spell does nothing to the other creature. Or if a spell attempts to exchange control of two target creatures but both of those creatures are controlled by the same player, the spell does nothing to the two creatures.
When control of two permanents is exchanged, each player simultaneously gains control of the permanent that was controlled by the other player.
When life totals are exchanged, each player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other player’s previous life total. Replacement effects may modify these gains and losses, and triggered abilities may trigger on them.
Some spells or abilities may instruct a player to exchange cards in one zone with cards in a different zone (for example, cards removed from the game and cards in a player’s hand). These spells and abilities work the same as other “exchange” spells and abilities, except they can exchange the cards only if all the cards are owned by the same player.
If a spell or ability instructs a player to simply exchange two zones, and one of the zones is empty, the cards in the zones are still exchanged.
Expansion Symbol
The small icon normally printed below the right edge of the illustration on a Magic card is the expansion symbol. It indicates the set in which the card was published. Cards reprinted in a core set or another expansion receive its expansion symbol. Spells and abilities that affect cards from a particular expansion only affect cards with that set’s expansion symbol. The first five editions of the core set had no expansion symbol. See rule 206, “Expansion Symbol. Visit the products section of www.magicthegathering.com for the full list of expansions and expansion symbols (www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/products/cardsets).
Players may include cards from any printing in their constructed decks if those cards appear in sets allowed in that format (or allowed by the Magic Floor Rules). See the Magic Floor Rules for the current definitions of the constructed formats (www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/doccenter/home).
Extra Turn
Some spells and abilities can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the current turn. If a player gets multiple extra turns or if multiple players get extra turns during a single turn, the extra turns are added one at a time. The most recently created turn will be taken first. See rule 300.6.
The Grand Melee multiplayer variant has a special rule to handle when extra turns are taken: If a player would take an extra turn after the current turn and it’s not currently that player’s turn, that player instead takes the extra turn immediately before his or her next turn. See rule 608, “Grand Melee Variant.”
Face Down
Face-down spells on the stack, face-down permanents in play, and face-down cards in the phased-out zone have no characteristics other than those listed by the ability or rules that allowed the card, spell, or permanent to be turned face down. Any listed characteristics are the copiable values of that object’s characteristics.
At any time, you may look at a face-down spell you control on the stack, a face-down permanent you control, or a face-down card in the phased-out zone you controlled when it phased out. You can’t look at face-down cards in any other zone, face-down spells or permanents controlled by another player, or face-down cards in the phased-out zone last controlled by another player.
The ability or rules that allowed a permanent to be turned face down may also allow the permanent’s controller to turn it face up. Spells normally can’t be turned face up.
If you control multiple face-down spells on the stack or face-down permanents in play, you must ensure at all times that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other.
See rule 504, “Face-Down Spells and Permanents,” and rule 502.26, “Morph.”
Fading
Fading is a keyword ability that represents two abilities. “Fading N” means “This permanent comes into play with N fade counters on it” and “At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a fade counter from this permanent. If you can’t, sacrifice the permanent.” See rule 502.20, “Fading.”
Fear
Fear is an evasion ability. A creature with fear can’t be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. See rule 502.25, “Fear.”
First Strike
First strike is a static ability that modifies the rules for the combat damage step. At the start of the combat damage step, i
f at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike or double strike (see rule 502.28), creatures without first strike or double strike don’t assign combat damage. Instead of proceeding to end of combat, the phase gets a second combat damage step to handle the remaining creatures. See rule 502.2, “First Strike.”
Fizzle (Informal)
The term “fizzle” is an informal term, used when a spell or ability was countered as a result of all its targets being missing or illegal when it resolved. See rule 413.2a.
Flanking
Flanking is a triggered ability that triggers during the declare blockers step of the combat phase. “Flanking” means “Whenever this creature becomes blocked by a creature without flanking, the blocking creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.” See rule 502.3, “Flanking.”