Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules
Page 21
Land Type
Land subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Land – Locus, Land – Urza’s Mine,” etc. Land subtypes are also called land types. Lands may have multiple subtypes. Note that “basic,” “legendary,” and “nonbasic” aren’t land types. See rule 212.6, “Lands.” See also Basic Land Type.
The list of land types, updated through the Time Spiral set, is as follows:
Desert, Forest, Island, Lair, Locus, Mine, Mountain, Plains, Power-Plant, Swamp, Tower, Urza’s
Landcycling
“Landcycling” is a generic term; a card’s rules text usually names a specific type of land, such as “plainscycling.”
Landcycling is an activated ability. “Plainscycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Search your library for a Plains card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.” See rule 502.18, “Cycling.”
Landwalk
“Landwalk” is a generic term; a card’s rules text will give a specific property to look for, such as “islandwalk.”
Landwalk is an evasion ability. A creature with landwalk is unblockable as long as the defending player controls at least one land which has the specified subtype or supertype. See rule 502.6, “Landwalk.”
Last Known Information
The last known information about an object is the information that it had just before it left the zone it was in. Effects from resolving spells and abilities use last known information if the object they require information from isn’t in the zone it’s expected to be in (unless the effect divides damage). See rule 413.2f.
Layer
Continuous effects are applied in order, in six layers: (1) copy effects (see rule 503, “Copying Objects”); (2) control-changing effects; (3) text-changing effects; (4) type-, subtype-, and supertype-changing effects; (5) all other continuous effects, except those that change power and/or toughness, and (6) power– and/or toughness-changing effects. Inside layer 6, effects are applied in a series of sublayers. See rule 418.5, “Interaction of Continuous Effects.”
Leaves Play
A permanent leaves play when it moves from the in-play zone to any other zone (see rule 410.10c) or when its owner leaves the game (see rule 600.4a).
If a token leaves play, it ceases to exist. This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.5.
If a permanent leaves play and later returns to play, it’s treated as an entirely new permanent with no “memory” of anything from its former existence. (Phasing is an exception to this; see rule 502.15, “Phasing.” Permanents that phase out also don’t trigger any comes-into-play or leaves-play abilities.)
Legal Text
Legal text (the fine print at the bottom of the card) lists the copyright information. It has no effect on game play. See rule 210, “Legal Text.”
Legend (Obsolete)
Many creature cards were printed with the creature type “Legend.” All of these cards have been given errata to have the legendary supertype. Legend is no longer a creature type. See Legendary.
Legendary
Legendary is a supertype that may apply to any type (“Legendary Land,” “Legendary Artifact,” and so on).
If two or more legendary permanents with the same name are in play, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This “legend rule” is a state-based effect. See rule 420.5.
If a legendary permanent’s types or subtypes change, this doesn’t change its supertypes. The permanent will still be legendary.
Lethal Damage
Lethal damage is an amount of damage greater than or equal to a creature’s toughness. A creature with lethal damage, but greater than 0 toughness, is destroyed. This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.5.
Library
The library is the zone from which a player draws cards. When a game begins, each player’s deck becomes his or her library. See rule 217.2, “Library.”
Life, Life Total
Life total is a sort of score. Each player starts the game with 20 life. Any increase in a player’s life total is considered to be gaining life. Any decrease in a player’s life total is considered to be losing life. A player whose life total drops to 0 or less loses. This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.5.
LIFO (Informal)
An acronym for “Last In, First Out,” LIFO is the order in which spells and abilities resolve after going on the stack. The last played is resolved first. See rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities,” and rule 413, “Resolving Spells and Abilities.”
Limited Range of Influence
Limited range of influence is an optional rule used in some multiplayer games. A player’s range of influence is the maximum distance from that player, measured in player seats, that the player can affect. Players within that many seats of the player are within that player’s range of influence. Objects controlled by players within a player’s range of influence are also within that player’s range of influence. Range of influence covers spells, abilities, effects, damage dealing, attacking, and making choices. See rule 601, “Limited Range of Influence Option.”
The limited range of influence option is always used in the Emperor variant (see rule 607), and it’s often used for games involving five or more players.
Local Enchantment (Obsolete)
Some older cards used the term “local enchantment” for enchantments that are attached to other permanents while they’re in play. These cards now have the Aura subtype.
Lose the Game
There are several ways to lose the game. A player can concede the game at any time; a player who concedes loses the game immediately. 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). If a player attempts to draw a card from an empty library, he or she loses the game the next time a player would receive priority (this is a state-based effect; see rule 420). 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). If a player would both win and lose simultaneously, he or she loses. In a multiplayer game between teams, a team loses the game if all players on that team have lost. See rule 102, “Winning and Losing.”
Madness
Madness is a keyword that represents two abilities. “Madness [cost]” means “If a player would discard this card, that player discards it, but may remove it from the game instead of putting it into his or her graveyard” and “When this card is removed from the game this way, its owner may play it by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost. If that player doesn’t, he or she puts this card into his or her graveyard.” See rule 502.24, “Madness.”
Main Game
Some cards allow players to play a Magic subgame. The “main game” is the game in which the spell or ability that created the subgame was played. See rule 506, “Subgames.”
Main Phase
The term “main phase” comprises the first main and second main phases, also called the “precombat” and “postcombat” main phases. Artifact, creature, enchantment, and sorcery spells may be played only by the active player during his or her main phase, and only when the stack is empty. A player may also play one land each turn during his or her main phase.
Mana
Mana is the energy used to play spells and is usually produced by lands. Mana is created by mana abilities (and sometimes by spells), and it can be used to pay costs immediately or can stay in the player’s mana pool. See rule 406, “Mana Abilities.”
Colored mana costs, represented by colored mana symbols, can be paid only with the appropriate color of mana. Generic mana costs can be paid with any color of, or with colorless, mana. See rule 104.3.
The spell or ability that adds mana to a mana pool may restrict how it can be used. An ability might produce mana that can be used only to play creature spells or only to pay activation costs.
The type of mana a permanent “could
produce” is the type of mana that any ability of that permanent can generate, taking into account any applicable replacement effects. If the type of mana can’t be defined, there’s no type of mana that that permanent could produce. The “type” of mana is its color, or lack thereof (for colorless mana).
Mana Ability
A mana ability is either activated or triggered. A mana ability doesn’t go on the stack-it resolves immediately. See rule 411, “Playing Mana Abilities.”
A player may play an activated mana ability whenever he or she has priority and whenever a rule or effect asks for a mana payment. This is the only type of ability that can be played in the middle of playing or resolving a spell or ability. See rule 406, “Mana Abilities.”
Mana Burn
When a phase ends, any unused mana remaining in a player’s mana pool is lost. The player loses 1 life for each mana lost this way. This is called “mana burn.” See rule 300.3.
Mana Cost
The mana cost of a card is indicated by the mana symbols printed on its upper right corner. If a card has no mana symbols printed in its upper right corner, it has no mana cost. Land cards and face-down spells and permanents normally have no mana cost. Tokens have no mana cost unless the effect that creates them specifies otherwise. A copy of an object copies that object’s mana cost. See rule 203, “Mana Cost and Color.”
Mana Pool
When an effect creates mana, that mana goes into the player’s mana pool. From there, it can be used to pay for spells and abilities. The mana can be used immediately to pay a cost, or stored in the mana pool for use later in the phase. The mana pool is cleared at the end of each phase. See also Mana Burn.
Mana Source (Obsolete)
Some older cards were printed with the type “mana source.” All mana source cards are now instant cards. Abilities that used to read “Play this ability as a mana source” are now mana abilities.
Mana Symbol
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}. See rule 104.3.
Each of the colored mana symbols represents one colored mana: {W} white, {U} blue, {B} black, {R} red, and {G} green. See rule 104.3a.
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. See rule 104.3b.
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. See rule 104.3c.
Numeral symbols and variable symbols can also represent colorless mana if they appear in the effect of a spell or of a mana ability that reads “add [mana symbol] to your mana pool” or something similar. See rule 104.3d.
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. See rule 104.3e.
Each of the hybrid mana symbols represents a cost which 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. See rule 104.3f.
The symbol {S} represents a cost that can be paid with one mana produced by a snow permanent. See rule 104.3h.
Match
A match is a series of Magic games and is important only for tournament or league play. A two-player match usually consists of the best two of three games, or sometimes the best three of five. A multiplayer match usually consists of only one game. For more information, consult the DCI Magic Floor Rules (www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/doccenter/home).
Maximum Hand Size
Each player’s maximum hand size is normally seven cards, though effects may modify this. As the first part of the active player’s cleanup step, if he or she has too many cards in his or her hand, that player chooses and discards as many cards as needed to reduce his or her hand to its maximum size (but no more than that). See rule 314, “Cleanup Step.”
Modal, Mode
A spell or ability is modal if it is written “choose one -” or “[a specified player] chooses one -.” Modal spells and abilities offer a choice of effects. A modal spell or ability’s controller must choose the mode as part of playing the spell or ability or as part of putting the ability on the stack (in the case of triggered abilities); see rule 409.1b. A modal replacement effect’s mode is chosen as it’s applied; see rule 419.6g.
Modular
Modular represents both a static ability and a triggered ability. “Modular N” means “This permanent comes into play with N +1/+1 counters on it” and “When this permanent is put into a graveyard from play, you may put a +1/+1 counter on target artifact creature for each +1/+1 counter on this permanent.” See rule 502.35, “Modular.”
Mono Artifact (Obsolete)
Some older cards used the term “mono artifact” on the card’s type line. They were artifacts that had activated abilities that included the tap symbol. Cards that were printed with the term “mono artifact” now simply use “artifact.”
Monocolored
A monocolored card has exactly one color. A colorless card isn’t monocolored.
Morph
Morph is a static ability that functions any time you could play the card it’s on, and the morph effect works any time the card is face down. “Morph [cost]” means “You may play this card as a 2/2 face-down creature, with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and no mana cost by paying {3} rather than its mana cost.” Any time you could play an instant, you may show all players the morph cost for any face-down permanent you control, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. This action doesn’t use the stack. See rule 502.26, “Morph.”
Mountain
“Mountain” is one of the five basic land types. Any land with the land type Mountain has the ability “{T}: Add {R} to your mana pool.” See rule 212.6d.
Mountaincycling
See Landcycling.
Mountainwalk
See Landwalk.
Move
To move a counter means to take it from where it currently is and put it onto another object. If the object the counter would move from has no counters, or either that object or any possible objects the counter would move onto are no longer in the correct zone when the effect would move the counter, nothing happens.
Some older cards used “move” to describe taking an Aura on one permanent and putting it onto another. These cards now say “attach.”
Mulligan
A player can “mulligan” by shuffling his or her hand back into his or her library and drawing a new hand with one fewer card before taking the first turn. Any player dissatisfied with his or her starting hand may mulligan as often as he or she wishes, drawing one fewer card each time. See rule 101.4.
The Two-Headed Giant variant uses a modified mulligan rule; see rule 606.6a.
Multicolored
A multicolored card has two or more colors. Most multicolored cards are printed with gold frames to reinforce this. See rule 203.2.
A multicolored object is affected by anything that singles out any of its colors. For example, a black-and-green creature is destroyed by a spell that reads, “Destroy all green creatures.” Something that can’t affect a particular color doesn’t affect a multicolored object with that color, so that same creature can’t be targeted by a spell or ability that reads, “Destroy target nonblack creature.”
Multiplayer
A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. Games that begin with only two players aren’t multiplayer games. See section 6, “Multiplayer Rules.”
; Name
The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner. See rule 202, “Name.”
Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu is an activated ability that functions only while the card with ninjutsu is in a player’s hand. “Ninjutsu [cost]” means “[Cost], Reveal this card from your hand, Return an unblocked creature you control to its owner’s hand: Put this card into play from your hand tapped and attacking.” See rule 502.43, “Ninjutsu.”
Nonbasic Land
Any land that doesn’t have the supertype “basic” is nonbasic. Use the Oracle card reference to determine whether a land has the supertype “basic.”