Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules
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Number
The Magic game uses only natural numbers. You may not 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. See rule 104, “Numbers and Symbols.”
If a creature’s power or toughness, a mana cost, a player’s life total, or an amount of damage is less than zero, it’s treated as zero 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).
Object
An “object” is a card, a copy of a card, a token, a spell, a permanent, an ability on the stack, or combat damage on the stack. The term “object” is used in these rules when a rule applies to cards, copies of cards, tokens, spells, permanents, abilities on the stack, and combat damage on the stack. See rule 200.8.
Obsolete
Terms marked “(Obsolete)” in this glossary were used only on older cards. Updated wordings for all cards that used these terms are available in the Oracle card reference.
Offering
Offering is a static ability of a card that functions in any zone from which the card can be played. “[Text] offering” means “You may play this card any time you could play an instant by sacrificing a [text] permanent. If you do, the total cost to play this card is reduced by the sacrificed permanent’s mana cost.” Generic mana in the sacrificed permanent’s mana cost reduces only the generic mana in the offering card’s total cost. See rule 502.42, “Offering.”
One-Shot Effect
One-shot effects do something only once and then end. See rule 417, “One-Shot Effects.” See also Continuous Effects.
Opening Hand
Before a game begins, but after a player has taken any mulligans, the hand of cards he or she chooses to keep is that player’s opening hand. A player can’t take any mulligans once he or she has decided to keep an opening hand.
Opponent
In a two-player game, a player’s opponent is the other player. In multiplayer games, a player has multiple opponents. See section 6, “Multiplayer Rules.”
Oracle
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. See rule 200.2.
Order
The order of objects in a library, in a graveyard, or on the stack can’t be changed except when effects allow it. Objects in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those objects, whether they’re tapped, and what enchants or equips them must remain clear to all players. See rule 217.1b.
Outside the Game
An object is “outside the game” if it’s in the removed-from-the-game zone, or if it isn’t in any of the game’s zones. All other objects are inside the game. “Outside the game” is not a zone. See rule 217.1e.
Owner
The owner of a card is the player who started the game with that card 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. (Legal ownership is irrelevant to the game rules, except for the rules for ante.) The owner of a token is the controller of the effect that created it. See rule 200.1a.
An effect can change a permanent’s controller but never its owner. (A few cards have the text “Remove [this card] from your deck before playing if you’re not playing for ante.” These are the only cards that can change a card’s owner. See rule 217.9, “Ante.”)
A card is always put into its owner’s library, hand, or graveyard, regardless of who controlled the card in its previous zone. See rule 217.1a.
Pass
To pass is to decline to take any action (usually playing a spell or ability) when you have priority. When a player passes, his or her opponent receives priority. See rule 408.1, “Timing, Priority, and the Stack.”
Pass in Succession
To pass in succession means that all players pass without playing any spells, playing any abilities, or performing any special actions in between. If all players pass in succession, the spell, ability, or combat damage on top of the stack resolves. If the stack is empty, the phase or step ends. See rule 408.1, “Timing, Priority, and the Stack.”
Pay
Playing most spells and activated abilities requires paying costs; see rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.” Declaring attackers (see rule 308, “Declare Attackers Step”) and declaring blockers (see rule 309, “Declare Blockers Step”) can also require paying costs.
Paying mana is done by removing the indicated amount of mana from the player’s mana pool. Any time a player is asked to pay mana, mana abilities may be played. Mana abilities must be played before the costs are paid. Paying life subtracts the indicated amount of life from the player’s life total. A player can’t pay more mana than the amount of mana in his or her mana pool or more life than his or her life total. Zero life or zero mana can always be paid, even if the player has less than zero life.
To pay any cost, the player carries out the instructions specified by the spell, ability, or effect. It’s illegal to attempt paying a cost when unable to successfully follow the instructions. For example, a player can’t pay a cost that requires tapping a creature if that creature is already tapped.
Each payment applies to only one spell or ability. For example, a player can’t sacrifice just one creature to play the activated abilities of two permanents that require sacrificing a creature as a cost. Also, the resolution of a spell or ability doesn’t pay another spell or ability’s cost, even if part of its effect is doing the same thing the other cost asks for.
Permanent
A permanent is any card or token in the in-play zone. See rule 214, “Permanents.”
Permanently (Obsolete)
Certain older cards were printed with the term “permanently” to indicate effects with no expiration. This term is no longer used.
Example: An ability that originally read “Gain control of target creature permanently” would now read as follows: “Gain control of target creature.” This effect grants control of the permanent until something else changes the controller or it leaves play. It doesn’t make the permanent immune to other control effects.
Phase
Each turn is divided into five phases: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and end. See section 3, “Turn Structure.”
Phased Out
The phased-out zone is a special zone for permanents with phasing that are temporarily out of play. See rule 502.15, “Phasing.”
Phasing
Phasing is a static ability that causes a permanent to leave play and later return, without losing its “memory.” See rule 502.15, “Phasing.”
Pile
If a player is asked to separate a group of objects into two or more piles, the objects do not leave the zone they’re currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained. A pile can contain zero or more objects.
Plains
“Plains” is one of the five basic land types. Any land with the land type Plains has the ability “{T}: Add {W} to your mana pool.” See rule 212.6d.
Plainscycling
See Landcycling.
Plainswalk
See Landwalk.
Play
The act of playing a spell, land, or ability involves announcing the action and taking the necessary steps to complete it.
Playing a spell or activated ability requires paying any costs and choosing any required modes and/or targets. See rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.”
Playing a land simply requires choosing a land card from the hand and putting it into play. See rule 212.6, “Lands.”
Playing a mana ability requires paying
any costs, then immediately resolving the ability. See rule 411, “Playing Mana Abilities.”
Triggered abilities and static abilities aren’t played-they happen automatically. See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”
Play/Draw (Informal)
Whoever plays first in a two-player game skips his or her first draw step. This is referred to as the play/draw rule. See rule 101, “Starting the Game.”
In a Two-Headed Giant multiplayer game, the team that goes first skips its first draw step (see rule 606, “Two-Headed Giant Variant”). Other multiplayer variants don’t use the play/draw rule.
Player
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. See rule 200.3.
Poison Counter
Some cards give poison counters to players. If a player has ten or more poison counters, he or she loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 420, “State-Based Effects.”
Poly Artifact (Obsolete)
Some older cards used the term “poly artifact” on the card’s type line. They were artifacts that had activated abilities that don’t include the tap symbol. Cards that were printed with the term “poly artifact” now simply use “artifact.”
Postcombat
The second main phase in each turn is called the postcombat main phase. If an effect causes a turn to have an extra combat phase and another main phase, the additional one is also a postcombat main phase. See rule 305, “Main Phase.”
Power
The number before the slash printed on the lower right corner of a creature card is its power. See rule 208, “Power/Toughness.”
Creatures that attack or block assign combat damage equal to their power. See rule 310, “Combat Damage Step.”
Some creature cards have power represented by * instead of a number. The object has a characteristic-setting ability that sets its power according to some stated condition. The * is 0 while the object isn’t in play.
A noncreature permanent has no power, even if it’s a card with a power printed on it (such as a Licid that’s become an Aura).
Precombat
The first main phase in each turn is called the precombat main phase. See rule 305, “Main Phase.”
Prevention Effect
Effects that prevent something from happening replace it with “do nothing.” (See rule 419, “Replacement and Prevention Effects.”) A prevention effect must be active before the event it’s intended to prevent.
Effects that prevent a specific amount of damage act as “shields” and stay active until that amount of damage has been prevented or the turn ends. The damage doesn’t have to be dealt by a single source or all at once.
Effects that prevent the next damage from a specific source apply the next time that source would deal damage, regardless of the amount. These effects expire when the turn ends. See rule 419.8, “Sources of Damage.”
Priority
The player who has the option to play a spell or ability at any given time has priority. See rule 408, “Timing of Spells and Abilities.”
Each time a spell, an ability (other than a mana ability), or combat damage resolves, and at the beginning of most phases and steps, the active player receives priority. If a player has priority when he or she plays a spell, ability, or land, or takes a special action, he or she receives priority afterward. When a player passes in a two-player game, his or her opponent receives priority.
If all players pass in succession, the spell, ability, or combat damage on top of the stack resolves or, if the stack is empty, the phase or step ends.
Each time a player would get priority, all applicable state-based effects resolve first as a single event (see rule 420). Then, if any new state-based effects have been generated, they resolve as a single event. This process repeats until no more applicable state-based effects are generated. Then triggered abilities are added to the stack (see rule 410). These steps repeat in order until no further state-based effects or triggered abilities are generated.
In the Two-Headed Giant multiplayer variant, teams rather than individual players have priority. See rule 606, “Two-Headed Giant Variant.”
Protection
Protection is a static ability, written “Protection from [quality].” See rule 502.7, “Protection.”
A permanent with protection can’t be targeted by spells with the stated quality and can’t be targeted by abilities from a source with the stated quality.
A permanent with protection can’t be enchanted by Auras that have the stated quality. Such Auras attached to the permanent with protection will be put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based effect. (See rule 420, “State-Based Effects.”)
A permanent with protection can’t be equipped by Equipment that has the stated quality. Such Equipment becomes unattached from that permanent, but remains in play. (See rule 420, “State-Based Effects.”)
Any damage that would be dealt to a permanent with protection from sources having that quality is prevented.
If a creature with protection attacks, it can’t be blocked by creatures that have the stated quality.
Provoke
Provoke is a triggered ability. “Provoke” means “Whenever this creature attacks, you may choose to have target creature defending player controls block this creature this combat if able. If you do, untap that creature.” See rule 502.29, “Provoke.”
Public Information (Informal)
Some information within a Magic game is known by all players. For example, permanents in play, spells and abilities on the stack, and cards in graveyards are all public information. The number of cards in players’ libraries and hands is also public information, even though contents of those libraries and hands are hidden information. See also Hidden Information.
Put Into Play
If an effect instructs a player to put an object into play, that object is not considered “played.”
Rampage
Rampage is a triggered ability. “Rampage N” means “When this creature becomes blocked, it gets +N/+N until end of turn for each creature blocking it beyond the first.” See rule 502.12, “Rampage.”
Random
If a spell, ability, or effect requires a player to choose something at random, that player can use any method of making a random choice (rolling dice, flipping a coin, and so on). The outcome must be truly random.
Recover
Recover is a triggered ability that functions only while the card with recover is in a player’s graveyard. “Recover [cost]” means “When a creature is put into your graveyard from play, you may pay [cost]. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand. Otherwise, remove this card from the game.” See rule 502.55, “Recover.”
Redirect (Obsolete)
Some older cards were printed with the term “redirect” to describe the act of dealing damage to a different player or creature than originally specified by a spell, ability, or combat-damage assignment, without changing the source or type of damage. In general, cards that were printed with the term “redirect” now create replacement effects that modify where the damage will be dealt. “Redirect” is still used informally to describe what these replacement effects do.
Regenerate
Regeneration is a destruction-replacement effect. “Regenerate [permanent]” means “The next time [permanent] would be destroyed this turn, instead remove all damage from it, tap it, and (if it’s in combat) remove it from combat.” Because it’s a replacement effect, it must be active before the attempted destruction event. Abilities that trigger from damage being dealt still trigger even if the permanent regenerates. See rule 419.6b.
Reminder Text
Reminder text appears after a keyword ability printed on a card and on cards that might otherwise be commonly misunderstood. Reminder text is text that is italicized and in parentheses in the text box of a card. This text provides a summary of the game rule or clarifies what
the card does, but it isn’t itself considered rules text. See rule 207.2.
Removed from Combat
An attacking or blocking creature is removed from combat if it leaves play (such as by being destroyed or removed from the game), if it regenerates (see rule 419.6b), if its controller changes, if it stops being a creature, or if an effect removes it from combat. A creature that is removed from combat stops being an attacking or blocking creature and can no longer assign combat damage or have combat damage assigned to it. Any combat damage that’s already on the stack assigned to or by the creature will still resolve normally. See rule 306.2 and rule 310.4a.