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Magic: The Gathering Rules FAQ, v3.06 (index)
| Patrik Linell | | Patrik Linell | | Patrik Linell |
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| | From: | Patrik Linell | | Subject: | Magic: The Gathering Rules FAQ, v3.06 (index) | | Date: | 23 Jan 2005 05:34:24 GMT |
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 | Archive-name: games/magic-t-g/rules/part1
Posting-Frequency: About every 5 days
URL: http://www.claymore.nu/mtgrules
============================================================
Welcome to the FAQ for rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules
============================================================
Last Modified: February 3rd 2004
By Patrik Linell (pls@claymore.nu), based on the FAQ by Laurie Cheers,
which was in turn based on the FAQ by Bill Dugan.
Copyright (c) 2003 Patrik Linell. All rights reserved. This article is
freely distributable except that it may not be sold nor included in any
compilation (book, magazine, disk, CD-ROM, or otherwise) which is for sale,
without the express written consent of the author. See bottom of the last
part of this document for additional legal restrictions and disclaimers,
and copyright information.
URL: http://www.claymore.nu/mtgrules
==================
Recent Changes:
==================
3.08: Updated the tournament information since Darksteel became legal...
AND fixed two errors a guy called Nick pointed out! I rule!
3.07: Updated the tournament information since Mirrodin became legal. God
this stuff needs updating.
3.06: Updated the tournament information since Scourge became legal. Spent
quite some time meditating on the need for updates.
3.05: Updated the tournament information since Legions became legal.
Further contemplated updates.
3.04: Updated the tournament information since Onslaught became legal.
Realized the monotony of the latest four updates and that the FAQ probably
should be updated a lot more.
3.03: Updated the tournament information since Judgment became legal.
3.02: Updated the tournament information since Torment became legal.
3.01: Updated the tournament information since Odyssey became legal.
3.0: A much-needed major overhaul. Too many changes to list.
==================
Further Reading:
==================
So, what happens if your question isn't frequently asked, and isn't in this
document? Well, here are a few other places you could turn to.
Obviously enough, asking your question on the newsgroup
rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules is a good way to get it answered...
That's what it's there for, after all. Don't worry about whether your
question's 'stupid', or has been asked before... even if it's a frequently
asked one in this FAQ, that you've been unable to find or haven't
understood the answer to. The group is extremely newbie friendly, and the
people there are very patient about explaining things. After all, that's
why they hang out there.
Stephen D'Angelo's Rulings Summaries are very highly recommended, and
available from http://www.crystalkeep.com/magic/rules/index.html. They're
very complete, very long and very reliable... except in occasional places
where they specifically state they haven't yet been updated to the latest
rules. References to those files are occasionally made in this FAQ.
The Oracle (the official listing of all cards ever printed, updated to the
current wording templates) is also an excellent resource. If your question
revolves around the wording on a card that's not from the latest set, you
should check out http://www.wizards.com/dci/oracle.asp before continuing.
Laurie Cheers, the former keeper of this FAQ, has an Oracle version with
one line per card, suitable for grepping and the like, at
www.geocities.com/laurie_cheers/Oracline.txt.
Finally, for those who want a rulebook, there are two you might want to
try. The latest, up-to-datest, technically accurate rulebook is at
www.wizards.com/dci/oracle.asp. However, note that this is not a book for
new players. It's pretty unfriendly and dry in the way it is set out,
because its main purpose is to give definitive answers, not to teach people
to play. For an easier rulebook to learn the game from, you may want to try
the rather outdated Fifth Edition rulebook, available at
http://www.wizards.com/magic/advanced/5E/Fifth_Ed_Rulebook/Welcome.asp.
Some of its technical details (perhaps most) are now wrong, but it takes
the material far slower, and explains things much more clearly. When you're
just beginning to learn the game, most of the differences between 5th and
6th edition rules aren't very important.
==================
Newsgroup Stuff:
==================
If you're a new player, you'll almost certainly come across unfamiliar
terms and acronyms while reading this FAQ, or the magic.rules newsgroup...
so here are some of the most common ones.
Cardset Names:
UL or UN: Unlimited 3E or RV: Third Edition, or "Revised".
4E: Fourth Edition 5E: Fifth Edition
6E: Sixth Edition, or "Classic". 7E: Seventh Edition
PO: Portal P2: Portal Second Age UG: Unglued
P3K: Portal- 3 Kingdoms SR: Starter CH: Chronicles
AN: Arabian Nights AQ: Antiquities LE or LG: Legends
DK: The Dark
IA: Ice Age HL: Homelands AL: Alliances
MI: Mirage VI: Visions WL: Weatherlight
TE or TM: Tempest ST: Stronghold EX: Exodus
US or UZ: Urza's Saga UL or UY: Urza's Legacy* UD: Urza's Destiny
MM: Mercadian Masques NE: Nemesis PR or PY: Prophecy
IN: Invasion PL or PS: Planeshift AP: Apocalypse
*yes, UL is also used for Unlimited. Sorry.
Card Names:
Dual land: One of the ten multicolored lands that count as two basic land
types, from Revised and before: Bayou, Taiga, Tropical Island, Volcanic
Island, Underground Sea, Savannah, Scrubland, Plateau, Badlands and Tundra.
Often abbreviated as "duals".
Painland: One of the fifteen lands from Ice Age, Tempest and Apocalypse,
that can be tapped for colorless mana, or from either of two different
colors of mana, but in the process of producing colored mana, they deal 1
damage to you. They are Underground River, Adarkar Wastes, Karplusan
Forest, Brushland, Sulfurous Springs, Pine Barrens, Scabland, Caldera Lake,
Salt Flats, Skyshroud Forest, Shivan Reef, Yavimaya Coast, Battlefield
Forge, Caves of Koilos and Llanowar Wastes.
Man land: Lands that can become creatures. These include Mishra's Factory,
Stalking Stones, Forbidding Watchtower, Treetop Village, Faerie Conclave,
Ghitu Encampment and Spawning Pool.
Tim: Prodigal Sorcerer ("There are some who call me ... Tim.")
Icy: Icy Manipulator
Llany, Lawnmower Elf: Llanowar Elf
CoP: Circle Of Protection
RoP: Rune of Protection
MoLaG: Mask of Law and Grace
MoR: Mother of Runes
....and so on. You get the idea.
Misc terms and acronyms:
"~" or "~this~": Commonly used to stand for the cardname, when quoting card
text. (e.g. "When ~ comes into play, ...")
Sac: Sacrifice
Bounce: Return a permanent to its owner's hand
RFG: Remove a card from the game
Animate: Turn into a creature
Transmog, Transmogrify: Turn a creature into an artifact creature
LIFO: Last In, First Out (explains stack timing)
CIP: Comes Into Play (or an ability that triggers on this occurrence)
EOT: End of Turn
187: A creature with a CIP ability that destroys or bounces a permanent,
such as a Nekrataal. (187 is apparently the Californian police radio code
for a homicide.) By extension any CIP ability.
781: A creature with a leaves-play ability. (Geddit?)
Cantrip: A card that tells you to draw another card at the beginning of the
next upkeep, or at the time it resolves.
MtG: Magic The Gathering.
WotC, WoC: Wizards Of The Coast, publishers of Magic.
DCI: The authority that oversees official Magic tournaments. DCI used to
stand for Duelist Convocation International, but now means nothing.
Symbols:
G: One green mana.
R: One red mana.
W: One white mana.
B: One black mana.
U: One blue mana.
T: The tap symbol.
1: One generic or colorless mana.
These symbols are combined in a way that mimics the way the corresponding
symbols are written on cards. So for example, a Dark Ritual produces BBB,
an Ancient Spider costs 2WG, and Benalish Heralds' ability costs 3U, T.
=======
Index
=======
These are the sections of the FAQ:
A: Terminology
B: Color
C: Creatures
D: Combat
E: Protection
F: Trample
G: Other one-word abilities
H: Costs
J: Abilities in general
K: Timing
M: Targeting and enchanting
N: Specific cards
O: Tournaments and rulebooks
|
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| | From: | Patrik Linell | | Subject: | Magic: The Gathering Rules FAQ, v3.06 (main J-Z) | | Date: | 23 Jan 2005 05:36:24 GMT |
|
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| Archive-name: games/magic-t-g/rules/part3
Posting-Frequency: About every 5 days
URL: http://www.claymore.nu/mtgrules
======
Section J: Abilities in general
J.01 Q: If I kill a creature in response to it using its ability, does the
ability still take effect?
A: Yes. The Silver Rule of Magic states that an ability, once played,
exists independently of its source. If a Prodigal Sorcerer taps to deal 1
damage, it doesn't help to kill the Prodigal Sorcerer in response; the
ability will resolve.
J.02 Q: Can I Counterspell a permanent's ability?
A: No. Counterspell can only counter spells, not abilities. To
counter an ability, you need a Bind.
J.03 Q: If something is tapped, can it still use abilities that don't
require it to tap?
A: Yes. For example, Hate Weaver reads "2: Target blue or red
creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn". Since this ability does not require
tapping, it can be used while Hate Weaver is tapped.
J.04 Q: Can use an ability multiple times, e.g. use Pestilence several
times in a row?
A: Yes. Unless the ability itself has a restriction, you can play it
as many times as you can pay the cost.
J.05 Q: Do the abilities of artifacts work while they're tapped?
A: Yes, these days they do, apart from the few that got errata to
state that they "shut off" when tapped. These artifacts are Howling Mine,
Static Orb and Winter Orb.
======
Section K: Timing
K.01 Q: What happens first, if two things say they happen "when" or
"whenever" an event occurs? Can I cast instants in-between them?
A: Since such abilities are triggered abilities, it depends on who
controls them. If the same player controls them, he or she decides the
order in which they go on the stack and, by extension, the order in which
they resolve. If different players control them, the ones controlled by the
active player go on the stack first, followed by the ones controlled by the
inactive player, meaning that the ones controlled by the inactive player
will resolve first.
K.02 Q: Both players want to cast Shock, and both are on 2 life. Who dies?
A: The player who cracks first, generally speaking. When he announces
his Shock, his opponent can respond to it with her own Shock. Things
resolve in Last In First Out (LIFO) order, so the responding Shock will
resolve first. If each player knows that the other has a Shock, this
situation is a stalemate until one player draws another Shock.
K.03 Q: If events in the end of turn step cause something to happen "at end
of turn", when will that actually be?
A: At the end of the next turn. "At end of turn" means "at the
beginning of the end of turn step", which has already happened this turn.
Therefore the effect will wait until the next end of turn step that comes
around. Don't confuse this with...
K.04 Q: If events in the end of turn step start an effect that lasts "until
end of turn", when will that actually wear off?
A: During that same turn. "Until end of turn" effects wear off during
the cleanup step, which will be repeated if anything unusual happens. In
other words, it's not possible to get an "until end of turn" effect to last
until the following turn.
======
Section L
L.01 Q: Where's section L?
A: There is no section L. Move along. These aren't the droids you're
looking for.
======
Section M: Targeting and enchanting
M.01 Q: How do you know if a spell or ability targets?
A: It targets if it a) says it targets or b) is a local enchantment
spell. Nothing else targets. Ever.
M.02 Q: If Agonizing Demise's (destroy target nonblack creature) target
becomes black before it resolves, will it still destroy it?
A: No. Target legality is checked twice, once on announcement and
once on resolution. If one of a spell's or ability's targets is illegal on
resolution, nothing is done to that target; if all of a spell's or
ability's targets are illegal on resolution, the spell or ability is countered.
M.03 Q: Can I cast Reckless Spite (destroy two target nonblack creatures)
targetting only one creature, or the same creature twice?
A: No, you have to target a separate creature for each target, and
have to have enough legal targets; otherwise you're not allowed to play the
spell.
M.05 Q: How well does Blurred Mongoose's (Blurred Mongoose can't be the
target of spells or abilities) ability protect it?
A: It cannot be targeted, and so is safe from everything that says it
targets, and everything that is a local enchantment spell. Everything else
(Wrath of God, Earthquake etc) affects it just fine.
M.06 Q: Do "Enchant Foo" cards fall off when their enchantee stops being a Foo?
A: Yes. That means the local enchantment is enchanting an illegal
enchantee, which in turn means the enchantment goes to the graveyard as a
state-based effect.
M.07 Q: Will an enchantment fall off if the enchantee gains protection from
its color?
A: Yes. That means the local enchantment is enchanting an illegal
enchantee, which in turn means the enchantment goes to the graveyard as a
state-based effect.
M.08 Q: Will +1/+1 counters fall off if they're not on a creature?
A: No. They won't have any effect on it, but they will stay on.
M.09 Q: Do enchantments & counters fall off when something regenerates?
A: No. Regeneration replaces destruction, so the destruction never
happens.
M.10 Q: What is a global enchantment?
A: Any "Enchant World" or "Enchantment" card.
M.11 Q: What is a local enchantment?
A: Any "Enchant Foo" card that isn't an "Enchant World" card.
M.12 Q: If I try to counter an Urza's Rage (or something else that is
uncounterable) with an Absorb/Undermine, will I still gain 3 life/will my
opponent still lose 3 life?
A: Yes. Urza's Rage can be targeted by Absorb and Undermine perfectly
well, and so they won't be countered upon resolution. They resolve alright
(although they do nothing to Urza's Rage), and the extra effect of
lifegain/lifeloss will occur.
======
Section N: Specific cards
N.01 Q: Can I play Orim's Chant in response to a spell, stopping that spell?
A: No. By the time you can respond to a spell, that spell has already
been played, and Orim's Chant prevents a player from playing spells. It can
in no way, shape or form counter spells. If it could, it would say so on
the card.
N.02 Q: If I control a Sanctuary and a single permanent that is both of the
appropriate colors, do I get the "big effect"?
A: Yes. The game doesn't check for two different permanents, it just
asks "Do you control a permanent?" for both colors, and if it gets
two positive replies back, you get the big effect.
N.03 Q: How do Flagbearers work again?
A: Basically, if your opponent controls a Flagbearer, you have to
target it if able. If you cannot target the Flagbearer (you're playing a
Shock and the Flagbearer has protection from red) the Flagbearer doesn't
affect you.
N.04 Q: If a creature becomes a Flagbearer and gets the Flagbearer ability
in response to a spell, is the spell countered due to illegal target?
A: No. The Flagbearer ability only affects spells and abilities
during announcement, not at any other time.
N.05 Q: If I turn a creature into a Flagbearer, does it automatically gain
the Flagbearer ability?
A: No. Only two creature types have special rules attached to them,
Legends and Walls. If there isn't a natural Flagbearer in play, giving a
creature the Flagbearer type does nothing special.
======
Section O: Tournaments and rulebooks
O.01 Q: What is a sideboard?
A: Something you only use in a tournament. In a Constructed
tournament, it's 15 extra cards you bring with you, in a Limited
tournament, it's all the cards you have drafted or opened but isn't using
in your deck. After the first round of a match you can exchange cards in
your main deck for cards in your sideboard on a 1:1 basis.
O.02 Q: What is a mulligan?
A: If you draw your starting hand and aren't happy with it, you can
take a mulligan, which means shuffling your hand into your library and
drawing a new hand of one less card than the last one. You can mulligan
down to a zero card hand if you wish.
O.03 Q: Can I use newer cards in the same games as older ones, despite the
changes to the rules?
A: Certainly, yes. Many of the problems they had when writing the 6th
edition rules came from ensuring that old cards would still work.
O.04 Q: What cards can I play with in a tournament?
A: That depends on the tournament. In a sealed-deck or draft
tournament, you just get to play with the cards you're given on the day, of
course.
In a Type 1 tournament, your deck may consist of cards from all Magic card
sets, any extension of the basic set, and all promotional cards released by
Wizards of the Coast, Inc, but not cards listed on WotC's site as being
banned in Type 1. Also, you may only have one each of the cards on the
restricted list as given on WotC's site.
In a Type 1.5 tournament, your deck may consist of cards from all Magic
card sets, any extension of the basic set, and all promotional cards
released by Wizards of the Coast, Inc, but not cards listed on WotC's site
as being banned in Type 1.5.
In an Extended tournament, your deck may consist of cards from Sixth
Edition, Seventh Edition and any expansion sets from Tempest onward.
Expansion sets older than Tempest are not legal in Extended. There is a
short banned list on WotC's site for Extended, and those cards are not
legal for use in Extended.
In a Type 2 tournament, your deck may consist of cards from the following
sets: Eighth Edition, Onslaught, Legions, Scourge, Mirrodin and Darksteel,
but not cards listed as being banned on WotC's site. Currently, no cards
are banned in Type 2.
O.05 Q: In a tournament where (for example) Ice Age isn't legal, am I
allowed to play with an Ice Age card that was reprinted in a legal set?
A: Yes. Note that it will be treated as if it were a copy of the card
from the legal set. For example, if you play with a copy of Squall from
Starter, which has casting cost 1G, then it will be treated as if it were
the Squall from Mercadian Masques, which has casting cost 2G.
======
|
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| | From: | Patrik Linell | | Subject: | Magic: The Gathering Rules FAQ, v3.06 (main A-H) | | Date: | 23 Jan 2005 05:35:24 GMT |
|
|
| Archive-name: games/magic-t-g/rules/part2
Posting-Frequency: About every 5 days
URL: http://www.claymore.nu/mtgrules
Section A: Terminology
A.01 Q: What does bury mean?
A: "Bury X" is an old term for "Destroy X. It can't be regenerated".
The term was discontinued when Tempest came out.
A.02 Q: What is a mana source?
A: Something that doesn't exist anymore. During Fifth Edition rules,
mana sources were spells that were "faster" than instants and interrupts
(see A.03). These days, all spells that were mana sources are instants and
played as such.
A.03 Q: What is an interrupt?
A: Again, something that doesn't exist anymore. Interrupts used to be
spells that were "faster" than instants. These days, all spells that were
interrupts are instants and played as such.
A.04 Q: What is "summoning sickness"?
A: The affliction that makes creatures unable to attack and tap for
abilities during the turn in which they come into play (and the following
opponent's turn). The term was only officially used for 5th Edition rules,
but earlier editions did mention it. This condition has no name now, so
most people still use summoning sickness, although it's technically
incorrect. Creatures that used to be "unaffected by summoning sickness" now
have "haste" instead. It works the same.
A.05 Q: What does "mana" and "mana pool" mean? Is it my lands?
A: No. Repeat after me: Mana is not the same thing as lands. This is
the biggest difference between Starter and grown-up Magic, and has proved
to be one that causes the most confusion. In Starter, lands are simply
tapped to pay for spells. In Magic, however, lands are tapped to add mana
to the player's mana pool. It usually stays there for a moment. After that,
the mana is taken from that pool to pay for spells or other mana costs.
Also, lands do not necessarily produce mana (though most do) and many of
them do other things as well.
Basically, your mana pool can be thought of as a bowl containing your
money. The points of mana (coins) in the pool aren't represented by
anything physical, because there's not usually many of them, and they
aren't around for very long.
So, as an example, Dark Ritual is an instant spell that adds BBB (that's
3 black mana) to your pool when it resolves, just as if you'd tapped 3
swamps. Afterwards, you can take that mana out of your pool and use it to
cast black spells.
A.06 Q: What's a "permanent"?
A: A permanent is a card or token that's in play, and only one that's
in play. Cards in play are permanents, cards outside of play are not. Note
that instants and sorceries are never permanents, and neither are cards in
your hand, graveyard or library.
A.07 Q: What's the difference between a "creature" and a "creature card"?
A: A "creature" is a term reserved for a permanent. In other words,
the only way something can be a "creature" is for it to be in play.
Anywhere else, the thing is just a "creature card" (or "creature spell", if
it's on the stack). The same applies to the terms "land", "artifact" and
"enchantment" too.
So Unsummon, which says "Return target creature to its owner's hand",
can't be used to retrieve creature cards from your graveyard, because
they're not creatures.
A.08 Q: What's the difference between a "Creature - X" card and a "Summon
X" card?
A: Age. Prior to Sixth Edition, creature cards read "Summon X".
Since, they've read Creature - X. The difference during play is nonexistent.
A.09 Q: What's a "spell"?
A: A spell is a card on the stack, and only one on the stack. In
other words, a card becomes a spell as you cast it, and stops being one
when it resolves. Note that when playing a land, it doesn't go onto the
stack; lands can't ever become spells.
A.10 Q: What's a "pseudospell"?
A: It's a marker on the stack to represent an ability. When a spell
is played, the spell card itself gets put onto the stack. However, when an
ability of a permanent is played there isn't an appropriate card handy- so
what gets put on the stack instead is a pseudospell, as a marker.
A.11 Q: What does "resolve" mean?
A: Spells, and most abilities, cannot take effect as soon as they are
announced; there's time for other players to use abilities and instant
spells in response to them. Only after everyone's finished responding can
your spell actually resolve, ie have its effect.
A.12 Q: What do "respond" and "in response" mean?
A: Because a spell or ability cannot resolve as soon as it is cast,
there is a time when abilities and instant spells can be cast "in response"
to it. In other words, they are announced and put onto the stack above it.
Things done in response to a spell or ability will resolve first. The
spells most commonly cast in response to something are those that will
counter it, for example a Counterspell.
A.13 Q: What does "counter" mean?
A: To "counter" a spell is to cause it to go to the graveyard without
it having its effect. "Counter" as a noun, as in "put two +1/+1 counters on
target creature" are physical markers placed on a card. A +1/+1 counter is
put on a creature and gives that creature +1/+1.
A.14 Q: What does "countered on resolution" mean?
A: It's what happens to a spell that tries to resolve and cannot for
some reason. Usually, this is because a target has gone illegal between
announcement and resolution. The old term for this is "fizzle", but it is
no longer in use. Also note that "countered upon resolution" does mean
countering, and Multani's Presence will trigger off it.
A.15 Q: Who is the "controller" of a card?
A: The controller of the card is the player who can use its
abilities, attack with it, and so on. If a card says "you", it's always
talking to its controller. Which player is it? That depends. Usually, the
controller and the owner (see below) of a card are the same player, but
there are many effects that can change that. Generally speaking, if you put
a card into play, and no effects apply that could change its controller,
then you control that card.
A.16 Q: Who is the "owner" of a card?
A: The 'owner' of a card is the player who brought it to the game,
and who started the game with it in his library. The 'owner' of a token is
the player who controlled the spell or ability that created it. (e.g.:
Waiting in the Weeds is a spell that creates Cat tokens under the control
of various players... but the caster of Waiting in the Weeds owns them all.)
A.17 Q: Who is the "active player"?
A: The player whose turn it is. Usually if both players can do
something, the active player gets to do so first... including making
choices (which means that when the opponent chooses, he knows what choice
was made) and putting triggered abilities onto the stack (which means the
opponent's abilities will resolve first).
A.18 Q: What is a "modal" spell?
A: A "modal" spell is, in general terms, one which can do more than
one thing. All modal spells, under the current wordings, have to say
"Choose one-", followed by a list of possible effects. The Dragon Charms
from Planeshift are the most well-known current examples. Note that
Disenchant is not a modal spell, because it doesn't say "Choose one-
destroy target artifact, or destroy target enchantment".
The distinction is important, because when you announce a modal spell,
you choose what mode it'll use right then, instead of waiting until it
resolves. Disenchant targeting an enchantment that becomes an artifact
before Disenchant's resolution will still destroy its target, which it
would not if it were modal.
A.19 Q: What's "the stack"? What is "priority"?
A: The Stack is a timing system. It's a zone of play, like your
graveyard or your library. When a spell is announced, it cannot take its
effect straight away. Instead, it's put on top of the stack, and other
players are given the opportunity to respond to it with their own spells.
The responses will resolve first, and when people have finished responding,
eventually the original spell will resolve. (Note that this also applies to
abilities.) The player who "has priority" at any particular time is the one
who's currently allowed to add things to the stack. Here's a brief
flowchart showing how the system works.
In each step of the turn, the active player has priority to begin with.
I: The player who has priority may announce a spell: he puts the spell
onto the stack, chooses its mode and its targets, and pays its costs. If he
chooses to do so, then he gets priority again- repeat this step. Otherwise,
he "passes priority" to his opponent- go to [II].
II: Now, that player's opponent has priority, so he can play his own
spells on the top of the stack. If he chooses to do so, then he'll be the
one who priority again- we return to [I]. Otherwise, we go on to [III].
III: The players have both passed, so they've both declared that they're
not going to respond to the current spell. If the stack is empty, then the
current step of this turn will end. Otherwise, the top item of the stack
resolves and is removed (in the case of an Instant or Sorcery it will go to
the graveyard. Other types of spell will go into play, and pseudospells
from abilities will be removed from the game). After that, the active
player gets priority again. We return to I.
A.20 Q: What does "play" mean?
A: Three things, in general. To "play" a land means putting it into
play. To "play" a spell or ability means announcing it, choosing targets
and so on. "In play" is the zone where all the action happens, where the
permanents are, creatures attack and so on (other zones are for example
graveyard and library).
An ability that triggers when a spell is "played" will do so as soon as
that spell is announced, and its effect will occur before the triggering
spell can resolve. Abilities that used to refer to something being
"successfully cast", which has no meaning under 6th Edition rules, have all
had errata to use the term "played".
A.21 Q: What's the difference between "playing" and "putting into play"?
A: To "play" a spell or ability means to announce it, as I said
above. In other words, you pay its costs, choose its targets, and put it
onto the stack. To "put a card into play" means to put it into the "in
play" zone.
This means that it's possible to "play" an Instant or Sorcery spell, but
not possible to "put it into play". A spell or ability that tells you to
"put a creature into play", such as Dragon Arch, is not telling you to
"play" it.
A.22 Q: What is the "converted mana cost" of a card?
A: The total amount of mana in its mana cost, printed in the top
right corner of the card. For example, Devouring Strossus (cost 5BBB) has a
converted mana cost of 8. Even if the Strossus-toting player has a couple
of Thunderscape Familiars out, the converted mana cost is still 8; it never
changes. You only have to pay 3BBB to play Devouring Strossus with two
Thunderscape Familiars out, but Monkey Cage will still produce 8 Apes when
it comes into play.
A.23 Q: What's Mana Burn?
A: It's what happens if you add mana to your pool but don't use it
before the end of the phase. The mana disappears, and you lose 1 life for
each point of mana that disappears in this way. It doesn't happen very
often, but sometimes you really need to play something costing BB with only
one Swamp and a Dark Ritual, meaning you have one black mana left over.
==========
Section B: Color
B.01 Q: Can I play Agonizing Demise (Destroy target nonblack creature) on a
red and black creature?
A: No. A creature that is black isn't nonblack. If it has any other
colors as well is irrelevant.
B.02 Q: Can I use a Circle of Protection: Black (1: The next time a black
source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that
damage) to prevent damage from a red and black creature?
A: Yes. The creature is black; that it also has another color is
irrelevant.
B.03 Q: Can I choose 'gold', 'artifact', or 'colorless' when asked to
choose a color?
A: No. Magic has exactly five colors in it: White, green, blue, red
and black. They are the only ones that can be chosen when you're asked to
choose a color.
B:04 Q: Do basic lands have colors? (e.g. are swamps black?)
A: No. Lands are colorless unless something gives them a color.
B.05 Q: Does a Coastal Tower (that can produce both white and blue mana)
count as both a plains and an island?
A: No, because it doesn't say it does. Unless the land itself says it
counts as a basic land type, it doesn't. Basic lands do; it comes with
being a basic land.
========
Section C: Creatures
C.01 Q: If I play a Chimeric Idol, and then activate it so it becomes a
creature, can it then attack this turn?
A: No. All permanents have "summoning sickness", but only creatures
are affected by it. When Chimeric Idol becomes a creature, it still has
summoning sickness, and since it is now a creature, it cannot attack.
C.02 Q: When something asks me to choose a creature type, can I choose
"blue" or "artifact" or "Recidivist"?
A: No. When choosing a creature type, you must choose an existing
creature type. "Elf works", "Pixie-Queen" works, "Myr" works, "Blinkmoth"
works (tokens count as existing creature types), but neither "blue",
"artifact" or "Recidivist" work.
======
Section D: Combat
D.01 Q: What is the overall structure of the combat phase?
A: The Combat Phase is divided into 5 steps. Note that there is only
ever _one_ combat phase in a turn. You can't "attack with this thing, see
what happens to it, then attack with this other thing" or whatever. All
attackers attack simultaneously, and all blockers block simultaneously, and
then damage is dealt, and then combat finishes.
1: Beginning of Combat:
Instants can be played. This is the last chance for the defending player
to tap creatures in order to prevent them from attacking.
2: Declare Attackers:
The active player declares which creatures are attacking, then taps them
and pays any other costs for them to attack. Then Instants can be played.
This is the last chance for the attacking player to tap or destroy
creatures in order to prevent them from blocking.
3: Declare Blockers
The defending player declares which creatures are blocking which. Then
Instants can be played. This is the last time when changing a creature's
power, or destroying a creature, will change the amount of damage it can deal.
4: Combat Damage
Combat Damage from surviving creatures is assigned to the creatures
they're fighting, in whatever pattern their controllers want. Then Instants
can be played. This is a good time to play damage-prevention or redirection
abilities, and it's the last chance to increase a creature's toughness in
order to let it survive.
Then the damage will resolve, and lethally damaged creatures will die,
and players on 0 life will lose the game. Then Instants can be played
again. At this point it's too late to do anything very useful, except
killing creatures in order to prevent their "at end of combat" abilities
from happening.
Note that if creatures with First Strike are involved, the Combat Damage
step will actually happen twice- in the first one, only creatures with
first strike will deal damage. In the second one, only the creatures that
haven't already dealt their damage will do so.
5: End of Combat
Abilities that trigger "at end of combat" will do so, and go onto the
stack. Then Instants can be played.
D.02 Q: Can I play Terminate (destroy target creature) on an attacker to
stop its combat damage being dealt?
A: Yes. You simply play Terminate before combat damage goes on the stack.
D.03 Q: Will a blocking creature still deal combat damage if it gets tapped?
A: Yes, the rule saying otherwise was taken out in Sixth Edition.
D.04 Q: Can a Giant Spider (may block as though it had flying) block
Treetop Rangers (can't be blocked except by creatures with flying)?
A: Yes. Basically, the controller of Giant Spider chooses whether to
have it block as a flier or as a non-flier this turn.
======
Section E: Protection
E.01 Q: What does protection from Foo protect against?
A: Exactly four things, namely the following:
Cannot be D amaged by Foo sources.
Cannot be E nchanted by Foo enchantments or E quipped by Foo Equipment.
Cannot be B locked by Foo creatures.
Cannot be T argeted by Foo spells and abilities.
Mnemonic DEBT.
E.02 Q: Will a Black Knight (Protection from white) be destroyed by a Wrath
of God (destroy all creatures).
A: Yes, it will. Wrath of God does not damage, enchant, block or
target the creature, and so protection doesn't help.
======
Section F: Trample
F.01 Q: How does trample work?
A: Basically, if an attacking creature with trample manages to kill
all of its blockers with damage "left over", the excess damage is dealt to
the defending player.
A creature with trample must assign lethal damage to all of its blockers
before it gets to assign any to the defending player, and it may assign
more if it wants to. For example, if a 7/7 with trample is blocked by a
2/2, the trampler must assign at least 2 damage to the blocker and can then
assign 5 damage to the defending player. The same creature blocked by a 1/1
and a 3/3 must assign 1 damage to the 1/1 and 3 damage to the 3/3 and can
then assign 3 to the defending player.
F.02 Q: How does trample work against protection?
A: Trample doesn't care about what's going to happen to the damage
after it's assigned; it will assign enough damage to be lethal anyway. A
green 7/7 trampler, blocked by a 2/2 with protection from green, will still
have to assign 2 damage to the blocker; the rest can be assigned to the
defending player. This won't kill the blocker due to the protection, but
that doesn't matter.
======
Section G: Other one-word Abilities
G.01 Q: What does Phasing mean?
A: Phasing is a 'disadvantage' ability, which essentially means you
only have your creature (or whatever it is that has the ability) on
alternate turns.
At the start of your turn, just before everything untaps, all your stuff
with Phasing phases out. (note that your opponent's stuff stays where it
is- it's just the active player who does this.)
Most players turn their cards face down to show they're phased out.
While something is phased out, it's essentially out of the game- it can't
be targetted, can't attack, can't use its abilites and so on.
At the same time, all your stuff that's already phased out phases back
in. They'll still have all the counters and enchantments that were on them
when they phased out, and so on. Creatures that phase in have Haste until
their controller's next turn begins.
So, for example- You play a Breezekeeper, a 4/4 phasing creature. You
can't attack with it this turn because it just came into play. It can block
in your opponent's turn.
On your next turn, it phases out. So you can't attack with it this turn. It
can't block on your opponent's turn.
On your turn after that, it phases back in, so you can finally attack with
it, or block on your opponent's turn.
On your turn after that, it phases back out... you get the picture?
Phasing details:
If a creature phases out tapped, it will phase back in tapped. Since
this normally happens at the start of the turn, just before you untap
everything anyway, it doesn't usually matter.
When a creature phases out, abilities that trigger "when ~ leaves play"
will do so. When it phases in, abilities that trigger "when ~ comes into
play" will _not_ do so. Other than reasons of game balance- this would be
too powerful with Bone Shredders, for example- there's no real explanation
for this behaviour. Just stick Vanishing on your Thalakos Seer and enjoy it.
G.02 Q: When a creature dies, can I regenerate it later on in the turn?
A: No. Regeneration prevents a creature from being destroyed,
replacing the destruction event with another. It cannot bring the creature
back from death in any way.
G.03 Q: What can I regenerate from?
A: Destruction, ie lethal damage and spells/abilities that say they
destroy. That's all.
G.04 Q: Can I regenerate from a Sacrifice?
A: No. It doesn't say "destroy".
Section H: Costs
H.01 Q: What's the difference between a cost and an effect?
A: Costs happen immediately, effects go on the stack. If you
sacrifice a creature to pay for Fallen Angel's ability, your opponent
cannot destroy that creature in response, since costs don't use the stack.
H.02 Q: How do I tell whether something is a cost or an effect?
A: In general, the mana cost in the top right hand corner of a spell
is its cost, and the text in the text-box of the spell is its effect. In
the case of an activated ability, the text before the colon is its cost,
and the text after it is its effect.
H.03 Q: If a spell is countered, do you still have to pay its cost?
A: Yes. By the time it can be countered it's been announced, had its
targets and mode chosen, and had its cost paid. You've lost the mana for good.
H.04 Q: Can additional costs, such as kicker costs, be reduced by Familiars?
A: Yes. When calculating what you have to pay to cover the cost of a
spell, you first take the mana cost (printed on the card), then add
increasers (kicker costs, Gloom) and then apply reducers (Familiars,
Medallions).
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