============================================================================= General Rulings Summary Updated 09/05/95 ============================================================================= Rulings are collected from many sources. See credits and disclaimer at the end of the file for details. The most recent mtg-l digest used was "31 Aug 1995". These rulings are updated monthly. The most recent version is available via FTP to "ftp.netcom.com" under "pub/da/dangelo/magic" or to "ftp.itis.com" under "/pub/deckmaster/rule" as "rule-general.txt". If you cannot FTP, send mail to "dangelo@netcom.com" requesting a copy. A '+' is used to mark changes since the last released version on 08/07/95. Thanx, Stephen D'Angelo dangelo@netcom.com ============================================================================= Table of Contents: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Turn Order II. Attack Phase III. Spell and Effect Timing IV. Glossary of Magic Topics V. Other Rules and Rulings That Defied Categorization VI. Tournament Rulings VII. Acknowledgements and Disclaimers Turn Order Rules and Rulings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phase 1: Untap You MUST untap each turn. You cannot "forget". [Page 40] May not cast spells or use fast effects before or during untap phase. [Page 40] Untapping is simultaneous. [Page 40] Because of this, having a permanent untap will not affect if and how other permanents untap. All Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/Antiquities cards which said to do things at the beginning of the turn or during the untap phase take place during the upkeep phase. [PPG Page 110] Phase 2: Upkeep You still have an upkeep phase even if nothing happens during it. Fast effects may be used during this phase by any player. [Page 40] You can resolve the actions that happen in your upkeep in any order you desire as long as all effects are dealt with during upkeep. [PPG Page 35] Any mana in mana pool at end of this phase causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Check for player death at end of phase. [Page 64] Effects which happen "at the beginning of upkeep" happen before any spells or effects can be announced. You can handle them in any order. There is one damage prevention step at the end of these. Effects which happen "at the end of upkeep" happen last. Once you start resolving these effects, only damage prevention can be used prior to the start of the draw phase. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 14] You can handle them in any order. There is one damage prevention step at the end of these. Upkeep costs must be dealt with even if the card is tapped. [bethmo] Dealing with upkeep is either paying it or choosing not to pay it (if you can) and taking the consequences. If a permanent has an upkeep cost, you may not use any abilities before its upkeep is paid or otherwise dealt with. Demonic Hordes is an example. As an extension to this, note that a Sol Ring cannot be tapped to pay its own Energy Flux upkeep cost because it cannot be tapped until after that cost is paid or otherwise dealt with. [Peterson 11/01/94] Note that continuous effects of the permanent will continue to be in effect even before the upkeep is paid. Declaring paying of upkeep costs on a card is considered an instant effect. But note that the cost is paid immediately at announcement and before it can be interrupted and not on resolution. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] For example, if you had a card that let you pay 3 mana during upkeep to generate an effect, the cost is paid immediately, but the effect happens on resolution. If it is just a cost, no one can prevent you from paying it once you have the mana in your pool. Declaring non-payment of an upkeep cost is an instant effect. When it resolves, any consequences of non-payment happen. Once the consequences happen, if the card is still around, its abilities can be used. [D'Angelo 05/31/95] The consequences are usually destruction or burial. If it is a destroy or bury effect, you can begin using the ability during the damage prevention step (assuming it is a legal action during damage prevention). [D'Angelo 06/06/95] The upkeep is not considered paid until the instant effect resolves, so you cannot use the ability of a permanent which has an upkeep cost until after the spell stack in which you paid the cost is resolved. [D'Angelo 05/26/95] You cannot choose to pay upkeep costs more than once even if you want to. [bethmo 05/30/94] You only have to pay an upkeep if the upkeep says it must be paid or if the card is worded as "Do this. If you cannot do this...". Even then if the upkeep payment is in mana, you only have to pay it if the sources for that mana are given. If there is no 'must' then you can choose not to pay it and take the consequences. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 15] Thus, the Lord of the Pit must be fed if possible. The "or take 7 damage" only happens if you have no other creatures. Force of Nature's payment is optional because it requires mana and does not list a source. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 15] Mana payments come from your mana pool (and not land or other sources) unless otherwise specified. If you did have GGGG in your mana pool when dealing with the Force of Nature's upkeep, you would have to pay it. [Aahz 11/15/94] If a card requiring upkeep costs is destroyed before the end of upkeep, no cost needs to be paid. This is similar for cards that "leave play". For example, if a Doppelganger switches away from Lord of the Pit it need not pay the upkeep cost. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 15] If something happens which adds an upkeep cost during upkeep, it must be paid. For example, if a Doppelganger becomes a Lord of the Pit, during upkeep, a creature must be sacrificed. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 15] + If not paying upkeep results in the card being destroyed or buried, the card is considered to be destroying or burying itself. This is true even if the upkeep cost is imposed from an outside source. [WotC Rules Team 08/17/95] You are not required to pay untap costs. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 14] Untap costs only apply during upkeep. If you have another means of untapping the card (such as Instill Energy), you do not have to pay the untap cost as well. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 15] Untap costs which are paid during upkeep can be used more than once. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] (This is a BIG REVERSAL) This means that it is valid to use Paralyze to untap a creature for 4 mana, tap it again, then pay the Paralyze again. Must pay the entire untap cost on a creature or none of it. For example, if an Island Fish Jasconius had two Paralyze spells on it, you would have to pay the three blue mana plus 8 mana of any color to untap it. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] If a creature has untap costs that can happen at any time during upkeep and ones that happen at the end of upkeep, then it can only be paid for at the end of upkeep. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] "Must do during upkeep" activities do not prevent the ability from being used before you do that thing. Only upkeep costs prevent use of the ability. [D'Angelo 05/26/95] Resolving cards which give benefits or cause problems is considered an instant effect. For example, Unstable Mutation or the Limited, Unlimited and Revised Edition Black Vise. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] It can be responded to or be done in response to actions during upkeep. Note that it is unlikely that another player can stop a beneficial effect, because once it is used the effect happens even if the card is destroyed. [Aahz 06/06/94] If an upkeep effect requires you to do something and does not have consequences for not doing that something, then you cannot choose to use the effect when there are no targets. You cannot end upkeep with an undone upkeep effect if there are any suitable targets available at that time. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] For example, Erhnam Djinn says to give an opponent's creature ForestWalk. You cannot choose to use this effect when your opponent has no creatures. You can however end upkeep without dealing with it if there are no creatures at the end of upkeep. Cards that require you to do something to other cards do not prevent those other cards from being used prior to doing the something. For example, Unstable Mutation adds a -1/-1 counter to a creature and this does not prevent you from using the creature prior to putting the counter on. [WotC Rules Team 11/16/94] If such a card leaves play during upkeep by being destroyed (or if it is an artifact which is not a creature or land, by being tapped) before it is used, then it has no effect (good or bad). [Aahz 06/06/94] All Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/Antiquities cards which said to do things at the beginning of the turn or during the untap phase take place during the upkeep phase. [PPG Page 110] Phase 3: Draw Fast effects may be used during this phase by any player. [Page 40] Drawing a card is considered to be an instant-speed effect which can be responded to. [WotC Rules Team 10/12/94] If you get multiple draws, each one is a separate effect. You can draw one, do something, then draw another. [WotC Rules Team 10/12/94] You cannot skip a draw or take additional draws unless an effect says otherwise. If you have no cards in your library to draw from, you lose the game. [Page 40] Any mana in mana pool at end of this phase causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Check for player death at end of phase. [Page 64] Phase 4: Main Phase May do the following in any order: [Page 40] a. Cast a spell -- Do this step any number of times before or after other actions b. Play a land -- only one per turn before or after other actions c. Declare an attack -- only one per turn The full logic for the turns works out as: a. Cast spells b. Play a land c. Cast spells d. Declare an attack e. Cast spells f. Play a land (if have not already done so) g. Cast spells This is the only phase in which you may cast spells which are not fast effects. Spell types include Sorcery, Summon, Enchantment, Artifact, Instant and Interrupt. [Page 40] Playing a land is a not a fast effect. It cannot be done in response to something else, nor can it be reacted to with anything (including interrupts). [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] You may play multiple lands if have Fastbond in play, but they can only be played when you could otherwise play a land. [bethmo] They cannot be played in the same instant. Play them sequentially. You only get one attack per turn. [Page 57] If you manage to untap creatures they cannot be used in that same turn to attack again. If a creature is forced to attack (due to a spell like Siren's Call or an effect like the Nettling Imp) the player must declare an attack that turn and send out the affected creature(s) if it is legal to do so. [PPG Page 224] Any mana in mana pool at end of this phase causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Check for player death at end of phase. [Page 64] Phase 5: Discard You cannot end your discard phase with more than 7 cards, so you discard down to seven cards in your hand. You may not discard if you have fewer than seven cards. [Page 41] Fast effects may be used during this phase by any player. [Page 41] Any mana in mana pool at end of this phase causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Check for player death at end of phase. [Page 64] Phase 6: End Turn Declare that your turn is over. Your opponent gets the chance to react by using fast effects. You may do the same. [Page 41] More than one stack of fast effects may be used. The turn is not over until you both say you are done. Fast effects may be used during this phase by any player. [Page 41] At the end of this phase (meaning nothing can be declared once this starts), all "at end of turn" effects happen. You can choose the order. A damage prevention sub-phase (usually regeneration and such) can happen due to this step. [Aahz 03/30/95] You choose the order of all end of turn effects, even ones generated by the opponent. [D'Angelo 06/20/95] If a creature has more than one "dies at end of turn" in effect on it, it still only dies once. [WotC Rules Team 11/16/94] Any mana in mana pool at end of this phase causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Check for player death at end of phase. [Page 64] Phase 7: Heal Creatures No spells or effects can be used by either player. [Page 41] All damage is removed from creatures, and all fast effects or "until end of turn" effects wear off (unless otherwise stated on the card). This happens simultaneously. [Page 41] Any "until end of turn" effects used during damage prevention or other triggered effects during this phase wear off immediately. [WotC Rules Team 05/10/95] Any "At end of turn" effects that take place during damage prevention or other triggered effects during this phase never take effect. [WotC Rules Team 05/10/95] If any creature is reduced to zero or less toughness at this time, it dies and cannot successfully regenerate since it will immediately die again. There is no time between turns in which to take actions. An action must take place before the end of one player's turn or wait until the upkeep of the next turn. [bethmo] Any mana in mana pool at end of this phase causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Check for player death at end of phase. [Page 64] Attack Phase Rules and Rulings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 1. Declare intention to attack. This step is actually done as an action during the Main Phase. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] Your opponent can respond with fast effects. If they do so, the attack is cancelled. You can try again when the effects are all resolved. If no one announces any fast effects, continue on. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] It is similar to any other phase change in that you cannot go on to declare attackers until your opponent is done doing actions in your main phase. See the "I'm Done" entry for more information. You are not required to say which player in a multiplayer game you are attacking. You just need to say you want to attack. [D'Angelo 01/23/95] Any mana in mana pool causes "mana burn" before going to the next step. [Page 61] Check for player death before going to the next step. [Page 64] Step 2. Declare attackers by tapping them There are some creatures which do not tap when attacking. Creatures which are already tapped may not attack. [Page 19] This is true even if they do not tap when attacking. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] Once declared as an attacker, untapping the attacker will not remove it from the attack. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] + This is not simultaneous. You can declare attackers in any order. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] But you can declare several attackers at once if you want to (for a band or for some other reason, for example). [Aahz 09/05/95] Only interrupts which draw mana and effects which are specifically used when declaring attackers can be used during this step. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] You can only use mana drawing interrupts if you have an effect which can be used and which requires mana. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] You always attack your opponent and not your opponent's creatures. [Page 19] You cannot attack yourself or your own creatures. [Page 19] Banding of attackers must be declared at this time and cannot be changed later. [Page 36] Creatures cannot attack (or be tapped for a special ability) unless that card or token has been in play on your side since the beginning of your turn. See the "Summoning Sickness" entry for more information. You can declare an attack with no creatures. This is sort of a "null attack" which can be used to force the emptying of a mana pool (which happens at the start of an attack) or force your opponent to consider casting spells. Note that if you declare such a "null attack" it is considered your one attack for that turn. You are not mandated to declare any attack during a turn, but you may declare this kind of zero creature attack. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] This is the only time that you check if the creature is allowed to attack (such as can only attack if opponent has Islands). If any attack enablers are removed after this point or attack inhibitors are introduced, it does not make a difference. The creature is still an attacker. [D'Angelo 02/01/95] This is the time that you deal with penalties from attacking or not attacking, such as the Hasran Ogress. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] Note that Nettling Imp will mark a creature for destruction at this time but the creature is not destroyed until the end of the turn. Bonuses that are gained by attacking creatures are gained at this time. For example, the +1/+0 granted by the Orcish Oriflamme would take effect. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] If any penalties due to attacking or not attacking causes damage or lowers the toughness of a creature below 1, stop after declaring all attackers and do a damage prevention step before going to the next attack step. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] Creatures like the Mijae Djinn which require a coin flip to see if they attack have their coin flip done at the end of this step. You cannot add or remove creatures once you flip the coin. [D'Angelo 04/04/95] Jade Statue and Brainwash both are used during this step. Note that you can only tap mana and pay for these. No other interrupts (not even Rust) can be used. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] You can think of these as Triggered Effects since they follow similar rules, but they are not. Step 3: Fast effects can be used by either player. You are not limited to a single stack of spells and effects. This is the ideal time for the defender to eliminate attackers they do not want to deal with (using Royal Assassin or Lightning Bolt), or to enhance potential blockers (with Jump or such) to allow them to be used for defense. Remove any attackers and blockers which were killed from the combat If a creature regenerates, it is still part of the combat but will neither deal nor receive any damage. [Page 34] A regenerated creature is still an attacker and can be blocked if you choose to do so. [Aahz 06/22/95] A Lure will force you to block it to no real effect. [D'Angelo 08/07/95] If a banded group (using Banding or Bands with Others ability) has its banding ability removed from one or more attackers during this step, it is possible to cause the band to split up into separate attackers. Once blockers are declared the band cannot be split. See the "Banding" and "Bands with Other" entry form more information. Step 4: Declare blockers Only untapped creatures can block. [Page 19] There is no summoning sickness for declaring blockers. You can use any untapped creature you have. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 36] Only interrupts which draw mana and effects which are specifically used when declaring blockers can be used during this step. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] You can only use mana drawing interrupts if you have an effect which can be used and which requires mana. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] This is not simultaneous. You can declare blockers in any order. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] A blocker can only block one attacker unless otherwise stated on a card. [Page 19] You do not declare to block a band, you block a member of a band and thereby become a blocker to all creatures in the band. More than one blocker can be declared on a single attacker. [Page 19] This is true even without banding ability. Once blockers are declared against a creature, it is blocked. It remains blocked even if the blocking creature is killed or the block is made "illegal" by some action. [Page 57] This means that if you cast Jump on your creature, that you do not get around the blocker or even avoid damage. If any member of a banded group can be blocked, the group is blockable. [Page 36] See the "Banding" entry for more information. Defenders do not band or group. They can just decide to choose the same creature to block. Defensive banding only helps during damage allocation. [Page 36] See the "Banding" entry for more information. An attacking creature with an evasion ability (flying, xxxwalk, etc.) may not "turn off" the ability and choose to be blockable. [PPG Page 79] Defending creatures do NOT tap. [Page 59] This is one of the oldest myths of the game. Any bonuses or penalties due to blocking are applied at this time, although they may have a delayed effect (such as the Thicket Basilisk's ability). [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 36] The False Orders card is one of the only exceptions to the rule that once something is blocked it is blocked and cannot be unblocked since it retroactively changes the choice for one blocker. [Snark] Creatures like the Ydwen Efreet which require a coin flip to see if they attack have their coin flip done at the end of this step. You cannot add or remove creatures one you flip the coin. [D'Angelo 04/04/95] Jade Statue is activated during this step. Note that you can only tap mana and pay for this. No other interrupts (not even Rust) can be used. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] You can think of these as Triggered Effects since they follow similar rules, but they are not. Step 5: Fast effects can be used by either player. You are not limited to a single stack of spells and effects. This is the ideal time for the attacker to surprise the defender by using fast effects to make the creatures more powerful. Howl from Beyond, Berserk, and built in creature abilities are good examples. Any "if is not blocked" abilities of creatures are declared and resolved at this time. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 36] See the "Is Not Blocked" entry for more information. Remove any attackers and defenders which were killed from the combat [Page 34] If a defending creature is killed and removed from the combat that the attacker is still considered "blocked". [Page 57] If a creature regenerates, it is still part of the combat but will neither deal nor receive any damage. [Page 34] Step 6: Damage Dealing Resolve combat damage: a. Assign all First Strike creature damage simultaneously. [Page 34] Unblocked First Strikers deal damage to players at this time. b. Damage prevention is used after damage is assigned. After damage prevention, dead creatures are removed to the graveyard. (See Damage Prevention for detailed steps.) c. Assign all normal creature damage simultaneously. Unblocked non-First Strike creatures damage the player at this time. Desert damage happens at this time. [bethmo] Limited, Unlimited and Revised Edition Basilisk and Cockatrice effects happen here as well, but wait until after affected creatures deal their damage. [WotC Rules Team 04/12/95] d. Damage prevention is used after damage is assigned and dead creatures are removed to the graveyard. (See Damage Prevention for detailed steps.) e. Resolve any "end of combat" effects. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 37] f. Damage resolution is done if any "end of combat" effects did things. Check for player death. [Page 64] Note that steps 6 and 7 on page 58 of the rulebook correspond to steps 'c' and 'd'. This entry is expanded to show the effects of First Strike and 'end of combat' effects. If more than one blocker is declared for an attacker, the attacking player decides how the attacker's damage is divided among the blockers. If one of the blockers has Banding, then the defending player decides. (See the Banding entry for more information) If more than one attacker is blocked by a single blocker, the defending player decides how the blocker's damage is divided among the attackers. If all or all-but-one of the attackers has Banding, then the attacking player decides. (See the Banding entry for more information) Any mana in mana pool at end of Damage Dealing (after all "end of combat" effects are resolved) causes "mana burn". [Page 61] Other Attack Phase Rulings: If damage needs to be distributed among attackers or blockers due to multiple blockers of the same attacker or multiple attackers on the same blocker, the attacking player always distributes damage first. [WotC Rules Team 12/15/94] This applies to any decision about distribution of damage, including attacking creatures on multiple blockers or defending creatures on a band of attackers. If an defender becomes tapped (due to using a special ability or some other effect) before damage dealing, the creature is still in the combat and receives damage but does not deal any damage. [Page 57] If an attacker gets untapped, it does not change its status in the combat at all. All it does is allow the attacker to use its special ability or to remain untapped for blocking in the next player's turn. [bethmo] If an attacker or blocker changes controllers during the attack phase, then it is removed from the combat entirely and does not return even if it reverts to its original controller. [Aahz 03/09/95] Note that if you take control of an attacker prior to declaring blockers that you can declare the creature as a blocker. Creatures with the ability to get "pumped up" by spending mana may choose to get more powerful at any time that fast effects may be used. This can be done any number of times. Each member of a Band of attackers is a separate source of damage. Banding just allows a group to be blocked or let through as a whole, and for the ability to distribute damage. It does not mean that the creatures act as one. [bethmo] Spell and Effect Timing ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kinds of Effects: Fast effects are interrupts, instants and the abilities of permanents. [Page 28] They can be used at many times during your or your opponent's turn. [Page 27] Permanents are lands, artifacts, creatures and enchantments which are in play. The ability of a permanent with an activation cost is handled as an instant (and not an interrupt) unless otherwise stated on the card. Non-fast effects are the casting of artifacts, creatures, enchantments and sorceries. These can only be used during your main phase. [Page 9] There are only two speeds at which spells/effects can be announced by players. These are "interrupt" and "non-interrupt". Non-fast effects are _not_ slower than fast effects. The only difference between them is when they can be declared. A better naming would be to call fast effects "any-time effects" and non-fast effects as "main phase effects". Lands can only be played during your main phase as well, but playing a land is not a spell or effect. It is a special action. You cannot play a land in response to a spell or effect and the playing of a land cannot be responded to. Casting a spell means playing a non-Land card from your hand. [Page 26] Using abilities of creatures, artifacts or enchantments are not spells. Life-Cycle of a Spell or Effect: The life-cycle for a spell or effect looks roughly like this. All spells and effects follow this cycle. More detailed sections follow this one. 1. Announcement -- Costs are paid. Targets are chosen. Choices are made. 2. Chance for interrupts -- A chance is given to use interrupts to counter the spell or effect. If it is a spell (not an effect) you can also use modify color, target and wording interrupts and have them change the effect of the spell. Effects are different since very few things target effects and destroying or modifying the source will not counter or modify the effect. This makes them unmodifyable using existing cards once they are announced. 3. Waiting for resolution -- When a spell/effect gets to this stage, it is considered successfully "cast" or "activated". It can no longer be modified or countered. Non-interrupt spells/effects go on a spell stack. Once we get here, interrupt or non-interrupt responses to the announced spell/effect can be declared. You cannot respond to an interrupt with a non-interrupt. 4) Resolution -- Non-interrupts resolve in last-in first-out manner. Interrupts resolve immediately. Check targets at this time. If targets are valid, then effects take place, else it "fizzles". Announcing a Spell/Effect: The first thing that happens to a spell/effect is that it gets announced. Announcing a spell/effect is a special action that cannot be interrupted. [bethmo 09/07/94] During announcement, all costs are paid (See the "Costs" entry for more information on costs), all targets are selected (See the "Targeting" entry for more information), and all other spell/effect decisions are made. Costs and target selection are done simultaneously and not one before the other. [D'Angelo 03/23/95] This makes it impossible for a Royal Assassin to tap to destroy itself since when the effect is announced he is not tapped. You cannot interrupt a spell/effect during the announcement and payment of any costs involved. You must wait until after all costs are paid and target choices are made. [bethmo 09/07/94] You must tap and have all mana necessary for a spell/effect in your mana pool (see the "Mana Pool" entry for information) before you announce it. You cannot interrupt the announcing of a spell/effect declaration in order to tap for mana. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] This means that if someone manages to counter some of your mana drawing, by using Rust on your Sol Ring, that you may be caught with mana in your pool and be unable to cast the spell or use the effect that you planned to use. Sacrifices are made during the declaration and death events due to these sacrifices (for use by Soul Net or such) happen immediately following the announcement but prior to allowing interrupts to be declared on that spell/effect. [Aahz 01/12/95] A permanent cannot be acted upon until it is successfully resolved. [Page 63] For example, if City in a Bottle is being cast, you cannot disenchant it until the spell stack it in in resolves. This means it will have its full effect before you can do anything. Interrupting a Spell/Effect: Just after announcement is complete but before the spell is considered successfully "cast" or effect "activated" or "used" (as appropriate), there is a chance to interrupt the spell/effect. At this point we say the spell/effect is "being cast" or "being activated". If the spell/effect is countered, then it is not considered successfully "cast", "activated" or "used". If it is a spell, it is placed in the graveyard at that time. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] Interrupts always interrupt the most recently announced spell or effect, but they can target a permanent, or any announced but not yet successfully "cast" interrupt or non-interrupt. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] Interrupts follow the standard "announce", "chance to be interrupted", "becomes cast", "resolve" lifecycle that other spells go through, but they go through this more quickly because interrupts cannot be responded to with non-interrupts... they can only be interrupted again. Interrupts are resolved immediately unless they in turn are interrupted. [Page 46] If an interrupt is interrupted, it waits until either the spell/effect that interrupted it resolves or until it is put off because it targets an interrupt other than this one. [Page 46] Untargeted interrupts do not target the spell they are interrupting. They just "interrupt" it and will not let they spell are are interrupting resolve until after they do. If more than one interrupt is announced which targets a given spell, all of the interrupts declared by the caster which target the spell being interrupted resolve in the order he declared them. Then the other player's interrupts which target that spell resolve in the order that she declared them. [Page 46] This seems kinda weird at times. Note that this is the caster of the spell being interrupted and _not_ the current player. Also, note that page 46 of the Fourth Edition rulebook does not limit this ordering rule to targeted interrupts like the Revised Edition rulebook did. This is an error in the Fourth Edition rulebook. The rule about order of resolution is an absolute one. All interrupts by the caster of the spell/effect which target that spell/effect must resolve before any of the opponent's interrupts which target that spell/effect. Once one of the opponent's interrupts that target a spell resolves, the caster can no longer target that spell with interrupts. [WotC Rules Team 11/16/94] Tapping land for mana is an interrupt, but since it does not target anything it will resolve immediately (unless interrupted). An interrupt which counters a spell or effect can be used at this time. An interrupt which modifies the color, target or wording of a spell can be used at this time to change how the spell will resolve. [D'Angelo 05/19/95] An interrupt which modifies the color or wording of a permanent that was used to generate an effect will _not_ modify the effect in any way. [D'Angelo 05/19/95] Fork is a special case interrupt since it adds a spell to the stack. If you are Forking a spell that you cast, then your Fork will go before your opponent's interrupts and will always make a successful copy. If the original is countered after that point, the copy still exists. If you are Forking your opponent's spell, then they can possibly counter the original before the Fork resolves and cause the Fork to fizzle because its target no longer exists. Once a Fork is completed, the new copy is placed on the spell on top of the spell/effect being Forked. This makes the copy resolve before the original. [bethmo 05/03/94] Note that the copy created by the Fork is never actually cast and so it cannot be the target of interrupts. It is just the result of the casting of Fork. [Aahz 12/14/94] There are no official rules for what order interrupt which target a single spell resolve in multiplayer games. One suggested strategy is to let the spell caster's interrupts go first, then go around the table in the order of play. The Spell Stack: Once all interrupts to a spell/effect are resolved, the spell is placed on the spell stack. At this point it is considered "cast", "activated" or "used" (as appropriate). Spells/effects do not take immediate effect. Once they are cast, they are placed on the spell stack and all players get a chance to respond to this with additional spells/effects. The additional spells/effects are placed on top of the stack as they become cast. The rulebook refers to a spell stack as a "batch". Once all players are done adding spells/effects to the spell stack the stack resolves in the reverse order to the order spells/effects were declared. That is, the top of the stack resolves first, then the next spell/effect down, and so on. The first thing on the stack resolves last. [Page 46] A spell stack during the main phase can be started with any non-interrupt fast effect or with a non-fast effect by the current player. At other times, a spell stack can be started with any non-interrupt fast effect. A spell stack can only have non-interrupt fast effects added to it once it has been started. There is no enforced order as to which player puts things on the stack. You do not need to alternate one player and then the other. See "Who Announces First" in this section for more information. The resolution of the spell stack is done all at once. You cannot announce any spells/effects (even interrupts) during the resolution of the stack. When a spell/effect resolves, all the effects--meaning anything that is not a cost (See the "Costs" entry for more information)--takes place. Damage from a spell/effect does not take effect immediately. It is saved up until the spell stack is done resolving and then it is applied all at once. [Page 47] See "Damage Prevention" in this section for more information. A spell which will not become a permanent goes the graveyard once it has been resolved or countered. It does not go when announced. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] It is possible for a spell/effect to fail in resolution because its target is made illegal. Targeted spells/effects check their target for validity when they resolve and will fizzle if the target is not valid. [Page 47] See the "Targeting" entry for more information. Destroying or modifying the source of a spell/effect after it is cast will never cause the effect to fail or change in any way. [Page 47] Note that creatures check lack of islands in play and other continuous effects after the end of each effect's resolution. If an effect has multiple parts (such as Balance), resolve all parts before checking. [WotC Rules Team 11/16/94] These kinds of creature deaths are saved up and handled during the normal damage prevention step for a spell stack. See "Damage Prevention" in this section for more information. Creature toughness is not checked to see if it goes below zero or below the current amount of damage on a creature until the end of the stack. [Aahz 07/09/95] As an exception to the "you cannot announce spells/effects during the resolution of the spell stack", you can use Aladdin's Lamp or Jandor's Ring when resolving a draw effect because these cards specifically say they modify a draw as it resolves. [Aahz 11/30/95] Who Announces First: If both players want to announce something, the current player always gets the chance to announce first. If they decline to do something, the other player can announce something. [Page 44] The "speed" of the spell/effect does not matter in deciding who announces first. It only matters if it is legal to be cast at this time. The current player can go first even if the spell they want to cast is a non-fast effect and the opponent has a fast effect. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 22] The opponent should not announce a spell effect unless the current player has indicated that they have nothing to announce. Getting permission is tedious, but it does solve rules fights. Making eye contact is a good thing to do as well. The effect of the current player announcing first is that the current player can always be the one to start a spell stack if they want to be. There are no official rules for what order players announce spells/effect in multiplayer games. One suggested strategy is to let the current player go first, then go around the table in the order of play. If a the current player skips on to a new phase when the opponent wanted to announce something, or a player announces multiple spells/effects at one time without a chance to respond, or the opponent announces something when the current player was going to do so, then you should back up the game and continue from the point where the goof-up occurred. [Page 44] Players are not bound to follow the same set of actions they did after that time. You should stop the game as soon as possible by jumping in with a "Wait! I want to do something". Letting something pass without saying "Wait" is quiet agreement with what they did. You cannot make someone back up because you forgot to do something, even if it is something you "usually do". They may allow you to if they want but they are not bound to do so. Strictly speaking you have to notify your opponent at every point what you are doing with things like "I'm announcing this spell, do you want to interrupt it", "I'm done with this spell stack, do you want to add anything to it before it resolves", and "I'm done with the xxxx phase, do you want to do anything". This is very annoying and breaks up game play, but if you are having problems with a given player, fall back on this until you learn to deal with each other. Once the opponent has been given the right to announce a non-interrupt, they are entitled to use any number of interrupts prior to announcing the non-interrupt. Once they announce an interrupt, the current player once again has precedence in announcing future interrupts, but once the interrupts resolve, the opponent is guaranteed to announce their non-interrupt still without the current player "stealing" that right back. [Aahz 07/09/95] Triggered Effects: There are many effects in the game happen when something else happens. These are called triggered effects. Triggered effects most often are simply continuous effects like Psychic Venom's dealing of damage when the land it is on is tapped or Lifetaps giving one life point when your opponent taps a Forest. Some triggered effects give the option of using the effect. For example, the Verduran Enchantress lets you choose to draw a card when an enchantment is successfully cast. This option must be exercised immediately or it cannot be used at all. If a triggered effect has mana cost to be paid to use it, then a small timing bubble occurs in which you may use interrupts to draw mana. No other spells/effects of any kind may be used by either player. [WotC Rules Team 05/10/95] For example, if a Counterspell is cast successfully, you may tap mana and power up your Crystal Rod in a special operation before the Counterspell resolves. In the timing bubble, only interrupts which directly produce mana are allowed. Even things like Ley Druid are prohibited. [Aahz 05/19/95] Damage Prevention: Damage prevention is a special triggered effect that happen at the following times: -- After resolving a spell stack in which something was damaged. -- After resolving a continuous effect or interrupt which damaged something. -- After resolving an effect which destroys or buries anything. -- After resolving the damage dealing step of an attack in which anything was damaged. -- After any spell stack resolves in which the toughness of any creature is lowered. All damage which is delivered at the same time is handled in one damage prevention step. Damage due to a spells in a spell stack is handled at the end of the spell stack resolution. Damage due to continuous or triggered effects is handled immediately. If a single action/effect causes multiple triggered effects to do damage, then they are also handled all in one damage prevention step. [D'Angelo 05/31/95] Because there are many ways to trigger them, multiple damage preventions may happen in a single spell stack. For example, player A taps a land with Psychic Venom to get a point of red mana (damage preventions for Psychic Venom damage because it comes from a continuous effect) then taps other lands for more mana. Player A then casts Fireball split to target 3 creatures... one of which is a regenerating Fungusaur on player A's side. Player B is tired of the Fungusaur and casts Terror on it. Both players say they are done with the spell stack. Terror resolves first and the Fungusaur is buried (damage prevention step here). Then the Fireball is resolved and damage gets delivered to 2 creatures but it waits for the stack to resolve to be applied. The third part of the Fireball fizzles. Lastly, damage prevention from spells during the spell stack is handled. [Aahz 10/21/94] The damage prevention step differs from other triggered events. If multiple permanents are damaged or destroyed at the same time, go through the damage prevention steps all at once, not one at a time. Also, any player may play damage prevention related spells/effects as well as interrupts of any kind. [Page 60] A damage prevention step occurs even if there is no hope of preventing the effect in question. Often it is meaningless and can be ignored, but it is always there (much like upkeep phase). Here are the detailed sub-steps of the damage prevention step: Step A: Damage Prevention & Redirection This is the only step in the game where damage prevention, damage redirection, and regeneration spells/effects can be used. Interrupts and triggered effects (like the "Lucky Charms") are also allowed. [Page 60] Any player may use these effects. Continuous effects which reduce damage are applied first. Things like Protection from Color and other "damage is reduced to zero" take place at this time. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 37] They are also applied immediately after any redirection of damage. + Prevention spells are targeted at the damage, not the source of the damage, and not usually at the affected creature or player (but read the card). [Page 60] A lot of older cards say they target the creature or player. In any case, prevention spells can only be used when there is something to prevent (and fizzle on resolution if there is nothing left to prevent when they resolve). When preventing damage, damage can be removed in any order. This means you can remove Trample damage first and leave non-Trample damage, or remove damage of one color before damage of another color. [bethmo] Apply any forms of damage redirection that are in use. You can prevent damage before and after any redirections. Jade Monolith and Personal Incarnation are some redirection choices. Note that in some cases you _must_ redirect the damage but can prevent it first. See the "Damage Redirection" entry for rules on redirection. Regeneration effects can be used if a creature was destroyed or still has lethal damage on it. Using regeneration taps the creature (if it is not already tapped) and causes damage on the creature to be ignored (you can no longer use damage prevention on that damage and the creature acts as if it was fully healed). (See the "Regeneration" entry for more information.) Note that if a creature is "buried", "cannot regenerate", "removed from game", or "sacrificed" it may not regenerate. [Page 33] Ali from Cairo, Veteran Bodyguard and Martyrs of Korlis have their effects resolve at the end of this step. They are not fast effects used during this step. If they result in redirected damage, a second damage prevention step will follow this one. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 21] If an interrupt damages or destroys a creature during this sub-step, the damage or destruction is handled during this step. [Aahz 07/26/95] Tapping a blocking creature at this time to use a damage prevention effect is legal and will not undo the damage the blocker already did. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 37] Step B: Damage Results No spells or effects other than triggered ones can be used. Effects due to damage being dealt happen at this time. For example, the Hypnotic Specter would cause a player to discard a card at this time if it damaged them. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 37] El-Hajjaj and Spirit Link also happen at this time. If damage or destruction happens, it will be dealt with in a following damage prevention step. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 21] Trample damage in excess of the a creature's toughness is applied to the player at this time. Unprevented damage is applied with non-Trample first and then Trample damage, so that there is the greatest chance of Trample working. There will be a second damage prevention step following this one to resolve the Trample damage. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] Note that if a creature regenerated that the damage on it is still there (but is ignored when checking to see if the creature dies) and that damage can still cause Trample effects. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 37] + If both players have effects happening at this time, the current player resolves the effects of anything they control first (in any order they want to) and then the opponent resolves theirs. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 21] Step C: Send Creatures to Graveyard No spells or effects other than triggered ones can be used. Review the unprevented damage. If the creature still has enough damage to be killed and it did not regenerate, it goes to the graveyard. If a creature started damage prevention with a zero toughness or with lethal damage but by some means now has a greater than zero toughness and less damage than toughness, it will not die. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] For example, if a Nightmare enters damage prevention because you have no Swamps, you can use the interrupt Magical Hack to make it depend on a land type that you do have and it will live because it was dying due to zero toughness and now has toughness. If you have a Sea Serpent die due to no Islands, however, it will not live if you hack it, since the "buried if you have no Islands" is an absolute effect. Step D: Apply Death Effects No spells or effects other than triggered ones can be used. Death events are generated. These events may trigger other triggered effects such as the Sengir Vampire's gaining of a token, use of a Soul Net, damage from Creature Bond, or the gaining of a counter by the Limited/Unlimited Edition Fungusaur. Duration of a Spell/Effect: The effect of a non-interrupt spell or a permanent in play only lasts until the end of the current turn unless otherwise specified on the card or marked with a counter. So, even if something does not say "until end of turn", it means it. The effect of an interrupt is permanent. Characteristics: The characteristics of the source of an effect (i.e. color, power, or anything else which might be relevant to how the effect works) are set when the effect is announced. The characteristics of the target are set when the effect itself resolves. Interrupts to a spell (but not to an effect) can be used just after announcement to alter the characteristics of the spell. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] For example, using Giant Growth on Tracker after his ability is announced will not increase his amount of damage, but doing it on the target will increase the target's amount of damage. Targets are also fixed. If you use an Orcish Artillery, you will take the damage even if you lose control of it before it resolves because the "you" on the card is set when the effect is announced. Glossary of Magic Topics ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Activation Cost: An activation cost is anything listed as "xxx : effect". [Page 26] (See the "Costs" entry for more information as to what constitutes a cost.) Only the controller of a permanent can pay a cost. [Page 26] Unless otherwise stated on the card, activating a special ability is valid any time an instant would be valid. [Page 27] A single cost payment cannot pay for multiple different cards. For example, sacrificing a single artifact will not feed two Atogs. Permanents which have an activation cost which does not include tapping or sacrificing themselves can be "pumped" for multiple uses in one activation. This counts as a single activation of the permanent. [WotC Rules Team] For example, Pestilence can be used in 4 activations for 1 damage each or in one activation of 4 black mana to do one packet of 4 damage. Note that there is a difference between an 'activation' and a 'use'. A use is a complete payment for an ability. An activation can include multiple uses. If an ability can be used only once per turn, it can only be paid for once a turn... meaning you cannot multiply pump it. Similarly, if a restriction like "no more than BB can be spent this way each turn" limits the use but not the activations. [D'Angelo 06/21/95] If an activation of an effect does damage the damage arrives in one packet for each activation. [WotC Rules Team] For example, putting 4 mana into a Rocket Launcher will do one packet of 2 damage. Effects that make an enchantment or artifact activation more expensive only apply once per activation. For example, if Gloom (Revised or Fourth Edition) were in play and Holy Armor was pumped up 5 times in one activation, you would only have to pay 8 mana ((5*1)+3) for the +0/+5 bonus, and not 20 mana (5*(1+3). [Aahz 02/05/95] Paying an artifact or enchantment use cost is not considered to be "casting a spell" and so it cannot be countered by something which counters a spell (such as Counterspell, Deathgrip, etc.) [bethmo] Animated Lands and Artifacts: Animated lands do not automatically get a color. They are by default colorless. Note that just because they are colorless does not make them artifacts. [Peterson 10/14/94] Animated lands and artifacts fall under all the rules for creatures with regards to summoning sickness. This means that unless the card started your turn in play on your side, that it cannot be tapped for any ability or used to attack. See the "Summoning Sickness" entry for more information. Animated lands have casting costs of zero. [bethmo] The Fourth Edition Kormus Bell has errata to remove the word "black". It does not make the animated lands black creatures. They are colorless. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 10] Artifact: Artifacts which are not creatures or lands lose their abilities when they become tapped. Any continuous effects cease and any activation costs cannot be paid. [Page 31] Artifacts have no color but can be xxxxLaced into a color. [PPG Page 93] The artifact quality of a card has nothing to do with its color. If you Chaoslace an artifact, it is now a red artifact. [bethmo] See the "Lucky Charms" entry for information on the "gain 1 life when" artifacts. The term "Mono Artifact" was used on Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/ Antiquities cards to mean that the artifact had "Tap" as part of the activation cost (if it had one) or as the activation cost (if it had no activation cost before). When playing one of these cards, keep this in mind. The term "Poly Artifact" was used on Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/ Antiquities cards to mean that the activation cost did not include tapping. The term "Continuous Artifact" was used on Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/Antiquities to mean that the artifact had no activation costs. See the Activation Cost entry for more information. Artifact Creature: Artifact creatures can use abilities even when tapped, just like creatures can. [Page 31] Artifact Creatures cannot attack the turn in which they are put into play or do any action which would cause them to be tapped. They have all the limitations that regular creatures do. [Page 31] The effects and abilities of artifact creatures (or artifact lands) can be used even when the creature (or land) is tapped (as long as tapping is not part of the use cost). [WotC Rules Team 04/26/95] Artifact creatures are not "summon" spells. [Page 31] Attack: See the section on the "Attack Phase" for information about attacks. You only get one attack on each of your turns. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] You attack another player. You cannot attack yourself and you cannot attack specific creatures. [Page 19] Special abilities of creatures, such as Tim's poke, are not attacks. Neither are spells like Fireball or Lightning Bolt. These are just spells and effects. An Attack is something special in Magic. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 35] Attack or Die Effects: Several creatures and spells have the ability to force a creature to attack or be destroyed. These include Siren's Call, Nettling Imp and Norrit. See the "Must Attack" entry for more information. Creature is destroyed if it cannot attack. This includes a Sea Serpent which cannot attack if opponent has no Islands, non-flying creatures which cannot attack if the opponent has an Island Sanctuary, or if the creature is in a tapped state and cannot attack. [Aahz] Can affect a tapped creature. [Snark] Creatures can regenerate if they are destroyed from this effect, but not if they are buried. Does not count as making the creature "on its way to the graveyard" until the actual destroy effect kicks in at the end of the turn. These effects can only affect a creature or set of creatures if used on the appropriate player's turn. Thus, you cannot use it on your turn to affect an opponent's creature. In multiplayer games, you cannot make affect a creature unless it is that player's turn. [Duelist Magazine #4, Page 64] Can only be used prior to the attack on a player's turn. Cannot be used after the end of the main phase even if the player did not declare an attack. [Aahz 04/11/95] Banding: Banding consists of two separate abilities, which can be referred to as "mutual assistance" and "damage sharing". [PPG Page 86] Mutual assistance only applies to attacking creatures. It is an agreement that if any one of the attackers is blocked, that the whole group will will stop and gang up on the blocker(s). Damage sharing applies only when damage is assigned during the attack phase due to attacking or blocking. This part of the ability applies to attackers and defenders and allows the players(s) with banding in their group to distribute damage among the banded creatures. The attacking player needs for all or all-but-one of the attacking creatures to have banding ability in order for the attacking group to be considered banded. [Page 36] The creatures in an attacking band is set when the attackers are announced and cannot be changed after that unless banding ability is removed from one of them. [Page 36] The defending player needs to only have one creature with banding blocking an attacker for all the creature blocking the attacker to gain the benefits of damage sharing. [Page 38] Creatures do not "band for defense". Even without banding multiple creatures can choose to block one attacker. Creatures must still be able to block the attacker in order to be declared as a blocker. For example, if a Serra Angel is attacking, you cannot choose to "band" your War Mammoth with your Mesa Pegaus as a defense. The Mammoth simply cannot block the Angel. To block an attacking band with a creature, your blocker only need to be able to block one of the creatures in order for mutual assistance to kick in and have it block the entire band of attackers. [Page 36] For example, a Mesa Pegasus banded with an Invisible Scathe Zombies can be blocked by either a flying creature or a Wall. If the conditions for banding are met (i.e. one banding creature in a group of blockers or all or all-but-one in a group of attackers), then the damage sharing ability automatically kicks in. You cannot choose not to use it. Damage may be divided up among a banded group any way you want to. You can give all of it to one creature or any other way you want. [Page 36] Assigning more damage to a creature than it can survive is allowed. [Page 38] If some or all of the extra damage assigned to a blocker is Trample damage, it does go past and damages the defending player. Each member of a Band of attackers is a separate source of damage. Banding just allows a group to be blocked or let through as a whole, and for the ability to distribute damage. It does not mean that the creatures act as one. [Page 37] Grouping or banding in defense or banding to attack, does not change the actual power, nature, or color of the creatures attacking. When damage gets distributed, the damage still has color and may have Trample or other special abilities. [Page 37] If Banding is removed after attackers are declared but before blockers are, then it is possible to split the band into pieces. Reconsider the assignment of the band at this time. If a creature must exit the band, the attacker may decide which creature it is. This creature becomes a lone attacker. If Banding is removed after blockers are declared, the attackers are still considered as Banded for attack purposes, but at least one member of the band must still have Banding at damage dealing time to maintain the right to distribute damage as desired. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] If a Banding creature in a defending group is killed before damage dealing and it regenerates so that it is still in play, it can still contribute the ability for a defender to distribute damage among the remaining defenders. Damage cannot be assigned to the regenerated creature, however. [WotC Rules Team 09/15/94] Prior to Fourth Edition, this ability was called "Bands" rather than "Banding". Bands with Other: Bands with Other rules were introduced in the Legends expansion set and have not been seen in any other set as of yet. Creatures with the ability 'bands with other ' have a limited form of the banding ability. When attacking, a creature with this ability may join with any number of attacking creatures as long as they all have banding or 'bands with other ' where the creature type listed is the same. The choice to use this ability must be announced when the attack is declared. These creatures must then be treated as if they had joined together using the regular banding ability. When defending, if at least two creatures with the ability 'bands with other ', where the creature type is the same, block the same attacker or attackers, then the damage from the attacking creature or creatures is distributed among all the blockers of this attacker as the defending player decides. [Legends Rulecard -- exact and complete text] This ability is similar to Banding but only allows creatures with this ability to band with others of the appropriate type. For example, Wolves of the Hunt (as created by the Master of the Hunt) can Band with Other Wolves of the Hunt. This ability does not allow for creatures without the ability to join in. The key is the specified. If the types match, then they creatures can band together. Creatures with full Banding ability may join the band. [Legends Rulecard] If Bands with Others is removed after attackers are declared during an attack, then it is possible to split the band into pieces. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 9] If Bands with Others is removed before blockers are declared, the attacker may completely rearrange the banding choices for all of their creatures. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 9] If Bands with Other is removed after blockers are declared, then the attacker may still rearrange but any creature which was blocking the band is still considered to be blocking every member of that band. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 9] It is possible for a blocker to end up blocking two un-banded attackers or even two separate banded groups. If there are two groups blocked by one defender, then the defender chooses how to divide damage between the two groups. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 9] Bury: This term means "is destroyed and may not regenerate". [Page 58] The Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/Antiquities cards did not use this term. Cantrips: Cards which say "Draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep" are called 'cantrips'. You draw a card at the beginning of the next upkeep after you cast the spell or use the effect (as appropriate to the card). In a 2 player game this usually means your opponent's upkeep. You do not necessarily wait for your next upkeep. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] If a targeted cantrip fizzles you do not draw a card for it. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] If a cantrip is countered you do not draw a card for it. [WotC Rules Team 06/15/95] Casting Cost: The "casting cost" of a spell is number of mana points, regardless of color which are specified in the upper right hand corner of the card. [Page 58] If there is an 'X' in the cost, consider the amount paid in 'X' to be part of the cost during casting, but to be zero after the card becomes a permanent. [Page 58] The "casting cost" does not include any extra mana that was spent to overcome obstacles like Gloom or Power Sink. [bethmo] Nothing can increase the cost to cast an already-cast spell. For example, you cannot Sleight of Mind a Gloom enchantment to make green spells cost 3 more after a green spell is cast and expect 3 extra mana to have to be spent. [bethmo] Token creatures and animated lands have casting costs of zero. [Page 58] Creatures with Animate Dead have a casting cost equal to the cost on the creature card, not that of Animate Dead. [bethmo] Color: Black, Blue, Green, Red and White are the only colors in the game. [Page 58] Artifact is not a color. [Page 58] Colorless is not a color. [Page 58] "Gold" is not a new color in the game. It is just used to help identify cards with more than one color. [Aahz 06/15/94] Colorless Mana: The colorless mana symbol is a grey circle with a number in it. [Page 11] A colorless mana symbol of cost N when used in a spell or effect cost or as part of a payment indicates that N mana of any color needs to be spent. [Page 11] For example, an Artifact can be cast with mana of any color. A colorless mana symbol of cost N when used in a spell or effect's effect indicates that N mana of no color is involved. For example, the Sol Ring taps to generate 2 mana of no color. The colorless mana symbol in effects is no longer being used, but some older cards do have it. Color of a Spell: The color of a spell is the color of mana specified in the casting cost. [Page 58] The background color of the card is used only as an aid. [Page 10] The error with the Serendib Efreet in the Revised Edition has a green background color, but the card is blue because the casting cost includes blue mana. If a spell only has colorless mana in its casting cost, then it is colorless. [Page 58] Note that some cards with a zero casting cost do have color. When this is so, there will be card text to remind you. If a spell has more than one color of mana in its casting cost, it is considered to be of all the specified colors. [Page 12] This is much like a multiland being two kinds of land. A card which takes red and black mana to cast is considered to be both red and black. It would therefore be immune to Terror (which cannot target black) and could have its damage prevented with a Circle of Protection of either color. [Page 12] A card with more than one color can be xxxxLaced to be a single color. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 7] Continuous Effects: Continuous effects happen at "faster-than-interrupt" speed because they are always on. They get checked before and after every spell/effect announcement and after each effect resolves. [bethmo] The Goblin King gives all Goblins +1/+1 as a continuous effect, so if he ever leaves play, the bonus is lost immediately. This may cause some Goblins which have already taken damage to die. Blood Moon is a continuous effect that changes all non-basic lands into basic Mountains. This means that if a non-basic land is put into play, that it becomes a Mountain just after it is successfully put into play but before even an interrupt can be announced. Continuous effects of artifacts which are not creatures or lands only work as long as they are untapped. [Page 31] Continuous effects of creatures work whether or not they are tapped. [Page 30] Artifact creatures count as creatures for this ruling. [Page 31] Continuous effects of lands work whether or not they are tapped. Artifact lands count as lands for this ruling. [WotC Rules Team 04/26/95] Controller, Caster and Owner: The owner of a card is the one who brought it to the table. The controller starts as the one who cast the spell but cards can change controller. [Page 59] The caster is the one who cast the spell. This is always equal to the owner. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] There is currently no way to change the controller of an enchantment, so the caster is always the controller. Only the controller can pay costs associated with a permanent (unless otherwise specified on the card). [Page 23] This means that if a spell like Regeneration is placed on an opponent's creature (or is later found to be on an opponent's creature because he/she used Control Magic to steal the creature from your control), that you (not your opponent) can power the Regeneration ability since you are still the controller of the enchantment. There is currently no way to change the controller of an enchantment. This means that enchantments are controlled by their caster. Enchantments on a creature do not switch controllers if the creature switches controllers. [Aahz 07/05/95] The text "you" or "your" refers to the controller of the card and not the owner. [Page 59] Cards which are destroyed always go to their owner's graveyard and not the controller's. Copy Cards: Cards which copy other cards include Clone, Doppelganger, Dance of Many, and Copy Artifact. All copy cards are targeted effects and cannot be brought into play without a legal target. If the target becomes invalid after declaration but before resolution, the spell fizzles. [WotC Rules Team 02/09/95] A Doppelganger changing forms is also a targeted effect and will fizzle if the target becomes illegal before resolution. [Peterson 11/07/94] If it fizzles, it remains in its old form. Copy cards in general cannot copy things which are only of the appropriate type due to some effect. This is because the copy cards do not copy existing effects on the target, they only copy the target. They look to see the type of the target with all effects on it removed and if it is still not of the correct type, it will not allow itself to be used. [D'Angelo 06/30/95] Clone and Doppelganger can only copy permanents created by a "Summon" or "Artifact Creature" spell, or tokens that inherently count as creatures. They may not copy permanents which are only creatures due to some sort of animation such as Animate Dead. [WotC Rules Team] Copy Artifact can only copy permanents created by "Artifact" or "Artifact Creature" spells, or tokens that inherently count as artifacts. They may not copy permanents which are only artifacts due to some other effect. [WotC Rules Team] The casting cost is one of the characteristics which is copied. This means that casting the Sacrifice spell on a Clone of a Lord of the Pit would give you seven black mana. [WotC Rules Team 07/27/94] The copy of an artifact creature is an artifact creature. In other words, "artifactness" is a characteristic that is copied. The name is a normal characteristic and is copied. For example, a Clone of a Plague Rat counts towards the number of Plague Rats in play. [WotC Rules Team 07/27/94] They come into play in the same tapped/untapped state as the target would have when cast. [WotC Rules Team] They do not copy the "expansion symbol" on a card. [WotC Rules Team] They remain cards even when copying a token. [WotC Rules Team] If a card being copied has variable forms or characteristics (set at casting or changeable during play), the copy will be of the current form. If the form is changeable, then the copy may change at a later time as per the characteristics of the card that was copied. [Aahz 06/06/94] Anything that is normally done when a card enters play is done when the copy enters play. For example, if a copy of a Nameless Race is put into play you would have to pay the life. [Aahz 01/16/95] They copy on the base creature/artifact and not any enchantments or counters on it, regardless of whether the counters are due to natural abilities of the creature/artifact or of other spells. [WotC Rules Team] This means that a copy of a Rock Hydra with 6 heads will be a zero headed Hydra (and will most likely die immediately). The copy does get tokens when the copy card is cast if the card being copied gets tokens when it is normally cast. This ruling includes the Tetravus, Triskelion, Clockwork Beast and Clockwork Avian. The Doppelganger does not get any tokens when switching to one of these creatures during upkeep. [WotC Rules Team 07/27/94] Copies of creatures (such as the Rock Hydra) with an X in the casting cost treat X as zero. [WotC Rules Team 07/27/94] The effects of Sleight of Mind, xxxxLace, and Magical Hack affect the characteristics of the card and so copies of that card will also have the same change. For example, a copy of a Hacked Nightmare to be based on Islands will also be based on Islands. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 22] Permanent effects which use counters are not copied, so Ashnod's Transmogrant, Aisling Leprechaun and other such effects are not copied. [WotC Rules Team 07/27/94] Permanent effects played on the copy card override the characteristics it is copying. For example, if a Doppelganger is modified with Ashnod's Transmogrant, it will act as a Transmografied version of the creature it copies even if it changes creatures. [Aahz 08/08/94] Text on the original copy card remains active even though the card copies the text (and other characteristics) of a permanent in play. Any abilities or restrictions in the copy card's text stay in effect. [D'Angelo 01/24/95] Costs: Costs include tapping, sacrifices, mana, payment of life (loss of life on some older cards), or removal of counters. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 22] If it is not one of these, then it is not a cost. If it is one of these, and the card text is not clear as to when this is done, it is probably a cost and not an effect. If something has a cost, it cannot be paid accidentally. For example, someone cannot make your Prodigal Sorcerer deal damage by making it become tapped. You must actually pay the cost with the intent of getting the effect in order for the effect to occur. You cannot pay a cost of life if you have zero or less life or if the payment will bring you below zero life. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 22] Countering Spells and Effects: A countered spell is placed in the owner's graveyard and all mana (or other costs such as sacrifices) used for the casting are wasted. [Page 59] A countered effect simply goes away without any of its costs (including sacrifices) being refunded. [Aahz 07/05/95] If a spell is countered, it is not considered to have been "cast". This means that you cannot use effects which say "Gain one life if xxx is cast" or any similar effect. [Aahz] Note that you cannot use an interrupt until after all decisions about a spell/effect are made, so you cannot counterspell until the person declares how much mana is actually in that X damage spell, or otherwise finishes announcing the effect. There are currently few spells/effects which will counter the effect of a permanent, and countering the effect of a permanent is completely different from countering a spell. Counters: Counters are used in magic to signify permanent or long-lasting effects on a creature or other permanent. [Page 59] Typically counters are given names or numeric values to be associated with them. The terms "use a counter" or "use counters" are on some of the older cards. This was used to indicate that the effect should be marked with a counter and be considered permanent. + Counters of the same name are interchangable. Thus a 'spore' counter from any source is considered to be the same as any other 'spore' counter. Unnamed counters are never interchangable. Ones with just values, such as +1/+1, are considered to be unnamed. [D'Angelo 09/01/95] Creature Ability: Cannot use the ability of a creature which requires tapping until the creature has begun a turn in play on your side. If the ability does not require tapping, you can use it immediately. [Page 30] See the Activation Cost entry for more information. Creature Power/Toughness: Enchantments on a creature which enhance the power of a creature do not change the color of the damage that creature does. For example, a Fire Breathing Pegasus does White damage. [Page 62] Creatures can have negative power ratings due to a variety of reasons. Such a creature does zero damage when attacking or defending and is considered to have a power of zero for all intents and purposes other than changes in their power. [Aahz 07/05/95] If an effect sets the power/toughness on a creature to a specific value, treat this as if the numbers on the card were changed. The effect of any fast effects, enchantments or other things stay in effect. [Page 17] So if a Hill Giant(3/3) with Giant Growth(+3/+3) and Holy Strength(+1/+2) is affected by a Sorceress Queen(set to 0/2), then it's power/toughness is 4/7. Cumulative Upkeep: A card with cumulative upkeep requires you to pay the cost on the first upkeep, 2 times the cost on the next upkeep, 3 times the cost on the next upkeep and so on. If you do not pay, bury the card. [Ice Age Rulebook, Page 4] For example, if a card has "Cumulative Upkeep: B and 2 life", you pay B and 2 life on the first upkeep, BB and 4 life on the next upkeep, BBB and 6 life on the next upkeep, and so on. [Ice Age Rulebook, Page 4] If the card is a land and its land type is changed to another type for a while, the payment of cumulative upkeep may reset. The rule is that if upkeep was paid during the card's last upkeep, then you add one to the multiplier this upkeep. If it was not paid last upkeep, then it starts fresh this upkeep. [Aahz 06/14/95] Tawnos's Coffin and Oubliette are special cases in that they will never cause the resetting of cumulative upkeep. Cumulative upkeep will also not increase while the creature is in either of these. [Aahz 07/05/95] Damage: Damage is compared to a creature's toughness. You total up all damage done to a creature, and once it has as much damage than it has toughness, it has lethal damage. A creature will lethal damage will enter a damage prevention step (see the Damage Prevention entry under Timing) and will go the the graveyard if enough damage is not prevented. [Page 18] You recheck a creature's damage versus toughness whenever it takes more damage or has its toughness change. This means that if a 3/3 Hill Giant with Holy Strength (+1/+2 making it a 4/5 creature) takes 3 damage then later in the turn the Holy Strength gets Disenchanted, the Hill Giant will die of its wounds because it is now just a 3/3 creature with 3 damage. [bethmo] Damage is not subtracted from toughness. A 5 toughness creature with 4 damage still has a toughness of 5 and will be worth 5 to a Diamond Valley. [bethmo] If a creature is ever removed from play, all damage to it is immediately removed. This includes creatures targeted by an Oubliette. [WotC Rules Team 02/07/94] Damage always remembers all the characteristics of the source of that damage. This includes color, creature type, artifact nature, and any special ability associated with the damage. If you are to distribute damage among some number of targets of a multi-targeted spell or effect, you can only distribute whole number values and you cannot choose zero. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] This does not apply to Fireball which tells how to distribute damage, and it does not apply to Dwarven Catapult which just targets an opponent. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] Damage Prevention: Damage prevention spells and effects target the damage and not the source of the damage or the damaged creature. [Page 60] If damage is retroactively prevented (with spells like Reverse Damage or Simulacrum) then the damage is undone but any effect of the damage are not undone. [WotC Rules Team 05/10/95] Damage Redirection: Items and effects which cause damage to move from one target to another are called Damage Redirection effects. These effects include Personal Incarnation, Veteran Bodyguard, and Jade Monolith. Trample damage is not technically damage redirection, but it follows the rules for how redirected damage maintains its nature. Note that Whippoorwill, which prevents redirection, will not prevent Trample damage from passing through. [Aahz 12/06/94] Redirected damage maintains its color, source and nature. Nature includes any special effects that occur due to damaging. For example, the Hypnotic Specter will cause a player to discard if any of its damage is redirected to the player. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 37] If damage is redirected in a retroactive manner, as Simulacrum does, then the damage only retains color and source type. It does not keep any abilities of the original damage such as the Hypnotic Specter or Sengir Vampire. [WotC Rules Team 05/10/95] Discard: A discard is putting a card from your hand into the graveyard. Some of the older cards used the word "discard" when talking about cards in play instead of in your hand. All such cards have errata issued on them to treat the word "discard" as "destroy". [PPG Page 113] Except if the card is "discarding" itself. A card which discards itself is considered to be a sacrifice. [WotC Rules Team 01/29/95] Enchant Land: Many enchant land spells have the ability worded as "0: Tap land xxx enchants to do yyy". The land is tapped on resolution of the effect and not as part of the cost. [Aahz 06/23/95] This means that if the land becomes tapped before resolution that the 'yyy' part will not happen. Note that if someone uses an Icy Manipulator to tap your land in response to you using it, you can use the ability again (paying the zero cost) as often as you want to make sure your ability is the last one declared and thereby the first one resolved. The other uses of the ability will fail because they cannot tap the land. Enchantments: An enchantment is a card of type "Enchantment" or "Enchant _something_". "Enchantment" cards are played in your territory and have a global effect. You cannot play them on another player. [Page 32] "Enchant _something_" cards are targeted and target a permanent of type "_something_". These can be played in any player's territory. [Page 32] Enchantments cannot ever become tapped. [Page 32] The exception to this is that Copy Artifact is both an artifact and an enchantment, and because it is an artifact, it can become tapped. Only the controller of the enchantment can pay the activation cost on an enchantment. There is a misleading statement in the Fourth Edition rulebook about creature enchantments acting like their text is on the creature. This is not strictly true. [Aahz 05/19/95] If two enchantments or other effects contradict one another, the most recently cast wins. See the "Existing Effects" entry for more information. Using the ability of an enchant something card does not target the card each time it is used. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] If an enchantment is removed after an its ability is used, the effect still remains until the end of the turn. For example, if a 1/1 creature with Holy Armor (treated as 1/3) gets pumped up with 3 white mana, it gets +0/+3 making it 1/6. If the Holy Armor was then removed, the +0/+3 would still remain, although the +0/+2 granted by the enchantment would leave and the creature would be 1/4. [bethmo] Enchantments which do damage directly (i.e. Creature Bond, Pestilence, etc.) do damage of the color of the enchantment. If an "enchant something" becomes invalid after it enters play, it is immediately removed. See the "Activation Cost" entry for more information. Enchant World: Enchant World rules were introduced in the Legends expansion set and are now in the Fourth Edition. Enchant world cards are treated like enchantments, except that only one enchant world may be in play at a time. If one enchant world is brought into play with another is already in play, the one in play is buried. [Legends Rulecard] [Page 32] Enchant World spells follow all the normal rules for Enchantments. They are not more powerful than normal enchantments and do follow the normal rule of the most recently used effect overrides the previous one. So, for example, a Flight enchantment put on a creature after Gravity Sphere is put into play will override the Gravity Sphere's effect. [bethmo 07/07/94] Events: Some cards in the game trigger off of events. An event is just something that happens in the game, for example a creature being destroyed or a land being tapped. The lucky charms (see the "Lucky Charms" entry) are the most common event triggering cards, but Manabarbs and Verduran Enchantress are other examples. If a permanent does trigger off of an event, it will only trigger off of each event once. The newer cards have taken to spelling this out on the card. Multiple different cards can trigger off the same event. If you have more than one Scavenging Ghoul, each will get a counter when a creature dies. Events which occurred before the card entered play cannot be caught. This means that it is not possible to use the Urza's Chalice just after you cast it to gain a life. [Aahz 07/27/94] Existing Effects: It is possible to have two effects active which contradict one another or for which the order in which they are applied might matter. If this happens, apply all the effects in the order they were resolved and do not loop back. [Page 45] For example, playing Flight on a creature with Earthbind on it will give the creature Flying since the Flight is more recent than then Earthbind. If an effect is removed from play or changed, then recalculate the effect by applying the remaining effects in the order they resolved. [Page 45] For example if you had a Blood Moon in play and a Conversion in play (put into play in that order) then all non-basic lands become Mountains (due to Blood Moon) then become Plains (due to Conversion). If Blood Moon were removed, go back and start over to find that the non-basic lands are no longer affected by the Conversion. A changed effect applies when the original effect resolved. For example, if a 3/3 creature is changed by the Sorceress Queen to be a 0/2 creature after a Giant Growth is cast, then it becomes a 3/5 creature. All kinds of effects are subject to this rule. This includes enchantments, instants, abilities of permanents and more. Just resolve things in order. Face Down Cards: Face down creatures (hidden by Camouflage or Illusionary Mask) still have any tokens they have on top of the creature. Some creatures are just not very disguisable. [bethmo] A blocking decision made on a face down creature may turn out to be invalid. If this happens, the creature simply does not block. If Lure is on a creature and a creature blocks a different creature, then this is an illegal block and the creature does not block at all. [Aahz 06/10/95] Face down token creatures need not still be shown as tokens in play. You can use cards to mark them so your opponent cannot tell them apart. [WotC Rules Team 12/15/94] Continuous effects of face down creatures still take effect. If you have a face down Goblin King, you should tell your opponent that his Goblins are 2/2 creatures now. Again, these creatures are hard to disguise. All you really know about a face down card is what kind of permanent it is. Usually, it is a creature. This means that you may target any spell which targets creatures at the card. If the target turns out not to be valid (for example, you try to Terror a black creature) the spell will fizzle. [PPG Page 57] This rule applies even if you have more knowledge, such as knowing that your opponent is playing an all black deck! If a face down creature is controlled by Control Magic or other means by another player, it remains face down but the new controller may look at the card. A Clone or Doppelganger can be made of a face down creature. Your opponent does not need to tell you anything about your creature's power/toughness or abilities. The opponent must, however, inform you of the results of actions you take (i.e. how much damage was done, or whether tapping the creature allows you some special ability). [bethmo] Fast Effect: Fast effects are Instants, Interrupts or special abilities of a permanent. [Page 28] Fast effects can be used during any player's turn. [Page 27] First Strike: Creatures with First Strike deal damage before creatures without it. If a creature without First Strike is killed during First Strike damage dealing, then it will not deal damage during normal damage dealing. (See Step 6 of Attack Phase Rules and Rulings for more information.) Having First Strike more than once has no additional effect. [Page 34] Fizzle: The term "fizzle" is used to indicate a spell/effect which was announced but the target becomes illegal or invalid so the effect could not be completed. This is different from a "failure" to work correctly on a valid target. Spells which fizzle out (due to target disappearing or whatever) are still considered "successfully cast" even though they have no effect. [bethmo 05/30/94] Flying: A creature with Flying can only be blocked by a creature with Flying. [Page 35] A Flying creature can block a non-Flying creature if it wants to. [Page 35] Fog Effects: "does not deal or receive damage during combat" means that it will not deal or receive damage during the damage dealing portion of combat. Creatures can still do damage and be damaged by spells and fast effects. [Aahz 05/17/95] Does not prevent a creature from being affected by blocking abilities such as the Thicket Basilisk's [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 8] Note that Revised Edition Fog does add in that special prevention clause. Does not prevent the "Is Not Blocked" abilities from being used. [Aahz 12/19/94] If a Trampling attacker can deal damage but none of the blockers can receive damage, then the Trample damage goes through to the defender. [Aahz 05/23/95] If a single creature is under a Fog effect and it is a member of a band, it can still contribute banding to the band. [Aahz 08/31/94] If a single creature is under a Fog effect and it is a member of a band, it cannot have damage assigned to it as part of the band. [Aahz 12/03/94] Graveyard: The graveyard is also called the discard pile. [Page 60] Dies, destroyed, and sent-to-graveyard mean the same thing. All count as death events for spells that detect them. [bethmo] Cards in the graveyard are just cards. They have no memory of whether they were ever in play or not, or of anything that may have happened to them when they were in play. They are not creatures, lands, spells, or anything else. They are just cards. [Page 60] Some special cards (such as Nether Shadow) do work in the graveyard, but these cards explicitly say so. [Page 60] Once sent to the graveyard, a card "forgets" all enchantments and things that happened to it. [Page 60] This includes any changes to the text by cards like Magical Hack or Purelace, or counters it might have accumulated. If something goes to the graveyard then comes back, it is considered a new card since it forgot its previous life when it went to the graveyard. [bethmo 05/03/94] Any player can look at any other player's graveyard at any time. This means that a player cannot hide what goes into or gets taken out of the graveyard from any other player. [Page 60] Cards are always face up. [Page 14] Same goes for any cards removed from the game. [D'Angelo 06/22/95] As obvious as it might sound, cards sent to the graveyard go to the top of the graveyard. Also, you cannot reorder the graveyard during play unless a card tells you to do so. [bethmo] If multiple cards go to your graveyard at the same time, you may choose what order they get stacked in. [bethmo 05/03/94] When a card comes from the graveyard back into play (for example by Animate Dead or Resurrection), any features which are normally set at summoning time are set as if it was just summoned. If the creature has an X in the casting cost, X is zero. So, Clockwork Beast comes out fully wound, Clone must choose a creature to copy as it is brought out, and the Rock Hydra has zero heads. [WotC Rules Team 02/07/94] While it does not make sense to talk about a "creature" in the graveyard using a strict reading of the rules, some cards actually do say this. If a card talks about a creature in the graveyard, it is referring to any Summon or Artifact Creature card. Hand: All players have the right to know how many cards you have in your hand. [Duelist's Supplement, 5/94] "I'm Done": "I'm done" always means "I'm done unless you do something else". If the player does something, then you continue as if you never said you were done. Anything legal at that time is still legal. [bethmo] Be careful about the use of this phrase since it is often unclear if you are done with a stack of spells, done with the main phase or done with your turn. In play: Player's hands, graveyards, and libraries are not "in play". [Page 61] Cards which are not in the game or have been removed by some effect are not "in play". [Page 61] Interrupts: The effects of interrupts are permanent. You cannot respond to an interrupt with a non-interrupt. [Aahz 10/21/94] See the "Interrupts" entry in the "Spell and Effect Timing" section for more information. Is Not Blocked: + Creatures with the ability to do something if they are not blocked can use this ability after blockers are declared but before damage dealing. It is announced as a zero-cost fast effect (unless the card has a cost on it as well, in which case it is a non-zero cost fast effect). [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] It cannot be used before blockers are declared, if it is not attacking, or after damage dealing. [WotC Rules Team 08/17/95] This ability is also known as a "saboteur" ability. The abilities are typically worded with a targeted effect and the untargeted effect of not dealing damage that turn. If the targeted effect fails because the target is invalid then the untargeted portion also fails and the creature will deal damage (unless prevented by other means). [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 132] This ability works even if Fog is cast. As long as the creature is not blocked, it works. [Duelist Magazine #4, Page 6] These abilities can be used cumulatively with other "Is Not Blocked" effects. [Duelist Magazine #4, Page 6] No more than one of any specific ability can be used, however. Thus, two of Farrel's Mantle on the same creature does not allow you to use the ability twice. [Duelist Magazine #4, Page 6] If one of these attackers is killed and regenerates, you can still use the ability as long as it is not blocked. This is true because it is still an attacker. [Aahz 06/22/95] If an attacker changes controllers, it is removed from the attack and since it is not attacking any longer, the new controller cannot use the ability. [WotC Rules Team 08/17/95] + The ability only checks to make sure it is not blocked when announced, so if False Orders is used in response to it, it will still succeed. [WotC Rules Team 08/17/95] Land: Basic land types are: Forest, Island, Mountain, Plains, and Swamp. Multilands and the lands introduced by expansion sets are not "basic" lands types for purposes of any spell. [Page 60] If something is turned into a basic land, it becomes a land of that name with exactly the same card text and loses any previous abilities. [Page 60] Not all lands produce mana. If a land does not specifically say that it does produce mana, then it doesn't. Only tapping land for mana works at interrupt speed. Tapping a land for any other effect is an instant (unless the card says otherwise). [bethmo] Lands are not spells. [Page 60] Lands have no color. [Page 60] If there is a question about what mana gets produced by a land, first figure out what kind of land it is by applying any land changing effects (like Conversion or Phantasmal Terrain) in the order they entered play. Then figure out what color mana it produces by applying any color changing effects (like Reality Twist). Finally figure out any additional mana that might be produced (from Wild Growth, Mana Flare, etc.). [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 130] Mana Flare adds one of the color the land produces after applying all effects. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 130] Landwalk: A creature with a landwalk ability can be blocked normally if the defending player does not have any lands of the appropriate type, but they cannot be blocked at all if the defending player does have lands of that type. [Page 35] Even other creatures with the same landwalk ability cannot block them. Legends: Legend rules were introduced in the Legends expansion set and are in the Fourth Edition rules. Legends are considered creatures except that there may be only one legend of the same name in play at a time. If a second legend of the same name is brought into play, it is buried. If more than one legend is brought into play at the same time, all of them are buried. [Legends Rulecard] [Page 30] The burial due to duplicate legends happens as a continuous effect and will happen even before an interrupt can be declared. Cards which affect "all legends" or use similar text refer to Summon Legend and Summon Elder Dragon Legend cards. They do not refer to cards from the Legends expansion set, nor do they refer to Legendary Lands. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 7] The burial does cause a death event which can be used by Soul Net, Scavenging Ghouls, and so on. [Aahz 06/16/94] A copy of a Legend (Clone, Doppelganger, etc.) will immediately be buried because it is considered the new Legend that is entering play. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 7] Legends usually require more than one color of mana to cast. See the "Color of a Spell" entry for information on multi-colored cards. If you have a Legend face down because of Illusionary Mask or some other effect, any duplicate Legend brought into play is still buried. [WotC Rules Team 12/15/94] Just because a card has a gold border does not make it a Legend. All "Summon Legend" cards have been on the Duelist's Convocation restricted list (only 1 per deck) for tournaments since 08/01/94. Legendary Land: Legendary Land rules were introduced in the Legends expansion set and have not been seen in any other set as of yet. Legendary lands are treated in the same manner as Legends except that they are considered lands instead of creatures. [Legends Rulecard -- Complete text] (See the "Legends" entry for more information) A Legendary Land is a new kind of land. It is still a land, however, and follows all the rules for lands. If a Legendary Land is "covered up" by Phantasmal Terrain or other land changing effect, then it will not prevent another Legendary Land of that name from entering play. When the effect is removed, if another Legendary Land of that name entered play in the meantime, the newly uncovered one is the one which is buried. It is the one considered to have just entered play. [Aahz 06/22/94] If by some chance the Legendary Land just entering play has Consecrate Land on it, the land is still buried. The Legendary Land rules override the Consecrate Land ability. [WotC Rules Team 07/27/94] All Legendary Land cards have been on the Duelist's Convocation restricted list (only 1 per deck) for tournaments since 08/01/94. Library: You do not need to show anything which goes into or comes out of your Library. [PPG Page 220] No player may count the number of cards in their or any other player's library. [Duelist's Supplement, 5/94] Effects which allow you to dig into your library are not targeted. [Aahz 06/18/95] Life: + You lose if you have less than 1 life at the end of any phase or the beginning or end of an attack. [Page 64] + You cannot spend yourself to below zero life. + You can be knocked to below zero life by damage. Losing the Game: Check for player death at the end of each phase, the beginning and end of the attack. [Page 64] This allows even non-fast effects like Stream of Life and other sorceries to save the player. As long as you have a positive life total at the end of a phase, you will live. If both players have life totals of zero or less at the time it is checked, they both lose. It does not matter if one player is more negative than the other. They are both dead. [Page 64] You lose if you try to draw a card from your library and you can't because the library has no more cards. [Page 64] This is true no matter how or why you are drawing a card and happens immediately and not at the end of the phase. [Page 64] Check to see if a player loses only after fully resolving an effect and not part way through. For example, if Wheel of Fortune is cast and neither player has enough cards in their library, they both lose. It is not the first one to draw that loses. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] This most often only applies to draw effects since that is one of the few ways to lose because of an effect. A player can concede at any time and if they do so they lose any ante they have put up. [bethmo] Loss of Life: Loss of life is not the same as damage. Only players have life points. Creatures do not. Life can be lost because you take damage, but it can also be lost directly due to spells and effects which do not cause damage. There is no way to prevent the loss of life caused directly by spells and effects. Only damage can be prevented. [PPG Page 113] Note that the pre-Fourth Edition Conservator has errata issued to say that it prevents damage to a player (rather than preventing loss of life) and that Forcefield has errata saying that it prevents all but 1 point of damage rather than causing one loss of life. Loss of Life in general does not have color associated with it. [FAQ] Lucky Charms: Artifacts that do something based on an event (like "gain 1 life when black spell is cast(1)") can only be used once per event, but multiple artifacts or enchantments can catch the same event. [PPG Page 62] This is spelled out on the Revised and Fourth Edition cards. These "gain 1 life when xxx" effects are usable up until the end of the current turn. [Duelist Magazine #3, Page 22] Since they are triggered effects, they can be used immediately if you want, but you can wait. Can only be used if the text on the card applied when the event happened and when you pay to gain a life. So, if someone uses Sleight of Mind to change the color word after a spell has been cast, then you can pay the cost for spells the old color but it will fizzle. Spells of the new color cast before the change cannot be paid for at all. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 131] Effects like Soul Net and Tablet of Epityr are not considered "lucky charms" even though they have a similar effect. [Aahz 07/05/95] Mana Burn: Mana burn is the damage caused by having extra mana in your pool at the end of a phase or at the beginning or end of an attack. You take 1 colorless damage for each mana left in your pool. [Page 61] Since it is damage, it can be prevented or redirected normally. [Peterson 12/15/94] Mana burn is a single action which uses all the mana in your pool. You cannot use some of the mana to prevent the rest from harming you. You can use other mana sources to cast spells to prevent the damage, though. [WotC Rules Team] Mana Pool: Spells costs are not paid by tapping lands. Spells costs are paid by using mana from your mana pool. [Page 60] You cannot shortcut mana from the land directly to the spell. It must go to the pool first. Tapping basic lands is the most common way to add mana to your mana pool. [Page 60] You can leave mana in your pool during the casting of several spells. If you have mana in your pool at the end of a phase or the beginning or ending of an attack, then you will take mana burn (See the "Mana Burn" entry for information). [Page 61] Multiplayer Rulings: Opponent is defined as any player other than yourself. In team play, opponent should not include your teammates. [WotC Rules Team 01/10/95] In multiplayer games, cards which read "both players" affect all players. [Snark] A permanent that targets a player as a continuous effect has a single player chosen when it is cast. This player choice cannot be changed even if the permanent changes control. If the target player leaves the game then the permanent becomes useless but stays in play. [WotC Rules Team 01/10/95] A permanent that targets a player when it is activated may choose a player each time it is used. [WotC Rules Team 01/10/95] A permanent that says "opponent's choice" allows you to choose an opponent each time the choice needs to be made. Examples are Demonic Hordes and Clergy of the Holy Nimbus. [WotC Rules Team 01/10/95] If a card reads "each upkeep" or "each turn", it means each of your upkeep phases or each of your turns. If the card affects multiple players, it affects each player during his (or her) upkeep or turn. In most multiplayer rule sets, if a player is killed, all of that player's cards are immediately removed from the game. This can have a drastic effect on the balance of power in the game. Must Attack: If a creature is forced to attack, it does not have to attack immediately, but it must attack this turn if possible. [PPG Page 224] Being already tapped or being tapped for a special ability prior to the attack will make it unable to attack. Being prevented by an effect such as Island Sanctuary, or card text such as the Sea Serpent's "cannot attack if opponent has no Islands" will also make it unable to attack. You are not forced to maximize the number of "must attack" attackers that you can declare. "Must attack" creatures do have to be declared first, but if one of them has Errantry on it you can declare that one and thereby cause the others to be unable to attack. You cannot use a non-"must attack" creature with Errantry to do this, however. [D'Angelo 07/25/95] You cannot use the declaration of a non-"must attack" attacker as a way to avoid attacking with a "must attack" attacker. For example, if you are only allowed to declare 2 attackers, those two slots must be taken by "must attack" creatures if possible. [WotC Rules Team 09/15/94] This works out so that "must attack" attackers must be declared before other attackers. If there is a cost to declare the attacker, you must pay it unless it is somehow prevented from attacking. On Its Way to the Graveyard: A permanent is "on its way to the graveyard" if it has enough damage on it to kill it, or if a destroy or bury effect has resolved against it. Note that this works out so that the only time in which a permanent can be "on its way to the graveyard" is during a damage prevention step. See the "Damage Prevention" entry under "Spell and Effect Timing" for more information. A permanent is not on its way to the graveyard when a damaging or destroying effect has been announced. It is a still in play until the effect in question resolves. A permanent which is scheduled to be "destroyed at end of turn" or to be "destroyed at the end of combat" is not considered to be on its way to the graveyard. A permanent which is on its way to the graveyard cannot be sacrificed. Order to Apply Effects: The rule for effects is that the most recent one takes precedence. For example, if Earthbind is placed on a creature and then Flight is placed on the creature, the Flight will take precedence because it is last. [PPG Page 220] This goes for general continuous effects as well as it does for enchantments or abilities on a specific permanent. If Gravity Sphere is put into play, it removes Flying ability from all creatures in play. If a Flight spell were placed on the creature after that, the Flight would have precedence because it took effect more recently. [bethmo 06/29/94] If the source of an effect is removed, reapply the effects in order of casting. This does not happen often but is theoretically possible. For example, if you cast a Conversion spell to change all Mountains into Plains and then used Magical Hack on a second Conversion spell to turn all Mountains into Forests, the first one would be applied and turn them all into Plains. The second one would find no Mountains in play, so it would do nothing. Later, if the first one were removed, the second one would immediately discover the Mountains and convert them to Forests. [bethmo 06/29/94] Permanent: A permanent is any card in play (enchantments, creatures, artifacts, land) or any token which represents a creature. [Page 61] Cards in play are not spells, they are "permanents". They can no longer be affected by things that affect "spells" (i.e. Counterspell, Lifeforce) [Page 29] A permanent stays in play until destroyed by an effect or is otherwise removed from play. You cannot just discard a permanent because you no longer want it. [Page 29] Spells which become permanents do not become permanents until they resolve. [Page 61] (The rulebook says "cast" but this is a mistake.) Poison: Poison counters are poison counters. A player dies if they have 10 such counters no matter what the source is. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 7] Protection from Color: Protection from a color means that a creature: [Page 39] 1. Reduces damage of to zero. 2. Cannot be blocked by creatures. 3. Cannot be targeted by effects or spells, but it may be affected by spells or effects of that color which do not target it specifically but ability #1 is still in effect if such a spell does damage. 4. Has any enchantments of removed Protection from Color does not protect creatures from general enchantments or spells. So a creature with Protection from Red is still affected by Orcish Oriflamme. Protection from Color does not stop damage prevention spells from working. Damage prevention spells target the damage and not the creature. [PPG Page 89] For example, you can use a Healing Salve to remove damage from a creature with Protection from White. See the "Targeting" entry for more information on what is targeted and what is not. Protection from Color does not protect creatures from being sacrificed (even from spells or effects of the appropriate color). Sacrificing is not considered a targeted effect. The "cannot be blocked by creatures" ability is an absolute statement. The creature cannot even be blocked by creatures of which have Protection from the appropriate color. So, a Black Knight and a White Knight cannot meet each other in combat. Protection from Color protects the creature but it does not protect any of the enchantments on the creature. [bethmo] A Protection from Color ability does not work for a creature while it is in the graveyard. Hence a White Knight can have Animate Dead cast on it and a Black Knight can be Resurrected. [bethmo] Note that the White Knight would immediately dispel the Animate Dead and go back to the graveyard, but the example still holds. Rampage: Rampage rules were introduced in the Legends expansion set and is in the Fourth Edition rules. After defense is chosen but before damage is assigned, an attacking creature with 'rampage:*' rains +*/+* until end of turn for each creature beyond the first assigned to block it. [Legends Rulecard] [Page 39] Bonus is applied when blockers are declared and lasts until the end of the turn. Removing a blocker after this does not change the bonus. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 7] Fog does not stop the bonus from being gained. [Aahz 02/09/95] Regeneration: Regeneration means prevention of sending the card to the graveyard, which is equivalent to saying it prevents a creature from dying or a card from being destroyed. [Page 33] The Fourth Edition rulebook only mentions destroy by damage, but other forms of destroy can be regenerated from. [Aahz 06/06/95] Regeneration abilities and spells must be used at the time the creature would be sent to the graveyard. [Page 33] This only happens during the damage prevention step. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] When a creature regenerates, damage on it is not "removed", the damage on the creature just gets ignored until the end of the turn. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] The effect seems to be 100% identical to removal except that the damage is remembered in case there is a way to retroactively remove it and for things like Trample to be calculated. + A regeneration effect will fail if enough damage is removed from a creature that dies due to lethal damage so that the damage is no longer lethal prior to resolution. It'll also fail if the creature has already been regenerated. [WotC Rules Team 08/17/95] When a creature is regenerated, all enchantments and counters remain on the creature, and the creature becomes tapped if it was not already tapped. [Page 33] This tapping of the creature is not a cost, it is an effect, and so tapped creatures can be regenerated. [Page 33] + Regeneration effects are considered to 'target the death of the creature'. If there is not a death, you cannot use the regeneration effect. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 130] This includes spells that just say something like "Regenerates target creature". Implicit in this is "...which is dying". [Aahz 08/16/95] Cannot regenerate a creature which is "buried", "removed from the game". or "sacrificed". [Page 33] Regeneration does not remove any "will die at end of turn" or similar such fates hanging over creatures. You can pay for Regeneration abilities more than once in a single spell stack. The first one to resolve will do so successfully. Later ones will fizzle since the creature is no longer dying. [WotC Rules Team 07/19/95] This provides an interesting way to sink mana. Remove from the Game: If a creature is "removed from the game" by some effect, it cannot be regenerated. [Page 62] Also, all enchantments on the creature are put in the graveyard just like they would if the creature were destroyed. Sacrifice: You can only sacrifice things that you control. [Page 62] A sacrifice is considered a cost in the casting of a spell or powering an effect. It is used up at the same time the mana would be. Such costs are not preventable by any means, including regeneration. [Page 62] A sacrifice buries the affected permanent immediately. [Page 62] Sacrificing is not a targeted effect. [Page 62] So Protection from Color will not protect a creature from a sacrifice. (This is true even though page 59 of the PPG indicates otherwise. The book is in error.) [WotC Rules Team] A permanent can sacrifice itself to itself as part of an ability unless prevented by some card text or other means. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] You cannot sacrifice a permanent if it has enough damage on it to kill it or if a destroy or bury effect has resolved against it. [Page 62] (See the "On Its Way to the Graveyard" entry for more information.) Note that this works out so that the only time in which a permanent cannot be sacrificed is during a damage prevention step in which it has damage or is being destroyed. You cannot sacrifice a card in your hand. All cards which had you sacrifice from your hand have errata on them saying that it should be a normal discard. This means such discards are not costs so they are done at resolution instead of announcement. [WotC Rules Team 05/10/95] The Antiquities expansion used the text "choose one of your artifacts in play and place it in the graveyard" to mean a sacrifice. It does not matter if the choose is before or after the ability. [bethmo] Any Limited/Unlimited/Arabian Nights/Antiquities card which destroys itself when used is considered to sacrifice itself. [WotC Rules Team 01/29/94] You can sacrifice something even if it is tapped or has just entered play. There is no summoning sickness or "turning off" for sacrifices. [D'Angelo 07/05/95] Snow-Covered Lands: Think of "snow-covered" as another adjective about a card, like color or artifactness. For example, a land can be a basic Plains and be animated, snow-covered, artifact and blue all at once. The rulebook says "Snow-covered lands are considered basic lands." What this means is that the cards named "Snow-covered XXXX" are considered to be basic XXXX cards. [D'Angelo 06/08/95] More accurately, the rule should have been written that "Snow-covered lands are treated like non-snow-covered lands of the same type". [bethmo 07/24/95] They are considered to be of the proper basic land type. Anything which affects Plains will affect a Snow-Covered Plains. Forestwalk will work on a Snow-Covered Forest. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 132] Effects that change a land type, like Phantasmal Terrain, cannot give a land Snow-Covered nature or take it away. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 132] If you change a Snow-Covered Forest to a Mountain with Phantasmal Terrain, then it is a Snow-Covered Mountain. Cards which require Snow-Covered lands only work on such lands. Ones that only require a land type work whether or not it is Snow-Covered. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 132] If you manage to make a non-basic land gain the snow-covered attribute, it does not become a basic land. [D'Angelo 06/08/95] Successfully Cast: + A spell is considered successfully cast once it leaves step 2 of its life cycle. See the "Life-Cycle of a Spell or Effect" entry in the Spell and Effect Timing section for more information. Summoning Sickness: Creatures cannot attack (or be tapped for a special ability) unless that creature's card or token has been in play on your side since the beginning of your most recent turn. [Page 30] This includes all possible ways of getting creatures: Summon, Animate, Resurrect, Living Lands, Control Magic, etc. [WotC Rules Team] If a card or token starts your turn in play on your side, leaves your side and then returns in the same turn, you cannot use it. It must wait until it begins your turn in play on your side again. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] (This is a REVERSAL) Cards which are animated during a turn may attack or use their non-creature abilities even on the turn they become creatures if they began the turn in play on your side (creature or not)! [WotC Rules Team] If a non-creature is tapped for an ability on the turn it enters play and is animated so that it is a creature at some time before the ability resolves, the effect will not fizzle. [D'Angelo 06/07/95] Target: Any spell which lets you pick a target (as opposed to a "target something") can be aimed at any player or creature. [Page 16] Targeting--Announcing and Resolving: You may not announce a targeted spell or effect unless it is aimed at a legal target. [Page 63] You may not announce a targeted spell declaring an illegal target with the intent to use an interrupt afterward to somehow make the target legal. [bethmo] Spells which target "all" of something can be played even if there is none of the somethings available. [Page 63] For example, you can use Flashfires even if no Plains are in play. This is because the spell does not require a target to act upon. It just does something. In addition to having a valid target when announced, a spell or effect must have a valid target when resolved. If the target is not valid when the spell or effect would resolve, then it fizzles. [PPG Page 99] Spells can be modified between being announced and being successfully cast. If something about the targeting makes the target choice illegal at that time then the spell will fizzle. Effects have all their attributes set on announcement and even text changes to the source card cannot make the effect fizzle. It remembers what the text said when it was announced. [D'Angelo 05/26/95] There are many ways to make a target illegal before resolution. The most common way is for the target to be destroyed, unsummoned or otherwise removed from play prior to resolution. Other requirements on the targeting may be invalidated due to adding Protection from Color to a target creature, or through the use of interrupts to change the color or wording of the spell/effect or target. Spells always resolve as completely as possible. A spell that says "Do one thing. Do another" or one that says "Do one thing and do another" will do both parts even if one part fails (see the next entry for the exception to this rule). [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 22] If all the targeted parts of a spell fizzle, then the untargeted parts will not take effect. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 22] This is true even for "Do one thing to do another" effects where the "another" part is the targeted one. The "one thing" would not happen if the target was illegal. [Aahz 08/01/95] For example, Crumble targets an artifact to be buried and has an untargeted gaining of life. If the target becomes invalid and the spell fizzles then no life will be given. Spells that say "Do one thing to do another" means that doing the first thing successfully is a requirement for the other thing to take place. If the first thing is multiply targeted, _all_ the targets must be successful. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 22] Note that success means that it does not fizzle and that the action was also completed. An example of failure (non-success) is trying to tap a tapped card. If a spell has multiple targets and one of the targets is removed from play, only that one portion of the spell fizzles out. The rest of the targets are affected normally. [Page 63] For example, if a Fireball is used on 3 targets and one is Unsummoned, the damage is still spread between the 3 targets with one target's damage fizzling out. Abilities which say "target creature" only apply targeting rules when they are announced and when they resolve. After that, the fact that the target is still a creature is not checked any more. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] This mostly applies to card stealing such as Aladdin and Seasinger. You do not lose control of the card if it stops being a valid target. Targeting--Is Something Targeted: New cards are clear as to when something is targeted (it will use the word 'target' on the card), but older cards were not so clear. When deciding if a spell/effect targets a something or if it is a general effect, just ask if the player using the effect at any time chooses something to be affected. If no choice is made, then it is a general effect, if at least once a card or target must be specified, then it is a targeted effect. [bethmo] Choosing defenders is not a choice that makes something a targeted effect. [Page 63] Hence abilities which affect creatures "blocking" or "blocked by" a creature are not targeted and are not stopped by Protection from Color. For example, a Green Ward will not save a creature from being destroyed by the Thicket Basilisk. [WotC Rules Team 02/07/94] Any spell or permanent that affects itself does so in a non-targeted way. [D'Angelo 05/19/95] Although some targeted effects can be aimed at the permanent that generated the effect. If this happens, it is still a targeted effect. Combat damage and effects are not targeted. [Page 63] This means that the Basilisk gaze, Battering Ram ability, Aisling Leprechaun, and others are not targeted abilities and will therefore not be prevented by Protection from Color or other "you can't target me" effects. Spells/effects which affect a card which is in the graveyard are targeted. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 123] No spell or effect (other than the Ring of Ma'ruf) can target a card which is outside of the game. [Page 61] Enchantments on a permanent only target the permanent when cast. Once in play, they no longer target that permanent when using the ability on them. For example, Firebreathing does not target the creature to give it +1/+0 and Regeneration does not target the creature when it is used. [WotC Rules Team 02/09/95] If a card reads "a xxx" or "any xxx" it means "any one xxx in play, no matter who it belongs to." [bethmo] Targeting--Valid Targets: Damage prevention spells usually target the damage and not the source of the damage or even the creature or player with damage on it. [WotC Rules Team 05/03/95] You may target an effect which removes an ability at a permanent without that ability. It just does nothing. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 23] You may target a tapping effect at a tapped card or an untapping effect at an untapped card unless the card says it targets a tapped or untapped permanent. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 22] Spells that target "attacking" or "defending" creatures may only be used during an attack. [bethmo] If they are untargeted spells, they may be used at any time. [Aahz] You cannot target a spell which will become a permanent with a spell/effect that targets a permanent until the permanent resolves. Prior to it resolving, it is just a spell. [Page 63] Token Creatures: Creatures represented by tokens are not "cards" in the game sense. [Page 63] This means that they cannot be targeted by spells which specify a card (like Revised Edition Red Elemental Blast and Revised Edition Desert Twister which say "card" rather than "permanent"). Token creatures are also removed from the game entirely if they are ever Unsummoned, destroyed, or otherwise removed from play. [Page 63] Since this is a continuous effect, it happens before even an interrupt can be declared. Before leaving the game, they actually do go to the graveyard or player's hand very briefly. Trips to the graveyard can be used by Soul Net and other cards. [Duelist Magazine #6, Page 130] (This overrides the ruling on page 15 of Duelist Magazine #2) Token creature are considered to have a zero casting cost. [Page 58] Note that this is true even if a cost was paid to generate the token creature (i.e. a Wasp from the Hive). A Clone (or other copy card used on a token creature) is a card and not a token, so the copy ignores any text on the card which created the token which spells out the token creature rules. Token creatures are not considered to have expansion symbols on them so they ignore "expansion killer" cards like City in a Bottle or Golgothian Sylex. Tokens are permanents. [Page 63] The 'owner' of the token is the player that played the effect that brought the token into play. [Aahz 06/08/95] Trample: If a mix of Trample and non-Trample damage are involved, non-Trample damage is assigned first, and Trample damage is assigned afterwards. [Page 35] The excess Trample damage is redirected to the defending player and results in a second damage prevention step. Since this is redirection, any effects due to the damage will happen to the player. The damage also retains color and any other properties. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] If a Trample creature is blocked by an unbanded group, the player may assign all of the damage to one of the blockers and cause the Trample damage in excess of the blocker's toughness to go on to the defending player. [Page 38] If a Trample creature is blocked but you cannot assign damage to any of the blockers (because they regenerated or have a cannot assign damage to them effect), then all the Trample damage goes to the defending player. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 122] A creature with Trample ability which has its blocker removed is still blocked but all the damage that creature would do goes through to the defender after trampling the non-existent blocker. Defenders do not get to use Trample ability. Only attackers. [PPG Page 85] Untapping a Permanent: Untapping a permanent does not undo the effects of that card; it merely makes the card available to be used again. [bethmo] You can use an untap effect on an untapped card. The effect does not "fizzle", but it does "fail" to do anything. [Duelist Magazine #5, Page 23] Walls: Walls are in all senses creatures. They are affected by any spell or effect which affects creatures (including Paralyze, Terror, Creature Bond, and so on). [Page 30] Walls cannot attack even if power is greater than zero. If Animate Wall is used on them, they may attack even if power is zero. [Page 30] Creatures which say "Counts as a Wall" are Walls. 'X' Cost: If there is an 'X' in the cost, consider the amount paid in 'X' to be part of the cost during casting, but to be zero after the card is successfully cast. [PPG Page 56] Spells with an X cost can legally be cast with zero as the X. [Page 12] Spells with an X cost are declared when they are cast as to how much mana is in them. This amount cannot be increased or decreased after it is declared. Other Rules and Rulings That Defied Categorization ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- All cards are to be played as written (and with any official errata). There is no ruling that cards should be played using the most recent wording. For example, an Alpha printing Orcish Oriflamme really costs just R1 and not R3 to cast. It is not legal to spend mana on preventions like Circle of Protection or Death Ward (but not limited to them) when there is no valid action to be countering. Equally, you cannot Animate Artifact when there are no artifacts. Basically, you cannot make an excuse just to get rid of cards or mana. [PPG Page 57] An ability without an activation cost which says it is used during a certain phase can only be used once during that phase, regardless if the effect is successful or not. [WotC Rules Team 04/26/95] For example, the Doppelganger can only switch forms once per upkeep. If a card says that you must pay mana or bad things happen, the mana expenditure is not mandatory unless the card specifies exactly what sources of mana should be used. For example, Power Sink specifies lands and mana pool, so you must spend the mana. Demonic Hordes, Force of Nature, Stasis, etc. do not specify and so are optional. [Aahz] Rounding down means to drop the fractional part. Rounding up means to add 1 and then drop the fractional part. [bethmo 05/30/94] Tournament Rulings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- General: English language cards are to be played by the wording on the card (plus any errata) and NOT according to the most recent English version of that card. There is a push to make play shift to the most recent wordings, but this push has not become a rule as of yet. Non-English language cards are to be played by the most recent English language version of that card. Translational errors are avoided in this way. Mixed language decks can be played. [Aahz 07/09/95] The judge may rule that Alpha printing cards are marked. If so, your deck must not contain them or only contain them. If this optional rule is to be used by the judge, it must be announced in advance. Floor Rules: Decision of the judge is final. This is true even if the judge turns out later to have made an incorrect ruling. All tournaments are single elimination with each round consisting of best 2 out of 3 duels. Players cannot change the contents of their deck and sideboard throughout the entire tournament, but cards can be rotated between the deck and sideboard between games. The sideboard (if used at all) must always have exactly 15 cards (except in Sealed Deck tournaments). Ante is not required but if both players choose to do so, they may. Any cards won this way are not added to the deck. If loss of cards causes the deck to be illegal, then you are disqualified. If a player draws all land or no land in the initial 7 cards, they can call a 'mulligan' and reshuffle, recut, and draw again. If a player does this, the opponent has the option of doing so as well. Each player is allowed to use this rule once per duel. Card sleeves are allowed on cards, but the judge or opponent in a specific duel may request that they be removed. If this is requested, it must be complied with. You can always use a card sleeve as a reminder when placing one of your cards in your opponent's territory. Using "proxy" cards is not allowed. A time limit of 45 or more minutes may be placed on a round other than the semi-final or final rounds. A 10 minute warning should be given. If time runs out during the first or third duel, then the player with the highest life total at that time wins. If it is during the second duel, then the player that won the first one wins. Players can look through their sideboards during play. [bethmo 07/18/95] Your opponent is always entitled to shuffle your deck if they want to. They get the right to a final shuffle if they want it. This is to prevent people from possibly stacking the deck. Usually people just settle for "cutting the deck". Type I: Can be composed of cards from any edition or expansion of Magic (unless the judge says otherwise). Collector's Edition cards are not allowed. Minimum of 60 cards in a deck. Optional 'sideboard'. If you have one, it must be exactly 15 cards. No more than 4 of any card which is not a basic land can be in the combination of deck and sideboard. Cards with different art or in different languages or from different prints but which are the same card are considered the same. Some cards are 'restricted' so that only one may appear in the combination of deck and sideboard. These cards are: [Tourney Rules 04/19/95] Ali from Cairo Falling Star Mox Ruby Ancestral Recall Feldon's Cane Mox Sapphire Balance Fork Mox Jet Berserk Ivory Tower Recall Black Lotus Library of Alexandria Regrowth Braingeyser Maze of Ith Sol Ring Candelabra of Tawnos Mind Twist Sword of Ages Channel Mirror Universe Time Twister Chaos Orb Mishra's Workshop Time Walk Copy Artifact Mox Pearl Underworld Dreams Demonic Tutor Mox Emerald Wheel of Fortune + All "Summon Legend" and "Legendary Land" cards Some cards are 'banned' so that none may appear in the deck or sideboard. These cards are: [Tourney Rules 04/19/95] Bronze Tablet Divine Intervention Sharazhad Contract from Below Jeweled Bird Time Vault Darkpact Rebirth Tempest Efreet Demonic Attorney Ring of Ma'Ruf can only bring in cards from the sideboard or ones that were removed from the game by an effect such as Swords to Plowshares. Type II: Can be composed of cards from the most recent edition of The Gathering (currently Fourth Edition), white border extensions (Chronicles) and the latest two limited edition expansions (currently Ice Age and Fallen Empires). Cards from previous editions or expansions which are in the current one are allowed. Collector's Edition and promo cards are not allowed. There is a grace period of one month from the date of the release of a new edition or expansion during which the cards valid under the Type II rules prior to that edition/expansion are still valid and the new cards are _NOT_ valid. After that 30 day period, the new cards will be allowed and any old ones will be disallowed. [Convocation 07/10/95] Minimum of 60 cards in a deck. Optional 'sideboard'. If you have one, it must be exactly 15 cards. No more than 4 of any card which is not a basic land can be in the combination of deck and sideboard. Cards with different art or in different languages or from different prints but which are the same card are considered the same. Some cards are 'restricted' so that only one may appear in the combination of deck and sideboard. These cards are: [Tourney Rules 04/19/95] Balance Ivory Tower Mind Twist Channel Maze of Ith Some cards are 'banned' so that none may appear in the deck or sideboard. These cards are: [Tourney Rules 04/19/95] Bronze Tablet Rebirth Tempest Efreet Ice Age is to be considered a limited edition expansion under these rules. Chronicles is to be considered an extension of the main set under these rules. Sealed Deck: Decks consist of one unopened Magic: The Gathering starter (60 cards) plus either three 8 card boosters of two 15 card boosters from an expansion set or the main set. The judge can optionally allow 4 basic lands to be added to this. 45 minutes are given to construct the deck. Minimum of 40 cards in the play deck. All additional cards function as the 'sideboard'. The sideboard and deck size can change freely between duels. All games are played for ante. Cards won this way are added to the player's sideboard. No restricted or banned cards. Ice Age Constructed Deck: Only cards from Ice Age can be used with the exception of basic lands (which do not have to be from Ice Age). Minimum of 60 cards in the play deck. Optional 'sideboard'. If you have one, it must be exactly 15 cards. No more than 4 of any card which is not a basic land can be in the combination of deck and sideboard. Cards with different art or in different languages or from different prints but which are the same card are considered the same. No cards are restricted. [Tourney Rules 06/16/95] Some cards are 'banned' so that none may appear in the deck or sideboard. These cards are: [Tourney Rules 06/16/95] Amulet of Quoz Ice Age Sealed Deck: Decks consist of one unopened Ice Age starter (60 cards) plus two 15 card Ice Age boosters. The judge can optionally allow 4 basic lands to be added to this. 45 minutes are given to construct the deck. Minimum of 40 cards in the play deck. All additional cards function as the 'sideboard'. The sideboard and deck size can change freely between duels. All games are played for ante. Cards won this way are added to the player's sideboard. No restricted or banned cards. Rating System: All players start with a rating of 1600. People who have played less than 25 matches (best 2 of 3) are considered to have a 'provisional rating'. After that, scores should be accurate to within plus or minus 56 points. During 'provisional rating' period, a person's rating is: (Rc) + ((400 * (wins - losses)) / number of games) Rc = Average rating of all opponents Once a player is off of provisional rating, their score changes with each game: New Score = (Old Score) + (K * (W - We)) K = 32 for ratings of 0-2099, 24 for 2100-2399, 16 for 2400 and up. W = 1 for a win, 0 for a loss We = 1 / ((10^D)+1) D = (difference between your and opponent's ratings) / 400 Scores only count in officially sanctioned tournaments and if the tournament coordinator actually sends the results to WotC. Acknowledgements and Disclaimers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This summary is collected from rulings made by officials and network representatives of Wizards of the Coast, along with a number of unofficial rulings also collected from the net. Whenever a source for a ruling is known, the name of that person is listed with the ruling. "D'Angelo" is Stephen D'Angelo, the network representative for the "mtg-l" mailing list. "Peterson" is Paul Peterson, the previous "mtg-l" representative. "bethmo" is Beth Moursund, the representative before Paul. "Aahz" is Tom Wylie, the network representative for the "rec.games.deckmaster" and "rec.games.trading-cards.magic.*" newsgroups. "Snark" is Dave Howell of WotC. Official rulings from the rules team are marked as "WotC Rules Team". Rules from the Fourth Edition rule book are marked with "Page #" (the Ice Age rulebook is exactly the same except add 2 pages to the page #) and rules from the Pocket Player's Guide are marked with "PPG Page #" Every attempt has been made to make this summary accurate, but errors do creep in. This work should not be considered official or sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. Nothing in this work is guaranteed to be accurate. Use at your own risk. Magic: The Gathering and all of the cards listed herein are copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast.