Phases of a Turn

Index	Table of Contents	Terms
	Phases of a Turn

Each turn has five phases. Some phases are divided into steps. Each phase occurs even if nothing happens during it. A phase or step ends when all players pass in succession. At the end of each phase, you take mana burn if there's mana left in your mana pool.

The phases and steps, in order, are:

   1. Beginning phase
         a. Untap step
         b. Upkeep step
         c. Draw step
   2. Main phase (precombat)
   3. Combat phase
         a. Beginning of combat step
         b. Declare attackers step
         c. Declare blockers step
         d. Combat damage step
         e. End of combat step
   4. Main phase (postcombat)
   5. End phase
         a. End of turn step
         b. Cleanup step

In Magic Online, you'll only have an opportunity to play spells or abilities during phases and steps you've set stops for unless something happens that you can react to. See Game Play Settings for information about setting stops.

Beginning Phase
The beginning phase has three steps.

Untap step
During your untap step, all your tapped permanents are untapped. No one can play spells or abilities during this step.

Upkeep step
Abilities that trigger at the beginning of your upkeep go on the stack. Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step.

Draw step
At the beginning of your draw step, you draw a card. Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step.

Main Phase (Precombat)
You can play every type of spell and ability during this phase of your turn, but other players can play only instants and activated abilities. You can play a land during this phase, but you can play only one land each turn.

Combat Phase
The combat phase has five steps. Once you enter the beginning of combat step, the icons for the steps in the combat phase will appear. Until then, you'll see only the combat phase icon.

Beginning of combat step
Players can play instants and activated abilities during the beginning of combat step.

Declare attackers step
At the beginning of the declare attackers step, you decide which of your creatures will attack. (You can decide not to attack at all.) Walls, creatures that are already tapped, and creatures you haven't controlled since the beginning of the turn can't attack. Remember that your creatures can only attack an opponent. You can't have them attack particular creatures.

Click a creature to declare it as an attacker. If you decide not to attack with a creature, click it again. After you've decided which creatures are attacking, click OK.

Once you're done declaring attackers, players can play instants and activated abilities

Declare blockers step
At the beginning of the declare blockers step, the defending player decides which of his or her creatures will block the attacking creatures. Each blocking creature can only block one attacking creature, but two or more creatures can gang up and block an attacking creature. Tapped creatures can't block.

If you're the defending player, click a creature to declare it as a blocker then click the attacker you want that creature to block. If you decide not to block with a creature or want to change the attacker being blocked, click the creature again. After you've decided how to block, click OK.

Once the defending player is done declaring blockers, players can play instants and activated abilities.

Combat damage step
This is when creatures actually deal their damage in combat.

Unblocked attackers deal damage equal to their power to the defending player.
Blocked attackers deal their damage to the creatures blocking them. If more than one creature blocks one of your attackers, you decide how to divide the attacker's damage among the blockers.
Blockers deal their damage to the creatures they're blocking. If a creature has become tapped since it was declared as a blocker, it still deals damage normally.

If an attacking creature was blocked at the declare blockers step, it doesn't deal any damage to the defending player. This is true even if all the blockers have left play.

Once you decide how combat damage will be dealt, the combat damage goes on the stack. After that, the damage is "locked in." It will be dealt even if some of the creatures leave play.

Players may then play instants and activated abilities. Once these have all resolved, combat damage is actually dealt. If a creature tries to deal damage to a creature no longer in play, it can't and the damage isn't dealt.

End of combat step
Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step.

Main Phase (Postcombat)
Your second main phase is just like your first main phase. You can play every type of spell and ability, but other players can only play instants and activated abilities. Also, you can play a land during this phase if you didn't during your first main phase.

End Phase
The end phase has two steps.

End of turn step
Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step.

Cleanup step
If you have more than seven cards in your hand, choose and discard cards until you have only seven. Next, all damage on creatures is removed and all "until end of turn" effects end.

No one can play spells or abilities during this step unless an ability triggers during the step. That rarely happens.