Index	Table of Contents	Terms
	Terms - S

Sacrifice
To take one of your own permanents in play and put it into your graveyard. You can only sacrifice your own permanents. Sacrificing a permanent is different from destroying it, so you can't regenerate a sacrificed creature. You can only sacrifice a permanent if a spell or ability tells you to.
   Don't confuse sacrificing with discarding. You can only discard cards in your hand.
   Compare Destroy, Discard.

Sealed Deck
A Limited play format in which each player builds a deck using the cards from a tournament pack and a number of booster packs. Players are usually allowed to trade a number of basic lands for an equal number of different basic lands. Any cards a player doesn't put in his or her main deck form that player's sideboard.
   See Limited Play for more information.
   See also Deck Building, Sideboard.

Set
A specific group of cards that share an expansion symbol.
   See also Expansion symbol.

Shuffle
To randomize the order of cards in your deck. You shuffle your deck at the beginning of every Magic game. Also, some cards will tell you to shuffle as part of their effect.
   The Magic Online game shuffles your deck whenever required by a rule or an effect.

Sideboard
A number of cards you can swap into your main deck on a one-for-one basis after the first game of a match. If you use a sideboard in a Constructed format, your sideboard must contain exactly fifteen cards. In Limited formats, your sideboard includes any cards you received but didn't put in your main deck.
   See also Sideboarding.

Sideboarding
To swap cards between your sideboard and your main deck.
   After the first game of a Magic Online match, you can swap cards in your main deck and sideboard on the Sideboarding window.
   See Sideboarding for more information.
   See also Sideboard.

Single elimination
A tournament structure that eliminates players after one match loss. There may be byes in the first round so only two undefeated participants play off in the last round of the event

Sorcery
A spell that does something once and then goes to its owner's graveyard. You can play a sorcery only during your main phase when nothing's on the stack.
   See also Priority, Stack.

Source
Where combat damage or an effect came from.
   For combat damage, the source is always a creature. If a creature leaves play after its combat damage has gone on the stack, the damage will be dealt anyway.
   For an effect, the source can be an instant, sorcery, or permanent. If an effect's source is destroyed after the effect is put on the stack, the effect will resolve anyway. If an effect asks you to choose a source, you have to choose a permanent in play or a spell on the stack.
   See also Stack.

Spell
A card that's been played but hasn't been resolved or countered yet. For example, Eager Cadet is a creature card. While you're playing it, it's a creature spell. When it resolves, it becomes a creature.
   Instant and sorcery spells go to their owners' graveyards when they resolve. All other types of spells become permanents when they resolve.
   See also Stack. Compare Permanent.

Split cards
A cycle of cards found in the Invasion and Apocalypse sets. Split cards look like two miniature cards side-by-side on a single card. Each side has its own name, type, mana cost, and spell text. You may play only one side of a split card. You play the side you choose just like any other spell, ignoring the spell on the other side.
 

Stack Where spells and abilities go until they're resolved or countered. Combat damage also goes on the stack until it resolves. When something goes on the stack, it goes on top of the last thing put on the stack. Items on the stack resolve from top to bottom.    You can see what's on the stack in a Magic Online game on the lower left of the Duel screen. When a spell or ability is played or triggered, a copy of it shows on top of the stack. Each time something is played, the stack shows the new spell on top of the last thing added to the stack.    See The Stack for more information.

Standard
A Constructed play format in which players may use only cards from the most recent basic set and the two most recent blocks. For example, as of November 1, 2001, the Standard environment will consist of the Seventh Edition, Odyssey, Invasion, Planeshift, and Apocalypse sets.
   See also Block, Constructed.

Static ability
A type of ability that's "on" for as long as the permanent with the ability is in play. For example, Glorious Anthem reads, "Creatures you control get +1/+1."
   Static abilities aren't played and they don't trigger. They never go on the stack. They just start affecting the game when the permanent with the ability enters play. Static abilities almost always make continuous effects.
   See also Continuous effect.

Step
Most phases of the turn are divided into steps. Specific things happen during some steps. For example, you untap your permanents during your untap step. You draw a card during your draw step. In most steps, something happens, and then players get priority to play spells and abilities.
   See Phases of a Turn for more information.
   See also Phase.

Stops
Places in a turn you want the Magic Online game to ask if you want to play a spell or ability. Without any stops set, the game won't pause unless something happens for you to respond to.
   See Game Play Preferences for more information.

Subtype
Creatures, enchantments, and lands all have subtypes.
   Subtypes of creatures are called creature types, such as Elf and Goblin. Subtypes of enchantments are the various types of enchantments that attach to other permanents, such as enchant creature and enchant land.
   Subtypes of lands are called land types. Every land has a land type that's the same as its name. For example, a forest card isn't just named "Forest," it also has the land type "forest."
   See also Creature type, Type.

Swampwalk
A creature ability that makes the creature unblockable as long as the defending player controls a swamp.
   See Landwalk.

Swiss draw
A competition structure that allows players to participate in every round of the tournament. Each round, you play a player with a record similar to yours. Single-elimination final rounds may follow Swiss rounds in some tournaments.