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From: [e-mail] (Patrik Linell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: Magic: The Gathering Rules FAQ, v3.06 (main A-H)
Keywords: magic the gathering rules faq
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Last-modified: 23rd February 2004
Version: 3.08
Summary: FAQs about rules of the game "Magic: The Gathering(R)".
URL: http://www.claymore.nu/mtgrules
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Date: 16 May 2004 08:55:39 GMT
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Archive-name: games/magic-t-g/rules/part2
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URL: http://www.claymore.nu/mtgrules

Section A: Terminology

A.01 Q: What does bury mean?
      A: "Bury X" is an old term for "Destroy X. It can't be regenerated".
The term was discontinued when Tempest came out.

A.02 Q: What is a mana source?
      A: Something that doesn't exist anymore. During Fifth Edition rules,
mana sources were spells that were "faster" than instants and interrupts
(see A.03). These days, all spells that were mana sources are instants and
played as such.

A.03 Q: What is an interrupt?
      A: Again, something that doesn't exist anymore. Interrupts used to be
spells that were "faster" than instants. These days, all spells that were
interrupts are instants and played as such.

A.04 Q: What is "summoning sickness"?
      A: The affliction that makes creatures unable to attack and tap for
abilities during the turn in which they come into play (and the following
opponent's turn). The term was only officially used for 5th Edition rules,
but earlier editions did mention it. This condition has no name now, so
most people still use summoning sickness, although it's technically
incorrect. Creatures that used to be "unaffected by summoning sickness" now
have "haste" instead. It works the same.

A.05 Q: What does "mana" and "mana pool" mean? Is it my lands?
      A: No. Repeat after me: Mana is not the same thing as lands. This is
the biggest difference between Starter and grown-up Magic, and has proved
to be one that causes the most confusion. In Starter, lands are simply
tapped to pay for spells. In Magic, however, lands are tapped to add mana
to the player's mana pool. It usually stays there for a moment. After that,
the mana is taken from that pool to pay for spells or other mana costs.
Also, lands do not necessarily produce mana (though most do) and many of
them do other things as well.
   Basically, your mana pool can be thought of as a bowl containing your
money. The points of mana (coins) in the pool aren't represented by
anything physical, because there's not usually many of them, and they
aren't around for very long.
   So, as an example, Dark Ritual is an instant spell that adds BBB (that's
3 black mana) to your pool when it resolves, just as if you'd tapped 3
swamps. Afterwards, you can take that mana out of your pool and use it to
cast black spells.

A.06 Q: What's a "permanent"?
      A: A permanent is a card or token that's in play, and only one that's
in play. Cards in play are permanents, cards outside of play are not. Note
that instants and sorceries are never permanents, and neither are cards in
your hand, graveyard or library.

A.07 Q: What's the difference between a "creature" and a "creature card"?
      A: A "creature" is a term reserved for a permanent. In other words,
the only way something can be a "creature" is for it to be in play.
Anywhere else, the thing is just a "creature card" (or "creature spell", if
it's on the stack). The same applies to the terms "land", "artifact" and
"enchantment" too.
   So Unsummon, which says "Return target creature to its owner's hand",
can't be used to retrieve creature cards from your graveyard, because
they're not creatures.

A.08 Q: What's the difference between a "Creature - X" card and a "Summon
X" card?
      A: Age. Prior to Sixth Edition, creature cards read "Summon X".
Since, they've read Creature - X. The difference during play is nonexistent.

A.09 Q: What's a "spell"?
      A: A spell is a card on the stack, and only one on the stack. In
other words, a card becomes a spell as you cast it, and stops being one
when it resolves. Note that when playing a land, it doesn't go onto the
stack; lands can't ever become spells.

A.10 Q: What's a "pseudospell"?
      A: It's a marker on the stack to represent an ability. When a spell
is played, the spell card itself gets put onto the stack. However, when an
ability of a permanent is played there isn't an appropriate card handy- so
what gets put on the stack instead is a pseudospell, as a marker.

A.11 Q: What does "resolve" mean?
      A: Spells, and most abilities, cannot take effect as soon as they are
announced; there's time for other players to use abilities and instant
spells in response to them. Only after everyone's finished responding can
your spell actually resolve, ie have its effect.

A.12 Q: What do "respond" and "in response" mean?
      A: Because a spell or ability cannot resolve as soon as it is cast,
there is a time when abilities and instant spells can be cast "in response"
to it. In other words, they are announced and put onto the stack above it.
Things done in response to a spell or ability will resolve first. The
spells most commonly cast in response to something are those that will
counter it, for example a Counterspell.

A.13 Q: What does "counter" mean?
      A: To "counter" a spell is to cause it to go to the graveyard without
it having its effect. "Counter" as a noun, as in "put two +1/+1 counters on
target creature" are physical markers placed on a card. A +1/+1 counter is
put on a creature and gives that creature +1/+1.

A.14 Q: What does "countered on resolution" mean?
      A: It's what happens to a spell that tries to resolve and cannot for
some reason. Usually, this is because a target has gone illegal between
announcement and resolution. The old term for this is "fizzle", but it is
no longer in use. Also note that "countered upon resolution" does mean
countering, and Multani's Presence will trigger off it.

A.15 Q: Who is the "controller" of a card?
      A: The controller of the card is the player who can use its
abilities, attack with it, and so on. If a card says "you", it's always
talking to its controller. Which player is it? That depends. Usually, the
controller and the owner (see below) of a card are the same player, but
there are many effects that can change that. Generally speaking, if you put
a card into play, and no effects apply that could change its controller,
then you control that card.

A.16 Q: Who is the "owner" of a card?
      A: The 'owner' of a card is the player who brought it to the game,
and who started the game with it in his library. The 'owner' of a token is
the player who controlled the spell or ability that created it. (e.g.:
Waiting in the Weeds is a spell that creates Cat tokens under the control
of various players... but the caster of Waiting in the Weeds owns them all.)

A.17 Q: Who is the "active player"?
      A: The player whose turn it is. Usually if both players can do
something, the active player gets to do so first... including making
choices (which means that when the opponent chooses, he knows what choice
was made) and putting triggered abilities onto the stack (which means the
opponent's abilities will resolve first).

A.18 Q: What is a "modal" spell?
      A: A "modal" spell is, in general terms, one which can do more than
one thing. All modal spells, under the current wordings, have to say
"Choose one-", followed by a list of possible effects. The Dragon Charms
from Planeshift are the most well-known current examples. Note that
Disenchant is not a modal spell, because it doesn't say "Choose one-
destroy target artifact, or destroy target enchantment".
   The distinction is important, because when you announce a modal spell,
you choose what mode it'll use right then, instead of waiting until it
resolves. Disenchant targeting an enchantment that becomes an artifact
before Disenchant's resolution will still destroy its target, which it
would not if it were modal.

A.19 Q: What's "the stack"? What is "priority"?
      A: The Stack is a timing system. It's a zone of play, like your
graveyard or your library. When a spell is announced, it cannot take its
effect straight away. Instead, it's put on top of the stack, and other
players are given the opportunity to respond to it with their own spells.
The responses will resolve first, and when people have finished responding,
eventually the original spell will resolve. (Note that this also applies to
abilities.) The player who "has priority" at any particular time is the one
who's currently allowed to add things to the stack. Here's a brief
flowchart showing how the system works.
   In each step of the turn, the active player has priority to begin with.

   I: The player who has priority may announce a spell: he puts the spell
onto the stack, chooses its mode and its targets, and pays its costs. If he
chooses to do so, then he gets priority again- repeat this step. Otherwise,
he "passes priority" to his opponent- go to [II].

   II: Now, that player's opponent has priority, so he can play his own
spells on the top of the stack. If he chooses to do so, then he'll be the
one who priority again- we return to [I]. Otherwise, we go on to [III].

   III: The players have both passed, so they've both declared that they're
not going to respond to the current spell. If the stack is empty, then the
current step of this turn will end. Otherwise, the top item of the stack
resolves and is removed (in the case of an Instant or Sorcery it will go to
the graveyard. Other types of spell will go into play, and pseudospells
from abilities will be removed from the game). After that, the active
player gets priority again. We return to I.

A.20 Q: What does "play" mean?
      A: Three things, in general. To "play" a land means putting it into
play. To "play" a spell or ability means announcing it, choosing targets
and so on. "In play" is the zone where all the action happens, where the
permanents are, creatures attack and so on (other zones are for example
graveyard and library).
   An ability that triggers when a spell is "played" will do so as soon as
that spell is announced, and its effect will occur before the triggering
spell can resolve. Abilities that used to refer to something being
"successfully cast", which has no meaning under 6th Edition rules, have all
had errata to use the term "played".

A.21 Q: What's the difference between "playing" and "putting into play"?
      A: To "play" a spell or ability means to announce it, as I said
above. In other words, you pay its costs, choose its targets, and put it
onto the stack. To "put a card into play" means to put it into the "in
play" zone.
   This means that it's possible to "play" an Instant or Sorcery spell, but
not possible to "put it into play". A spell or ability that tells you to
"put a creature into play", such as Dragon Arch, is not telling you to
"play" it.

A.22 Q: What is the "converted mana cost" of a card?
      A: The total amount of mana in its mana cost, printed in the top
right corner of the card. For example, Devouring Strossus (cost 5BBB) has a
converted mana cost of 8. Even if the Strossus-toting player has a couple
of Thunderscape Familiars out, the converted mana cost is still 8; it never
changes. You only have to pay 3BBB to play Devouring Strossus with two
Thunderscape Familiars out, but Monkey Cage will still produce 8 Apes when
it comes into play.

A.23 Q: What's Mana Burn?
      A: It's what happens if you add mana to your pool but don't use it
before the end of the phase. The mana disappears, and you lose 1 life for
each point of mana that disappears in this way. It doesn't happen very
often, but sometimes you really need to play something costing BB with only
one Swamp and a Dark Ritual, meaning you have one black mana left over.

==========

Section B: Color

B.01 Q: Can I play Agonizing Demise (Destroy target nonblack creature) on a
red and black creature?
      A: No. A creature that is black isn't nonblack. If it has any other
colors as well is irrelevant.

B.02 Q: Can I use a Circle of Protection: Black (1: The next time a black
source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that
damage) to prevent damage from a red and black creature?
      A: Yes. The creature is black; that it also has another color is
irrelevant.

B.03 Q: Can I choose 'gold', 'artifact', or 'colorless' when asked to
choose a color?
      A: No. Magic has exactly five colors in it: White, green, blue, red
and black. They are the only ones that can be chosen when you're asked to
choose a color.

B:04 Q: Do basic lands have colors? (e.g. are swamps black?)
      A: No. Lands are colorless unless something gives them a color.

B.05 Q: Does a Coastal Tower (that can produce both white and blue mana)
count as both a plains and an island?
      A: No, because it doesn't say it does. Unless the land itself says it
counts as a basic land type, it doesn't. Basic lands do; it comes with
being a basic land.

========

Section C: Creatures

C.01 Q: If I play a Chimeric Idol, and then activate it so it becomes a
creature, can it then attack this turn?
      A: No. All permanents have "summoning sickness", but only creatures
are affected by it. When Chimeric Idol becomes a creature, it still has
summoning sickness, and since it is now a creature, it cannot attack.

C.02 Q: When something asks me to choose a creature type, can I choose
"blue" or "artifact" or "Recidivist"?
      A: No. When choosing a creature type, you must choose an existing
creature type. "Elf works", "Pixie-Queen" works, "Myr" works, "Blinkmoth"
works (tokens count as existing creature types), but neither "blue",
"artifact" or "Recidivist" work.

======

Section D: Combat

D.01 Q: What is the overall structure of the combat phase?
      A: The Combat Phase is divided into 5 steps. Note that there is only
ever _one_ combat phase in a turn. You can't "attack with this thing, see
what happens to it, then attack with this other thing" or whatever. All
attackers attack simultaneously, and all blockers block simultaneously, and
then damage is dealt, and then combat finishes.

1: Beginning of Combat:
   Instants can be played. This is the last chance for the defending player
to tap creatures in order to prevent them from attacking.

2: Declare Attackers:
   The active player declares which creatures are attacking, then taps them
and pays any other costs for them to attack. Then Instants can be played.
This is the last chance for the attacking player to tap or destroy
creatures in order to prevent them from blocking.

3: Declare Blockers
   The defending player declares which creatures are blocking which. Then
Instants can be played. This is the last time when changing a creature's
power, or destroying a creature, will change the amount of damage it can deal.

4: Combat Damage
   Combat Damage from surviving creatures is assigned to the creatures
they're fighting, in whatever pattern their controllers want. Then Instants
can be played. This is a good time to play damage-prevention or redirection
abilities, and it's the last chance to increase a creature's toughness in
order to let it survive.
   Then the damage will resolve, and lethally damaged creatures will die,
and players on 0 life will lose the game. Then Instants can be played
again. At this point it's too late to do anything very useful, except
killing creatures in order to prevent their "at end of combat" abilities
from happening.

   Note that if creatures with First Strike are involved, the Combat Damage
step will actually happen twice- in the first one, only creatures with
first strike will deal damage. In the second one, only the creatures that
haven't already dealt their damage will do so.

5: End of Combat
   Abilities that trigger "at end of combat" will do so, and go onto the
stack. Then Instants can be played.

D.02 Q: Can I play Terminate (destroy target creature) on an attacker to
stop its combat damage being dealt?
      A: Yes. You simply play Terminate before combat damage goes on the stack.

D.03 Q: Will a blocking creature still deal combat damage if it gets tapped?
      A: Yes, the rule saying otherwise was taken out in Sixth Edition.

D.04 Q: Can a Giant Spider (may block as though it had flying) block
Treetop Rangers (can't be blocked except by creatures with flying)?
      A: Yes. Basically, the controller of Giant Spider chooses whether to
have it block as a flier or as a non-flier this turn.

======

Section E: Protection

E.01 Q: What does protection from Foo protect against?
      A: Exactly four things, namely the following:

   Cannot be D amaged by Foo sources.
   Cannot be E nchanted by Foo enchantments or E quipped by Foo Equipment.
   Cannot be B locked by Foo creatures.
   Cannot be T argeted by Foo spells and abilities.

Mnemonic DEBT.

E.02 Q: Will a Black Knight (Protection from white) be destroyed by a Wrath
of God (destroy all creatures).
      A: Yes, it will. Wrath of God does not damage, enchant, block or
target the creature, and so protection doesn't help.

======

Section F: Trample

F.01 Q: How does trample work?
      A: Basically, if an attacking creature with trample manages to kill
all of its blockers with damage "left over", the excess damage is dealt to
the defending player.
   A creature with trample must assign lethal damage to all of its blockers
before it gets to assign any to the defending player, and it may assign
more if it wants to. For example, if a 7/7 with trample is blocked by a
2/2, the trampler must assign at least 2 damage to the blocker and can then
assign 5 damage to the defending player. The same creature blocked by a 1/1
and a 3/3 must assign 1 damage to the 1/1 and 3 damage to the 3/3 and can
then assign 3 to the defending player.

F.02 Q: How does trample work against protection?
      A: Trample doesn't care about what's going to happen to the damage
after it's assigned; it will assign enough damage to be lethal anyway. A
green 7/7 trampler, blocked by a 2/2 with protection from green, will still
have to assign 2 damage to the blocker; the rest can be assigned to the
defending player. This won't kill the blocker due to the protection, but
that doesn't matter.

======

Section G: Other one-word Abilities

G.01 Q: What does Phasing mean?
      A: Phasing is a 'disadvantage' ability, which essentially means you
only have your creature (or whatever it is that has the ability) on
alternate turns.
   At the start of your turn, just before everything untaps, all your stuff
with Phasing phases out. (note that your opponent's stuff stays where it
is- it's just the active player who does this.)
   Most players turn their cards face down to show they're phased out.
While something is phased out, it's essentially out of the game- it can't
be targetted, can't attack, can't use its abilites and so on.

   At the same time, all your stuff that's already phased out phases back
in. They'll still have all the counters and enchantments that were on them
when they phased out, and so on. Creatures that phase in have Haste until
their controller's next turn begins.

   So, for example- You play a Breezekeeper, a 4/4 phasing creature. You
can't attack with it this turn because it just came into play. It can block
in your opponent's turn.
On your next turn, it phases out. So you can't attack with it this turn. It
can't block on your opponent's turn.
On your turn after that, it phases back in, so you can finally attack with
it, or block on your opponent's turn.
On your turn after that, it phases back out... you get the picture?

Phasing details:
   If a creature phases out tapped, it will phase back in tapped. Since
this normally happens at the start of the turn, just before you untap
everything anyway, it doesn't usually matter.
   When a creature phases out, abilities that trigger "when ~ leaves play"
will do so. When it phases in, abilities that trigger "when ~ comes into
play" will _not_ do so. Other than reasons of game balance- this would be
too powerful with Bone Shredders, for example- there's no real explanation
for this behaviour. Just stick Vanishing on your Thalakos Seer and enjoy it.

G.02 Q: When a creature dies, can I regenerate it later on in the turn?
      A: No. Regeneration prevents a creature from being destroyed,
replacing the destruction event with another. It cannot bring the creature
back from death in any way.

G.03 Q: What can I regenerate from?
      A: Destruction, ie lethal damage and spells/abilities that say they
destroy. That's all.

G.04 Q: Can I regenerate from a Sacrifice?
      A: No. It doesn't say "destroy".

Section H: Costs

H.01 Q: What's the difference between a cost and an effect?
      A: Costs happen immediately, effects go on the stack. If you
sacrifice a creature to pay for Fallen Angel's ability, your opponent
cannot destroy that creature in response, since costs don't use the stack.

H.02 Q: How do I tell whether something is a cost or an effect?
      A: In general, the mana cost in the top right hand corner of a spell
is its cost, and the text in the text-box of the spell is its effect. In
the case of an activated ability, the text before the colon is its cost,
and the text after it is its effect.

H.03 Q: If a spell is countered, do you still have to pay its cost?
      A: Yes. By the time it can be countered it's been announced, had its
targets and mode chosen, and had its cost paid. You've lost the mana for good.

H.04 Q: Can additional costs, such as kicker costs, be reduced by Familiars?
      A: Yes. When calculating what you have to pay to cover the cost of a
spell, you first take the mana cost (printed on the card), then add
increasers (kicker costs, Gloom) and then apply reducers (Familiars,
Medallions).