Magic the gathering rules

Minimum of 60 cards in deck. No maximum amount of cards.

Build a Deck

It is recommended to have only two colors. This will maximize your chance of drawing
your needed color. First time players should start with the 60 card deck. You may only
have 4 maximum of the same card, excluding land in your deck. You will want to have a
combination of creatures and spells in your deck to give your deck variety.

I suggest building a deck with 24 creatures, 12 spells, and 24 land. You can change these
as you need or will, but for the basic game this tends to be about right.
Try to have a nice balance of cards with some harder cards mixed in with easier to play
cards. You don’t want to have to wait to long to be able to get into the game if you only
have hard to play cards.

Start out with 20 life points.

Draw 7 cards. Must have 7 cards at the end of your turn, so if you have more than you
must discard down to 7 cards. If you don’t like the cards you drew you can mulligan.
Shuffle your hand back into the deck and draw one less. If it is the first time you mulligan
you will draw 6 cards instead of 7. If you decide to mulligan again, you may only draw 5,
etc., until you decide to keep your cards.

Win the game:

The winner is the one to defeat all opponents, or reduce your opponent’s life to zero or
poison your opponent 10 points. Also you can win if your opponent has to draw a card
when none are left in his deck.

Basics of play

Instructions

1
A Magic the Gathering turn starts out with the untap step. Untap any tapped
cards so that they are facing up. Consider them refreshed and revitalized
because untapping indicates that they can be used once again.

2
 Upkeep is the second step in a Magic the gathering turn. Some cards require
you to pay a maintenance fee or an "upkeep" to continue using them. They
may require you to pay mana, life or another type of cost. If none of the cards
you have in play request this then you do not have to pay anything. Simply
proceed.

3
Draw a card from your library. You are allowed to take one card in each
Magic the Gathering turn.

4
Now your first main phase begins. This will take up most of your time in a
Magic the Gathering turn. Here you can play one land per turn. You may also
use creatures, a sorcery, enchantments, artifacts and any other type of card
from your hand. MTG has a long history as a collectible card game so there
are many spell types and options to choose from!

5
It is time for combat. If you want to attack your opponent with creatures this is the
time to do so in a Magic the Gathering turn. Tap as many attackers as you would like
and carry out the assault.

6
After combat it is time for the second main phase. This is exactly the same as the
first one, just at a different time. Again you can put down a land if you have not done
so already. You may also play any spells that you want to play.

7
If you have more than seven cards in your hand you must now discard (put into the
graveyard) cards from your hand until you have exactly seven.

8
In the final part of a Magic the Gathering turn all damage dealt to creatures this
round is healed. They are instantly restored to full strength.
Cards brought into play can not tap or attack the first time put into play unless
indicated on the card.

You can only attack with one creature

Dealing damage

Blocked creature
When a card is attacked you can decide which of your cards will block the spell or
creature.
An attacking creature that isn’t blocked deals damage to the player attacking.

An attacking creature that is blocked deals damage to the blocking creatures. If one of
your attacking creatures is blocked by multiple creatures, you decide how to divide its
combat among them. You must assign at least enough damage to the first blocking
creature in line to destroy it before you can assign damage to the next one in line, and so
on.
A blocking creature deals damage to the attacker it’s blocking.

Areas of play

At any given time, every card is located in one of the following "zones":

Library: A player's deck. These cards are kept face down and should be randomly
ordered (shuffled) to begin the game.

Hand: A player's hand of cards that can be played. They are kept hidden from other
players. If a player has more than seven cards in hand at the end of his or her turn, any
extras must be discarded.

Battlefield: Most cards need to enter the battlefield to have an effect in the game. Unlike
other zones, the battlefield is shared by all players.

Graveyard: A player's discard pile. When a card on the battlefield is destroyed, a card is
discarded from hand, or after a single-use card is used, it is put in its owner's graveyard.
These cards are face up, and can be examined by any player at any time.

The stack: This is the place for cards that have been cast, but have not yet resolved.
While on the stack, they are called "spells." This zone is also shared by all players. See
the stack.
Exile: Cards that have been exiled by a certain effect wind up here. Unless a card says
otherwise, cards in this zone are face-up. Comparatively few cards and abilities can affect
cards in the exile zone.

Command: Used mainly in some variant formats of play, cards that have a special status
or abilities within the game are kept here. Examples are the "scheme" cards used in
Archenemy or "plane" cards used for a Planechase game. Cards in the Command Zone
can be affected by virtually nothing that affects cards in the other zones.

Tapping and untapping

To tap a card means to temporarily use it. Tapped cards are turned sideways to indicate
that they have been used for certain purposes that turn, and may not be used that way
again that turn. At the beginning of each player's turn, that player untaps all cards he or
she controls and returns them to their original orientation, allowing them to be used
again. This mechanism thus allows cards to be used only once per turn cycle.

Mana

When a card that produces mana is tapped for mana, that mana is put in his or her "mana
pool". Mana in the mana pool can be used to pay costs. For example, a player plays a
Swamp, then taps that swamp to add 1 black mana to his mana pool. Then, he uses that
mana to cast Dark Ritual. Dark Ritual adds 3 black mana to that player's mana pool. He
then uses two black mana to cast Night's Whisper, which costs 1 generic and 1 black
mana (1B). The player has now used two of the three black mana in his mana pool. The
one left over is "floating" meaning it can be used any time during that main phase. At the
end of each step and phase, mana pools empty and any remaining mana is lost.

Mana costs and colors

Most cards other than lands have a mana cost. This is the amount of mana that must be
spent to cast that card as a spell. Each mana symbol in the top right corner of the card
represents one mana of that color that must be paid. A number in a gray circle next to the
mana symbols represents how much additional generic mana must be paid; this additional
mana can be of any color or colorless. A mana symbol with a star can be any color.

Some cards may require their owner to pay mana of two or more colors. These cards are
multicolored. Some multicolored cards also use hybrid mana, which can be paid with one
of two different colors.

Abilities

There are three main types of abilities that cards on the battlefield, or "permanents," may
have: activated abilities, triggered abilities, and static abilities.
Activated abilities are abilities of a card that are always written in the form "{Cost}:
{Effect}". Paying the cost allows a player to produce the effect. Costs may include
paying mana, tapping the card, discarding cards, or other things. Like instants, these
abilities can be activated any time in the game unless otherwise stated (see timing and the
stack). Activated abilities, like instants, go on the stack.

Triggered abilities look for a particular event, time, or game state, and then produce an
effect when that occurs. These abilities contain a trigger condition (which will use one of
the words "when", "whenever", or "at"), usually at the start of the ability, and then an
effect. Whenever the trigger condition is met, these abilities are automatically
"triggered", then go on the stack and resolve like other spells and abilities. The card may
also lay out additional conditions that must be met for the effect to occur (using the word
"if"). Note that abilities starting with "as" or "if" are not triggered abilities and therefore
do not use the stack. If multiple triggered abilities' conditions are met at the same time,
those controlled by the active player (the player whose turn it is) are put on the stack first.
Each player chooses the order in which his or her triggered abilities are put on the stack.

Static abilities are general effects that alter cards on the battlefield, or the rules of the
game. If an ability is not activated or triggered, it is static. These abilities are always
"on". Static abilities only work while the card is on the battlefield, unless otherwise stated
or if the ability only makes sense if it applies from a different zone. For example, a card
that refers to casting itself from the graveyard will only work from the graveyard; one
that refers to casting any other card from the graveyard will not. A static ability takes
effect as soon as the card enters the battlefield. Once the card leaves the battlefield, the
ability stops working. Static abilities never use the stack, although they may change the
game state and trigger triggered abilities.

Types of cards

All objects that remain on the battlefield are called permanents. Types of permanents
include lands, creatures, enchantments, artifacts, and planeswalkers. In contrast, sorceries
and instants go to the graveyard immediately after they are used.

Lands

Land cards tap to produce mana that is used to cast spells and activate abilities. They cost
no mana to play; however, a player may play no more than one land per turn, and only
during the main phase of his or her own turn. There are five types of basic lands, one for
each color. These lands can each be tapped to produce one mana of the appropriate color.
Other lands are non-basic and may produce other combinations or amounts of mana, or
may have other abilities. Lands are not spells and cannot be countered. Lands are
colorless, regardless of what colors of mana they may produce. Playing a land does not
use the stack and therefore occurs immediately, with no way for any player to stop it.
Players are allowed to have any number of basic lands in a deck, but nonbasic lands
follow the usual restriction of four copies of any one card per deck.
Creatures

Creatures represent people or beasts that are summoned to the battlefield to attack
opposing players and defend their controller from the attacks of enemy creatures. They
normally cannot attack or use an ability with the "tap symbol" on the first turn they enter
the battlefield. This is known as "summoning sickness." Creatures have two values that
represent their strength in combat, printed on the lower right-hand corner of the card. The
first number is the creature's power, the amount of damage it deals in combat. The second
number is its toughness; if it receives that much damage in a single turn, the creature is
destroyed and placed in the graveyard.

Creatures usually have one or more creature types, located after the word "creature" in
the type line. Creature types are simply markers and have no inherent abilities; for
example, having the Bird type does not automatically give a creature the "flying" ability.
Some non-creature cards have the "Tribal" type, which allows them to have creature
types without being creatures themselves.

Enchantments

Enchantments represent persistent magical effects; they are spells that remain on the
battlefield and alter some aspect of the game.

Some enchantments are attached to other cards on the battlefield (often creatures); these
are known as Auras. They describe what they can be attached to in their "Enchant
<something>" ability. For example, an Aura with "Enchant green creature" can only be
attached to a green creature. If the card an Aura is attached to leaves the battlefield, or
stops matching the Enchant ability, the Aura goes to the graveyard.

Artifacts

Artifacts represent magical items, animated constructs, pieces of equipment, or other

objects and devices. Like enchantments, artifacts remain on the battlefield until
something removes them. Many artifacts are also creatures; artifact creatures may attack
and block as other creatures, and are affected by anything that affects either artifacts or
creatures.

Some artifacts are Equipment. Equipment cards enter the battlefield just like any other
artifact, but may be attached to creatures using their Equip ability (equip only as a
sorcery.) Unlike Auras, however, if an Equipment is attached to a creature and the
creature is destroyed, the Equipment stays on the battlefield, and may later be attached to
a different creature.

Planeswalkers

Planeswalkers are extremely powerful spellcasters that can be called upon for aid.
According to Magic lore, the player is a "planeswalker," a wizard of extraordinary power
who can travel ("walk") between different realms or universes ("planes"); as such,
planeswalker cards are meant to represent scaled-down versions of other players, with
their decks represented by the card's abilities, and originally were designed to move
through a roster of effects without player control, as though they had a mind of their own.
[1]
Each planeswalker has a planeswalker type, which is a truncated version of his or her
name. Only one planeswalker of each type may be on the battlefield at one time. If two
planeswalkers with the same type are on the battlefield, both are put into their owner's
graveyards.

Planeswalkers' abilities are based on their loyalty, which is tracked with counters. The
number printed in the lower right corner indicates how many loyalty counters the
planeswalker enters the battlefield with. Planeswalkers' loyalty abilities each have a
positive or negative loyalty cost; this is how many counters must be added (if positive) or
removed (if negative) to activate that ability. Abilities with negative loyalty costs may
only be activated if there are enough loyalty counters to remove. Regardless of the
loyalty costs, a single planeswalker may only use one loyalty ability once per turn, and
only on its controller's turn during his or her main phase.[2]

Note that planeswalkers are neither creatures nor players, so most spells and abilities
cannot target them directly. There are, however, two ways to deal damage to a
planeswalker. If a player uses any spell or ability that would deal damage to an opponent,
the player may instead choose to deal the damage to one of that opponent's
planeswalkers. Additionally, if a player attacks an opponent who controls a planeswalker,
the player may declare any or all of the attacking creatures to be attacking the
planeswalker instead. Those creatures may be blocked normally, but if not blocked deal
damage to the planeswalker instead of the player. Whenever damage is dealt to a
planeswalker, that many loyalty counters are removed from it. A planeswalker with no
loyalty counters, either through use of its abilities or through damage, is put into its
owner's graveyard.

Sorceries and instants

Sorceries and instants both represent one-shot or short-term magical spells. They never
enter the battlefield. Instead, they take effect and then are immediately put into their
owner's graveyard.

Sorceries and instants differ only in when they can be cast. Sorceries may only be cast
during the player's own main phase, and only when the stack is empty. Instants, on the
other hand, can be cast at almost any time, including during other players' turns and while
another spell or ability is waiting to resolve (see timing and the stack).

Parts of a turn

Beginning phase
The beginning phase is composed of three parts, or "steps." The first thing a player does
is untap all cards he or she controls in the "untap step." Then, any abilities that trigger on
the "upkeep step" happen. These often include cards that require mana payments every
turn. Then the player draws a card in the "draw step." In two-player games, the player
who takes the first turn does not draw a card for that turn.

No player receives priority during the untap step, meaning that no cards or abilities can
be played at that time. During the upkeep and draw steps, however, players can cast
instants and activate abilities as normal.

The Card

Every card has a name, a cost (found in the right upper corner) an ability, in the middle of
the card, and a power and toughness (found in the lower right hand corner).

The power (the first number) is how much damage a card deals in combat.

The toughness is (the second number) is how much damage must be dealt to it in a single
turn to destroy it.

Beginning play

1. untap all tapped permanents.

2. upkeep step

This part of the turn is mentioned on a number of cards. If something is supposed to just
happen once per turn, right at the beginning, an ability will trigger “at the beginning of
your upkeep.” Players can cast instans and activate abilities.

3. Draw step

You draw a card from your library. Players can then play intants and activate abilities.

First main phase

Most of the game's actions happen during the main phase. With the exception of instants
and cards with flash, most cards can only be played or cast during a player's main phase.
You may play one land per turn.

Combat phase
The combat phase is split into five steps. It represents a point in the magical duel where
the active player sends his or her creatures to attack the opposing player, in the hopes of
doing damage to the player or the player's creatures. Except for instants, players may not
cast spells during combat. Instants and activated abilities, however, may be cast or
activated during each step.

Beginning of combat

Nothing normally happens in the beginning of combat step: this step only exists to allow
players to cast spells and activate abilities that may alter how combat progresses. For
example, only untapped creatures may attack, so the defender might cast an instant or
activate an ability that will tap a creature, preventing it from attacking.

Declare attackers

The player whose turn it is declares which creatures he or she controls will attack the
opponent, and/or a planeswalker, directly. In most cases, creatures that are tapped, or that
entered the battlefield this turn (have "summoning sickness") may not attack; attacking
usually causes a creature to become tapped.

Declare blockers

Once the attacking player declares attackers, the defending player chooses which
creatures he or she will block with. A creature must be untapped in order for it to block.
Unlike attacking, the act of blocking does not cause the blocking creatures to tap, and
creatures with summoning sickness can block. Each creature can only block a single
attacker(unless specifically indicated on the card, such as: Two-Headed Giant of Foriys),
although multiple creatures can be used to block a single attacking creature. In this case,
the attacker orders the blocking creatures. The ordering becomes relevant in the combat
damage step.

Combat damage

Attacking creatures that weren't blocked deal damage equal to their power to the player(s)
or planeswalker(s) they attacked; the amount of damage dealt is deducted from the
player's life total or the planeswalker's loyalty counters. Attacking creatures that were
blocked deal damage equal to their power to the creature or creatures that blocked them,
and blocking creatures deal damage equal to their power to the attacking creature they
blocked. If a creature is blocked by multiple creatures, the player that controls the
attacking creature must choose how he or she assigns the damage to the defending
creatures. An attacker that is blocked, but whose blocker is removed from combat before
this step, stays blocked and deals no combat damage. If a creature is dealt damage equal
to or greater than its toughness, it is destroyed and is put into its owner's graveyard.
If creatures with first strike or double strike are involved in combat, an extra combat
damage step is created, and their damage is dealt first. If a creature without first strike is
destroyed by first strike damage, it will not deal combat damage afterward.

End of combat

Like the beginning of combat, nothing normally happens during this step. Players have a
chance to cast instants and activate abilities after combat, but before the main part of the
player's turn starts again.

Second main phase

After the combat phase there is another main phase, identical to the first.

Ending phase

The ending phase has two steps: "end step" and "cleanup". During the end step, abilities
that trigger "at the beginning of the end step" go on the stack. This is normally the last
chance players have to cast instants or activate abilities this turn.

Then, during the cleanup step, the player whose turn it is discards down to his or her
maximum hand size, normally seven cards. Effects that last "until end of turn" or "this
turn" wear off, and all damage is removed from creatures still on the battlefield.

Timing and the stack

The most versatile aspect of Magic is that after most spells and abilities are cast or
activated, but before they actually take effect ("resolve"), all players get a chance to
"respond" to them. This means they can cast a different spell or activate another ability
that will resolve first, often either invalidating or reinforcing the effect of the first spell.
The mechanism that accomplishes this is called "the stack." It is where spells and abilities
go to wait for any responses that may get played.

Spells that create permanents that end up on the battlefield; sorcery spells; and abilities
that say "activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery" cannot be cast or
activated as responses. They can only be cast or activated when the stack is empty, only
on the turn of whoever casts or activates them, and only in a main phase. In contrast,
activated abilities, instant spells, and spells that have the ability flash can be played on
anybody's turn and in most steps of the game, go on the stack "on top of" anything that is
already there, and will resolve first. Many players refer to this difference as "speed," but
that is a misleading term, because neither is "faster" than the other; the only difference is
when they can be played.

Playing lands, most abilities that produce mana, and certain other special actions do not
use the stack; they bypass the rules below and take effect immediately.
The stack

This mechanic is nearly identical to the concept of a stack in computer science.

When a player casts a spell or activates an ability, it does not immediately take effect.
Instead, it is placed on the stack. Then that player gains priority, which gives him or her a
chance to respond to it with spells or abilities. Each new spell or ability is put on top of
the stack in turn, with the newest on top and the oldest at the bottom. A player with
priority can add as many spells or abilities to the stack as he or she can pay for, but is not
required to; if a player declines to respond to the latest spell or ability, he or she "passes
priority" to the next player in turn order.

When all players have passed priority in succession, the top-most spell or ability on the
stack resolves. If it was a sorcery, instant, or ability, the player carries out the
instructions; if it would create a permanent, it enters the battlefield. Every time a spell or
ability finishes resolving, players (starting with the player whose turn it is) can once
again add more to the stack; if they don't, the new top-most spell or ability will resolve.

When the stack is empty, the player whose turn it is gets priority first. If all players pass
priority while the stack is empty, the game proceeds to the next step or phase of the turn.

Example

Alice is attacking Norman with a Hill Giant, a 3/3 creature (meaning it has 3 power and 3
toughness). Norman chooses to block with his Grizzly Bears, a weaker 2/2 creature. If
nothing else happened, the Hill Giant would deal 3 damage to the Grizzly Bears and kill
them, while the Bears would deal 2 damage to the Giant, making Hill Giant "the winner".

However, Norman decides to cast his Giant Growth spell to give +3/+3 to his Grizzly
Bears before combat damage is dealt. He taps a Forest to pay for the spell, and puts Giant
Growth on the stack. Alice, who does not want to give the Grizzly Bears a chance to
grow to 5/5 and kill her Hill Giant, responds by casting Shock targeting the Grizzly
Bears. She taps one Mountain to pay for the spell, and puts Shock on the stack on top of
Giant Growth. If Norman had no other spells, then Alice's Shock would resolve first and
deal 2 damage to the Grizzly Bears, killing them. His Giant Growth would then go to the
graveyard with no effect because the Bears would no longer be on the battlefield and
would thus be an illegal target. Fortunately for Norman, he has another spell to cast. He
taps a Plains and casts Mending Hands targeting his Grizzly Bears. Now Mending Hands
is on top of the stack, with Shock and then Giant Growth beneath it.

Since both players are out of spells to cast, the top spell on the stack resolves. Mending
Hands creates a "damage prevention shield" that will prevent up to 4 points of damage to
Norman's Bears, and is put into Norman's graveyard after it resolves. Neither player
chooses to cast anything else at this point, so Alice's Shock resolves. It attempts to deal 2
damage to Grizzly Bears, but Norman's Mending Hands prevents the damage, and Shock
is put into Alice's graveyard. Finally, Norman's Giant Growth resolves and makes Grizzly
Bears a 5/5 creature until end of turn. Giant Growth then goes to Norman's graveyard.

Once combat damage is dealt, the now 5/5 Grizzly Bears deal 5 damage to the Hill Giant
and easily kills it. Hill Giant attempts to deal 3 damage to the Grizzly Bears, but the
remainder of Norman's damage prevention shield prevents a further 2 damage (totaling 4
damage) and Grizzly Bears only takes 1 damage.

When Alice's turn ends, the single point of damage is removed from the Grizzly Bears,
and the Giant Growth effect wears off at the same time. As Norman's turn begins, his
Grizzly Bears are undamaged and 2/2.

Countering

Certain spells (and abilities) allow a player to counter other spells (or abilities). These
spells must be cast while the spells they will affect are still on the stack. If a spell is
countered, it is moved from the stack to its owner's graveyard. It does not resolve, and
has no effect unless the card states otherwise. If the spell would create a permanent, it
never enters the battlefield. Some spells state that they cannot be countered.

There is one other way for a spell to be countered. If the spell targets something (such as
Giant Growth or Shock), then the target must be legal both when the spell is cast and
when it resolves. A spell can't be cast without a legal target; if the target becomes illegal
while the spell is on the stack, then the spell is countered by the game rules (for having an
illegal target) just before it would start to resolve. If a spell is countered this way, then no
part of the spell — even a non-targeting part of the spell's effect — takes place.

If a spell has multiple targets, then all of them must be legal for it to be cast, and all must
be illegal for the spell to be countered. For example, the card Reckless Spite destroys two
target nonblack creatures, but its controller will lose 5 life. If there is only one legal target
for Reckless Spite, then it cannot be cast. If one legal target becomes an illegal target
before Reckless Spite resolves, for instance, if an instant is cast that grants shroud to that
creature, the other will still be destroyed and Reckless Spite's caster will lose 5 life. If
they are both made illegal targets, then the entire spell is countered.