GAME ACTIONS

This section describes the actions that you’ll take during a

game, including tapping your cards, casting spells, and
attacking and blocking with creatures in combat.
TAPPING AND UNTAPPING
To tap a card is to turn it sideways to show that it has been
used for the turn. You do this when you use a land to make
mana, when you attack with a creature, or when you
activate an ability that has the symbol as part of its cost (
means "tap this permanent"). When a permanent is
tapped, you can’t tap it again until it’s been untapped
(turned back upright). As your turn begins, untap your
tapped cards so you can use them again.
CASTING SPELLS
To cast a spell, you must pay its mana cost (located in the
upper right corner of the card) by tapping lands (or other
permanents) to make the amount and Game Actions type of
mana which that spell requires. For example, if you were
casting Serra Angel, which costs , you could tap
three basic lands of any type to pay plus two Plains to
pay .

Once a spell has been cast, one of two things happens. If the
spell is an instant or a sorcery, you follow the instructions on
the card, and then you put the card into your graveyard. If
the spell is a creature, artifact, or enchantment, you put the
card on the table in front of you. The card is now on the
battlefield.
Cards on the battlefield are called permanents to
differentiate them from instants and sorceries, which are
never on the battlefield.

ATTACKING AND BLOCKING

The most common way to win the game is to attack with
your creatures. If a creature that is attacking an opponent
isn’t blocked, it deals damage equal to its power to that
opponent.

The middle phase of each turn is the combat phase. In your

combat phase, you choose which of your creatures will
attack, and you choose which opponents they will attack.
Tap your creatures to show that they are attacking. Your
opponents then choose which of their creatures will block, if
any. Tapped creatures can’t be declared as blockers.

Once all blockers have been chosen, each creature—both

attackers and blockers—simultaneously deals damage equal
to its power (the number on the left side of the slash in the
lower right corner of the card).

 An attacking creature that isn’t blocked deals damage

to the player it’s attacking.
 An attacking creature that is blocked deals damage to

the creature or creatures that are blocking it, and vice

versa.
If damage is dealt to your opponent, they lose that much
life.

If one of your attacking creatures is blocked by multiple

creatures, you decide how to divide its combat damage
among them. You must assign at least enough damage to
the first blocking creature to destroy it before you can
assign damage to the second one, and so on.

If a creature is dealt damage equal to or greater than its

toughness over the course of a single turn (whether it be
combat damage, damage from spells or abilities, or a
combination of both), that creature is destroyed, and it goes
to its owner’s graveyard (or "dies"). If a creature takes
damage that isn’t enough to destroy it in a single turn, that
creature stays on the battlefield, and the damage wears off
at the end of the turn.
IN THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES, AN OPPONENT IS ATTACKING
YOU WITH A VARIETY OF CREATURES:
Mesa Unicorn deals 2 damage to you.

Mesa Unicorn is destroyed.

 Both creatures survive.

Giant Spider is destroyed.

In this example, Dwarven Priest is attacking, and you have

two creatures that can block. When you block one attacker
with two or more creatures, your opponent must choose the
order in which your blockers will take damage. Remember,
the attacking player always chooses the order in which
blocking creatures receive damage.

Reclamation Sage and Giant Spider will deal a total of 4

damage to Dwarven Priest, which is enough to destroy it.
Meanwhile, Dwarven Priest can deal enough damage to
destroy Reclamation Sage, but not enough to destroy Giant
Spider. Since your opponent’s Dwarven Priest will be
destroyed in either case, they order Reclamation Sage
before Giant Spider so that at least one of your creatures
will be destroyed.
Once blockers have been ordered, damage is dealt.
Dwarven Priest deals 1 damage to Reclamation Sage,
destroying it, then deals its remaining 1 damage to Giant
Spider.

ADVANCED TOPICS
One of the most fun and interesting aspects of
the Magic game is the tremendous number of unique cards
you can play with, which in turn provide an incredibly wide
range of things that could happen in any given game. This
section is a reference for when you need to know more
details about the rules of Magic.
TARGETING
Some spells and abilities use the word "target" to describe
something that the spell or ability will affect. You must
choose all targets for a spell when you cast it, and for an
ability when it triggers or when you activate it. If you can’t
meet the targeting requirements, you can’t cast the spell or
use the ability. For example, if a spell has the text "Destroy
target creature," but there are no creatures on the
battlefield, you can’t cast that spell because it has no valid
targets.

If a spell "deals damage to any target," you can choose any

creature or player (or planeswalker, if a player has one) as a
target for that spell.

Once you choose targets, you can’t change your mind later.
When the spell or ability resolves, it checks the targets to
make sure they’re still legal (that is, they’re still there and
they still match the requirements of the spell or ability). If a
target isn’t legal, the spell or ability can’t affect it. If none of
the targets are legal, the spell or ability does nothing at all.
THE STACK
The stack is a game zone shared by all players (like the
battlefield) where spells and abilities wait to resolve.
Resolving a spell or ability simply means that its effect
happens.

Using the Stack

When you cast a spell or activate an ability, it doesn’t resolve
right away—it goes on the stack. Spells and abilities remain
on the stack until both players choose not to cast any new
spells or activate any new abilities. Triggered abilities also go
on the stack until they resolve.
When you have finished putting spells and abilities on the
stack, priority then passes to the next player in turn order,
who may want to use a spell or ability of their own in
response. Subsequent players (including you) can then
respond to that player’s response, and so on—the result is a
"stack" waiting to resolve. Spells and abilities remain on the
stack until all players choose not to cast any new spells or
activate any new abilities.

A general rule is that spells and abilities on the stack resolve

one by one, beginning with the last one put on the stack.
Responding to Spells and Abilities
When you cast a spell or activate an ability, it doesn’t resolve
right away—it goes on the stack. Spells and abilities remain
on the stack until both players choose not to cast any new
spells or activate any new abilities. Triggered abilities also go
on the stack until they resolve.
Each player has an opportunity to cast an instant spell (or
activate an activated ability) in response to any spell or
ability that goes on the stack. If a player does decide to
respond, their spell or ability goes on the stack on top of
what was already waiting there. When all players pass—that
is, decline to do anything more—the top spell or ability on
the stack will resolve.

After a spell or ability resolves, both players again get the

chance to respond. If no one does, the next thing waiting on
the stack will resolve. If the stack is empty, the current step
of the turn will end, and the game will proceed to the next
step.

Example of Spells on the Stack

Your opponent casts Shock targeting your Eager Construct,
a 2/2 creature. Shock goes on the stack. You respond to
Shock by casting Titanic Growth. Titanic Growth goes on the
stack on top of Shock. You and your opponent both decline
to do anything else.
Titanic Growth resolves, making Eager Construct a 6/6 until
the end of the turn. Then Shock resolves and deals 2
damage to the pumped-up Eager Construct, which is not
enough to destroy it.

What would happen if Titanic Growth were cast first?

The Shock would go on the stack on top of Titanic Growth,
which means it would resolve first this time. Shock would
still deal 2 damage to Eager Construct, but this time that
damage is being dealt before Titanic Growth can resolve and
take effect—so 2 damage is enough to destroy Eager
Construct!
PARTS OF THE TURN
Each turn proceeds in the same sequence. Whenever you
enter a new step or phase, any triggered abilities that
happen during that step or phase trigger and are put on the
stack. The active player (the player whose turn it is) gets to
start casting spells and activating abilities, then each other
player in turn order will too. When all players decline to do
anything more and nothing is on the stack waiting to
resolve, the game will move to the next step.
BEGINNING PHASE
 Untap step
You untap all your tapped permanents. On the first
turn of the game, you don’t have any permanents, so
you just skip this step. No one can cast spells or
activate abilities during this step.
 Upkeep step
Players can cast instants and activate abilities. This part
of the turn is mentioned on a number of cards. If
something is supposed to happen just once per turn,
right at the beginning, an ability will trigger "at the
beginning of your upkeep."
 Draw step
You must draw a card from your library (even if you
don’t want to). The player who goes first in a two-player
game skips the draw step on their first turn to make up
 for the advantage of going first. Players can then cast
instants and activate abilities.
FIRST MAIN PHASE
 You can cast any number of sorceries, instants,
creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers,
and you can activate abilities. You can play a land
during this phase, but remember that you can play only
one land during your turn. Your opponent can cast
instants and activate abilities.
COMBAT PHASE
 Beginning of combat step
Players can cast instants and activate abilities.
 Declare attackers step
You decide which, if any, of your untapped creatures
will attack, and which player or planeswalker they will
attack. This taps the attacking creatures. Players can
then cast instants and activate abilities.
 Declare blockers step
Your opponent decides which, if any, of their untapped
creatures will block your attacking creatures. If multiple
creatures block a single attacker, you order the
blockers to show which will be first to receive damage,
which will be second, and so on. Players can then cast
instants and activate abilities.
 Combat damage step
Each attacking or blocking creature that’s still on the
battlefield assigns its combat damage to the defending
player (if it’s attacking that player and wasn’t blocked),
to a planeswalker (if it’s attacking that planeswalker and
wasn’t blocked), to the creature or creatures blocking it,
or to the creature it’s blocking. If an attacking creature
is blocked by multiple creatures, you divide its combat
 damage among them by assigning at least enough
damage to the first blocking creature to destroy it, then
by assigning damage to the second one, and so on.
Once players decide how the creatures they control will
deal their combat damage, the damage is all dealt at
the same time. Players can then cast instants and
activate abilities.
 End of combat step
Players can cast instants and activate abilities.
SECOND MAIN PHASE
 Your second main phase is just like your first main
phase. You can cast any type of spell and activate
abilities, but your opponent can only cast instants and
activate abilities. You can play a land during this phase
if you didn’t play one during your first main phase.
ENDING PHASE
 End step
Abilities that trigger “at the beginning of your end step”
go on the stack. Players can cast instants and activate
abilities.
 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 cast instants or
activate abilities unless an ability triggers during this
step.