En Magic Basic Rulebook 20090710

8/8/2019 En Magic Basic Rulebook 20090710

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Object of the Game

Te Magic: Te Gathering game is a strategy game played by two or more players, each o whom has a customized deck oMagic cards. Over the course o the game, each player will take turns playing cards such as lands (which enable you to playyour other cards), creatures, sorceries, and other spells. Each player starts at 20 lie. When you reduce your opponent to 0 lie

by attacking with creatures and playing spells, you win!

Basic Rulebook

Your Journey Has BegunYou are a planeswalker, and ahead o you lay countless battles across deadly worlds that dey imagination.

o thrive, let alone survive, youll need a base rom which you can start.

AGE 13+

Illus. Aleksi Briclot


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Introduction

Youre here because you want to learn the Magic: TeGatheringgame, the worlds premier trading card game.It was the rst game o its kind, and its still the best andthe biggest.

In the Magic game, you play the role o a planeswalkerapowerul wizard who ghts other planeswalkers or glory,knowledge, and conquest. Your deck o cards representsall the weapons in your arsenal. It contains the spells youknow and the creatures you can summon to ght or you.

rading card games like the Magic: TeGathering game combine collectablecards with a strategy game. Start yourcollection with an intro pack and begin

battling immediately with a ready-to-play deck.

Once youve gotten a handle on how toplay, customize your deck using cardsrom booster packs, starting with the

one included in your intro pack. You dont know whatcards youll get in a Magic booster pack. You just starta collection and trade with other players to get the cardsyou want. You can nd stores where Magic cards are soldat http://locator.wizards.com .

Te best part about a trading card game is that its alwayschanging. You design and build your own unique decks,and each Magic game you play is dierent. NewMagic

expansions are released a ew times a year, and eachnew expansion brings new ways to stupey and deeatyour opponents. Check out MagicTeGathering.com or daily articles, insider inormation, and news aboutupcoming sets!

Rule the Multiverse

ContentsSection 1: Te Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Five Colors o Mana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Parts o a Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Card ypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Game Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Section 2: Te Building Blocks . . . . . . . . . . 8

Making Mana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Attacking and Blocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Building Your Own Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Te Golden Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Section 3: Playing a Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Get a Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Get a Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Start the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Parts o the urn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Te Next urn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Te Ever-Changing Game . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Section 4: Dierent Ways to Play . . . . . . . . 18

Limited Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Constructed Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Multiplayer Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Section 5: Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Questions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
http://www.magicthegathering.com/http://www.magicthegathering.com/


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& 19932009 Wizardsof the CoastLLC232/249

DonHazeltine

Plains

Basic Land Plains

OOO

Flying

Vigilance(Attacking doesnt causethis creature to tap.)

Her sword sings more beautifully thanany choir.

4/4& 19932009 Wizardsof the CoastLLC29/249

Greg Staples

o3oWoWSerra Angel

Creature Angel


ScottBailey

Island

Basic Land Island

OO

Enchant land

As Convincing Mirage enters thebattlefield, choose a basic land type.

Enchanted land is the chosen type.

Where are we? You must learn to askmore useful questions than that.


RyanPancoast

o1oUConvincing Mirage

Enchantment Aura


Jim Pavelec

Swamp

Basic Land Swamp

OOO

Other Zombie creatures you controlget +1/+1.

o2oB, oT: Exile target creature card froma graveyard. Put a 2/2 black Zombiecreature token onto the battlefield.

Every grave cradles a recruit.


Dave Allsop

o1oBoBCemetery Reaper

Creature Zombie


NilsHamm

Mountain

Basic Land Mountain

OO

Seismic Strike deals damage to targetcreature equal to the number ofMountains you control.

Life up here is simple.Adapt to the waysof the mountains and they will rewardyou.Fight them and they will end you.Kezim,prodigal pyromancer


Christopher Moeller

o2oRSeismic Strike

Instant


JohnAvon

Forest

Basic Land Forest

OOO

o1oG: Put a 1/1 green Insect creaturetoken onto the battlefield.

Kill the queen first,or well be fightingher drones forever.It is not in a queensnature to have enough ser vants.Borzard,exterminator captain


Trevor Claxton

o3oGoGAnt Queen

Creature Insect

Section : The Basics

WhitePlains are the source o white magic, the color o light, protection, and above allorder. White magic is about making and enorcing the rules. White planeswalkersbelieve that without laws and the strength to uphold them, anarchy prevails. Tosewho ollow the rules shall have honor and thrive while those who orsake them

will ultimately suer.


Five Colors of Mana

Only one thing unites the innite planes o the Multiverse: mana, the energy that uels all magic. Te ve colors omana are imbued in the land itsel, and a planeswalker with a connection to a place can call upon its mana rom acrossthe sea o ther between worlds.

Each color o mana uels a dierent kind o powerul magic or you to command. For example, red spells have oR intheir costs, and tapping (turning) a Mountain gives you oR that you can spend to cast spells. Its up to you whether tomaster one color or all ve.

BlueBlue magic ows rom Islands. It ocuses on manipulation and intellect. Bluetampers with the undamental order o things and thrives on controlling theenvironment, bending the rules to suit its own needs. Blue planeswalkers believethat the most important commodity is knowledge.

BlackSwamps are the source o black magicthe magic o death, decay, and power

Black planeswalkers embrace their ambition, and are willing to pay a price orgreatness. Tey believe that lie is about gaining power at all costs. Everything andeveryone is a possible resource.

RedRed magic comes rom Mountains. Red planeswalkers can literally crush theground beneath their eet, or call upon urious volcanic activity to destroy theiroes. Tey want results and action instead o deliberation and debate. Chaos,destruction, and warthese are red magics staples.

GreenForests are the root o green magic. From the power o nature, green magic providesgrowth and lie to the planeswalkers who wield it. Green planeswalkers live anddie according to the law o the jungle: only the strong survive, and every livingthing is either predator or prey. Green planeswalkers believe that growth is theoundation o everything. In the end, lie will win out.


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OO

Lava Axe deals 5 damage to targetplayer.

Catch!

& 19932009 Wizards of the Coast LLC 145/249

Brian Snoddy

o4oRLava Axe

Sorcery

OOO

Flying

oR: Shivan Dragon gets +1/+0 untilend of turn.

The undisputed master of the mountains

of Shiv.

5/5 & 19932009 Wizards of the Coast LLC 156/249

Donato Giancola

o4oRoRShivan Dragon

Creature Dragon


Mana CostMana is the main resource in thegame. Its produced by lands, and youspend it to cast spells. Te symbols in

a cards upper right corner tell you thecost to cast that spell. I the mana costreads o4oRoR, you pay our mana oany kinds plus two red mana (rom aMountain) to cast it.

Expansion SymbolTis symbol tells you which Magic setthe card is rom. Tis version o ShivanDragon is romMagic2010core set.Te color o the symbol tells you the

cards rarity: black or common cards,silver or uncommons, gold or rares,and red-orange or mythic rares.

Collector NumberTe collector number makes it easier

to organize your cards. For example,156/249 means that the card is the156th o 249 cards in its set.

Power and ToughnessEach creature card has a special box with its powerand toughness. A creatures power (the rst number)is how much damage it deals in combat. Its toughness(the second number) is how much damage must be

dealt to it in a single turn to destroy it. (A planeswalkercard has a dierent special box with its loyalty here.)

Type LineTis tells you the cardscard type:artiact,creature, enchantment, instant, land,planeswalker, or sorcery. I the card hasa subtypeor supertype, thats also listedhere. For example, Shivan Dragon is acreature, and its subtype is the creaturetype Dragon.

Card Name

Card Types

EveryMagic card has one or more types. A cards type tells you when you can play thecard and what happens to the card ater you do.

Parts of a Card

Text BoxTis is where a cards abilities appear.You may also ndavor textprinted initalics (like this) that tells you somethingabout the Magic world. Flavor text hasno eect on game play. Some abilitieshave italic reminder textto help explainwhat they do.

SorceryA sorcery represents a magical incantation. You can cast a sorcery only during a mainphase o one o your own turns. You cant cast it when another spell is on the stack(Youll learn about phases and the stack in a bit.) A sorcery has its eectin otherwords, you ollow the instructions on the cardthen you put it into your graveyardwhich is the game term or your discard pile.


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OOO

The most terrifying thing about the crawwurm is probably the horrible crashingsound it makes as it speeds throughthe forest. This noise is so loud it echoesthrough the trees and seems to come fromall directions at once.

6/4 & 19932009 Wizards of the Coast LLC 173/249

Richard Sardinha

o4oGoGCraw Wurm

Creature Wurm

O

Equipped creature is unblockable.

Equipped creature has shroud. (It cantbe the target of spells or abilities.)

Equip o2(o2: Attach to target creatureyou control. Equip only as a sorcery.)


Daren Bader

o3Whispersilk Cloak

Artifact Equipment

O

Enchant creature

Enchanted creature gets +1/+2.

Born under the sun, the first child willseek the foundation of honor and be

fortified by its righteousness.Codex of the Constellari


Terese Nielsen

oWHoly Strength

Enchantment Aura

OOO

Counter target spell.


David Palumbo

o1oUoUCancel

Instant


InstantAn instant is just like a sorcery, except you can cast it just about any time you want,even during your opponents turn or in responseto another spell. Like a sorcery, aninstant has its eect, then you put it into your graveyard.

Enchantment An enchantment represents a stable magical maniestation. An enchantment is

permanent. Tis means two things: You can cast one only at the time you could casta sorcery, and ater you cast one, youll put it on the table in ront o you, near yourlands. (Most players keep their lands closer to them, then put their other cards closerto the middle o the table.) Te card is now on the battlefeld. Any o your cards onthe battleeld is called apermanentbecause it sticks around permanently (well, unlesssomething destroys it).

Some enchantments areAuras. An Aura enters the battleeld attached to a permanentand aects that permanent while its on the battleeld. I the enchanted permanentleaves the battleeld, the Aura is put into its owners graveyard.

ArtifactAn artiact represents a magical relic. Like an enchantment, an artiact is a permanentso itll stay on the battleeld aecting the game. Most artiacts are colorless, so you cancast one no matter what kinds o lands you have.

Some artiacts are Equipment. You can pay to attach an Equipment to a creature youcontrol to make that creature more powerul. I an equipped creature leaves the battleeldthe Equipment doesntthe creature drops it and it remains on the battleeld.

CreatureCreatures ght or you. Teyre permanents, but unlike any other kind o permanentcreatures can attackand block. Each creature haspowerand toughness. Its power (the rstnumber) is how much damage it deals in combat. Its toughness (the second number)is how much damage must be dealt to it in a single turn to destroy it. Creatures attackand block during the combat phase.

Unlike other types o permanents, creatures enter the battleeld with summoningsickness: a creature cant attack, or use an ability that has oT in its cost, until it hasstarted your turn on the battleeld under your control. You can block with a creature

or activate its other abilities no matter how long its been on the battleeld.

Artiact creatures are both artiacts and creatures. Teyre usually colorless like otherartiacts, and they can attack and block like other creatures. An artiact creature can beaected by anything that aects artiacts, as well as anything that aects creatures.


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X X

X X X

X X X X X

X X X

X

X


Karl Kopinski

Mountain

Basic Land Mountain

:

:

:+1

-2

-8

OOO

5 & 19932009 Wizards of the Coast LLC 102/249

Aleksi Briclot

o3oBoBLiliana Vess

Planeswalker Liliana

Target player discards a card.

Search your library for a card, thenshuffle your library and put that cardon top of it.

Put all creature cards in all graveyardsonto the battlefield under your control.:

:

+1

2

8

& 19932009 Wizards of the Coast LLC 102/249Aleksi Briclot

ilili nan esss

PlPl nnanan sw lk rer Lillianan

ar tpla eer d scisccc rdar s a ccar .rd..r ..

eaarcr y rllll r rryy fff rrr a ca ccardr tt,, henhuufffl yo rourlilil brrar rr ndnda ut ttt tt t attatt caacc rdsn topt ooo tt.....

Putut all cl crear t rtt ee cccarar iis inn allll grraavveyy rda sntnt tt ee b ttlelefiee undnder uour ccontnt oror lrr ..

PlaneswalkerPlaneswalkers are powerul allies you can call on to ght by your side. Teyrepermanents, and each one enters the battleeld with the number o loyaltycountersindicated in its lower right corner. Each planeswalker has abilities that add or removeloyalty counters to activate. For example, the symbol!means Put one loyalty counteron this planeswalker, and the symbol2 means Remove two loyalty counters romthis planeswalker. You can activate one o these abilities only at the time you couldcast a sorcery, and only i none o that planeswalkers abilities have been activated

yet that turn.

Your planeswalkers can be attacked by your opponents creatures (i so, you can blockas normal), and your opponent can damage them with their spells and abilities insteado damaging you. Any damage dealt to a planeswalker causes it to lose that manyloyalty counters. I it has no loyalty counters, its put into your graveyard.

Planeswalkers are rich and complex, and this just scratches the surace. o learn more,visitwww.wizards.com/planeswalkers .

Land

Although lands are permanents, they arent cast as spells. o play a land, just put itonto the battleeld. Tis happens immediately, so no player can do anything else inresponse. You can play a land only during one o your main phases while the stack isempty. You cant play more than one land a turn.

Most lands have abilities that make mana. Youll use lands to make the mana you needto pay or spells and abilities.

Each basic land has a mana ability that makes one mana o a particular color. Plainsmake white mana (oW), Islands make blue mana (oU), Swamps make black mana (oB)Mountains make red mana (oR), and Forests make green mana (oG). Any land other

than these ve is a nonbasicland.


Card typeIs a

permanentIs cast as a

spellIs usuallycolorless

Can attackCan be

attacked

Land

Artiact

Creature

Enchantment

Planeswalker

Instant

Sorcery


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Mountai

n

BasicLa

ndMou

ntain

OO

Countertargetnoncreature spell.Mastersofthearcanesavora deliciousirony.Theirstudyofdeepandcomplexarcana leadstosuch a simpleend:theabilitytosaymerelyyesorno.

o1oU

Negate

Instant

OOO

FlyingoR:ShivanDragongets+1/+0until

endofturn.Theundisputedmasterofthemountains

ofShiv.

5/5

o4oRoR

ShivanDragon

CreatureDragon

Forest

BasicLandForest

Plains

BasicLandP

lains

OO

WhenBorderlandRangerentersthebattlefield,youmaysearchyourlibraryforabasiclandcard,revealit,andputitintoyourhand.Ifyoudo,shuffleyourlibrary.

Onlyfoolsandbanditsuseroads.

2/2

o2oG BorderlandRanger

CreatureHumanScout

OO

WhenElvishVisionaryentersthe

battlefield,drawacard.

Beforeanymajorundertaking,a

Cylian

elfseekstheguidanceofavisionaryto

learnthewillofthegargantuanancients.

1/1

o1oG

ElvishVisionary

Creature

ElfShaman

OO

Reach(Thiscreaturecanblockcreatureswithflying.)

Thegiantspiderssilknaturallyresistsgravity,almostweavingitselfasitblanketstheforestcanopy.

2/4

o3oG GiantSpider

CreatureSpider

OO

Oncehedworkedoutwhich endofthethingwassharp,he waspromotedtoguardduty.

2/1

o1oRGoblinPiker

Creature GoblinWarrior

OOO

Flying

oR:DragonWhelp gets+1/+0 untilendof turn.At the beginning ofthe endstep,if thisabilityhasbeenactivatedfourormore timesthisturn,sacrifice DragonWhelp.

2/3

o2oRoRDragonWhelp

Creature Dragon

Mountain

Basic LandMountain Mountain

BasicLandMountain

Mountain

BasicLandMountain

Island

BasicLandIsland

Island

BasicLandIsland

OO

Enchantcreature

Enchantedcreaturecantattackor

block.

Forthefirsttimeinhislife,Grakkfeltalittlewarmandfuzzyinside.

o1oW Pacifism

EnchantmentAura

OO

Haste (Thiscreature canattackandoT assoonasit comesunder your control.)

Aflashofthelightning,abreakof thewave,Hepassesfromlife tohisrestin thegrave.

WilliamKnox,Mortality

4/1

o3oRLightning Elemental

Creature Elemental

Plains

BasicLandP

lains

Forest

BasicLandForest

O

Targetcreaturegets+3/+3untilendofturn.

oG GiantGrowth

Instant

Game Zones


Heres what a game in progress looks like.In this example, there arent any exiled cards, and no spells areon the stack. (When you put a spell on the stack, you take thecard rom your hand and put it in the middle o the table untilit nishes resolving.)

Since the Magic game doesnt have a game board, zonesare the areas o play that exist on your table.

Hand

Hand

Battlefield

Opponent life left

You life left

Library

Library

Graveyard

Graveyard

HandWhen you draw cards, they go to your hand, just as in mostother card games. No one except you can look at the cardsin your hand. You start the game with seven cards in yourhand, and you have a maximum hand size o seven. (You

may have more than seven cards in your hand, but you mustdiscard down to seven at the end o each o your turns.)Each player has his or her own hand.

BattlefieldYou start the game with nothing on the battleeld, but thisis where the action is going to be. On each o your turns,you can play a land rom your hand. Creatures, artiactsenchantments, and planeswalkers also enter the battleeldater they resolve. You can arrange your permanents howeveryou want (we recommend putting lands closest to you)

but your opponent must be able to see all o them and tellwhether theyre tapped. Tis zone is shared by both players.

GraveyardYour graveyard is your discard pile. Your instant and sorceryspells go to your graveyard when theyresolve. Your cards goto your graveyard i an eect causes them to be discardeddestroyed, sacrifced, or countered. Your planeswalkers go toyour graveyard i they lose all their loyalty counters. Yourcreatures go to your graveyard i the damage theyre dealtin a single turn is equal to or greater than their toughness,or i their toughness is reduced to 0 or less. Cards in yourgraveyard are always ace up and anyone can look at them atany time. Each player has his or her own graveyard.

The StackSpells and abilities exist on the stack. Tey wait there toresolve until both players choose not to cast any new spellsor activate any new abilities. Ten the last spell or abilitythat was put onto the stack resolves, and players get a chanceto cast spells and activate abilities again. (Youll learn moreabout casting spells and activating abilities the next section.)Tis zone is shared by both players.

ExileI a spell or ability exilesa card, that card is put in a gamearea thats set apart rom the rest o the game. Te card willremain there orever, unless whatever put it there is able tobring it back. Exiled cards are normally ace up. Tis zone isshared by both players.

LibraryWhen the game begins, your deck o cards becomes yourlibrary (your draw pile). Its kept ace down, and the cardsstay in the order they were in at the beginning o the game.No one can look at the cards in your library, but you canknow how many cards are in each players library. Eachplayer has his or her own library.

OO

Drawtwo cards.

Thekey tounlockingthispu zzleis

withinyou .Doriel,mentorofMistralIsle

o2oUDivination

Sorcery


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oW

oU

oB

oR

oG


Rob Alexander

Plains

Basic Land Plains

&1993

2009WizardsoftheCoastLLC230/249

Rob

Alexander

Plains

Basic

LandPlains

OO

oT: Prodigal Pyromancer deals 1 damageto target creature or player.

What am I looking at? Ashes,dead man.

1/1& 19932009 Wizardsof the CoastLLC 151/249

JeremyJarvis

o2oRProdigal Pyromancer

Creature Human Wizard

OO

oT:ProdigalPyromancerdeals1damage

totargetcreatureorplayer.

WhatamIlookingat?Ashes,deadman.

1/1

&19932009WizardsoftheCoastLLC151/249

JeremyJarvis

o2oR

ProdigalPyromancer

CreatureHumanWizard

Section : The Building Blocks

Making Mana

Tis section describes the actions that youll take during a game. Youll learn how to make mana, which is the resourceyou need to cast spells. It will then describe how to cast a spell, as well as how to use abilities. It will go over how toattack and block with your creatures. Te section nishes with a brie description o how to build your rst deck andan explanation o the games Golden Rule.

o do just about anything else in the game, you rstneed to be able to make mana. Tink o mana as Magicmoneyits what you use to pay most costs. Each manais either one o the ve Magic colorsor is colorless. Whena cost requires colored mana, youll see colored manasymbols (oW or white, oU or blue, oB or black, oR orred,oG or green). When any kind o mana can be used

to pay the cost, youll see a symbol with a number in it(likeo2).

Where does mana come rom? Nearly every land in thegame has an ability that produces mana. Basic lands justhave a large mana symbol in their text boxes to showthisyou can tap one o them to add one mana o thatcolor to your mana pool. (Your mana pool is where manais stored until you spend it.) Other lands, as well as somecreatures, artiacts, and spells, may also make mana.Teyll say something like Add oG to your mana pool.

Mana that youve made doesnt last orever. At the end oeach step orphaseo the turn, any unused mana in yourmana pool disappears.

Tapped

UntappedTappingo tap a card is to turn it sideways. You do this when you use a land to make mana, whenyou attack with a creature, or when you activate an ability that has the oT symbol as part oits cost (oT means tap this permanent). When a permanent is tapped, that usually means

its been used or the turn. You cant tap it again until its been untapped(straightened out).

Sometimes an eect will tap a permanent. I this happens, you dont get the eect youd geti you chose to tap your permanent yoursel.

At the beginning o each o your turns, you untap your tapped cards so you can usethem again.


Basic Land Type Can Be Tapped For

Plains

Island

Swamp

Mountain

Forest

(white)

(blue)

(black)

(red)

(green)


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OO

Destroy target tapped creature.

This is how wars are wonnot witharmies of soldiers but with a single knifeblade, artfully placed.Yurin, royal assassin


Kev Walker

o2oBAssassinate

Sorcery


Spells

Now that you can make mana, youll want to use it to cast spells. All cards except lands are cast as spells. You can castsorceries, creatures, artiacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers only during one o your main phases when theresnothing else on the stack. Instants can be cast at any time.

Casting a Spello cast a spell, take the card you want to cast rom yourhand, show it to your opponent, and put it on the stack.(Te stack is the game zone where spells live. Its usuallyin the middle o the table.) Tere are a ew choices thatyou need to make right now. I the spell is an instant orsorcery and says Choose one , you choose which othe options youre using. I the spell is an instant or sorceryand it has a target, you choose what (or who) that targetis. Aura spells also target the permanents theyll enchant.I the spell has oX in its cost, you choose what number

X stands or. Other choices will be made later, when thespell resolves.

TargetWhen you see the word targeton a spell or ability, you haveto choose one or more thingsor the spell or ability to aect. Youll be able to choose onlycertain kinds o things, suchas target red permanent ortarget creature or player.

You choose the targets or a spell when you cast it, andyou choose targets or an activated ability when youactivate it. I you cant meet the targeting requirements,you cant cast the spell or activate the activated ability.Once you choose targets, you cant change your mindlater. When the spell or ability resolves, it checks thetargets to make sure theyre still legal(theyre still there,and they match the requirements stated by the spell orability). I a target isnt legal, the spell or ability cant

aect it. I none o the targets are legal, the spell orability is countered and does nothing at all.

Now check what the spells cost is. ap your lands toproduce the mana necessary to pay that cost, and pay it.Once you do that, the spell has been cast.

Responding to a SpellTe spell doesnt resolve(have its eect) right awayit hasto wait on the stack. Each player, including you, now getsa chance to cast an instant or activate an activated abilityin response. I a player does, that instant or ability goes onthe stack on top o what was already waiting there. Whenall players decline to do anything, the top spell or abilityon the stack will resolve.

Resolving a SpellWhen a spell resolves, one o two things happens. I the

spell is an instant or a sorcery, it has its eect (in otherwords, you ollow the instructions on the card), then youput the card into your graveyard. I the spell is a creatureartiact, enchantment, or planeswalker, you put the cardon the table in ront o you, near your lands. Te card isnow on the battleeld. Any o your cards on the battleeldis called apermanentbecause it sticks around permanently(well, until something happens to it). Many permanentshave abilities, which is text on them that aects thegame.

Ater a spell or ability resolves, both players get the chanceto play something new. I no one does, the next thingwaiting on the stack will resolve (or i the stack is emptythe current part o the turn will end and the game willproceed to the next part). I either player plays somethingnew, it goes on top o the stack and the process repeats.

urn the page to see an example o spells on the stack.


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Te Lightning Bolt goes on the stack on top o GiantGrowth so it resolves rst. It deals 3 damage to RuneclawBearenough to destroy it! When the Giant Growth

tries to resolve, its only target is no longer on thebattleeld, so its countered (it does nothing).

What would happen i the Giant Growth were cast rst?


Your opponentcasts Lightning Bolt targeting yourRuneclaw Bear, a 2/2 creature. Te Lightning Bolt goeson the stack.

You respond to the Lightning Bolt by casting GiantGrowth on your Runeclaw Bear. Giant Growth goeson the stack, on top o Lightning Bolt. Your and youropponent both decline to do anything else.

Giant Growth resolves, making the Runeclaw Bear 5/5until the end o the turn.

Ten the Lightning Bolt resolves, dealing 3 damage tothe pumped-up Runeclaw Bear. Tats not enough todestroy it.

Examples of Spells on the Stack

Your spell on the stack

Your creature on the battleeld

Opponents spellon the stack


11/3411

OO

oB: Looming Shade gets +1/+1 untilend of turn.

Its form never rests, propelled by someundetectable gale from beyond the gloom.


Kev Walker

o2oBLooming Shade

Creature Shade

OO

When Elvish Visionary enters thebattlefield, draw a card.

Before any major undertaking, a Cylianelf seeks the guidance of a visionary tolearn the will of the gargantuan ancients.


D. Alexander Gregory

o1oGElvish Visionary

Creature Elf Shaman

OOO

Creatures you control have flying.

The horses of Scythas army must bewell trained. A thrown rider would fallmiles before meeting the ground.


Jim Murray

o2oUoULevitation

Enchantment

OOO

Flying

Vigilance (Attacking doesnt causethis creature to tap.)

Her sword sings more beautifully thanany choir.


Greg Staples

o3oWoWSerra Angel

Creature Angel

Abilities

As you start to accumulate permanents on the battleeld, the game will change. Tats because many permanents havetext on them that aects the game. Tis text tells you a permanents abilities. Tere are three dierent kinds o abilities apermanent can have: static abilities, triggered abilities, and activated abilities.

Static AbilitiesA static ability is text that is always true while that card is on the battleeld. For example,Levitation is an enchantment with the ability Creatures you control have ying. You dontactivate a static ability. It just does what it says.

Triggered AbilitiesA triggered ability is text that happens when a specic event occurs in the game. For example,Elvish Visionary is a creature with the ability When Elvish Visionary enters the battleeld,draw a card. Each triggered ability starts with the word when, whenever, or at. Youdont activate a triggered ability. It automatically triggers whenever the rst part o the abilityhappens. Te ability goes on the stack just like a spell, and resolves just like a spell. I theability triggers but then the permanent the ability came rom leaves the battleeld, the ability

will still resolve.

You cant choose to delay or ignore a triggered ability. However, i the ability targets something

or someone but you cant choose a legal target or it, the ability wont do anything.

Activated AbilitiesAn activated ability is an ability that you can activate whenever you want, as long as you canpay the cost. For example, Looming Shade is a creature with the ability oB: Looming Shadegets +1/+1 until end o turn. Each activated ability has a cost, then a colon (:), then aneect. Activating one works exactly like casting an instant spell, except theres no card to puton the stack. Te ability goes on the stack just like a spell, and resolves just like a spell. I youactivate an ability but then the permanent the ability came rom leaves the battleeld, the

ability will still resolve.

Some activated abilities contain the oT symbol in their costs. Tis means that you must tapthe permanent to activate the ability. You cant activate the ability i the permanentis already tapped.

KeywordsSome permanents have abilities that are shortened to a single word or phrase. Most o thesehave reminder text that gives you a brie description o the abilitys eect. Keyword abilitiesin the core set include deathtouch, deender, enchant, equip, rst strike, ash, ying, haste,landwalk (such as swampwalk or orestwalk), lielink, protection, reach, shroud, trample,and vigilance. Most o these are static abilities, but keyword abilities can also be triggeredabilities or activated abilities. Detailed explanations o each o these abilities can be oundin the glossary at the end o this rulebook.



12/3412

Attacking and Blocking

Te primary way to win the game is to attack with yourcreatures. I a creature thats attacking your opponent isntblocked, it deals damage equal to its power to him or her.It doesnt take that many hits to drop your opponent all

the way rom 20 lie to 0!Te middle o each turn is the combat phase. (Youll learnabout the parts o the turn in a bit.) In your combat phase,you choose which o your creatures will attack, and youchoose who or what they will attack. Each one can attackyour opponent or one o your opponents planeswalkers,but not any o his or her creatures. You tap the attackingcreatures. Tey all attack at the same time, even i theyreattacking dierent things. You can attack with a creatureonly i its untapped, and only i it was on the battleeld

under your control when the turn began.

Your opponent chooses which o his or her creatures willblock. apped creatures cant be declared as blockers.For blocking, it doesnt matter how long the creature hasbeen on the battleeld. Each creature can block only oneattacker, but multiple blockers can gang up on a singleattacking creature. I that happens, the attacking playerorders the blockers to show which is rst in line ordamage, which is second, and so on. Creatures dont haveto block.

Ater all blockers are chosen, combat damage is assigned.Each creatureboth attackers and blockersdealsdamage equal to its power. An attacking creature that isnt blocked deals damage to

the player or planeswalker its attacking. An attacking creature that is blocked deals damage to

the blocking creatures. I one o your attacking creaturesis blocked by multiple creatures, you decide how todivide its combat damage among them. You must assignat least enough damage to the rst blocking creature in

line to destroy it beore you can assign damage to thenext one in line, and so on.

A blocking creature deals damage to the attacker itsblocking.

I damage is dealt to your opponent, he or she loses thatmuch lie!

I damage is dealt to your opponents planeswalker, thatmany loyalty counters are removed rom it.

I a creature is dealt damage equal to or greater than itstoughness over the course o a single turn, that creature isdestroyed and goes to its owners graveyard. I a creaturetakes damage that isnt lethal, that creature stays on thebattleeld, but the damage doesnt wear o until theturn ends.

urn the page to see an example o combat.


Illus. Aleksi Briclot


13/3413

1

2

3

OO

WhenSparkmage Apprentice entersthe battlefield,itdeals1 damage totargetcreature orplayer.

Sparkmagesareperformanceartistsofsorts,butpainisthe priceofadmission.

1/1Jaime Jones

o1oRSparkmage Apprentice

Creature HumanWizard

OO

WhenElvish Visionaryentersthebattlefield,drawacard.

Beforeanymajorundertaking,aCylianelfseekstheguidanceofa visionarytolearnthewillofthe gargantuanancients.

1/1D.Alexander Gregory


Creature ElfShaman

OO

WhenBorderlandRanger entersthe battlefield,youmaysearch yourlibraryfor abasic landcard, revealit ,andput it into yourhand.If youdo,shuffle yourlibrary.


2/2Jesper Ejsing

o2oGBorderlandRanger

Creature HumanScout

OO

Berserkersof BloodRidge attackseach turnif able.

Theytakea bloodoathtodiein battle.Sofarnonehavefailedto fulfillthepromise.

4/4KarlKopinski

o4oRBerserkersofBloodRidge

Creature HumanBerserker

OO

BerserkersofBloodRidgeattacks

eachturnifable.

Theytakeabloodoathtodiein

battle.

Sofarnonehavefailedtofulfillthe

promise.

4/4

KarlKopinski

o4oR

BerserkersofBloodRidge

Creature

HumanBerserker

OO

Wellscalethesecliffs,traverseBrittleBridge,andthenfightourwaydownthevolcanicslopesontheotherside.Isnttheshortestroutethroughthecanyon?Yes.SoshouldntweNo.

3/3Steve Prescott

o3oRCanyonMinotaur

Creature Minotaur Warrior

OO

Wellscalethesecliffs,traverseBrittleBridge,

andthenfightourwaydownthevolcanic

slopesontheotherside.

Isnttheshortestroutethroughthe

canyon?

Yes.

Soshouldntwe

No.

3/3

StevePrescott

o3oR

CanyonMinotaur

CreatureMinotaurWarrior

O

JackalFamiliar cantattack or blockalone.

Letthegray-hairs keeptheirravens anddrakes.Myfamiliarwill beareflectionofme:bloodthirsty,witha predatorsinstinct.Taivang,barbarianwarlord

2/2AlexHorley-Orlandelli

oRJackalFamiliar

Creature Hound

O

JackalFamiliarcantattackor

block

alone.

Letthegray-hairskeeptheirravensand

drakes.Myfamiliarwillbeareflection

ofme:bloodthirsty,withapredators

instinct.

Taivang,barbarianwarlord

2/2

AlexHorley-Orlandelli

oR

JackalFamiliar

CreatureHound

OO

Thecentaursaretrulyfree.Neverwilltheybetamedby temptationorcontrolledbyfear.Theyliveintotalharmony,afeatnotyetachievedbyour kind.Ramal,sageofWestgate

3/3Vance Kovacs

o2oGCentaur Courser

Creature Centaur Warrior

OO


Sparkmagesareperformanceartistsofsorts,butpainis thepriceof admission.

1/1Jaime Jones



OO


Sparkmagesareperformanceartistsofsorts,butpainis thepriceof admission.

1/1 Jaime Jones



OO





Creature ElfShaman

OO

WhenBorderlandRanger entersthe battlefield,youmaysearch yourlibraryforabasic landcard,revealit ,andput it into yourhand.If youdo,shuffle yourlibrary.


2/2Jesper Ejsing


Creature HumanScout

OO


eachturnifable.

Theytakeabloodoathtodieinbattle.


promise.

4/4

KarlKopinski

o4oR


Creature

HumanBerserker

OO


eachturnifable.

Theytakeabloodoathtodieinbattle.


promise.

4/4

KarlKopinski

o4oR


Creature

HumanBerserker

OO




Isnttheshortestroutethroughthecanyon?

Yes.

Soshouldntwe

No.

3/3

StevePrescott

o3oR

CanyonMinotaur


OO




Isnttheshortestroutethroughthecanyon?

Yes.

Soshouldntwe

No.

3/3

StevePrescott

o3oR

CanyonMinotaur


O

JackalFamiliarcantattackorblock

alone.




instinct.


2/2


oR

JackalFamiliar

CreatureHound

OO

Thecentaursaretrulyfree.Neverwilltheybetamedby temptationorcontrolledbyfear.Theyliveintotalharmony,afeatnotyetachievedbyourkind.Ramal,sageofWestgate

3/3Vance Kovacs

o2oGCentaur Courser


OO





Creature ElfShaman

OO

Thecentaursaretrulyfree.Neverwilltheybetamedby temptationorcontrolledbyfear.Theyliveintotalharmony,afeatnotyetachievedbyour kind.Ramal,sageofWestgate

3/3Vance Kovacs

o2oGCentaur Courser


OO





Creature ElfShaman

O

JackalFamiliarcantattackorblock

alone.




instinct.


2/2


oR

JackalFamiliar

CreatureHound

OO

WhenBorderlandRanger entersthe battlefield,youmaysearch yourlibraryfor abasic landcard, revealit ,andput it into yourhand.If youdo,shuffle yourlibrary.


2/2Jesper Ejsing


Creature HumanScout

OO

Thecentaursaretrulyfree.Neverwilltheybetamedbytemptationor controlledbyfear.Theyliveintotalharmony,afeatnotyetachievedbyourkind.Ramal,sageofWestgate

3/3Vance Kovacs

o2oGCentaur Courser


1/1 3/3 2/2

4/4 2/21/13/3

4/4 2/23/3

1/1 3/3

4/4 2/23 /3

1/1

3/3

Example of Combat

Assign BlockersTe deending player assigns blockers to two o the attackers and letsthe third attacker through. Blocking choices are up to the deender.

Combat DamageTe unblocked attacker deals 3 damage to the deending player. Teblocked attackers and the blockers deal damage to each other. Te

smaller creatures die and the bigger creatures live.

Declare AttackersTe attacking player attacks with his three biggest creatures and tapsthem. He doesnt attack with the smallest because its too easy todestroy, and it might be useul or blocking on the opponents nextturn.

Attacking Player

Defending Player

Attacking Player

Defending Player

Damage

Attacking Player

Defending Player



14/3414

You play a Magic game with your own customized deck. You build it yoursel using whichever Magic cards you wantTere are two rules: Your deck must have at least 60 cards, and your deck cant have more than our copies o any singlecard (except or basic lands). Te rest is up to you, but here are some guidelines or getting started:

Lands. A good rule o thumb is that 2/5 o your deck should be lands. A 60-card deck usually hasabout 24 lands.Creatures. Creatures account or 20 to 30 cards in a typical 60-card deck. Choose creatures that havea variety o mana costs. Low-cost creatures are potent early on, but high-cost creatures can quicklywin a game once they enter the battleeld.Other cards. Artiacts, enchantments, planeswalkers, instants, and sorceries round out your deck.

Ater you play with your new deck or a while, you can start to customize it. ake out cards you dont eel are workingwell and add new cards you want to try. Te best part about trading card games is being able to play with whatevercards you want, so start experimenting!

When a Magic card contradicts the rulebook, the card wins. For example, the rules say you have a maximum handsize o seven. But Spellbook reads You have no maximum hand size. Spellbook changes the rules as long as its onthe battleeld. One o the things that makes the Magic game un to play is that there are individual cards that let youbreak almost every rule.


Building Your Own Deck

The Golden Rule

Illus. Cyril Van Der Haegen


15/3415

Section : Playing a GameNow that you know the elements o the game and how to perorm the main actions, its time to walk through a turnTis section describes what happens in each part o a turn. In a typical game, youll skip many o these parts (orexample, nothing usually happens in the beginning o combat step). An actual Magic game is pretty casual, despitehow complex the structure may seem.

Youll need your own Magic deck. Youll also need a way to keep track o both players lie totals.

o play a game, youll need an opponent! Your opponent will play against you using his or her own deck.

Each player starts at 20 lie. You win the game byreducing your opponent to 0 lie. You also win iyour opponent has to draw a card when none arelet in his or her deck, or i a spell or ability says thatyou win.

Decide which player will go rst. I youve justplayed the same opponent, the loser o the last gamedecides who goes rst. Otherwise, roll a die or ip acoin to see who gets to decide.

Each player shufes his or her deck, then draws ahand o seven cards to start. I you dont like youropening hand, you can mulligan. Shufe your handback into your deck and draw a new hand o sixcards. You can keep doing this, drawing a hand oone ewer card each time, until you decide to keep

your cards.

Section : Playing a Game

Illus. Jason Chan

Get a Deck

Get a Friend

Start the Game


16/3416

Parts of the Turn

Below are the parts o a turn. Each turn proceeds in the same sequence. Whenever you enter a new step or phase, anytriggered abilities that happen during that step or phase trigger and are put on the stack. Te active player(the playerwhose turn it is) gets to cast spells and activate abilities, then the other player does. When both players in a row declineto do anything and nothing is waiting to resolve, the game will move to the next step.

With each part o the turn is a description o what can happen during that part, i its your turn.

. Beginning Phasea. Untap step

You untap all your tapped permanents. On the rstturn o the game, you dont have any permanents, soyou just skip this step. No one can cast spells or activateabilities during this step.

b. Upkeep stepTis part o the turn is mentioned on a number ocards. I something is supposed to happen just once

per turn, right at the beginning, an ability will triggerat the beginning o your upkeep. Players can castinstants and activate abilities.

c. Draw stepYou draw a card rom your library. (Te player whogoes rst skips the draw step on his or her rst turn tomake up or the advantage o going rst.) Players canthen cast instants and activate abilities.

. First Main PhaseYou can cast any number o sorceries, instants, creatures,

artiacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers, and youcan activate abilities. You can play a land during thisphase, but remember that you can play only one landduring your turn. Your opponent can cast instants andactivate abilities.

. Combat Phasea. Beginning o combat step

Players can cast instants and activate abilities.b. Declare attackers step

You decide which, i any, o your untapped creatures will attack, and which player or planeswalker they

will attack, then they do so. Tis taps the attackingcreatures. Players can then cast instants and activateabilities.

c. Declare blockers step Your opponent decides which, i any, o his or heruntapped creatures will block your attacking creatures,then they do so. I multiple creatures block a single

attacker, you order the blockers to show which is rstin line or damage, which is second, and so on. Playerscan then cast instants and activate abilities.

d. Combat damage stepEach attacking or blocking creature thats still on thebattleeld assigns its combat damage to the deendingplayer (i its attacking that player and wasnt blocked)to a planeswalker (i its attacking that planeswalker andwasnt blocked), to the creature or creatures blocking it,

or to the creature its blocking. I an attacking creatureis blocked by multiple creatures, you divide its combatdamage among them by assigning at least enoughdamage to the rst blocking creature in line to destroyit beore assigning damage to the next one in line, andso on. Once players decide how the creatures theycontrol will deal their combat damage, the damage isall dealt at the same time. Players can then cast instantsand activate abilities.

e. End o combat stepPlayers can cast instants and activate abilities.

. Second Main Phase Your second main phase is just like your rst mainphase. You can cast every type o spell and activateabilities, but your opponent can only cast instants andactivate abilities. You can play a land during this phasei you didnt during your rst main phase.

. Ending Phasea. End step

Abilities that trigger at the beginning o your end stepgo on the stack. Players can cast instants and activateabilities.

b. Cleanup stepI you have more than seven cards in your hand, chooseand discard cards until you have only seven. Next, aldamage on creatures is removed and all until end oturn eects end. No one can cast instants or activateabilities unless an ability triggers during this step.



17/3417

OO

Allcreatu

resablet

oblockP

rizedUni

corn

doso.

Thedesireforitsmagichorninspiressuch

bloodthirstygree

dthatallwhoseetheunicorn

willkilltopossessit.

Dionus,elvisharchdruid 2/2

&1

9932009

Wizards

oftheCo

astLLC

199/249

SamWo

od

o3oG

PrizedU

nicorn

Creature

Unico

rn

O

Equippedcreaturegets+1/+1andhas

deathtouch.(Creaturesdealtdamageby

thiscreaturearedestroyed.Youcandivide

itscombatdamageamonganyofthe

creaturesblockingorblockedbyit.)

Equipo2(o2:Attachtotargetcreature

youcontrol.Equiponlyasasorcery.)


LarsGrant-West

o2

GorgonFlail

ArtifactEquipment

The Next Turn

The Ever-Changing Game

Now its your opponents turn. Tat player untaps his or her permanents and goes rom there. Ater that player is done,it will be your turn again. Keep going until a player is reduced to 0 lie. As soon as a player has 0 lie, the game endsimmediately and the other player wins!

One o the ascinating aspects o the Magic game is that it changes rom turn to turnand the cards themselves canactually alter the rules o the game. As you play, youll nd nonland cards with abilities that produce mana, and landsthat do other things besides produce mana. Youll nd creatures with the haste ability, which allows them to attackright away. Youll nd creatures with ying and trample, which change the rules o combat. Youll nd cards withabilities that work rom your graveyard. Youll nd cards whose abilities work together or an eect thats much morepowerul than either one could achieve alone (such as the combo o Prized Unicorn and Gorgon Flail). Tis is a gameo discovery, o amazement, o ghting, and o tricks. Tis is a game o magic.


Illus. Nils Hamm


18/3418

Section : Different Ways to PlayYou know everything you need to play a Magic game. But what kind o game will you play? Appropriately enough ora game with so many options, there are lots o dierent ways to play. Everyone can start on equal ooting with brand-new cards, or you can build a deck in advance rom the cards in your collection. You can even play with a bunch oriends, not just one.

In Limited play, each player builds his or her own deck on the spot out o a number o booster packs. In other wordsyour deck is made rom a limited card pool. Each deck must contain at least 40 cards. Te only cards you can playwith are the ones opened in those packs, plus any number o basic land cards. (A 40-card deck should have about 17lands and about 15 creatures.)

Sealed Deck ( or more players)In this Limited ormat, you build a deck out o brand-

new booster packs. Each player opens ve or six 15-cardboosters and builds a 40-card deck using the cards romhis or her packs and any number o basic lands.

Booster Draft ( to players)In this Limited ormat, you select the cards youll buildyour deck rom. Each player at the table starts with threeunopened 15-card booster packs. Each player opens hisor her rst pack, chooses a card, and passes the rest to thelet. Dont show anyone your picks or whats in the packs!ake one card rom each pack passed to you and pass the

rest to your let until all the cards have been taken. Repeatthis process with the second pack, but pass it to the right.For the last pack, pass to the let again. Use your picks andany number o basic lands to build your 40-card deck.

Section : Different Ways to Play

Limited Formats

Sideboards

Each Magic deck may have a sideboarda group oextra cards that are particularly good against certainopponents. For example, a card that says Destroy allgreen creatures is great against someone playing agreen deck, but useless against anyone else. Ater youplay a game against an opponent, you may move cardsrom your sideboard into your main deck, then playthat opponent again. You must reset your deck to itsoriginal conguration beore playing someone new.

In a Limited game, all the cards you opened that arentin your main deck are in your sideboard. Between

games, you may swap in cards rom your sideboardin exchange or the same number o cards in yourmain deck. You may also simply add cards rom yoursideboard to your main deck.

In a Constructed game, your sideboard consists oexactly 15 cards. You build your sideboard as youbuild your deck. Your combined deck and sideboardcant have more than our copies o any card otherthan basic land cards. Between games, you may swapin cards rom your sideboard in exchange or the samenumber o cards rom your main deck.

Illus. Matt Cavotta


19/3419

Constructed Formats

Multiplayer Variants

In Constructed play, each player brings his or her own deck to the game. In other words, your deck must be constructed inadvance. Each deck must contain at least 60 cards. A deck may contain any number o basic land cards, but no more thanour copies o any other card. Te pool o cards that players use to build their decks depends on exactly which Constructedormat theyre playing.

You can play a Magic game with more than two players in it. Tere are dozens o dierent ways to do so. Tree o the mostpopular are wo-Headed Giant, Emperor, and Free-or-All.

StandardStandard is the most popular Constructed ormat. Fora Standard game, you build a deck using cards rom thetwo most recent October large expansions and all otherexpansions and core sets released since the rst o thoseOctober expansions.

ExtendedFor an Extended game, you build a deck using cards romthe seven most recent October large expansions and all otherexpansions and core sets released since the rst o thoseOctober expansions.

Block ConstructedFor a Block Constructed game, you build a deck using cards romthe most recent October expansion and any o the two expansionsreleased ater it. You cant use cards rom the core set.

LegacyFor a Legacy game, you build a deck using cards rom anyMagic set. Tis ormat has an extensive Banned List.

VintageFor a Vintage game, you build a deck using cards rom anyMagic set. Tis ormat has an extensive Restricted List.

Two-Headed GiantIn a wo-Headed Giant game, you and a teammate playagainst another two-person team. You and your teammatetake your turns at the same time! Each team has a sharedlie total that starts at 30.

EmperorIn an Emperor game, two three-player teams ace o. Eachteam has an emperor, who sits in the middle o the team.

Te remaining players on the team are generals whose jobis to protect the emperor. A team wins when the opposingemperor has been deeated.

Free-for-AllIn a Free-or-All game, each player acts as an individualagainst multiple opponents. You win i youre the last onestanding!

Banned and RestrictedSome cards have proven to be too powerul or certainConstructed ormats. Tese cards have been banned

(meaning you cant play with them at all) or restricted(meaning you can play at most one o each o them,rather than the typical our). Only the Vintage ormathas a Restricted List. Tese lists are updated quarterly.CheckMagicTeGathering.com or announcements onDecember 20, March 20, June 20, and September 20.

TipsIn a multiplayer game, the rst time a player takes amulligan, he or she draws a new hand o seven cardsrather than six cards. Subsequent hands decrease by onecard as normal.

In a wo-Headed Giant game, the team who plays

rst skips the draw step o their rst turn. In all othermultiplayer games, no player skips the draw step o his orher rst turn.

Learn more about these and other Magic ormats atwww.wizards.com/MagicFormats.

Section : Different Ways to Play
http://www.magicthegathering.com/http://www.wizards.com/MagicFormatshttp://www.wizards.com/MagicFormatshttp://www.magicthegathering.com/


20/3420

OO

oT: Prodigal Pyromancer deals 1 damageto target creature or player.

What am I looking at? Ashes,dead man.


JeremyJarvis

o2oRProdigal Pyromancer

Creature Human Wizard

OO

oT:ProdigalPyromancerdeals1damage

totargetcreatureorplayer.

WhatamIlookingat?Ashes,deadman.

1/1


JeremyJarvis

o2oR

ProdigalPyromancer

CreatureHumanWizard

Section : Glossary

Section : Glossaryo1,o2,o3,and so on,oXOne o these generic mana symbols in a cost means thismany o any type o mana. For example, o2 in a costmeans you can pay two mana o any type, such asoR andoG, or oU and oU, or oR and one colorless mana, and soon. (IoX is in a cost, you get to choose what number theX stands or.)

Tese symbols are also ound in some abilitiesthat produce mana, like Addo1 to your mana pool. Inthis context, o1 means one colorless mana. You cantuse colorless mana to pay or colored mana costs.

oW(white mana)One white mana. apping a Plains makesoW. A card withoW in its mana cost is white.

oU(blue mana)One blue mana. apping an Island makesoU. A card with

oU in its mana cost is blue.

oB(black mana)One black mana. apping a Swamp makes oB. A cardwith oB in its mana cost is black.

oR (red mana)One red mana. apping a Mountain makes oR. A cardwith oR in its mana cost is red.

oG(green mana)One green mana. apping a Forest makesoG. A card withoG in its mana cost is green.

oT(tap)Tis symbol means tap thiscard (turn it sideways toshow that its been used). Itappears in activation costs.You cant pay aoT cost i the

card is already tapped. Also,remember that you cant payyour creaturesoT costs untilthe creature starts your turnon the battleeld underyour control.

Tapped

Untapped

ohWu,ohBg, and so onHybrid mana symbols represent a cost that can be paidwith either o two colors. For example, a cost representedby theohWu symbol can be paid with one white mana or oneblue mana. Its both a white and a blue mana symbol, anda card withohWu in its mana cost is both white and blue.

/Instead o numbers, some creatures have stars or theirpower and toughness. Tis means the creatures powerand toughness are set by an ability it has rather thanbeing xed numbers. For example, Nightmare has anability that reads Nightmares power and toughnessare each equal to the number o Swamps you control.I you control our Swamps when Nightmare enters thebattleeld, it will be 4/4. I you play more Swamps later

on, it will get even bigger.

Ability Any text on a permanent (except reminder text anavor text) tells you the permanents abilities. Tere arethree kinds o abilities a permanent can have: activatedabilities, static abilities, and triggered abilities. Unless theysay otherwise, abilities work only while the permanenttheyre on is on the battleeld. Once a triggered abilitytriggers or an activated ability is activated, it will resolveunless its countered; it doesnt matter what happens to

the source o the ability once the ability goes on the stackSee Abilities on page 11.

ActivateYou activate an activated ability by putting it on the stackYou activate an ability just as you cast a spell: announceit, choose its targets, and pay its activation cost. SeeActivated Abilities on page 11.

Activated abilityOne o the three kinds o abilities a permanent can have.

An activated ability is always written in the orm costeect. See Activated Abilities on page 11.

Active playerTe player whose turn it is. Te active player always getsthe rst chance to cast spells and activate abilities.


21/3421

& 19932009 Wizardsof the CoastLLC 247/249

John Avon

Forest

Basic Land Forest

Additional costSome spells say they have an additional cost. o cast thatspell, you must pay both the mana cost in the upper rightcorner o the card and its additional cost.

ArtiactA card type. See Artiact on page 5.

Artiact creatureTis is both an artiact and a creature. See Creature onpage 5.

AttackHow your creatures deal damage to your opponent.During your combat phase, you decide which, i any, oyour untapped creatures will attack, and which player orplaneswalker they will attack, then they all do so at once. Attacking causes creatures to tap. Creatures can attackonly players or planeswalkers, not other creatures. Your

opponent then gets a chance to block your attackingcreatures with his or her own creatures. See the explanationo Attacking and Blocking on page 12.

Attacking creatureA creature thats attacking. A creature is attacking romthe time its declared as an attacker until the combatphase ends, unless its somehow removed rom combat.Teres no such thing as an attacking creature outside othe combat phase.

AuraA special type o enchantment that can be attached toa permanent. Each Aura has the keyword enchantollowed by what it can be attached to: enchantcreature, enchant land, and so on. When you cast anAura spell, you choose one o the right kind o permanentto target. When the Aura resolves, its put onto thebattleeld attached to that permanent (its not targetingit anymore). Te Aura stays there until its destroyed orthe permanent its attached to leaves the battleeld. I thepermanent leaves the battleeld, the Aura card is put intoyour graveyard.

Basic land

Tere are ve basic lands. Plains make

oW (white mana). Islands make oU

(blue mana). Swamps make oB (black

mana). Mountains make oR (red

mana). Forests makeoG (green mana)

Tey each say basic on their type

line (basic is a supertype). Lands otherthan these ve are called nonbasic

lands.When building a deck, you can include any number

o basic lands. You cant have more than our copies oany other cards in your deck.

Basic land typeEach basic land has a subtype, which appears ater BasicLand on its type line. Tese are the basic land types,which are the same ve words as the basic land names

Some nonbasic lands also have basic land types. Any landwith a basic land type has an activated ability that makesone mana o the appropriate color, even i it doesnt say soin the text box. For example, every Forest has the abilityoT: Add oG to your mana pool.

BattleeldA game zone. See Battleeld on page 7.

Beginning o combat stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Beginning phaseSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Blocko stop an attacking creature rom damaging you orone o your planeswalkers by having it ght one oyour creatures instead. Ater your opponent attackswith one or more creatures, you can have any numbeo your untapped creatures block. Each one can blockone attacking creature. You can have two or more o your

untapped creatures gang up and block a single attackingcreature. I an attacker is blocked, it will deal its combatdamage to the creature blocking it instead o to you.Blocking is optional. See the explanation o Attackingand Blocking on page 12.

Block ConstructedSee Constructed Formats on page 19.

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Blocked creature An attacking creature thats blocked by at least onecreature. Once a creature is blocked, it stays blocked orthe rest o the combat phaseeven i all the creaturesblocking it leave combat. In other words, once a creatureis blocked, theres no way or it to deal damage to theplayer or planeswalker its attacking (unless the attackingcreature has trample). Teres no such thing as a blocked

creature outside o the combat phase.

Blocking creatureA creature assigned to block an attacking creature. I acreature blocks an attacker, the attacker deals its damageto the blocker instead o to the player or planeswalkerits attacking. Once a creature blocks, it stays a blockingcreature or the rest o the combat phaseeven i thecreature its blocking leaves combat. Teres no such thingas a blocking creature outside o the combat phase.

Booster, booster pack A pack o randomly assorted Magic cards. When youwant to add more cards to your collection, this is whatyoull get. Most 15-card booster packs contain one rareor mythic rare card, three uncommon cards, and elevencommon cards, including one basic land card. Find storeswhere Magic cards are sold at http://locator.wizards.com.

Booster DratSee Limited Formats on page 18.

Card typeEvery card has at least one card type: artiact, creature,enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, or sorcery. Acards type is printed under its illustration. Some cards,like artiact creatures, have more than one type. Somecards also have subtypes, such as Goblin and Warriorin Creature Goblin Warrior, or supertypes, such asbasic in Basic Land Forest.

CastYou cast a spell by putting it on the stack. Dierent kindso spells can be cast at dierent times, but the things youhave to do to cast a spell are always the same: announceit, choose its targets (and make certain other choices rightaway), and pay its cost. See Spells on page 9.

Choose one When you see the phrase Choose one on a card, youhave to choose one option on the card when you cast it.You cant change your mind and choose something elselater on, even i your rst choice doesnt work out.

Cleanup stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Collector numberSee Parts o a Card on page 4.

ColorTe ve Magic colors are white, blue, black, red, andgreen. I a spell or abilitytells you to choose a color,you must choose one othose ve. A cards color is

determined by its mana cost.For example, a card that costso1oU is blue and a card that costs oRoW is both red andwhite. Cards with no colored mana in their mana costslike most artiacts, are colorless. (Colorless is not a color.)Lands are also colorless.

Some eects can change a permanents colorFor example, arget creature becomes blue until end oturn. Te new color replaces the previous colors, unlessthe ability says otherwise.

ColorlessLands and most artiacts are colorless. Colorless is not acolor. I something tells you to choose a color, you cantchoose colorless.

CombatIn general, combat means attacking, blocking, and all thestu that happens during a combat phase.

Combat damageDamage dealt by creatures due to attacking and blockingA creature deals combat damage equal to its power. Tisdamage is dealt during the combat damage step. Anyother kind o damage doesnt count as combat damage,even i its dealt as the result o a creatures ability duringcombat.

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Combat damage stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Combat phaseSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Concedeo stop playing a game and give your opponent the

victory. You can concede a game at any time (usually iyou realize you wont be able to avoid losing). When youconcede, you lose the game.

Constructed A group o play ormats that use decks you build inadvance. See Constructed Formats on page 19.

Continuous eectAn eect that lasts or some duration. Tese are dierentrom one-shot eects, which just happen once and dont

have a duration. You can tell how long a continuous eectwill last by reading the spell or ability it came rom. Forexample, it might say until end o turn. I the continuouseect comes rom a static ability, it lasts as long as thepermanent with the ability is on the battleeld.

ControlYou control spells you cast and permanents that enteredthe battleeld on your side. You also control abilities thatcome rom permanents you control.

Only you can make decisions or things you

control. I you control a permanent, only you can activateits activated abilities. Even i you put an enchantment onyour opponents creature, you control the enchantmentand its abilities. For example, lets say you enchant youropponents creature with Armored Ascension (Enchantedcreature gets +1/+1 or each Plains you control and hasying). Armored Ascension doesnt count how manyPlains your opponent controlsit counts how manyPlains you control.

Some spells and abilities let you gain control oa permanent. Most o the time, this means the card willmove rom your opponents side to yours. But or Aurasor Equipment attached to other cards, the controllerchanges but it doesnt move. Lets say your opponentgains control o your Armored Ascension. Now it countshow many Plains your opponent controlsbut the Aurastill stays on the same creature.

ControllerA spells controller is the player who cast it. An activatedabilitys controller is the player who activated it. Apermanents controller is the player who cast itunlessanother spell or ability changes who controls it. Atriggered abilitys controller is the player who controlledthe source o the ability when it triggered.

Converted mana costTe total amount o mana in a mana cost, regardless ocolor. For example, a card with a mana cost oo3oUoU hasa converted mana cost o 5. A card with mana cost oRoRhas a converted mana cost o 2.

Cost A cost is something you have to pay to take anotheaction. You must pay a cost to cast a spell or activate anactivated ability. Sometimes a spell or ability will also askyou to pay a cost when it resolves. You cant pay a cost

unless you can pay all o it. For example, i an activatedabilitys cost (the part beore the :) tells you to discard acard and you have no cards in your hand, you cant eventry to pay it.

Counter a spell or abilityo cancel out a spell or ability so it has no eect. I a spellis countered, its removed rom the stack and put into itsowners graveyard. Once a spell or ability starts to resolveits too late to counter it. Lands arent spells, so they cantbe countered.

Counter on a permanentSome spells and abilities tell you to put a counter on apermanent. Te counter marks a change to the permanentthat lasts or as long as its on the battleeld. A counterusually changes a creatures power and toughness or tracksa planeswalkers current loyalty. You can use anything youwant as counters: glass beads, dice, or whatever.

CreatureA card type. See Creature on page 5.

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Creature typeTis tells you what kind o creature a creature is, such asGoblin, El, or Warrior. You nd creature types in themiddle o the card ater Creature . I a creature hasmore than one word ater the dash, the creature has all othose creature types.

Some spells and abilities aect multiple creatureswith a certain type. For example, Goblin Chietain reads,

Other Goblin creatures you control get +1/+1 and havehaste. All other creatures you control with the Goblincreature type get the bonus.

DamageTis is what knocks down a players lie total, lowers aplaneswalkers loyalty, and destroys creatures. Attackingand blocking creatures deal damage equal to their power.Some spells and abilities can also deal damage. Damagecan be dealt only to creatures, planeswalkers, or players.I a creature is dealt damage equal to or greater than its

toughness in one turn, its destroyed. I a planeswalkeris dealt damage, that many loyalty counters are removedrom it. I a player is dealt damage, its subtracted romthe players lie total.

Damage is dierent rom losing lie. Forexample, Acolyte o Xathrids ability reads, arget playerloses 1 lie. Tat loss o lie isnt damage, so it cant beprevented.

DeathtouchA keyword ability seen on permanents. Creatures dealt

damage by a permanent with deathtouch are destroyed. Also, i a creature with deathtouch blocks multiplecreatures in combat, its controller can divide its combatdamage among those attackers however he or she wants.

DeckAt least 60 cards o your choice, well shufed. (Limitedormats in which players build their decks as part o theevent allow 40-card decks.) o play a Magic game, youmust have your own deck. Once the game starts, yourdeck becomes your library.

Declare attackers stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Declare blockers stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Deender A keyword ability seen on creatures. Creatures withdeender cant attack.

Deending playerTe player who is being attacked (or whose planeswalkeris being attacked) during a combat phase.

Destroyo move a permanent rom the battleeld to its ownersgraveyard. Creatures are destroyed when theyve takendamage equal to or greater than their toughness. Also, lotso spells and abilities can destroy permanents (withoutdealing damage to them).

Sometimes permanents are put into the graveyard without being destroyed. I a permanent is sacricedit isnt destroyed, but its still put into its ownersgraveyard. Te same is true i a creatures toughness isreduced to 0 or less, two legendary permanents with the

same name are on the battleeld, two planeswalkers withthe same subtype are on the battleeld, or an Aura is onthe battleeld but isnt enchanting whats described in itsenchant ability.

Discardo take a card rom your hand and put it into yourgraveyard. I a spell or ability makes you discard cards,you get to choose which cards to discardunless thespell or ability says another player chooses the cards oryou have to discard at random.

I you have more than seven cards in your handduring your own cleanup step, you have to discard untilyou have seven.

Double strikeA keyword ability seen on creatures. Creatures with doublestrike deal their combat damage twice. When you reachthe combat damage step, check to see i any attackingor blocking creatures have rst strike or double strike. Iso, an extra combat damage step is created just or themOnly creatures with rst strike and double strike get todeal combat damage in this step. Ater that, the normalcombat damage step happens. All remaining attackingand blocking creatures, as well as the ones with doublestrike, deal combat damage during this second step.

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O

Enchant creature

oR: Enchanted creature gets +1/+0until end of turn.

The mage breathed in life-giving airand breathed out death-bringing fire.


Aleksi Briclot

oRFirebreathing

Enchantment Aura

Draw a cardo take the top card o your library (deck) and put it intoyour hand. You draw one card during each o your turns,at the start o your draw step. You also draw i a spell orability lets you; this doesnt aect your normal draw orthe turn. I a spell or ability lets you put a card into yourhand rom your library but doesnt use the word draw,it doesnt count as drawing a card.

Draw stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Draw the gameTe other Magic meaning o draw is a game that endswith no winner. For example, i a spell like Earthquakedeals enough damage so that both players drop to 0 orless lie, the game is a draw.

Eect

What a spell or ability does when it resolves. Tere areseveral types o eects: one-shot eects, continuouseects, prevention eects, and replacement eects. Youcan look up each one in this glossary.

EmperorSee Multiplayer Variants on page 19.

EnchantA keyword ability seen on all Auras. Its ollowed by adescription o a permanent (or example, enchant

creature or enchant land), which tells you what kindo permanent the Aura can be attached to. When youcast the Aura, you must target that kind o permanent. Ithe Aura is ever attached to something that isnt the rightkind o permanent, its put into its owners graveyard.

EnchantedWhen an ability o an Aura says enchanted creature (or

enchanted artiact, enchanted land,and so on), it means the creature the Aura is attached to. For example,Firebreathing reads, oR: Enchantedcreature gets +1/+0 until end o turn. You can give the bonus only to thecreature that the Firebreathing isattached to.

EnchantmentA card type. See Enchantment on page 5.

End o combat stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

End stepSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Ending phaseSee Parts o the urn on page 16.

Enters the battleeldWhen artiact, creature, enchantment, and planeswalkespells resolve, they enter the battleeld as permanentsLands also enter the battleeld as permanents.

Some triggered abilities start with When [thispermanent] enters the battleeld, . . . . When a permanenwith an ability like this is put onto the battleeld, this

ability triggers right away. Some abilities also triggerwhen certain other permanents enter the battleeld.

Some cards say they enter the battleeld tappedTese cards dont enter the battleeld and becometappedtheyre already tapped by the time theyre putonto the battleeld. Similarly, creatures that enter thebattleeld with [some number o] +1/+1 counters,or whose power or toughness will be modied by acontinuous eect, dont enter the battleeld and thenchange size.

EquipA keyword ability seen on all Equipment. It tells you howmuch it costs to attach the Equipment to one o yourcreatures. It doesnt matter whether the Equipment isunattached or is attached to a dierent creature. You canactivate this ability only during your main phase, whenno spells or abilities are on the stack. Te equip abilitytargets the creature youre moving the Equipment onto.

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Equipment A type o artiact that represents a weapon, armor, orother item that your creatures can use. When you cast anEquipment spell, it enters the battleeld like any otherartiact. Once its on the battleeld, you can pay its equipcost any time you could cast a sorcery to attach it to acreature you control. You can do this even i the Equipmentis attached to another creature. Once its attached to a

creature, the Equipment then has some eect on it. I theequipped creature leaves the battleeld, the Equipmentdrops to the ground and stays on the battleeld, waitingor you to attach it to another creature.

Evasion abilityA nickname or any ability that makes a creature harderto block. Flying is the most common evasion ability.

ExileA game zone. See Exile on page 7.

Expansion symbolSee Parts o a Card on page 4.

ExtendedSee Constructed Formats on page 19.

FearA keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with earcant be blocked except by artiact creatures and/or blackcreatures. Fear only matters when the creature with the

ability is attacking.

First strikeA keyword ability seen on creatures. Creatures with rststrike deal their combat damage beore creatures withoutrst strike. When you reach the combat damage step,check to see i any attacking or blocking creatures haverst strike or double strike. I so, an extra combat damagestep is created just or them. Only creatures with rststrike and double strike get to deal combat damage in thisstep. Ater that, the normal combat damage step happens.All remaining attacking and blocking creatures, as well asthe ones with double strike, deal combat damage duringthis second step.

Flash A keyword ability seen on creatures, artiacts, anenchantments. A spell with ash can be cast any timeyou could cast an instant.

Flavor textItalic text (italic text looks like this) in a cards text box thatsjust or un. Flavor text sets a tone or describes part o the

magical world o the card. I the text is in parentheses,its there to remind you about a ruleits not avor textFlavor text has no eect on how the card is cast.

FlyingA keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with yingcant be blocked except by creatures with ying or reach.

Forestwalk A kind o landwalk. See the glossary entry oLandwalk.

Free-or-AllSee Multiplayer Variants on page 19.

Golden RuleHow to handle a conict between a card and the rulebookSee Golden Rule on page 14.

GraveyardA game zone. See Graveyard on page 7.

HandA game zone. See Hand on page 7.

HasteA keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with hastecan attack as soon as it comes under your control. Youcan also activate its activated abilities with oT in the cost

Indestructible An indestructible permanent cant be destroyed bdamage or by eects that say destroy. Tey can still beput into the graveyard or other reasons. See the glossaryentry or Destroy.

InstantA card type. See Instant on page 5.

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Instead When you see this word, you know a spell or abilitycreates a replacement eect. See the glossary entry orReplacement eect.

Intimidate A keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature withintimidate cant be blocked except by creatures that share

a color with it and/or artiact creatures. For example,a red creature with intimidate could be blocked by ared creature, a red-and-green creature, or any artiactcreature. Intimidate only matters when the creature withthe ability is attacking.

Intro packA pack that includes a ready-to-play deck eaturing cardsrom a particular set, as well as a bonus 15-card boosterpack. You can play decks rom intro packs against eachother right out o the box. Te Magic2010core set has

ve intro packs. Each expansion has intro packs, too.When youre just starting to play, modiying the decksrom a Magic intro pack is a good way to start designingyour own decks. Find stores where Magic cards are soldat http://locator.wizards.com.

Islandwalk A kind o landwalk. See the glossary entry orLandwalk.

Land

A card type. See Land on page 6.

Land typeA subtype o a land. See the glossary entry or Basic landtype.

LandwalkLandwalk is the name or a group o keyword abilitiesthat includes plainswalk, islandwalk, swampwalk,mountainwalk, and orestwalk. A creature with landwalkis unblockable i the deending player controls at leastone land o the specied type.

Landwalk abilities dont cancel each other out. Forexample, lets say your creature with orestwalk attacks aplayer who controls a Forest. Tat player cant block yourorestwalker at allnot even with another orestwalker.

Leaves the battleeldA permanent leaves the battleeld when it moves romthe battleeld zone to any other zone. It might return to aplayers hand rom the battleeld, go to a graveyard romthe battleeld, or go to some other zone. I a card leavesthe battleeld and later returns to the battleeld, its likea brand-new card. It doesnt remember anything romthe last time it was on the battleeld.

LegacySee Constructed Formats on page 19.

LegendaryLegendary is a supertype, so youll nd it written on thetype line beore the card type. Tere can be only one oa particular legendary permanent on the battleeld at atime. I two or more legendary permanents with the samename are ever on the battleeld at the same time, theyreall put into their owners graveyard. Tis is known as the

legend rule.

LibraryA game zone. See Library on page 7.

Lie, lie totalEach player begins the game with 20 lie. When youredealt damage by spells, abilities, or unblocked creaturesyou subtract the damage rom your lie total. I your lietotal drops to 0 or less, you lose the game. I somethingcauses both players lie totals to drop to 0 or less at the

same time, the game is a draw.

Lielink A keyword ability seen on permanents. Damage dealby a permanent with lielink causes that permanentscontroller to gain that much lie, in addition to behavinglike normal damage.

LimitedA group o play ormats using cards rom booster packsyou open just beore you play. See Limited Formats onpage 18.

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En Magic Basic Rulebook 20090710