Mechanics encyclopedia

How the building blocks of Magic actually work — keyword abilities, keyword actions, zones, and core concepts — each with the situations that trip people up. Grounded in the Comprehensive Rules; not a substitute for it.

Keyword abilities

FlyingAn evasion ability — only flying or reach can block it.TrampleExcess combat damage spills over to the player or planeswalker.DeathtouchAny amount of damage from this source is lethal.IndestructibleCan't be destroyed — but plenty of other things still kill it.LifelinkDamage dealt by this source also gains its controller that much life.MenaceCan't be blocked except by two or more creatures.VigilanceAttacking doesn't cause this creature to tap.Hexproof & WardTwo different protections from being targeted — one blanket, one a tax.FlashCast this spell any time you could cast an instant.First & double strikeDeal combat damage in an earlier step — double strike deals in both.CyclingPay a small cost, discard the card, draw a new one — from your hand, at instant speed.FlashbackCast it a second time out of your graveyard, then it's exiled for good.Auras & EquipmentTwo ways to strap something onto a creature, with two very different failure modes.

Keyword actions

OverloadAn alternative cost that changes 'target' to 'each.'CascadeExile from the top until a cheaper spell, then cast it free.ProliferateAdd one more of each kind of counter already present.ScryLook at the top N cards and choose to keep or bin them.ConvokeTap your creatures to help pay for the spell.GoadForce a creature to attack — and to attack somebody other than you.MillPut cards from the top of a library straight into its owner's graveyard.RegenerateA shield against the next destruction — not a blanket save.

Zones & actions

ExileA zone outside the game — not the graveyard, and hard to get back.TokensGame objects created by effects that vanish once they leave the battlefield.+1/+1 countersPermanent stat boosts that stick — and cancel against -1/-1 counters.Tapping & untappingTurning a permanent sideways to use it — and what that does and doesn't do.Sacrifice vs. destroyTwo ways to send a permanent to the graveyard that play very differently.Treasure, Food & ClueThe three predefined artifact tokens — and the one whose ability can't be responded to.

Core concepts

The stackWhere spells and abilities wait to resolve — last in, first out.Mana & costsHow you pay for things — generic vs. colored, and additional vs. alternative costs.X spellsSpells where you choose X as you cast — and X is 0 everywhere else.Partners & BackgroundsThe five ways a Commander deck is allowed to run two commanders.

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