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Core terms and keyword abilities with quick examples.

Keywords and Core Concepts

AURA

Aura is a subtype that appears on an enchantment that can be attached to a permanent. Each Aura has the keyword “enchant” followed by what it can be attached to—for example, “enchant creature,” “enchant land,” and so on. When you cast an Aura spell, you choose its target. When the Aura resolves, it’s put onto the battlefield attached to that permanent. The Aura stays there until it’s destroyed or until the permanent it’s attached to leaves the battlefield. If the permanent leaves the battlefield, the Aura card is put into your graveyard.

Example card: Pacifism

DEATHTOUCH

A keyword ability found on creatures. A creature dealt any amount of damage by a creature with deathtouch is destroyed. Deathtouch has no effect on players or planeswalkers.

Example card: Typhoid Rats

DOUBLE STRIKE

A keyword ability found on creatures. Creatures with double strike deal their combat damage twice. When you reach the combat damage step, check to see if any attacking or blocking creatures have first strike or double strike. If so, an extra combat damage step is created just for them. Only creatures with first strike and double strike get to deal combat damage during this step. After that, the normal combat damage step happens. All other attacking and blocking creatures that survived, as well as the ones with double strike, deal combat damage during this second step.

Example card: Fencing Ace

EQUIPMENT

Equipment is a subtype that appears on an artifact that can be attached to a creature. Most Equipment cards have the activated ability “equip” followed by a cost—for example, “Equip {1}.” An equip ability can be activated only any time you could cast a sorcery. When you activate an equip ability, you choose a creature you control as its target. When the ability resolves, the Equipment artifact becomes attached to that creature. The creature is then “equipped.” The Equipment remains attached until it’s destroyed, or until the creature it’s attached to leaves the battlefield, or until you activate the equip ability again and move the Equipment to a new creature.

Example card: Skullclamp

FIRST STRIKE

A keyword ability found on creatures. Creatures with first strike deal all of their combat damage before creatures without first strike or double strike. If any attacking or blocking creatures have first strike or double strike, an extra combat damage step is created just for them. Then the normal combat damage step happens for the rest (and for double strike again).

Example card: Boros Reckoner

FLYING

A keyword ability found on creatures. A creature with flying can be blocked only by creatures with flying or reach.

Example card: Serra Angel

HASTE

A keyword ability found on creatures. A creature with haste isn’t affected by summoning sickness. It can attack as soon as it comes under your control, and you can activate its {T} abilities right away.

Example card: Goblin Guide

LIFELINK

When a creature you control has lifelink and deals damage, you simultaneously gain that much life.

Example card: Vampire Nighthawk

REACH

A creature with reach can block a creature with flying. (A creature with reach can be blocked by any kind of creature.)

Example card: Giant Spider

TRAMPLE

Trample allows a creature to deal excess combat damage to the player it’s attacking, even if the creature is blocked. You must assign lethal damage to blocking creatures first. If an attacking creature is blocked but all blockers are gone when damage is assigned, all its damage is assigned to the defending player. Trample does not work on planeswalkers unless the creature has “trample over planeswalkers.”

Example card: Colossal Dreadmaw

DEFENDER

A keyword ability found on creatures. Creatures with defender can’t attack.

Example card: Wall of Omens

HEXPROOF

A keyword ability that prevents a permanent or player from being the target of spells or abilities an opponent controls.

Example card: Slippery Bogle

INDESTRUCTIBLE

A keyword ability found on creatures, artifacts, and other permanents. An indestructible permanent can’t be destroyed by damage or by effects that say “destroy,” but it can still be put into the graveyard for other reasons (such as having 0 toughness).

Example card: Darksteel Colossus

MENACE

A creature with menace can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures.

Example card: Hunted Nightmare

VIGILANCE

A creature with vigilance doesn’t tap to attack.

Example card: Sun Titan

A – D

To (TAP)

This symbol means “tap this permanent” (turn it sideways to show that it has been used). It appears in activation costs. You can’t pay a {T} cost if the card is already tapped, or if it’s a creature that still has summoning sickness.

Example card: Llanowar Elves

ADDITIONAL COST

Some spells say they have an additional cost. To cast such a spell, you must pay both the mana cost in the upper right corner of the card and its additional cost.

Example card: Village Rites

AURA

Each Aura has “enchant [something]”. When you cast an Aura, you choose its target; it enters attached and stays until destroyed or its permanent leaves the battlefield.

Example card: Rancor

BASIC LAND

There are five types of basic lands: Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. Each taps for its associated color. “Basic” is a supertype; other lands are “nonbasic lands.”

Example card: Forest

COLOR

The five Magic colors are white, blue, black, red, and green. A card’s color is determined by its mana cost unless stated otherwise.

Example card: Lightning Helix

COLORLESS

Lands and most artifacts are colorless. Colorless is not a color.

Example card: Mind Stone

COMBAT DAMAGE

Creatures deal combat damage by attacking and blocking. Each creature deals combat damage equal to its power during the combat damage step.

CONTROL / CONTROLLER

You control spells you cast and permanents that enter on your side. Some spells and abilities let you gain control of a permanent (changing its controller).

Example card: Act of Treason

COST

A cost is something you pay to cast spells or activate abilities. Some spells have additional costs (such as sacrificing a creature).

Example card: Village Rites

COUNTER A SPELL OR ABILITY

Countering a spell or ability causes it to have no effect. Countered spells are put into their owners’ graveyards.

Example card: Counterspell

COUNTER ON A PERMANENT

Some effects put counters on permanents to mark changes that persist while on the battlefield (e.g., +1/+1 counters).

Example card: Luminarch Aspirant

DAMAGE

Damage reduces a player’s life total and destroys creatures. Damage can be dealt to creatures, players, and planeswalkers.

Example card: Shock

DEFENDER

Creatures with defender can’t attack.

Example card: Wall of Omens

DESTROY

To destroy a permanent is to move it from the battlefield to its owner’s graveyard.

Example card: Murder

DISCARD

To discard, take a card from your hand and put it into your graveyard. If forced to discard, you choose the cards unless stated otherwise.

Example card: Thoughtseize

DOUBLE STRIKE

Creatures with double strike deal combat damage in both the first-strike step and the regular step.

Example card: Adorned Pouncer

E – L

ENCHANT

All Auras have this keyword ability, followed by what the Aura can be attached to. “Enchanted [type]” refers to the permanent the Aura is attached to.

Example card: Pacifism

ENTERS THE BATTLEFIELD

Abilities that trigger when something enters the battlefield begin with “When [this] enters the battlefield, …”.

Example card: Mulldrifter

EQUIPMENT

Equipment attaches to creatures you control using its equip ability. It stays attached until moved or it or the creature leaves the battlefield.

Example card: Colossal Hammer

EXILE

Some spells and abilities can exile permanents or cards in other zones. Exiled cards are set apart from the rest of the game.

Example card: Path to Exile

FIRST STRIKE

Creatures with first strike deal combat damage before creatures without it.

Example card: Boros Reckoner

FLASH

A spell with flash can be cast any time you could cast an instant.

Example card: Ambush Viper

FLASHBACK

A keyword ability found on instants and sorceries. You may cast a card with flashback from your graveyard for its flashback cost; then exile it.

Example card: Faithless Looting

FLYING

Creatures with flying can be blocked only by creatures with flying or reach.

Example card: Serra Angel

GOAD

If you goad a creature, it must attack and must attack a player other than you on its controller’s next combat if able.

Example card: Disrupt Decorum

HASTE

Creatures with haste can attack and {T} as soon as they come under your control.

Example card: Goblin Guide

HEXPROOF

A permanent or player with hexproof can’t be the target of spells or abilities opponents control.

Example card: Slippery Bogle

INDESTRUCTIBLE

An indestructible permanent can’t be destroyed by damage or effects that say “destroy.”

Example card: Darksteel Colossus

LEAVES THE BATTLEFIELD

A permanent leaves the battlefield when it moves to any other zone. If it later returns, it’s treated as a new object with no memory of its previous existence.

Example card: Oblivion Ring

LEGENDARY

Legendary is a supertype. If you control two or more legendary permanents with the same name, choose one and put the rest into the graveyard.

Example card: Jace, the Mind Sculptor

LIFELINK

When a permanent with lifelink deals damage, its controller gains that much life.

Example card: Vampire Nighthawk

M – S

MANA

The magical energy you use to pay for spells and abilities. The five colors are W, U, B, R, and G. Some sources produce colorless mana.

Example card: Sol Ring

MANA ABILITY

An ability that generates mana. Mana abilities don’t use the stack.

Example card: Llanowar Elves

MANA VALUE

The total amount of mana in a mana cost, regardless of color. For example, {3}{R}{R} has mana value 5.

Example card: Lightning Bolt

MENACE

A creature with menace can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures.

Example card: Hunted Nightmare

MULLIGAN

After drawing your opening hand of seven cards, you may mulligan: shuffle your hand into your library and draw seven, then put one card on the bottom for each time you have mulliganed this game.

OPPONENT

A person you’re playing against. “An opponent” refers to any of your opponents.

OWNER

The person who started the game with a card in their deck is that card’s owner. The owner of a token is the player who created it.

PERMANENT

A card or token on the battlefield. Permanents remain until they’re destroyed, exiled, sacrificed, or otherwise removed.

PLANESWALKER

Powerful allies you cast during your main phase. Each has loyalty abilities you may activate once each of your turns.

Example card: Liliana of the Veil

PLAYER

You and your opponents are all players.

PUT ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD

Move a card onto the battlefield without casting it (you don’t pay its costs) when instructed by a spell or ability.

Example card: Collected Company

REACH

A creature with reach can block a creature with flying.

Example card: Giant Spider

SACRIFICE

To sacrifice a permanent, you choose one you control of the specified type and put it into its owner’s graveyard.

Example card: Viscera Seer

SCRY

“Scry N” means look at the top N cards of your library. Put any number on the bottom and the rest back on top in any order.

Example card: Opt

SHUFFLE

Randomize the cards in your library.

Example card: Evolving Wilds

SOURCE

Damage and abilities come from a spell or permanent—the source. Removing a source doesn’t stop a spell/ability already on the stack.

SPELL

All types of cards (except lands) are spells while you’re casting them. When they resolve, permanents enter the battlefield, or instants/sorceries go to the graveyard.

Example card: Angler Turtle

T – Z

TOKEN

Some spells and abilities can create tokens. Tokens are permanents and can be affected like other permanents, but if they leave the battlefield they cease to exist.

Example card: Raise the Alarm

TRAMPLE

When a creature with trample deals damage in combat, it can assign excess damage to the defending player after assigning lethal to blockers.

Example card: Colossal Dreadmaw

VIGILANCE

A creature with vigilance doesn’t tap to attack.

Example card: Sun Titan

X

When you see X in a mana cost or activation cost, you choose the number that X stands for as you cast/activate it.

Example card: Pull from Tomorrow

YOU

“You” on a spell or ability refers to its current controller.

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