Comprehensive Rules

Effective August 7, 2026

1. Game Concepts

• 100. General
• 101. The Magic Golden Rules
• 102. Players
• 103. Starting the Game
• 104. Ending the Game
• 105. Colors
• 106. Mana
• 107. Numbers and Symbols
• 108. Cards
• 109. Objects
• 110. Permanents
• 111. Tokens
• 112. Spells
• 113. Abilities
• 114. Emblems
• 115. Targets
• 116. Special Actions
• 117. Timing and Priority
• 118. Costs
• 119. Life
• 120. Damage
• 121. Drawing a Card
• 122. Counters
• 123. Stickers

2. Parts of a Card

• 200. General
• 201. Name
• 202. Mana Cost and Color
• 203. Illustration
• 204. Color Indicator
• 205. Type Line
• 206. Expansion Symbol
• 207. Text Box
• 208. Power/Toughness
• 209. Loyalty
• 210. Defense
• 211. Hand Modifier
• 212. Life Modifier
• 213. Information Below the Text Box

3. Card Types

• 300. General
• 301. Artifacts
• 302. Creatures
• 303. Enchantments
• 304. Instants
• 305. Lands
• 306. Planeswalkers
• 307. Sorceries
• 308. Kindreds
• 309. Dungeons
• 310. Battles
• 311. Planes
• 312. Phenomena
• 313. Vanguards
• 314. Schemes
• 315. Conspiracies

4. Zones

• 400. General
• 401. Library
• 402. Hand
• 403. Battlefield
• 404. Graveyard
• 405. Stack
• 406. Exile
• 407. Ante
• 408. Command

5. Turn Structure

• 500. General
• 501. Beginning Phase
• 502. Untap Step
• 503. Upkeep Step
• 504. Draw Step
• 505. Main Phase
• 506. Combat Phase
• 507. Beginning of Combat Step
• 508. Declare Attackers Step
• 509. Declare Blockers Step
• 510. Combat Damage Step
• 511. End of Combat Step
• 512. Ending Phase
• 513. End Step
• 514. Cleanup Step

6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects

• 600. General
• 601. Casting Spells
• 602. Activating Activated Abilities
• 603. Handling Triggered Abilities
• 604. Handling Static Abilities
• 605. Mana Abilities
• 606. Loyalty Abilities
• 607. Linked Abilities
• 608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
• 609. Effects
• 610. One-Shot Effects
• 611. Continuous Effects
• 612. Text-Changing Effects
• 613. Interaction of Continuous Effects
• 614. Replacement Effects
• 615. Prevention Effects
• 616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects

7. Additional Rules

• 700. General
• 701. Keyword Actions
• 702. Keyword Abilities
• 703. Turn-Based Actions
• 704. State-Based Actions
• 705. Flipping a Coin
• 706. Rolling a Die
• 707. Copying Objects
• 708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
• 709. Split Cards
• 710. Flip Cards
• 711. Leveler Cards
• 712. Double-Faced Cards
• 713. Substitute Cards
• 714. Saga Cards
• 715. Adventurer Cards
• 716. Class Cards
• 717. Attraction Cards
• 718. Prototype Cards
• 719. Case Cards
• 720. Omen Cards
• 721. Station Cards
• 722. Preparation Cards
• 723. Controlling Another Player
• 724. Ending Turns and Phases
• 725. The Monarch
• 726. The Initiative
• 727. Restarting the Game
• 728. Rad Counters
• 729. Subgames
• 730. Merging with Permanents
• 731. Day and Night
• 732. Taking Shortcuts
• 733. Handling Illegal Actions

8. Multiplayer Rules

• 800. General
• 801. Limited Range of Influence Option
• 802. Attack Multiple Players Option
• 803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
• 804. Deploy Creatures Option
• 805. Shared Team Turns Option
• 806. Free-for-All Variant
• 807. Grand Melee Variant
• 808. Team vs. Team Variant
• 809. Emperor Variant
• 810. Two-Headed Giant Variant
• 811. Alternating Teams Variant

9. Casual Variants

• 900. General
• 901. Planechase
• 902. Vanguard
• 903. Commander
• 904. Archenemy
• 905. Conspiracy Draft