Comprehensive Rules
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If any of the replacement and/or prevention effects would cause a card to enter the battlefield with its back face up, one of them must be chosen (See rule 701.28, “Transform,” and rule 701.50, “Convert.”). If not, proceed to .
Most actions described in a card’s rules text use the standard English definitions of the verbs within, but some specialized verbs are used whose meanings may not be clear. These “keywords” are game terms; sometimes reminder text summarizes their meanings.
Activate
To activate an activated ability is to put it onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Only an object’s controller (or its owner, if it doesn’t have a controller) can activate its activated ability unless the object specifically says otherwise. A player may activate an ability if they have priority. See rule , “Activating Activated Abilities.”
Attach
To attach an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification to an object or player means to take it from where it currently is and put it onto that object or player. If something is attached to a permanent on the battlefield, it’s customary to place it so that it’s physically touching the permanent. An Aura, Equipment, or Fortification can’t be attached to an object or player it couldn’t enchant, equip, or fortify, respectively.
If an effect tries to attach an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification to an object or player it can’t be attached to, the Aura, Equipment, or Fortification doesn’t move. If an effect tries to attach an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification to the object or player it’s already attached to, the effect does nothing. If an effect tries to attach an object that isn’t an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification to another object or player, the effect does nothing and the first object doesn’t move.
Attaching an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification on the battlefield to a different object or player causes the Aura, Equipment, or Fortification to receive a new timestamp.
To “unattach” an Equipment from a creature means to move it away from that creature so the Equipment is on the battlefield but is not equipping anything. It should no longer be physically touching any creature. If an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification that was attached to an object or player ceases to be attached to it, that counts as “becoming unattached [from that object or player]”; this includes if that Aura, Equipment, or Fortification leaves the battlefield, the object leaves the zone it was in, or that player leaves the game.
Cast
To cast a spell is to take it from the zone it’s in (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. A player may cast a spell if they have priority. See rule , “Casting Spells.”
To cast a card is to cast it as a spell.
Counter
To counter a spell or ability means to cancel it, removing it from the stack. It doesn’t resolve and none of its effects occur. A countered spell is put into its owner’s graveyard.
The player who cast a countered spell or activated a countered ability doesn’t get a “refund” of any costs that were paid.
Create
To create one or more tokens with certain characteristics, put the specified number of tokens with the specified characteristics onto the battlefield.
If a replacement effect applies to a token being created, that effect applies before considering any continuous effects that will modify the characteristics of that token. If a replacement effect applies to a token entering the battlefield, that effect applies after considering any continuous effects that will modify the characteristics of that token.
Previously, an effect that created tokens instructed a player to “put [those tokens] onto the battlefield.” Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now “create” those tokens.
Destroy
To destroy a permanent, move it from the battlefield to its owner’s graveyard.
The only ways a permanent can be destroyed are as a result of an effect that uses the word “destroy” or as a result of the state-based actions that check for lethal damage (see rule ) or damage from a source with deathtouch (see rule ). If a permanent is put into its owner’s graveyard for any other reason, it hasn’t been “destroyed.”
A regeneration effect replaces a destruction event. See rule 701.15, “Regenerate.”
Discard
To discard a card, move it from its owner’s hand to that player’s graveyard.
By default, effects that cause a player to discard a card allow the affected player to choose which card to discard. Some effects, however, require a random discard or allow another player to choose which card is discarded.
If a card is discarded, but an effect causes it to be put into a hidden zone instead of into its owner’s graveyard without being revealed, all values of that card’s characteristics are considered to be undefined. If a card is discarded this way to pay a cost that specifies a characteristic about the discarded card, that cost payment is illegal; the game returns to the moment before the cost was paid (see rule , “Handling Illegal Actions”).
Double
Doubling a creature’s power and/or toughness creates a continuous effect. This effect modifies that creature’s power and/or toughness but doesn’t set those characteristics to a specific value. See rule .
To double a creature’s power, that creature gets +X/+0, where X is that creature’s power as the spell or ability that doubles its power resolves. Similarly, an effect that doubles a creature’s toughness gives it +0/+X, where X is that creature’s toughness. Doubling a creature’s power and toughness gives it +X/+Y, where X is its power and Y is its toughness.
If a creature’s power is less than 0 when it’s doubled, doubling that creature’s power instead means that the creature gets -X/-0, where X is the difference between 0 and its power. Similarly, if its toughness is less than 0 when doubled, it gets -0/-X. If one characteristic’s value is negative but the other isn’t when both are doubled, it gets -X/+Y or +X/-Y, as appropriate.
To double a player’s life total, the player gains or loses an amount of life such that their new life total is twice its current value.
To double the number of a kind of counters on a player or permanent, give that player or permanent as many of those counters as that player or permanent already has.
To double the amount of a type of mana in a player’s mana pool, that player adds an amount of mana of that type equal to the amount they already have.
To double an amount of damage a source would deal, that source instead deals twice that much damage. This is a replacement effect.
Exchange
A spell or ability may instruct players to exchange something (for example, life totals or control of two permanents) as part of its resolution. When such a spell or ability resolves, if the entire exchange can’t be completed, no part of the exchange occurs.
When control of two permanents is exchanged, if those permanents are controlled by different players, each of those players simultaneously gains control of the permanent that was controlled by the other player. If, on the other hand, those permanents are controlled by the same player, the exchange effect does nothing.
When life totals are exchanged, each player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other player’s previous life total. Replacement effects may modify these gains and losses, and triggered abilities may trigger on them. A player who can’t gain life can’t be given a higher life total this way, and a player who can’t lose life can’t be given a lower life total this way (see rules –8).
Some spells or abilities may instruct a player to exchange cards in one zone with cards in a different zone (for example, exiled cards and cards in a player’s hand). These spells and abilities work the same as other “exchange” spells and abilities, except they can exchange the cards only if all the cards are owned by the same player, and they can exchange the cards even if one zone is empty.
If a card in one zone is exchanged with a card in a different zone, and either of them is attached to an object, that card stops being attached to that object and the other card becomes attached to that object.
If a spell or ability instructs a player to simply exchange two zones, and one of the zones is empty, the cards in the zones are still exchanged.
A spell or ability may instruct a player to exchange two numerical values. In such an exchange, each value becomes equal to the previous value of the other. If either of those values is a life total, the affected player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other value. Replacement effects may modify this gain or loss, and triggered abilities may trigger on it. A player who can’t gain life can’t be given a higher life total this way, and a player who can’t lose life can’t be given a lower life total this way (see rules –8). If either of those values is a power or toughness, a continuous effect is created setting that power or toughness to the other value (see rule ). This rule does not apply to spells and abilities that switch a creature’s power and toughness.
One card (Exchange of Words) instructs a player to exchange the text boxes of two creatures. This creates a text-changing effect (see rule , “Text-Changing Effects”). In such an exchange, the rules text of each permanent becomes the previous rules text of the other.
Exile
To exile an object, move it to the exile zone from wherever it is. See rule , “Exile.”
Fight
A spell or ability may instruct a creature to fight another creature or it may instruct two creatures to fight each other. Each of those creatures deals damage equal to its power to the other creature.
If one or both creatures instructed to fight are no longer on the battlefield or are no longer creatures, neither of them fights or deals damage. If one or both creatures are illegal targets for a resolving spell or ability that instructs them to fight, neither of them fights or deals damage.
Transform
To transform a permanent, turn it over so that its other face is up. Only transforming tokens and permanents represented by transforming double-faced cards can transform. (See rule , “Double-Faced Cards.”)
Although transforming a permanent uses the same physical action as turning a permanent face up or face down, they are different game actions. Abilities that trigger when a permanent is turned face down won’t trigger when that permanent transforms, and so on.
If a spell or ability instructs a player to transform a permanent that isn’t represented by a transforming token or a transforming double-faced card, nothing happens.
If a spell or ability instructs a player to transform a permanent, and the face that permanent would transform into is represented by an instant or sorcery card face, or is a transforming token that was created with an instant or sorcery face, nothing happens.
Some triggered abilities trigger when an object “transforms into” an object with a specified characteristic. Such an ability triggers if the object either transforms or converts (see rule 701.50) and has the specified characteristic immediately after it does so.
If an activated or triggered ability of a permanent that isn’t a delayed triggered ability of that permanent tries to transform it, the permanent does so only if it hasn’t transformed or converted since the ability was put onto the stack. If a delayed triggered ability of a permanent tries to transform that permanent, the permanent does so only if it hasn’t transformed or converted since that delayed triggered ability was created. In both cases, if the permanent has already transformed or converted, an instruction to do either is ignored.
Some spells and abilities refer to a “transformed permanent.” This phrase refers to a permanent on the battlefield with its back face up that’s also a transforming double-faced card or a transforming token. A permanent with its front face up is never considered a transformed permanent, even if it had its back face up previously.
To convert a permanent, turn it so that its other face is up. This follows rules 701.28a–f, –10, and . Those rules apply to converting a permanent just as they apply to transforming a permanent.
Only transforming tokens and permanents represented by transforming double-faced cards can transform or convert. (See rule 701.28, “Transform,” and rule 701.50, “Convert.”) If a spell or ability instructs a player to transform or convert any permanent that isn’t a transforming token or isn’t represented by a transforming double-faced card, nothing happens.