Comprehensive Rules
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A player who has a card with foretell in their hand may pay {2} and exile that card face down. This is a special action. A player may take this action any time they have priority during their turn. See rule 702.143, “Foretell.”
If the object that’s resolving has a target, it checks whether the target is still legal, as described in . If a spell with an illegal target is a bestowed Aura spell (see rule 702.103e) or a mutating creature spell (see rule 702.140b), it becomes a creature spell and will resolve as described in rule . Otherwise, the spell doesn’t resolve. It is removed from the stack and put into its owner’s graveyard.
Most abilities describe exactly what they do in the card’s rules text. Some, though, are very common or would require too much space to define on the card. In these cases, the object lists only the name of the ability as a “keyword”; sometimes reminder text summarizes the game rule.
If an effect refers to a “[keyword ability] cost,” it refers only to the variable costs for that keyword.
An effect that grants an object a keyword ability may define a variable in that ability based on characteristics of that object or other information about the game state. For these abilities, the value of that variable is constantly reevaluated.
An effect may state that “the same is true for” a list of keyword abilities or similar. If one of those keyword abilities has variants or variables and the effect grants that keyword or counters of that keyword to one or more objects and/or players, it grants each appropriate variant and variable of that keyword.
An effect may refer to an object “with [keyword ability]” or “that has [keyword ability].” This means the same thing as an object “with a [keyword ability] ability” or an object “that has a [keyword ability] ability.”
Deathtouch
Deathtouch is a static ability.
A creature with toughness greater than 0 that’s been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked is destroyed as a state-based action. See rule 704.
Landwalk
Landwalk is a generic term that appears within an object’s rules text as “[type]walk,” where [type] is usually a land type, but it can also be the card type land plus any combination of land types, card types, and/or supertypes.
Landwalk is an evasion ability.
A creature with landwalk can’t be blocked as long as the defending player controls at least one land with the specified land type (as in “islandwalk”), with the specified type or supertype (as in “artifact landwalk”), without the specified type or supertype (as in “nonbasic landwalk”), or with both the specified type or supertype and the specified subtype (as in “snow swampwalk”). (See rule , “Declare Blockers Step.”)
Landwalk abilities don’t “cancel” one another.
Multiple instances of the same kind of landwalk on the same creature are redundant.
Mutate
Mutate appears on some creature cards. It represents a static ability that functions while the spell with mutate is on the stack. “Mutate [cost]” means “You may pay [cost] rather than pay this spell’s mana cost. If you do, it becomes a mutating creature spell and targets a non-Human creature with the same owner as this spell.” Casting a spell using its mutate ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs (see and –h).
As a mutating creature spell begins resolving, if its target is illegal, it ceases to be a mutating creature spell and continues resolving as a creature spell and will be put onto the battlefield under the control of the spell’s controller.
As a mutating creature spell resolves, if its target is legal, it doesn’t enter the battlefield. Rather, it merges with the target creature and becomes one object represented by more than one card or token (see rule , “Merging with Permanents”). The spell’s controller chooses whether the spell is put on top of the creature or on the bottom. The resulting permanent is a mutated permanent.
An ability that triggers whenever a creature mutates triggers when a spell merges with a creature as a result of a resolving mutating creature spell.
A mutated permanent has all abilities of each card and token that represents it. Its other characteristics are derived from the topmost card or token.
Any effect that refers to or modifies the mutating creature spell refers to or modifies the mutated permanent it merges with as it resolves.
Encore
Encore is an activated ability that functions while the card with encore is in a graveyard. “Encore [cost]” means “[Cost], Exile this card from your graveyard: For each opponent, create a token that’s a copy of this card that attacks that opponent this turn if able. The tokens gain haste. Sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step. Activate only as a sorcery.”
Boast
A boast ability is a special kind of activated ability. “Boast — [Cost]: [Effect]” means “[Cost]: [Effect]. Activate only if this creature attacked this turn and only once each turn.”
Effects may refer to boast abilities. If an effect refers to a creature boasting, it means its boast ability being activated.
Foretell
Foretell is a keyword that functions while the card with foretell is in a player’s hand. Any time a player has priority during their turn, that player may pay {2} and exile a card with foretell from their hand face down. That player may look at that card as long as it remains in exile. They may cast that card after the current turn has ended by paying any foretell cost it has rather than paying that spell’s mana cost. Casting a spell this way follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules and –h.
Exiling a card using its foretell ability is a special action, which doesn’t use the stack. See rule , “Special Actions.”
If an effect refers to foretelling a card, it means performing the special action associated with a foretell ability. If an effect refers to a card or spell that was foretold, it means a card put in the exile zone as a result of the special action associated with a foretell ability, or a spell that was a foretold card before it was cast, even if it was cast for a cost other than a foretell cost.
If an effect states that a card in exile becomes foretold, that card becomes a foretold card. That effect may give the card a foretell cost. That card’s owner may look at that card as long as it remains in exile and it may be cast for any foretell cost it has after the turn it became a foretold card has ended, even if the resulting spell doesn’t have foretell.
If a player owns multiple foretold cards in exile, they must ensure that those cards can be easily differentiated from each other and from any other face-down cards in exile which that player owns. This includes knowing both the order in which those cards were put into exile and any foretell costs other than their printed foretell costs those cards may have.
If a player leaves the game, all face-down foretold cards that player owns must be revealed to all players. At the end of each game, all face-down foretold cards must be revealed to all players.
Demonstrate
Demonstrate is a triggered ability. “Demonstrate” means “When you cast this spell, you may copy it and you may choose new targets for the copy. If you copy the spell, choose an opponent. That player copies the spell and may choose new targets for that copy.”
Daybound and Nightbound
Daybound and nightbound are found on opposite faces of some transforming double-faced cards (see rule , “Double-Faced Cards”).
Daybound is found on the front faces of some transforming double-faced cards and represents three static abilities. “Daybound” means “If it is night and this permanent is represented by a transforming double-faced card, it enters transformed,” “As it becomes night, if this permanent is front face up, transform it,” and “This permanent can’t transform except due to its daybound ability.” See rule , “Day and Night.”
Any time a player controls a permanent that is front face up with daybound and it’s night, that player transforms that permanent. This happens immediately and isn’t a state-based action.
Any time a player controls a permanent with daybound, if it’s neither day nor night, it becomes day.
Nightbound is found on the back faces of some transforming double-faced cards and represents two static abilities. “Nightbound” means “As it becomes day, if this permanent is back face up, transform it” and “This permanent can’t transform except due to its nightbound ability.”
Any time a player controls a permanent that is back face up with nightbound and it’s day, that player transforms that permanent. This happens immediately and isn’t a state-based action.
Any time a player controls a permanent with nightbound, if it’s neither day nor night and there are no permanents with daybound on the battlefield, it becomes night.
Disturb
Disturb is an ability found on the front face of some transforming double-faced cards (see rule , “Double-Faced Cards”). “Disturb [cost]” means “You may cast this card transformed from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than its mana cost.” See rule .
A resolving transforming double-faced spell that was cast using its disturb ability enters the battlefield with its back face up.
Decayed
Decayed represents a static ability and a triggered ability. “Decayed” means “This creature can’t block” and “When this creature attacks, sacrifice it at end of combat.”
Cleave
Cleave is a keyword that represents two static abilities that function while a spell with cleave is on the stack. “Cleave [cost]” means “You may cast this spell by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost” and “If this spell’s cleave cost was paid, change its text by removing all text found within square brackets in the spell’s rules text.” Casting a spell for its cleave cost follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules and –h.
Cleave’s second ability is a text-changing effect. See rule , “Text-Changing Effects.”
Training
Training is a triggered ability. “Training” means “Whenever this creature and at least one other creature with power greater than this creature’s power attack, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.”
If a creature has multiple instances of training, each triggers separately.
Some creatures with training have abilities that trigger when they train. “When this creature trains” means “When a resolving training ability puts one or more +1/+1 counters on this creature.”
One keyword causes an object to merge with a permanent. See rule 702.140, “Mutate.”
Day and night are designations that the game itself can have. The game starts with neither designation. “It becomes day” and “it becomes night” refer to the game gaining the day or night designation. It can become day or night through the daybound and nightbound keyword abilities (see rule 702.145). Other effects can also make it day or night. Once it has become day or night, the game will have exactly one of those designations from that point forward.