Magic: The Gathering 2014 Rulebook

+
AGE 13
Basic Rulebook
Ignite Your Spark

In the Magic game, you are counted among the elite spellcasters of the Multiversethe Planeswalkers. Some are
friends and others are foes. All wield terrifying magic and command armies of creatures torn from the endless planes of
reality. Your deck of cards represents all the weapons in your arsenal. It contains the spells you know and the creatures
you can summon to fight for you. Customize your own Magic deck, then challenge your friends to see whose spark
burns the brightest!
Trading card games like
the Magic: The Gathering
game combine collectable
cards with a strategy game.
Start your collection with
an intro pack and begin
battling immediately with a
ready-to-play deck.
Once youve gotten a
handle on how to play,
customize your deck using
cards from booster packs,
starting with the ones
included in your intro pack.
You dont know what cards youll get in a Magic
booster pack. You just start a collection and trade
with other players to get the cards you want. You
can find stores where Magic cards are sold at
Wizards.com/Locator.
The best part about a trading card game is
that its always changing. You design and build
your own unique decks, and each Magic game
you play is different. New Magic expansions
are released a few times a year, and
each new expansion
brings new ways to
stupefy and defeat your
opponents. Check out
MagicTheGathering.com
for daily articles, insider
information, and news
about upcoming sets!
2
Introduction
Illus. Brad Rigney
Contents
Section 1: The Basics

Five Colors of Mana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parts of a Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Card Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Game Zones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
5
5
8
Section 2: The Building Blocks

Making Mana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Abilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Attacking and Blocking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building Your Own Deck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Golden Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 9
10
12
13
15
15
Section 3: Playing a Game

Get a Deck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Get a Friend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Start the Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parts of the Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Next Turn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Ever-Changing Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
16
16
17
18
18
Section 4: Different Ways to Play

Limited Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Multiplayer Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Section 5: Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Questions?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3
Introduction
section 1:
The Basics
The Magic: The Gathering game is a strategy game played by two or more players, each of whom has a customized deck of Magic cards.
Over the course of the game, each player will take turns playing cards such as lands (which enable you to play your other cards), creatures,
sorceries, and other spells. Each player starts at 20 life. When you reduce your opponent to 0 life by attacking with creatures and playing
spells, you win!
Five Colors of Mana

Only one thing unites the infinite planes of the Multiverse: mana, the energy that fuels all magic. The five colors of mana are imbued
in the land itself, and a Planeswalker with a connection to a place can call upon its mana from across the sea of ther between worlds.
Each color of mana fuels a different kind of powerful magic for you to command. For example, red spells have oR in their costs,
and tapping (turning) a Mountain gives you oR that you can spend to cast spells. Its up to you whether to master one color or all five.
White
White is the color of law, order, and
structure. The sprawling Plains,
populated by soldiers, clerics, and
angels, provide white mana. You send
coordinated armies of smaller creatures
into battle to teach the enemy a lesson.
Green
Blue
Green magic is about growth, life, and

brute force. The Forests overflow with
green mana, which represents the pulse
of nature. You empower your creatures
with the predatory might of nature and
dominate through sheer size.
Blue magic relies on trickery and

manipulation. Islands provide blue
mana, the color of the deep sea and
the endless sky. You work behind the
scenes, controlling your environment
completely before making a move.
Red
Black
Red magic erupts with fire, frenzy, and

storms of rock and lava. Red mana comes
from Mountains and volcanoes. You
act quickly and recklessly, channeling
your wild emotions to summon mighty
dragons or crush the ground your
enemies walk on.
Black magic is about death, disease, and

power at any cost. Black mana comes
from dank Swamps, where things fester
and rot. You are as selfish and twisted as
the undead creatures and unspeakable
horrors you command.
4
Parts of a Card
Mana Cost
Card Name
Shivan Dragon
Creature Dragon
Flying
oR: Shivan Dragon gets +1/+0 until
end of turn.
The undisputed master of the mountains
of Shiv.
Text Box
This is where a cards abilities appear. You
may also find flavor text printed in italics
(like this) that tells you something about
the Magic world. Flavor text has no effect
on game play. Some abilities have italic
reminder text to help explain what they do.
5/5
Donato Giancola
& 2013 Wizards of the Coast 154/249
0154_MTGM14
S-Spell
RR06_M14
28101
Shivan Dragon
Type Line
This tells you the cards card type: artifact,
creature, enchantment, instant, land,
planeswalker, or sorcery. If the card has
a subtype or supertype, thats also listed
here. For example, Shivan Dragon is a
creature, and its subtype is the creature
type Dragon.
Mana is the main resource in the game.

Its produced by lands, and you spend
it to cast spells. The symbols in a cards
upper right corner tell you the cost to
cast that spell. If the mana cost reads
o4oRoR, you pay four mana of any
kinds plus two red mana (from two
Mountains) to cast it.
o oRoR
4
OOO
Expansion Symbol
This symbol tells you which Magic set
the card is from. This version of Shivan
Dragon is from the Magic 2014 core set.
The color of the symbol tells you the
cards rarity: black for common cards,
silver for uncommons, gold for rares, and
red-orange for mythic rares.
Power and Toughness
Collector Number
The collector number makes it easier to organize
your cards. For example, 154/249 means that the
card is the 154th of 249 cards in its set.
Each creature card has a special box with its power and toughness.
A creatures power (the first number) is how much damage it
deals in combat. Its toughness (the second number) is how
much damage must be dealt to it in a single turn to destroy it. (A
planeswalker card has a different special box with its loyalty here.)
Card Types
o2oU
OO
Divination
Divination
Every Magic card has one or more types. A cards type tells you when you can play the card and what
happens to the card after you do.
Sorcery
121599
A sorcery represents a magical incantation. You can cast a sorcery only during a main phase of one of your
own turns. You cant cast it when another spell is on the stack. (Youll learn about phases and the stack in a
bit.) A sorcery has its effectin other words, you follow the instructions on the cardthen you put it into
your graveyard, which is the game term for your discard pile.
Draw two cards.

The key to unlocking this puzzle is
within you.
Doriel, mentor of Mistral Isle
CU18_M14
Sorcery
Howard Lyon
S-Spell
0052_MTGM14
5
Doom Blade
o1oB
OO
Instant
121618
Doom Blade
An instant is just like a sorcery, except you can cast it just about any time you want, even during your
opponents turn or in response to another spell. Like a sorcery, an instant has its effect, then you put it into
your graveyard.
Destroy target nonblack creature.
Chippy
o1oRoRoR
OOOO
147427
Awaken the Ancient
Enchant Mountain
Enchanted Mountain is a 7/7 red Giant
creature with haste. Its still a land.
Some days you stand to greet the horizon.
Other days the horizon stands to greet you.
Jaime Jones
S-Spell
0126_MTGM14
Ring of Three Wishes

Ring of Three Wishes
o5
O
147462
Ring of Three Wishes enters the battlefield

with three wish counters on it.
o5, oT, Remove a wish counter from Ring
of Three Wishes: Search your library for
a card and put that card into your hand.
Then shuffle your library.
Mark Winters
S-Spell
0216_MTGM14
Creatures fight for you. Theyre permanents, but unlike any other kind of permanent, creatures can attack
and block. Each creature has power and toughness. Its power (the first number) is how much damage it deals
in combat. Its toughness (the second number) is how much damage must be dealt to it in a single turn to
destroy it. Creatures attack and block during the combat phase.
Unlike other types of permanents, creatures enter the battlefield with summoning sickness: a creature
cant attack, or use an ability that has oT in its cost, until it has started your turn on the battlefield under
your control. You can block with a creature or activate its other abilities no matter how long its been on
the battlefield.
Artifact creatures are both artifacts and creatures. Theyre usually colorless like other artifacts, and they
can attack and block like other creatures. An artifact creature can be affected by anything that affects
artifacts, as well as anything that affects creatures.
86905
Serra Angel
o3oWoW
OOO
Creature Angel
Flying
Vigilance (Attacking doesnt cause this
creature to tap.)
Follow the light. In its absence, follow her.
Greg Staples
An artifact represents a magical relic. Like an enchantment, an artifact is a permanent, so itll stay on the
battlefield affecting the game. Most artifacts are colorless, so you can cast one no matter what kinds of lands
you have.
Some artifacts are Equipment. You can pay to attach an Equipment to a creature you control to make that
creature more powerful. If an equipped creature leaves the battlefield, the Equipment doesntthe creature
drops it and it remains on the battlefield.
Creature
Artifact
Serra Angel
Artifact
RR09_M14
Enchantment Aura
MA01_M14
Awaken the Ancient
0096_MTGM14
An enchantment represents a stable magical manifestation. An enchantment is a permanent. This means two
things: you can cast one only at the time you could cast a sorcery, and after you cast one, youll put it on the
table in front of you, near your lands. (Most players keep their lands closer to them, then put their other
cards closer to the middle of the table.) The card is now on the battlefield. A card on the battlefield is called a
permanent because it sticks around permanently (well, unless something destroys it).
Some enchantments are Auras. An Aura enters the battlefield attached to a permanent and affects that
permanent while its on the battlefield. If the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield, the Aura is put
into its owners graveyard.
4/4
UW04_M14
S-Spell
Enchantment
UB07_M14
Instant
S-Spell
0032_MTGM14
6
Planeswalker
o4oGoG
OOO
147378
Garruk, Beastcaller
Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Planeswalker Garruk
Reveal the top five cards of your library. Put all
+1 : creature cards revealed this way into your hand and
You get an emblem with Whenever you cast a
spell, you may search your library for

-7 : acreature
creature card, put it onto the battlefield, then
shuffle your library.
Karl Kopinski
MG02_M14
the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
may put a green creature card from your hand

-3 : You
onto the battlefield.
P3-Planeswalker
0172_MTGM14
Planeswalkers are powerful allies you can call on to fight by your side. You can cast a planeswalker only at the
time you could cast a sorcery. Theyre permanents, and each one enters the battlefield with the number of
loyalty counters indicated in its lower right corner.
Each planeswalker has loyalty abilities that are activated by adding or removing loyalty counters from the
planeswalker. For example, the symbol ! means Put one loyalty counter on this planeswalker and the symbol
3 means Remove three loyalty counters from this planeswalker. You can activate one of these abilities only
at the time you could cast a sorcery and only if none of that planeswalkers loyalty abilities have been activated
yet that turn.
Your planeswalkers can be attacked by your opponents creatures (if so, you can block as normal), and
your opponents can damage them with their spells and abilities instead of damaging you. Any damage dealt
to a planeswalker causes it to lose that many loyalty counters. If a planeswalker has no loyalty counters, its
put into your graveyard.
Land
137571
Mountain
Mountain
LL14_M14
Basic Land Mountain
Cliff Childs
Although lands are permanents, they arent cast as spells. To play a land, just put it onto the battlefield. This
happens immediately, so no player can do anything else in response. You can play a land only during one
of your main phases while the stack is empty. You cant play more than one land a turn.
Most lands have abilities that make mana. Youll use lands to make the mana you need to pay for spells
and abilities.
Each basic land has a mana ability that makes one mana of a particular color. Plains make white mana
(oW), Islands make blue mana (oU), Swamps make black mana (oB), Mountains make red mana (oR), and
Forests make green mana (oG). Any land other than these five is a nonbasic land.
S-Spell
0242_MTGM14
Card type
Is a permanent
Is cast as
a spell
Is usually
colorless
Land
Artifact
Creature
Enchantment
Planeswalker
Instant
Sorcery
7
Can attack
Can be attacked
Game Zones
Since the Magic game doesnt have a game board,
zones are the areas of play that exist on your table.
Heres what a game in progress looks like. In this
example, there arent any exiled cards, and no spells
are on the stack. (When you put a spell on the stack,
you take the card from your hand and put it in the
middle of the table until it finishes resolving.)
When you draw cards, they go to your hand, just as in most other card games.
No one except you can look at the cards in your hand. You start the game with
seven cards in your hand, and you have a maximum hand size of seven. (You
may have more than seven cards in your hand, but you must discard down to
seven at the end of each of your turns.) Each player has his or her own hand.
Opponent
The Stack
16 life left
0182_MTGM14
0248_MTGM14
0249_MTGM14
S-Spell
Jonas De Ro
0240_MTGM14
0246_MTGM14
Basic Land Forest
Andreas Rocha
Jung Park
S-Spell
S-Spell
Volkan Baga
S-Spell
Graveyard
Even dragons fear its silken strands.

Reach (This creature can block
creatures with flying.)
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage
this deals to a creature is enough to
destroy it.)
Deadly Recluse
Wesley Burt
3/3
And all this time I thought we were

tracking it.
Juruk, Kalonian tracker
Battlefield
o1oG
OO
S-Spell
1/1
Life grows everywhere. My kin merely

find those places where it grows strongest.
Nissa Revane
oT: Add oG to your mana pool.
Creature Beast
Kalonian Tusker
Creature Elf Druid
Elvish Mystic
You start the game with nothing on the battlefield, but this is where the action
is going to be. On each of your turns, you can play a land from your hand.
Creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers also enter the battlefield
after they resolve. You can arrange your permanents however you want (we
recommend putting lands closest to you), but your opponent must be able to see
all of them and tell whether theyre tapped. This zone is shared by both players.
Deadly Recluse
0169_MTGM14
Svetlin Velinov
121590
147389
147464
oGoG
OO
Kalonian Tusker
oG
O
Elvish Mystic
0110_MTGM14
Martina Pilcerova
CB18_M14
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets -1/-1 for each
Swamp you control.
0/4
Allen Williams
1/3
Alex Horley-Orlandelli
129096
0004_MTGM14
S-Spell
0069_MTGM14
Island
138766
138793
LL05_M14
Plains
Basic Land Plains
0231_MTGM14
0232_MTGM14
LL08_M14
Instant
Target player sacrifices an attacking

or blocking creature.
You were defeated the moment you
declared your aggression.
Gideon Jura
Clint Cearley
S-Spell
LL02_M14
145503
Library
0234_MTGM14
LL04_M14
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Graveyard
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Essence
LL07_M14
Plains
Plains
Nils Hamm
0237_MTGM14
Noah Bradley
S-Spell
Island
0235_MTGM14
S-Spell
S-Spell
S-Spell
Cliff Childs
Basic Land Island
Basic Land Island
Andreas Rocha
Basic Land Plains
S-Spell
Island
Jonas De Ro
Island
Island
Basic Land Island
Graveyard
oWoW
OO
Celestial Flare
Celestial Flare
Plains
Island
147383
S-Spell
You
18 life left
CW17_M14
0079_MTGM14
Whenever Scroll Thief deals combat

damage to a player, draw a card.
Kapsho merfolk have infiltrated
fortresses as remote as the desert citadel
in Sunari in their relentless quest for
arcane knowledge.
CW05_M14
UU01_M14
The air stirred as if fanned by angels

wings, and the enemy was turned aside.
Tales of Ikarov the Voyager
CU05_M14
Creature Merfolk Rogue
Defender (This creature cant attack.)

Flying
On Evos Isle, the swift and formidable

aven enforce the will of the ruling
sphinxes.
2/2
Nils Hamm
S-Spell
141845
Scroll Thief
Angelic Wall
147454
Creature Wall
o2oB
OO
Flying
Creature spells with flying you cast
cost o1 less to cast.
Quag Sickness
Creature Bird Wizard
o2oU
OO
Quag Sickness
Warden of Evos Isle
The dread gases didnt kill Farbid. But as

he lay in the muck, miserable and helpless,
watching ghouls and rats advance on him,
he wished they had.
Scroll Thief
129117
o1oW
OO
Enchantment Aura
Angelic Wall
o2oU
OO
Spells and abilities exist on the stack. They wait there to resolve until both
players choose not to cast any new spells or activate any new abilities. Then the
last spell or ability that was put onto the stack resolves, and players get a chance
to cast spells and activate abilities again. (Youll learn more about casting spells
and activating abilities in the next section.) This zone is shared by both players.
Battlefield
Creature Spider
Swamp
S-Spell
1/2
Forest
0182_MTGM14
Forest
Warren Mahy
Basic Land Swamp
Forest
Forest
S-Spell
Forest
0247_MTGM14
S-Spell
Forest
0168_MTGM14
Steven Belledin
Basic Land Forest
S-Spell
121707
LL19_M14
Basic Land Forest
oGoG
OO
137567
LL20_M14
131619
LL17_M14
Basic Land Forest
Kalonian Tusker
137575
LL12_M14
138785
LL18_M14
Swamp
3/3
Creature Beast
Kalonian Tusker
Forest
Svetlin Velinov

tracking it.
147389
Forest
S-Spell
UG03_M14
CG03_M14
UG03_M14
CG01_M14
Warden of Evos Isle
When the game begins, your deck of cards becomes your library (your draw
pile). Its kept face down, and the cards stay in the order they were in at the
beginning of the game. No one can look at the cards in your library, but you
can know how many cards are in each players library. Each player has his or
her own library.
Hand
Hand
Library
Library
Your graveyard is your discard pile. Your instant and sorcery spells go to your
graveyard when they resolve. Your cards go to your graveyard if an effect causes
them to be discarded, destroyed, sacrificed, or countered. Your planeswalkers go
to your graveyard if they lose all their loyalty counters. Your creatures go to
your graveyard if the damage theyre dealt in a single turn is equal to or greater
than their toughness, or if their toughness is reduced to 0 or less. Cards in your
graveyard are always face up and anyone can look at them at any time. Each
player has his or her own graveyard.
Exile
If a spell or ability exiles a card, that card is put in a game area thats set apart
from the rest of the game. The card will remain there forever, unless whatever
put it there is able to bring it back. Exiled cards are normally face up. This zone
is shared by both players.
8
section 2:
The Building Blocks

This section describes the actions that youll take during a game. Youll learn how to make mana, which is the resource you need to cast spells.
Youll learn how to cast a spell, as well as how to use abilities. Youll also learn how to attack and block with your creatures. The section finishes
with a brief description of how to build your first deck and an explanation of the games Golden Rule.
Making Mana
To do just about anything else in the game, you first need to be
able to make mana. Think of mana as Magic moneyits what
you use to pay most costs. Each mana is either one of the five
Magic colors or is colorless. When a cost requires colored mana,
youll see colored mana symbols (oW for white, U
o for blue, B
o
for black, R
o for red, G
o for green). When any kind of mana
can be used to pay the cost, youll see a symbol with a number
in it (like 2
o ).
Where does mana come from? Nearly every land in the game
has an ability that produces mana. Basic lands just have a large
mana symbol in their text boxes to show thisyou can tap one
of them to add one mana of that color to your mana pool. (Your
mana pool is where mana is stored until you spend it.) Other
lands, as well as some creatures, artifacts, and spells, may also
make mana. Theyll say something like Add G
o to your mana
pool.
Mana that youve made doesnt last forever. At the end of each
step or phase of the turn, any unused mana in your mana pool
disappears. This doesnt happen often because usually youll only
make mana when you need it to cast a spell or activate an ability.
Plains
Plains
Plains
LL01_M14
Basic Land Plains
S-Spell
0233_MTGM14
S-Spell
Andreas Rocha
Andreas Rocha
138765
Plains
Basic Land Plains
0233_MTGM14
LL01_M14
138765
Basic land type
Can be tapped for
Plains
oW (white)
Island
oU (blue)
Swamp
oB (black)
Mountain
oR (red)
oG (green)
Forest
Untapped
Tapping
Soulmender
Soulmender
Healing is more art than magic.Well,

there is still quite a bit of magic.
James Ryman
1/1
Tapped
CW01_M14
9
1/1
0037_MTGM14
oW
O
0037_MTGM14
S-Spell
Soulmender
oT: You gain 1 life.
Creature Human Cleric

S-Spell
James Ryman
CW01_M14
147385
Soulmender

To tap a card is to turn it sideways. You do this when you use a land to make mana,
when you attack with a creature, or when you activate an ability that has the oT
symbol as part of its cost (oT means tap this permanent).
When a permanent is tapped, that usually means its been used for the turn. You
cant tap it again until its been untapped (straightened out).
At the beginning of each of your turns, you untap your tapped cards so you can
use them again.
oW
O
147385
Spells
Now that you can make mana, youll want to use it to cast spells. All cards except lands are cast as spells. You can cast sorceries,
creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers only during one of your main phases when theres nothing else on the stack.
Instants can be cast at any time.
Casting a Spell
To cast a spell, take the card you want to cast from your hand, show
it to your opponent, and put it on the stack. (The stack is the game
zone where spells live. Its usually in the middle of the table.)
There are a few choices that you need to make right now. If the
spell is an instant or sorcery and says Choose one , you choose
which of the options youre using. If the spell is an instant or sorcery
and it has a target, you choose what (or who) that target is. Aura
spells also target the permanents theyll enchant. If the spell has X
o in
its cost, you choose what number X stands for. Other choices will be
made later, when the spell resolves.
Target
Plummet
o1oG
OO
Plummet
When you see the word target

on a spell or ability, you have to
choose one or more things for
the spell or ability to affect.
Youll be able to choose only
certain kinds of things, such
as target enchantment or
target creature or player.
You choose the targets for a
spell when you cast it, and you choose targets for an
activated ability when you activate it. If you cant meet
the targeting requirements, you cant cast the spell or
activate the activated ability. Once you choose targets,
you cant change your mind later.
When the spell or ability resolves, it checks the
targets to make sure theyre still legal (theyre still there,
and they match the requirements stated by the spell or
ability). If a target isnt legal, the spell or ability cant
affect it. If none of the targets are legal, the spell or
ability is countered and does nothing at all.
Pete Vente
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Wizard
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Now check what the spells cost is. Tap your lands to produce
the mana necessary to pay that cost, and pay it. Once you do that,
the spell has been cast.
Responding to a Spell
The spell doesnt resolve (have its effect) right awayit has to wait
on the stack. Each player, including you, now gets a chance to cast
an instant or activate an activated ability in response. If a player
does, that instant or ability goes on the stack on top of what was
already waiting there. When all players decline to do anything, the
top spell or ability on the stack will resolve.
Resolving a Spell
When a spell resolves, one of two things happens. If the spell
is an instant or sorcery, it has its effect (in other words, you
follow the instructions on the card), then you put the card into
your graveyard. If the spell is a creature, artifact, enchantment,
or planeswalker, you put the card on the table in front of you,
near your lands. The card is now on the battlefield. Any of your
cards on the battlefield is called a permanent because it sticks
around permanently (well, until something happens to it). Many
permanents have abilities, which is text on them that affects the
game.
After a spell or ability resolves, both players get the chance to
play something new. If no one does, the next thing waiting on
the stack will resolve (or if the stack is empty, the current part of
the turn will end and the game will proceed to the next part). If
either player plays something new, it goes on top of the stack and
the process repeats.
Turn the page to see examples of spells on the stack.
10
Examples of Spells on the Stack
Your opponent casts Shock targeting your

Auramancer, a 2/2 creature. The Shock goes
on the stack.
You respond to the Shock by casting Show of

Valor on your Auramancer. Show of Valor goes
on the stack, on top of Shock.
You and your opponent both decline to do

anything else. Show of Valor resolves, making
the Auramancer 4/6 until the end of the turn.
Then the Shock resolves, dealing 2 damage

to the pumped-up Auramancer. Thats not
enough to destroy it.
Opponents spell
on the stack
Your spell on the stack
Your creature on the battlefield
What would happen if the Show of Valor were cast first?
The Shock goes on the stack on top of

Show of Valor so it resolves first. It deals 2
damage to Auramancerenough to destroy
it! When the Show of Valor tries to resolve,
its only target is no longer on the battlefield,
so its countered (it does nothing).
11
Abilities
Imposing Sovereign
o1oW
OO
Creature Human
A static ability is text that is always true while that card is on the battlefield. For example, Imposing
Sovereign is a creature with the ability Creatures your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped.
You dont activate a static ability. It just does what it says.
Creatures your opponents control

enter the battlefield tapped.
Some are born to rule. The rest are
born to bow before them.
Scott M. Fischer
Triggered Abilities
S-Spell
Messenger Drake
0022_MTGM14
o3oUoU
OOO
Creature Drake
Flying
When Messenger Drake dies, draw
a card.
The more important the message, the
larger the messenger.
Yeong-Hao Han
3/3
CU09_M14
147451
Messenger Drake
A triggered ability is text that happens when a specific event occurs in the game. For example, Messenger
Drake is a creature with the ability When Messenger Drake dies, draw a card.
Each triggered ability starts with the word when, whenever, or at. You dont activate a triggered
ability. It automatically triggers whenever the first part of the ability happens. The ability goes on the
stack just like a spell, and resolves just like a spell. If the ability triggers but then the permanent the
ability came from leaves the battlefield, the ability will still resolve.
You cant choose to delay or ignore a triggered ability. However, if the ability targets something or
someone but you cant choose a legal target for it, the ability wont do anything.
2/1
RW01_M14
Static Abilities
149822
Imposing Sovereign
As you start to accumulate permanents on the battlefield, the game will change. Thats because many
permanents have text on them that affects the game. This text tells you a permanents abilities. There
are three different kinds of abilities a permanent can have: static abilities, triggered abilities, and activated
abilities.
Activated Abilities
S-Spell
Blood Bairn
oW
o3oWO
OO
The travelers were warned to watch out

for children on the road.
Ryan Yee
of
S-Spell
86905
4/4
s
Greg Staple the Coast 32/249
UW04_M1
Angel
Flying
cause this
cking doesnt
Vigilance (Atta
creature to tap.)
follow her.
In its absence,
Follow the light.
Wizards
& 2013
2/2
0087_MTGM14
Some permanents have abilities that are shortened to a single word or phrase. Many of these have
reminder text that gives you a brief description of the abilitys effect. Keyword abilities in the core set
include deathtouch, defender, enchant, equip, first strike, flash, flying, haste, hexproof, indestructible,
landwalk (such as swampwalk or forestwalk), lifelink, protection, reach, trample, and vigilance. Most
of these are static abilities, but keyword abilities can also be triggered abilities or activated abilities.
Detailed explanations of each of these abilities can be found in the glossary at the end of this rulebook.
M14
0032_MTG
12
CB04_M14
Sacrifice another creature: Blood

Bairn gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
Keywords
l
Serra Ange
Creature
148274
Creature Vampire
S-Spell
Serra Angel
o2oB
OO
Blood Bairn
An activated ability is an ability that you can activate whenever you want, as long as you can pay the
cost. For example, Blood Bairn is a creature with the ability Sacrifice another creature: Blood Bairn
gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
Each activated ability has a cost, then a colon (:), then an effect. Activating one works exactly like
casting an instant spell, except theres no card to put on the stack. The ability goes on the stack just like
a spell, and resolves just like a spell. If you activate an ability but then the permanent the ability came
from leaves the battlefield, the ability will still resolve.
Some activated abilities contain the oT symbol in their costs. This means that you must tap the
permanent to activate the ability. You cant activate the ability if the permanent is already tapped.
0063_MTGM14
Attacking and Blocking

The primary way to win the game is to attack with your
creatures. If a creature thats attacking your opponent isnt
blocked, it deals damage equal to its power to him or her.
It doesnt take that many hits to drop your opponent all the
way from 20 life to 0!
The middle of each turn is the combat phase. (Youll learn
about the parts of the turn in a bit.) In your combat phase,
you choose which of your creatures will attack, and you
choose who or what they will attack. Each one can attack
your opponent or one of your opponents planeswalkers, but
not any of his or her creatures. You tap the attacking creatures.
They all attack at the same time, even if theyre attacking
different things. You can attack with a creature only if its
untapped, and only if it was on the battlefield under your
control when the turn began.
Your opponent chooses which of his or her creatures will
block. Tapped creatures cant be declared as blockers. For
blocking, it doesnt matter how long the creature has been on
the battlefield. Each creature can block only one attacker,
but multiple blockers can gang up on a single attacking
creature. If that happens, the attacking player orders
the blockers to show which is first in line for
damage, which is second, and so on. Creatures
dont have to block.
After all blockers are chosen, combat damage
is assigned. Each creatureboth attackers and
blockersdeals damage equal to its power.
If damage is dealt to your opponent, he or she loses that much

life!
If damage is dealt to your opponents planeswalker, that many
loyalty counters are removed from it.
If a creature is dealt damage equal to or greater than its toughness
over the course of a single turn, that creature is destroyed and goes
to its owners graveyard. If a creature takes damage that isnt lethal,
that creature stays on the battlefield, but the damage doesnt wear
off until the turn ends.
Turn the page to see an example of combat.
A
n attacking creature that isnt blocked
deals damage to the player or planeswalker its
attacking.
A
n attacking creature that is blocked deals damage to
the blocking creatures. If one of your attacking creatures
is blocked by multiple creatures, you decide how to divide
its combat damage among them. You must assign at least
enough damage to the first blocking creature in line to
destroy it before you can assign damage to the next one
in line, and so on.
A
blocking creature deals damage to the attacker its
blocking.
13
Illus. D. Alexander Gregory
Example of Combat
Attacking Player
Voracious Wurm
147467
Gladecover Scout
134074
UG02_M14
147389
2/2
147467
The attacking player attacks with his three biggest creatures

and taps them. He doesnt attack with the smallest because
its too easy to destroy, and it might be useful for blocking
on the opponents next turn.
o1oUoU
OOO
Creature Illusion Warrior
Phantom Warrior cant be blocked.

The construction of a defense is not
accomplished by adding bricks.
Jace Beleren
CU09_M14

3/3
Yeong-Hao Han
27735
147451
Phantom Warrior
Messenger Drake
129100
CU01_M14
Flying
a card.
2/2
Greg Staples
0062_MTGM14
Declare Attackers
UU02_M14
147465
CG09_M14
Merfolk Spy
o1oG
OO
0200_MTGM14
UG02_M14
Phantom Warrior
o3oUoU
OOO
Creature Drake
S-Spell
Voracious Wurm
1/1
Matt Cavotta & Richard Whitters
Creature Wurm
Islandwalk (This creature cant be blocked

as long as defending player controls an
Island.)
Whenever Merfolk Spy deals combat
damage to a player, that player reveals a
card at random from his or her hand.
Voracious Wurm enters the battlefield

with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is
the amount of life youve gained this turn.
2/2
S-Spell
2/2
Messenger Drake
oU
O
Igor Kieryluk
0176_MTGM14
1/1
147389
3/3
Merfolk Spy
Shepherds in Kalonia know its better to let

sheep roam than have them be trapped when
the wurms are feeding.
2/2
S-Spell
3/3
1/1
0200_MTGM14
1/1
Allen Williams
0182_MTGM14
UG03_M14
Creature Wurm
Voracious Wurm enters the battlefield

with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is
the amount of life youve gained this turn.
oGoG
OO
S-Spell
S-Spell
Hexproof (This creature cant be

the target of spells or abilities your
opponents control.)
Igor Kieryluk
3/3
o2oGoG
OOO
3/3
Svetlin Velinov
147465
o1oG
OO
Voracious Wurm
Creature Elf Scout
The forest is my cover and I hold it

close. In such a tight embrace, there is
no room for wickedness.
4/4
Voracious Wurm
oG
O
Shepherds in Kalonia know its better to let

sheep roam than have them be trapped when
the wurms are feeding.
Kalonian Tusker
Creature Beast

tracking it.
0193_MTGM14
CG09_M14

tracking it.
Creature Beast
0182_MTGM14
S-Spell
S-Spell
Svetlin Velinov
Rumbling Baloth
4/4
Jesper Ejsing
4 /4
0193_MTGM14
In the dim light beneath the vast trees

of Deepglade, baloths prowl in search
of prey. Their guttural calls are more
felt than heard, but their attack scream
carries for miles.
Kalonian Tusker
Creature Beast
S-Spell
Jesper Ejsing

carries for miles.
Creature Beast
Gladecover Scout
oGoG
OO
Kalonian Tusker
Rumbling Baloth
CG02_M14
Kalonian Tusker
o2oGoG
OOO
UG03_M14
Rumbling Baloth
Rumbling Baloth
S-Spell
S-Spell
0063_MTGM14
0067_MTGM14
Defending Player
Attacking Player
Gladecover Scout
Kalonian Tusker
Phantom Warrior
Phantom Warrior
S-Spell
Greg Staples
o1oUoU
OOO
2/2
0067_MTGM14
UG03_M14
147465
Merfolk Spy

Jace Beleren
1/1
Allen Williams
oGoG
OO
3/3
o2oGoG
OOO
0182_MTGM14


opponents control.)
Kalonian Tusker
Creature Beast
S-Spell
Svetlin Velinov
Assign Blockers
0176_MTGM14
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UU02_M14
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O
27735
Messenger Drake
o3oUoU
OOO
1/1
1/1
CU01_M14

Island.)
3/3
Creature Drake
Flying
a card.
3/3
Yeong-Hao Han
Merfolk Spy
Messenger Drake
oU
O
o3oUoU
OOO
0062_MTGM14
Messenger Drake
S-Spell
1/1
147451
Flying
a card.
3/3
Yeong-Hao Han
o1oUoU
OOO
Phantom Warrior
Creature Drake
CU09_M14

Island.)
CU01_M14
0063_MTGM14
Phantom Warrior
129100
Merfolk Spy
S-Spell
147451
CU09_M14
129100
Merfolk Spy
Messenger Drake
The defending player assigns blockers to two of the

attackers and lets the third attacker through. Blocking
choices are up to the defender.
27735
4 /4
0193_MTGM14

tracking it.
Rumbling Baloth
Creature Beast
S-Spell
Jesper Ejsing

carries for miles.
Creature Elf Scout
S-Spell
CG09_M14
2/2
oG
O
134074
3/3
Rumbling Baloth
CG02_M14
4/4
Gladecover Scout

S-Spell
0062_MTGM14
0063_MTGM14

Jace Beleren
UU02_M14
S-Spell
2/2
Greg Staples
S-Spell
0067_MTGM14
Defending Player
Attacking Player
Gladecover Scout
Kalonian Tusker
Phantom Warrior
Phantom Warrior
S-Spell
Greg Staples
o1oUoU
OOO
2/2
0067_MTGM14
Merfolk Spy
1/1
Allen Williams

Jace Beleren

oGoG
OO
3/3
o2oGoG
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0182_MTGM14
UG03_M14
147465

opponents control.)
Kalonian Tusker
Creature Beast
S-Spell
Svetlin Velinov
0176_MTGM14
UU02_M14
147389
27735
Messenger Drake
o3oUoU
OOO
1/1
Creature Drake
Flying
a card.
3/3
Yeong-Hao Han
0062_MTGM14
S-Spell
1/1
0063_MTGM14
Phantom Warrior
Combat Damage
The unblocked attacker deals 3 damage to the defending

player. The blocked attackers and the blockers deal damage
to each other. The smaller creatures die and the bigger
creatures live.
Phantom Warrior
o1oUoU
OOO
27735
S-Spell
147451
3/3
129100

Island.)
CU01_M14
CU09_M14
Merfolk Spy
Messenger Drake
oU
O
3 Damage

Jace Beleren
Greg Staples
2/2
UU02_M14
4 /4
0193_MTGM14

tracking it.
Rumbling Baloth
S-Spell
Jesper Ejsing

carries for miles.
Creature Beast
Creature Elf Scout
S-Spell
CG09_M14
2/2
oG
O
134074
3 /3
Rumbling Baloth
CG02_M14
4/4
Gladecover Scout
Defending Player
S-Spell
0067_MTGM14
14
Building Your Own Deck

You play a Magic game with your own customized deck. You build it yourself using whichever Magic cards you want. There are two rules:
your deck must have at least 60 cards, and your deck cant have more than four copies of any single card (except for basic lands). The rest
is up to you, but here are some guidelines:
Lands. A good rule of thumb is that 40% of your deck should be lands. A 60-card deck usually has about 24 lands.
Creatures. Creatures account for 15 to 25 cards in a typical 60-card deck. Choose creatures that have a variety of mana costs.
Low-cost creatures are potent early on, but high-cost creatures can quickly win a game once they enter the battlefield.
Other cards. Artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers, instants, and sorceries round out your deck.
After you play with your new deck for a while, you can start to customize it. Take out cards you dont feel are working well and add new
cards you want to try. The best part about trading card games is being able to play with whatever cards you want, so start experimenting!
Once they build up their collections, Magic players often choose to build different decks for different formats. Formats are defined by
what cards can be played in them. The most popular Magic format is called Standard. It uses only the newest sets the game has to offer. The
current block, the block that was released the previous October, and the most recent core set are all legal to play in a Standard deck. Standard
events are available all year, worldwide. When youre ready to start exploring other Magic formats, go to Wizards.com/MagicFormats for
more information.
The Golden Rule

When a Magic card contradicts
the rulebook, the card wins. For
example, the rules say creatures
enter the battlefield untapped. But
Imposing Sovereign is a creature
that says Creatures your opponents
control enter the battlefield tapped.
Imposing Sovereign changes the
rules as long as its on the battlefield.
One of the things that makes the
Magic game fun to play is that there
are individual cards that let you break
almost every rule.
15
section 3:
Playing a Game
Now that you know the elements of the game and how to perform the main actions, its time to walk through a turn. This section
describes what happens in each part of a turn. In a typical game, youll skip many of these parts (for example, nothing usually
happens in the beginning of combat step). An actual Magic game is pretty casual, despite how complex the structure may seem.
Get a Deck
Youll need your own Magic deck. Youll also need a way to keep track of both players life totals, as well as small items to
use as counters or tokens.
When youre first getting started, you may want to pick up a ready-to-play deck, such as an intro pack or event deck, or
borrow a deck from a friend. After youve built up your collection, try building your own deck using the guidelines on page 15.
Get a Friend
To play a game, youll need an opponent! Your opponent will play against you using his or her own deck.
Start the Game

Each player starts at 20 life. You win the game
by reducing your opponent to 0 life. You also
win if your opponent has to draw a card when
none are left in his or her deck, or if a spell or
ability says that you win.
Decide which player will go first. If youve
just played the same opponent, the loser of the
last game decides who goes first. Otherwise, roll
a die or flip a coin to see who gets to decide.
Each player shuffles his or her deck, then
draws a hand of seven cards to start. If you
dont like your opening hand, you can mulligan.
Shuffle your hand back into your deck and draw
a new hand of six cards. You can keep doing
this, drawing a hand of one fewer card each
time, until you decide to keep your cards.
16
Parts of the Turn

Below are the parts of a turn. Each turn proceeds in the same sequence. Whenever you enter a new step or phase, any triggered abilities
that happen during that step or phase trigger and are put on the stack. The active player (the player whose turn it is) gets to cast spells and
activate abilities, then the other player does. When both players in a row decline to do anything and nothing is waiting to resolve, the game
will move to the next step or phase.
With each part of the turn is a description of what can happen during that part, if its your turn.
will block your attacking creatures, then they do so. If multiple
creatures block a single attacker, you order the blockers to show
which is first in line for damage, which is second, and so on. Players
can then cast instants and activate abilities.
d. Combat damage step
Each attacking or blocking creature thats still on the battlefield
assigns its combat damage to the defending player (if its attacking
that player and wasnt blocked), to a planeswalker (if its attacking
that planeswalker and wasnt blocked), to the creature or creatures
blocking it, or to the creature its blocking. If an attacking creature is
blocked by multiple creatures, you divide its combat damage among
them by assigning at least enough damage to the first blocking
creature in line to destroy it before assigning damage to the next
one in line, and so on. Once players decide how the creatures they
control will deal their combat damage, the damage is all dealt at the
same time. Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.
e. End of combat step
Players can cast instants and activate abilities.
1. Beginning Phase
a. Untap step
You untap all your tapped permanents. On the first turn of the
game, you dont have any permanents, so you just skip this step. No
one can cast spells or activate abilities during this step.
b. Upkeep step
This part of the turn is mentioned on a number of cards. If
something is supposed to happen just once per turn, right at the
beginning, an ability will trigger at the beginning of your upkeep.
Players can cast instants and activate abilities.
c. Draw step
You draw a card from your library. (The player who goes first skips
the draw step on his or her first turn to make up for the advantage
of going first.) Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.
2. Main Phase
You can cast any number of sorceries, instants, creatures, artifacts,
enchantments, and planeswalkers, and you can activate abilities.
You can play a land during this phase, but remember that you
can play only one land during your turn. Your opponent can cast
instants and activate abilities.
4. Main Phase
Your second main phase is just like your first main phase. You can
cast every type of spell and activate abilities, but your opponent can
only cast instants and activate abilities. You can play a land during this
phase if you didnt during your first main phase.
3. Combat Phase
a. Beginning of combat step
Players can cast instants and activate abilities. This is your
opponents last chance to cast spells or activate abilities that stop
your creatures from attacking.
b. Declare attackers step
You decide which, if any, of your untapped creatures will attack
and which player or planeswalker they will attack. Then they do
so. This taps the attacking creatures. Players can then cast instants
and activate abilities.
c. Declare blockers step
Your opponent decides which, if any, of his or her untapped creatures
5. Ending Phase
a. End step
Abilities that trigger at the beginning of your end step go on the
stack. Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.
b. Cleanup step
If you have more than seven cards in your hand, choose and discard
cards until you have only seven. Next, all damage on creatures is
removed and all until end of turn and this turn effects end. No
one can cast instants or activate abilities unless an ability triggers
during this step.
17
The Next Turn

Now its your opponents turn. That player untaps his or her permanents and goes from there. After that player is done, it will be your turn
again. Keep going until a player is reduced to 0 life. As soon as a player has 0 life, the game ends immediately and the other player wins!
The Ever-Changing Game

One of the fascinating aspects of the Magic game
is that it changes from turn to turnand the cards
themselves can actually alter the rules of the game. As
you play, youll find nonland cards with abilities that
produce mana, and lands that do other things besides
produce mana. Youll find creatures with the haste
ability, which allows them to attack right away. Youll
find creatures with flying and trample, which change
the rules of combat. Youll find cards with abilities
that work from your graveyard. Youll find cards
whose abilities work together for an effect thats much
more powerful than either one could achieve alone
(such as the combo of Tenacious Dead and Gnawing
Zombie). This is a game of discovery, of amazement,
of fighting, and of tricks. This is a game of magic.
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section 4:
Different Ways to Play

You know everything you need to play a Magic game. But what kind of game will you play? Appropriately enough for a game with so
many options, there are lots of different ways to play. Everyone can start on equal footing with brand-new cards rather than build decks
in advance from the cards in their collections. You can even play with a bunch of friends, not just one.
Limited Formats
In Limited play, each player builds his or her own deck on the spot out of a number of booster packs. In other words, your deck is made
from a limited card pool. Each deck must contain at least 40 cards (rather than the usual 60 for a Constructed deck). The only cards
you can play with are the ones opened in those packs, plus any number of basic land cards. (A 40-card deck should have about 17 lands
and about 15 creatures.)
Sealed Deck (any number of players)

In this Limited format, you build a deck out of brand-new booster packs. Each player opens six 15-card boosters and builds a 40-card
deck using the cards from his or her packs and any number of basic lands.
Booster Draft (4 to 8 players)

In this Limited format, instead of just opening your cards and building a deck, you and the other players at the table select (draft) the
cards for your decks. Each player at the table starts with three unopened 15-card booster packs.
At the start of a booster draft, each player opens a pack and picks the card he or she wants from it. (You cant see the cards that the
other players draft.) Then each player passes the rest of the pack to his or her left. You pick up the pack that was passed to you, select a
card, and pass the rest to your left. This process continues until all the cards have been drafted. Next, each player opens a second pack,
but this time, you pass the pack to your right. After all those cards are drafted, you open the third pack and pass to the left again. Use
your picks and any number of basic lands to build your 40-card deck.
To play these formats and more, check out events

at your local gaming store!
Wizards.com/Locator
19
Multiplayer Variants
You can play a Magic game with more than two players in it. There are dozens of different ways to do so. Some of the most popular are
Two-Headed Giant and Commander, which can be played using only traditional Magic cards from your collection. Other multiplayer
variants use oversized cards or a special die to provide a unique experience for your play group.
Two-Headed Giant
Planechase
In a Two-Headed Giant game, you and a teammate play against

another two-person team. You and your teammate can show each
other your hands and discuss strategy. Your team has a shared life
total that starts at 30, you and your teammate have a shared turn,
and your teams creatures attack the other team as a group. But you
continue to have your own individual library, control your own
permanents, spend your own mana, and so on.
The Planechase variant adds a deck of oversized plane cards that

set the location for your multiplayer battles across the Multiverse.
The planes have abilities that alter the rules of the game. If you
dont like your current surroundings, you can try to planeswalk by
rolling the planar die, but be prepared for the occasional chaotic
result!
Commander
In a Commander game, each players deck is led by the legendary
creature of his or her choicefittingly, thats the decks commander.
The rest of the deck is a specially crafted arsenal of creatures,
artifacts, and other spells, designed to reflect the personality of
that commander and take advantage of his or her strengths. A
Commander game is best enjoyed as a Free-for-All game among
36 players, although two-player games are also common.
Find out more about this grassroots, player-built format at
MTGCommander.net.
Archenemy
In an Archenemy game, one player starts with 40 life and an
extra deck of oversized scheme cards. That player is known as the
archenemy. The other players play as a team and try to defeat the
archenemy.
Tips
In a multiplayer game, the first time a player takes a mulligan, he or she draws a new hand
of seven cards rather than six cards. Subsequent hands decrease by one card as normal.
In a Two-Headed Giant game, the team who plays first skips the draw step of their first
turn. In all other multiplayer games, no player skips the draw step of his or her first turn.
Learn more about these and other Magic formats at Wizards.com/MagicFormats.
20
section 5:
Glossary
o1, o2, o3, and so on, oX
One of these generic mana symbols in a cost means this many of
any type of mana. For example, o2 in a cost means you can pay
two mana of any type, such as oR and oG, or oU and oU, or oR and
one colorless mana, and so on. (If oX is in a cost, you get to choose
what number the X stands for.)
These symbols are also found in some abilities that produce
mana, like Add 1
o to your mana pool. In this context, 1
o means
one colorless mana. You cant use colorless mana to pay for colored
mana costs.
oh1, oh6, and so on

Hybrid mana symbols represent a cost that can be paid with either
of two colors. For example, a cost represented by the oh1 symbol
can be paid with one white mana or one blue mana. Its both a
white and a blue mana symbol, and a card with oh1 in its mana
cost is both white and blue.
H/H
Instead of numbers, some creatures have stars for their power and
toughness. This means the creatures power and toughness are set
by an ability it has rather than being fixed numbers. For example,
Nightmare has an ability that reads Nightmares power and
toughness are each equal to the number of Swamps you control. If
you control four Swamps when Nightmare enters the battlefield, it
will be 4/4. If you play more Swamps later on, it will get even bigger.
oW (white mana)
One white mana. Tapping a Plains makes oW. A card with oW in its
mana cost is white.
oU (blue mana)
One blue mana. Tapping an Island makes oU. A card with oU in
its mana cost is blue.
Ability
Any text on a permanent (except reminder text and flavor text) tells
you the permanents abilities. There are three kinds of abilities a
permanent can have: activated abilities, static abilities, and triggered
abilities. Unless they say otherwise, abilities work only while the
permanent theyre on is on the battlefield. Once a triggered ability
triggers or an activated ability is activated, it will resolve unless
its countered; it doesnt matter what happens to the source of the
ability once the ability goes on the stack. See Activated Abilities
on page 12.
oB (black mana)
One black mana. Tapping a Swamp makes oB. A card with oB in
its mana cost is black.
oR (red mana)
One red mana. Tapping a Mountain makes oR. A card with oR in
its mana cost is red.
oG (green mana)
One green mana. Tapping a Forest makes oG. A card with oG in its
mana cost is green.
Untapped
Soulmender

James Ryman
1/1
0037_MTGM14
CW01_M14
oW
O
1/1
0037_MTGM14
S-Spell
Activated ability
One of the three kinds of abilities a permanent can have. An
activated ability is always written in the form cost: effect. See
Abilities on page 12.
Soulmender
Soulmender

S-Spell
James Ryman
CW01_M14
147385
Soulmender
oW
O

oT (tap)
This symbol means tap this card
(turn it sideways to show that its been
used). It appears in activation costs.
You cant pay a oT cost if the card is
already tapped. Also, remember that
you cant pay your creatures oT costs
until the creature starts your turn on
the battlefield under your control.
Activate
You activate an activated ability by putting it on the stack. You
activate an ability just as you cast a spell: announce it, choose its
targets, and pay its activation cost. See Activated Abilities on
page 12.
Active player
The player whose turn it is. The active player always gets the first
chance to cast spells and activate abilities.
147385
Tapped
21
Section 5: Glossary
Additional cost
Some spells say they have an additional cost. To cast that spell, you
must pay both the mana cost in the upper right corner of the card
and its additional cost.
Archenemy
A one-on-many multiplayer variant that features oversized scheme
cards.
Basic land
There are five basic lands. Plains make
W
o (white mana). Islands make U
o (blue
mana). Swamps make B
o (black mana).
Mountains make R
o (red mana). Forests
make G
o (green mana). They each say
basic on their type line (basic is a
supertype). Lands other than these five
are called nonbasic lands.
When building a deck, you can
include any number of basic lands. You
cant have more than four copies of any
other cards in your deck.
121707
Forest
Forest
Basic Land Forest
LL19_M14
Artifact
A card type. See Artifact on page 6.
Artifact creature
This is both an artifact and a creature. See Creature on page 6.
Attack
How your creatures deal damage to your opponent. During
your combat phase, you decide which, if any, of your untapped
creatures will attack, and which player or planeswalker they will
attack, then they all do so at once. Attacking causes creatures
to tap. Creatures can attack only players or planeswalkers, not
other creatures. Your opponent then gets a chance to block your
attacking creatures with his or her own creatures. See Attacking
and Blocking on page 13.
Attacking creature
A creature thats attacking. A creature is attacking from the time
its declared as an attacker until the combat phase ends, unless
its somehow removed from combat. Theres no such thing as an
attacking creature outside of the combat phase.
Aura
A special type of enchantment that can be attached to a permanent
(or sometimes a player). Each Aura has the keyword enchant
followed by what it can be attached to: enchant creature, enchant
land, and so on. When you cast an Aura spell, you choose one
of the right kind of permanent to target. When the Aura resolves,
its put onto the battlefield attached to that permanent (its not
targeting it anymore). If an Aura is ever attached to something that
doesnt match its enchant abilityor attached to nothing at allits
put into its owners graveyard.
Steven Belledin
S-Spell
0247_MTGM14
Basic land type

Each basic land has a subtype, which appears after Basic Land
on its type line. These are the basic land types, which are the same
five words as the basic land names. Some nonbasic lands also have
basic land types. Any land with a basic land type has an activated
ability that makes one mana of the appropriate color, even if it doesnt
say so in the text box. For example, every Forest has the ability oT:
Add G
o to your mana pool.
Battlefield
A game zone. See Battlefield on page 8.
Block
To stop an attacking creature from damaging you or one of your
planeswalkers by having it fight one of your creatures instead.
After your opponent attacks with one or more creatures, you can
have any number of your untapped creatures block. Each one can
block one attacking creature. You can have two or more of your
untapped creatures gang up and block a single attacking creature. If
an attacker is blocked, it will deal its combat damage to the creature
blocking it instead of to the player or planeswalker it was attacking.
Blocking is optional. See Attacking and Blocking on page 13.
Blocked creature
An attacking creature thats blocked by at least one creature. Once
a creature is blocked, it stays blocked for the rest of the combat
phaseeven if all the creatures blocking it leave combat. In other
words, once a creature is blocked, theres no way for it to deal
damage to the player or planeswalker its attacking (unless the
attacking creature has trample). Theres no such thing as a blocked
creature outside of the combat phase.
22
Section 5: Glossary
Blocking creature
A creature assigned to block an attacking creature. If a creature
blocks an attacker, the attacker deals its damage to the blocker
instead of to the player or planeswalker its attacking. Once a
creature blocks, it stays a blocking creature for the rest of the
combat phaseeven if the creature its blocking leaves combat.
Theres no such thing as a blocking creature outside of the
combat phase.
Booster, booster pack
A pack of randomly assorted Magic cards. When you want to
add more cards to your collection, this is what youll get. Most
15-card booster packs contain one rare or mythic rare card,
three uncommon cards, and eleven common cards, including
one basic land card. Find stores where Magic cards are sold at
Booster Draft
See Limited Formats on page 19.
Card type
Every card in your deck has at least one card type: artifact, creature,
enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, or sorcery. A cards type is
printed under its illustration. Some cards, like artifact creatures, have
more than one type. Some cards also have subtypes, such as Goblin
and Warrior in Creature Goblin Warrior, or supertypes, such
as basic in Basic Land Forest.
Cast
You cast a spell by putting it on the stack. Different kinds of spells
can be cast at different times, but the things you have to do to
cast a spell are always the same: announce it, choose its targets
(and make certain other choices right away), and pay its cost. See
Spells on page 10.
Choose one
When you see the phrase Choose one on a card, you have to
choose one option on the card when you cast it. You cant change
your mind and choose something else later on, even if your first
choice doesnt work out.
Color
The five Magic colors are white, blue,
black, red, and green. If a spell
or ability tells you to
choose a color, you
must choose one of
those five. A cards color
is determined by its mana
cost. For example, a card that
costs 1
o U
o is blue and a card
that costs R
o W
o is both red and
white. Cards with no colored mana in
their mana costs, like most artifacts, are colorless. (Colorless is not a
color.) Lands are also colorless.
Some effects can change a spell or permanents color. For
example, Target creature becomes blue until end of turn. The new
color replaces the previous colors, unless the ability says otherwise.
Colorless
Lands and most artifacts are colorless. Colorless is not a color. If
something tells you to choose a color, you cant choose colorless.
Combat
In general, combat means attacking, blocking, and all the stuff
that happens during a combat phase.
Combat damage
Damage dealt by creatures due to attacking and blocking. A
creature deals combat damage equal to its power. This damage is
dealt during the combat damage step. Any other kind of damage
doesnt count as combat damage, even if its dealt as the result of a
creatures ability during combat.
Combat damage step
See Parts of the Turn on page 17.
Combat phase
Command zone
A game zone used for objects that affect the game but arent
permanents. Some planeswalkers create emblems that go here, and
some multiplayer variants use this zone for their oversized cards.
Commander
A casual variant in which each players deck is led by a legendary
creature.
23
Section 5: Glossary
Cost
A cost is something you have to pay to take another action. You must
pay a cost to cast a spell or activate an activated ability. Sometimes
a spell or ability will also ask you to pay a cost when it resolves.
You cant pay a cost unless you can pay all of it. For example, if an
activated abilitys cost (the part before the :) tells you to discard a
card and you have no cards in your hand, you cant even try to pay it.
Concede
To stop playing a game and give your opponent the victory. You
can concede a game at any time (usually if you realize you wont
be able to avoid losing). When you concede, you lose the game.
Constructed
A group of play formats that use decks you build in advance. A
Constructed deck must have at least 60 cards, and it cant have
more than four copies of any single card (except for basic lands).
Standard is the most popular Constructed format.
Counter a spell or ability

To cancel out a spell or ability so it has no effect. If a spell is
countered, its removed from the stack and put into its owners
graveyard. Once a spell or ability starts to resolve, its too late to
counter it. Lands arent spells, so they cant be countered.
Continuous effect
An effect that lasts for some duration. These are different from
one-shot effects, which just happen once and dont have a
duration. You can tell how long a continuous effect will last by
reading the spell or ability it came from. For example, it might say
until end of turn. If the continuous effect comes from a static
ability, it lasts as long as the permanent with the ability is on the
battlefield.
Counter on a permanent
Some spells and abilities tell you to put a counter on a permanent.
The counter marks a change to the permanent that lasts for as long
as its on the battlefield. A counter usually changes a creatures power
and toughness or tracks a planeswalkers current loyalty. You can use
anything you want as counters: glass beads, dice, or whatever.
Control
You control spells you cast and permanents that entered the
battlefield on your side. You also control abilities that come from
permanents you control.
Only you can make decisions for things you control. If you
control a permanent, only you can activate its activated abilities.
Even if you put an Aura on your opponents creature, you control
the Aura and its abilities.
Some spells and abilities let you gain control of a permanent.
Most of the time, this means the card will move from your
opponents side to yours. But for Auras or Equipment attached to
other cards, the controller changes but it doesnt move.
Creature
A card type. See Creature on page 6.
Creature type
This tells you what kind of creature a creature is, such as Goblin,
Elf, or Warrior. You find creature types in the middle of the card
after Creature . If a creature has more than one word after the
dash, the creature has all of those creature types.
Some spells and abilities affect multiple creatures with a certain
type. For example, Predatory Sliver reads Sliver creatures you
control get +1/+1. All creatures you control with the Sliver
creature type, including Predatory Sliver, get the bonus.
Controller
A spells controller is the player who cast it. An activated abilitys
controller is the player who activated it. A permanents controller
is the player who cast itunless another spell or ability changes
who controls it. A triggered abilitys controller is the player who
controlled the source of the ability when it triggered.
Damage
This is what knocks down a players life total, lowers a planeswalkers
loyalty, and destroys creatures. Attacking and blocking creatures
deal damage equal to their power. Some spells and abilities can also
deal damage. Damage can be dealt only to creatures, planeswalkers,
or players. If a creature is dealt damage equal to or greater than
its toughness in one turn, its destroyed. If a planeswalker is dealt
damage, that many loyalty counters are removed from it. If a player
is dealt damage, its subtracted from the players life total.
Damage is different from losing life. For example, Dark Favor is
an Aura with the drawback When Dark Favor enters the battlefield,
you lose 1 life. That loss of life isnt damage, so it cant be prevented.
Converted mana cost

The total amount of mana in a mana cost, regardless of color. For
example, a card with a mana cost of 3
o U
o U
o has a converted mana
cost of 5. A card with mana cost R
o R
o has a converted mana cost
of 2.
24
Section 5: Glossary
Deathtouch
A keyword ability seen on creatures. Deathtouch is an ability that
causes a creature to deal an exceptionally lethal form of damage
to other creatures. A creature dealt any amount of damage by
a creature with deathtouch is destroyed. If your creature with
deathtouch is blocked by multiple creatures, you can assign as
little as 1 damage to each of the blocking creatures!
Discard
To take a card from your hand and put it into your graveyard. If a
spell or ability makes you discard cards, you get to choose which
cards to discardunless the spell or ability says another player
chooses the cards or you have to discard at random.
If you have more than seven cards in your hand during your own
cleanup step, you have to discard until you have seven.
Deck
At least 60 cards of your choice, well shuffled. (Limited formats in
which players build their decks as part of the event allow 40-card
decks.) To play a Magic game, you must have your own deck.
Once the game starts, your deck becomes your library.
Double strike
A keyword ability seen 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 in this step. After that,
the normal combat damage step happens. All remaining attacking
and blocking creatures, as well as the ones with double strike, deal
combat damage during this second step.
Declare attackers step

Declare blockers step
Defender
A keyword ability seen on creatures. Creatures with defender cant
attack.
Draw a card
To take the top card of your library (deck) and put it into your
hand. You draw one card during each of your turns, at the start
of your draw step. You also draw if a spell or ability lets you; this
doesnt affect your normal draw for the turn. If a spell or ability
lets you put a card into your hand from your library but doesnt
use the word draw, it doesnt count as drawing a card.
Defending player
The player who is being attacked (or whose planeswalker is being
attacked) during a combat phase.
Destroy
To move a permanent from the battlefield to its owners graveyard.
Creatures are destroyed when theyve taken damage equal to or
greater than their toughness. Also, lots of spells and abilities can
destroy permanents (without dealing damage to them).
Sometimes permanents are put into the graveyard without
being destroyed. If a permanent is sacrificed, it isnt destroyed,
but its still put into its owners graveyard. The same is true if
a creatures toughness is reduced to 0 or less, two legendary
permanents with the same name controlled by the same player
are on the battlefield, two planeswalkers with the same subtype
controlled by the same player are on the battlefield, or an Aura
is on the battlefield but isnt enchanting whats described in its
enchant ability.
Draw step
Draw the game
The other meaning of draw is a game that ends with no winner.
For example, if a spell like Earthquake deals enough damage so
that both players drop to 0 or less life, the game is a draw.
Effect
What a spell or ability does when it resolves. There are several
types of effects: one-shot effects, continuous effects, prevention
effects, and replacement effects. You can look up each one in this
glossary.
Emblem
Some planeswalkers abilities create an emblem that leaves a
lasting effect on the game. Once an emblem is created, it cant be
destroyed and its abilities apply until the game ends.
Dies
Dies is another way to say that a creature is put into a graveyard
from the battlefield.
25
Section 5: Glossary
Equip
A keyword ability seen on all Equipment. It tells you how much it
costs to attach the Equipment to one of your creatures. It doesnt
matter whether the Equipment is unattached or is attached to a
different creature. You can activate this ability only during your
main phase, when no spells or abilities are on the stack. The equip
ability targets the creature youre moving the Equipment onto.
Enchant
A keyword ability seen on all Auras. Its usually followed by a
description of a permanent (for example, enchant creature or
enchant land), which tells you what kind of permanent the
Aura can be attached to. When you cast the Aura, you must target
that kind of permanent. Similarly, Auras with enchant player or
enchant opponent target a player when theyre cast. If an Aura is
ever attached to something that doesnt match its enchant ability,
its put into its owners graveyard.
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has
lifelink. (Damage dealt by the creature also
causes its controller to gain that much life.)
My condition is a trial. The weak are
consumed by it. The strong transcend it.
Sorin Markov
Winona Nelson
S-Spell
0105_MTGM14
143941
Enchantment Aura
Enchanted
When an ability of an Aura says
enchanted creature (or enchanted
artifact, enchanted land, and so
on), it means the creature the Aura
is attached to. For example, Mark of
the Vampire has the ability Enchanted
creature gets +2/+2 and has lifelink.
Only the creature that Mark of the
Vampire is attached to gets the bonus,
and that creatures controller will gain
life from its lifelink ability.
CB19_M14
o3oB
OO
Mark of the Vampire
Mark of the Vampire
Equipment
A type of artifact that represents a weapon, armor, or other item
that your creatures can use. When you cast an Equipment spell,
it enters the battlefield like any other artifact. Once its on the
battlefield, you can pay its equip cost any time you could cast a
sorcery to attach it to a creature you control. You can do this even
if the Equipment is attached to another creature. Once its attached
to a creature, the Equipment then has some effect on it. If the
equipped creature leaves the battlefield, the Equipment drops to
the ground and stays on the battlefield, waiting for you to attach
it to another creature.
Evasion ability
A nickname for any ability that makes a creature harder to block.
Flying is the most common evasion ability.
Exile
A game zone. Exile is essentially a holding area for cards. If a spell
or ability exiles a card, that card is moved to the exile zone from
wherever it is. See Exile on page 8.
Enchantment
A card type. See Enchantment on page 6.
End of combat step
Expansion symbol
See Parts of a Card on page 5.
End step
Fight
Some effects cause a creature to fight another creature. When two
creatures fight, each deals damage equal to its power to the other.
Enters the battlefield

When artifact, creature, enchantment, and planeswalker spells
resolve, they enter the battlefield as permanents. Lands also enter
the battlefield as permanents.
Some triggered abilities start with When [this permanent] enters
the battlefield, . . . . When a permanent with an ability like this is
put onto the battlefield, this ability triggers right away. Some abilities
also trigger when certain other permanents enter the battlefield.
Some cards say they enter the battlefield tapped. These cards
dont enter the battlefield and become tappedtheyre already
tapped by the time theyre put onto the battlefield. Similarly,
creatures that enter the battlefield with [some number of ] +1/+1
counters, or whose power or toughness will be modified by a
continuous effect, dont enter the battlefield and then change size.
First strike
A keyword ability seen on creatures. Creatures with first strike deal
their combat damage before creatures without first strike. 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 in
this step. After that, the normal combat damage step happens. All
remaining attacking and blocking creatures, as well as the ones
with double strike, deal combat damage during this second step.
26
Section 5: Glossary
Intimidate
A keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with intimidate
cant be blocked except by creatures that share a color with it and/
or artifact creatures. For example, a red creature with intimidate
could be blocked by a red creature, a red-and-green creature, or any
artifact creature. Intimidate only matters when the creature with the
ability is attacking.
Flash
A keyword ability seen on creatures, artifacts, and enchantments.
A spell with flash can be cast any time you could cast an instant.
Flavor text
Italic text (italic text looks like this) in a cards text box thats just for
fun. Flavor text sets a tone or describes part of the magical world of
the card. If the text is in parentheses, its there to remind you about
a ruleits not flavor text. Flavor text has no effect on how the card
is cast.
Forestwalk
A kind of landwalk. See the glossary entry for Landwalk.
Intro pack
A pack that includes a ready-to-play deck featuring cards from a
particular set, as well as two bonus 15-card booster packs. You can play
decks from intro packs against each other right out of the box. The
Magic 2014 core set has five intro packs. When youre just starting to
play, modifying the deck from a Magic intro pack is a good way to start
designing your own decks. Find stores where Magic cards are sold at
Graveyard
A game zone. See Graveyard on page 8.
Islandwalk
Hand
A game zone. See Hand on page 8.
Land
A card type. See Land on page 7.
Haste
A keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with haste can
attack as soon as it comes under your control. You can also
activate its activated abilities with oT in the cost.
Land type
A subtype of a land. See the glossary entry for Basic land type.
Flying
A keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with flying cant be
blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.
Landwalk
Landwalk is the name for a group of keyword abilities that
includes plainswalk, islandwalk, swampwalk, mountainwalk,
and forestwalk. A creature with landwalk is unblockable if the
defending player controls at least one land of the specified type.
Hexproof
A keyword ability seen on permanents. A permanent with
hexproof cant be the target of spells or abilities controlled by an
opponent. The player who controls the permanent with hexproof
can still target it with spells and abilities.
Leaves the battlefield

A permanent leaves the battlefield when it moves from the
battlefield zone to any other zone. It might return to a players
hand from the battlefield, go to a graveyard from the battlefield,
or go to some other zone. If a card leaves the battlefield and later
returns to the battlefield, its like a brand-new card. It doesnt
remember anything from the last time it was on the battlefield.
Indestructible
An indestructible permanent cant be destroyed by damage or by
effects that say destroy. It can still be put into the graveyard for
other reasons. See the glossary entry for Destroy.
Instant
A card type. See Instant on page 6.
Legendary
Legendary is a supertype, so youll find it written on the type line
before the card type. If a player controls two or more legendary
permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them
to stay on the battlefield and the rest are put into their owners
graveyard. (Different players can control legendary permanents
with the same name.) This is known as the legend rule.
Instead
When you see this word, you know a spell or ability creates a replacement
effect. See the glossary entry for Replacement effect.
27
Section 5: Glossary
Mana ability
An ability that adds mana to your mana pool. Mana abilities can
be activated abilities or triggered abilities. A mana ability doesnt
go on the stack when you activate it or it triggersyou simply get
the mana immediately.
Library
A game zone. See Library on page 8.
Life, life total
Each player begins the game with 20 life. When youre dealt
damage by spells, abilities, or unblocked creatures, you subtract
the damage from your life total. If your life total drops to 0 or less,
you lose the game. If something causes both players life totals to
drop to 0 or less at the same time, the game is a draw.
Mana cost
See Parts of a Card on page 5. Also see the glossary entry for
Converted mana cost.
Mana pool
The place where your mana is stored until you spend it or until
the current step or phase ends.
Lifelink
A keyword ability seen on permanents. Damage dealt by a
permanent with lifelink causes that permanents controller to
gain that much life, in addition to behaving like normal damage.
Match
A series of games against the same opponent. Most matches are
best two out of three, so the first player to win two games wins
the match. The loser of the first game decides who goes first in
the second game, and so on.
Limited
A group of play formats using cards from booster packs you open
just before you play. See Limited Formats on page 19.
Losing life
All damage dealt to you causes you to lose life, which is why
its subtracted from your life total. In addition, some spells and
abilities say that they cause you to lose life. This isnt the same as
damage, so it cant be prevented.
Loyalty
Loyalty is a characteristic that only
planeswalkers have. Each planeswalker
card has a loyalty number printed in
its lower right corner: thats how many
loyalty counters it gets as it enters the
battlefield. The cost to activate one of
Planeswalker Chandra
+1 :
a planeswalkers activated abilities is to
0 :
put loyalty counters on it or remove
-7 :
loyalty counters from it. Each 1 damage
4
dealt to a planeswalker causes a loyalty
counter to be removed from it. If a
planeswalker has no loyalty counters on it, its put into its owners
graveyard. See also Planeswalker on page 7.
Chandra, Pyromaster
o2oRoR
OOO
Exile the top card of your library. You may play it

this turn.
Exile the top ten cards of your library. Choose an

instant or sorcery card exiled this way and copy it
three times. You may cast the copies without paying
their mana costs.
Mulligan
At the beginning of a Magic game, you draw the top seven
cards of your library. If you dont like that hand of cards for
any reason, you can mulligan. When you mulligan, your hand
is shuffled into your library and you draw a new hand of one
fewer cards. You can mulligan as many times as you want, but
you draw one fewer card each time. When both players like their
opening hands, you start playing.
147373
Chandra, Pyromaster deals 1 damage to target

player and 1 damage to up to one target creature
that player controls. That creature cant block
this turn.
Mountainwalk
MR02_M14
Chandra, Pyromaster
Modern
A Constructed format thats growing in popularity. The Modern
format uses core sets and blocks from Eighth Edition and
Mirrodin to the present. See Wizards.com/MagicFormats for
more information.
Winona Nelson
P3-Planeswalker
0132_MTGM14
Multicolored card
A card with more than one color of mana in its mana cost. For
example, a card with the mana cost o2oBoR is both black and red.
Most multicolored cards have a gold background.
Main phase
Multiplayer game
A Magic game that starts with more than two players in it. See
Multiplayer Variants on page 20.
Mana
The magical energy you use to pay for spells and some abilities.
Most mana comes from tapping lands. There are five colors of
mana: W
o (white), U
o (blue), B
o (black), R
o (red), and G
o (green).
Theres also colorless mana.
28
Section 5: Glossary
Permanent
A card or creature token on the battlefield. Permanents can be
artifacts, creatures, enchantments, lands, or planeswalkers. Once
a permanent is on the battlefield, it stays there until its destroyed,
sacrificed, or removed somehow. You cant remove a permanent from
the battlefield just because you want to, even if you control it. If a
permanent leaves the battlefield and then re-enters the battlefield, its
treated like a brand-new card. It doesnt remember anything about
the last time it was on the battlefield.
Unless they say otherwise, spells and abilities affect only
permanents. For example, Unsummon reads, Return target
creature to its owners hand. You must target a creature on the
battlefield, not a creature card in a graveyard or anywhere else.
Name
When a cards name appears in its text box, the card is referring
to itself, not to any other cards with the same name.
NonWhen a spell or abilitys text refers to a nonland card or a
nonblack creature, and so on, it means a card thats not a land,
a creature thats not black, and so on.
Land
oT: Add o1 to your mana pool.

o1, oT: Add one mana of any color
to your mana pool.
Nonbasic land
Any land that doesnt have the
supertype basic on its type line
in other words, any land not named
Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or
Forest. You cant put more than four
copies of any one nonbasic land card
into a deck.
Permanent type
The permanent types are artifact, creature, enchantment, land, and
planeswalker. Permanents can have more than one type.
138438
Shimmering Grotto
Shimmering Grotto
Phase
One of the main sections of a turn. There are five: beginning phase,
first main phase, combat phase, second main phase, and ending
phase. Some phases are divided into steps. If a player has mana left
over as a step or phase ends, that mana is lost. See Parts of the Turn
on page 17.
UL01_M14
One-shot effect
An effect that applies to the game
once, and then its done. For example,
Divination reads, Draw two cards.
When it resolves, its effect is done. One-shot effects differ from
continuous effects, which last for some amount of time.
Untold riches await those who forsake
the bustling world to search the secret,
silent places.
Cliff Childs
S-Spell
0229_MTGM14
Planechase
A multiplayer variant that features oversized plane cards.
Opponent
A person youre playing against. If a card says an opponent, it
means one of its controllers opponents.
Planeswalker
A card type. See Planeswalker on page 7.
Owner
The person who started the game with the card in his or her deck.
Even if your opponent has control of one of your permanents,
youre still its owner. (If you loaned your friend a deck, he or she
will be the owner of all the cards in it during the game.) The
owner of a token is the player who controlled it when it entered
the battlefield.
Planeswalker type
A subtype of a planeswalker. If a player controls two or more
planeswalkers with the same planeswalker type, that player chooses
one of them to stay on the battlefield and the rest are put into their
owners graveyard. (Different players can control planeswalkers with
the same planeswalker type.)
Play
You play a land by putting it onto the battlefield from your hand.
You can play a land only once each turn during one of your main
phases when nothings on the stack. Lands dont go on the stack
when you play them.
Some effects tell you to play a card. That means to play a land
or cast a spell, depending on the cards type.
Paying life
Sometimes a spell or ability will ask you to pay life as part of its
cost. To pay life, subtract that amount of life from your life total.
You cant pay more life than you have. Paying life isnt damage, so
it cant be prevented.
29
Section 5: Glossary
When both players pass in a row, if theres a spell or ability

waiting on the stack, it resolves. Then the active player gets
priority again, and the system repeats. When both players pass in
a row, if theres no spell or ability waiting on the stack, that part of
the turn ends and the next one begins.
Player
Either you or your opponent. If a spell or ability lets you choose
a player, you can choose yourself. You cant choose yourself if it
says opponent. If youre playing a multiplayer game (a game
with more than two players), everyone in the game is a player,
including your teammates.
Protection
A keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with protection
will always have protection from ________. That something is
what the creature is protected from. It might be protection from
red, for example, or protection from Goblins. Protection does
several specific things for the creature:
All damage those kinds of sources would deal to the creature is
prevented.
The creature cant be enchanted by those kinds of Auras or
equipped by those kinds of Equipment.
The creature cant be blocked by those kinds of creatures.
The creature cant be targeted by those kinds of spells or by
abilities from those kinds of cards.
Power
The number to the left of the slash in the box in the lower right
corner of a creature card. A creature deals combat damage equal
to its power. A creature with 0 power or less deals no damage in
combat.
Prevent
When you see this word in the text of a spell or ability, you know
its a prevention effect.
Prevention effect
An effect that stops damage from being dealt. A prevention effect
works like a shield. If damage would be dealt but a prevention
shield is in place, some or all of that damage isnt dealt. A
prevention effect can prevent all damage a source would deal, or it
can prevent just a specific amount of damage.
For example, Fog reads, Prevent all combat damage that would
be dealt this turn. You can cast Fog long before combat, and its
effect will hang around for the whole turn. Then, if creatures try
to deal combat damage during that turn, Fog prevents it.
Prevention effects can prevent damage from being dealt to
creatures, to players, or both. If a prevention effect could prevent
damage from being dealt by multiple sources at the same time,
the player who would be dealt that damage, or who controls the
creature that would be dealt that damage, chooses which source to
prevent the damage from.
Put onto the battlefield

To move a card or token into the battlefield zone. When a spell or
ability tells you to put something onto the battlefield, thats not the
same as casting it. You just put it onto the battlefield without paying
its costs.
Rarity
How likely it is youll get a
= common
particular card. There are four
= uncommon
levels of rarity for Magic
cards: common, uncommon,
= rare
rare, and mythic rare. Each
15-card booster pack typically
= mythic rare
has eleven common cards
including one basic land card, three uncommon cards, and one rare
card. Some boosters have a mythic rare card instead of a rare card.
Priority
Since players can cast instants and activate abilities during each
others turns, the game needs a system that makes sure only one
player can do something at a time. Priority determines, at any given
time, which player can cast a spell or activate an activated ability.
The active player (the player whose turn it is) gets priority at the
beginning of each step and each main phaseexcept for the untap
step and the cleanup step. When you get priority, you can cast a spell,
activate an activated ability, or pass (choose to do nothing). If you do
something, you keep priority, so you make the same choice again.
If you pass, your opponent gets priority, so now he or she gets that
choice. This goes back and forth until both players pass in a row.
Reach
A keyword ability seen on creatures. A creature with reach can
block a creature with flying. However, a creature with reach can
be blocked by any kind of creature.
30
Section 5: Glossary
Creature Vampire Warrior
147415
o4oB
OO
UB04_M14
Vampire Warlord
Resolve
When you cast a spell or activate an activated ability, or when
a triggered ability triggers, nothing happens right away. It just
goes on the stack. After each player gets a chance to respond to
it, it will resolve and its effect will happen. If another spell or
ability counters it, or if none of its targets are legal when it tries
to resolve, it wont resolve at all (and if its a spell, its put into its
owners graveyard).
Regenerate
To prevent a permanent from
being destroyed later in the turn. A
regeneration effect works like a shield.
A spell or ability that says Regenerate
[a permanent] puts a regeneration
shield on that permanent that can be
Sacrifice another creature: Regenerate
Vampire Warlord. (The next time this
creature would be destroyed this turn, it
used up at any time during the turn.
isnt. Instead tap it, remove all damage
from it, and remove it from combat.)
If a permanent would be destroyed
How can you serve me? By dying.
4/2
and it has a regeneration shield, its not
destroyed. Instead, it becomes tapped,
its removed from combat (if its an attacking or blocking creature),
and all damage is removed from it. That regeneration shield is
then used up. The permanent never leaves the battlefield, so any
Auras, Equipment, or counters that were on it remain there. Any
unused regeneration shields go away during the cleanup step.
Although a permanent with a regeneration shield cant be
destroyed, it can still be put into the graveyard for other reasons.
See the glossary entry for Destroy.
Vampire Warlord
Respond, in response
To cast an instant or activate an activated ability right after another
spell or ability has been put on the stack. See Responding to a
Spell on page 10.
Wesley Burt
S-Spell
0120_MTGM14
Reveal
When you reveal a card, its shown to all the players in the game.
Sacrifice
To choose one of your permanents on the battlefield and put it
into its owners graveyard. You can sacrifice only permanents you
control. Sacrificing a permanent is different from destroying it, so
the permanent cant be regenerated. You can sacrifice a permanent
only if a spell or ability tells you to, or if its part of a cost.
Reminder text
Italic text in parentheses (like this) in the text box that reminds you
of a rule or keyword ability. Reminder text isnt meant to tell you all
the rules for an ability. It just reminds you of how the card works.
Sealed Deck
See Limited Formats on page 19.
Remove from combat

If an effect removes a creature from combat, its not attacking or
blocking anymore. If it blocked a creature before it was removed,
the attacking creature stays blocked, so no damage would get
through to the player or planeswalker thats being attacked. A
creature thats removed from combat neither deals nor is dealt
combat damage.
Shuffle
To randomize the order of the cards in your deck. At the beginning
of every Magic game, your deck is shuffled. Some cards will tell you
to shuffle your library as part of their effect (usually because the
effect let you look through your library).
Sideboard
Magic events allow the use of a sideboarda group of extra cards
that are particularly good against certain opponents. After you play
a game against an opponent, you may make changes to your deck
using cards from your sideboard. You must reset your deck to its
original configuration before playing someone new.
In Constructed formats, your sideboard consists of up to 15
cards. Your combined deck and sideboard cant have more than
four copies of any card other than basic land cards. Your deck
must have at least 60 cards.
In Limited formats, all the cards you opened that arent in
your main deck are in your sideboard. Your deck must have at
least 40 cards.
Replacement effect
A kind of effect that waits for a particular event and then replaces
that event with a different one. Replacement effects have the
word instead in them. For example, Darksteel Colossus reads,
in part, If Darksteel Colossus would be put into a graveyard from
anywhere, reveal Darksteel Colossus and shuffle it into its owners
library instead. The effect replaces the action of putting Darksteel
Colossus into the graveyard with the action of shuffling it into its
owners library. Darksteel Colossus never hits the graveyard at all.
31
Section 5: Glossary
Supertype
All types of cards can have supertypes. Supertypes come before
the card type on the type line. For example, a Basic Land
Forest has the supertype basic, and a Legendary Creature
Human Warrior has the supertype legendary. Supertypes
have no specific correlation to card types. Some supertypes have
specific rules associated with them.
Sorcery
A card type. See Sorcery on page 5.
Source
Where damage or an ability came from. Once an ability has gone
on the stack, removing its source doesnt stop the ability from
resolving.
Spell
All types of cards except lands are spells while youre casting them.
For example, Serra Angel is a creature card. While youre casting
it, its a creature spell. When it resolves, it becomes a creature.
Swampwalk
Tap
To turn a card sideways. See Tapping on page 9.
Stack
A game zone. See The Stack on page 8.
Target
A word used in spells and abilities. See Target on page 10.
Standard
The most popular Constructed format. It uses only the newest
sets the game has to offer. The current block, the block that was
released the previous October, and the most recent core set are all
legal to play in a Standard deck. See Wizards.com/MagicFormats
for more information.
Text box
Token
Some instants, sorceries, and abilities can create creatures. These
creatures are represented by tokens. You can use anything you
want as a token, but you should use something that can be tapped.
Tokens are considered creatures in every way, and theyre
affected by all the rules, spells, and abilities that affect creatures.
If one of your token creatures leaves the battlefield, however,
it moves to the new zone (such as your graveyard) and then
immediately vanishes from the game.
Static ability
One of the three types of abilities a permanent can have. See
Static Abilities on page 12.
Step
Every phase except the main phase is divided into steps. Specific
things happen during some steps. For example, you untap your
permanents during your untap step. If a player has mana left over
as a step or phase ends, that mana is lost. See Parts of the Turn on
page 17.
Toughness
The number to the right of the slash in the box in the lower right
corner of creature cards. If a creature is dealt damage equal to
or greater than its toughness in a single turn, its destroyed. If a
creatures toughness is reduced to 0 or less, its put into its owners
graveyard.
Subtype
All types of cards can have subtypes. Subtypes come after the
long dash on the type line. Subtypes of creatures are also called
creature types, subtypes of lands are called land types, and so on.
A card can have multiple subtypes or none at all. For example, a
Creature Elf Warrior has the subtypes Elf and Warrior, but
a card with just Land on its type line doesnt have a subtype.
A few subtypes have special rules. See the glossary entries for
Aura, Equipment, Basic land type, and Planeswalker type.
Creature subtypes dont have any special rules associated with them.
Some effects can change a permanents subtype. For example,
Target creature becomes an Elf until end of turn. The new
subtype replaces the previous subtypes of the appropriate kind,
unless the ability says otherwise.
Trample
A keyword ability seen on creatures. Trample is an ability that
lets a creature deal excess damage to the player or planeswalker
its attacking even if its blocked. When a creature with trample is
blocked, you have to deal at least enough of its combat damage
to the creatures blocking it to destroy all those creatures. But if
each blocking creature is assigned damage at least equal to its
toughness, then you can assign any of the attacking creature's
damage thats left over to the player or planeswalker its attacking.
32
Section 5: Glossary
Untap step
Triggered ability
One of the three types of abilities a permanent can have. See
Triggered Abilities on page 12.
Upkeep step
Turn
Each turn is divided into phases, and most phases have steps. See
Parts of the Turn on page 17.
Vigilance
A keyword ability seen on creatures. When a creature with
vigilance attacks, it doesnt become tapped.
Parts of the Turn
Winning the game

You win the game when any of the following things happens:
Your opponents life total is reduced to 0 or less.
Your opponent has to draw a card from an empty library.
Your opponent has ten or more poison counters. (No cards
in the Magic 2014 core set can give players poison counters.)
A spell or ability says that you win the game or your opponent
loses the game.
Your opponent concedes.
If both players would lose the game at the same time, the game is
a drawnobody wins.
Different multiplayer variants may modify the conditions for
winning the game.
1. Beginning phase
a. Untap step
b. Upkeep step
c. Draw step
2. Main phase
3. Combat phase
a. Beginning of combat step
b. Declare attackers step
c. Declare blockers step
d. Combat damage step
e. End of combat step
4. Main phase (again)
X
When you see X in a mana cost or an activation cost, you get
to choose the number that X stands for. For example, Volcanic
Geyser is an instant spell that costs oXfoRoR and deals X damage.
When you cast Volcanic Geyser, you choose what number X is.
If you pick three, for example, Volcanic Geyser costs o3oRoR and
deals 3 damage. If you pick six, Volcanic Geyser costs o6oRoR and
deals 6 damage.
5. Ending phase
a. End step
b. Cleanup step
Two-Headed Giant
See Multiplayer Variants on page 20.
Type line
You
The word you on a spell or ability refers to the current controller
of that spell or ability.
Unblocked
A creature is unblocked only if its attacking and the defending
player has decided not to block it.
Zone
An area of play in a Magic game. See Game Zones on
page 8.
Untap
To turn a tapped card upright so its ready to be used again. See
Tapping on page 9.
33
Section 5: Glossary
Questions?
Contact Us at Wizards.com/CustomerService
Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA
USA & Canada: (800) 324-6496 or (425) 204-8069
Europe: +32(0) 70 233 277
Rulebook Credits
Original Magic Game Design: Richard Garfield
Rules Writing: Matt Tabak
Editing: Del Laugel and Kelly Digges
Art Direction: Lisa Hanson
Original Magic Graphic Design: Jesper Myrfors, Lisa Stevens, and Christopher Rush
Thanks to all of our project team members and to the many others too numerous to mention
who have contributed to the Magic game.
This rulebook was published in July 2013.
2013 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by: Hasbro
SA, Rue Emile-Bochat 31, 2800 Delmont, CH. Represented by: Hasbro Europe, 2 Roundwood Ave,
Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1AZ, UK. Please retain company details for future reference.
Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast, Magic, their logos, Mirrodin, characters distinctive
likenesses, the pentagon of colors, and the WUBRGT symbols are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC
in the USA and other countries. U.S. Pat. No. RE 37,957. 300B10998001 EN
34
Notes
35
Join the community of Magic players who play every Friday night!
Illus. Brad Rigney

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What are the basic components of a Magic card?

What are the basic components of a Magic card?

How does one play a game of Magic?

How does one play a game of Magic?

+

Ignite Your Spark

Illus. Brad Rigney

Section 1: The Basics

Section 2: The Building Blocks

Section 3: Playing a Game

Section 4: Different Ways to Play

Five Colors of Mana

Green magic is about growth, life, and

Blue magic relies on trickery and

Red magic erupts with fire, frenzy, and

Black magic is about death, disease, and

Mana is the main resource in the game.

Power and Toughness

Draw two cards.

Destroy target nonblack creature.

Awaken the Ancient

Ring of Three Wishes

Ring of Three Wishes enters the battlefield

Awaken the Ancient

& 2013 Wizards of the Coast 32/249

Garruk, Caller of Beasts

+1 : creature cards revealed this way into your hand and

You get an emblem with Whenever you cast a

spell, you may search your library for

the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.

may put a green creature card from your hand

& 2013 Wizards of the Coast 172/249

Basic Land Mountain

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Basic Land Forest

& 2013 Wizards of the Coast 249/249

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Even dragons fear its silken strands.

And all this time I thought we were

Life grows everywhere. My kin merely

Creature Elf Druid

& 2013 Wizards of the Coast 169/249

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Basic Land Plains

Target player sacrifices an attacking

Jon Foster of the

& 2013 Wizards of the Coast 234/249

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Basic Land Island

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Basic Land Island

Basic Land Plains

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Basic Land Island

Whenever Scroll Thief deals combat

The air stirred as if fanned by angels

Creature Merfolk Rogue

Defender (This creature cant attack.)