============================================================ Welcome to the FAQ for rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules ============================================================ Version dated 9/10/99. This FAQ was written by Laurie Cheers, and is based in many parts on the one written by Bill "Weez" Dugan. Copying, printing, and electronic distribution of this document are hereby permitted, provided it remains unaltered. The author can be contacted by e-mail, at lrc103@york.ac.uk. ================== Further Reading: ================== So, what happens if your question _isn't_ frequently asked, and isn't in this document? Well, here are a few other places you could turn to. Obviously enough, asking your question on the rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules newsgroup is a good way to get it answered... That's what it's there for, after all. Don't worry about whether your question's 'dumb', or has been asked before... even if it's a frequently asked one in this FAQ, that you've been unable to find or haven't understood the answer to. The group is very newbie friendly, and the people there are extremely patient about explaining stuff in different ways. The files "rule-general" and "rule-cards" are very highly recommended, and available from "http://www.crystalkeep.com/magic/rules/index.html". They're very complete, very long and very reliable. References to them are occasionally made in this FAQ. The Oracle- the official listing of all cards ever printed, updated to the current wordings- is also an excellent resource. If your question revolves around the wording on a card that's not from the latest set, you should check out "http://www.wizards.com/DCI/Oracle.asp" before continuing. Finally, for those who want a rulebook, there are two you might want to try. The latest, up-to-datest, technically accurate rulebook is at "http://www.wizards.com/magic/generic/official/Rulings/archive/rules042399.txt". However, note that this is _not_ a book for new players. It is pretty unfriendly and dry in the way it is set out, because its main purpose is to give definitive answers, not to teach people. For an easier rulebook to learn the game from, you may want to try the rather outdated Fifth Edition rulebook, available at "http://www.wizards.com/magic/advanced/5E/Fifth_Ed_Rulebook/Welcome.asp". Some of its technical details (perhaps most) are now wrong, but it takes the material much more slowly, and explains things much better. When you're just beginning to learn the game, most of the differences between 5th and 6th edition rules aren't very important. ================== Newsgroup Stuff: ================== If you're a new player, you'll almost certainly come across unfamiliar terms and acronyms while reading this FAQ, or the magic.rules newsgroup... so here are some of the most common ones. Cardset Names: UL or UN: Unlimited 3E or RV: Revised (aka Third Edition) 4E: Fourth Edition 5E: Fifth Edition 6E: 'Classic' (Sixth Edition) PO: Portal P2: Portal Second Age P3K: Portal- 3 Kingdoms AN: Arabian Nights AQ: Antiquities LE or LG: Legends DK: The Dark CH: Chronicles IA: Ice Age HL: Homelands AL: Alliances MI: Mirage VI: Visions WL: Weatherlight TE or TM: Tempest ST: Stronghold EX: Exodus US: Urza's Saga UL: Urza's Legacy* UD: Urza's Destiny MM: Mercadian Masques *yes, UL is also used for Unlimited. Sorry. Card Names: Tim: Prodigal Sorceror ("There are some who call me ... Tim.") Icy: Icy Manipulator Llany, Lawnmower Elf: Llanowar Elf CoP: Circle Of Protection RoP: Rune of Protection MoLaG: Mask of Law and Grace MoR: Mother of Runes ...and so on. You get the idea. Misc terms and acronyms: "~" or "~this~": Commonly used to stand for the cardname, when quoting card text. (e.g. "When ~ comes into play, ...") Sac: Sacrifice Bounce: return a permanent to its owner's hand RFG: remove a card from the game animate: make into a creature Transmog, Transmogrify: make a creature into an artifact creature LIFO: Last In, First Out (explains stack timing) CIP: Comes Into Play (or an ability that triggers on this occurrence.) EOT: End of Turn 187: A creature with a CIP ability that destroys or bounces a permanent, such as a Nekrataal. (187 is apparently the Californian police radio code for a homicide.) 781: A creature with a leaves-play ability. (Geddit?) Cantrip: A card that tells you to draw another card at the beginning of the next upkeep, or at the time it resolves. Dual Land: One of the ten multicolored lands from Unlimited: Bayou, Taiga, Tropical Island, etc. Painland: One of the ten multicolored lands that damage you, from Tempest and Ice Age: Skyshroud Forest, Caldera Lake, Adarkar Wastes, etc. (This doesn't include City of Brass.) Mishra Land: Animatable lands- Mishra's Factory, and the five from Urza's Legacy: Forbidding Watchtower, Treetop Village, etc. MtG: Magic: The Gathering. WotC: Wizards Of The Coast, publishers of Magic. DCI: Duelists Convocation International, the authority that oversees official Magic tournaments. G: One green mana. R: One red mana. W: One white mana. B: One black mana. U: One blue mana. (to distinguish it from the B for black.) T or {tap}: the tap symbol. These symbols are combined in a way that mimics the way mana symbols are written on cards. So for example, a Dark Ritual produces "BBB", a Ranger en-Vec costs "1WG", and an Ivy Seer's ability costs "2G, T". ====================== How to use this FAQ: ====================== First of all, take a look at the Index to the Index, below. It gives the headings for each of the sections, and gives you a general idea of what they apply to. Many questions appear under more than one heading, because they involve concepts from more than one area. So if you're not sure which one to try, just pick any one that sounds like it might be appropriate. I've tried to err on the side of inclusiveness as far as this is concerned. (Please Note: Questions involving more than two players aren't covered in the official Magic rules, and therefore aren't covered in this FAQ. Multiplayer games have to use house rules, so decide amongst your fellow players what happens in the situation you've encountered.) When you've picked your heading, scroll down to it (or just tell your newsreader to search for the text "Section X", where X is the section number) and see if your question, or one like it, is included there. Answers to Yes or No questions - and a few other questions which can be answered briefly enough - are given right there in the index. But if you want to know why it's true, or you want to know how to work it out next time, then tell your newsreader to search for the question number given. Feedback on questions that aren't under the right headings- or indeed, any other aspect of this FAQ, especially when you've found wrong answers- is very welcome. You can email me at lrc103@york.ac.uk. ===================== Index to the Index: ===================== 1: The New Rules - The changes the 6th Edition rules brought. 2: Abilities - How abilities work, when they apply, and so on. 3: Combat - Questions related to the combat phase. 4: Mana & Sources - Any question that mentions mana or mana sources. 5: Costs - What a cost is... and more. 6: Damage - Questions about Damage and Damage Prevention. 7: Timing - Can I cast a spell before my opponent does? 8: Enchantments - About Local Enchantments. (and counters, too). 9: Regeneration - Questions about regeneration. 10: Protection - Questions involving "Protection from ". 11: Trample - Questions about trample. 12: Misc Abilities - All other basic abilities: Banding, Phasing, etc. 13: Color - Questions about the colors of magic. 14: Targetting - Questions in which targets are involved. 15: Creatures - Questions about creature-specific things. 16: Specific Cards - Questions revolving around particular cards. ================== The FAQ Index: ================== Section 1- The New Rules: A.08 What's the difference between a "Creature - X" card and a "Summon X" card? (A: None, it's just a different name) B.01 If I redirect combat damage to a Fog Bank or Wall of Essence, will that wall's abilities still consider it combat damage? (A: Yes) B.04 Do Damage Prevention effects now target the creature/player they protect? (A: Yes) B.05 Do Damage Prevention effects now target the source of the damage? (A: No) E.03 Will a blocking creature deal combat damage if it's tapped? (A: Yes) K.01 Can Dark Ritual be countered? (A: Yes) K.02 Can Llany's ability be countered? (A: No) K.11 Is it true that CIP abilities now no longer trigger unless the card was "played from your hand"? (A: No, just on 8 cards) K.12 What does the "if you played it from your hand" errata require for the ability to trigger? K.15 Do the abilities of Artifacts work while they're tapped? (A: Yes) K.16 Which Artifacts recieved the "as long as ~ is untapped" errata? (A: Winter Orb and Howling Mine) P.02 What does "Obsolete" mean? P.04 Can I use old cards and 6th edition cards in the same games, despite the rules-change? (A: Yes) P.06 What does "errata" mean? Section 2- Abilities: (This section covers the general properties and timing aspects of abilities. For questions on specific abilities, try Misc Abilities (12). For questions about the costs of abilities, try Costs(5).) J.03 Does "X: do Y" on an instant/sorcery mean I can pay X several times to get Y to happen several times? (A: No) J.08 Can I pay for two abilities with one sacrifice? (A: No) J.09 If my Tim is enchanted with Hermetic Study, can I tap it to deal 2 damage? (A: No) K.03 If I kill/tap/Humble/etc a creature when it uses its ability, does the ability still take effect? (A: Yes) K.04 Can Terroring a 187 creature stop it from destroying something? (A: No) K.05 Can I play a 187 creature if it has nothing to target? (A: Yes) K.06 If I play a 187 creature and its only legal target belongs to me, do I have to target it? (A: Yes) K.07 Does "This card is a red spell" count as an ability? (A: No) K.08 Does "Metathran Soldier is unblockable" count as an ability? (A: Yes) K.09 Can I Counterspell a permanent's ability? (A: No) K.10 If something is tapped, can it still use abilities that don't require it to tap? (A: Yes) K.11 Is it true that CIP abilities now no longer trigger unless the card was "played from your hand"? (A: No, just on 8 cards) K.12 What does the "if you played it from your hand" errata require for the ability to trigger? K.13 If something happens "Whenever a creature comes into play", will that trigger when something that's already in play gets animated? (A: No) K.14 Can I pump my Shade more than once per turn/activate Pestilence more than once per turn? (A: Yes, usually) K.15 Do the abilities of Artifacts work while they're tapped? (A: Yes) K.16 Which Artifacts recieved the "as long as ~ is untapped" errata? (A: Winter Orb and Howling Mine) L.01 Monk Realist vs Humility: does Humility get destroyed? (A: Yes) L.02 I cast Replenish. Opalescence and a Pandemonium/Angelic Chorus are coming into play at the same time- will the ability trigger? (A: Yes) Section 3- Combat: (See the sections Trample(11) and Misc Abilities(12) for more questions associated with the combat phase. See also Damage(6) for questions about damage, including combat damage.) E.01 What is the overall structure of the combat phase? E.02 Can I Terror an attacker to stop its combat damage? (A: Yes) E.03 Will a blocking creature deal combat damage while it's tapped? (A: Yes) E.04 Will untapping something stop it from attacking? (A: No) E.05 Can a Giant Spider block an Treetop Ranger? (A: Yes, currently) Section 4- Mana Sources and Mana: A.02 What is a "Mana Source"? (A: An Instant) A.05 What's a "Mana Pool"? Is it my lands? (A: NO!) K.01 Can Dark Ritual be countered? (A: Yes) Section 5- Costs: J.01 What's the difference between a cost and an effect? J.02 How do I tell whether something is a cost or an effect? J.03 Does "X: do Y" on an instant/sorcery mean I can pay X several times to get Y to happen several times? (A: No) J.04 When a spell is countered, do you still have to pay its cost? (A: Yes) J.05 Can Buyback or Gloom costs be reduced by Medallions? (A: Yes) J.06 Are Buyback or Gloom costs considered part of a spell's mana cost, for Spell Blast or Aluren? (A: Yes) J.07 Can I respond to a Mogg Fanatic sacrificing itself, by destroying it? (A: No) J.08 Can I pay for two abilities with one sacrifice? (A: No) J.09 If my Tim is enchanted with Hermetic Study, can I tap it to deal 2 damage? (A: No) Section 6- Damage: (See the section Combat(3) for questions specifically related to combat damage.) B.01 If I redirect combat damage to a Fog Bank or Wall of Essence, will that wall's abilities still consider it combat damage? (A: Yes) B.02 Can damage be redirected to a Fog Bank or a Gaseous Formed creature? (A: Yes) B.03 Can I use an en-Kor to redirect more damage than the toughness of the creature he's moving it onto? (A: Yes) B.04 Do Damage Prevention effects now target the creature/player they protect? (A: Yes) B.05 Do Damage Prevention effects now target the source of the damage? (A: No) Section 7- Timing: A.12 What do "respond" and "in response" mean? A.21 What's "the stack"? What is "priority"? E.02 Can I Terror an attacker to stop its combat damage? (A: Yes) E.03 Will a blocking creature deal combat damage while it's tapped? (A: Yes) J.07 Can I respond to a Mogg Fanatic sacrificing itself, by destroying it? (A: No) K.03 If I kill/tap/Humble/etc a creature when it uses its ability, does the ability still take effect? (A: Yes) K.04 Can Terroring a 187 creature stop it from destroying something? (A: No) L.01 Monk Realist vs Humility: does Humility get destroyed? (A: No) L.02 I cast Replenish. Opalescence, Pandemonium and Angelic Chorus are coming into play at the same time- will their abilities trigger? (A: Yes) L.03 What happens first, if two things say they happen "when" or "whenever" an event occurs? Can I cast Instants in-between them? (A: Yes) L.04 Both players want to cast Shock, and both are on 2 life. Who wins? (A: The one who cracks first) Section 8- Enchantments (and Counters): A.13 What does "counter" mean? M.06 Can Enchantment Alteration move an enchantment onto a Deadly Insect? (A: Yes) M.07 Can Enchantment Alteration move an enchantment onto a creature with protection from that enchantment's color? (A: No) M.08 I understand Enchantments no longer 'target' the things they sit on, they just 'enchant' them. What does this change mean? (A: Nothing, it's just a name-change.) M.09 Do "Enchant X" cards fall off when their enchantee stops being an X? (A: Yes) M.10 Will Enchantments saying "play ~ only on X" fall off if the enchantee stops being an X? (A: Yes) M.11 Will an Enchantment fall off if the enchantee gains protection from its color? (A: Yes) M.12 Will +1/+1 counters fall off if they're not on a creature? (A: No) M.13 Do enchantments & counters fall off when something regenerates? (A: No) M.14 Do enchantments & counters fall off when something phases out? (A: No) Section 9- Regeneration: A.01 What does "bury" mean? (A: Destroy, can't regenerate) H.04 When a creature dies, can I regenerate it later on in the turn? (A: No) H.05 Can I regenerate a creature that's not about to die? (A: Yes) H.06 Does this mean I can play regeneration abilities on my opponents creatures, to make them tap? (A: No) H.07 What can I regenerate from? (A: Destroy effects) H.08 Can I regenerate from a Sacrifice? (A: No) H.09 When my creature's toughness is 0, can it regenerate? (A: No) H.10 Can I regenerate a creature that's already tapped? (A: Yes) M.13 Do enchantments & counters fall off when something regenerates? (A: No) Section 10- Protection: F.01 What does protection protect against? (A: D,E,B,T) F.02 Will a Protection from White creature be killed by a Wrath of God? (A: Yes) M.07 Can Enchantment Alteration move an enchantment onto a creature with protection from that enchantment's color? (A: No) M.11 Will an Enchantment fall off if the enchantee gains protection from its color? (A: Yes) Section 11- Trample: G.01 How does Trample work? G.02 How does Trample work against Protection or Gaseous Form? G.03 How does Trample work if I kill all the blockers after they've been blocked? G.04 How does Trample work against Banding/Defensive Formation? Section 12- Misc Abilities: (This section covers individual one-word abilities. For questions on abilities in general, try Abilities(3).) E.06 What's the difference between Cycling (2) and "(2), Sacrifice ~: draw a card"? H.01 What is Banding and why would I use it? H.02 What does Phasing mean? M.14 Do enchantments & counters fall off when something phases out? (A: No) H.03 What is Echo good for? J.05 Can Buyback or Gloom costs be reduced by Medallions? (A: Yes) Section 13- Color: C.01 Can I Terror a red-and-black creature? (A: No) C.02 Can I use CoP:Black against a red-and-black creature? (A: Yes) C.03 Can I choose 'gold', 'artifact' or 'colorless' when asked to choose a color? (A: No) C.05 Do basic lands have colours? (e.g. Are swamps black?) (A: No) C.06 Will a Grindstone 're-grind' if it got two artifacts? What about two lands? (A: No) C.07 If something becomes an artifact, does it become colorless? (A: No) C.08 If something becomes colorless, does it become an artifact? (A: No) C.09 Does a Polluted Mire (which has the ability T: add B to your mana pool) count as a Swamp? (A: No) M.02 If Terror's target becomes black before it resolves, will it still destroy it? (A: No) M.04 If one of Reckless Spite's targets becomes black before it resolves, will it still destroy the other one? (A: Yes) Section 14- Targeting: B.04 Do Damage Prevention effects now target the creature/player they protect? (A: Yes) B.05 Do Damage Prevention effects now target the source of the damage? (A: No) K.06 If I play a 187 creature and its only legal target belongs to me, do I have to target it? (A: Yes) M.01 What does it mean for a spell to "target" something? M.02 If Terror's target becomes black before it resolves, will it still destroy it? (A: Yes) M.03 Can I cast Reckless Spite targetting only one creature, or the same creature twice? (A: No) M.04 If one of Reckless Spite's targets becomes black before it resolves, will it still destroy the other one? (A: Yes) M.05 How well does Deadly Insect's ability protect it? M.06 Can Enchantment Alteration move an enchantment onto a Deadly Insect? (A: Yes) M.07 Can Enchantment Alteration move an enchantment onto a creature with protection from that enchantment's color? (A: No) M.08 I understand Enchantments no longer 'target' the things they sit on, they just 'enchant' them. What does this change mean? (A: Nothing, it's just a name change) Section 15- Creatures: (obviously, most of the other sections involve creatures as well, especially Combat(3). This one contains mostly the parts that didn't fit anywhere else.) A.04 What is "summoning sickness"? A.07 What's the difference between a "creature" and a "creature card"? A.08 What's the difference between a "Creature - X" card and a "Summon X" card? (A: Nothing, it's just a name-change) D.01 If I play a permanent, then animate it, can it attack or tap this turn? (A: No) D.02 If I play a creature on my opponent's turn, can it tap? Can it attack or tap on my turn after? (A: No; yes) D.03 Can a summoning-sick creature tap for Field Surgeon's ability? (A: Yes) D.04 When something asks me to choose a creature type, can I choose 'blue' or 'ugly' or 'yours'? (A: No) K.13 If something happens "Whenever a creature comes into play", will that trigger when something that's already in play gets animated? (A: No) Section 16- Tournaments: P.01 What is a "sideboard"? P.03 How do I "Mulligan"? P.04 Can I use old cards and 6th edition cards in the same games, despite the rules-change? (A: Yes) P.05 What cards can I play with in a tournament? P.06 What does "errata" mean? Section 17- Artifacts: K.15 Do the abilities of Artifacts work while they're tapped? (A: Yes) K.16 Which Artifacts recieved the "as long as ~ is untapped" errata? (A: Yes) C.03 Can I choose 'gold', 'artifact' or 'colorless' when asked to choose a color? (A: No) C.06 Will a Grindstone 're-grind' if it got two artifacts? What about two lands? (A: No) C.07 If something becomes an artifact, does it become colorless? (A: No) C.08 If something becomes colorless, does it become an artifact? (A: No) Section 18- Lands: A.05 What's a "Mana Pool"? Is it my lands? (A: NO!) A.09 What's a "spell"? (A: Anything but a land) C.05 Do basic lands have colours? (e.g. Are swamps black?) (A: No.) C.09 Does a Polluted Mire (which has the ability T: add B to your mana pool) count as a Swamp? (A: No.) Section 18- Specific Cards: (This section covers various particular cards which turn up very frequently in questions. If your question involves a card because it has a particular ability, and the card's not here, try looking up that ability instead.) Aluren J.06 Are Buyback or Gloom costs considered part of a spell's mana cost, for Spell Blast or Aluren? (A: No) K.12 What does the "if you played it from your hand" errata require for the ability to trigger? (A: it works with Aluren) Humility/Humble N.05 How do Opalescence and Humility interact? (A: messily) K.03 If I kill/tap/Humble/etc a creature when it uses its ability, does the ability still take effect? (A: Yes) K.07 Does "This card is a red spell" count as an ability? (A: No) K.08 Does "Metathran Soldier is unblockable" count as an ability? (A: Yes) L.01 Monk Realist vs Humility: does Humility get destroyed? (A: No) Lifeline N.01 Does Lifeline work for everyone, or just me? (A: Everyone) N.02 Two Mogg Bombers + Lifeline = Infinite Damage? (A: No) Mother of Runes N.03 Can I use Mother of Runes to make enchantments fall off my opponents' creatures, by giving them protection from the appropriate color? (A: No, it can only target your own creatures) M.11 Will an Enchantment fall off if the enchantee gains protection from its color? (A: Yes) Opalescence M.15 What is a "global enchantment"? N.04 How do Opalescence and Humility interact? (A: messily) Phyrexian Dreadnought N.05 Will a Pandemonium/Angelic Chorus still notice a dreadnought coming into play, if I choose not to sacrifice creatures for it? (A: No) Planar Void N.09 What happens if a card that says "when ~ leaves play, return it to owner's hand" goes to the graveyard from play, where there's a Planar Void out? Yavimaya Elder N.06 If I sacrifice an Elder to its ability, will I get to search for 2 lands before or after I draw a card? (A: Before) Yawgmoth's Will N.07 Can I cycle a card from the graveyard once I've cast Yawgmoth's Will? Can I discard from the graveyard? Can I use Elvish Spirit Guide's ability from the graveyard? Can I use Sneak Attack to get creatures out of the graveyard? (A: No to all) N.08 Will Yawgmoth's Will remove itself from the game when it finishes resolving? (A: Yes) K.12 What does the "if you played it from your hand" errata require for the ability to trigger? (A: It doesn't work with Will.)