200.1. When a rule or text on a card refers to a "card," it means a Magic card with a Magic card front and the Magic card back. Tokens aren't considered cards—even an Unglued™ card that represents a token isn't considered a card for rules purposes.

201. Parts of a Card

201.1. The parts of a card are name, mana cost, illustration, type, expansion symbol, text box, power and toughness, credit, legal text, and collector number. Some cards may have more than one of any
or all of these parts.

201.2. A card, spell, or permanent's characteristics are name, mana cost, color, type and subtype,
expansion symbol, rules text, power, and toughness. Any other information about a card, spell, or permanent isn't a characteristic. Characteristics don't include any other information, such as whether a permanent is tapped, a spell's target, a spell or permanent's controller, what a local enchantment enchants, and so on.

202. Name

202.1. The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.

202.2. Card text that refers to the card it's on by name means just that particular card and not any
other duplicates of it, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects. Also, if a card has an effect on or grants an ability that includes that card's name to another card, the name refers only to the card generating the effect or granting the ability, not to duplicates of cards with the same name.

202.3. Two cards have the same name if the English versions of their names are identical, regardless of anything else printed on the cards.

203. Mana Cost

203.1. The mana cost of a card is indicated by mana symbols printed on its upper right corner. Tokens
and lands have a mana cost of 0. Paying a card's mana cost requires matching the color of any colored mana symbols as well as paying the generic mana cost indicated.

203.2. A card is the color or colors of the mana symbols in its mana cost, regardless of the color of its
border. For example, a card with a mana cost of 2W is white, and one with a mana cost of 2WB is both white and black. Cards with no colored mana symbols in their mana costs are colorless. Cards with more than one of the five colored mana symbols in their mana costs are multicolored. Multicolored cards are printed with a gold frame, but this is not a requirement for a card to be multicolored.

203.3. The converted mana cost of a card is the total amount of mana in the mana cost, regardless of
color (For example, a mana cost of 3UU translates to a converted mana cost of 5). The converted mana cost is a generic mana cost—it may be paid with any combination of colored and/or colorless mana, regardless of the colors in the spell's mana cost.

203.4. Any additional cost listed in a card's rules text isn't part of the mana cost. (See rule 409, "Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.") Such costs are paid at the same time as the spell's other costs.

204. Illustration

204.1. The illustration is printed on the upper half of a card and has no game significance. For example, a creature doesn't have the flying ability unless stated in its rules text, even if it's depicted as flying.

205. Type

205.1. The type (and subtype, if applicable) of a card is printed directly below the illustration. (See rules 212–215.)

206. Expansion Symbol

206.1. The expansion symbol indicates which Magic set a card is from. It's printed below the right edge of the illustration.

206.2. The color of the expansion symbol indicates the rarity of the card within its set. A gold symbol signifies the card is rare; silver, uncommon; and black, common or basic land. (Prior to the Exodus™ set, all expansion symbols were black, regardless of rarity. Also, prior to the Classic™ (Sixth Edition) set, Magic basic sets didn't have expansion symbols at all.)

206.3. A spell or ability that affects cards from a particular set "looks" only for that set's expansion symbol. A card reprinted in the basic set receives the basic set's expansion symbol; any reprinted version of the card no longer counts as part of its original set unless it was reprinted with that set's expansion symbol. The first five editions of the basic set had no expansion symbol.

207. Text Box

207.1. The text box is printed on the lower half of the card. It usually contains rules text stating what the card does and any special requirements for playing it.

207.2. The text box may also contain italicized reminder text (in parentheses), which summarizes a rule that applies to that card, and italicized flavor text, which has no game function, but like the illustration, adds artistic appeal to the game.

208. Power/Toughness

208.1. A creature card has two numbers separated by a slash printed on its lower right corner. The first number is the creature's power (the amount of damage it deals in combat); the second is its toughness (the amount of damage needed to destroy it). For example, 2/3 means the creature has power 2 and toughness 3. Power and toughness can be modified or set to particular values by effects.

208.2. Some creature cards have power and/or toughness of *, where * is a value determined by the text in the creature's text box. As long as the creature card is in play, the value of * is treated just as if that number were actually printed on the card. The * is 0 while the card is not in play.

209. Credit

209.1. The illustration credit for a card is printed directly below the text box. The credit has no effect on game play.

210. Legal Text

210.1. Legal text (the fine print at the bottom of the card) lists the copyright information. It has no effect on game play.

211. Collector Number

211.1. Some card sets feature collector numbers. This information is printed in the form [card number] / [total cards in the set], immediately following the legal text. These numbers have no effect on game play.

212. Card Type

212.1. All cards have one or more card types: artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, or sorcery.
Only one multiple type—artifact creature—currently exists. The artifact creature type satisfies the criteria for any effect that applies to an artifact card or a creature card. A card's type appears below its illustration.

212.2. Some card types include subtypes, printed on the same line. Creature subtypes (including those of artifact creatures) appear after a dash that follows their card type(s). Enchantment subtypes consist of the word "enchant" and the word(s) that follows it, such as "enchant creature" or "enchant artifact." Land subtypes are not printed on the card type line (see rule 212.2c).

212.2a Creature subtypes are always a single word and are listed after "Creature," separated by a long dash: "Creature — Minotaur," "Artifact Creature — Golem Legend," etc. Creature subtypes are one word each and are also called "creature types." Creature cards may have multiple creature types. Example: "Creature — Minotaur" means the card is a creature with the Minotaur subtype. "Creature — Goblin Wizard" means the card is a creature with the creature types Goblin and Wizard.

212.2b Enchantment subtypes consist of the word "enchant" and the word(s) that follows it: "enchant creature," "enchant land," etc. ("enchant world" isn't a type or subtype, but a special category of enchantment found only in some older sets). A card with the type "enchantment" has no enchantment subtype. An enchantment subtype specifies what the enchantment can be legally attached to. "Local enchantment" and "global enchantment" aren't types or subtypes; they're categories of enchantments. (Also see rule 214.8, "Enchantments.")

212.2c Land subtypes are also called "land types" and are always the same as the name of the land card; they aren't listed on the type line. A card named "Island" has land type "island"; a card named "Karplusan Forest" has land type "Karplusan Forest" (Remember that it isn't a forest or a basic land). Only lands with a basic land type get abilities just for being a given land type. (See rule 214.9e.) "Basic land" and nonbasic land" aren't types or subtypes; they're categories of lands.

212.2d There are no subtypes for artifact cards, instant cards, or sorcery cards.

213. Spell Type

213.1. Every nonland card is a spell while it's being played (see rules 409.1a–409.1f) and while it's on the stack. Once it's played, a card remains a spell until it resolves or is countered. For more information, see rule 401, "Spells."

213.2. A spell's spell type is the same as its card type. Its subtypes are the same as its card's subtypes.

214. Permanent Type

214.1. A permanent is a card or token in play. Permanents stay in play unless moved to another zone by an effect or rule. There are four types of permanents: artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and lands. nstant and sorcery cards can't come into play.

214.2. A nontoken permanent's type(s) and subtype(s) are the same as those printed on its card. A token's type(s) and subtype(s) are set by the spell or ability that created it.

214.3. A card becomes a permanent when it comes into play and stops being a permanent when it leaves play. The term "card" is often used to refer to a card that's not in play, such as a creature card in a player's hand. "Spell" is often used to refer to a card while it's on the stack. "Spell card" is used to refer to cards that aren't in play and aren't land cards. For more information, see rule 217, "Zones."

214.4. When a permanent's type or subtype changes, the new type(s) replaces any existing type(s). This changes only the permanent type—the card type doesn't change. Counters, effects, and damage affecting the permanent remain with it, even if they are meaningless to the new type.

214.4a Some effects change a permanent's type or subtype but specify that the permanent retains a prior type or subtype. In such cases, the retained type isn't replaced, but any other types the ermanent has are replaced. Example: An ability reads, "All lands are 1/1 creatures that are still lands." The affected
lands now have two types: creature and land. If there were any lands that also had the artifact type before the ability's effect applied to them, those lands would become "land creatures," not "artifact land creatures." The effect allows them to retain the land type, but wipes out the artifact type.

214.4b If a permanent's type changes, the subtypes of its old permanent type don't exist in any way under the new type. The subtype disappears completely for the entire time the card's permanent type is changed. This does not override the rule that a permanent retains its legendary status when its type changes (see rule 215.2).

214.5. The initial value of a permanent's characteristic is the value printed on the card or specified by
the spell or ability that created the token or changed the type of the permanent. A permanent-type-changing ability that changes one or more characteristics changes the initial values of those characteristics stated in the ability's text, not the current values. Continuous effects that don't change a permanent's type affect current values of characteristics and can override characteristics set by type-changing abilities. Example: A player plays an artifact's ability that reads "2: This permanent is a 3/2 artifact creature." Later in the turn, the artifact creature is affected by an ability that reads "Target
creature is 0/2." At this point, playing the ability of the artifact again won't do anything; because the type-changing ability changes characteristics at the initial level, it can't override the effect. The artifact creature remains 0/2.

214.6. Artifacts

214.6a Artifacts have no characteristics specific to their type. Because artifact spells have no colored mana in their mana costs, they're colorless, and the permanents they create are also colorless. Effects can give artifact spells or artifacts one or more colors, however.

214.6b Artifact creatures combine the characteristics of both the creature and artifact types and are subject to spells and abilities that affect either or both types.

214.7. Creatures

214.7a If a card instruction requires choosing a creature subtype, any noun (even if that creature type doesn't exist in Magic) may be chosen, but only one. Any existing creature type is a valid choice, even if the creature's type is the same as its name. A word that has some other Magic meaning isn't a valid choice, because that would cause confusion. Example: Merfolk or Wizard is acceptable, but not Merfolk Wizard. Words like "opponent," "swamp," or "kindle" can't be chosen because they have other meanings in the game.

214.7b Plurality and gender are ignored when determining creature types. Example: Ogre, Ogres, Ogress, and Ogresses all count as the same creature type—Ogre.

214.7c A creature's activated ability with the tap symbol in its activation cost can't be played unless the creature has been under its controller's control since the start of his or her most recent turn. A creature can't attack unless it has been under its controller's control since the start of his or her most recent turn. Ignore this rule for creatures with haste (see rule 502.5).

214.8. Enchantments

214.8a A global enchantment simply has "enchantment" as its type. Local enchantments comprise various subtypes: enchant artifact, enchant creature, enchant enchantment, enchant land, and enchant permanent.

214.8b A global enchantment is put into play on the side of the player who controlled the spell that created it, like any other spell that creates a permanent.

214.8c A local-enchantment spell requires a target whose type is indicated by the enchantment subtype. The local-enchantment permanent the spell puts into play must enchant that type of permanent and comes into play attached to the permanent the spell targeted. Any additional targeting requirements are indicated by phrases like "[This card] can enchant only a [permanent with specified characteristics]." These restrictions apply to playing the spell, and they become restrictions on what the resulting permanent can enchant. Similar restrictions can limit what a permanent can be enchanted by. For example, a permanent might have an ability that reads "[This card] can't be enchanted by [local enchantments with specified characteristics]." Example: An enchant creature spell requires a target creature; a creature enchantment in play must enchant a creature. (See rules 420.5d and 214.8g.)

214.8d As part of playing a local-enchantment spell, the player announces the spell's target. The local enchantment comes into play attached to that target permanent. If a local enchantment is coming into play by any other means, the player putting it into play chooses a permanent for it to enchant as it comes into play. In this case, the enchantment doesn't target the permanent, but the player still must choose a permanent that the enchantment can enchant. If no legal permanent is available, the enchantment remains in the zone from which it attempted to move instead of coming into play. The same rule applies to moving a local enchantment from one permanent to another. The permanent to which the enchantment is to be moved must be able to be enchanted by it. If it isn't legal, the enchantment doesn't move.

214.8e If a local enchantment is enchanting an illegal permanent or the permanent it was ttached to no longer exists, the enchantment card is put into its owner's graveyard. (This is a state-based effect. See rule 420.)

214.8f A local enchantment can't be attached to itself. If this occurs somehow, the local enchantment is put into its owner's graveyard as a state-based effect (see rule 420.5d).

214.8g The permanent a local enchantment is attached to is called "enchanted." The enchantment "enchants" or, in more casual terms, "is attached to" that permanent.

214.8h A local enchantment's abilities don't target the permanent it enchants unless they state they can target it. Only the enchantment spell targets the permanent it will enchant; the resulting enchantment permanent doesn't continue to target the enchanted permanent after the enchantment spell resolves. If a permanent "can't be enchanted" in general or by enchantments with specified characteristics, it also can't be the target of a spell that would enchant it with such an enchantment.

214.8i A local enchantment's controller is separate from the enchanted permanent's controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the permanent doesn't change control of the enchantment, and vice versa. Only the enchantment's controller can play its abilities. However, if the enchantment adds an ability to the enchanted permanent (with "gains" or "has"), that enchanted permanent's controller is the only one who can play that ability.

214.8k An enchant world card is a global enchantment.

214.9. Lands

214.9a A land card isn't a spell card, and at no time is it a spell. When a player plays a land card, it's simply put into play. The land card doesn't go on the stack, so players can't respond to it with instants or activated abilities.

214.9b A player may normally play only one land card during each of his or her own turns, only during a main phase, and only when the stack is empty. Spells and abilities may allow the playing of additional lands; playing an additional land in this way doesn't prevent a player from taking the normal action of playing a land. Players can't begin to play a land that an effect prohibits from being played. As a player plays a land, he or she announces whether he or she is using the once-per-turn action of playing a land. If not, he or she specifies which effect is allowing the additional land play. Spells and abilities may also
allow you to "put" lands into play. This isn't the same as "playing a land" and doesn't count as the player's one land played during his or her turn.

214.9c Each land card is in one of two categories: basic or nonbasic. Basic and nonbasic are not types or subtypes.

214.9d The basic land types are plains, island, swamp, mountain, and forest. A land with one of these words as its name is a basic land. Other lands can state that they are lands of one or more basic land types. A land that has one or more basic land types is not necessarily a basic land. Moreover, the name of a land with a single land type that's basic becomes that basic land-type word. Example: Taiga is a land with the following text in its text box: "Taiga is a mountain and a forest in addition to its type." Even though Taiga has two basic land types, it's not a basic land, because (a) its name doesn't match a basic land type word, and (b) it doesn't specify that it's basic.

214.9e A land with a basic land type has an intrinsic ability to produce colored mana. (See rule 406.1, "Mana Abilities.") The card is treated as if its text box read, "T: Add [mana symbol] to your mana pool," even if the text box doesn't actually contain text. Plains produce white mana; islands, blue; swamps, black; mountains, red; and forests, green.

214.9f If an effect changes a permanent into a basic land, the permanent no longer has its old land type and has only the mana ability of that basic land. It is now a basic land, and its name is that basic land's name. If that land was "Legendary," it is no longer. This rule doesn't apply to effects that cause a land to gain one or more land types in addition to its own.

214.9g Any land that isn't a basic land is a nonbasic land. Basic and nonbasic are not types; they're categories.

214.9h Unlike basic lands and lands that have one or more basic types, nonbasic lands don't necessarily have mana abilities.

215. Legends and Legendary Types

215.1. The word Legend or Legendary may appear in a card's type or subtype. The permanent created when that card enters play is subject to the Legend rule (see rule 420, "State-Based Effects") as well as the rules for its type and subtype.

215.2. "Legend" is a creature type; "legendary" is not. If a "legendary" noncreature permanent becomes a creature, it gets the creature type "Legend" for as long as it's a creature. If a creature of type "Legend" becomes a noncreature permanent, it's a "legendary" permanent of the new type. In other words, they mean the same thing, except that one refers to creatures and the other to noncreatures.

215.3. If an effect makes a non-Legend creature into a Legend, and the creature then becomes another permanent type, such as an enchantment, that effect may no longer apply (if the permanent is no longer a creature). If it doesn't, the resulting permanent will not be legendary.

216. Tokens

216.1. Some spells and abilities put a token creature into play. The token is controlled by whomever put it into play and owned by the controller of the spell or ability that created it. The rules text of the spell or ability may define any number of characteristics for the token. These are the token permanent's initial values. A token doesn't have any characteristics not defined by the spell or ability that created it. A token's creature type is the same as its name. A Goblin creature token, for example, is named Goblin and has the creature subtype Goblin. If a token's name is two words or more, it has the creature subtype for each of those words. For example, a Goblin Scout token is named Goblin Scout and has two creature subtypes: Goblin and Scout. Once a token is in play, changing its name doesn't change its creature type, and vice versa.

216.2. A token is subject to anything that affects permanents in general or that affects the token's type or subtype. A token isn't considered a card (even if represented by cards from other games or Unglued cards) and isn't subject to any effect that specifically uses the word "card."

216.3. A token in a zone other than the in-play zone ceases to exist. This is a state-based effect. (Note
that a token changing zones will set off triggered abilities before the token ceases to exist.) Once a token has left play, it can't be returned to play by any means.

217. Zones

217.1. A zone is a place that Magic cards can be during a game. There are six basic zones: library, hand, graveyard, in play, stack, and removed from the game. Each player has his or her own set of zones, except for the in-play and stack zones, which are shared.

217.1a If a card would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner's, it goes to the corresponding zone of its owner's instead. If an instant or sorcery card would come into play, it's removed from the game instead.

217.1b The order of cards in a library, a graveyard, or on the stack can't be changed except when effects allow it. Cards in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those cards, whether they're tapped, and what enchants them must remain clear to both players.

217.1c A card that moves from one zone to another is treated as a new card. Effects connected with its previous location will no longer affect it. There are two exceptions to this rule: Effects that edit the characteristics of a spell on the stack will continue to apply to the permanent that spell creates, and abilities that trigger when a card moves from one zone to another (for example, "When Rancor is put into a graveyard from play") can find the card in the zone it moved to when the ability triggered.

217.1d If a card or permanent would move from one zone to another, first determine what event is moving the card. Then apply any appropriate replacement effects to that event. If an effect tries to do two or more contradictory or mutually exclusive things to a particular card or permanent, that card or permanent's controller—or its owner if it has no controller—chooses what the effect does to the card or permanent. Then the event moves the card or permanent.

217.2. Library

217.2a When a game begins, each player's deck becomes his or her library.

217.2b Each library must be kept in a single face-down pile. Players can't look at or change the order of cards in a library.

217.2c Any player may count the number of cards remaining in either player's library at any time.

217.2d If an effect puts two or more cards on the top or bottom of a library at the same time, the owner of those cards may arrange them in any order. That library's owner doesn't reveal the order in which the cards go into his or her library.

217.3. Hand

217.3a The hand is where a player holds cards that have been drawn but not yet played.

217.3b Each player has a maximum hand size, which is normally seven cards. A player may have any number of cards in his or her hand, but as part of his or her cleanup step, the player must discard excess cards down to the maximum hand size.

217.3c A player may arrange his or her hand in any convenient fashion and look at it as much as he or she wishes. A player can't look at the cards in another player's hand but may count those cards at any time.

217.4. Graveyard

217.4a A graveyard is a discard pile. Any card that's countered, discarded, destroyed, or sacrificed is put on top of its owner's graveyard, as is any instant or sorcery spell that's finished resolving. Each player's graveyard starts out empty.

217.4b Each graveyard is kept in a single face-up pile. A player can examine the cards in any graveyard at any time but can't change their order.

217.4c If an effect puts two or more cards into the same graveyard at the same time, the owner of those cards may arrange them in any order.

217.5. In Play

217.5a Most of the area between the players represents the in-play zone. The in-play zone starts out empty. Permanents a player controls (other than local enchantments enchanting the other player's permanents) are kept in front of him or her.

217.5b A spell or ability affects and checks only the in-play zone unless it specifically mentions a player or another zone. Permanents exist only in the in-play zone. Only permanents are legal targets for spells and abilities, unless a spell or ability (a) specifies that it can target a player or a card in another zone, or (b) affects an object that can't exist in the in-play zone, such as a spell.

217.5c Whenever a card enters the in-play zone, it's considered a brand-new permanent and has no relationship to any previous permanent represented by the same card (see rule 217.8, "Phased-Out").

217.5d A card not in the in-play zone isn't "in play" and isn't considered tapped or untapped. Cards that aren't either in play or on the stack aren't controlled by either player.

217.6. Stack

217.6a When a spell or ability is played, it goes on top of the stack and waits to resolve. The stack keeps track of the order that spells and/or abilities were added to it. (See rule 408, "Timing of Spells and Abilities," and rule 409.1.)

217.6b When a spell is played, it goes on the stack face up. Other spells or abilities played in response go on top of it. Abilities that go on the stack are represented by imaginary cards called pseudospells. Each pseudospell from an activated or triggered ability has the text of the ability that created it. The controller of a pseudospell from an activated ability is the player who played the ability. The controller of a pseudospell from a triggered ability is the player who controlled the ability's source when it triggered.

217.6c When both players pass in succession, the top (last-played) spell or ability resolves. If the stack is empty when both players pass, the current step or phase ends and the next begins.

217.7. Removed from the Game

217.7a Effects can remove cards from the game. Some effects may provide a way for the card to return to play and use the term "set aside." Cards that are set aside this way are still removed from the game, even though that removal may be temporary.

217.7b Cards in the removed-from-the-game zone are kept face up and may be examined by either player at any time. Cards "removed from the game face down" can't be examined by either player except when instructions allow it.

217.7c Cards that might return to play should be kept in separate piles to keep track of their respective ways of returning. Cards with no way of returning may be kept in one pile for each player, regardless of what removed them.

217.8. Phased-Out

217.8a Permanents that phase out are placed in the phased-out zone. (See rule 502.15, "Phasing.")

217.8b Cards in the phased-out zone may be examined by either player at any time.

217.8c Phased-out cards do not count as tapped or untapped, nor are they controlled by anyone. However, cards in this zone "remember" their previous state and return to play in the same state as when they left. (See rule 502.15, "Phasing.") This is an exception to rule 217.5c.

217.8d Tokens in the phased-out zone cease to exist. This is a state-based effect (see rule 420, "State-Based Effects"). Any local enchantments that were attached to those token creatures remain phased out for the rest of the game.

217.9 Ante

217.9a Earlier versions of the Magic rules included an ante rule as a way of playing "for keeps." Playing Magic for ante is now considered an optional variation on the game, and it's allowed only where it's not forbidden by law or by other rules. Playing for ante is strictly forbidden under the DCI Universal Tournament Rules.

217.9b When playing for ante, each player puts one random card from his or her deck into his or her ante zone at the beginning of the game. Cards in the ante zone may be examined by either player at any time. At the end of the game, the winner becomes the owner of the cards in each player's ante zone.

217.9c A few cards have the text "Remove [this card] from your deck before playing if you're not playing for ante." This text isn't an ability. These are the only cards that can add or remove cards from a player's ante zone, or change a card's owner.