The total cost of a spell or activated ability is the mana cost, activation cost, or alternative cost, plus all cost increases and minus all cost reductions. See rule 409.1f
The number after the slash printed on the lower right corner of a creature card is its toughness. See rule 208, “Power/Toughness.”
A creature that’s been dealt damage greater than or equal to its toughness (and greater than 0) has lethal damage and will be destroyed the next time any player would receive priority. This is a state-based effect.
Some creature cards have toughness represented by * instead of a number. The object has a characteristic-setting ability that sets its toughness according to some stated condition. The * is 0 while the object isn’t in play.
A noncreature permanent has no toughness, even if it’s a card with a toughness printed on it (such as a Licid that’s become an Aura).
A tournament is an organized event where players compete against other players to win prizes. See the Tournament Locator on the MagicTheGathering.com Tournament Center page (
Trample is a static ability modifying the combat damage step of the combat phase. It lets an attacking creature “trample over” blocking creatures and assign part of its combat damage to the defending player. See rule 502.9, “Trample.”
Transmute is an activated ability that functions only while the card with transmute is in a player’s hand. “Transmute [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same converted mana cost as the discarded card, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.” See rule 502.48, “Transmute.”
A triggered ability begins with the word “when,” “whenever,” or “at.” Whenever the trigger event occurs, the ability goes on top of the stack the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 404, “Triggered Abilities.”
A triggered ability begins with the word “when,” “whenever,” or “at.” The phrase containing one of these words is the trigger condition, which defines the trigger event. See rule 404, “Triggered Abilities.”
The Grand Melee variant allows multiple players to take turns at the same time. Moving turn markers keep track of which players are currently taking turns. Each turn marker represents an active player’s turn. See rule 608, “Grand Melee.”
The Two-Headed Giant variant has two unique features. Each two-player team has a shared life total, which starts at 40 life, and each team has takes turns rather than each player. Each team’s creatures also attack the other team rather than individual players. The additional rules for the Two-Headed Giant variant explain how the timing of team turns works. See rule 606, “Two-Headed Giant Variant.”
The word “type” has two meanings:
1. A card’s type (and subtype and supertype, if applicable) is printed directly below the illustration on the card, on its type line. Cards, tokens, permanents, and spells all have types. Abilities don’t have types. See rule 205, “Type Line,” and rule 212, “Type, Supertype, and Subtype.”
When an effect changes an object’s type, the new type replaces all previous types. If the effect is adding a type, or allowing an object to retain its types, it will say so. See rule 212.1c.
2. The “type” of mana is its color, or lack thereof (for colorless mana). See also Mana.
The type (and subtype and supertype, if applicable) of a card is printed directly below the illustration. See rule 205, “Type Line,” and rule 212, “Type, Supertype, and Subtype.”
A type-changing effect is an effect that changes the type of an object. It’s generated by a type-changing ability. See rule 418.5a.
An Aura or Equipment becomes unattached if it was attached to a permanent and then is not. If an Aura or Equipment leaves play while attached to a permanent, it becomes unattached. If a permanent leaves play (unless it phases out) while an Aura or Equipment is attached to it, the Aura or Equipment becomes unattached.
If an attacking creature “is unblockable,” no creature can legally block it. Spells or abilities may still cause it to become blocked.
A creature is unblocked if it’s attacking and no creature blocked it during the declare blockers step of the current combat phase. It remains an unblocked creature until an effect causes it to become blocked, it’s removed from combat, it stops being a creature, its controller changes, or the combat phase ends. Unblocked creatures don’t exist outside of the combat phase or before the declare blockers step. See rule 309, “Declare Blockers Step.”
The DCI Universal Tournament Rules (
Some cards use the phrase “[Do something] unless you [do something else].” This means the same thing as “You may [do something else]. If you don’t, [do something].”
To untap a tapped card, rotate it back to the upright position. See also Tap, Tapped, and Untapped.
The untap step is the first step of the beginning phase. All permanents controlled by the active player normally untap at this time. See rule 302, “Untap Step.”
A permanent that’s upright is untapped. Tapping permanents shows that they’ve been used. Permanents untap during their controllers’ untap steps. See also Tap, Tapped, and Untap.
The upkeep step is the second step of the beginning phase. Some cards have abilities that trigger at the beginning of the upkeep step; such an ability is informally called an “upkeep cost” or an “upkeep effect.” An upkeep cost is usually written in the form “At the beginning of your upkeep, you may [pay cost]. If you don’t, sacrifice [this card].” These are normal triggered abilities-there are no special rules for them. See rule 303, “Upkeep Step.”