Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

to objects by effects. Reminder text and flavor text are not abilities. Reminder text and flavor text always appear in italics.

400.2. Spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities generate effects when they resolve. Static abilities generate continuous effects. Text itself is never an effect.

401. Spells on the Stack

401.1. A card on the stack is a spell. As the first step of being played, the card becomes a spell and goes on the stack from the zone it was played from (usually the player’s hand). (See rule 217.6, “Stack.”)

401.1a A copy of a spell is also a spell, even if it has no card associated with it.

401.1b A nonexistent mana cost can’t be paid.

401.2. A spell stops being a spell when it resolves (see rule 413, “Resolving Spells and Abilities”), is countered (see rule 414, “Countering Spells and Abilities”), or otherwise leaves the stack.

Example: A played creature card is a creature spell until it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack.

401.3. Instant and sorcery spells have abilities, just like any other objects. These abilities are instructions that are followed when the spells resolve, unless the instructions can only be applied at some other time.

Example: Some abilities that are not followed when the spell resolves are activated abilities or triggered abilities, any abilities that define the zone from which it can be played (see rule 401.4), any abilities that apply while the spell is in a zone from which it can be played (see rule 401.5), or any abilities that apply while the spell is on the stack (see rule 401.6).

401.4. Any object can have static abilities that allow it to be played from a zone other than a player’s hand. These abilities are active while the object is in that zone.

401.5. Any object can have static abilities that apply while the object is in a zone from which it can be played. These include restrictions on playing the object and abilities that allow the object to be played at a time that it otherwise could not or in a manner that it otherwise could not.

401.6. Any spell can have static abilities that apply while the spell is on the stack. These include, but are not limited to, additional costs, alternative costs, and cost reductions. See rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.”

401.7. As the final part of an instant or sorcery spell’s resolution, the card is put into its owner’s graveyard. As the final part of an artifact, creature, or enchantment spell’s resolution, the card becomes a permanent and is put into the in-play zone under the control of the spell’s controller. If any spell is countered, the card is put into its owner’s graveyard as part of the resolution of the countering spell or ability. (See rule 413, “Resolving Spells and Activated Abilities.”)

402. Abilities

402.1. An ability is text on an object that’s not reminder text or flavor text (see rule 400.1). The result of following such an instruction is an effect. (See rule 416, “Effects.”) Abilities can affect the objects they’re on; they can also affect other objects and/or players. Abilities can grant abilities to other objects or to the objects they’re on; they do so when the words “has,” “have,” “gains,” or “gain” are used.

402.2. There are three general categories of abilities: activated, triggered, and static. Activated and triggered abilities can also be mana abilities. Abilities can generate one-shot effects or continuous effects. Some effects are replacement effects or prevention effects.

402.3. Abilities can be beneficial or detrimental.

Example: “[This creature] can’t block” is an ability.

402.4. An additional cost or alternative cost to play a card is an ability of the card.

402.5. An ability isn’t a spell and therefore can’t be countered by anything that counters only spells. Abilities can be countered by effects that specifically counter abilities, as well as by the rules (for example, an ability with one or more targets is countered if all its targets become illegal).

402.6. Once activated or triggered, an ability exists independently of its source as an ability on the stack. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won’t affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, “Prodigal Sorcerer deals 1 damage to target creature or player”) rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source because the effect needs to be divided checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in play, its last known information is used.

402.7. An object may have multiple abilities. Aside from certain defined abilities that may be strung together on a single line (see rule 502, “Keyword Abilities”), each paragraph break in a card’s text marks a separate ability. An object may also have multiple instances of the same ability. Each instance functions independently. This may or may not produce more effects than a single instance; refer to the specific ability for more information.

402.8. Abilities of an instant or sorcery usually function only while the object is on the stack. Abilities of all other objects usually function only while that object is in play. The exceptions are as follows:

402.8a A characteristic-setting ability that sets type, subtype, supertype, or color functions in all zones.

402.8b An ability that states which zones it functions in functions only from those zones.

402.8c An ability of an object that modifies what it costs to play functions on the stack.

402.8d An object’s ability that restricts or modifies how that object can be played functions in any zone from which it could be played.