Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

already come into play.

504.6. If a face-down permanent moves from the in-play zone to any zone other than the phased-out zone, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. If a phased-out face-down object moves to any zone other than the in-play zone, its owner must reveal it as he or she moves it. If a face-down spell moves from the stack to any zone other than the in-play zone, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. At the end of each game, all face-down objects in play, in the phased-out zone, or on the stack must be revealed to all players.

504.7. If a face-down permanent becomes a copy of another permanent, its copiable values become the copiable values of that permanent, as modified by its face-down status. Its characteristics therefore remain the same: the characteristics listed by the ability or rules that allowed it to be turned face down. However, if it is turned face up, its copiable values become the values it copied from the other permanent.

504.8. If a face-down permanent would have an “As [this permanent] is turned face up . . .” ability after it’s turned face up, that ability is applied while that permanent is being turned face up, not afterward.

505. Split Cards

505.1. Split cards have two card faces on a single card. The back of a split card is the normal Magic: The Gathering card back.

505.2. In every zone except the stack, split cards have two sets of characteristics and two converted mana costs. As long as a split card is a spell on the stack, only the characteristics of the half being played exist. The other half’s characteristics are treated as though they didn’t exist.

505.3. Because every split card consists of two halves with different colored mana symbols in their mana costs, each split card is a multicolored card while it’s not a spell on the stack. While it’s a spell on the stack, it’s only the color or colors of the half being played.

505.4. Although split cards have two playable halves, each split card is only one card. For example, a player who has drawn or discarded a split card has drawn or discarded one card, not two.

505.5. An effect that asks for a particular characteristic of a split card while it’s in a zone other than the stack gets two answers (one for each of the split card’s two halves).

Example: Infernal Genesis has an ability that reads, “At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player puts the top card from his or her library into his or her graveyard. He or she then puts X 1/1 black Minion creature tokens into play, where X is that card’s converted mana cost.” If the top card of your library is Assault/Battery when this ability resolves, the game sees its converted mana cost as “1, and 4.” You get five creature tokens.

505.6. An effect that performs a positive comparison (such as asking if a card is red) or a relative comparison (such as asking if a card’s converted mana cost is less than 2) involving characteristics of one or more split cards in any zone other than the stack gets only one answer. This answer is “yes” if either side of each split card in the comparison would return a “yes” answer if compared individually.

An effect that performs a negative comparison (such as asking if cards have different names) involving characteristics of one or more split cards in any zone other than the stack also gets only one answer. This answer is “yes” if performing the comparable positive comparison would return a “no” answer.

If an effect performs a comparison involving multiple characteristics of one or more split cards in any zone other than the stack, each characteristic is compared separately. If each of the individual comparisons would return a “yes” answer, the whole comparison returns a “yes” answer.

Example: Void reads, “Choose a number. Destroy all artifacts and creatures with converted mana cost equal to that number. Then target player reveals his or her hand and discards all nonland cards with converted mana cost equal to the number.” If a player plays Void and chooses 1, his or her opponent would discard Assault/Battery because the game sees its converted mana cost as “1, and 4.” The same is true if the player chooses 4. If the player chooses 5, however, Assault/Battery would be unaffected.

505.7. If an effect instructs a player to name a card and the player wants to name a split card, the player must name both halves of the split card.

506. Subgames

506.1. Some cards allow players to play a Magic subgame. A “subgame” is the game created by the card’s effect. The “main game” is the game in which the spell or ability that created the subgame was played. The main game is temporarily discontinued while the subgame is in progress. It resumes when the subgame ends.

506.2. Any main-game abilities that trigger while the subgame is in progress aren’t put onto the stack until the subgame is completed.

506.3. To start the subgame, each player removes his or her library from the game face down. It becomes that player’s deck in the subgame. Abilities that trigger on cards being removed from the main game face down will trigger.

506.3a A player’s deck in the subgame may have less than the minimum number of cards. If a player’s deck contains less than seven cards, the player will lose the game as soon as it starts, even if he or she mulligans. (See rule 420, “State-Based Effects.”)

506.4. The subgame proceeds like a normal game. Randomly determine which player goes first.

506.5. All objects in the main game and all cards outside the main game are considered outside the subgame (except those specifically brought into the subgame). All players not currently in the subgame are considered outside the subgame.

506.5a Some effects can bring cards into a game from outside of it. Cards brought into a subgame from a main game are considered to be removed from the main game. Abilities in the main game that trigger on objects being removed from the main game will trigger.

506.6. At the end of a subgame, each player puts all objects he or she owns that were brought into the subgame into his or her library in the main game, then shuffles that library. Cards removed from the game in the subgame are not put into the player’s main-game library. Instead they remain removed from the game in the main game.