The Magic game uses only natural numbers. You may not choose a fractional number, deal fractional damage, and so on. When a spell or ability could generate a fractional number, the spell or ability will tell you whether to round up or down. See rule 104, “Numbers and Symbols.”
If a creature’s power or toughness, a mana cost, a player’s life total, or an amount of damage is less than zero, it’s treated as zero for all purposes except changing that total. If anything needs to use a number that can’t be determined, it uses 0 instead.
An “object” is a card, a copy of a card, a token, a spell, a permanent, an ability on the stack, or combat damage on the stack. The term “object” is used in these rules when a rule applies to cards, copies of cards, tokens, spells, permanents, abilities on the stack, and combat damage on the stack. See rule 200.8.
Terms marked “(Obsolete)” in this glossary were used only on older cards. Updated wordings for all cards that used these terms are available in the Oracle card reference.
Offering is a static ability of a card that functions in any zone from which the card can be played. “[Text] offering” means “You may play this card any time you could play an instant by sacrificing a [text] permanent. If you do, the total cost to play this card is reduced by the sacrificed permanent’s mana cost.” Generic mana in the sacrificed permanent’s mana cost reduces only the generic mana in the offering card’s total cost. See rule 502.42, “Offering.”
One-shot effects do something only once and then end. See rule 417, “One-Shot Effects.” See also Continuous Effects.
Before a game begins, but after a player has taken any mulligans, the hand of cards he or she chooses to keep is that player’s opening hand. A player can’t take any mulligans once he or she has decided to keep an opening hand.
In a two-player game, a player’s opponent is the other player. In multiplayer games, a player has multiple opponents. See section 6, “Multiplayer Rules.”
Use the Oracle card reference when determining a card’s wording. A card’s Oracle text can be found using the Gatherer card database at
The order of objects in a library, in a graveyard, or on the stack can’t be changed except when effects allow it. Objects in other zones can be arranged however their owners wish, although who controls those objects, whether they’re tapped, and what enchants or equips them must remain clear to all players. See rule 217.1b.
An object is “outside the game” if it’s in the removed-from-the-game zone, or if it isn’t in any of the game’s zones. All other objects are inside the game. “Outside the game” is not a zone. See rule 217.1e.
The owner of a card is the player who started the game with that card in his or her deck or, for cards that didn’t start the game in a player’s deck, the player who brought the card into the game. (Legal ownership is irrelevant to the game rules, except for the rules for ante.) The owner of a token is the controller of the effect that created it. See rule 200.1a.
An effect can change a permanent’s controller but never its owner. (A few cards have the text “Remove [this card] from your deck before playing if you’re not playing for ante.” These are the only cards that can change a card’s owner. See rule 217.9, “Ante.”)
A card is always put into its owner’s library, hand, or graveyard, regardless of who controlled the card in its previous zone. See rule 217.1a.
To pass is to decline to take any action (usually playing a spell or ability) when you have priority. When a player passes, his or her opponent receives priority. See rule 408.1, “Timing, Priority, and the Stack.”
To pass in succession means that all players pass without playing any spells, playing any abilities, or performing any special actions in between. If all players pass in succession, the spell, ability, or combat damage on top of the stack resolves. If the stack is empty, the phase or step ends. See rule 408.1, “Timing, Priority, and the Stack.”
Pay
Playing most spells and activated abilities requires paying costs; see rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.” Declaring attackers (see rule 308, “Declare Attackers Step”) and declaring blockers (see rule 309, “Declare Blockers Step”) can also require paying costs.
Paying mana is done by removing the indicated amount of mana from the player’s mana pool. Any time a player is asked to pay mana, mana abilities may be played. Mana abilities must be played before the costs are paid. Paying life subtracts the indicated amount of life from the player’s life total. A player can’t pay more mana than the amount of mana in his or her mana pool or more life than his or her life total. Zero life or zero mana can always be paid, even if the player has less than zero life.
