To pay any cost, the player carries out the instructions specified by the spell, ability, or effect. It’s illegal to attempt paying a cost when unable to successfully follow the instructions. For example, a player can’t pay a cost that requires tapping a creature if that creature is already tapped.
Each payment applies to only one spell or ability. For example, a player can’t sacrifice just one creature to play the activated abilities of two permanents that require sacrificing a creature as a cost. Also, the resolution of a spell or ability doesn’t pay another spell or ability’s cost, even if part of its effect is doing the same thing the other cost asks for.
A permanent is any card or token in the in-play zone. See rule 214, “Permanents.”
Certain older cards were printed with the term “permanently” to indicate effects with no expiration. This term is no longer used.
Each turn is divided into five phases: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and end. See section 3, “Turn Structure.”
The phased-out zone is a special zone for permanents with phasing that are temporarily out of play. See rule 502.15, “Phasing.”
Phasing is a static ability that causes a permanent to leave play and later return, without losing its “memory.” See rule 502.15, “Phasing.”
If a player is asked to separate a group of objects into two or more piles, the objects do not leave the zone they’re currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained. A pile can contain zero or more objects.
“Plains” is one of the five basic land types. Any land with the land type Plains has the ability “{T}: Add {W} to your mana pool.” See rule 212.6d.
See Landcycling.
See Landwalk.
The act of playing a spell, land, or ability involves announcing the action and taking the necessary steps to complete it.
Playing a spell or activated ability requires paying any costs and choosing any required modes and/or targets. See rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.”
Playing a land simply requires choosing a land card from the hand and putting it into play. See rule 212.6, “Lands.”
Playing a mana ability requires paying any costs, then immediately resolving the ability. See rule 411, “Playing Mana Abilities.”
Triggered abilities and static abilities aren’t played-they happen automatically. See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”
Whoever plays first in a two-player game skips his or her first draw step. This is referred to as the play/draw rule. See rule 101, “Starting the Game.”
In a Two-Headed Giant multiplayer game, the team that goes first skips its first draw step (see rule 606, “Two-Headed Giant Variant”). Other multiplayer variants don’t use the play/draw rule.
A player is one of the people in the game. The active player is the player whose turn it is. The other players are nonactive players. See rule 200.3.
Poison Counter
Some cards give poison counters to players. If a player has ten or more poison counters, he or she loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 420, “State-Based Effects.”
Some older cards used the term “poly artifact” on the card’s type line. They were artifacts that had activated abilities that don’t include the tap symbol. Cards that were printed with the term “poly artifact” now simply use “artifact.”
The second main phase in each turn is called the postcombat main phase. If an effect causes a turn to have an extra combat phase and another main phase, the additional one is also a postcombat main phase. See rule 305, “Main Phase.”
