Last updated: 02 August 2017
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State-based actions are game actions that happen automatically whenever certain conditions are met.
State-based actions don’t use the stack. Abilities that watch for a specified game state are triggered abilities, not state-based actions.
State-based actions are checked throughout the game and are not controlled by any player. They are checked as follows:
- Whenever a player would get priority, the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event.
- If any state-based actions are performed as a result of a check, the check is repeated; otherwise all triggered abilities that are waiting to be put on the stack are put on the stack, then the check is repeated.
- Once no more state-based actions have been performed as the result of a check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, the appropriate player gets priority.
This process also occurs during the cleanup step, except that if no state-based actions are performed as the result of the step’s first check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, then no player gets priority and the step ends.
Unlike triggered abilities, state-based actions pay no attention to what happens during the resolution of a spell or ability.
The state-based actions are as follows:
– If a player has 0 or less life, he or she loses the game.
– If a player attempted to draw a card from a library with no cards in it since the last time state-based actions were checked, he or she loses the game.
– If a player has ten or more poison counters, he or she loses the game. Ignore this rule in Two-Headed Giant games.
– If a token is phased out, or is in a zone other than the battlefield, it ceases to exist.
– If a copy of a spell is in a zone other than the stack, it ceases to exist. If a copy of a card is in any zone other than the stack or the battlefield, it ceases to exist.
– If a creature has toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.
– If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
– If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and it’s been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked, that creature is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
– If a planeswalker has loyalty 0, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard.
– If a player controls two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “planeswalker uniqueness rule.”
– If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”
– If two or more permanents have the supertype world, all except the one that has had the world supertype for the shortest amount of time are put into their owners’ graveyards. In the event of a tie for the shortest amount of time, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “world rule.”
– If an Aura is attached to an illegal object or player, or is not attached to an object or player, that Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard.
– If an Equipment or Fortification is attached to an illegal permanent, it becomes unattached from that permanent. It remains on the battlefield.
– If a creature is attached to an object or player, it becomes unattached and remains on the battlefield. Similarly, if a permanent that’s neither an Aura, an Equipment, nor a Fortification is attached to an object or player, it becomes unattached and remains on the battlefield.
– If a permanent has both a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter on it, N +1/+1 and N -1/-1 counters are removed from it, where N is the smaller of the number of +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters on it.
– If a permanent with an ability that says it can’t have more than N counters of a certain kind on it has more than N counters of that kind on it, all but N of those counters are removed from it.
– In a Two-Headed Giant game, if a team has 0 or less life, that team loses the game.
– In a Two-Headed Giant game, if a team has fifteen or more poison counters, that team loses the game.
– In a Commander game, a player that’s been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game loses the game.
– In an Archenemy game, if a non-ongoing scheme card is face up in the command zone, and it isn’t the source of a triggered ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack, that scheme card is turned face down and put on the bottom of its owner’s scheme deck.
– In a Planechase game, if a phenomenon card is face up in the command zone, and it isn’t the source of a triggered ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack, the planar controller planeswalks.
During State-Based Actions performance
- If multiple state-based actions would have the same result at the same time, a single replacement effect will replace all of them.
If a state-based action results in a permanent leaving the battlefield at the same time other state-based actions were performed, that permanent’s last known information is derived from the game state before any of those state-based actions were performed.