A question that I’ve been asked a lot is, “When is the last time I can tap a creature to prevent it from attacking?” So today, let’s use as our example card. When is the last time I can cast the Dread to prevent a creature or creatures from attacking? The last chance you’ll get […]
Category: Turn Structure
You can’t do anything in the untap step (other than untapping).
In Magic, the turn is broken down in to many steps and phases, which give players the opportunity to cast spells or activate abilities at different points in the turn. They are, in order: Beginning Phase: Untap* Upkeep Draw Main Phase (often referred to as 1st Main or Pre-combat Main) Combat Phase: Beginning of Combat […]
Multiplayer tips: How attacking/blocking works.
So normally, when you attack, there’s no question which player you’re attacking. However, when there are multiple legal choices for who to attack, it gets a little more involved. You still only get one combat phase and one of each of the steps in that phase. So when you move to combat, each other player […]
You can’t play a land after you reveal a Miracle card but before you cast it.
There seem to be a lot of questions about the new miracle mechanic lately. To repeat, here is how it works: When you draw the first card in a turn, if it has miracle, you may reveal it. When you do, its ability triggers. Upon the resolution of the miracle triggered ability, you may cast […]
A Miracle card must be cast in the same step you draw the card (even if it’s a sorcery).
When you draw your first card for the turn (usually in your draw step), you can reveal it as you draw it if it has the Miracle ability. When you do that, the ability triggers and goes on the stack as soon as you’re done with the action that let you draw the card. So […]
The “next end step” means the very next one to begin (usually in the same turn).
is an interesting card that lets you trade a creature card in your graveyard for a temporary creature on the battlefield. The only caveat is that your new best friend (or rather your returned best friend) will only remain on the battlefield until “the beginning of the next end step.” So what does that mean? […]
What first strike and double strike mean for the combat phase.
First Strike and Double Strike: Fun abilities that make creatures scary good in combat. But what exactly ARE they? How do they work? How does my deal damage ‘first’? Normally, during the Combat Phase, there’s only one step where damage is dealt. Immediately after the Declare Blockers step, but before the End of Combat step, […]
A blocked creature stays blocked for the rest of combat, no matter what happens to the blocker.
The first thing that happens in the declare blockers step is that the defending player chooses which creatures will block and how they’re blocking. Once that happens, the blocks are locked in. Attackers that had a blocker declared become “blocked” creatures, and nothing can change that (aside from a few obscure effects that specifically say […]
The token put into play by Séance is exiled in the next end step.
is a very flavorful white enchantment from Dark Ascension that allows you to temporarily bring back creatures from your graveyard as spirits. As mentioned, this is temporary. Séance’s ability triggers at the beginning of each upkeep step. When this ability goes on the stack, the controller of Seance chooses a target creature card in his […]