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 […]
Category: Turn Structure
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 […]
The card revealed by Delver of Secrets’ ability is on top of its controller’s library.
has a single triggered ability that involves a few steps. When it resolves, the controller of the Delver will look at the top card of his or her library. Then that player may choose to reveal the card. If the player does and the card is an instant or sorcery, the Delver will transform. Once […]
Mana empties at the end of every step and phase.
Prior to the Magic 2010 release, mana that was unspent at the end of a phase caused ‘mana burn,’ meaning that you would lose one life for each unspent mana in your mana pool. While it no longer causes mana burn, mana is still emptied from your pool. In fact, it now empties at the […]
What the phases and steps of a turn are.
An all too common error players make with regards to the rules of Magic concerns what the phases and steps of the turn are. In most cases, a perfect knowledge of the turn order is not needed, and most players are able to get through a turn without any difficulty. However, sometimes not quite knowing […]