When Magic 2010 was released, a few changes were made to the combat phase. One such change concerns what happens when a creature in combat is either blocked by or blocking more than one creature. When this happens, the controller of the creature that is blocking or blocked by more than one creature must choose […]
Category: Uncategorized
Spells leave the stack as the last action when they resolve.
Yesterday, the rules tip looked at what happens when you play a spell and the card representing the spell goes on the stack as the first thing that happens. The inverse of that is when a spell resolves, the very last thing that happens is that the spell will leave the stack and (most often) […]
Spells go on the stack as soon as you announce them.
When casting a spell, the very first thing that happens is the card representing the spell will leave the zone that it is currently in and go on the stack. Often the exact order that things happen does not matter, but for some spells, the fact that this card is now on the stack will […]
You don’t control your opponent’s equipment or auras on ‘stolen’ creatures.
There are many ways to gain control of a permanent that is under another player’s control. For example, will do so temporarily, while will do so as long as the Mind Control remains attached to this creature. It is important to note that you do not gain control of any equipment or auras that are […]
Lifelink and what would normally kill you.
Lifelink is a static ability that affects what happens when the permanents with lifelink deals damage. Normally, when a creature deals damage, all that happens is that a creature or player receives the damage. Lifelink adds an extra wrinkle. When this creature deals damage, the controller of the creature will also gain life equal to […]
Special actions do not use the stack.
One of the most common phrases you’ll hear said in a Magic game is ‘in response…’ However, there are a few things that do not use the stack and cannot be responded to. Today we are going to look at special actions. These are six specific actions that players choose to perform when they have […]
Creatures are no longer attacking or blocking once combat ends.
Attacking or blocking is a status that is given to creatures in combat when they attack or block. A creature will become either attacking or blocking when legal blocks or attacks are made. This status will remain until the combat phase ends. For example, a creature that was attacking earlier in a turn is not […]
Transform (double-faced cards) is different from Morph.
Flipping cards over is not a new thing in Magic–the morph mechanic has been around since the Onslaught block. However, turning a card face-down is very different from transforming a double-faced card. These two effects are very different and do not interact at all (in fact, it’s impossible to ever turn a double-faced card face-down). […]
What a Hidden Information Violation is.
A Hidden Information Violation is best described as looking at or for information that is normally hidden in a game–in other words, “peeking.” Two examples given in the Infraction Procedure Guide are looking at the cards that a neighbor is choosing while drafting and looking at the cards in an opponent’s deck while shuffling. Intentionally […]