702.20a Rampage is a triggered ability. "Rampage N" means "Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +N/+N until end of turn for each creature blocking it beyond the first." (See rule 509, "Declare Blockers Step.")
702.20b The rampage bonus is calculated only once per combat, when the triggered ability resolves. Adding or removing blockers later in combat won't change the bonus.
702.20c If a creature has multiple instances of rampage, each triggers separately.
Q: What does rampage do? A: When a creature with rampage X attacks, if it is blocked by more than one creature, it gets +X/+X until the end of the turn for each creature blocking it beyond the first. So if it is blocked by two creatures, it will bet +X/+X once, and if it is blocked by three, it will get +X/+X twice, and so on.
Q: What happens when a creature with rampage is blocked by only one creature? A: Not much. While rampage will trigger regardless of how many creatures block the rampager, it only actually does anything if more than one creature is blocking.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.22a Cumulative upkeep is a triggered ability that imposes an increasing cost on a permanent. "Cumulative upkeep [cost]" means "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent is on the battlefield, put an age counter on this permanent. Then you may pay [cost] for each age counter on it. If you don't, sacrifice it." If [cost] has choices associated with it, each choice is made separately for each age counter, then either the entire set of costs is paid, or none of them is paid. Partial payments aren't allowed. Example: A creature has "Cumulative upkeep {W} or {U}" and two age counters on it. When its ability next triggers and resolves, the creature's controller puts an age counter on it and then may pay {W}{W}{W}, {W}{W}{U}, {W}{U}{U}, or {U}{U}{U} to keep the creature on the battlefield. Example: A creature has "Cumulative upkeep -- Sacrifice a creature" and one age counter on it. When its ability next triggers and resolves, its controller can't choose the same creature to sacrifice twice. Either two different creatures must be sacrificed, or the creature with cumulative upkeep must be sacrificed.
702.22b If a permanent has multiple instances of cumulative upkeep, each triggers separately. However, the age counters are not connected to any particular ability; each cumulative upkeep ability will count the total number of age counters on the permanent at the time that ability resolves. Example: A creature has two instances of "Cumulative upkeep -- Pay 1 life." The creature currently has no counters but both cumulative upkeep abilities trigger. When the first ability resolves, the controller adds a counter and then chooses to pay 1 life. When the second ability resolves, the controller adds another counter and then chooses to pay an additional 2 life.
Specific Questions
Q: What does cumulative upkeep do? A: Cumulative upkeep is an ability that imposes a rising cost upon a permanent. If you wish to keep the permanent on the battlefield, you must pay a cost, and the longer the permanent remains on the battlefield, the higher that cost becomes.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you put an age counter on the permanent with cumulative upkeep. Then, you must pay the cumulative upkeep cost once for every age counter on that permanent--if there is one counter, you pay it once, if there are two you pay it twice, and so on. If you don't pay the cost, you must sacrifice the permanent with cumulative upkeep.
Q: Can I choose not to pay all or part of my card's cumulative upkeep? A: There's no going halfway on this: you have to either pay all of the cost or none of the cost. If you can't or don't wish to pay all of the cost, you have to sacrifice the card.
Q: My card has cumulative upkeep " or " (or " or ", or "discard a card or pay 2 life", or some other cost with multiple options). Can I choose to pay some of the full cost with one and some of it with the other? A: Yes; you can divide up your payments between payment options however you like, as long as you're still paying the cost the right number of times.
Q: My card has cumulative upkeep "an opponent gains 1 life" or "gain control of a land an opponent controls". In a multiplayer game, can I divide my "payments" among multiple opponents? A: Yes, you can. The choice of opponent for each single payment is made individually.
Q: My card has a trigger that works when I pay the cumulative upkeep--how many times will that trigger each time I pay? A: Just once. The card triggers on you paying the total cost, not on each individual payment.
Q: My card has an ability that triggers when it dies that counts the number of age counters on it. If I have to sacrifice it because I can't pay its cost, how many counters does that ability "see"? A: When the cumulative upkeep trigger resolves, it puts an age counter on the permanent first, and then makes you sacrifice it unless you pay. The trigger will see that counter that was just put on it in addition to any others it might have had.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
Q: Does a creature with vigilance have to tap to pay for activated abilities with in the cost? A: Yes. Vigilance only means the creature doesn't tap to attack. It doesn't mean the creature doesn't have to tap to do other things that require tapping.
Q: So if my creature doesn't tap to attack, does that mean it can attack the turn I cast it? A: No. "Summoning Sickness" prevents a creature from attacking, period; it doesn't matter whether or not a tap is required to do so.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.24a Phasing is a static ability that modifies the rules of the untap step. During each player's untap step, before the active player untaps his or her permanents, all phased-in permanents with phasing that player controls "phase out." Simultaneously, all phased-out permanents that had phased out under that player's control "phase in."
702.24b If a permanent phases out, its status changes to "phased out." Except for rules and effects that specifically mention phased-out permanents, a phased-out permanent is treated as though it does not exist. It can't affect or be affected by anything else in the game. Example: You control three creatures, one of which is phased out. You cast a spell that says "Draw a card for each creature you control." You draw two cards. Example: You control a phased-out creature. You cast Wrath of God, which says "Destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated." The phased-out creature is not destroyed.
702.24c If a permanent phases in, its status changes to "phased in." The game once again treats it as though it exists.
702.24d The phasing event doesn't actually cause a permanent to change zones or control, even though it's treated as though it's not on the battlefield and not under its controller's control while it's phased out. Zone-change triggers don't trigger when a permanent phases in or out. Counters remain on a permanent while it's phased out. Effects that check a phased-in permanent's history won't treat the phasing event as having caused the permanent to leave or enter the battlefield or its controller's control.
702.24e Continuous effects that affect a phased-out permanent may expire while that permanent is phased out. If so, they will no longer affect that permanent once it's phased in. In particular, effects with "for as long as" durations that track that permanent (see rule 611.2b) end when that permanent phases out because they can no longer see it.
702.24f When a permanent phases out, any Auras, Equipment, or Fortifications attached to that permanent phase out at the same time. This alternate way of phasing out is known as phasing out "indirectly." An Aura, Equipment, or Fortification that phased out indirectly won't phase in by itself, but instead phases in along with the permanent it's attached to.
702.24g If an object would simultaneously phase out directly and indirectly, it just phases out indirectly.
702.24h An Aura, Equipment, or Fortification that phased out directly will phase in attached to the object or player it was attached to when it phased out, if that object is still in the same zone or that player is still in the game. If not, that Aura, Equipment, or Fortification phases in unattached. State-based actions apply as appropriate. (See rules 704.5n and 704.5p.)
702.24i Abilities that trigger when a permanent becomes attached or unattached from an object or player don't trigger when that permanent phases in or out.
702.24j Phased-out permanents owned by a player who leaves the game also leave the game. This doesn't trigger zone-change triggers. See rule 800.4.
702.24k Phased-out tokens cease to exist as a state-based action. See rule 704.5d.
702.24m If an effect causes a player to skip his or her untap step, the phasing event simply doesn't occur that turn.
702.24n Multiple instances of phasing on the same permanent are redundant.
Specific Questions
Q: What is Phasing? A: Phasing is an ability from the Mirage block (Mirage, Visions, Weatherlight.) At the beginning of your untap step, before you untap anything, all phased-in permanents with phasing phase out and all cards that phased out under your control phase in. Then, untap all (phased-in) permanents you control.
To be phased out means that the game effectively treats the phased-out permanent as though it doesn't exist. This means that they can't be targeted, aren't affected by a Wrath of God , don't count for Reckless One , and so on. To phase in means simply that they stop being phased-out and the game once more realizes they exist.
Now, this is where it gets complicated:
Since the permanent never actually leaves the battlefield, it "remembers" everything about what it looked like when it was phased-in--whether it was tapped or untapped, any counters that were on it, which permanent (if any) it was attached to, and so on and so forth, and when it phases back in, it will look the same.
Auras and Equipment attached to the permanent phase out along with the enchanted or equipped permanent if the latter phases out. This is called "phasing out indirectly." They phase back in when the enchanted permanent phases back in. (If, for some reason, that permanent doesn't phase back in, they stay phased-out permanently.)
Essentially, all of this means that you only get use of permanents with phasing every other turn; the rest of the time, they don't exist.
Q: Are permanents that phase in affected by summoning sickness? A: No. A permanent that phases out never actually leaves the battlefield, so it won't be affected by summoning sickness when it reappears.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.25a Buyback appears on some instants and sorceries. It represents two static abilities that function while the spell is on the stack. "Buyback [cost]" means "You may pay an additional [cost] as you cast this spell" and "If the buyback cost was paid, put this spell into its owner's hand instead of into that player's graveyard as it resolves." Paying a spell's buyback cost follows the rules for paying additional costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2e-g.
Specific Questions
Q: What does buyback do? A: Buyback gives you the option of paying an extra cost when you cast a spell. If you do, that spell returns to your hand when it finishes resolving instead of being put into your graveyard like it normally would.
Q: Does paying buyback change the mana cost or converted mana cost of the spell? A: No. The mana cost (and thus the converted mana cost) of a spell is determined solely by what appears in the top-right corner of the card. Buyback cannot alter that.
Q: If I pay for Buyback on a spell, but my opponent counters it or its targets become illegal, do I still get the card back? A: No. Buyback tries to give you the card when the spell finishes resolving. If it's countered, it never gets that far.
Q: Can I pay Buyback when I'm casting a copy of a spell? If so, what happens? A: Yes, you can, but it won't do you any good. The copy will go to your hand, but then cease to exist before you can do anything about it.
Q: If I'm casting a card of my opponent's (with, say, Grinning Totem ), can I pay buyback? If so, what happens? A: You can pay the buyback if you wish, but again, it won't do you much good. The card will go to its owner's hand, and you aren't its owner. You just gave your opponent his spell back.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.29b A creature with horsemanship can't be blocked by creatures without horsemanship. A creature with horsemanship can block a creature with or without horsemanship. (See rule 509, "Declare Blockers Step.")
702.29c Multiple instances of horsemanship on the same creature are redundant.
Q: So, isn't this pretty much the same as flying, only with a different name? Why didn't they just use flying? A: Yes, it's quite similar to flying, with mostly just a name-change.
R&D created horsemanship for the Portal: Three Kingdoms set. They wanted to have creatures with "flying", but the mechanic didn't make any flavorful sense in the setting they were using for that set, so they remade it with a name that did make sense.
Q: So can creatures with flying block creatures with horsemanship? (And vice versa?) A: Nope. While the abilities are almost identical as far as wording goes, they're still separate and distinct.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.27a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player's hand. "Cycling [cost]" means "[Cost], Discard this card: Draw a card."
702.27b Although the cycling ability can be activated only if the card is in a player's hand, it continues to exist while the object is on the battlefield and in all other zones. Therefore objects with cycling will be affected by effects that depend on objects having one or more activated abilities.
702.27c Some cards with cycling have abilities that trigger when they're cycled. "When you cycle [this card]" means "When you discard [this card] to pay a cycling cost." These abilities trigger from whatever zone the card winds up in after it's cycled.
702.27d Typecycling is a variant of the cycling ability. "[Type]cycling [cost]" means "[Cost], Discard this card: Search your library for a [type] card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library." This type is usually a subtype (as in "mountaincycling") but can be any card type, subtype, supertype, or combination thereof (as in "basic landcycling").
702.27e Typecycling abilities are cycling abilities, and typecycling costs are cycling costs. Any cards that trigger when a player cycles a card will trigger when a card is discarded to pay a typecycling cost. Any effect that stops players from cycling cards will stop players from activating cards' typecycling abilities. Any effect that increases or reduces a cycling cost will increase or reduce a typecycling cost.
Specific Questions
Q: What does cycling do? A: Cycling is a mechanic that lets you get rid of unwanted cards in your hand and replace them with new, potentially more useful ones. Any time you have priority, you may discard a card with cycling and pay its cycling cost. If you do, you draw a card.
Q: It's an activated ability? So can I Squelch a, say, Decree of Justice to stop the ability from making tokens? A: Not quite. Cycling itself is an activated ability, and can be Squelched, but all that the actual cycling ability does is draw a card. The other stuff is a triggered ability that triggers off of the card being cycled. You cannot Squelch that.
If you want to stop your opponent both from drawing a card and from doing whatever the cycling trigger does, you'll need to counter both abilities separately.
Q: If an ability triggers when I cycle a card, what happens first: the "draw a card" part, or the triggered ability? A: The triggered ability. The ability triggers off of you actually activating the cycling ability, which means it will go onto the stack on top of the cycling ability, and will therefore resolve first.
Q: So what's typecycling? A: It's exactly like regular cycling, only instead of drawing a card you search your library for a card with a specific type, reveal it, and put it into your hand, then shuffle your library. (This ability was formerly called "landcycling"; it was expanded to allow it to apply to cards of any type.)
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.28a Echo is a triggered ability. "Echo [cost]" means "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay [cost]."
702.28b Urza block cards with the echo ability were printed without an echo cost. These cards have been given errata in the Oracle card reference; each one now has an echo cost equal to its mana cost.
Specific Questions
Q: What does echo do? A: Echo is a mechanic that essentially allows you to spread out a permanent's cost over two turns. You spend some amount of mana to get the permanent onto the battlefield as normal, and then at the beginning of your next upkeep, you must sacrifice the permanent unless you pay its echo cost.
Q: I gain control of an opponent's creature that has echo--do I have to pay the echo cost if I want to keep it? A: Yes. Echo will trigger if you haven't controlled the creature continuously since the beginning of your last upkeep, no matter how long the card may have been on the battlefield before.
Q: My opponent steals one of my echo creatures temporarily--do I have to pay echo again during my next upkeep? A: Yes. Even though you had the creature before, you still haven't controlled it continuously since the beginning of your last upkeep, and echo will trigger.
Q: I have an old echo card that doesn't seem to have an echo cost--what do I pay? A: When echo originally debuted, the echo cost was automatically the same as the card's mana cost, so there was no other cost printed on the card. In these cases, the echo cost is invariably the mana cost of the card.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.30a Fading is a keyword that represents two abilities. "Fading N" means "This permanent enters the battlefield with N fade counters on it" and "At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a fade counter from this permanent. If you can't, sacrifice the permanent."
Specific Questions
Q: What does fading do? A: Fading is an ability that causes permanents to stay on the battlefield for a limited time.
Cards with fading enter the battlefield with a specified number of fade counters on them. At the beginning of each of your upkeeps, you must remove a fade counter from that permanent. When you try to remove a fade counter but there are none left to remove, you have to sacrifice the permanent.
Q: Do I have to sacrifice the permanent with fading as soon as I remove the last fade counter from it? A: No. The permanent sticks around until you try to remove a fade counter when there aren't any left to remove.
Q: What happens if I forget to remove a fade counter? A: The triggered ability that makes you remove fade counters is mandatory, not optional; you must back up and remove a counter. (If there are none left to remove, you must back up and sacrifice the permanent.)
Q: Isn't fading the same as vanishing? How are they different? A: Fading and vanishing are very similar, but have a few subtle differences. Here are the main ones:
Fading uses fade counters. Vanishing uses time counters. The only difference is the name, but this is important for things like Timebender that manipulate specific kinds of counters.
Fading causes the permanent to be sacrificed at the beginning of your upkeep if you can't remove a counter. Vanishing causes the permanent to be sacrificed whenever the last counter is removed. Usually, this just means a permanent with Fading N will stay on the battlefield a turn longer than a permanent with Vanishing N. Also, Vanishing's sacrifice ability triggers as soon as the last counter is removed, no matter when that is. Fading will only trigger at the beginning of the upkeep, no matter how many counters are present.
Vanishing can be permanently circumvented by countering the sacrifice ability. Fading can only be temporarily circumvented this way. If you counter vanishing's sacrifice ability, the permanent will stay on the battlefield indefinitely. If you counter the fading trigger that would cause your permanent to be sacrificed, it will simply trigger again at the beginning of your next upkeep.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
702.31a Kicker is a static ability that functions while the spell with kicker is on the stack. "Kicker [cost]" means "You may pay an additional [cost] as you cast this spell." Paying a spell's kicker cost(s) follows the rules for paying additional costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2e-g.
702.31b The phrase "Kicker [cost 1] and/or [cost 2]" means the same thing as "Kicker [cost 1], kicker [cost 2]."
702.31c Multikicker is a variant of the kicker ability. "Multikicker [cost]" means "You may pay an additional [cost] any number of times as you cast this spell." A multikicker cost is a kicker cost.
702.31d If a spell's controller declares the intention to pay any of that spell's kicker costs, that spell has been "kicked." If a spell has two kicker costs or has multikicker, it may be kicked multiple times. See rule 601.2b.
702.31e Objects with kicker or multikicker have additional abilities that specify what happens if they are kicked. These abilities are linked to the kicker or multikicker abilities printed on that object: they can refer only to those specific kicker or multikicker abilities. See rule 607, "Linked Abilities."
702.31f Objects with more than one kicker cost have abilities that each correspond to a specific kicker cost. They contain the phrases "if it was kicked with its [A] kicker" and "if it was kicked with its [B] kicker," where A and B are the first and second kicker costs listed on the card, respectively. Each of those abilities is linked to the appropriate kicker ability.
702.31g If part of a spell's ability has its effect only if that spell was kicked, and that part of the ability includes any targets, the spell's controller chooses those targets only if that spell was kicked. Otherwise, the spell is cast as if it did not have those targets. See rule 601.2c.
Specific Questions
Q: What does kicker do? A: A card with Kicker allows you to pay an additional cost as you cast it. If you do, that card does gets better somehow.
Q: Can I pay a non-multikicker kicker cost more than once? A: No. You either pay the cost once, or not at all. You can only pay a kicker cost multiple times if it's multikicker, not just regular kicker.
Q: If I'm choosing not to pay the spell's kicker, do I still have to choose targets for the kicker effect? A: No. Deciding not to pay kicker means you don't have to choose targets for the parts of the spell that are kicker-specific.
Q: Does paying kicker or multikicker change the mana cost or converted mana cost of the spell? A: No. The mana cost (and thus the converted mana cost) of a spell is determined solely by what appears in the top-right corner of the card. Kicker costs do not alter that--they just change what you end up paying.
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
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