Magic The Gathering Comprehensive Rules Part 4

309. Declare Blockers Step

309.1. As the declare blockers step begins, the defending player declares blockers (this game action doesn't use the stack). Then any abilities that triggered on blockers being declared go on the stack. (See rule 410, "Handling Triggered Abilities.") Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.

309.2. To declare blockers, the defending player follows the steps below, in order. If at any point during the declaration of blockers, the defending player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the declaration was illegal; the game returns to the moment before the declaration (see rule 422, "Handling Illegal Actions," and rule 500, "Legal Attacks and Blocks").

309.2a The defending player chooses zero or more creatures he or she controls, chooses one attacking creature for each one to block, then determines whether this set of blocks is legal. Only untapped creatures can block, but blocking does not cause creatures to tap. Other effects may also affect whether or not a set of creatures could block. (See rule 500, "Legal Attacks and Blocks.") 309.2b If any of the creatures require paying costs to block, the defending player determines the total cost to block. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. Once the total cost is determined, it becomes "locked in." If effects would change the total cost after this time, ignore this change.

309.2c If any of the costs require mana, the defending player then has a chance to play mana abilities (see rule 411, "Playing Mana Abilities").

309.2d Once the player has enough mana in his or her mana pool, he or she pays all costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed.

309.2e Each chosen creature becomes a blocking creature, but only if it's controlled by the defending player. Each one is blocking the attacking creature chosen for it. It remains a blocking creature until it's removed from combat or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. See rule 306.2.

309.2f An attacking creature with one or more creatures declared as blockers for it becomes a blocked creature; one with no blockers becomes an unblocked creature. This remains unchanged until the creature is removed from combat or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. (Some effects can change whether a creature is blocked or unblocked.) 309.3. Abilities that trigger on a creature blocking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as a blocker. They will not trigger if a creature blocks, and then that creature's characteristics change to match the ability's trigger condition. They will not trigger if a creature is put into play blocking.

309.4. Abilities that trigger on a creature becoming blocked trigger only at the first point the creature becomes blocked that combat. They will trigger if a creature becomes blocked by a creature declared as a blocker, by a creature that's put into play as a blocker, or by an effect, but only if the attacking creature hadn't yet been blocked that combat. They will not trigger if a creature becomes blocked, and then the blocking creature's characteristics change to match the ability's trigger condition.

Example: A creature has the ability "Whenever this creature becomes blocked by a white creature, destroy that creature at end of combat." If that creature is blocked by a black creature that is later turned white, the ability will not trigger.

310. Combat Damage Step

310.1. As the combat damage step begins, the active player announces how each attacking creature will a.s.sign its combat damage. Then the defending player announces how each blocking creature will a.s.sign its combat damage. All a.s.signments of combat damage go on the stack as a single object. Then any abilities that triggered on damage being a.s.signed go on the stack. (See rule 410, "Handling Triggered Abilities.") Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.

310.2. A player may divide a creature's combat damage as he or she chooses among the legal recipients. Dividing combat damage is subject to the following restrictions: 310.2a Each attacking creature and each blocking creature will a.s.sign combat damage equal to its power. Creatures with 0 or less power don't a.s.sign combat damage.

310.2b An unblocked attacking creature will a.s.sign all its combat damage to the defending player.

310.2c A blocked creature will a.s.sign combat damage, divided as its controller chooses, to the creatures blocking it. If no creatures are currently blocking it (if, for example, they were destroyed or removed from combat), it will a.s.sign no combat damage.

310.2d A blocking creature will a.s.sign combat damage, divided as its controller chooses, to the attacking creatures it's blocking. If it isn't currently blocking any creatures (if, for example, they were destroyed or removed from combat), it will a.s.sign no combat damage.

310.2e An effect that states a creature deals its combat damage in a different manner than normal affects the a.s.signment of combat damage.

310.3. Although combat-damage a.s.signments go on the stack as an object, they aren't spells or abilities, so they can't be countered.

310.4. Combat damage resolves as an object on the stack. When it resolves, it's all dealt at once, as originally a.s.signed. After combat damage finishes resolving, the active player gets priority.

310.4a Combat damage is dealt as it was originally a.s.signed even if the creature dealing damage is no longer in play, its power has changed, or the creature receiving damage has left combat.

310.4b The source of the combat damage is the creature as it currently exists, or as it most recently existed if it is no longer in play.

310.4c If a creature that was supposed to receive combat damage is no longer in play or is no longer a creature, the damage a.s.signed to it isn't dealt.

310.5. At the start of the combat damage step, if at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 502.2) or double strike (see rule 502.28), creatures without first strike or double strike don't a.s.sign combat damage. Instead of proceeding to end of combat, the phase gets a second combat damage step to handle the remaining creatures. In the second combat damage step, surviving attackers and blockers that didn't a.s.sign combat damage in the first step, plus any creatures with double strike, a.s.sign their combat damage.

311. End of Combat Step

311.1. As the end of combat step begins, all "at end of combat" abilities trigger and go on the stack. (See rule 410, "Handling Triggered Abilities.") Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.

311.2. As soon as the end of combat step ends, all creatures are removed from combat. After the end of combat step ends, the combat phase is over and the postcombat main phase begins.

312. End Phase

312.1. The end phase consists of two steps: end of turn and cleanup.

313. End of Turn Step

313.1. As the end of turn step begins, all abilities that trigger "at end of turn" go on the stack. (See rule 410, "Handling Triggered Abilities.") Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.

313.2. If "at end of turn"-triggered abilities are created or if cards with "at end of turn"-triggered abilities come into play after preexisting ones have already gone on the stack at the beginning of the end of turn step, those abilities won't go on the stack until the next turn's end phase. In other words, the step doesn't "back up" so new "at end of turn"-triggered abilities can go on the stack. This only applies to triggered abilities that say "at end of turn." It doesn't apply to continuous effects whose durations say "until end of turn" or "this turn." (See rule 314, "Cleanup Step.")

314. Cleanup Step

314.1. If the active player's hand contains more cards than his or her maximum hand size (normally seven), he or she discards enough cards to reduce the hand size to that number (this game action doesn't use the stack).

314.2. After discarding, the following actions happen simultaneously: all damage is removed from permanents and all "until end of turn" and "this turn" effects end (this game action doesn't use the stack).

314.3. If the conditions for any state-based effects exist or if any triggered abilities are waiting to be put onto the stack, the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities. Once the stack is empty and all players pa.s.s, another cleanup step begins. Otherwise, no player receives priority and the step ends.

4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects

400. General

400.1. An ability is something an object does or can do. Abilities generate effects. An object's abilities are defined in the object's text box (if it has one) or by the effect that created the object. Abilities can also be granted to objects by effects. Reminder text and flavor text are not abilities. Reminder text and flavor text always appear in italics.

400.2. Spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities generate effects when they resolve. Static abilities generate continuous effects. Text itself is never an effect.

401. Spells on the Stack

401.1. A card on the stack is a spell. As the first step of being played, the card becomes a spell and goes on the stack from the zone it was played from (usually the player's hand). (See rule 217.6, "Stack.") 401.1a A copy of a spell is also a spell, even if it has no card a.s.sociated with it.

401.1b A nonexistent mana cost can't be paid.

401.2. A spell stops being a spell when it resolves (see rule 413, "Resolving Spells and Abilities"), is countered (see rule 414, "Countering Spells and Abilities"), or otherwise leaves the stack.

Example: A played creature card is a creature spell until it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack.

401.3. Instant and sorcery spells have abilities, just like any other objects. These abilities are instructions that are followed when the spells resolve, unless the instructions can only be applied at some other time.

Example: Some abilities that are not followed when the spell resolves are activated abilities or triggered abilities, any abilities that define the zone from which it can be played (see rule 401.4), any abilities that apply while the spell is in a zone from which it can be played (see rule 401.5), or any abilities that apply while the spell is on the stack (see rule 401.6).

401.4. Any object can have static abilities that allow it to be played from a zone other than a player's hand. These abilities are active while the object is in that zone.

401.5. Any object can have static abilities that apply while the object is in a zone from which it can be played. These include restrictions on playing the object and abilities that allow the object to be played at a time that it otherwise could not or in a manner that it otherwise could not.

401.6. Any spell can have static abilities that apply while the spell is on the stack. These include, but are not limited to, additional costs, alternative costs, and cost reductions. See rule 409, "Playing Spells and Activated Abilities."

401.7. As the final part of an instant or sorcery spell's resolution, the card is put into its owner's graveyard. As the final part of an artifact, creature, or enchantment spell's resolution, the card becomes a permanent and is put into the in-play zone under the control of the spell's controller. If any spell is countered, the card is put into its owner's graveyard as part of the resolution of the countering spell or ability. (See rule 413, "Resolving Spells and Activated Abilities.")

402. Abilities

402.1. An ability is text on an object that's not reminder text or flavor text (see rule 400.1). The result of following such an instruction is an effect. (See rule 416, "Effects.") Abilities can affect the objects they're on; they can also affect other objects and/or players. Abilities can grant abilities to other objects or to the objects they're on; they do so when the words "has," "have," "gains," or "gain" are used.

402.2. There are three general categories of abilities: activated, triggered, and static. Activated and triggered abilities can also be mana abilities. Abilities can generate one-shot effects or continuous effects. Some effects are replacement effects or prevention effects.

402.3. Abilities can be beneficial or detrimental.

Example: "[This creature] can't block" is an ability.

402.4. An additional cost or alternative cost to play a card is an ability of the card.

402.5. An ability isn't a spell and therefore can't be countered by anything that counters only spells. Abilities can be countered by effects that specifically counter abilities, as well as by the rules (for example, an ability with one or more targets is countered if all its targets become illegal).

402.6. Once activated or triggered, an ability exists independently of its source as an ability on the stack. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won't affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, "Prodigal Sorcerer deals 1 damage to target creature or player") rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source because the effect needs to be divided checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in play, its last known information is used.

402.7. An object may have multiple abilities. Aside from certain defined abilities that may be strung together on a single line (see rule 502, "Keyword Abilities"), each paragraph break in a card's text marks a separate ability. An object may also have multiple instances of the same ability. Each instance functions independently. This may or may not produce more effects than a single instance; refer to the specific ability for more information.

402.8. Abilities of an instant or sorcery usually function only while the object is on the stack. Abilities of all other objects usually function only while that object is in play. The exceptions are as follows: 402.8a A characteristic-setting ability that sets type, subtype, supertype, or color functions in all zones.

402.8b An ability that states which zones it functions in functions only from those zones.

402.8c An ability of an object that modifies what it costs to play functions on the stack.