Historical Rules

Rules effective 16 January 2026

This is a dated historical record, not the current Rules release.

1. Game Concepts24 sections · 502 rules

100. General

101. The Magic Golden Rules

102. Players

103. Starting the Game

104. Ending the Game

107. Numbers and Symbols

109. Objects

110. Permanents

113. Abilities

114. Emblems

115. Targets

116. Special Actions

117. Timing and Priority

121. Drawing a Card

122. Counters

123. Stickers

2. Parts of a Card14 sections · 120 rules

200. General

202. Mana Cost and Color

203. Illustration

204. Color Indicator

205. Type Line

206. Expansion Symbol

207. Text Box

208. Power/Toughness

209. Loyalty

210. Defense

211. Hand Modifier

212. Life Modifier

213. Information Below the Text Box

3. Card Types16 sections · 163 rules

300. General

301. Artifacts

302. Creatures

303. Enchantments

304. Instants

306. Planeswalkers

307. Sorceries

308. Kindreds

309. Dungeons

310. Battles

312. Phenomena

313. Vanguards

314. Schemes

315. Conspiracies

4. Zones9 sections · 78 rules

400. General

401. Library

403. Battlefield

404. Graveyard

408. Command

5. Turn Structure15 sections · 146 rules

500. General

501. Beginning Phase

502. Untap Step

503. Upkeep Step

504. Draw Step

505. Main Phase

506. Combat Phase

507. Beginning of Combat Step

508. Declare Attackers Step

509. Declare Blockers Step

510. Combat Damage Step

511. End of Combat Step

512. Ending Phase

513. End Step

514. Cleanup Step

6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects17 sections · 319 rules

600. General

601. Casting Spells

602. Activating Activated Abilities

603. Handling Triggered Abilities

604. Handling Static Abilities

605. Mana Abilities

606. Loyalty Abilities

607. Linked Abilities

608. Resolving Spells and Abilities

609. Effects

610. One-Shot Effects

611. Continuous Effects

612. Text-Changing Effects

613. Interaction of Continuous Effects

614. Replacement Effects

615. Prevention Effects

616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects

7. Additional Rules33 sections · 1484 rules

700. General

701. Keyword Actions

702. Keyword Abilities

703. Turn-Based Actions

704. State-Based Actions

705. Flipping a Coin

706. Rolling a Die

707. Copying Objects

708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents

709. Split Cards

710. Flip Cards

711. Leveler Cards

712. Double-Faced Cards

713. Substitute Cards

714. Saga Cards

715. Adventurer Cards

716. Class Cards

717. Attraction Cards

718. Prototype Cards

719. Case Cards

720. Omen Cards

721. Station Cards

722. Controlling Another Player

723. Ending Turns and Phases

724. The Monarch

725. The Initiative

726. Restarting the Game

727. Rad Counters

728. Subgames

729. Merging with Permanents

730. Day and Night

731. Taking Shortcuts

732. Handling Illegal Actions

8. Multiplayer Rules12 sections · 171 rules

800. General

801. Limited Range of Influence Option

802. Attack Multiple Players Option

803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options

804. Deploy Creatures Option

805. Shared Team Turns Option

806. Free-for-All Variant

807. Grand Melee Variant

808. Team vs. Team Variant

809. Emperor Variant

810. Two-Headed Giant Variant

811. Alternating Teams Variant

9. Casual Variants6 sections · 131 rules

900. General

901. Planechase

902. Vanguard

903. Commander

904. Archenemy

905. Conspiracy Draft