ABILITIES-many permanents have abilities, which generally are played as instants and count as fast effects.
ACTIVATION COST-the price to play an ability. Abilities with an activation cost are written as "activation cost:effect."
ACTIVE PLAYER-the player whose turn it is. If an effect instructs both players to do something, the active player goes first.
ARTIFACT-a type of permanent. Artifacts are normally colorless.
ARTIFACT CREATURE-a permenant that counts as both an artifact and a creature. An artifact creature is affected by spells and abilities that affect artifacts as well as those that affect creatures.
ASSIGNING TO BLOCK-declared a blocker to an attacking creature.
ATTACK-once during your turn, you can attack your opponents with some, all, or none of your creatures.
ATTACKING CREATURE-a creature that's been declared as an attacker. A creature can be an attacking creature only during the attack portion of the main phase.
BANDING-an ability that allows your creatures to attack in groups. It also lets you decide how to distribute combat damage.
BASIC LAND-a permenant whose ability is to produce mana. There are 5 types of basic land: plains, swamp, islands, mountains and forests.
BATCH-a group of effects, each of which was played in response to the previous one. These effects resolve in last-in, first-out order.
BLOCK-to "get in the way of" an attacking creature with some, none or all of your creatures. If blocked, an attacking creature deals damage to its blockers, not to the defending player.
BLOCKING CREATURE-a creature that's blocking an attack creature. A creature is only a blocking creature during the attack portion of the main phase.
BURY-to put a permenant into its owners graveyard. This can't be prevented in any way.
CARD TYPE-the identification of a card's category. The card type is printed just below the artwork.
CAST-to play a spell, paying all its costs and making all required decisions.
CASTING COST-the amount and type of mana required to play a spell. All spells have a casting cost in the upper right corner of the card.
CLEANUP-the last phase of the turn
COLOR-there are 5 colors of Magic: white, blue, black, red and green. A card's background acts as a reminder of its color.
COLORLESS-not connected to one of the 5 colors of mana. Lands and artifacts are normally colorless.
COMBAT-the part of the main phase that begins when an attack is announced.
COMBAT DAMAGE-damage dealt by creatures as a result of attacking or blocking.
CONTINUOUS ABILITIES-a category of abilities that take effect as soon as the permenant enters play and that end only when the permenant leaves play.
CONTROLLER-the player who currently possesses a card; usually (but not always) the card's owner.
COST-the price to play a spell of ability.
COUNTER-to use an interrupt to cancel a spell being cast.
COUNTERS-markers used to note long-term changed to a permenant or for "bookkeeping purposes">
CREATURE-the troops with which you attack your opponent. Creature cards are easily identifiable because they have power and toughness numbers in the bottom right corner.
DAMAGE-successful damage to a creature that equals or exceeds its toughness kills it. Successful damage to a player reduces her life total.
DAMAGE PREVENTION-a step that occurs whenever damage is dealt, in which players can prevent or redirect damage. Effects that prevent damage simply remove it; effects that redirect damage move it from one creautre or player to another.
DESTROY-to put a permenant into its owner's graveyard. Some abilities, such as regeneration, can prevent this.
DISCARD-to put a card from your hand onto the top of your graveyard OR a phase of the turn, at the end of which you must reduce your hand to seven cards.
DRAW-to put the top card of your library into your hand OR a phase of the turn, in which you draw a card OR a tie, in which neither player wins or loses the game.
DUEL-a complete game of Magic: the Gathering.
EFFECT-the impact on play of a spell or ability.
ENCHANTMENTS-permenants that affect play.
EVASION ABILITIES-abilities that make attacking creautres unblockable.
FAST EFFECT-instant, interrupt, and mana source spells, and abilities that are played as one of these 3 types of effects. You may play fast effects during most phases of either players turns.
FIRST STRIKE-an ability allowing creatures to deal their combat damage before the regular damage-dealing step.
FIZZLE-an effect doing nothing to a target because the target has disappeared or become illegaal by the time the effect resolves.
FLYING-an ability that makes creatures unblockable except by other creatures with flying.
GENERIC MANA-generic mana costs can be paid with mana of any color or with colorless mana.
GLOBAL ENCHANTMENTS-an enchantment that's put into your territory rather than being played on a particular permanent.
GRAVEYARD-the pile into which you discard
HAND-the cards you hold
INSTANT-a fast effect that is put into its owners graveyard after it takes effect.
INTERRUPT-a fast effect that can counter or modify other spells or effects as they're being cast. An interupt spell is put into its owner's graveyard after it takes place.
LAND-a colorless permenant that typically has mana-producing abilities.
LANDHOME-a group of abilities that prevent the creature with the abilitiy from being declared an attacker if the defending player controls no lands of the appropriate type. Additionaly, creatures with no landhome are buried if their controller doesn't control any lands of the appropriate type.
LANDWALK-a group of abilities that make an attacking creature unblockable if the defending player controls any lands of that type.
LETHAL DAMAGE-if the damage accumulated by a creature during a turn is equal to or greater than its toughness, it suffers lethal damage and is destroyed.
LIBRARY-the pile which you draw.
LIFE TOTAL-your "score" you begin the game with 20 life. If you have less than 1 life at the end of any phase or at the begining or end of combat, you lose the game.
LOCAL ENCHANTMENT-an enchantment that can be played only on other permanents and that typically affects only the permanent on which it's played.
MAIN PHASE-the principal phase of the turn. During your main phase, you can play a land, play any type of spell or ability, and attack using any or all of your creatures.
MANA-the energy used to power spells. Mana is typically produced by lands.
MANA BURN-any leftover mana in a player's mana pool at the end of a phase or at the beginning or end of combat is lost, and the player's life total drops by that amount.
MANA POOL-mana you draw from you mana sources is put into your mana pool. You take mana out of this pool to pay for a spell or ability.
MANA SOURCE-typically, a land ability that produces mana; also mana sourse spell and any ability that's played as a mana source. Nothing can interrupt drawing mana from your mana source.
MANA SYMBOL- a symbol corresponding to one of the 5 colors of Magic.
MULTICOLORED-related to more than one color of mana. A card with more than one color in its casting cost is multicolored and counts as each of the appropriate colors.
NEUTRAL STATE-a time when both players have the option of beginning a batch of effects.
NULL ATTACK-an attack with no creatures. A null attack counts as the player's one attack for that turn.
OWNER-the player who started the game with that card.
PERMANENTS-artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and lands. Once played, permanents remain in the game until someone removes them.
PHASE-one of the 6 parts of the turn.
PHASE ABILITY-an ability that's played only during a certain phase, and only once during that phase. Phasing abilities are played as instants.
PHASE COST-a cost on some permanents that's paid during a specific phase. You must pay a permanents phase cost before you can play its abilities.
POWER-the amount of damage a creature deals in combat.
PROTECTION-an ability that makes a creature largely immune to spells, abilities and permanents with a given characteristic.
RAMPAGE-an ability that makes a creature bigger as more creatures are assigned to block.
REGENERATION-a creature that's been destroyed can be kept in play with regeneration. Regenerating a creature taps it.
RESOLVE-to take effect. Spells, abilities and batches all resolve.
SACRIFICE-to put a permanent into its owners graveyard. Permanents are typically sacrificed as a cost of playing a spell or ability.
SERIES-a group of effects played independently of one another. These effects resolve as soon as they are successfully cast. Typically, these effects are manditory.
SORCERY-a spell that you can cast only on your own turn and not during combat. A sorcery spell is put into its owner's graveyard after it takes effect.
SOURCE-the origon of something, typically damage, effects or mana.
SPECIAL LAND-a land with a name other than plains, swamp, island, mountain, or forest. Special lands have abilities described on them.
SPECIALIZED ABILITY-a spell or ability that's played during a timing step when spells and abilties are otherwise illegal, generally to modify the results of an effect before they take place.
SPELL-any card in the process of being played that's not a land.
SUCCESSFULLY CAST-played and not countered.
SUMMON SPELL-a spell that bring a creature into play on your side. A summon spell can be cast only on your turn and not during combat.
SUMMONING SICKNESS-the inability of a creature to attack or be tapped to pay for an ability unless you've had control of it from the beginning of your turn. Summoning sickness affects all creatures including aftifact creatures.
TAP-to turn a card sideways. A tapped card has been used up and typically can't be used for any purpose until it becomes untapped.
TARGET-to direct a spell of ability at specific things.
TERRITORY-the area containing all of your permanents.
TEXT BOX-the box on each card containing that card's rules and flavor text.
TOKEN-a marker representing a creature, an artifact, or such. A token's characteristics are defined by the effect that created it.
TOUGHNESS-the amount of damage needed to destroy a creature in one turn.
TRAMPLE-if a creature with trample deals more combat damage to a creature blocking it that is needed to kill the blocker, the excess damage is dealt to the defending player.
TRIGGERED ABILITY-an ability that's played only after certain conditions arises.
UNBLOCKABLE-an unblockable creature can't have any other creatures assigned to block it.
UNBLOCKED CREATURE-an attacking creature that wasn't blocked when blockers were declared.
UNTAP-to turn your cards upright again, making them available for use again OR the first phase of the turn, all of your permanents untap during your untap phase.
UNTAP COST-a cost sometimes associated with untapping certain permanents during or at the end of upkeep.
UPKEEP-a phase of the turn. The abilities of some permanents apply every turn during upkeep.
WALLS-a class of creatures that can't attack.