8/9/2019 Magic: The Gathering glossary

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Magic: The Gathering glossaryAnte - The stakes gambled on the match. Typically this

is one card taken from the top of each deck before the

games begins.

Artifact - a magically powered object; also one of the

basic spell types. Mages who build Artifacts are called

Articers.

Banned List - A list of cards banned during ofcial tourna-

ments.

Basic Land Plains (white), Islands (blue), Mountains

(red), Forests (green), and Swamps (black).

Dominia - The multiverse where Magic: The Gathering

takes place.

Enchant - One of the basic spell types. Enchantments are

permanent until destroyed (or the card they are enchanting

is destroyed). Only cast during the Main phase of a turn.

Expansion Set - A limited edition run of Magic cards

(typically 90 to 310), printed with a black border.

First Strike - A creature with rst strike will not take any

damage if the creature they are ghting takes a lethal

amount of damage during the exchange. Two rst strike

creatures are considered to attack each other

simultaneously.

Flying Attacks by ying creatures cant be blocked by

non-ying creatures.

Graveyard - Where cards go when killed, used, discarded,

or removed from play. Some cards will allow you to later

bring cards back from the Graveyard. Any player may, at

any time, look through anyones graveyard.

Interrupt - One of the basic spell types, it can be cast at

any time. Also, the only way a fast effect may be

countered.

Land - Land is a special card type, which may only be

played during your main phase, and only once per turn.

There are basic lands and more exotic, special lands.

Mana - A term for magical energy, used to cast spells and

cause special effects. The most common source of Mana

is tapping lands.Mana Burn - Damage taken from unspent mana at the

end of any phase or attack. Each point of unspent mana

causes one point of damage. This damage is considered

colorless.

Mana Pool - The amount of mana you have available at

any given time.

Permanent - any card that remains in play after being

used, such as Lands, Artifacts, Enchantments, and Crea-

tures.

Poison - Some creatures will poison a player during battle.

When any player has 10 (or more) poison counters, they

lose the game.

Regeneration - Creatures on the way to the Graveyard

may be regenerated under special circumstances. They

return to play with their enchantments intact. Creatures

become tapped when regenerated.

Sorcery - One of the basic spell types. They take effect

immediately after being cast, but can only be cast during

your Main phase.

Spells - There are six basic spell types: Artifact, Enchant,

Instant, Interrupt, Sorcery, and. Summon.

Terms:

8/9/2019 Magic: The Gathering glossary

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Magic: The Gathering glossaryWhite - White magic is the magic of healing and protec-tion, and draws its energies from the plains. Its traditional

enemies are Black and Red.

Untap Phase - The rst phase of your turn, when tapped

cards are untapped. All cards are considered untapped

simultaneously and no one can take any actions while

untapping is happening.

Upkeep Phase - The second phase of your turn, when

upkeep costs are paid such as paying mana, or sacricing

cards.

Draw Phase The third phase of your turn. Draw one

card from your deck.

Main Phase - The fourth phase of your turn. During this

phase you cast sorceries, enchantments, artifacts, play

land cards (one per turn), and attack your opponent (one

per turn).

Discard Phase - The fth phase of your turn. If you are

holding more than seven cards at this point, you must dis-

card to the graveyard until you have exactly seven cards.

End Phase - The sixth phase of your turn. This is the

phase where you let your opponent know you are nished.

Heal Creatures Phase - The seventh and nal phase of

your turn. This is the phase where all damage to creatures

is healed.

Starter Deck - A pack of 60 Magic cards, including a

small rulebook with everything you need to know. Typically

includes 2 Rares, 13 Uncommons, and 45 Commons.

Summon - One of the basic spell types.

Tapping - Turning a card sideways or sticking a marker

on it to show that its in use. Also, the term used to ex-

plain when something is being used. I tapped my mana,

means both that you physically turned them and that they

are in use.

Weenie Deck - A term for decks composed primarily of

creatures that take two or less mana points to summon.

The best defenses against a Weenie Deck are cards which

can destroy lots of small creatures in one shot.

Colors:

Black - Black magic is the magic of death, and gains its

power from Swamps and Bogs. Its traditional enemies are

Green and White.

Blue - Blue magic is the magic of the mind, and gains its

power from Islands. Blue magicians are often adept at

deceiving others and casting illusions. Air and water are

also strongly associated with Blue. Its traditional enemies

are Green and Red.

Green - Green magic is the magic of life and peace, and

draws its energies from forests. Its traditional enemies are

Blue and Black.

Red - Red magic is the magic of destruction, chaos, and

war. It is also associated with earth and re. Red magicderives its powers from mountains. Its traditional enemies

are White and Blue.

Phases: