Glossary

Text on a card that does something: an instant's or sorcery's instructions, or an activated (paid for), triggered (when, whenever, at) or static (always on) ability; most work on the battlefield, some (like cycling) from another zone.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A creature or other card with a second, smaller spell on it; cast the adventure, it goes into exile, and later you can cast the creature from there.

Super Search: is:adventureSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A rebalanced Duel Commander from the team behind mtgdc.info: no card is banned or restricted, cards cost points instead, and each deck gets a budget of points to spend.

The format's pageSource: play.aeonshift.games; read October 23, 2026.

Affinity for artifacts (or another kind of thing) makes this spell cost 1 less for each one you control.

Cards with affinity in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A deck plan built on cheap creatures and quick damage, aiming to win before the opponent sets up.

Meta Lens

An MTG Arena format of recent Standard sets plus digital-only Alchemy cards and rebalanced cards; Wizards is retiring it on February 2, 2027.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A multiplayer variant where one player, the archenemy, takes on a team and also plays from a deck of oversized scheme cards.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A family of decks built around the same plan and cards, such as a named aggro or control deck.

Meta Lens

A permanent made, in the story, by craft rather than nature; many have no color and fit in any deck.

Super Search: t:artifactSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Sending untapped creatures at an opponent, a planeswalker or a battle in the declare attackers step; attacking taps them unless they have vigilance.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

An enchantment that is attached to something (most often a creature) and changes it; the word after enchant says what it can be attached to.

Super Search: t:auraSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Not allowed in a format at all; each format keeps its own banned list.

Formats

As you cast this spell you may also sacrifice an artifact, enchantment or token, which gives it an extra effect.

Cards with bargain in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest and Wastes: lands any deck may hold as many copies of as it wants.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A card type added with March of the Machine (2023): a permanent with defense counters that players attack to defeat it, after which it transforms.

Super Search: t:battleSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Where permanents are once they are in play, face up for everyone to see; it was called "in play" until Magic 2010.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Behold a quality, such as behold a Dragon: reveal a card with that quality from your hand or pick a permanent you control that has it.

Cards with behold in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A match of a single game with no sideboarding; Wizards counted 93% of ranked Standard games on MTG Arena as best-of-one in September 2026.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A match won by the first player to win two games, with sideboarding between games; the usual tournament match.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Big Apple Highlander: 60-card decks with one copy of each card from the Premodern sets (1995 to 2003), with some cards Premodern bans allowed.

The format's pageSource: mtgnyc.com; read October 21, 2026.

Blight N: give a creature you control N -1/-1 counters.

Cards with blight in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Putting an untapped creature in front of an attacker in the declare blockers step, so they deal damage to each other instead of to you.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A spell that destroys or removes many creatures at once.

Super Search: otag:sweeper

One of five levels (Exhibition, Core, Upgraded, Optimized, cEDH) Wizards set out in 2025 so Commander players can match decks of a similar intent.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

An MTG Arena format, once called Historic Brawl: a 100-card deck with one copy of each card, led by a legendary commander, from every card on Arena, with 25 starting life.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Canadian Highlander: decks of at least 100 cards with one copy of each card, sharing Vintage's banned list, where cards on a points list cost points and a deck may spend at most 10.

The format's pageSource: canadianhighlander.ca; read October 23, 2026.

The site's house format, made by Chad and Stark: forty cards led by a legendary creature, the Captain, one opponent, 20 life.

Captain's rulesCaptain

Having more cards (in hand or in play) than your opponent, often from cards that replace themselves or trade one for two.

A special look for a card, such as borderless, showcase, extended art or full-art, that leaves its rules unchanged.

CollectionSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

What a card is (land, creature, artifact, enchantment, planeswalker, battle, instant, sorcery or kindred), printed on its type line under the picture.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Casting this spell exiles cards off the top of your library until one is a nonland card of lower mana value, which you may cast without paying for it.

Cards with cascade in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

To put a spell on the stack and pay its costs; lands are played, not cast.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Competitive Commander: the same deck rules and banned list, built to win as fast and as reliably as possible, with no limit on Game Changers (Bracket 5).

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A scheduled Magic Online tournament in Swiss rounds with a top 8 playoff, held in sizes of 16, 32 and more players.

Meta LensSource: mtgo.com; read October 23, 2026.

The last step of a turn: the active player discards down to seven cards, damage wears off creatures, and "until end of turn" effects end.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

How many turns a player needs to win from where the game stands, if nothing changes.

Collect evidence N: exile any number of cards from your graveyard whose mana values add up to N or more.

Cards with collect evidence in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A booster made for collecting: Wizards lists 5 to 6 rares or higher and 8 to 10 foils in each, with showcase, borderless and extended-art cards.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

The number of a card within its set, printed at the bottom of newer cards; the set code plus this number names one exact printing.

More in LearnCollection

Every color in a card's mana cost, its rules text and its color indicator; in Commander, each card in a deck has to fit inside the commander's color identity.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Mana with no color; a cost that shows the diamond symbol needs colorless mana in particular, not just any mana.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The step where attackers and blockers deal damage to each other and unblocked attackers deal damage to what they attacked; since Magic 2010 it no longer uses the stack.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Five steps in a fixed order: beginning of combat, then attackers are chosen, then blockers, then combat damage, then end of combat.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Two or more cards that together win the game or make something happen over and over; also a deck built around such a combination.

Interaction Oracle

A zone for things that are not quite in the game: commanders before they are cast, emblems, and the planes and schemes of Planechase and Archenemy.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A multiplayer format, usually four players: a 100-card deck with one copy of each card except basic lands, led by a legendary commander from the command zone, only cards in its colors, and 40 starting life.

The format's pageStart a deck in DecksSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A league where each player buys one Play Booster box and builds a 60-card Commander-style deck only from what they open, with 40 life.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Combat damage dealt to a player by one commander, counted over the whole game; 21 or more from the same commander and that player loses.

The format's pageLife LogSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A draft for Commander: three rounds of taking two cards per pass, then a deck of at least 60 cards, as many copies of a drafted card as you drafted, around a drafted commander.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Each time you cast your commander from the command zone, it costs 2 more than the time before.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The legendary creature, Vehicle or Spacecraft (one with power and toughness), or a card that says it can be your commander, that leads a Commander deck and starts the game in the command zone.

The format's pageSuper Search: is:commanderSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

In Captain, the tier for decks with at most three of Captain's Game Changers and no banned or Reserved List cards.

Captain's rulesCaptain

A creature you may reveal from outside the game if your whole deck meets its condition; once a game you may pay 3 at sorcery speed to put it into your hand.

Cards with companion in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A ranked MTG Arena format with most of Brawl's rules (a 100-card deck led by one legendary commander) but its own banned list and matchmaking, made for competitive play.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Formats where you build a deck ahead of time from cards you own, as opposed to Limited.

Formats

A deck plan built on answers (removal, counterspells, card draw), aiming to win late once the opponent runs out of threats.

Meta Lens

Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for one generic mana or one mana of that creature's color.

Cards with convoke in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

To cancel a spell or ability on the stack, so it does nothing; a countered spell goes to its owner's graveyard.

Super Search: o:"counter target spell"Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A marker on a permanent or a player, such as a +1/+1 counter, a loyalty counter or a poison counter, that changes it or keeps track of something.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

In Captain, the tier where anything in the card pool goes; a deck lands here when it doesn't fit Comp.

Captain's rulesCaptain

A permanent that can attack and block, with power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it takes to die) in its bottom right corner.

More in LearnSuper Search: t:creatureSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Crew N: tap any of your untapped creatures with total power N or more, and this Vehicle becomes a creature until end of turn.

Cards with crew in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A curated collection of cards, usually one of each, that a group drafts like booster packs and plays as Limited.

The format's pageCube GeneratorSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Pay the cycling cost and discard this card from your hand to draw a card.

Cards with cycling in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

DMG: a card with wear or flaws beyond the standards of the other condition grades.

CollectionSource: help.tcgplayer.com; read October 23, 2026.

Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.

Cards with deathtouch in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The step where the active player chooses which creatures attack and what each attacks.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

The step where the defending player chooses which of their untapped creatures block which attackers.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

This creature can't attack.

Cards with defender in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

An ability word marking abilities that work when there are four or more card types among the cards in your graveyard.

Cards with delirium in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for one generic mana.

Cards with delve in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

To put a permanent into its owner's graveyard; indestructible permanents can't be destroyed.

Super Search: o:destroySource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Discover N: exile cards one by one off the top of your library until a nonland card of mana value N or less turns up, then cast it free or put it into your hand.

Cards with discover in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Like morph, but the face-down 2/2 also has ward 2.

Cards with disguise in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This creature deals combat damage twice: once in a first-strike damage step and again in the regular one.

Cards with double strike in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A card with a face on each side and no Magic back; some transform from one face to the other, while modal ones let you choose which face to play.

Super Search: is:dfcSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The step where you draw a card for the turn; in a two-player game the player who goes first skips it on their first turn, while in most multiplayer games, Commander among them, nobody skips it.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A land that makes mana of two colors; the name also means the ten original dual lands of 1993.

Manabase+

Duel Commander: Commander for two players, with 20 starting life and its own banned list.

The format's pageSource: duelcommander.org; read October 21, 2026.

Earthbend N: a land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste and N +1/+1 counters, and comes back to the battlefield tapped if it dies or is exiled.

Cards with earthbend in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A lasting effect, mostly from planeswalkers, that sits in the command zone for the rest of the game and can't be removed.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

On an Aura, says what it can be attached to (a creature, a land, a player and so on).

Cards with enchant in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A permanent that stays on the battlefield and keeps doing what its text says.

Super Search: t:enchantmentSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The step near the end of a turn when "at the beginning of the end step" effects happen; it was called the end-of-turn step before Magic 2010.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Pay the equip cost to attach this Equipment to a creature you control, only at sorcery speed.

Cards with equip in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

An artifact you attach to one of your creatures by paying its equip cost; it stays behind when the creature leaves.

Super Search: t:equipmentSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

An official change to a card's Oracle wording, so that it works the way Wizards intends under today's rules.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

European (German) Highlander: 100-card decks with one copy of each card from Vintage's card pool, with its council's own banned list instead of points.

The format's pageSource: highlandermagic.info; read October 21, 2026.

An activated ability marked exhaust can be activated only once.

Cards with exhaust in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A zone apart from the game, face up unless a card says otherwise; it was called "removed from the game" until Magic 2010.

More in LearnSuper Search: o:exileSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Reveal the top card of your library: a land goes to your hand, anything else gives the exploring creature a +1/+1 counter and may go to your graveyard.

Cards with explore in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A former MTG Arena format, renamed Pioneer on May 10, 2025, when Arena took up the tabletop Pioneer ban list.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A land you sacrifice (paying life, for most) to search your library for another land.

Manabase+

Two creatures fight by each dealing damage equal to its power to the other.

Cards with fight in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Firebending N: whenever this creature attacks, add N red mana, which doesn't drain away until combat ends.

Cards with firebending in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This creature deals its combat damage before creatures without first strike.

Cards with first strike in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This spell can be cast whenever an instant could be, even on an opponent's turn.

Cards with flash in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Once this card is in your graveyard you can cast it from there for its flashback cost, and it's exiled afterward.

Cards with flashback in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Italic story text under a card's rules text, with no effect on the game.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This creature can be blocked only by creatures with flying or reach.

Cards with flying in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A shiny version of a card; the site marks a foil with a ring outside the picture and a label.

Collection

A colorless artifact token you can pay 2, tap and sacrifice to gain 3 life.

Cards with food in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Anything goes: no legality checks, and the players agree on the rules.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A card on Wizards' Commander list of cards that can swing games: Brackets 1 and 2 leave them out, Bracket 3 allows up to three, Brackets 4 and 5 any number (Captain keeps its own, separate list).

The format's pageSuper Search: is:gamechangerSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A number in a cost, which you can pay with mana of any color or with colorless mana.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

As you cast it you may choose an opponent to receive the gift (a card, a Food, a tapped Fish and so on), and if you do, the spell does something extra.

Cards with gift in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

17Lands' games-in-hand win rate: how often players won the games where a card was in the opening hand or drawn.

Set LabSource: 17lands.com; read October 22, 2026.

An MTG Arena community format: 100-card decks with one copy of each card and no commander, from every card on Arena, with 20 life.

The format's pageSource: gladiatormtga.com; read October 21, 2026.

A goaded creature attacks each combat if it can, and attacks a player other than the one who goaded it if it can, until that player's next turn.

Cards with goad in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Playing a deck against no opponent to see how fast it can win and how its draws go.

King Goldfish

Your discard pile, face up: cards that were destroyed, discarded, countered or used up go here, and some cards use it.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The cards you hold and only you can see; you start with seven and keep at most seven at the end of your turn.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This creature can attack and use abilities with the tap symbol on the turn it comes under your control.

Cards with haste in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

HP: a card with a major amount of wear.

CollectionSource: help.tcgplayer.com; read October 23, 2026.

Your opponents' spells and abilities can't target this.

Cards with hexproof in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Another word for singleton, used in the names of several formats (Canadian, 7 Point, European).

The format's page

An MTG Arena format of every card on Arena, digital-only cards included, less its ban list; 60-card decks.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

MTG Arena events played with the cards Arena treats as common, from Historic's card pool; it has no permanent queue.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A symbol split between two colors (or a color and a number) that you can pay with either half.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Damage and effects that say destroy don't destroy this, though it can still be sacrificed, exiled or shrunk to 0 toughness.

Cards with indestructible in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This deals damage to creatures as -1/-1 counters and to players as poison counters.

Cards with infect in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A title one player holds at a time: taking it, and each of that player's upkeeps, moves them a room through the Undercity dungeon, and a player whose creatures deal combat damage to them takes it.

Super Search: o:"the initiative"Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A spell you can cast any time you have priority, even on an opponent's turn, which goes to the graveyard once it has done its work.

More in LearnSuper Search: t:instantSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Any time you have priority, the way you can cast an instant; abilities usually work this way too.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

To create a Clue, an artifact token you can pay 2 and sacrifice to draw a card.

Cards with investigate in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Shuffle two 20-card themed Jumpstart packs together and play the 40-card deck as it is; on paper and MTG Arena.

The format's pageDecksSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

The castability target the site takes from Frank Karsten's 2022 article on colored sources: 89% plus the spell's mana value (90% for a one-drop, 91% for a two-drop and so on) of games, on the play, with the colors to cast it on curve.

Manabase+Source: tcgplayer.com; read October 23, 2026.

An optional extra cost you may pay as you cast the spell for a bigger or extra effect.

Cards with kicker in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A card type that lets a noncreature card carry creature types; it was called tribal until Wizards renamed it in May 2024, with no change to how it works.

Super Search: t:kindredSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A card type you play rather than cast, at most once on each of your turns and only in a main phase while the stack is empty; most lands tap for mana.

More in LearnSuper Search: t:landSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

An ability word marking abilities that trigger whenever a land you control enters; like every ability word, it has no rules of its own.

Cards with landfall in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Islandwalk, forestwalk and the rest: this creature can't be blocked while the defending player controls a land of that type.

Cards with landwalk in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A Magic Online event you enter (10 Event Tickets in Constructed) and play up to five matches in on your own schedule.

Meta LensSource: mtgo.com; read October 23, 2026.

A nonrotating format where cards from every set are legal except a banned list; 60-card decks with up to four copies of a card.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Two legendary permanents with one name can't stay under one player's control: that player picks one to keep and the others go to the graveyard (since 2013, each player's are checked on their own).

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A supertype: you can control only one legendary permanent with a given name at a time (the legend rule).

Super Search: t:legendarySource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Your deck during the game, face down; you draw from the top of it, and a player who must draw from an empty library loses.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Each player starts with 20 life in most formats (40 in Commander) and loses the game at 0.

Life LogSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Damage this deals also gains you that much life.

Cards with lifelink in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

LP: a card with minor edge wear, scuffs or scratches.

CollectionSource: help.tcgplayer.com; read October 23, 2026.

Formats where you build a deck from cards opened on the spot, in booster draft or sealed deck; a deck is at least 40 cards, basic lands included, and you may add any number of basic lands.

The format's pageDraft SimSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A planeswalker's life, shown as counters: its abilities add or remove them, damage removes them, and at zero it goes to the graveyard.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Wizards' long-running digital Magic for Windows, with paper-style formats, Leagues and Challenges, and cards you can trade.

More in LearnMeta LensSource: mtgo.com; read October 22, 2026.

The two parts of your turn, before and after combat, when you can play a land and cast creatures, sorceries and other spells.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

The resource you spend to cast spells and activate abilities, made mostly by tapping lands, in five colors (white, blue, black, red and green) or colorless.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

The lands and other mana sources in a deck, and how many of each color they make.

Manabase+

The mana symbols in a card's top right corner, which you pay to cast it.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

How many cards a deck has at each mana value, and so what it can cast on each turn.

Manabase+

A creature that taps for mana.

Super Search: otag:mana-dork

An artifact that taps for mana.

Super Search: otag:mana-rock

The total amount of mana in a card's cost (X counts as zero outside the stack, and a hybrid symbol such as {2/W} counts its larger part); Wizards renamed it from "converted mana cost" in April 2021.

More in LearnSuper Search: mv=3Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Put your library's top card face down onto the battlefield as a 2/2 creature, which can be turned face up for its mana cost if it is a creature card; to manifest dread, look at the top two and manifest one of them.

Cards with manifest in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Cards a deckbuilder lists beside a deck while deciding, not part of the deck itself; Decks calls it Maybe.

Decks

This creature can be blocked only by two or more creatures.

Cards with menace in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The mix of decks people are playing in a format at a given time.

Meta Lens

A retro format of sets printed from 1995 to 2003 (Fourth Edition through Scourge), including the Portal and Starter sets Premodern leaves out.

The format's pageSource: eternalcentral.com; read October 21, 2026.

A deck plan between aggro and control, with sturdy creatures and removal.

Meta Lens

To put cards from the top of a library into its owner's graveyard.

Cards with mill in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

MP: a card with visible edge wear, surface wear, scratches or scuffs.

CollectionSource: help.tcgplayer.com; read October 23, 2026.

A nonrotating format of cards from Eighth Edition (2003) onward plus sets Wizards adds directly, such as Modern Horizons, less a banned list; 60-card decks.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Momir Basic: decks of basic lands only, where once a turn you pay X and discard a card to create a random creature token with mana value X; on Magic Online and MTG Arena.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A title one player holds at a time: the monarch draws a card as their end step starts, and a player whose creature deals combat damage to the monarch takes the title.

Super Search: o:monarchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

You may cast this face down as a nameless 2/2 creature for 3 mana, and turn it face up any time by paying its morph cost.

Cards with morph in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Wizards' free-to-download digital Magic for PC, Mac and mobile, with its own formats such as Historic, Timeless and Brawl.

More in LearnWildcard PlannerSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Shuffling away an opening hand you don't want and drawing seven new cards, then putting one card on the bottom for each mulligan taken (the London mulligan, official since July 2019).

King GoldfishSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

NM: a card with at most minimal wear from shuffling, play or handling; most prices you see are for this condition.

CollectionSource: help.tcgplayer.com; read October 23, 2026.

A format whose card pool only grows, such as Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper and Commander.

Formats

A multiplayer format of 60-card decks with one copy of each card, led by a planeswalker (the Oathbreaker) and a signature instant or sorcery, with 20 starting life.

The format's pageSource: oathbreakermtg.org; read October 21, 2026.

Pay the offspring cost as you cast this permanent, and when it enters you also create a 1/1 token copy of it.

Cards with offspring in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Old Frame Vintage: Vintage played with cards from old-frame sets only, Alpha through Scourge (1993 to 2003).

The format's pageSource: mtgoldframe.com; read October 21, 2026.

Old School 93/94: 60-card decks from Magic's 1993 and 1994 sets (Alpha through Fallen Empires); the site follows Eternal Central's rules.

The format's pageSource: eternalcentral.com; read October 21, 2026.

Old School 93/94 under the Atlantic rules, which start from Alpha, Beta, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark and Fallen Empires.

The format's pageSource: sentineloldschoolmtg.com; read October 21, 2026.

Old School 93/94 under the LCOS rules: Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Revised, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark and Fallen Empires.

The format's pageSource: mtgoldframe.com; read October 21, 2026.

Old School 93/94 under the Swedish rules: Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark and Summer Magic.

The format's pageSource: oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com; read October 21, 2026.

The official current wording of a card, kept by Wizards in its card database; it can differ from the words printed on an older copy.

Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Pack one, pick one: the first card you take in a booster draft, and a common question about which card to take.

Draft Sim

A commander with partner may lead a Commander deck together with a second commander that also has partner.

Cards with partner in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A 60-card format built from commons: a card is legal if any printing of it came out at common in a paper product or on Magic Online, less a banned list.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Pauper Commander (PDH): a 100-card deck with one copy of each card, led by an uncommon creature, Vehicle or Spacecraft, with the other 99 cards printed at common and 30 starting life.

The format's pageSource: pdhhomebase.com; read October 23, 2026.

A 60-card format of cards with a common printing plus at most five uncommons, with no rares or mythics.

The format's pageSource: peasant-magic.com; read October 21, 2026.

A Magic Online format of cards that sold for 0.02 tix or less when checked after the latest Standard set arrived, re-checked each season.

The format's pageSource: pennydreadfulmagic.com; read October 21, 2026.

A card or token on the battlefield: lands, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers and battles.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A symbol you can pay with one mana of its color or with 2 life instead.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A ranking of a set's cards for drafting, from first to last pick.

Card Eval

A nonrotating format of cards from Return to Ravnica (2012) forward, plus Universes Beyond sets from 2025 on, less a banned list; 60-card decks.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A multiplayer variant where a shared deck of oversized plane cards changes the rules as players move from plane to plane.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

A permanent with loyalty that you use once a turn, at sorcery speed, by adding or removing loyalty counters; opponents can attack it.

Super Search: t:planeswalkerSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The booster pack Wizards made for both opening and drafting, which replaced Draft and Set Boosters starting with Murders at Karlov Manor (2024).

SetsSource: wpn.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

During your main phase with the stack empty, pay the plot cost to exile this card from your hand; on a later turn you may cast it free, at sorcery speed.

Cards with plot in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The group of players at one table, most often four players in a Commander game.

Life Log

A counter a player gets from infect, toxic and some other cards; a player with ten or more loses the game.

Life LogSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A card's rank by how many Commander decks on EDHREC use it, as Scryfall carries it; it leans toward Commander.

Super SearchSource: scryfall.com; read October 22, 2026.

The two numbers in a creature's bottom right corner: the damage it deals in combat, then the damage it can take in a turn before it dies.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

An activated ability usable once; on the turn its permanent entered, it costs less by that permanent's own mana cost.

Cards with power-up in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A preconstructed deck sold ready to play, such as a Commander deck or a Starter Kit; the Precons shelf in Decks lists them, card by card, from MTGJSON.

DecksSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Commander games where everyone brings a preconstructed Commander deck, under each playgroup's or store's own house rules; Wizards stopped tying Bracket 2 to precons in October 2025.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Commander played only with cards first printed in or before New Phyrexia (May 2011).

The format's pageSource: articles.starcitygames.com; read October 21, 2026.

PreFIRE: a retro format of Modern-legal cards from Eighth Edition up to Ravnica Allegiance (2019), right before War of the Spark.

The format's pageSource: prefiremagic.com; read October 21, 2026.

A retro format of the cards from Standard-legal sets released from Fourth Edition (1995) through Scourge (2003), less a banned list.

The format's pageSource: premodernmagic.com; read October 21, 2026.

A permanent with a prepare spell (a small spell inset in its text box) that becomes prepared lets its controller cast a copy of that spell, and stops being prepared once the copy is cast.

Cards with prepared in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

An event at stores the week before a set comes out, where players open sealed product of the new set and play.

SetsSource: locator.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

One version of a card in one set, with its own art, frame, number and price; many cards have dozens.

Collection

The permission to cast a spell or activate an ability, passed from player to player; when everyone passes in a row, the top of the stack resolves or the game moves on.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Pick any number of permanents and players with counters on them, and give each one more counter of each kind it already has.

Cards with proliferate in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Protection from a quality means this can't be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked or targeted by anything with that quality.

Cards with protection in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Each noncreature spell you cast gives this creature +1/+1 for the rest of the turn.

Cards with prowess in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A stand-in for a card, used where a table or event allows it; this site tracks proxies in Collection but never makes or prints them.

Collection

Cards that make extra mana or put extra lands into play early, and decks built around them.

Super Search: otag:ramp

How scarce a card is in its set, shown by the color of its set symbol: common (black or white), uncommon (silver), rare (gold) and mythic rare (red-orange).

More in LearnSetsSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This creature can block creatures with flying.

Cards with reach in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Italic text in parentheses that explains a keyword on the card; it has no rules effect of its own.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Cards that get rid of an opponent's creatures or other permanents.

Super Search: otag:removal

Older cards Wizards has promised never to print again in a functionally identical form.

Super Search: is:reservedSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Allowed only as a single copy in a deck; Vintage, Timeless and the Old School formats keep restricted lists.

The format's page

An Aura token, such as Monster (+1/+1 and trample) or Cursed (base 1/1), that changes the creature it's on; a creature keeps only the newest Role from each player.

Cards with role in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

When Standard drops its oldest sets; from 2027 it happens with the first set of each year, and Standard keeps about three years of sets.

The format's pageWildcard PlannerSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The talk before a casual game where players agree on house rules and what kind of game they want; Wizards says it still applies alongside brackets.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

To put a permanent you control into its owner's graveyard yourself, which works even on indestructible permanents.

Super Search: o:sacrificeSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Saddle N: tap other creatures of yours with total power N or more to make this Mount saddled until end of turn, only at sorcery speed.

Cards with saddle in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

An enchantment told in chapters: it gets a lore counter as it enters and after each of your draw steps, does each chapter in turn, then is sacrificed.

Super Search: t:sagaSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Scandinavian Highlander: 100-card decks with one copy of each card from Vintage's card pool and a 10-point list; whether it's still played isn't confirmed.

The format's pageSource: scandinavianhighlander.dk; read October 21, 2026.

Scry N: you see the top N cards of your library and choose which go to the bottom, putting the rest back on top in the order you like.

Cards with scry in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A free card search site whose data (cards, pictures, legality and prices) this site reads, under its terms.

Super SearchSource: scryfall.com; read October 22, 2026.

Wizards' official online store for themed drops of special card versions, and the cards sold there.

Super Search: s:sldSource: secretlair.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A short code of letters and digits for a set, such as FDN for Foundations or M21 for Core Set 2021, printed at the bottom of newer cards; Super Search reads it as s:fdn.

More in LearnSets

A counter that guards a permanent: the next time an effect would destroy it or it would be dealt damage, a shield counter comes off instead.

Super Search: o:"shield counter"Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

This can't be the target of any spells or abilities, yours included.

Cards with shroud in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Up to fifteen extra cards in Constructed that you may swap into your deck between games of a match.

DecksSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A deck rule allowing only one copy of each card, basic lands aside.

The format's page

During your declare blockers step, cast this for its sneak cost by returning an unblocked attacker you control to its owner's hand; a permanent cast this way enters tapped and attacking.

Cards with sneak in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A spell you can cast only in your own main phase while the stack is empty, which goes to the graveyard once it has done its work.

More in LearnSuper Search: t:sorcerySource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Only in your own main phase while the stack is empty, the way you cast a sorcery.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A card (or a copy) on the stack while it is being cast and before it resolves.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A few cards of an extra color in a deck that is mostly one or two colors, with a few lands or fixers to cast them.

Manabase+

A card with two halves, each its own spell with its own name and cost; you cast one half (or, with fuse, both).

Super Search: is:splitSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A modal spell where you choose one or more modes and pay each chosen mode's extra cost.

Cards with spree in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Magic's rotating format, built from recent sets only (about three years of them, plus Foundations), with 60-card decks; it's played on paper, Magic Online and MTG Arena.

The format's pageWildcard PlannerSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Brawl with Standard-legal cards only: a 60-card deck with one copy of each card, led by a legendary commander, with 25 starting life.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Start your engines! gives you a speed of 1, which rises by one, to a top of 4, the first time each turn an opponent loses life on your turn; max speed abilities work only at speed 4.

Cards with start your engines! in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A Wizards product made for learning to play, which Wizards says holds everything you need to play and teach Magic.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Checks the game makes whenever a player would get priority, such as a creature with lethal damage dying or a player at 0 life losing.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Tap another creature you control to put charge counters equal to its power on this permanent, at sorcery speed; once it has as many as a number printed on it, the text beside that number switches on.

Cards with station in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Wizards' search for stores and events near you, including prereleases and Commander nights.

More in LearnSource: locator.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

When you cast this spell, copy it once for each other spell cast before it this turn.

Cards with storm in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A counter that keeps a permanent tapped: the next time it would untap, a stun counter comes off instead.

Super Search: o:"stun counter"Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A word after the card type, such as Angel, Equipment, Aura or Forest, that groups cards for other cards to name.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A creature can't attack or use abilities with the tap symbol in their cost until you have controlled it since the start of your most recent turn, unless it has haste.

Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Surveil N: you see the top N cards of your library and choose which go to your graveyard, putting the rest back on top in the order you like.

Cards with surveil in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Turn a permanent sideways to show it has been used (to make mana, to attack or to pay a cost); it untaps in your next untap step.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A deck plan that pressures the opponent while spending its mana more efficiently than they do, often with cheap creatures and counterspells.

Meta Lens

Older cards reprinted with a small mark and slipped into some booster packs; Super Search names it s:plst.

Super Search: s:plstSource: wpn.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

In Captain, the place beside your library where your Captain starts each game; it works like the command zone, and each cast from it costs 2 more than the last.

Captain's rulesCaptain

The zone where spells and abilities wait to resolve; the last one put on it resolves first, and players can respond in between.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

MTG Arena's largest format: every card on Arena is legal, with a short restricted list; 60-card decks.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Tiny Leaders: 50-card decks with one copy of each card, led by a legendary commander, where every card has mana value 3 or less, with 20 life.

The format's pageSource: official-tlr.com; read October 21, 2026.

Event Tickets, Magic Online's currency: Wizards sells them for $1.00 each, they pay event entries, and players price cards in them.

MarketSource: help.mtgo.com; read October 23, 2026.

A permanent that a card creates and that is not a card itself; it stops existing when it leaves the battlefield.

Super Search: o:createSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Toxic N: a player this creature deals combat damage to also gets N poison counters.

Cards with toxic in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

When this attacking creature is blocked, combat damage beyond what's needed to kill its blockers goes through to what it attacked.

Cards with trample in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Turn a double-faced permanent over to its other face.

Cards with transform in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A colorless artifact token you can tap and sacrifice for one mana of any color.

Cards with treasure in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

One player's go, in five phases: beginning (untap, upkeep, draw), first main, combat, second main and ending (end step, cleanup).

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

Players' word for searching your library for a card and taking it, named after the card Demonic Tutor.

Super Search: o:"search your library"Source: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Two-Headed Giant: teams of two, each team sharing one life total of 30 and taking its turns together.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Two-Headed Giant Commander: Commander for teams of two, each team sharing 60 life.

The format's pageSource: wpn.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

Magic sets and cards built around other franchises; from 2025, their booster sets are legal in every Constructed format like any other set.

SetsSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

The first step of your turn: your tapped permanents untap, and nobody can cast anything.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

The step after untapping, where effects that say "at the beginning of your upkeep" happen.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

An artifact that becomes a creature when you crew it by tapping your creatures with enough total power.

Super Search: t:vehicleSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Attacking doesn't tap this creature, so it can still block on the opponent's turn.

Cards with vigilance in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A nonrotating format where cards from every set are legal, with a short banned list and a restricted list of cards allowed as one copy only.

The format's pageSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 21, 2026.

An ability word (from Edge of Eternities) marking abilities that check whether a nonland permanent left the battlefield or a spell was warped this turn.

Cards with void in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

When an opponent's spell or ability targets this, it is countered unless that opponent pays the ward cost.

Cards with ward in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

Cast this card from your hand for its warp cost instead; the permanent is exiled at the next end step, and on a later turn you may cast it from exile.

Cards with warp in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

A waterbend cost lets you tap your untapped artifacts and creatures to pay its generic mana, one mana each.

Cards with waterbend in Super SearchSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

In draft, a card that comes back to you after going all the way around the table; also a card that makes every player discard their hand and draw a new one.

Draft Sim

An MTG Arena item you trade in for any card of its rarity; players earn them by playing and opening packs.

Wildcard PlannerSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 22, 2026.

A letter in a cost standing for a number you choose as you cast the spell, then pay that much extra mana for.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

X-Point Old School: Old School 93/94 where cards on a points list cost points and a deck may spend at most 10.

The format's pageSource: mtgoldframe.com; read October 21, 2026.

A place a card can be during the game: library, hand, battlefield, graveyard, stack, exile and the command zone.

More in LearnSource: magic.wizards.com; read October 23, 2026.

2015 Modern: a fixed card pool of the Standard-legal sets from Eighth Edition (2003) to Magic Origins (2015).

The format's pageSource: 2015modern.com; read October 21, 2026.

7 Point Highlander (Australian Highlander): 60-card decks with one copy of each card from Vintage's card pool, where cards on a points list cost points and a deck may spend at most 7 (8 when it has no Reserved List card).

The format's pageSource: 7ph.com.au; read October 23, 2026.