Magic: The Gathering FAQ
69 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Starting the Game and Winning
- Does the player who goes first draw a card on their first turn?
- How does the mulligan work?
- Do you lose the game if you have to draw from an empty library?
- Do I lose as soon as my life reaches 0, even with triggers on the stack?
- Is there a maximum life total?
- Is there still mana burn, and does unspent mana carry over?
- How does the legend rule work when two legendary permanents share a name?
- Are Interrupts still a card type?
- Can old cards be played with the current rules?
Deckbuilding
- How many copies of one card can a deck have, and how big is a deck?
- How many cards can a sideboard hold, and do swaps have to be one for one?
- Can different printings of the same card count together toward the four-copy limit?
- Can cards from different sets be mixed in one deck?
- Are proxy cards allowed?
- Does a deck have to use more than one color?
Mana and Casting Costs
- How are colored and generic mana symbols in a cost paid?
- Can a cost reduction pay for colored mana?
- Can a land that becomes a creature still tap for mana?
- What does Blood Moon do to nonbasic lands?
- Does Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth make all lands tap for black mana?
- Does a shock land enter untapped if I don't pay 2 life?
- Can I sacrifice Terramorphic Expanse the turn it enters, and does the land it fetches use my land drop?
Card Types and Permanents
- What does summoning sickness stop a creature from doing?
- Do lands, artifacts and animated permanents have summoning sickness?
- Does a creature I steal have summoning sickness?
- Do tokens go to the graveyard when they die?
- Can a planeswalker attack or block?
- What is the difference between a spell, a card and a permanent?
- What is the difference between a card's owner and its controller?
- Do multiple copies of the same enchantment or keyword stack?
- What does 'dies' mean, and does a sacrificed creature die?
Turn Structure
- What happens in each phase, and what is the upkeep for?
- How many lands can I play per turn?
- When do I discard down to seven cards?
- When does damage on a creature go away?
- Can I cast instants on my opponent's turn, such as before they declare attackers?
- When do I need to tap an opponent's creature to stop it attacking?
Casting Spells and the Stack
- How does the stack work and in what order do things resolve?
- Who gets priority first, and can I keep priority?
- In what order do simultaneous triggered abilities go on the stack?
- Can I cast a sorcery-speed spell in response to something?
- Does an ability still resolve if its source leaves the battlefield in response?
- If my spell's target gains hexproof or leaves in response, what happens?
- Does a copy of a spell get the same bonuses as the original?
- Can I cast both halves of a split card, and how does fuse work?
- How does storm work?
Combat
- If the blocker is removed after blocks, is the attacker still blocked?
- How does an attacker split its damage among several blockers?
- How does trample work with one or several blockers?
- How do first strike and double strike work?
- Does lifelink count all the damage dealt, including overkill?
- Can a creature with flying block a creature without flying?
- Does a blocker deal combat damage if it becomes tapped after blocking?
- Can I cast a pump spell or removal after blockers are declared?
- Can I sacrifice a creature that is attacking or blocking?
- Does giving an attacker protection after blocks make it unblocked?