A card that is not relevant in the current board state or cannot be cast; a useless card especially in hand or being drawn. For example, Falkenrath Marauders has bloodlust 2 and Erdwal Ripper has bloodlust 1. To destroy a permanent, especially a land. Interchangeable with "explode" or "exploding". A spell or line of play that is very good and punishes the opponent severely for a decision they made. A match existing of only one game. A match existing of three games. In MTG Arena , this is called traditional e.

The collection of permanents currently on the table. Each player has their own "board" and the word also describes the entire battlefield. Usage: "There's a lot of creatures on the board. Famous examples include Wrath of God and Jokulhaups. Also known as a board sweep or sweeper in some groups. A creature's power and toughness.

Also a creature, especially in the context of combat, usually implying that it is reasonable, but not amazingly powerful. Dealing three damage to a target, as with Lightning Bolt. A small, powerful creature that is rendered impractical to play because it attracts removal spells like Lightning Bolt. That is, it is so potentially dangerous that it's killed as soon as it's played.

Hypnotic Specter is a classic example of boltbait. A card powerful enough to change the course of the game on its own.

Usually used in the context of limited formats, where drafting or opening a bomb greatly improves one's chances. This is largely due to the relative scarcity of quality removal and other answers in limited formats, compared to constructed. An effect or spell that returns a permanent to its owner's hand.

A general guideline strategy for prioritizing picks and building a deck in sealed formats. To think about or design an original decklist or rogue deck. Sometimes, building decks in a not very well-defined format e. A card that's overly powerful - usually, a card that you can't afford to play without if you're playing in those colors.

When a card is officially broken is of some debate within the Magic community; players frequently declare cards they hate to be broken, even if they're not. Likewise, it's a term that's frequently used sarcastically "Carnival of Souls? Man, that's broken!

A deck with all or almost all of the cards being artifacts. A reference to the look of artifacts in older sets of Magic. Design shorthand for Colorless. A spell that has "Draw a card" tacked on as an additional effect, such as Cremate , Snakeform , or Wildsize.

A delayed version of a cantrip seen on older cards like Feral Instinct. Until Weatherlight , all cantrips waited until the next upkeep to draw the card. Searching an opponent 's library for specific cards and exiling them in order to deprive the opponent of their use at some future time. Named after the card Jester's Cap , the first card to use the effect. This strategy is effective against combo decks which usually rely on one or two specific cards in order to work at all, and control decks which have a lot of control elements but very few win conditions but is close to useless against most aggro decks, which usually don't rely on any specific card to win.

Casting cost , the overall number of mana required to cast a spell, regardless of color. Competitive Elder Dragon Highlander. In essence, it's just Commander where everyone plays with the best decks out there and tries as hard as possible to win.

With the increasing power level of newer commanders, more and more people are getting into the format. The bottom of the library. Unremarkable or worthless cards. Rubbish cards, not worthy to be part of a constructed deck. Very often used in the context of "draft chaff", where the card pool has its useful cards stripped and the remainder left behind.

A type of deck that plays a large number of 0-cost Equipment spells, combined with creatures such as Puresteel Paladin and Sram, Senior Edificer. The many 0's are reminiscent of the American brand of cereal , which consists of pulverized oats in the shape of a torus.

A deck archetype with a higher mana curve than another deck and thus, presumably, more impactful threats See Big. A block made solely to preserve the blocking player's life total, where the blocking creature dies without killing the attacking creature.

A threat that will lead to victory over an opponent in a finite number of turns, thus giving the opponent a known time limit in which to either win or answer the threat. For example, if a player is at 20 life and an unblockable creature with a power of 4 is played by their opponent, that player is said to be on a 5-turn clock. Short for Converted mana cost. A situation where a card has an effect that is usually not found in its colors, such as Mana Tithe , a white counterspell.

A player may have six Mountain s, but lacks the Swamp they need to cast a Wrecking Ball. Ways in which players use cards to control the flow of the game. A control deck designed to control all of the opponent's turns by recurring Mindslaver with a Goblin Welder. A counterattack following an attack with most or all of a player's creatures. The damage one would receive "on the crackback" is taken into account when deciding whether to attack or not.

A creature with an X in its cost determining how big it's going to be. Mostly green. Named in analog to Fireball. Crimping is the rippled press at the top and bottom of each booster pack to press it closed. A crimped card was misaligned and got caught in the press. While crimps are a little less common than miscuts, they're usually desired less by collectors. See mana curve. To remove a card from one's deck.

A damage race or simply a race occurs when neither player is able to take firm control of the game. Their only course of action is to try to win the game before the other's creatures strike the finishing blow. Races are most often driven by one or both players having creatures with evasion flying, "can't be blocked", etc. A design term for the creature ability, "Can't be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less. A card in hand that is irrelevant or unplayable. This may also be expressed with the phrase dead draw if the card was just drawn from the deck.

A game state where both players know, based on the state of the battlefield and other public information, that one player will lose the game without the further commitment of resources.

If I don't draw a creature this turn, I'm dead on board to my opponent's alpha strike. Mechanics that are not evergreen , but may show up from time to time in a set that needs it. To run a player's library out of cards , thus causing them to lose the game for being unable to draw cards when required to do so see Winning and losing.

The original method of doing this involved the card Millstone , and is therefore also commonly known as milling see Mill - typically "decked" or "decking" is used when the last cards are removed.

Looking for specific cards for the matchup or situation from your deck, primarily through the use of draw effects, Looting effects, look at the top X cards effects, or reveal the top X cards effects. An ability that allows a player to discard cards at any time, often without paying a mana cost. This allows the cards to be used while in the graveyard, and triggers Madness effects. Usually, this refers to hand disruption, like discard spells.

A creature with unimpressive combat stats, to the point that players tend not to use them in combat. Commonly used to refer to utility creatures which have some other relevant ability. For example, mana dorks , like Llanowar Elves, tap for mana. A card that causes an opponent to take damage or lose life, while its controller gains life, as with Drain Life. Mostly in black.

When an EDH player gets targeted by their opponents due to the power of their commander or another card. Any lands that produce two colors of mana, especially the original cycle of double-typed lands Tundra , Underground Sea , Badlands , etc. A card that is generally not worth playing, either because its mana cost is too high for whatever benefit it gives, or because the benefit it gives isn't particularly advantageous.

Also Dreg or Dirt. Nickname for Kjeldoran Outpost. Now refers to any land capable of churning out creature tokens every turn. In the early days of Magic , each game was called a duel cf. Duel Decks. Taking game actions that do not have a visible effect on the board state or do not lead directly toward killing one's opponent; taking game actions that "do nothing.

Durdling is a common feature of defensive decks. Design shorthand for Energy. Cards like Chainer's Edict , Cruel Edict , etc. Shortened form of Elder Dragon Highlander , the old name of the Commander format before it was officially recognized by Wizards of the Coast. See also Highlander. An engine often converts one resource into another. For example, Channel converts life points to mana , Mind Over Matter converts cards in hand to untaps of permanents , Skullclamp converts small creatures into cards in hand, and so on.

Engines often form the heart of combos and are often restricted in tournaments due to being too effective. Short for "enters the battlefield", used to refer to a variety of abilities which trigger when a creature enters the battlefield. Shorthand for "enters the battlefield tapped", a common drawback on nonbasic lands. Sometimes pronounced "itty bitty". Any ability of a creature that improves its chances of damaging the defending player by restricting which creatures can block it, like flying , landwalk or "can't be blocked".

To destroy usually one or more permanents. Used interchangeably with Blow-Up. Everyone's lands get exploded. Passing priority until the end of turn. Born from MTGO online's shortcut key for this. A mechanically and flavorfully distinct group of cards within a set, interacting with other groups within that set e. Ravnican guilds. A one-shot effect either an instant, sorcery or a creature with an enters-the-battlefield trigger such as Seething Song that adds mana, usually more than the amount used to spend it.

Originally in black, but now primarily in red and secondarily in green. See also Ritual. A creature enchantment or equipment that increases the enchanting creature's toughness higher than the amount it increases the creature's power.

Foreign Black-bordered. The first printing of a core set in a non-English language. A creature ability that allows the creature to get a power boost for a certain amount of mana usually red , multiple times in a turn.

The name comes from the aura Firebreathing , which grants any creature the ability. The concept is that the red mana fire turns into a power boost the fire hurts the creature's enemy more. A blue aggro-control deck using the merfolk fish tribe as its core. Exiling a permanent, then returning it to the battlefield, as with Ghostly Flicker or Flickerwisp.

Originated with Urza's Destiny ' s Flicker. Used interchangeably with blinking ; attempts have been made to differentiate between returning immediately or at the end of turn, but as spells with Flicker in the name have used both styles, it is still in progress.

A double-faced card with a legendary creature that transforms into a planeswalker. Refers to mana in a player 's mana pool that has not been used, especially after that player has just played a spell or ability. Usually, a player will only tap as much mana as required by the particular spell or ability they wish to play, and only when they wish to play it. However, in various situations, a player may leave some amount of mana in their mana pool.

Before the rule changes, this caused players to undergo Mana Burn. The most common situation in which this occurs is when a player is using a recurring loop of spells or abilities to produce an arbitrarily large amount of mana.

Each iteration of the loop produces extra mana, which is left floating until the player has acquired enough excess mana to achieve their desired end. A play might also do this in cases where they will cast a spell to destroy all lands by making sure they have tapped all the mana from their lands first before casting it.

The rules require a player who has mana in their mana pool after spending some, or when passing priority , to announce what mana is left. This is usually accomplished with a set of dice or a notepad.

To alpha strike without doing combat math. Named by LoadingReadyRun. Abbreviated form of Friday Night Magic. A creature that only has a keyword ability. For The Win. Often declared as "X for the win" where X is the card that wins the game directly or indirectly. The worse the card, the more likely the phrase will be used. Foreign white-bordered. The regular printing of a core set in a non-English language. Design shorthand for Green. Generally, non-land cards. Technically, the card Armageddon.

In casual terms, something that blows up all lands , or at least blows up a lot of lands. A deck with high potential, but easily disrupted.

To invest some resource mana is common, but it can be cards in hand or the graveyard, or simply a particular card sequence to create an effect that is too large for the turn it is cast. Used primarily when discussing Limited formats. When a combo player does their usually game-winning combo. A creature-based strategy, often making use of tokens , to overwhelm the opponent by attacking with a huge number of small creatures, rather than a few very large creatures which might be called going 'tall'.

Playing without an opponent: drawing a starting hand and proceeding to play until an opponent who does nothing to stop you from accomplishing the game plan is defeated.

Used in basic initial deck testing. Within the world of professional Magic , "being on the Gravy train" means being qualified for all the Pro Tours. Can also refer to Grave Titan. Comes from Gray Ogre. See also: Bear , Hill Giant. A player who enjoys another player's misery, tormenting their opponent by playing land destruction , countering all of their spells, or playing a deck that wins before they can get off the ground.

Also a card that furthers that goal. Someone who plays game after game after game in order to get qualifying points, esp. In Limited play especially, attempting to win through card advantage and attrition. It can also refer to formats where players amass large board states with no incentive or good ways to attack others. A creature with a decently large body but without evasion or many relevant abilities.

A strategy in multiplayer games based on helping the opponents with effects like Howling Mine or Heartbeat of Spring. A similar strategy known as Bear Hug helps opponents in a way that will ultimately harm them or provide them with an advantage. A play on "group hug", a group slug is a multiplayer archetype involving shared pain, usually in the form of direct damage, life loss, or sacrifice.

It typically involves permanents with triggered abilities that deal damage to opponents. Group slug decks are most often red or black. Design shorthand for unnamed Hybrid. To change the type of a card, as with Magical Hack.

A counterspell which counters a spell unconditionally, like Cancel. The opposite would be a soft counter, which can't counter a spell all the time. For example, Mana Leak. Taken from the vernacular of poker, a "heater" is when everything is going right; a lucky streak. Having no cards in hand. Originated from the hellbent mechanic.

A creature with flying that can only block creatures that also have flying, such as Cloud Djinn. Generally, a creature with high flying costs less than an otherwise-equivalent creature with flying. A casual format in which, excluding basic land, there can be no two cards with the same name in the deck. The term has its origins in the catchphrase of the movie Highlander : "There can be only one". This format goes by the name " Singleton " in the official Wizards of the Coast communications and advertising even though the format is almost exclusively referred to as Highlander by players.

This is most likely to avoid any trademark issues that might arise. An ancestor of the now more popular Commander. Comes from Hill Giant. See also: Bear , Gray Ogre. To keep resources needed to take a game action available, sometimes at the expense of taking other actions. A fairly common example is when a control player chooses not to cast a spell they could have, and instead passes the turn "holding up" mana in order to be able to counter a spell on their opponent's turn.

A card , deck , or style of play that is extremely powerful against another certain deck or archetype. Wrath of God "hoses" or is a hoser of creature-based decks.

Those are some of the big ones I commonly see. There are others yes, person over there who has been mouthing "morph" to me for the past three minutes, I see you , but for most games that's everything you need to know about what does and doesn't use the stack.

So now that we've gone over how the stack actually works, what are some ways you can use the stack to your advantage?

There are plenty in Magic , but here are four worth mentioning. Fair warning that some of these get pretty technical, so if you're just learning the stack for the first time, don't feel bad if anything here is tricky to follow. Because you have this opportunity between things occurring, sometimes it's right to try and sneak a spell there in that gap of time.

Your opponent casts Divination to draw two cards. Perhaps in response you cast a Lightning Bolt on their creature, to take care of it in case they draw a Titanic Growth or a counterspell. They're down mana, but haven't yet reaped the rewards. That's usually a pretty good time to make your move. The always-popular fetch lands such as Flooded Strand have activated abilities, not mana abilities. That gives you a tiny window between when your opponent sacrifices the land and when they cast the spell they need the mana for.

It's a very narrow window. Always be looking for these tiny opportunities to respond. A lot of times it won't matter, but the one time in a hundred that it does, it can make a huge difference. Throughout this article, I've mentioned time and time again that after you cast a spell or activate an ability on your turn, you get priority first, then your opponent does.

Now, this very rarely matters. You seldom want to respond to yourself. A simple example would be something like Reverberate : you want to hold priority so you can copy a spell you just cast. A slightly more complex—but still common—event you see in Legacy is casting Infernal Tutor , and then discarding your hand to Lion's Eye Diamond in response so you can go find any card. A more extreme oldie but goodie in this space is fighting split second cards.

Did you think we were going to get through a whole article on the stack without a single split second example? Let's say you cast Sacred Mesa and have six mana left. But you're worried your opponent might have a card that you can't respond to because of its split second ability: Krosan Grip. Well, you can activate the Mesa's ability in response to itself before your opponent ever gets the chance to respond!

You're then guaranteed three Pegasus tokens even if they do have the Grip. Let's say your opponent is at 6 life, and you have Imminent Doom on the battlefield and two Shock s in your hand. If you cast the first Shock , then respond with the second Shock before Imminent Doom 's first trigger resolves, it will trigger twice! Your opponent will take 6! And you'll have a three-counter Imminent Doom to boot! Here's one of my favorite mind-benders. How can you get to draw a card with Sensei's Divining Top , but not have the Top be the top card of your library?

Here's what you do: Activate the ability to rearrange your top three cards, then in response tap the Top to draw a card. First you put the Top on top of your library, then you rearrange your top three cards. Go ahead and put that Top a little deeper down, why don't you?

You can do some similarly wild things with spells—especially if you find ways to give them flash. I'll give you an example. There was a goofy combo deck that got to play two spells at the same time by way of the card Spellweaver Helix. The two of choice? Worldfire and any spell that dealt damage. You'd put the Worldfire on top of the burn spell and have that resolve first, and then the burn spell would still be hanging out on the stack ready to finish the game.

Knowing how to navigate a counterspell fight can be very important. A lot of cards are flying around on the stack—and you need to make sure the spell you don't want to resolve doesn't. By filling up their hand, you may just liberate your creatures from being ensnared.

Suddenly, you might attack for the win. And in control mirrors, targeting your opponent may allow you to win the decking war. Control decks often have more answers than threats, which sometimes means that neither player can win by dealing 20 damage.

This way, if they want to Mana Leak your Path to Exile , they may have to tap their Colonnade, saving you 4 points of damage. Also, if they have access to Condemn , then playing your removal spell in the beginning of combat step denies them the opportunity to Condemn their own creature in response.

Other effects of a mana ability, such as the life dished out by Grove of the Burnwillows or the card draw from Chromatic Sphere , also resolve immediately. Chromatic Sphere is a nightmare for Lantern Control. Since the card draw is part of the mana ability, the Lantern player cannot activate Codex Shredder in response, making it difficult to deny cards to the Tron player. Another possibility arises when your opponent controls Witchbane Orb or Leyline of the Void.

If you want to boost Monastery Swiftspear or trigger Young Pyromancer when there are no other creatures in play, then Bolting yourself is sometimes the only reasonable way to go. For instance, Pushing your own Bedlam Reveler.

Another possibility is to Fatal Push your own Tarmogoyf. Since its enters-the-battlefield ability is mandatory, you might force your opponent to kill their own Gurmag Angler. Suppose your opponent attacks you with a Goblin Guide while you have Flooded Strand in play.

One way or another, you are planning to sacrifice it for a tapped Steam Vents. But should you crack it before or after the Goblin Guide trigger? If you need spells, then you should crack before the Goblin Guide trigger resolves. If you need lands, then you should wait until end of turn.

But if you shuffled before the Goblin Guide trigger, then you may still draw a spell even if the top of your deck was a land after the shuffle. This change is much more impactful than any deck thinning considerations. If you want to maximize your probability of hitting your next land drop, then things are different. If you shuffle after, then you may turn the top of your deck from a spell into a land.