500. Turn Structure

144 rules in this chapter

500.1 — A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of t…
500.2 — A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession. Simpl…
500.3 — A step in which no players receive priority ends when all specified actions that take place during that step are complet…
500.4 — When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This turn-based action doesn’t use the…
500.5 — When a phase or step ends, any effects scheduled to last “until end of” that phase or step expire. When a phase or step…
500.6 — When a phase or step begins, any abilities that trigger “at the beginning of” that phase or step trigger. They are put o…
500.7 — Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a pla…
500.8 — Some effects can add phases to a turn. They do this by adding the phases directly after the specified phase. If multiple…
500.9 — Some effects can add steps to a phase. They do this by adding the steps directly after a specified step or directly befo…
500.10 — Some effects add a step after a particular phase. In that case, that effect first creates the phase which normally conta…
500.10a — If an effect that says “you get” an additional step or phase would add a step or phase to a turn other than its controll…
500.11 — Some effects can cause a step, phase, or turn to be skipped. To skip a step, phase, or turn is to proceed past it as tho…
500.12 — No game events can occur between steps, phases, or turns.
501.1 — The beginning phase consists of three steps, in this order: untap, upkeep, and draw.
502.1 — First, all phased-in permanents with phasing that the active player controls phase out, and all phased-out permanents th…
502.2 — Second, if it’s day and the previous turn’s active player didn’t cast any spells during that turn, it becomes night. If…
502.2a — Multiplayer games using the shared team turns option use a modified rule. If it’s day and no player on the previous turn…
502.3 — Third, the active player determines which permanents they control will untap. Then they untap them all simultaneously. T…
502.4 — No player receives priority during the untap step, so no spells can be cast or resolve and no abilities can be activated…
503.1 — The upkeep step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and P…
503.1a — Any abilities that triggered during the untap step and any abilities that triggered at the beginning of the upkeep are p…
503.2 — If a spell states that it may be cast only “after [a player’s] upkeep step,” and the turn has multiple upkeep steps, tha…
504.1 — First, the active player draws a card. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.
504.2 — Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
505.1 — There are two main phases in a turn. In each turn, the first main phase (also known as the precombat main phase) and the…
505.1a — Only the first main phase of the turn is a precombat main phase. All other main phases are postcombat main phases. This…
505.1b — In card text, phrases such as “first main phase,” “second main phase,” and so on count the number of main phases that ha…
505.2 — The main phase has no steps, so a main phase ends when all players pass in succession while the stack is empty. (See rul…
505.3 — First, but only if the players are playing an Archenemy game (see rule 904), the active player is the archenemy, and it’…
505.4 — Second, if the active player controls one or more Saga enchantments and it’s the active player’s precombat main phase, t…
505.5 — Third, if the active player controls one or more Attractions and it’s the active player’s precombat main phase, the acti…
505.6 — Fourth, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
505.6a — The main phase is the only phase in which a player can normally cast artifact, creature, enchantment, planeswalker, and…
505.6b — During either main phase, the active player may play one land card from their hand if the stack is empty, if the player…
506.1 — The combat phase has five steps, which proceed in order: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, comba…
506.2 — During the combat phase, the active player is the attacking player; creatures that player controls may attack. During th…
506.2a — During the combat phase of a multiplayer game, there may be one or more defending players, depending on the variant bein…
506.2b — In multiplayer games using the shared team turns option, the active team is the attacking team and the nonactive team is…
506.3 — Only a creature can attack or block. Only a player, a planeswalker, or a battle can be attacked.
506.3a — If an effect would put a noncreature permanent onto the battlefield attacking or blocking, the permanent does enter the…
506.3b — If an effect would put a creature onto the battlefield attacking under the control of any player except an attacking pla…
506.3c — If an effect would put a creature onto the battlefield attacking either a player not in the game or a permanent that’s n…
506.3d — If an effect would put a creature onto the battlefield blocking but the creature it would block isn’t attacking the ente…
506.3e — If an effect would put a creature that’s also a battle onto the battlefield attacking or blocking, that permanent enters…
506.3f — If a resolving spell or ability would cause a battle to become an attacking or blocking creature, that part of the effec…
506.4 — A permanent is removed from combat if it leaves the battlefield, if its controller changes, if it phases out, if an effe…
506.4a — Once a creature has been declared as an attacking or blocking creature, spells or abilities that would have kept that cr…
506.4b — Tapping or untapping a creature that’s already been declared as an attacker or blocker doesn’t remove it from combat and…
506.4c — If a creature is attacking a planeswalker or battle, removing that planeswalker or battle from combat doesn’t remove tha…
506.4d — A permanent that’s both a blocking creature and a planeswalker that’s being attacked is removed from combat if it stops…
506.4e — A permanent that’s being attacked that is both a planeswalker and a battle is removed from combat if it stops being both…
506.5 — A creature attacks alone if it’s the only creature declared as an attacker during the declare attackers step. A creature…
506.6 — Some abilities check to see whether or not a creature “had to attack” during a particular combat phase. A creature had t…
506.7 — Some spells state that they may be cast “only [before/after] [a particular point in the combat phase],” in which that po…
506.7a — A spell that states it may be cast “only before (or after) attackers are declared” is referring to the turn-based action…
506.7b — A spell that states it may be cast “only before (or after) blockers are declared” is referring to the turn-based action…
506.7c — Some spells state that they may be cast only “during combat” or “during a certain player’s combat phase” in addition to…
506.7d — Some spells state that they may be cast “only before (or after) [a particular point in the combat phase],” but don’t mee…
506.7e — If a spell states that it may be cast “only before [a particular point in the combat phase],” but the stated point doesn…
506.7f — If a spell states that it may be cast “only during combat after blockers are declared,” but the declare blockers step is…
506.7g — Rules 506.7 and 506.7a–f apply to abilities that state that they may be activated only at certain times with respect to…
507.1 — First, if the game being played is a multiplayer game in which the active player’s opponents don’t all automatically bec…
507.2 — Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
508.1 — First, the active player declares attackers. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. To declare attackers, the act…
508.1a — The active player chooses which creatures that they control, if any, will attack. The chosen creatures must be untapped,…
508.1b — If the defending player controls any planeswalkers, is the protector of any battles, or the game allows the active playe…
508.1c — The active player checks each creature they control to see whether it’s affected by any restrictions (effects that say a…
508.1d — The active player checks each creature they control to see whether it’s affected by any requirements (effects that say a…
508.1e — If any of the chosen creatures have banding or a “bands with other” ability, the active player announces which creatures…
508.1f — The active player taps the chosen creatures. Tapping a creature when it’s declared as an attacker isn’t a cost; attackin…
508.1g — If there are any optional costs to attack with the chosen creatures (expressed as costs a player may pay “as” a creature…
508.1h — If any of the chosen creatures require paying costs to attack, or if any optional costs to attack were chosen, the activ…
508.1i — If any of the costs require mana, the active player then has a chance to activate mana abilities (see rule 605, “Mana Ab…
508.1j — Once the player has enough mana in their mana pool, they pay all costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed.
508.1k — Each chosen creature still controlled by the active player becomes an attacking creature. It remains an attacking creatu…
508.1m — Any abilities that trigger on attackers being declared trigger.
508.2 — Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
508.2a — Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They w…
508.2b — Any abilities that triggered on attackers being declared or that triggered during the process described in rules 508.1 a…
508.3 — Triggered abilities that trigger on attackers being declared may have different trigger conditions.
508.3a — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] attacks, . . .” triggers if that creature is declared as an attacker. Simil…
508.3b — An ability that reads “Whenever [a player, planeswalker, or battle] is attacked, . . .” triggers if one or more creature…
508.3c — An ability that reads “Whenever [a player] attacks with [a creature], . . .” triggers if a creature that player controls…
508.3d — An ability that reads “Whenever [a player] attacks, . . .” triggers if one or more creatures that player controls are de…
508.3e — An ability that reads “Whenever [a player] attacks [another player], . . .” triggers if one or more creatures the first…
508.3f — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] attacks and isn’t blocked, . . .” triggers during the declare blockers step…
508.4 — If a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking, its controller chooses which defending player, planeswalker a defen…
508.4a — If the effect that puts a creature onto the battlefield attacking specifies it’s attacking a certain player, and that pl…
508.4b — If the effect that states a creature is attacking specifies it’s attacking a certain player, and that player is no longe…
508.4c — A creature that’s put onto the battlefield attacking or that is stated to be attacking isn’t affected by requirements or…
508.5 — If an ability of an attacking creature refers to a defending player, or a spell or ability refers to both an attacking c…
508.5a — In a multiplayer game, any rule, object, or effect that refers to a “defending player” refers to one specific defending…
508.6 — A player is “attacking [a player]” if the first player controls a creature that is attacking the second player. A player…
508.7 — Some cards allow a player to reselect which player, planeswalker, or battle a creature is attacking.
508.7a — The attacking creature isn’t removed from combat and it isn’t considered to have attacked a second time. That creature i…
508.7b — While reselecting which player, planeswalker, or battle a creature is attacking, that creature isn’t affected by require…
508.7c — The reselected player, planeswalker, or battle must be an opponent of the attacking creature’s controller, a planeswalke…
508.7d — In a multiplayer game not using the attack multiple players option (see rule 802), the reselected player, planeswalker,…
508.7e — In a multiplayer game using the limited range of influence option (see rule 801), the reselected player, planeswalker, o…
508.8 — If no creatures are declared as attackers or put onto the battlefield attacking, skip the declare blockers and combat da…
509.1 — First, the defending player declares blockers. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. To declare blockers, the de…
509.1a — The defending player chooses which creatures they control, if any, will block. The chosen creatures must be untapped and…
509.1b — The defending player checks each creature they control to see whether it’s affected by any restrictions (effects that sa…
509.1c — The defending player checks each creature they control to see whether it’s affected by any requirements (effects that sa…
509.1d — If any of the chosen creatures require paying costs to block, the defending player determines the total cost to block. C…
509.1e — If any of the costs require mana, the defending player then has a chance to activate mana abilities (see rule 605, “Mana…
509.1f — Once the player has enough mana in their mana pool, they pay all costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed.
509.1g — Each chosen creature still controlled by the defending player becomes a blocking creature. Each one is blocking the atta…
509.1h — An attacking creature with one or more creatures declared as blockers for it becomes a blocked creature; one with no cre…
509.1i — Any abilities that trigger on blockers being declared trigger. See rule 509.2a for more information.
509.2 — Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
509.2a — Any abilities that triggered on blockers being declared or that triggered during the process described in rule 509.1 are…
509.3 — Triggered abilities that trigger on blockers being declared may have different trigger conditions.
509.3a — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] blocks, . . .” generally triggers only once each combat for that creature,…
509.3b — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] blocks a creature, . . .” triggers once for each attacking creature the cre…
509.3c — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] becomes blocked, . . .” generally triggers only once each combat for that c…
509.3d — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] becomes blocked by a creature, . . .” triggers once for each creature that…
509.3e — If an ability triggers when a creature blocks or becomes blocked by a particular number of creatures, the ability trigge…
509.3f — If an ability triggers when a creature with certain characteristics blocks, it will trigger only if the creature has tho…
509.3g — An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] attacks and isn’t blocked, . . .” triggers if no creatures are declared as…
509.4 — If a creature is put onto the battlefield blocking, its controller chooses which attacking creature it’s blocking as it…
509.4a — If the effect that puts a creature onto the battlefield blocking specifies it’s blocking a certain creature and that cre…
509.4b — A creature that’s put onto the battlefield blocking isn’t affected by requirements or restrictions that apply to the dec…
510.1 — First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player anno…
510.1a — Each attacking creature and each blocking creature assigns combat damage equal to its power. Creatures that would assign…
510.1b — An unblocked creature assigns its combat damage to the player, planeswalker, or battle it’s attacking. If it isn’t curre…
510.1c — A blocked creature assigns its combat damage to the creatures blocking it. If no creatures are currently blocking it (if…
510.1d — A blocking creature assigns combat damage to the creatures it’s blocking. If it isn’t currently blocking any creatures (…
510.1e — Once a player has assigned combat damage from each attacking or blocking creature they control, the total damage assignm…
510.2 — Second, all combat damage that’s been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. No…
510.3 — Third, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
510.3a — Any abilities that triggered on damage being dealt or while state-based actions are performed afterward are put onto the…
510.4 — If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as th…
511.1 — The end of combat step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timin…
511.2 — Abilities that trigger “at end of combat” trigger as the end of combat step begins. Effects that last “until end of comb…
511.3 — As soon as the end of combat step ends, all creatures, battles, and planeswalkers are removed from combat. After the end…
512.1 — The ending phase consists of two steps: end and cleanup.
513.1 — The end step has no turn-based actions. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Prio…
513.1a — Previously, abilities that triggered at the beginning of the end step were printed with the trigger condition “at end of…
513.2 — If a permanent with an ability that triggers “at the beginning of the end step” enters the battlefield during this step,…
514.1 — First, if the active player’s hand contains more cards than their maximum hand size (normally seven), they discard enoug…
514.2 — Second, the following actions happen simultaneously: all damage marked on permanents (including phased-out permanents) i…
514.3 — Normally, no player receives priority during the cleanup step, so no spells can be cast and no abilities can be activate…
514.3a — At this point, the game checks to see if any state-based actions would be performed and/or any triggered abilities are w…