800. Multiplayer Rules

171 rules in this chapter

• 800.1 — A multiplayer game is a game that begins with more than two players. This section contains additional optional rules tha…
• 800.2 — These rules consist of a series of options that can be added to a multiplayer game and a number of variant styles of mul…
• 800.3 — Many multiplayer Magic tournaments have additional rules not included here, including rules for deck construction. See t…
• 800.4 — Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the game.
• 800.4a — When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game and any effects which give…
• 800.4b — If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a token would be created unde…
• 800.4c — If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of…
• 800.4d — If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any zone, it isn’t created. If a…
• 800.4e — If combat damage would be assigned to a player who has left the game, that damage isn’t assigned.
• 800.4f — If an object requires a player who has left the game to pay a cost or choose whether to pay a cost, that cost is not pai…
• 800.4g — If an object requires a player who has left the game to make a choice other than whether to pay a cost, the controller o…
• 800.4h — If a rule requires a player who has left the game to make a choice, the next player in turn order makes that choice.
• 800.4i — If an effect requires information about a specific player, the effect uses the current information about that player if…
• 800.4j — If a player leaves the game during their turn, that turn continues to its completion without an active player. If the ac…
• 800.4k — If a player who has left the game would begin a turn, that turn doesn’t begin.
• 800.4m — When a player leaves the game, any continuous effects with durations that last until that player’s next turn or until a…
• 800.4n — When a player leaves the game, objects that player owns in the ante zone do not leave the game. This is an exception to…
• 800.4p — In a Planechase game, if the player designated as the planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in…
• 800.5 — Unless a chosen variant or option prescribes otherwise, seating order is determined by any mutually agreeable method. Fo…
• 800.6 — In a multiplayer game, the first mulligan a player takes doesn’t count toward the number of cards that player will put o…
• 800.7 — In a multiplayer game other than a Two-Headed Giant game, the starting player doesn’t skip the draw step of their first…
• 801.1 — Limited range of influence is an option that can be applied to most multiplayer games. It’s always used in the Emperor v…
• 801.2 — A player’s range of influence is the maximum distance from that player, measured in player seats, that the player can af…
• 801.2a — The most commonly chosen limited ranges of influence are 1 seat and 2 seats. Different players may have different ranges…
• 801.2b — A player is always within their own range of influence.
• 801.2c — The particular players within each player’s range of influence are determined as each turn begins.
• 801.2d — An object is within a player’s range of influence if it’s controlled by that player or by another player within that man…
• 801.3 — Creatures can attack only opponents within their controller’s range of influence, planeswalkers controlled by those oppo…
• 801.4 — Objects and players outside a player’s range of influence can’t be the targets of spells or abilities that player contro…
• 801.5 — Some cards require players to make choices. These cards work differently when the limited range of influence option is u…
• 801.5a — If a player is asked to choose an object or player, they must choose one within their range of influence.
• 801.5b — If a player is asked to choose between one or more options (and not between one or more objects or players), they can ch…
• 801.5c — If an effect requires a choice and there’s no player who can make that choice within its controller’s range of influence…
• 801.6 — A player can’t activate the activated abilities of an object outside of their range of influence.
• 801.7 — A triggered ability doesn’t trigger unless its trigger event happens entirely within the range of influence of its sourc…
• 801.7a — If a trigger event includes an object moving out of or into a player’s range of influence, use the game state before or…
• 801.8 — An Aura can’t enchant an object or player outside its controller’s range of influence. If an Aura is attached to an ille…
• 801.9 — An Equipment can’t equip an object outside its controller’s range of influence, and a Fortification can’t fortify an obj…
• 801.10 — Spells and abilities can’t affect objects or players outside their controller’s range of influence. The parts of the eff…
• 801.11 — If a spell or ability requires information from the game, it gets only information from within its controller’s range of…
• 801.12 — The “world rule” (see rule 704.5k) applies to a permanent only if other world permanents are within its controller’s ran…
• 801.13 — Replacement and prevention effects watch for a particular event to happen and then completely or partially replace that…
• 801.13a — If a replacement effect tries to cause a spell or ability to affect an object or player outside its controller’s range o…
• 801.13b — If a spell or ability creates an effect that prevents damage that would be dealt by a source, it can affect only sources…
• 801.14 — If an effect states that a player wins the game, all of that player’s opponents within that player’s range of influence…
• 801.15 — If the effect of a spell or ability states that the game is a draw, the game is a draw for that spell or ability’s contr…
• 801.16 — If the game somehow enters a “loop” of mandatory actions, repeating a sequence of events with no way to stop, the game i…
• 801.17 — Effects that restart the game (see rule 723) are exempt from the limited range of influence option. All players in the g…
• 801.18 — In multiplayer Planechase games other than Grand Melee games, plane cards and phenomenon cards are exempt from the limit…
• 802.1 — Some multiplayer games allow the active player to attack multiple other players. If this option is used, a player can al…
• 802.2 — As the combat phase starts, the attacking player doesn’t choose an opponent to become the defending player. Instead, all…
• 802.2a — Any rule, object, or effect that refers to a “defending player” refers to one specific defending player, not to all of t…
• 802.3 — As the attacking player declares each attacking creature, they choose a defending player, a planeswalker controlled by a…
• 802.3a — Restrictions and requirements that don’t apply to attacking a specific player are evaluated based on the entire group of…
• 802.3b — Creatures in a band can’t attack different players. See rule 702.22, “Banding.”
• 802.4 — If more than one player is being attacked, controls a planeswalker that’s being attacked, or protects a battle that’s be…
• 802.4a — A defending player can block only with creatures they control. Those creatures can block only creatures attacking that p…
• 802.4b — When determining whether a defending player’s blocks are legal, ignore any creatures attacking other players and any blo…
• 802.5 — Combat damage is assigned in APNAP order. Other than that, the combat damage step proceeds just as in a two-player game.…
• 803.1 — Some multiplayer games use the optional attack left or attack right rules.
• 803.1a — If the attack left option is used, a player can attack only an opponent seated immediately to their left, a planeswalker…
• 803.1b — If the attack right option is used, a player can attack only an opponent seated immediately to their right, a planeswalk…
• 804.1 — The Emperor variant always uses the deploy creatures option, and it can be used in other variants that allow players to…
• 804.2 — Each creature has the ability “{T}: Target teammate gains control of this creature. Activate only as a sorcery.”
• 805.1 — Some multiplayer games between teams use the shared team turns option. It’s always used in the Two-Headed Giant variant…
• 805.2 — Within each team, the player seated in the rightmost seat from that team’s perspective is the primary player. If the pla…
• 805.3 — The methods described in rule 103.1 are used to determine which team will take the first turn. The team determined this…
• 805.3a — The process for handling mulligans is altered accordingly. First, each player on the starting team, in whatever order th…
• 805.3b — The process for handling cards that allow a player to begin the game with them on the battlefield is altered accordingly…
• 805.4 — Each team takes turns rather than each player.
• 805.4a — The team whose turn it is is the active team. Each other team is a nonactive team.
• 805.4b — Each player on a team draws a card during that team’s draw step.
• 805.4c — Each player on a team may play a land during each of that team’s turns.
• 805.4d — An ability that triggers at the beginning of a step or phase may trigger multiple times if it triggers at the beginning…
• 805.5 — Teams have priority, not individual players.
• 805.5a — A player may cast a spell, activate an ability, or take a special action when their team has priority.
• 805.5b — If a team has priority and no player on that team wishes to do anything, that team passes. If all teams pass in successi…
• 805.6 — The Active Player, Nonactive Player order rule (see rule 101.4) is modified if the shared team turns option is used. If…
• 805.6a — If more than one player is instructed to draw cards in a game that’s using the shared team turns option, first each play…
• 805.7 — If multiple triggered abilities have triggered since the last time a team received priority, the members of the active t…
• 805.8 — If an effect gives a player an extra turn or adds a phase or step to that player’s turn, that player’s team takes the ex…
• 805.9 — Any ability that refers to the “active player” refers to one specific active player, not to all of the active players. T…
• 805.10 — The shared team turns option uses different combat rules than other multiplayer options.
• 805.10a — Each team’s creatures attack the other team as a group. During the combat phase, the active team is the attacking team a…
• 805.10b — As the declare attackers step begins, the active team declares attackers. For each attacking creature, the attacking tea…
• 805.10c — Any rule, object, or effect that refers to an “attacking player” refers to one specific attacking player, not to all att…
• 805.10d — As the declare blockers step begins, the defending team declares blockers. Creatures controlled by the defending players…
• 805.10e — Any rule, object, or effect that refers to a “defending player” refers to one specific defending player, not to all of t…
• 805.10f — As the combat damage step begins, the active team announces how each attacking creature will assign its combat damage. T…
• 806.1 — In Free-for-All multiplayer games, a group of players compete as individuals against each other.
• 806.2 — Any multiplayer options used are determined before play begins. The Free-for-All variant uses the following default opti…
• 806.2a — The limited range of influence option usually isn’t used in Free-for-All games. If it is, each player has the same range…
• 806.2b — Exactly one of the attack left, attack right, and attack multiple players options must be used. See rule 803, “Attack Le…
• 806.2c — The deploy creatures option isn’t used in the Free-for-All variant.
• 806.3 — The players are randomly seated around the table.
• 807.1 — The Grand Melee variant is a modification of the Free-for-All variant, in which a group of players compete against each…
• 807.2 — Any multiplayer options used are decided before play begins. The Grand Melee variant uses the following default options.
• 807.2a — Each player has a range of influence of 1 (see rule 801).
• 807.2b — The attack left option is used (see rule 803).
• 807.2c — The attack multiple players and deploy creatures options aren’t used in the Grand Melee variant.
• 807.3 — The players are seated at random.
• 807.4 — The Grand Melee variant allows multiple players to take turns at the same time. Moving turn markers keep track of which…
• 807.4a — There is one turn marker for each full four players in the game.
• 807.4b — The starting player in the game gets the first turn marker. The player four seats to that player’s left (the fifth playe…
• 807.4c — After a player ends their turn, that player passes the turn marker to the player on their left. If a player with a turn…
• 807.4d — A player who receives a turn marker can’t begin their turn if any player in the three seats to their left has a turn mar…
• 807.4e — If a player leaves the game and that player leaving the game would reduce the number of turn markers in the game, the tu…
• 807.4f — For the purposes of determining if one or more players leaving the game would reduce the number of turn markers in the g…
• 807.4g — If a player who’s taking a turn has a turn marker that’s been designated for removal, that turn marker is removed rather…
• 807.4h — If one or more consecutively seated players leave the game, the players that were on either side of those seats don’t en…
• 807.4i — If an effect causes a player with a turn marker to take an extra turn after the current one, that player keeps the turn…
• 807.4j — If an effect would cause a player to take an extra turn after the current turn, but that player wouldn’t have a turn mar…
• 807.5 — Rather than having a single stack, Grand Melee games contain multiple stacks. Each turn marker represents its own stack.
• 807.5a — A player gets priority for a particular turn marker’s stack only if the turn marker is within their range of influence o…
• 807.5b — If a player has priority for multiple stacks and casts a spell, activates an ability, or a triggered ability they contro…
• 808.1 — Team vs. Team games are played with two or more teams. Each team may have any number of players on it.
• 808.2 — Each team sits together on one side of the table. Each team decides the order in which its players sit.
• 808.3 — Any multiplayer options used are determined before play begins. The Team vs. Team variant uses the following default opt…
• 808.3a — The attack multiple players option is used (see rule 802).
• 808.3b — The deploy creatures options and limited range of influence options usually aren’t used in the Team vs. Team variant.
• 808.4 — To determine which player goes first, randomly choose a team. If that team has an odd number of players, the player in i…
• 808.5 — In the Team vs. Team variant, a team’s resources (cards in hand, mana, and so on) are not shared. Teammates may review e…
• 809.1 — The Emperor variant involves two or more teams of three players each.
• 809.2 — Each team sits together on one side of the table. Each team decides the order in which it’s seated. Each team has one em…
• 809.3 — The Emperor variant uses the following default options.
• 809.3a — The range of influence is limited to 2 for emperors and 1 for generals. See rule 801, “Limited Range of Influence Option…
• 809.3b — Emperor games use the deploy creatures option (see rule 804).
• 809.3c — A player can attack only an opponent seated immediately next to them, a planeswalker controlled by a player seated immed…
• 809.4 — Randomly determine which emperor goes first. Turn order goes to the players’ left.
• 809.5 — The Emperor variant includes the following specifications for winning and losing the game. All other rules for ending th…
• 809.5a — A team wins the game if its emperor wins.
• 809.5b — A team loses the game if its emperor loses.
• 809.5c — The game is a draw for a team if the game is a draw for its emperor.
• 809.6 — The Emperor variant can also be played with any number of equally sized teams. If the teams have more than three players…
• 809.6a — Each general’s range of influence should be the minimum number that allows one general from an opposing team to begin th…
• 809.7 — In the Emperor variant, a team’s resources (cards in hand, mana, and so on) are not shared. Teammates may review each ot…
• 810.1 — Two-Headed Giant games are played with two teams of two players each.
• 810.2 — The Two-Headed Giant variant uses the shared team turns option. (See rule 805.)
• 810.3 — Each team sits together on one side of the table. Each team decides the order in which its players sit.
• 810.4 — Each team has a shared life total, which starts at 30 life.
• 810.5 — With the exception of life total and poison counters, a team’s resources (cards in hand, mana, and so on) are not shared…
• 810.6 — The team who plays first skips the draw step of its first turn.
• 810.7 — The Two-Headed Giant variant uses the combat rules for the shared team turns option (see rule 805.10). This is a change…
• 810.8 — The Two-Headed Giant variant uses the normal rules for winning or losing the game (see rule 104), with the following add…
• 810.8a — Players win and lose the game only as a team, not as individuals. If either player on a team loses the game, the team lo…
• 810.8b — If a player concedes, their team leaves the game immediately. That team loses the game.
• 810.8c — If a team’s life total is 0 or less, the team loses the game. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)
• 810.8d — If a team has fifteen or more poison counters, that team loses the game. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)
• 810.9 — Damage, loss of life, and gaining life happen to each player individually. The result is applied to the team’s shared li…
• 810.9a — If a cost or effect needs to know the value of an individual player’s life total, that cost or effect uses the team’s li…
• 810.9b — If a cost or effect allows both members of a team to pay life simultaneously, the total amount of life they pay may not…
• 810.9c — If an effect sets a single player’s life total to a specific number, the player gains or loses the necessary amount of l…
• 810.9d — If an effect would set the life total of each player on a team to a number, that team chooses one of its members. On tha…
• 810.9e — A player can’t exchange life totals with their teammate. If an effect would cause that to occur, the exchange won’t happ…
• 810.9f — If an effect instructs a player to redistribute any number of players’ life totals, that player may not affect more than…
• 810.9g — If an effect says that a player can’t gain life, no player on that player’s team can gain life.
• 810.9h — If an effect says that a player can’t lose life, no player on that player’s team can lose life or pay any amount of life…
• 810.10 — Effects that cause players to get poison counters happen to each player individually. The poison counters are shared by…
• 810.10a — If an effect needs to know how many poison counters an individual player has, that effect uses the number of poison coun…
• 810.10b — If an effect says that a player loses poison counters, that player’s team loses that many poison counters.
• 810.10c — If an effect says that a player can’t get poison counters, no player on that player’s team can get poison counters.
• 810.10d — If a rule or effect needs to know what kinds of counters an individual player has, that effect uses the kinds of counter…
• 810.11 — The Two-Headed Giant variant can also be played with equally sized teams of more than two players. For each player a tea…
• 811.1 — Alternating Teams games are played with two or more teams of equal size.
• 811.2 — Any multiplayer options used are determined before play begins. The Alternating Teams variant uses the following default…
• 811.2a — The recommended range of influence is 2. See rule 801, “Limited Range of Influence Option.”
• 811.2b — Exactly one of the attack left, attack right, and attack multiple players options must be used. See rule 803, “Attack Le…
• 811.2c — The deploy creatures option isn’t normally used in the Alternating Teams variant.
• 811.3 — At the start of the game, players are seated so that no one is next to a teammate and each team is equally spaced out.
• 811.4 — A player can’t attack opponents who aren’t seated next to them, planeswalkers that aren’t controlled by opponents seated…
• 811.5 — In the Alternating Teams variant, a team’s resources (cards in hand, mana, and so on) are not shared. Teammates can’t re…