MagicGatheringTurn

Magic the Gathering Player Turn

Step 1: Untap - You untap all your tapped permanents except what can stay tapped for upkeep. On the first turn of the game, you don’t have any permanents, so you just skip this step. No one can cast spells or activate abilities during this step.  

Step 2: Upkeep - This part of the turn is mentioned on a number of cards. If something is supposed to happen just once per turn, right at the beginning, an ability will trigger “at the beginning of your upkeep.” Players can cast instants and activate abilities.

Step 3: Draw - You draw a card from your library. (The player who goes first skips the draw step on his or her first turn to make up for the advantage of going first.) Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.

Step 4: First Main Phase - You can cast any number of sorceries, instants, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers, and you can activate abilities. You can play a land during this phase, but remember that you can play only one land during your turn. Your opponent can cast instants and activate abilities.

Step 5: Combat Phase Steps

A.   Declaration of Combat - This is the first part of combat that you declare your attack.

B.   Pre-Combat Spells – Players cast instants and activate abilities that are required to be used before attackers are declared.

C.   Declaring Attackers – Time to decide which untapped creatures will attack, and which player and/or planeswalker will be attacked. This taps the attacking creatures without vigilance or vigilance-like abilities. Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.

D.   Declaring Blockers - Your opponent decides which, if any, of his or her untapped creatures will block your attacking creatures, then they do so. If multiple creatures block a single attacker, you order the blockers to show which is first in line for damage, which is second, and so on. Players can then cast instants and activate abilities. 

E.    Combat Damage - Each attacking or blocking creature that’s still on the battlefield assigns its combat damage to the defending player (if it’s attacking that player and wasn’t blocked), to a planeswalker (if it’s attacking that planeswalker and wasn’t blocked), to the creature or creatures blocking it, or to the creature it’s blocking. If an attacking creature is blocked by multiple creatures, you divide its combat damage among them by assigning at least enough damage to the first blocking creature in line to destroy it before assigning damage to the next one in line, and so on. Once players decide how the creatures they control will deal their combat damage, the damage is all dealt at the same time. Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.

F.    End of Combat - Players can cast instants and activate abilities.

Step 6: Second Main Phase - Your second main phase is just like your first main phase. You can cast every type of spell and activate abilities, but your opponent can only cast instants and activate abilities. You can play a land during this phase if you didn’t during your first main phase.

Step 7: Ending Phase

A.   End - Abilities that trigger “at the beginning of your end step” go on the stack. Players can then cast instants and activate abilities.

B.   Cleanup - If you have more than seven cards in your hand, choose and discard cards until you have only seven. Next, all damage on creatures is removed and all “until end of turn” and “this turn” effects end. No one can cast instants or activate abilities unless an ability triggers during this step.