In Magic: The Gathering (MTG), players use decks of cards to battle each other, representing spells, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or land that can be used to gain an advantage over their opponent. The game is played in turns, with each turn being a turn. All card types other than lands are types of spells, and even permanent cards are normally cast as spells before becoming permanents.
Spells exist as game objects, and their rules dictate that every card other than a land becomes a spell when played and stops being a spell once it resolves. Lands are the single most important thing any Magic the Gathering deck has, as they are the fuel that drives the game. There are five basic lands in Magic The Gathering: plains (white), island (blue), mountain (red), swamp (black), and forest (green).
In MTG, a spell is any type of card cast by a player, usually from their hand, but in special cases, can be cast from other areas of the battlefield like your library or graveyard. Land cards are the only type that is not considered a spell, as everything cast is a spell, including creatures, enchantments, etc. Lands are not considered spells, but they are a special case in Magic.
Lands are played on the player’s own main phase when the stack is empty, and only once per turn. However, there are spells that can alter how many lands a player can play, and anything that isn’t a land (or planeswalker emblem) is a spell. Lands are “played”, while everything else is “cast”.
📹 What is the DIAMOND mana symbol? ┃ And how does it work? ┃ Manfred Plus Magic
Magicthegathering #manasymbols #colorless I hope this explains what the symbol means! References: …
Does equipping an artifact count as a spell?
It should be noted that equipping a creature does not constitute casting a spell. This is because such an action triggers abilities such as Angelic Protector and Phantasmal Dragon. However, it does not result in the triggering of heroic abilities.
Does equipping count as a spell in MTG?
Equipment is a powerful tool that can be attached to an “equipped creature” and can be used to equip it. It is cast like other artifact spells and enters the battlefield like other artifacts. The equip keyword ability attaches the Equipment to a creature you control, and control of the creature only matters when the equip ability is activated and resolved. Spells and other abilities may also attach an Equipment to a creature.
Equip can’t equip a creature unless it has reconfigured, loses the subtype “Equipment”, or equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.
The Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller, and changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. If an effect attempts to put an Equipment onto the battlefield attached to an undefined or illegal object, the Equipment enters the battlefield unattached. If the Equipment is a token, it is created and enters the battlefield unattached.
A permanent ability that refers to the “equipped creature” refers to whatever creature the permanent is attached to, even if the permanent with the ability isn’t an Equipment.
Is a land a permanent spell in MTG?
There are six permanent types of cards: artifact, battle, creature, enchantment, land, and planeswalker. Instant and sorcery cards are not classified as permanents, as they are unable to enter the battlefield. A permanent card or token is defined as a card or token that can be placed on the battlefield and subsequently transferred to another zone as a result of an effect or rule.
What counts as a spell?
A spell is a card that has been cast and placed on the stack, or a copy of another spell. It is only a spell when on the stack, and in most other zones, it is simply a card or a permanent when on the battlefield. All card types, except lands, are types of spells, and even permanent cards are typically cast as spells before becoming permanents. Spells exist as game objects, and their rules determine interactions and effects between the casting of the spell and its taking effect. A copy of a spell is also a spell, even if it doesn’t have a card associated with it.
Do lands count as colored spells?
Colorless objects in Magic: The Gathering are objects or spells without colored mana symbols in their mana costs. Lands are always colorless by default, except for the color-indicated Dryad Arbor. Colorless objects can be artifacts, Eldrazi creatures, planeswalkers, or Sorceries. Eldrazi creatures are colorless to mark them as alien, while Karn and Ugin are colorless planeswalkers. In Strixhaven: School of Mages, several colorless Sorceries were printed as first-year introduction spells. Colorless objects access most things but at inefficient mana costs, such as the destruction of permanents. Colorless is not a color and is not represented in the color wheel.
Are lands considered colorless spells?
Colorless objects are those with no colored mana symbols in their mana costs. Lands are colorless by default, except for color-indicated ones. Artifacts are the most common colorless spell, and Eldrazi creatures are colorless to mark them as alien. Karn and Ugin are colorless planeswalkers. In Strixhaven: School of Mages, several colorless Sorceries were printed as first-year introduction spells. Colorless access to everything comes at inefficient mana costs, such as the destruction of permanents. Devoid is a characteristic-defining keyword ability that states a card is colorless, regardless of its mana cost.
Does land count as a spell MTG?
Lands are not spells, as they move directly from other zones to the battlefield without using the stack. When played, a land enters play and does not exist on the stack for interaction. Tapping a land does not count as a spell, as mana abilities and activated abilities of lands are not spells. Permanents on the stack are considered spells once they resolve, but they are not spells once they resolve.
Does an artifact count as a spell?
In Magic: The Gathering (MTG), understanding the classification of enchantments and artifacts as spells is crucial for gameplay strategy, especially when considering counter spells like “Cancel”. A “spell” refers to any card on the stack, which is the transitional phase from being a card in a player’s hand to being a permanent on the battlefield. Enchantments and artifacts are considered spells while on the stack, and can be countered by spells like “Cancel”.
However, once these cards resolve and become permanents on the battlefield, they are no longer considered spells and cannot be targeted by counter spells like “Cancel”. Lands are the exception to this rule, as they do not use the stack and transition directly from being a card to a permanent on the battlefield. A spell is a card on the stack, which remains on the stack until it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack.
Is an enchantment land a spell?
A spell is a card on the stack, which is moved to the top of the stack from its owner’s hand during the first step of being cast. It remains on the stack until it resolves, is countered, or otherwise leaves the stack. In Magic, almost every card becomes a spell during the transitional period from being a card in your hand to being a permanent on the battlefield. However, a land is not a spell in that case due to special rules that make it an exceptional case.
In summary, a spell is a card on the stack, which becomes a spell during the transition from being a card in your hand to being a permanent on the battlefield.
Are artifact lands considered spells?
An artifact land is defined as a land that possesses the properties of both artifacts and lands. Such artifacts may only be played as lands and not cast as spells. Artifact lands have been featured in various games, including Mirrodin, Darksteel, Modern Horizons 2, and Dungeons and Dragons. In addition, the following works of fiction feature artifacts in their narratives: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and Murders at Karlov Manor.
Can you discard a land MTG?
A land or Shrine card that deals X damage to a creature or planeswalker may be discarded, based on the number of Shrines that are currently in play. Alternatively, a land card that deals 2 damage to any target may be discarded.
📹 Tolarian Tutor: Mana Curve and Land Bases – A Magic: The Gathering Study Guide
Our Professional Consultant is my own tutor, Emma Handy Twitter: @Em_TeeGee FaceBook: facebook.com/EmmaHandyMTG …
When making a commander, I typically ignore the mana curve, but follow the proportionality rule for ratio of the basic lands. Typically, I start with 40% of the deck being mana sources, mana rocks weighted up, and mana creatures weighted down. After playing, just pay attention to what cards sit in the hand forever and dump those for other cards in my collection that would’ve been useful. Mana curves tend to be centered around 5-6 on average in my playgroup, maybe going down to 3-4 for aggro, or up to 7-8 for control.
One mana curve combo that rocks the house is turn one sac land to an untapped triome turn 2. In modern and your running 3-5 colors it happens most games. Since there should be a majority of expensive sac lands in the list. Also let’s consider card draws and low mana curves. My modern grixis deck has a low curve of 1.46, in addition running many cantrips so I have found 18 lands just works.
I built an aggro deck in Arena for the first time. Yeah, my curve is way off. I have a lot of 1 manna and I’m too heavy on my 5 and 6 manna. If I mulligan (I just finished that article) I found I’d still end up with too many of my big chonky boys with not enough manna. These articles are really helping for a returning player.
Currently Vorthos’ing out on trying to make an EDH deck around the Abyssal Oceans. My commander is Wrexial (because he looks like Father Dagon) and because the blue mana of the abyssal waters would be tainted with dark mana if ever tapped. My early game is discarding and initial merfolk, my middle game is a mix of unblockable merfolk/sea creatures or heavier discarding with blink/flicker ETB, my late game is enormous board-presence leviathans/kraken/octopus. I wanted the discard effects to be as if the opponent player was slowly going mad from the ordeal, plus if I wait for tutors, the discarded cards (if a sorcery or instant) become quite favorable with my commander. The little bit of flicker and blink I have is to work like someone swinging at illusions or as if a large, aquatic beast turned to dive under oceanic waters to resurface later. Do you have tips for mana curve in EDH? It’s the primary format I play (because of the increased randomness of having only one of each card) I seem hit a peak at CMC4
This is the second of these articles of yours that I have watched. I started playing in 95, took a break from 2005 to 2011, and have been playing since. I’ve improved the mana curves and ratios of more people’s decks than I can recall (thanks to the Prophecy fatpack spoiler that first introduced me to the mana curve concept). I’ve done statistical study of my decks to find “the perfect ratio” (note: then EDH came along and crapped all over it). If I had one question it would be just that: how to obtain a proper mana curve with an EDH deck? I have figured out color distribution but once decks get to that size, even saying “take your deck’s total cmc and divide it by X” doesn’t seem to work the same way. If you bothered to read the first half of the first paragraph, the reason for typing it wasn’t to just toot my own horn, it was to put emphasis on the fact that I still learned something from perusal this article. I appreciate these types of articles and I especially appreciate the closing piece of focusing not on winning but on learning. Thank you.
this actually helped me a lot for my deckbuilding and believe it or not helped ke understand building a deck in hearthstone also since i didnt completely understand thw curve aspect . i would like to see a explanation on how the stack works and rulings on 2 sided card for exampke what happends if a 2 sided card goes to the top of deck?
I felt one less mana is fine. Playing with 26 is way too many. I usually top with a 4 or 5 drop so that is the reason. And mostly we are playing on the kitchens table, but on competitive scene it is often done. A white winnie works we’ll from 3 or 4 landscape on the battlefield. What are your thoughts?
Magic is and has always been a game where the player base as a whole is making a decision to play a game where math is going to be very important. That being the case and from what I learned from my own development as a magic player, just being shown the stat tracker webpage with the hypergeometric calculator and having a talk like this but with an explanation of hypergeometric calculators and how one uses them ib deck building was the best learning tool ever. Yeah you go into the math with ratios that barely make sense to me. If I was your producer, I’d have you trash this article a redo with using a hypergeometric calculator to explain all this, people would seriously learn more. And YES MATH, we’re a magic the gathering website….
Really thankful that I found this website! Just started playing mtg a few months ago when my workplace went into lockdown and needed to find something to keep my clients excited and engaged with something. Was always super intimidated by mtg and shied away from attempting to play until my late 20s, now I’m having a blast learning it!. Big thank you!
This series is wonderful. I already look forward to it, and it’s only the second episode. Will you go further into detail about land bases based on the different constructed formats? There must be some more episodes about the right number of fetches in 2 vs 3 vs 4 color decks in modern and the kinds of considerations to make when deciding between the various lands available? Also, what about stuff like arranging triggers on the stack to your advantage? And speaking of the stack, will you go seriously in-depth on how priority passes/is passed after spells, triggers, phases, etc? This is so very confusing and could use some clarification. Also, side boarding guidelines! Also, mana efficiency! Frankly, your way of teaching is super effective, and I’m sure anything you make articles and expound upon will be both useful and interesting.
I run a 62 card monogreen manaramp, with my standard land count of 24. Full set of Karametra’s Acolyte and Everflowing Chalice, to help maximize cards like Hydra Broodmaster and Primordial Hydra, and funnel mana into others like Nylea, God of the Hunt and Elder of Laurels. Just as an aid to actual lands, one Nissa, Worldwaker in tandem with Embodiment of Insight. Cuz Why not. I don’t play tournament, but this is a fun deck to play casually.
God I hate math. Right now i’m in the process of trying to make a goblin burn deck, with a few changes (gonna be expensive when i’m done) Really want those Vexing Devils though atm I have 18 lands, should I add more?. I’m also in the process of a Red/Green deck(I don’t have a name for it) My plan for it, is 3x Omnath of rage (or whatever) with Ghalta, Primal Hunger, and a bunch of elfs that are land grabbers. Hoping to get out enough cards powerful enough quickly to get Ghalta to only cost 2 to summon. Pretty much Ghalta and Omnath are my only 2 powerful things I have in there, so should I use multiples of those, or is there other stuff that I haven’t thought about adding in the deck? I haven’t battled with any of these decks since neither of them are done but would very much like imput. I’m also a brand new magic player.
Here’s a thought guys: What if we could play MTG without basic lands? instead, just use the Duel Masters Mana format where we use cards in our hand that we think we won’t need. Dual & special lands would still exist. To the Veterans: wouldn’t this make getting plays off easier or create comebacks? To my fellow amateurs: wouldn’t having to manage the resources in your hand be an easier, yet still fun challenge? Beats having to fear being Mana-screwed.
You da man, Prof.. these Tolarian Tutor episodes are top notch! This might not be good for an episode anytime soon (better topics available), but I think it would be cool to see an episode directed at everyone who quit playing around Fallen Empires/Chronicles, but want to get back in to MTG…the ep could feature info on significant rules changes since then, new formats, etc. I don’t know how many people who quit at that time are coming back to MTG, but I do know a lot of people gave up on it around then.
Playing MTG Arena, deck size matter. If you are just starting out you are going to have a very small deck. Just keep playing with your deck, the more you play with it the bigger your deck will get. If you play with it a lot you can even get rewards to make it an even stronger more powerful deck. If you have been playing for a long long time you probably have a very large deck in which case I am humble to be in the presence of a deck master.
Is 20 lands good enough for my modern elementals deck? The deck runs a few high cost spells like Nova Chaser and Liege of the Tangle, but the deck runs a total of 10 cards that give me mana or make elementals cheaper as well as a playset of Incandescent Soulstroke, which cheats out elementals for 1R.
I actually always assumed mana curve meant something else. I interpreted as the maximum CMC that you could cast after X turns. It would ideally look like a logistic curve that basically hits the top after 2 to 4 turns. I heard people use expressions like “curving out”, or describe how well a deck curves out. So I assume it was related to what you could do on a turn by turnbasis.
Something that wasn’t mentioned, I had always felt that cheap draw effects can lower your land count. By increasing your draw, you increase your chances of drawing your lands, thus needing fewer in total. If I am running a set of Serum Visions and Sleight of Hands, I can fix my draws much better, thus slightly reduce my land count.
Hey I had I question and I didn’t find the answer on google so I decided to come to you. I started playing magic recently mostly stranded but, I got a legendary creature out of a booster pack and decided to make a commander deck out of it. It’s a mono blue General (Baral) and I wanted to ask if I’m allowed to play a welder automaton in the deck because it has a red activated ability?
Professor these articles are great, some of your best content on the website. An episode on drafting including color signaling seems like a winner… but also more subtle moments in a Magic game. My opponent is low on life… do I use my burn spell on her creature or her life total? I’m holding an instant… is it better to hold up mana or develop my board? When do I want to commit resources to the board, and when do I want to hold back? What’s the correct ratio of threats to answers in different archetypes?
I would love to see a article on sequencing. From basic stuff such as why it is important to follow each phase and step of a turn properly to more complex ideas such as reducing the punishment you would receive if your opponent “gets” you with disruption. I see too many players develop a habit of conducting actions in an incorrect order e.g. drawing a card for the draw before untapping your permanents for the untap step. I believe if someone intimately understands the progression of a turn they get an opportunity to become a better player.
A little off topic but I purchase a number of collector booster boxes that have been fraudulent I probably produce bought 12 nine of which have been broken into and changed things taken out of but look perfect would you please advise your people and they should become completely natural any time they open and expensive or what they feel is an expensive wizards product from wherever they buy it filmed the opening and I have a witness there with you that Hass to be a thing that is done every time you do it otherwise there’s no protection from what I have gone through if you willing to take the risk people I guess you can go ahead but I’ve gone through enough that I had two or three that have been completely real all the way it should be and I didn’t know it until I actually open those three not in a row but one after the other but it was so obviously different from the other stuff but if I had a filmed it or had people witness it I would’ve had some witnesses to return them protect yourself it doesn’t take much to do and could save yourself a lot of headache professor please tell your people this
I dunno. Asking for help can oftentimes be like pulling teeth on the Discord server I go to for MtGA. I go to the “competitive” thread, and my deck is too casual for them to bother with it. I go to the “casual” thread, and I just get a shrug and “Eh, it’s fine.” I try to go to “new player” questions, and the questions are apparently too specific and I should either go to casual or competitive. It’s frustrating as all get-out to get feedback on my decks and the specific questions I have concerning them, such as why a specific deck I’m playing around with is so slow, etc. There were several times I nearly quit, because of it. Latest round of questioning, I finally got lucky and a few people actually brought up points that let me figure out what I was doing wrong, and I was able to look at sample decks that did something similar to what I was trying to do, compare them to the points made in the thread, and really learn why I was having the problems I was having. Despite this piece of luck, I find myself hesitant to ask questions, anymore. Is there an online place I can go to for actual help with deck building? Preferably, this resource would be full of people who just like to analyze decks and help you make them better on their own terms, rather than full of people who turn up their noses if you’re not playing “according to the meta.” (Also trying to figure out how to get help from local MtG players at the game shop when my deck is purely digital, as I can only afford to play MtGA, right now, rather than traditional paper Magic.
Where do you put a hydra with an x cost on the mana curve? I usually prefer to cast them with a really high x value using the mana ramp but they still have the ability to be casted cheaper and can be effectively used at that size too (plus I have enough where even if I cast one hydra early to hold off aggro there will be another to cast later as a bigger monster)
Hey there folks, sorry if i havent found the article yet, but i saw the how to be a better aggro player and i was wondering if you had the same kind of article but for control. just started playing magic about a week and a half ago and have been binging these articles since and playing almost every day. But if someone or you yourself, prosfessor, could point me in the right direction, id be much obliged!
Prof i need your help! Can you make a review of the 2000 Beatdown Box ? I bought one in 2000 and another one 2 years ago. I only bought the second one because i sold the first one in 2002 with the rest of my collection. I restarted playing MTG 4 Years ago and wanted it back in my collection. Somehow i dont feel like that it’s worth the money i spend on it (80€).
I have a really basic question I understand that land is not mana it is land that produces mana, if I tap a land for mana or cast a spell that gives me a land, where does this land come from. Do I search my main deck for a land and put it into play or do I have a side deck just made up of lands to draw from. Please help new player.
This article is only about mana curve and NOT about mana bases. You should remove that from the title and make a seperate short introduction to introduce newer players to all fetchable dual lands, unfetchable multicolor lands, tap lands, fetch lands and utility lands. Explain that for many decks Basics are better than tapped dual lands and that temple of the false god is a bad card for example.
The reality about MTG mana is simple, IT IS FLAWED. I have played for more than 20 years. I have and impressive collection of thousands of rare. In my experience, in 70% of the match, one player get screed, whether Me or the Opponent where unable to get a correct mana flow. With 40% of land in my deck I manage to get flowed several time. Receiving 70% land card ration is easy. 20% is also frequent. Basically, in those game, it was impossible to win. NO INTELIGENCE NEEDED. They opponent might have feel great but was absolutely incapable of losing the game. As long as the basic resources depend on chance, MTG is nothing more than a game of luck. IF YOU ARE LUCKY, YOU WIN. The illusion of intelligence rest in the 30% of game where both player are curving on mana… SO SAD.