Back in the early days of Magic, creatures were much weaker than they used to be. Creatures had fewer abilities, and they were much smaller relative to their mana cost. Of course, creatures still had useful abilities that gave them an edge over other creatures in combat. And while some of those abilities haven’t been printed on cards in quite …
Shadow – MTG Keywords Explained
Games of Magic are commonly won through combat damage, and creatures with evasion often have the edge. Previously in this series, we covered the ability flying, which allows some creatures to soar across the red zone. We talked about trample, which allows some large creatures to deal damage depending on how they’re blocked. And more recently, we covered fear and …
Flashback – MTG Keywords Explained
Time Spiral Remastered is coming out soon, and many longtime Magic players are having flashbacks to fifteen years ago. Today, we’re talking about a Time Spiral block mechanic called… well, flashback! What is Flashback? Flashback is a graveyard mechanic that you’ll find on instant and sorcery cards. When a spell with flashback is in your graveyard, you may cast it …
Split Second – MTG Keywords Explained
As you’ve learned to play Magic: The Gathering, you’ve probably familiarized yourself with the instant and sorcery card types. These spells have a one-time effect — on your turn, and maybe on someone else’s. But in the early days of Magic, there was a third spell type with short-term effects. Interrupts were like instants, but more powerful — you could …
Shroud – MTG Keywords Explained
Earlier in this series, we explained hexproof: a mechanic that prevents your opponents from targeting your creatures with their spells or abilities. In explaining hexproof, we alluded to an older mechanic called shroud, from which hexproof evolved. But what is shroud, and how does it differ from hexproof? That’s what we’re here to talk about today! What is Shroud? As …
Fear & Intimidate – MTG Keywords Explained
There are all kinds of creatures in Magic‘s Multiverse. Big creatures, small creatures; creatures you’d want to adopt as pets, and creatures you’d never want to cross on an interplanar journey. Some creatures in Magic are just downright frightening and intimidating. And, as with all things in Magic, there are ways the game expresses those qualities through mechanics. Today, we’re …
Changeling – MTG Keywords Explained
We’re just ten days away from the release of Kaldheim, and you’ve probably seen at least a few cards from the set already. Like most Magic sets, Kaldheim features a mix of new mechanics as well as some returning mechanics from further back in the game’s history. One of these mechanics is changeling — an ability that allows your creatures …
Epic – MTG Keywords Explained
Some Magic keywords — like flying, trample, first strike, or deathtouch — have names that are pretty self-explanatory. But, as you dig deep into the history of the game, you find some pretty enigmatic entries. Take epic: a mechanic introduced in Saviors of Kamigawa. Sounds pretty impressive, but what does it do? Today, we’ll share what makes epic so — …
Fading & Vanishing – MTG Keywords Explained
Last week, we introduced the suspend mechanic: an ability that lets you trade mana for time. When you suspend a spell, you exile it with a number of time counters on it and cast the card once all the time counters are removed. But suspend isn’t the only ability that uses time counters. There are some permanents in Magic that …
Suspend – MTG Keywords Explained
One of the most important skills to master in Magic is mana efficiency. Using as much of your available mana as possible each turn will allow you to have a big impact on the game, and it’ll serve you well in future turns. There are a number of abilities in Magic that allow you to maximize your mana efficiency — …