Magic: The Gathering Glossary
Plain-English definitions for every format, card type, mechanic, deck archetype, Commander-specific term, and card quality treatment in Magic: The Gathering. Reference this when a deck guide assumes a term you don't recognize.
Formats
The major Magic: The Gathering competitive and casual formats.
Standard
#- The rotating format limited to the most recent ~2 years of sets. Standard rotation pauses in 2026; resumes with the first 2027 set. Currently legal sets include Foundations, Bloomburrow, Duskmourn, Aetherdrift, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Final Fantasy, Edge of Eternities, Marvel's Spider-Man, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lorwyn Eclipsed, TMNT, and Secrets of Strixhaven.
Modern
#- A non-rotating format using cards from 8th Edition (2003) forward. Faster and more interaction-heavy than Standard. Fetchlands and shocklands define the mana base.
Pioneer
#- A non-rotating format using cards from Return to Ravnica (2012) forward. Slots between Standard and Modern in power level.
Pauper
#- A non-rotating format where only commons are legal (some uncommons banned). Cheap to build, deep meta. Bonder's Ornament was unbanned May 18, 2026.
Commander
#- Also called EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander). 100-card singleton multiplayer format built around a legendary creature as your "commander." The largest MTG format by player count.
Legacy
#- A non-rotating eternal format with a small banned list. Uses cards from Magic's entire history including reserved-list staples.
Vintage
#- The most permissive format. Includes Power Nine and almost every card ever printed; the only major format with a restricted list.
Limited
#- Any format where you build your deck from a limited card pool, such as Draft or Sealed.
Draft
#- A Limited format where 8 players open packs and pass cards around the table, picking one at a time. Booster Draft is the most common variant.
Sealed
#- A Limited format where each player opens 6 booster packs and builds a 40-card deck from that pool plus basic lands.
Card Types
The fundamental card categories every player needs to know.
Creature
#- A permanent card that can attack and block. Has power and toughness.
Artifact
#- A permanent card representing an object, item, or construct. Mostly colorless.
Enchantment
#- A permanent card that creates an ongoing effect. Includes Auras (attached to creatures) and Sagas (chapter-based).
Sorcery
#- A one-time spell that can only be cast on your turn during your main phase, with the stack empty.
Instant
#- A one-time spell that can be cast at any time, including during opponents' turns and in response to other spells.
Land
#- A permanent that produces mana when tapped. Each player plays one land per turn.
Planeswalker
#- A permanent representing a powerful spellcaster ally. Has loyalty counters and activated abilities that add or remove loyalty.
Battle
#- A permanent type introduced in March of the Machine. Has defense counters and can transform when defeated.
Core Mechanics & Keywords
The keyword abilities that show up across most sets.
Flying
#- A creature with flying can only be blocked by creatures with flying or reach.
Trample
#- Excess combat damage from a trampling creature goes to the defending player (or planeswalker) when its blocker dies or is overwhelmed.
Haste
#- A creature with haste ignores summoning sickness and can attack the turn it enters.
Vigilance
#- A creature with vigilance doesn't tap when attacking, so it can still block.
Deathtouch
#- Any amount of damage from a deathtouch creature is enough to destroy a creature it damages.
Lifelink
#- Damage dealt by a lifelink permanent also gains its controller that much life.
First strike
#- A creature with first strike deals combat damage before creatures without it. Often kills the blocker before taking damage back.
Double strike
#- A double-strike creature deals damage in both the first-strike and normal damage steps.
Hexproof
#- A hexproof permanent can't be targeted by spells or abilities your opponents control. (Doesn't block board wipes.)
Ward
#- A semi-protection ability: opponents must pay an additional cost (mana or life) to target the warded permanent.
Indestructible
#- An indestructible permanent can't be destroyed by damage or destroy effects. Exile and sacrifice still work.
Flash
#- You may cast a spell with flash any time you could cast an instant.
Menace
#- A creature with menace can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
Deck Archetypes
The major strategic patterns decks fall into.
Aggro
#- A fast deck that aims to deal 20 damage quickly with small efficient creatures and burn. Mono-Red Aggro was a tier-1 Standard deck pre-May 2026 bans.
Control
#- A reactive deck built around counterspells, removal, and card advantage. Wins late with a single threat or inevitability. Jeskai Control is the current Standard archetype.
Midrange
#- A balanced deck running efficient threats and removal. Beats faster decks by trading; beats slower decks by pressuring before their win condition lands.
Combo
#- A deck built around assembling a specific card combination for an instant or near-instant win. Underworld Breach combos are common in eternal formats.
Tempo
#- A deck that punches above its weight by trading mana efficiency for board state. Bounces, counters, and protected threats are core tools.
Ramp
#- A deck strategy that accelerates mana production to cast big threats earlier than your opponents expect. Green is the canonical ramp color.
Reanimator
#- A combo-adjacent strategy that fills the graveyard with a huge creature then resurrects it with Reanimate, Animate Dead, or Griselbrand.
Landfall
#- A keyword and strategy built around triggers that fire whenever a land enters the battlefield. Selesnya Landfall won Pro Tour Strixhaven 2026.
Card Effects & Actions
The common verbs for what cards actually do.
Counterspell
#- A spell that stops another spell from resolving. Counterspell (the card) is the namesake; Force of Will and Mana Drain are the elite versions.
Removal
#- Spells that destroy, exile, or otherwise neutralize opponent's permanents. Swords to Plowshares and Lightning Bolt are the canonical examples.
Board wipe
#- A spell that destroys most or all creatures (sometimes other permanents too). Wrath of God, Toxic Deluge, and Farewell are top examples.
Tutor
#- Any card that searches your library for a specific card. Demonic Tutor is the platonic example; Vampiric Tutor and Imperial Seal are the high-end variants.
Ramp (effect)
#- Any spell or ability that produces mana faster than one land per turn. Cultivate, Three Visits, and Sol Ring are core Commander ramp.
Card draw
#- Any effect that puts cards into your hand. Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, and Brainstorm are blue staples.
Wheel
#- An effect that makes each player discard their hand and draw 7 (or similar). Wheel of Fortune is the namesake; modern variants are weaker.
Burn
#- Direct damage to a player or creature. Lightning Bolt is the iconic burn spell.
Mill
#- An effect that puts cards from a library into the graveyard. Can be a win condition (mill the opponent out) or graveyard enabler.
Reanimation
#- Returning a creature from a graveyard directly to the battlefield. Reanimate, Animate Dead, and Necromancy are core.
Bounce
#- Returning a permanent to its owner's hand. Cyclonic Rift is the most-played bounce spell.
Game & Resource Terms
The vocabulary of gameplay, mana, and card economy.
Mana
#- The resource used to cast spells. Comes in five colors (White, Blue, Black, Red, Green) plus colorless and generic.
Color identity
#- In Commander, the set of all mana symbols on a card (including activated/triggered ability costs). Determines which cards are legal in a 100-card deck with a given commander.
Mana value
#- The total mana cost of a card. Previously called "converted mana cost" (CMC). A card with cost 2WW has mana value 4.
Mulligan
#- The choice to shuffle your opening hand and draw a new one. London Mulligan: redraw 7, then put one card on the bottom per mulligan taken.
Sideboard
#- A separate 15-card pool used to swap cards in between games of a match. Modern, Pioneer, and Standard tournament play use sideboards.
Stack
#- The game zone where spells and abilities wait to resolve. Last in, first out (LIFO).
Cantrip
#- A cheap spell that draws a card as part of its effect. Brainstorm, Ponder, and Opt are canonical.
ETB (Enters the Battlefield)
#- A trigger that fires when a permanent enters the battlefield. Sun Titan, Eternal Witness, and most "comes into play" effects use ETB triggers.
Token
#- A creature or other permanent that exists only on the battlefield. Tokens cease to exist when they leave the battlefield.
Counter (+1/+1, -1/-1, charge, etc.)
#- A marker on a permanent that changes its state. +1/+1 counters boost creatures; -1/-1 counters shrink them; loyalty counters track planeswalker abilities.
Commander-Specific
Terms unique to or most relevant in the Commander format.
Commander tax
#- You pay 2 extra generic mana each time you cast your commander from the command zone after the first.
Commander damage
#- A win condition unique to EDH: take 21 combat damage from a single commander to lose the game.
Bracket System
#- The 1-5 power-level framework adopted by the Commander Format Panel in 2025. Bracket 1 = ultra-casual; Bracket 5 = cEDH.
Game Changers
#- The official list of high-power cards that push a Commander deck into higher brackets. Includes cards like Bolas's Citadel and Smothering Tithe.
cEDH (Competitive Commander)
#- The most competitive variant of Commander. Bracket 5. Decks aim to win turns 3-5; popular commanders include Tymna/Thrasios.
Partner
#- An ability that lets two legendary creatures be your commander together, expanding color identity.
Companion
#- A legendary creature kept outside your deck that you can cast once from outside the game, provided your deck meets a specific construction restriction.
Card Quality & Treatment
The physical/digital variants you'll see on cards.
Foil
#- A card with a shiny foil treatment. Premium price tier vs non-foil versions.
Etched foil
#- A specific foiling treatment that produces a textured shimmer. Less prone to curling than traditional foil.
Showcase frame
#- A special alternate frame treatment that ties into a set's aesthetic theme.
Borderless
#- A frame variant where the art extends to the card's edge. Often premium-priced.
Reserved List
#- A list of cards Wizards has promised never to reprint, mostly from early sets. Drives the price of cards like Wheel of Fortune and Imperial Seal.
Universes Beyond
#- MTG's collab product line — sets based on outside IP like Final Fantasy, Marvel's Spider-Man, Avatar: The Last Airbender, TMNT, and The Hobbit. Final Fantasy (June 2025) was the first Standard-legal UB set.
Looking for deck-level depth? Browse the MTG Blog for color guides, the current Standard meta breakdown, or the latest set tier list.