(Evergreen) Keyword abilities.
Context: In my efforts to become a
level 2 magic judge, I have taken my teacher cap off the wall and
dusted it off. While helping prepare local rules advisor Craig Grey
for his eventual lv 1 test, we have been going through the magic
judge classes available on the judge wiki. One recent topic we
covered was Keyword abilities - specifically those evergreen
abilities that wizards feels it can print without issue in a core
set. While this topic is not particularly complex or difficult to
grasp, there were limited resources outside the comprehensive rules
(and judge class study guides) we could draw on.
Thus I find myself producing the
following resource for players, rules advisors, and fellow level 1s
(and perhaps level 2 mentors).
= Definition: what is a keyword?
A keyword is a single word, that is
used to express a single or set of related abilities on a card.
Wizards of the Coast uses keywords extensively. One of the main
functions is to abbreviate otherwise wordy or complex bits of rules
into an easily grockable concept. This also saves space when actually
printing cards.
Important bits: Keywords contain rules
information. Only common abilities are key-worded. Often key worded
abilities are wordy without the keyword.
= Keywords 'R Us.
Magic has a fairly long history, and
has a fairly extensive list of these keywords. As a matter of fact
here are all of them:
Deathtouch, Defender, Double Strike,
Enchant, Equip, First Strike, Flash, Flying, Haste, Hexproof,
Intimidate, Landwalk, Lifelink, Protection, Reach, Shroud, Trample,
Vigilance.
Banding, Rampage, Cumulative Upkeep,
Flanking, Phasing, Buyback, Shadow, Cycling, Echo, Horsemanship,
Fading, Kicker, Flashback, Madness, Fear, Morph, Amplify, Provoke,
Storm, Affinity, Entwine, Modular, Sunburst, Bushido, Soulshift,
Splice, Offering, Ninjutsu, Convoke, Dredge, Transmute, Bloodthirst,
Haunt, Replicate, Forecast, Graft, Recover, Ripple, Split Second,
Suspend, Vanishing, Absorb, Aura Swap, Delve, Fortify, Frenzy,
Gravestorm, Poisonous, Transfigure, Champion, Changeling, Evoke,
Hideaway, Prowl, Reinforce, Conspire, Persist, Wither, Retrace,
Devour, Exalted, Unearth, Cascade, Annihilator, Level Up, Rebound,
Totem Armor, Infect, Battle Cry, Living Weapon, and Undying.
Yes, that is quite a lot. Important to
note here that the first much smaller and easier to digest list are
those keywords that wizards considers 'evergreen'. That is to say
they can appear in almost any set (including core sets). The second,
much longer list contains keywords that really only appear in one (or
two) blocks.
Also interesting to note is what is NOT
on this list. Wizards of the coast has also been known to use
"ability words" which appear in italics at the beginning of
some abilities on cards. Abilities with the same 'tag' have some
similar functionality, but they don't have any specific rules meaning
like keywords do. For completeness sake the ability words are:
channel, chroma, domain, fateful hour, grandeur, hellbent, imprint,
join forces, kinship, landfall, metalcraft, morbid, radiance, sweep
and threshold.
= Individual Keyword Highlights
(evergreen)
For the present let's just focus on
those evergreen keywords, as those are the ones that we expect
players (and lv1 judges) to be most familiar with.
= Deathtouch (Any amount of damage
this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
Deathtouch tacks something special onto
damage. (1) Any amount of damage from a source with deathtouch is
considered "lethal damage" for the purposes of assigning
combat damage. (2) There's a state based action that destroys
creatures that have taken deathtouch damage.
Deathtouch can function from any zone.
If an object changes zones before an effect causes it to deal damage,
then the game looks at how it last appeared on the battlefield "last
known information" to determine if it had deathtouch.
= Defender (This creature can't
attack.) - That about covers it
folks. You can't declare a creature with defender as an attacker.
=
Double Strike (This deals both first-strike and regular
combat damage.)
I find it amazing that a little keyword
like Double Strike (and first strike) do to the game. These abilities
actually create an additional combat damage step. So when one of
these creatures are involved in combat - there's a combat damage step
where only creatures with first strike and double strike actually
have their combat damage assigned and dealt (sometimes called 'first
strike' damage).
Then players get priority and can play
even more combat tricks, before there is entirely separate combat
damage step where creatures that have double strike and creatures
without either of these abilities deal their damage (sometimes called
'normal' damage).
But wait, there's more! The
Comprehensive Rules are so awesome that they go out of their way to
define what happens if a creature with first strike or double strike
actually looses that ability in the middle of combat. Basically as
the first combat damage step begins, all creatures with first strike
and double strike do their damage. When the second combat damage step
rolls around, only those creatures that didn't act in the first
damage step (or have double strike) do their damage.
This means, among other sensible
things, that a creature with first strike doesn't get a second
'swing' when that ability is removed. Also a creature that gains
double strike or first strike after the first combat damage step is
over (and didn't deal damage there) still gets it's 'swing' in the
second step.
= Enchant [object or player] EX:
Enchant Creature (Target a creature as you cast this. This card
enters the battlefield attached to that creature.)
Enchant basically does two things, both
limitations. Firstly, it defines what is a legal target for your
enchantment when one casts it as a spell. Secondly, it defines what
the enchantment may legally enchant when it is on the battlefield.
If an aura for some reason has multiple
Enchant abilities then the restrictions of all apply. Also of note
there are state-based actions that (1) cause an aura enchanting an
illegal permanent to 'fall off' that permanent. (2) cause aura's not
attached to anything to be put into the graveyard.
= Equip [cost] ([cost]: Attach
to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
Equip is a keyword
that highlights an activated ability. Simply speaking it is the
primary (although not the only) way players can attach their
artifact-equipment cards to their creatures. Important to note here
when you can do this "Equip as a sorcery" means: activate
this ability only when you have priority and the stack is empty in
your main phase. Effects that would allow you to play sorceries at
other times don't change this restriction. The other notable
limitation is that you can only equip creatures that you control.
The other thing I
feel I should note here is that equipment stays put unless an effect
(such as the equip ability) moves it elsewhere. Thus a
mind-controlled creature caring a sword continues to carry a sword
until the sword's controller can move it elsewhere.
=
First Strike (This creature deals combat damage before
creatures without first strike.)
I covered most of
this above under Double Strike.
Please note
however, that a if you give a creature first strike after the first
damage step, it will deal it's damage in the normal step. Likewise
removing first strike from a creature after it has dealt damage in
the first damage step causes that creature to NOT deal damage in the
normal step.
= Flash (You may
cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.)
Reminder text says
it all here. A player may cast spells with flash with the same
restrictions as instants - which is to say whenever they have
priority.
= Flying (This
creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.)
Reminder text says
it all here. Note however Flying (like most evasion abilities) only
matters when declaring blockers. If a flyer becomes blocked, and
sometime after the block is declared the defender looses the ability
to block the flyer - well then nothing happens the Flyer is still
blocked, and the blocking creature is still blocking that flyer.
= Haste (This
can attack and [tap] this turn.)
There is a rule,
informally called "the summoning sickness rule" which
states quite plainly that that a creature can't attack or use
activated abilities with the [tap] or [untap] symbols unless (1) it
was in play under your control at the beginning of your turn and (2)
control of the creature didn't change this turn.
Haste simply
bypasses that rule, such that creatures with haste can attack, tap,
or untap the same turn they enter the battlefield or switch
controllers.
= Hexproof (This
can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.)
The word "target"
holds special meaning in magic. A spell or ability only targets if
the rules text explicitly uses the word 'target'. Wrath of God
doesn't target, and never did. Doom blade targets. Sometimes you have
to look at the full rules text of an ability to determine if it
targets. Equip for example is a keyword that targets.
Other than that,
the reminder text pretty much covers this one.
= Intimidate (This
creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or
creatures that share a color with it.)
Intimidate is
another evasion ability, so like flying it only prevents certain
creatures from blocking in the actual declare blockers step. An
artifact creature will always be able to block a creature with
intimidate, even if the artifact has colors that aren't shared by the
attacker. Otherwise the reminder text is pretty accurate.
= [Land]walk (This
creature is unblockable as long as defending player controls a
[land].)
Rather than a
single keyword, this is a family of related keywords. Magic has seen
Islandwalk, Swampwalk, snow-covered landwalk, legendary landwalk, and
non-basic landwalk. Quite simply if the defending player has a land
that meets the criteria (an island, or swamp, or snow land, etc) they
cannot block an attacking creature with this ability.
= Lifelink (Damage
dealt by this also causes its controller to gain that much life.)
Lifelink is quite
similar to deathtouch, in that both are static abilities that modify
damage. In the case of lifelink, the controller of a source with
lifelink gains life simultaneously with that permanent dealing
damage.
Lifelink functions
from any game zone. If an object changes zones before an effect
causes it to deal damage, then the game looks at how it last appeared
on the battlefield "last known information" to determine if
it had lifelink.
= Protection from
[quality] (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage,
or enchanted by anything [quality].)
I am not at all
surprised by the quantity of questions on forums and message boards
that somehow involve protection. What protection does is easily
summarized by the acronym DEBT, which stands for Damage,
Equip/Enchant, Blocking, and Targeting.
Thus a creature
from protection from black (to pick a more common one):
Does not take any
damage from anything black.
Cannot be equipped
or enchanted, by a black equipment or aura (or fortification).
Cannot block a
black creature.
Cannot be targeted
by a black spell.
Perhaps the hardest
to grasp by the novice player is "targeted by a black spell."
They are often not aware that the word "target" holds
special meaning in magic. A spell or ability only targets if the
rules text explicitly uses the word 'target'. Wrath of God doesn't
target, and never did. Doom blade targets.
= Reach (This
creature can block creatures with flying.) - That pretty much
covers it. A creature with reach may legally block creatures with
flying.
= Shroud (This
can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
Everything that was
said about hexproof can also be said here. The key difference in
these two abilities is that creatures with shroud can't be the target
of anything, including your own spells or abilities.
= Trample (If
this creature would assign enough damage to its blockers to destroy
them, you may have it assign the rest of its damage to defending
player or planeswalker.)
Trample is a static
ability that modifies how a player may assign combat damage. A player
only has this option if they are attacking with said creature.
To understand
Trample it helps to understand what lethal damage is. Lethal damage
is damage equal to (or exceeding) a creature's toughness - or 1 point
of damage from a source with deathtouch. An attacking creature with
trample must assign lethal damage to all of it's blockers in order.
If you can do so, than any left over may be assigned to the player or
planeswalker the creature is attacking.
= Vigilance
(Attacking doesn't cause this creature to tap.) - What
more can we say here? A creature with vigilance does not tap to
attack.
