--- title: MTG by card role subtitle: 'Stop thinking about cards and start thinking about card roles' author: Seth Kenlon date: 2021-08-09 17:36 publish_date: 2021-08-09 18:00 hero_classes: text-light title-h1h2 overlay-dark-gradient hero-large parallax hero_image: mtg-1600x800.jpg show_sidebar: true show_breadcrumbs: true show_pagination: true taxonomy: category: gaming tag: [gaming, tip] --- The base rules of *Magic: The Gathering* are no more complex than any other card game, such as Poker or Bridge. ## Setup You start the game with 20 life pointns and a deck of 60 cards, unless you're playing the Commander variant, in which case you start with 40 life and 100 cards. At the start of the game, you draw 7 cards into your hand. ## Turn On your turn, you: * Reset ("untap") all cards on your table (the **battlefield**) and draw 1 card into your hand. * You may play 1 **Land** card. A **Land** card is labelled as a **Land**, and produces *mana* when "tapped" (rotated 90-degrees). * You may play any number of cards from your hand, provided you have enough mana to "pay" for the cost of the card. The cost of a card is located in the top right of each card: a number indicates how much color-nonspecific mana you need, and mana symbols indicate how much additional of a specific color you need. When you use mana to pay for a card, you tap the **Land** card by turning it 90 degrees to indicate that it's been used up for this turn. When you play a creature cards by placing it onto the table (or **battlefield**), you must also tap it to indicate that it can take no action this turn. * You may enter formal combat against your opponent. * After combat, you may continue to play cards, provided you have mana to pay for them, until you formally pass the turn to your opponent. ## Combat In combat, you tap any number of your creatures. Creatures attack your opponent, never a specific card, but your opponent may choose to intercept or **block** your creatures with creatures of their own. Tapped creatures cannot block. Each creature has a Power and Toughness value, indicated in the bottom right corner of each creature card. When one creature's Power is equal to or greater than another's Toughness, it destroys that card, sending it to its player's discard pile (or **graveyard**). Damage during combat happens simultaneously, so it's entirely possible for two creatures to destroy each other during combat. A creature can be blocked by more than one creature, too. Your opponent gets to decide the order of blocking, so resolve damage on the first card, and then on the second card, and so on. When your opponent has no way to block, or chooses not to block, then the damage (the value of your creature's Power) is deducted from the player's life total. ## Gameplay Those are the rules of *Magic: The Gathering*, defined by sections 1 to 5 of the [official rules document on wizards.com](https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/rules-and-formats/rules). However, the base rules are only the foundation. In fact, sections 1 through 5 of the official rules make up only one third of the rules document. That's because by design, most *Magic: The Gathering* cards systematically modify the rules of the game. Additionally, *Magic: The Gathering* generally encourages its players to build their own decks, which itself is an acquired skill. When explaining *Magic: The Gathering*, I like to treat the game itself as a framework, because ultimately it's the player, through building a deck, who defines how each game actually plays. It's impossible to discuss every card in *Magic*'s history (there are well over 25,000 unique cards), and every new set contains, on average, two new mechanics. ## Card roles What is possible, though, is to discuss the *functions* that different types of cards serve. By understanding the mechanical roles that any given *Magic* card may encompass, you learn what kinds of cards to look for when you purchase or trade them so you can build decks that make for an enjoyable game. Before discussing card roles, though, it's important to consider a target budget. *Magic* designers use card rarity as a way to limit the potential power level of a *Magic: The Gathering* game. Cards with almost game-breaking abilities aren't printed in great number, so the demand and prices go up, and so they're not often seen in actual gameplay. Historically, however, once a rare and powerful card has become popular, the designers tend to borrow ideas from it, distributing the strategy that it represents among common and affordable cards. In all of my categories for card roles, there are quintessential examples of the strategy. Those are usually the rare cards that set the precedence for the card role in the first place, and so they are almost always prohibitively expensive. For that reason, the example cards I cite are meant to illustrate a spectrum of cards that work toward, if not exemplify, the card role I've identified. I rarely bother listing the "obvious" card for a role, and instead limit my card lists to inexpensive ($2 and under) cards. In all cases, my card list is incomplete and purely demonstrative. The best way for you to find cards, whether I've listed it or not, to fill a card role is usually an Internet search. Not just a few sites that track *Magic: The Gathering* cards offer lists of cards that fit a specific strategical need, or that can serve as a weaker and cheaper replacement for a popular rare card, and so on. Build a deck on paper first, and then purchase the single cards you need from your local game store or a reliable Internet game site. ### Combat cards Whether they take the form of a summoned **Creature**, an **Enchantment** boosting other cards, a **Sorcery** or **Instant** or **Artifact**, the bulk of cards in *Magic: The Gathering* perpetuate or mitigate inevitable combat. General purpose cards cost a full spectrum of mana amounts and color. Some, you can play for 1 or 2 mana, while others require 4 and 5 and more. Some require just one color of mana, while others require a mix of colors, and others (mostly **Artifacts**) don't care about color at all. Many have special abilities, and may possess synergy with other cards. Strategically, though, these cards are mainly meant as "cannon fodder". They're the cards that get placed on the battlefield as a display of either offensive or defensive force. They're the weapons you use to intimidate and then destroy your opponent. Combat cards are a necessity of the game because the main avenue to victory is direct combat. Whether or not that's the path you take, you'll probably be subject to it. At the very least, you must be able to defend yourself. Thanks to the way combat is designed, a player with enough 1/1 **Creature** cards can defend against, and even defeat, a player with big 5/5 and 7/7 **Creatures**, but be defeated by a player with **Flying** **Creatures**, who might themselves be defeated by a player armed with defensive **Walls** and an arsenal of spells dealing direct player damage. In other words, *Magic: The Gathering* has enough variation in combat tactics that the cards you throw into battle are arguably less important than the strategy you develop with other card roles. ### Removal The base rules of *Magic: The Gathering* state that you can only attack your opponent. This means that you normally don't have the option to eliminate an enemy card that's causing you trouble in the game. Some cards, however, enable "card removal" by breaking the base rule and targeting a specific card. There's usually a strict limit to what you can target. * [Destructive Tampering](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=485464) is a **Sorcery** that destroys an **Artifact**. * [Dissenter's Deliverance](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=426866) is an **Instant** (meaning it can be played at any time, even out of turn) that destroys an **Artifact**. * [Fade Into Antiquity](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=416938) is a **Sorcery** that exiles (moves a card from the graveyard to the **Exile** zone) an **Artifact** or **Enchantment**. * [Avenging Arrow](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=265410) is an **Instant** that destroys a target **Creature** that dealt damage on the same turn. * [Hand of Death](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=6563) is a Black **Sorcery** that destroys any non-Black creature. * [Flatten](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=394571) is an **Instant** that applies -4/-4 to a target creature, which could be enough to remove it, depending on the target. * [Harsh Sustenance](https://scryfall.com/card/frf/154/harsh-sustenance) is an **Instant** that deals *X* damage to a target creature, where *X* is the number of creatures you control at the time. As you can see, the means of removal may vary. What kind of card is considered a "removal" card depends in part on the situation. For instance, I wouldn't normally [Flatten](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=394571) a removal card, but against a 4/4 creature that's exactly what it does. ### Direct player damage The base rules of *Magic: The Gathering* forbid you from attacking your opponent directly, but some cards cause life loss to a player. This is special *noncombat damage* (which may matter when you're up against a deck with abilities that trigger on *combat damage*). * [Qarsi Sadist](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=394658) is a **Creature** that causes your opponent to lose 2 life when you sacrifice a **Creature**. * [Firebrand Archer](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=430781) is a **Creature** that causes your opponent to lose 1 life when you cast any noncreature spell. * [Painful Lesson](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=446122) is a **Sorcery** that causes a target player to lose 2 life. * [Bee Sting](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=221570) is a **Sorcery** that deals 2 damage to a target **Creature** or player. * [Foul-Tongue Shriek](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=394578) is an **Instanc** that causes a target player to lose 1 life for each attacking **Creature** you control at the time it is cast. ### Life gain Should you reach 0 life points in *Magic: The Gathering*, you lose the game. Some cards grant you additional life points. * [Kheru Dreadmaw](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=386579) is a **Creature** that grants you life points equal to a sacrificed **Creature**'s Toughness. * [Anointer Priest](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=426705) is a **Creature** that grants you 1 life point whenever you play a **Creature** token. * [Cursebreak](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=240124) is an **Instant** that destroys a target **Enchantment** while granting you 2 life. * [Bargain](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=6510) is a **Sorcery** that earns you 7 life, at the cost of your opponent drawing 1 card. * [Sacred Nectar](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=202568) is a **Sorcery** granting 4 life and costs 2 mana. * [Temple Acolyte](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=202568) is a **Creature** that grants 3 life and costs 2 mana. ### Mana ramp The default source of mana is a **Land** card. These provide you with mana so you can play cards ("cast spells"). For a 60 card deck, anticipate requiring about 24, using a mix of colored and colorless mana. The base rules prohibit you from playing more than 1 **Land** card on each turn. As a result, normally you can never have a mana base greater than the current number of turns you have had. In other words, assuming the best possible hand, you'll have 3 **Lands** that can produce 3 mana each turn by turn 3, and by turn 7 you'll have 7 **Lands** that can produce 7 mana each turn, and so on. However, there are ways to acquire mana aside from **Land** cards. This is colloquially known as "mana ramp". #### Non-Land mana By playing both a **Land** as well as a non-Land card that provides mana, you gain more mana in one turn than is possible when relying on just **Land** for mana. These cards tend to be Uncommon or rarer, and prices vary. * [Sol Ring](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=532602) is an **Artifact** that taps for 2 colorless mana. * [Sol Talisman](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=522312) **Artifacts** that taps for 2 colorless mana. * [Meteorite](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=485556) is an **Artifact** that provide 1 mana of any color. * [Prophetic Prism](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=497854) is an **Artifact** that provide 1 mana of any color. * [Dromoka Monument](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=394556) is an **Artifact** that adds Green or White mana. * [Devoted Druid](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=456758) is a **Creature** that adds 1 Green mana. * [Oasis Ritualist](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=430813) is a **Creature** that adds up to 2 mana of any color. * [Heartbeat of Spring](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=489844) is an **Enchantment** that adds 1 extra mana per **Land** tapped. * [Gift of Paradise](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=519226) is an *Enchantment — Aura* that grants a **Land** card the ability to add two mana (instead of one) of any color to your mana pool (and also happens to grant 3 life when it's played). #### Mana storage Some cards generate tokens that can be converted into mana later. You have to wait for your extra mana to build up into something substantial, and once you spend it, you must start the process over, but it's a good way to increase your mana budget so you have it when you need it. * [Mage-Ring Network](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=519335) is a **Land** card, so it doesn't ramp your mana base beyond the normal pace, but it gives you the option of building up a pool of stored mana in the form of **storage counters**, which you can convert to mana later. * [Pirate's Prize](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=435220) is a **Sorcery** that produces one **Treasure** **Token** that can be converted to mana when sacrificed. * [Brazen Freebooter](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=497684) and [Burdened Aerialist](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=522114) are **Creatures** that produce one **Treasure** **Token** that can be converted to mana when sacrificed. * [Captain Lannery Storm](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=435290) is a **Legendary** **Creature** that produces one **Treasure** **Token** with each attack. #### Mana offset Some cards provide a discount on mana costs. * [Goblin Electromancer](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=452924) is a **Creature** that cause all of your **Instant** and **Sorcery** spells cost 1 mana less. * [Baral, Chief of Compliance](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=512272) is a **Creature** that cause all of your **Instant** and **Sorcery** spells cost 1 mana less. #### Dual Lands, Taplands, and variants Special **Land** cards can be tapped for one of two or more colors. This doesn't increase your mana, because the **Land** still only renders 1 mana. However, they can prevent you from coming up short on a specific color of mana in a multi-color deck. * [Gateway Plaza](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=461173) taps for any color of mana. * [Survivor's Encampment](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=430873) and [Shimmering Grotto](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=438814) do *not* enter the battlefield tapped, so they're usable immediately. They normally provide 1 colorless mana, but by paying 1 mana and tapping they can instead produce any color mana. * [Wind-Scarred Crag](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=500982), [Tranquil Cove](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=508409), [Rugged Highlands](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=485572), and others, tap for one of two colors of mana. #### Untapping lands Some cards allow you to untap a tapped **Land**. As a result, you can tap the **Land** again during the same turn, producing two mana from one **Land**. * [Voyaging Satyr](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=416952) is a **Creature** that, when tapped, allows you to untap a **Land**. * [Arbor Elf](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=442149) is a **Creature** that, when tapped, allows you to untap a Forest. #### Fetches, guides, and tutors Some cards allow you to search through your draw deck (your **library**) for **Land**. There are details that make some more optimal than others, but all result in a guaranteed **Land** card either in your hand or on the battlefield. Given that normally you're at the mercy of the randomness of your library, this can help you build a good mana base in a reliable and predictable way. * [District Guide](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=452878) is a **Creature** that allows you to find **Land** and place it into your hand. * [Flower](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=452976&part=Flower) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to find **Land** and place it into your hand. * The **Land** card [Evolving Wilds](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=530837) can be sacrificed (discarded to your graveyard) in exchange for a basic **Land** directly to the battlefield. The fetched card starts tapped, so you don't get to draw mana from it the same turn that you play it, but having [Evolving Wilds](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=530837) cards in your deck gives you flexibility and increases predictability. * [Beneath the Sands](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=430800) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to find a **Land** and place it on the battlefield tapped. * [Map the Wastes](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=391871) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to find a **Land** and place it on the battlefield tapped. * Tutor cards are known for searching your library. They vary in price and abilities. [Demonic tutor](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=517577) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to search your library for any card and place it into your hand, while [Cruel tutor](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=4215) allows you to place the card on the top of your library with an additional cost of 2 life. ### Card draw Because you're often playing two or three cards on your turn, but you're permitted by the rules to draw only one each turn, there's a good chance that you will deplete your hand before the game is over. Some cards give you permission to draw more than just the initial draw-for-turn. * [Notion Rain](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=452943) is a **Sorcery** that trades 2 life points for 2 cards. * [Infiltration Lens](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205480) is an **Artifact — Equipment** allowing you to draw 2 cards whenever its host **Creature** is blocked in combat. * [Endless Atlas](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=489924) is an **Artifact** giving you an extra card each turn, as long as you control three or more **Lands** with the same name. * [Sram, Senior Edificer](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=532459) is a **Legendary** **Creature** that grants you a card whenever you cast an **Enchantment — Aura**, **Artifact — Equipment**, or **Vehicle**. * [Pirate's Prize](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=435220) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to draw 2 cards (and to create a **Token** that you can spend as mana). The opposite of granting card draw is called, in *Magic* terminology, *milling*. When you *Mill* a player, you cause them to discard, either out of their hand or from the top of their library. * [Mind Rot](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=485438) is a **Sorcery** that causes a target player to discard 2 cards. * [Compelling Argument](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=426749) is a **Sorcery** that causes a target player to discard five cards from their library. * [Sludge Crawler](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=402041) is a **Creature** that causes a target player to discard a card whenever it deals combat damage. * [Implement of Malice](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=423826) is an **Artifact** that, for the cost of 1 Black mana, causes a target player to discard a card. * [Coercion](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=397509) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to look at your opponent's hand and choose a card to send to the graveyard. * [Millstone](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=447379) is an **Artifact** that causes an opponent to discard 2 from the top of their library (and is in fact the card from which the term *milling* is derived). ### Recursion By default, a card that's discarded (sent to the *graveyard*) is functionally out of the game. After all, that's the point of a discard pile. However, there are cards that allow you to bring cards back from the graveyard. This is often called *recursion* by *Magic* players. * [Resurrection](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=456626) is a White **Sorcery** that returns a target **Creature** from your graveyard directly back into play. * [Gravedigger](https://scryfall.com/card/m20/103/gravedigger) is a Black **Creature** that returns a **Creature** back to your hand. * [Gravepurge](https://scryfall.com/card/dtk/104/gravepurge) is an **Instant** allowing you to return any number of **Creatures** from your graveyard on the top of your library. * [Recoup](https://scryfall.com/card/ddk/63/recoup) is a **Sorcery** that doesn't return anything from your graveyard, technically, but it does grant you permission to play any one **Sorcery** directly *from* the graveyard. * [Crystal Chimes](https://scryfall.com/card/c15/250/crystal-chimes) is an **Artifact** that rescues all **Enchantments** from your graveyard to your hand. There are opposite effects, too. ### Control and countering Some cards help you "control" the state of the game beyond its normal flow. This is as broad a category as general purpose combat, and could arguably include other strategies, particularly Milling and Recursion. But this category's diversity is why it deserves its own definition. There are many aspects of control, ranging from literally seizing control of an opponent's card, to preventing damage, forcefully tapping cards, and more. * [Tyrant's Machine](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=446216) is an **Artifact** that allows you to tap any target **Creature**. * [Winds of Qal Sisma](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=391962) is an **Instant** that prevents all combat damage during a turn. * [Commencement of Festivities](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=417721) is an **Instant** that prevents all combat damage during a turn. * [Act of Heroism](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=441990) is an **Instant** that allows you to untap a target creature. * [Graven Abomination](https://scryfall.com/card/hou/162/graven-abomination) causes its target player to exile a card from the graveyard, reducing its chance of returning to the game. * [Witness the End](https://scryfall.com/card/ogw/82/witness-the-end) causes an opponent to exile 2 cards directly from their hand, skipping the graveyard entirely. * [Negate](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=517568) is an **Instant** that negates any noncreature spell. * [Statute of Denial](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=383403) is an **Instant** that negates any spell. * [Hijack](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=435302) is a **Sorcery** that allows you to untap and take control of a target **Artifact** or **Creature** until the end of the turn. * [Caught in the Brights](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=423677) is an **Enchantment — Aura** that prevents a target **Creature** from attacking or blocking. ## Deck building The categories I define are just one interpretation of the game of *Magic*. They are: * Combat cards * Removal * Direct player damage * Life gain * Mana ramp * Card draw * Recursion * Control and countering Aside from "combat cards", the names of the categories I identify are widely used terms within the *Magic* community. The most efficient way to acquire cards within each category is to search the Internet for cards that fall within those categories, and then buy the ones that appeal to you as single cards from your game store. There are other card categories. For instance, there are powerups (cards that place +1/+1 counters on others, for example), cards that force other cards to tap out of turn, cards to seize control of other **Creatures**, and so on. These, in my opinion, are avenues toward essentially the same goal: winning. The categories I define don't concern winning as much as they sustain the game you create by building a deck. Look through *Magic: The Gathering* cards with these categories in mind, and you'll start to recognize them as variations of the core components of *Magic*, and you'll be able to make wise decisions on what cards to purchase for your next deck.