Comprehensive Rules

The Comprehensive Rules are designed to be the end-all, be-all of the Magic rules. In this mighty tome everything from Banding to the layers of continuos effects is described and explained. As Wizards of the Coast warns, this is not for the faint of heart.

When making a reference to a specific rule the clearest way to do it is as follows [CR <rule>]. An example, if someone explains Mana Abilities and ends his or her explanation with [CR 406.1], then he makes a reference to rule 406.1 which states:

CR 406.1

• A mana ability is either (a) an activated ability that could put mana into a player's mana pool when it resolves or (b) a triggered ability that triggers from a mana ability and could produce additional mana. A mana ability can generate other effects at the same time it produces mana.

The Comprehensive Rules are available from Wizards of the Coast in TXT, DOC, Rich Text and PDF formats, and are approximately 123 pages. They are current as of May 1, 2006.

Index of the Comprehensive Rules (Included for reference)

• 1. The Game
  • 100. General
  • 101. Starting the Game
  • 102. Winning and Losing
  • 103. The Magic Golden Rules
  • 104. Numbers and Symbols

• 2. Parts of the Game
  • 200. General
  • 201. Characteristics
  • 202. Name
  • 203. Mana Cost and Color
  • 204. Illustration
  • 205. Type Line
  • 206. Expansion Symbol
  • 207. Text Box
  • 208. Power/Toughness
  • 209. Illustration Credit
  • 210. Legal Text
  • 211. Collector Number
  • 212. Type, Supertype, and Subtype
  • 213. Spells
  • 214. Permanents
  • 216. Tokens
  • 217. Zones

• 3. Turn Structure
  • 300. General
  • 301. Beginning Phase
  • 302. Untap Step
  • 303. Upkeep Step
  • 304. Draw Step
  • 305. Main Phase
  • 306. Combat Phase
  • 307. Beginning of Combat Step
  • 308. Declare Attackers Step
  • 309. Declare Blockers Step
  • 310. Combat Damage Step
  • 311. End of Combat Step
  • 312. End Phase
  • 313. End of Turn Step
  • 314. Cleanup Step

• 4. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
  • 400. General
  • 401. Spells on the Stack
  • 402. Abilities
  • 403. Activated Abilities
  • 404. Triggered Abilities
  • 405. Static Abilities
  • 406. Mana Abilities
  • 407. Adding and Removing Abilities
  • 408. Timing of Spells and Abilities
  • 409. Playing Spells and Activated Abilities
  • 410. Handling Triggered Abilities
  • 411. Playing Mana Abilities
  • 412. Handling Static Abilities
  • 413. Resolving Spells and Abilities
  • 414. Countering Spells and Abilities
  • 415. Targeted Spells and Abilities
  • 416. Effects
  • 417. One-Shot Effects
  • 418. Continuous Effects
  • 419. Replacement and Prevention Effects
  • 420. State-Based Effects
  • 421. Handling “Infinite” Loops
  • 422. Handling Illegal Actions

• 5. Additional Rules
  • 500. Legal Attacks and Blocks
  • 501. Evasion Abilities
  • 502. Keyword Abilities
  • 503. Copying Objects
  • 504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
  • 505. Split Cards
  • 506. Subgames
  • 507. Controlling Another Player’s Turn
  • 508. Flip Cards
  • 509. Ending the Turn
  • 510. Status

• 6. Multiplayer Rules
  • 600. General
  • 601. Limited Range of Influence Option
  • 602. Attack Multiple Players Option
  • 603. Deploy Creatures Option
  • 604. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
  • 605. Free-for-All Variant
  • 606. Two-Headed Giant Variant
  • 607. Emperor Variant
  • 608. Grand Melee Variant
  • 609. Teams Variant