Flying

Flying
Keyword Ability
Type	Evasion
Introduced	Alpha
Last used	Magic Origins
Reminder Text	Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying and/or reach.)
Scryfall Search
	keyword:"Flying"

Flying is an evergreen evasion ability that makes creatures without flying unable to block creatures with flying. It has been in Magic since the original Alpha set. ^[1] ^[2] It was the first mechanic that Richard Garfield designed for the game. ^[3]

Description

Flying appears on over 1,000 different cards and is scattered wildly on the color wheel, mostly being found on blue and white cards, but also appearing in black and to a lesser extent red. Green rarely has flying creatures, but is the best color at destroying them (e.g. Hurricane, Plummet). There are a number of creature types that almost always have flying, such as Angels, Birds, Sphinxes, Dragons, and Griffins (each of these generally being creatures with wings).

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

702.9. Flying
- 702.9a Flying is an evasion ability.
- 702.9b A creature with flying can’t be blocked except by creatures with flying and/or reach. A creature with flying can block a creature with or without flying. (See rule 509, “Declare Blockers Step,” and rule 702.17, “Reach.”)
- 702.9c Multiple instances of flying on the same creature are redundant.