Name

Name refers in Magic: The Gathering to the name of a card or token. It is one of the characteristics of an object.

Description

Most objects have names. Cards come with names printed on them. Tokens may be named by the effect that creates them. If the effect does not specify a name, the name of the token is its subtype(s) followed by the word "Token". This ensures tokens have different names than cards. For example a "Blood Token" does not have the same name as "Blood", one of the names of the card Flesh // Blood. Emblems (except The Ring) and abilities don't have names.

The name of a card is positioned in the title bar at the top left corner of the card and is its primary method of identification. Each English card name is unique, though some other languages have used the same name for multiple cards. Also, translated cards with super-long names have been typeset using a different font — either the normal font compressed, or an actual smaller point size. Because of language issues, Creative tries not to change the gender when reprinting a card with new art.

A small subset of cards refers to other cards by name in the rules text. When they do, modern card text templating uses phrases like "creatures named XYZ" instead of "XYZ creatures" or "an XYZ", to avoid confusion with the more common abilities that refer to subtypes.

Skinned cards

See also Skinned card.

Skinned cards were first featured in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths with a Godzilla theme. The name of the original card is featured in a small font below the Outside IP name of the card in the title bar. This alternate name in the title bar is considered flavor text and has no effect on game play. Rules text may reference the original name in the secondary title bar, or the skin name.

Interchangeable names

See also Universes Within.

Interchangeable names were introduced in response to a player backlash over the release of mechanically unique cards in Secret Lair Drop Series: The Walking Dead. In order to reprint Universes Beyond cards without continuing access to the original IP rights Wizards of the Coast modified the rules for cards names to allow two different English language names to be considered the same name. This is indicated in the information below the text box. For all play purposes, cards with interchangeable names are considered the same card — players may only use a maximum of four copies across all versions in their constructed decks. Cards with interchangeable names are restricted to only the Universes Within versions of cards.

Rules

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

Name

A characteristic, and part of a card. A card’s name is printed in its upper left corner. See rule 201, “Name.”

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

• 201. Name
  • 201.1. The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.
  • 201.2. A card’s name is always considered to be the English version of its name, regardless of printed language.
    • 201.2a Two or more objects have the same name if they have at least one name in common, even if one or more of those objects have additional names. An object with no name doesn’t have the same name as any other object, including another object with no name.
    • 201.2b Some spells and abilities refer to two or more objects with different names. Those objects have different names only if each of them has at least one name and no two objects in that group have a name in common.

      Example: A player controls Liliana’s Contract, which says, in part, “At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control four or more Demons with different names, you win the game.” That player controls three Demons with different names and a face-down creature with no name, with an effect making it a Demon. Because the four creatures include one with no name, those four creatures don’t count as four Demons with different names. The ability of Liliana’s Contract won’t trigger.

    • 201.2c Some spells or abilities check if one object has a different name than a second object or group of objects. The first object has a different name than those objects if the first object has at least one name and has no names in common with any of the other objects, even if one or more of the other objects have no names. If the first object has no name, it does not have a different name than any of the other objects, even if those other objects themselves have names.
  • 201.3. Some cards with different English names are treated as though they had the same English name. Pairs of cards with this property have names that are interchangeable.
    • 201.3a For the purposes of all rules, abilities, and effects that refer to a card’s name, objects with interchangeable names have the same name. (See rules 201.2a–b.)
    • 201.3b For the purposes of deck construction and format legality, cards with interchangeable names have the same name.
    • 201.3c If a card has later printings with interchangeable names, the later printings will have an interchangeable names indicator in the bottom left-hand corner referring to the original printing’s three-letter set code and collector number (see rule 213.1d).
  • 201.4. If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the player must choose the name of a card in the Oracle card reference. (See rule 108.1.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.
    • 201.4a If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, the player must choose the name of a card whose Oracle text matches those characteristics. (See rule 108.1.)

      Example: Dispossess reads, in part, “Choose an artifact card name.” The player can choose the name of any artifact card, even one that’s not legal in the format of the current game. The player can’t choose Island, even if an Island on the battlefield has been turned into artifact by some effect.

    • 201.4b If a player wants to choose the name of a split card, the player must choose the name of one of its halves, but not both. (See rule 709.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only that half’s characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.
    • 201.4c If a player wants to choose a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 710.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.
    • 201.4d If a player wants to choose the name of the back face of a double-faced card, the player may do so. (See rule 712.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the back face to determine if this name can be chosen.
    • 201.4e If a player wants to choose the name of the combined back face of a meld pair, the player may do so. (See rule 713.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use only the characteristics of the combined back face to determine if this name can be chosen.
    • 201.4f If a player wants to choose an adventurer card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 715.) If a player is instructed to choose a card name with certain characteristics, use the card’s characteristics as modified by its alternative characteristics to determine if this name can be chosen.
    • 201.4g Some cards have interchangeable names (see rule 201.3). For all game purposes, these cards have the same name. If a player chooses the name of a card which has interchangeable names, the name of each of those cards has been chosen.
  • 201.5. Text that refers to the object it’s on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.
    • 201.5a If an ability’s effect grants another ability to an object, and that second ability refers to that first ability’s source by name, the name refers only to the specific object which is that first ability’s source. The second ability does not refer to any other object with the same name as the first ability’s source. However, if the second ability also moved the first ability’s source to a different public zone, the name refers to the object the source became in its new zone. This is also true if the second ability is copied onto a new object.

      Example: Gutter Grime has an ability that reads “Whenever a nontoken creature you control dies, put a slime counter on Gutter Grime, then create a green Ooze creature token with ‘This creature’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of slime counters on Gutter Grime.’” The ability granted to the token only looks at the Gutter Grime that created the token, not at any other Gutter Grime on the battlefield. A copy of that token would also have an ability that referred only to the Gutter Grime that created the original token.

    • 201.5b If an ability of an object refers to that object by name, and an object with a different name gains that ability, each instance of the first name in the gained ability that refers to the first object by name should be treated as the second name.

      Example: Quicksilver Elemental says, in part, “{U}: Quicksilver Elemental gains all activated abilities of target creature until end of turn.” If it gains an ability that says “{G}: Regenerate Cudgel Troll,” activating that ability will regenerate Quicksilver Elemental, not the Cudgel Troll it gained the ability from.

      Example: Glacial Ray is an instant with splice onto Arcane that says “Glacial Ray deals 2 damage to any target.” If it’s spliced onto a Kodama’s Reach, that Kodama’s Reach deals 2 damage to the target.

      Example: Dimir Doppelganger says “{1}{U}{B}: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Dimir Doppelganger becomes a copy of that card and gains this ability.” Dimir Doppelganger’s ability is activated targeting a Runeclaw Bear card. The Doppelganger becomes a copy of Runeclaw Bear and gains an ability that should be treated as saying “{1}{U}{B}: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Runeclaw Bear becomes a copy of that card and gains this ability.”

    • 201.5c Text printed on some cards refers to that card by a shortened version of its name. Instances of a card’s shortened name used in this manner are treated as though they used the card’s full name.
  • 201.6. Promotional or alternate-art versions of some cards feature a secondary title bar below the name line. The card’s name as listed in the Oracle card reference is displayed in the secondary title bar, and an alternate name appears in the upper left corner. For the purposes of deck construction, game rules, and effects, these cards have only the card name specified in the secondary title bar. Rules text may also refer to a card’s alternate name; instances of the alternate name that are present in rules text refer to the name specified in the secondary title bar. The alternate name has no effect on game play.

Trivia

• The Acorn card Discord, Lord of Disharmony allows you to create copies of a card with a random non-land Magic card name.

See also

• Meddling