Taxing

Taxing is a slang term used to describe spells that stop an opponent from doing something unless they pay a price (usually extra mana). Taxing cards are most often creatures and enchantments but occasionally are done as one-shot spells.

Description

Taxing is a white mechanic. Most of blue's taxing has gone to white (it used to be primary in blue), but blue still gets taxing counterspells (such as Mana Leak). Taxing cards are most often creatures and enchantments, but occasionally are done as one-shot spells or colored artifacts.

A small number of creatures tax by using on-board activated ability counters, given that a player can't tax a spell already paid for. Hidden information taxing is usually countermagic that is timed when the opponent cannot pay. This differs from passive taxing (i.e. costs more), which taxes each spell, while on-board counters only ever taxes the last spell.

Another form makes the tax penalty in the form of drawn cards, which is often tantamount to rule-setting at higher levels but is much weaker in multiplayer formats.

A new effect is to tax a specific card in an opponent's hand, as Elite Spellbinder or Anointed Peacekeeper, which sometimes acts like a meddling effect.

Ward for mana is effectively a one-permanent tax effect. Rhystic partially plays like a tax, but the effects are generally spell effects and are hidden before being cast, having the opponent not know the magnitude of the effect or mana required to stop it.

Examples are Kataki, War's Wage, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archangel of Tithes, Frontline Medic, Esper Sentinel

Ghostly Prison or Propaganda

The Ghostly Prison or Propaganda effect refers to a passive ability on cards that tax attacking creatures for mana. Once in blue, the effect is now primarily white, as a tax effect to prevent creatures from attacking (two white abilities).

This effect started, oddly, in Black with Koskun Falls in Homelands. Winter's Chill has an effect that somewhat follows the idea behind the Prison effect, but it has too many odd conditions to truly count as one. The most iconic and elegant version was Propaganda in Tempest, following which two more were printed in Blue before shifting to White in Windborn Muse. It has been White since then - Ghostly Prison in Champions of Kamigawa was a colorshifted reprint of Propaganda and hence has been the source of the mechanic's name since.

That said, it took until New Phyrexia for a new variant to be printed, and with it, a new template. Planeswalkers were released in the meantime as an important game piece, and such effects can tax attacks on planeswalkers of the effect's controller. The tax has also varied, with some requiring a tax independent of the number of creatures.

Test card

Tax was consolidated in rules text on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Tax Taker ([...] each time a spell you control or an ability of a permanent you control causes an opponent to pay extra mana.)

Rule-setting

Rule-setting is a slang term used to describe enchantments that create new rules and change how the game of Magic is played. Rule-setting is primary a white mechanic. While taxing allows players to perform certain actions at a cost, rule-setting is much harsher and prevents it altogether.

Rule-setting is often a key component of constructed sideboard cards, as their effects are typically hate piecees. Cards such as Rule of Law, Humility, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Drannith Magistrate, Aven Mindcensor, Stony Silence and Rest in Piece have been important metagame components in larger formats. While some rule-setting cards are fragile creatures, popular for Death and Taxes decks, the symmetrical enchantments are difficult to remove and important enough to use a card for.