Tap

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Tap
Keyword Action
Introduced	Alpha
Last used	Evergreen
Reminder Text	No official reminder text
Scryfall Search
fulloracle:"Tap"

Tap is a keyword action that is usually represented on cards with symbol.

Description

To tap a permanent, turn it 90 degrees from an upright position. For example, one of the first things that any player learns about Magic is that you tap your lands to cast your spells. As it is integral to the game and TCGs in general, Wizards of the Coast has the concept of tapping patented.

Tap symbols

Actions that cause a card to tap include:

• Using its activated ability if that ability requires it to tap (for example, ": Add .")
• Declaring a creature as an attacker (see Declare Attackers Step)
• Regenerating a creature that would be destroyed and is not already tapped (see Regeneration)
• Paying a cost of a spell or ability (see Additional cost, Alternative cost, and Activation cost)

Forced tapping

White is the primary color of tapping creatures. Blue is secondary, usually alongside either freezing or untapping. Forced tapping has various nuances, usually based on their timing and repetitiveness.

• Sorcery one-shot tap effects are the weakest of these. It often amounts to stopping a single defender from blocking. It is in fact so weak, very few sorceries only tap one creature, with the smallest bonus being stopping them from untapping (Sleep of the Dead). Other bonuses include targeting more creatures (Terashi's Cry) or all opposing (Bond of Discipline), drawing a card (Rooftop Nuisance, or coming with a creature (Leonin Snarecaster). Spells that tap all opposing creatures are strategically stallbreakers.
• Instant one-shot tapping has more utility, preventing attacking as well as blocking, and also potentially disabling an ability, as many abilities used inopportunely may be as well as not used. White and blue have a series of "tap two target creatures" instants that are tempo plays: White appends this with drawing a card (Repel the Darkness) or equivalent (Study Break, Ardenvale Tactician), while blue freezes (Frost Breath).
• Repeatable triggered abilities that largely are contextualized on whether they can be triggered on one's own turn or at instant speed. A popular white mechanic is tapping when attacking (Cho-Arrim Bruiser), which consistently invalidates the opponent's best blocker. Creatures with such abilities are prized aggressive cards that pressure the opponent to use a removal spell or leave several creatures back, and by extension let weaker creatures go by as blocking to remove the tapper is so paramount.
• Repeatable activated was once a common white ability (Master Decoy) before it was realized that it was a cheap answer that invalidated green's large creatures for two decades, as they had no real removal until fighting. The power level started to decrease with Akroan Mastiff and now either has conditions or needs more than one mana to tap. Blue's offerings tended to add "or untap" with them, which usually added enough of a premium to not be considered repressive. Blue's lack of aggressive posturing meant it was less of an issue, but regardless, it has not seen a tapper at the same rate as Gideon's Lawkeeper.

Twiddle

Ever since the card Twiddle appeared in Alpha, blue has had the ability to tap or untap permanents. It's most often used just on creatures. Blue doesn't tend to just tap or just untap, but rather give you the choice between the two. The one exception is when it "freezes" creatures, tapping creatures and keeping them from untapping for a turn.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 701.21. Tap and Untap
  • 701.21a To tap a permanent, turn it sideways from an upright position. Only untapped permanents can be tapped.
  • 701.21b To untap a permanent, rotate it back to the upright position from a sideways position. Only tapped permanents can be untapped.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Tap

To turn a permanent sideways from an upright position. See rule 701.21, “Tap and Untap.”

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Tapped

A status a permanent may have. See rule 110.5 and rule 701.21, “Tap and Untap.” See also Untapped.

From the Tournament Rules (May 13, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 3.14 Tapped/Flipped Cards
  If a card must be tapped or flipped, it must be turned approximately 90 degrees (tapped) or 180 degrees (flipped), whichever is appropriate.
  

Tap symbol

Originally cards used the word tap explicitly (e.g., the text on Samite Healer in Unlimited was "Tap to prevent 1 damage to any target.") or were of type "Mono Artifact" (Cyclopean Tomb). Revised introduced the tap symbol as a tilted T inside a gray circle. This didn't work, because in foreign languages the word for "tap" didn't start with a T. In Fourth Edition, it was changed to a white curved arrow with a tilted black rectangle representing the tapping card. In Eighth Edition, it was changed to a black curved arrow without the rectangle behind it .

The tap symbol was considered too advanced for first Portal sets. Thus it was written out again (Capricious Sorcerer (Portal), Apprentice Sorcerer (Portal Second Age)), (Wu Longbowman (Portal Three Kingdoms)).

The untap symbol was introduced in Shadowmoor where "untapping" was a mechanic of the set. By 2010, the introduction of the symbol was considered a failure; players just mistook the untap symbol for the tap symbol.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Tap Symbol

The tap symbol {T} in an activation cost means “Tap this permanent.” See rule 107.5.

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 107.5. The tap symbol is {T}. The tap symbol in an activation cost means “Tap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already tapped can’t be tapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 302.6. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol or the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. A creature can’t attack unless it has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. This rule is informally called the “summoning sickness” rule.

Trivia

• "Tapping" originates from the verb to tap, which means "to draw out, from, or upon". You "tap" the energies/resources of the card.

See also

• Untap