User:Inktog/Test card only mechanics

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Aggressive

Aggressive is a static ability that creates an additional combat phase for the controlling player after the first, during which only creatures with aggressive may attack. The mechanic appeared on Bear with Set's Mechanic (Mystery Booster).

As your first combat phase ends during your turn, if one or more creatures you control have aggressive, you have another combat phase before your second main phase. This is called the aggressive combat phase. Creatures without aggressive can't attack during an aggressive combat phase. If you control no creatures with aggressive as your first combat phase ends but control one later during your turn, you won't have an aggressive combat phase.

Example

Bear with Set's Mechanic
Creature — Bear
2/2
Vigilance
Aggressive (During your turn, there is an additional combat phase after the first, and only creatures with aggressive may attack during it).

Afraid

Afraid is a game term introduced on the Mystery Booster 2 test card Creepy Crawler. It is a player designation and a player status and a form of batching. An opponent is afraid of you if a Horror, Nightmare, enchantment, or face-down creature you control entered or attacked them this turn.

Afraid started as a solution to the problem of having cards that cared mechanically about enchantments in Duskmourn: House of Horror vision design. Design started by looking at constellation from the Theros block but the name constellation wasn't a good fit for the haunted house flavor of the set. Constellation could not also interact with additional parts of the set. The final version of Afraid that was handed off from vision design had the rules text "If an enchantment, Horror, or Nightmare you control entered the battlefield or attacked this turn, all opponents are afraid."

In Set Design it was realized the non-enchantment creature types didn't add much additional value in an enchantment-heavy set. The removal of the Horror and Nightmare references also meant the attack trigger was mostly unnecessary because all the sets' Nightmares were typed as enchantment creatures. In parallel with the changes to Afraid, Rooms had been redesigned such that you unlocked one door when cast and the second door unlocked later. Ultimately, afraid was replaced with Eerie.

For Mystery Booster 2, Gavin reprised the original vision design mechanic and added face-down creatures as a secret nod to Duskmourn: House of Horror's Manifest Dread mechanic.

Example

Creepy Crawler
Creature — Spider
2/4
Menace, reach
Whenever Creepy Crawler deals combat damage to a player who is afraid of you, that player discards a card and you draw a card. (An opponent is afraid of you if a Horror, Nightmare, enchantment, or face-down creature you control entered the battlefield or attacked them this turn.)

• You don't need to control Creepy Crawler to make an opponent afraid of you. (Mechanically, I mean. Please don't jump scare your opponents!)
• Each time a Horror creature, Nightmare creature, enchantment creature, or face-down creature enters the battlefield under your control, all of your opponents become afraid of you for the rest of the turn, regardless of what happens to the creature that entered.
• Similarly, each time a Horror creature, Nightmare creature, enchantment creature, or face-down creature you control attacks an opponent, that opponent become afraid of you for the rest of the turn, regardless of what happens to the creature that attacked. Attacking a planeswalker or battle, however, won't cause anyone (your opponent or the planeswalker) to become afraid of you; most planeswalkers have seen some wild stuff.

Annihinfect

Annihinfect is a keyword ability that appears on Kozilek, Compleated from Mystery Booster 2. It is essentially a variation on Annihilator N, where N is the number of poison counters the defending player has. The ability's name is a combination of Annihilator (the Eldrazi mechanic) and Infect (the Phyrexian mechanic).

Annihinfect abilities trigger and resolve during the declare attackers step. The defending player chooses and sacrifices the required number of permanents before they declare blockers. Any creatures sacrificed this way won't be able to block.

If a creature with annihinfect is attacking a planeswalker, and the defending player chooses to sacrifice that planeswalker, the attacking creature continues to attack. It may be blocked. If it isn't blocked, it simply won't deal combat damage to anything.

Example

Kozilek, Compleated
Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Eldrazi
( can be paid with either or 2 life.)
When you cast this spell, each opponent gets two poison counters, then each opponent with more than two cards in hand discards cards equal to the difference.
Annihinfect (Whenever this creature attacks, defending player sacrifices a permanent for each poison counter they have.)
12/12

Assist kicker

Assist kicker is a variant of kicker designed for team play (You and up to one other player can spend mana to pay this kicker cost.). It appears on the Mystery Booster 2 card All-Star Kicker.

Bank

Bank is a keyword ability that allows a player to save up a card for a next game within a match. The mechanic appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set.

If a card with Bank is cast from your hand, it is exiled until the end of the match. The player may cast it from exile during another game during the match. It still counts towards the deck minimum.

This might be interesting for a Control player, which can have a weaker game one in a lot of matchups. After sideboarding, game two can be played with an added advantage. It also makes the deck more efficient by making it one card smaller, but still counting.

Bank has similarities to the "Double" cycle of cards from Unglued: Double Dip, Double Take, Double Cross, Double Deal, and Double Play. Instead of being able to cast them a second time later in the match, they automatically apply a second copy of their effects at the beginning of the next game. They could potentially be re-drawn and re-cast in that later game as well, unlike Banked cards.

• If a card with bank doesn't resolve for any reason (such as being countered, or all of its targets becoming illegal if it has any), it won't be banked.
• Banked cards begin the next games in a match in exile. They're not outside the game.
• Once you cast a banked card from exile, it behaves like any other spell. It may be countered, and it'll be put onto the battlefield if it resolves as a permanent spell, or into its owner's graveyard if it's not a permanent spell.
• If you cast a spell you don't own or gain control of a spell, you didn't cast it from your hand, so you don't bank it.

Example

Memory Bank
Sorcery
Draw a card.
Bank (If you cast Memory Bank from your hand, exile it until the end of the match. You may cast it from exile during another game this match. It still counts towards your deck minimum.)

Bedtime story

Bedtime story is a keyword ability on Sagas that moves the timing of when a Saga triggers from the beginning of the precombat main phase to the beginning of the end step. It was introduced on a Mystery Booster 2 test card. A Saga with bedtime story enters without any lore counters on it. At the beginning of the end step, the Saga's turn-based action will trigger and put a lore counter on it.

Example

Night of the Flying Merfolk
Enchantment — Saga
Bedtime story (Don't put a lore counter on this Saga as it enters. Put a lore counter on it at the beginning of your end step rather than your main phase. Sacrifice after III.)

I — Create two 1/1 blue Merfolk creature tokens.

II — Put a flying counter on each tapped creature you control.

III — Draw a card for each creature you control that dealt combat damage to a player this turn.

Buddy list

Buddy list is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Champion of the Hareish. It is a form of customized batching.

Keywords the unreleased "fellowship" mechanic designed for Bloomburrow.

Buddy list is an ability that lets a player add a creature type to an invisible list that lasts till the end of the game. From then on, creatures with typal effects can affect any of the creatures that are in that buddy list, not just their creature type. A buddy list can work as typal glue.

Example

Champion of the Hareish
Creature — Rabbit Soldier
1/1
Buddy list (As this creature enters, if any of its creature types isn’t on your buddy list, write one of them on your buddy list.)
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Champion of the Hareish if one of that creature’s creature types is on your buddy list. Otherwise, write one of its creature types your buddy list.

• As each game begins, you have no buddies.
• After you write a creature type on your buddy list, that creature type will be on your buddy list for the rest of the game.

Challenge

Challenge is a keyword action, introduced on a test card in the Mystery Booster set. A player may challenge another player to reveal certain cards in their hand to counter a certain effect. If the challenge is successfully met, the effect will be enlarged. If not, the effect is nullified.

If you're challenged, you may reveal any number of cards from your hand. The effect that allowed a player to challenge you will specify what you must reveal to win the challenge.

Such mechanics have been utilized in other card games for decades (most notably Cheat, and more recently Coup), Richard Garfield attempted to port the Challenge mechanic into Magic for Dominaria.

Example

Xyru Specter
Creature — Specter
2/2
Whenever Xyru Specter deals damage to an opponent, that player discards a card unless they challenge you. If challenged, and you show them two black cards in your hand, they must discard two cards.

Coststorm

Coststorm is a triggered keyword ability that appears on the Mystery Booster 2 card Friarball. Coststorm is similar to storm, except that instead of counting the number of spells cast during a turn, it counts the number of unique mana values played. The mechanic includes lands as all lands (except Glade of the Pump Spells) have a mana value of zero.

Example

Friarball
Sorcery
Create a 2/2 white Monk creature token.
Coststorm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each different mana value among other spells and lands you've played this turn.)

Curse

The Mystery Booster card Celestine Cave Witch uses the word curse as a keyword action that allows the player to create Curse enchantment tokens.

Deworded

Deworded is a characteristic-defining keyword ability which states that a card is counted as having no abilities. It is only featured on a Mystery Booster 2 test card. Deworded is a characteristic-defining ability. It functions everywhere, even outside the game. For example, Ruxa, Patient Professor can return Muraganda Eldrazi from your graveyard to your hand. The mechanics on Muraganda Eldrazi are a play on the tendency of Muragandan cards to care about vanilla creatures (e.g. Muraganda Petroglyphs).

Example

Muraganda Eldrazi
Creature — Eldrazi Dinosaur
6/5
Devoid (This card has no color.)
Deworded (This creature counts as having no abilities.)
When you cast this spell, put a primeval counter on target creature. (A creature with a primeval counter loses all abilities and can’t gain abilities.)

Equipment swap

Equipment swap is a keyword ability that appears on the Mystery Booster 2. It lets you exchange an Equipment that has it for an Equipment in your hand. Equipment Swap is a variation on Aura Swap from Future Sight. If the Equipment on the battlefield was attached to a creature, the new Equipment becomes attached to that creature as well.

The exchange happens on resolution of Arcanum Things's Equipment swap ability and is simultaneous. As Equipment swap resolves, you may reveal an Equipment card from your hand. If you don't reveal an Equipment card, or if the exchange can't be completed (such as if Arcanum Things is no longer on the battlefield, you don't own Arcanum Things, or the new Equipment can't be attached to the creature Arcanum Things is attached to), nothing happens.

Example

Arcanum Things
Artifact — Equipment
Enchant creature
Equipped creature has flying.
Equipment swap (: Exchange this Equipment with an Equipment card in your hand. If this Equipment was attached to a creature, attach the new Equipment to that creature.)

Familiar

Familiar is a form of batching introduced on the Mystery Booster 2 test card Chea, Friend to Maybe Too Many. It is a form of Typal coupling. Bats, Birds, Cats, Dragons, Faeries, Foxes, Frogs, Imps, Lizards, and Spiders are familiars, as well as any creature with “Familiar” in its name.

In general, Familars are animals, spirits, or other beings that works with or guard those who practice magic like wizards or witches.

Example

Chea, Friend to Maybe Too Many
Legendary Creature — Human Wizards
2/4
Familiar spells you cast have flash. (Bats, Birds, Cats, Dragons, Faeries, Foxes, Frogs, Imps, Lizards, and Spiders are familiars, as well as any creature with “Familiar” in its name.)
: Add X and each opponent loses X life, where X is the number of familiars you control.

Firstest strike

The mythical card Throat Wolf was rumored to have firstest strike, back in the time when full card lists were rarer, and information was less dispersed. Some red creatures had an ability that had some similarity to a super-first strike ability such as Talruum Champion, as it could disable other first strike abilities; and others such as Ornery Goblin or Inferno Elemental, which dealt noncombat damage in the blockers phase. Throat Wolf was finally printed with firstest strike as a test card in the Mystery Booster set (This creature deals combat damage before creatures with first strike).

Fixed commander ninjutsu

The Unknown Event test cards The Multifaceted Phyrexian and Monet, Sensei of the Sewers introduced Fixed commander ninjutsu [cost] (It's commander ninjutsu, except the command tax applies, like it should have originally). The former also includes the reminder text rider (Sorry but I learned from Yuriko). It implicitly acknowledges that Commander Ninjutsu was poorly balanced for a Commander that could be repeatedly returned to the battlefield.

Flashforward

Flasforward is a play on the Flashback mechanic but rather than cast the card from your graveyard and put it into exile, the card is cast from exile and put on the bottom of its owner's library. The mechanic itself has no way of placing the card into exile; that must be achieved by the player through other means. Once in exile, it can be cast for its flashforward cost as an alternative cost.

• "Flashforward [cost]" means "You may cast this card from exile by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost" and "If the flashforward cost was paid, put this card on the bottom of its owner's library instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack."
• You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions, including those based on the card's type. For instance, you can cast a sorcery using flashforward only when you could normally cast a sorcery.
• To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a flashforward cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
• A spell cast using flashforward will always be put on the bottom of its owner's library afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way.
• When you cast Boltfire normally, it will go to the graveyard after it finishes resolving. You'll have to figure out how to get it into exile to cast it with its flashforward ability.
• If some other effect gives you permission to cast Boltfire from exile, such as if you exiled it with Dark-Dweller Oracle, you may cast Boltfire using either permission.

Example

Boltfire
Sorcery
Boltfire deals 2 damage to any target.
Flashforward (You may cast this card from exile for its flashforward cost. Then put it on the bottom of your library.)

Four-faced

Four-faced is a keyword ability featured on a test card in the Mystery Booster set. A four-sided creature has four stages with different characteristics, and advances through stages whenever it is tapped. It is inspired by Double-faced cards, but has elements of the Level up mechanic and Sagas in the way it moves through multiple stages.

It is unclear from the test card how a four-faced creature would be configured on an actual card. The test card uses a layout very similar to the Level up mechanic, which ironically had been met with mixed reactions due to the layout. A few months before Mystery Booster was released, Mark Rosewater speculated that something similar to "triple-faced cards" found in the Duel Masters trading card game would eventually be done in Magic, but not soon.

Example

Loopy Lobster
Creature — Lobster
?/?
Four-faced (Whenever this becomes tapped, move it to the next stage, or to stage 1 if it’s at stage 4.)
Stage 1 — (1/4)
Stage 2 — (4/1) Evolve
Stage 3 — (2/4) : Loopy Lobster gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
Stage 4 — (4/4) Vigilance. : Draw two cards.

• A permanent with four-faced starts at stage 1.
• If Loopy Lobster somehow enters the battlefield tapped, it will still be at stage 1.
• If an object becomes a copy of a permanent with four-faced, that object remains at the stage it was. If it wasn't at a stage, it's at stage 1.
• A creature card with four-faced that isn't on the battlefield is a 0/0 creature.
• Activating Loopy Lobster's stage 3 ability creates an effect that lasts even if it moves to stage 4 during that turn.

Grazing type

Grazing type is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 Dairy Cow. A creature with grazing type enters the battlefield with five milk counters on it for each Forest and/or Plant you control.

Dairy Cow is a real-life version of the Magic: The Gathering parody card game by the American YouTuber ProZD. His original sketch was a paid advertisement by Wizards of the Coast for Magic: The Gathering Arena.

Example

Dairy Cow
Creature — Cow
2/1
Grazing type (This creature enters the battlefield with five milk counters on it for each Forest and/or Plant you control.)

Hope

Hope is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Sliver of Hope. When a creature with hope attacks, all damage that would be dealt to it will be prevented.

Example

Sliver of Hope
Creature — Sliver
3/3
Slivers you control have hope. (Prevent all damage that would be dealt to attacking creatures with hope.)

Host

Host is a keyword action introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Immersturm Battlefield. Host exclusively appears on Enchantments with the Realm subtype. When a creature is hosted in a Realm, it gets certain benefits.

• You can target any creature with Immersturm Battlefield's host ability, not just creatures you control.
• Once a creature has been hosted at a Realm, that creature remains hosted until it or the Realm leave the battlefield.

Example

Immersturm Battlefield
Enchantment — Realm
Hosted creatures get +2/+0 and have haste.
Host (: Host target creature at this Realm. A Realm can host any number of creatures. Host only as a sorcery.)

Interplanar

Interplanar is a keyword ability that creates an additional zone, the interplanar battlefield, where cards with the ability enter as interplanar permanents. Interplanar permanents can't be controlled. Instead, their actions are triggered by certain events on the regular battlefield.

The mechanic appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set.

• Objects on the interplanar battlefield are on the battlefield and are known as interplanar permanents.
• An interplanar permanent is a permanent that you don't control, but it's not a permanent an opponent controls.
• If an effect refers to an interplanar permanent's controller, that part of the effect doesn't happen.
• If an effect attempts to give a player control of an interplanar permanent, that part of the effect doesn't happen.
• If an interplanar permanent gains an ability that refers to its controller or refers to "you," that part of the ability has no effect.
• If a non-interplanar permanent becomes a copy of an interplanar permanent, the first permanent is still non-interplanar. If an interplanar permanent becomes a copy of a non-interplanar permanent, the first permanent is still interplanar.
• If multiple triggered abilities of interplanar permanents need to be put on the stack, the active player puts them on the stack in any order they choose after all players have put any triggered abilities they control onto the stack. (In other words, the triggered abilities of interplanar permanents will resolve first.) These abilities have no controller.
• If a player attacks with multiple creatures with power 4 or greater, that player chooses one player or planeswalker those creatures are attacking, and Interplanar Brushwagg ends up attacking that player or planeswalker.
• Although Interplanar Brushwagg is an attacking creature if it uses its triggered ability, it was never declared as an attacking creature. This means that abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks won't trigger when it becomes attacking.
• Any effects that say that Interplanar Brushwagg can't attack or can't attack a certain player (such as that of Propaganda, or if Interplanar Brushwagg gains defender) affect only the declaration of attackers. They won't stop Interplanar Brushwagg from becoming an attacking creature through its triggered ability.
• Interplanar Brushwagg may end up attacking its owner this way.

Example

Interplanar Brushwagg
Creature — Brushwagg
6/4
Interplanar (This creature enters onto the interplanar battlefield. Players can’t control creatures on the interplanar battlefield.)
Vigilance, haste
Whenever a player attacks with a creature with power 4 or greater, Interplanar Brushwagg also attacks the player or planeswalker that creature is attacking.

Kinfall

Kinfall is an ability word that appears on a test card in the Mystery Booster set.

Kinfall is a mix-up of the Kinship and Landfall abilities. Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if it shares a creature type with the creature with Kinfall, a certain action may be performed.

Landship is Landfall and Kinship combined the other way around. Unlike Landship, Kinfall already has an unworded presence in most Tribal sets, though without the conditional type clause. Examples of this are Righteous Valkyrie, Mausoleum Wanderer, and Wayward Servant. Several cards only check for one of two types.

Example

Plane-Merge Elf
Creature — Elf Warrior
3/3
Landship — At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it’s a land, you may reveal it. If you do, create a 1/1 green Elf Warrior creature token.
Kinfall — Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if it shares a creature type with Plane-Merge Elf, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

Land drop

In 2024, the Mystery Booster 2 test card Boulder Jockey explored the "land drop as a resource" idea from Zendikar design. It introduced , a cost that can be paid by giving up a land drop.

Example

Boulder Jockey
Creature — Goblin
4/4
( is a land drop. You may give up one potential land drop this turn to pay for .)
Whenever Boulder Jockey attacks, you may pay . If you do, create a 3/3 colorless Construct artifact creature token named Boulder that’s tapped and attacking. Sacrifice that token at the beginning of the next end step.

Landship

Landship is an ability word that appears on a test card in the Mystery Booster set. Landship is a mix-up of the Landfall and Kinship abilities. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it's a land, you may reveal it. If you do, you can perform a certain action. Kinfall is Kinship and Landfall combined the other way around. While Kinfall is a relatively common functional design, Landship has only two cards with a similar design with Into the Wilds and Fisher's Talent.

Example

Plane-Merge Elf
Creature — Elf Warrior
3/3
Landship — At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it’s a land, you may reveal it. If you do, create a 1/1 green Elf Warrior creature token.
Kinfall — Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if it shares a creature type with Plane-Merge Elf, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

Legacy

Legacy is a keyword ability that only appears on test cards. Legacy is a nod to Legacy-style board games. It is a static ability that allows you to permanently change the rules connected to a card by permanently marking it with a pen. There are two applications of this: the two creatures are modified during deckbuilding, and as such do not change, though a player may modify them as part of their sideboarding plan. Gold Mine, however, changes during gameplay, and hence can vary its value as the match continues.

The mechanic appeared on two test cards in the Mystery Booster set. It reappeared in Mystery Booster 2 on Built Bear.

• Once you've marked a card, you can't change it, even between games. It remains part of that physical card
• If an object becomes a copy of an object with a word blank, the value in that blank is copied.
• If an object without nodes becomes a copy of an object with nodes, the copy has no nodes. A cost to mark one of its nodes can't be paid.

Cryptic Spires has similarities to this ability, with "As you create your deck..." being analogous to "Before the game starts..." or "During deckbuilding...". The plot booster is another concept derived from Legacy-style board games.

Example 1

Inspirational Antelope
Creature — Antelope
1/3
Legacy — Before the game starts, choose a keyword or ability word and write it below.
Spells with __________ you cast cost less to cast.

Example 2

Gold Mine
Land
: Add .
Legacy — , Mark one of Gold Mine’s unmarked nodes: Add one mana of any color.
□,□,□,□,□

Legendary costs

A legendary mana cost, represented by , appears on the test card Keeper of the Crown (Mystery Booster 2). The cost can be paid by one mana of any type produced by a legendary source, which can include any legendary permanent, legendary spell, or legendary card in any zone. This is a requirement of the cost itself. The mana produced by a legendary source has no special properties, effects, or restrictions derived from the legendary supertype and that mana is indistinguishable from any other mana of the same type.

Library ninjutsu

The Mystery Booster 2 test card Panglacial Shinobi introduced Library ninjutsu ([cost], Shuffle an unblocked attacker you control into its owner’s library: Put this card onto the battlefield from your library tapped and attacking. Activate only while searching your library.)

Megalegendary

Megalegendary is a keyword appearing on the test card Vazal, the Compleat (Mystery Booster) with the reminder text "Your deck can have only one copy of this card". In a Limited event, having two copies of Vazal requires putting one in your sideboard.

Monk track

The monk track is a concept introduced on the Mystery Booster 2 card Abbot of the Sacred Meeple. It is a scale that mimics the evolution of the Monk D&D core class. A monk creature usually occupies a space equal to its power on the Monk Track. This can be adjusted with Sinecure.

Mono eminence

Mono eminence is an ability word seen on a cycle of Unknown Event test cards. It is similar to regular eminence but applies the extra deck-building condition of having to stick to a specific monocolor color identity.

Motivate

Motivate is a keyword ability that allows a player to activate dormant creatures that had been cast cheaply first for a cheap effect. To motivate, a motivate cost has to be paid. The mechanic appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set.

Paying a creature's motivate cost is a special action that its controller may take any time they have priority during their main phase with no spells or abilities on the stack. Once you motivate a creature, it remains motivated for you for as long as it remains on the battlefield. If another player gains control of it, that player must motivate it before it can attack or block, but if you regain control of it, it's still motivated for you.

Example

Lazier Goblin
Creature — Goblin
2/1
Motivate (This creature can’t attack or block unless you have paid its motivate cost once. Motivate only as a sorcery.)
When Lazier Goblin enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to any target.

Negamorph

Mystery Booster 2 introduced negamorph on the test card Flavor Disaster, as a parody of megamorph. Negamorph creatures are essentially megamorph creatures except the +1/+1 counter they receive when turned face up is replaced with a -1/-1 counter.

Nimble

Nimble is an evasion ability first introduced in Legends and officially keyworded on a Mystery Booster 2 test card. A creature with the keyword nimble can't be blocked by any creature with a power of 3 or greater. Nimble is a variation on the Skulk mechanic but doesn't scale as the creature gets larger or smaller in power.

Oil scavenge

Oil Scavenge is a keyword ability that allows a player to exile a card from their graveyard as a sorcery for a cost and then place oil counters equal to its power on a creature. The mechanic appeared on the Phyrexian Esthetician test card at the Philadelphia 2023 Unknown Event. It is the equivalent of scavenge for oil counters instead of +1/+1 counters. As such, the cost is much more aggressive as fewer permanents can make use of them.

Old companion

Old Companion was used as a keyword ability on The Companion of the Wilds test card from an Unknown Event. Mimicking the original companion rules, its reminder text is "(You may cast this from outside the game if this is companion without paying {3} first.)"

Onionfect

The Unknown Event test card The Vegetable Car introduced Onionfect which is a variant of infect that gives Food tokens to the player. Its rules text is "This creature deals damage in the form of giving you Food tokens.".

Partners with itself

The Mystery Booster 2 test card Mothers Yamazaki introduced "Partner with itself", a variant of partner with (When this enters, target player may put Mothers Yamazaki into their hand from their library, then shuffle. A Commander deck can include two of this card, and they can be your commanders.). As long as you control exactly two permanents named Mothers Yamazaki, the "legend rule" doesn’t apply to them.

Pass the ball

Pass the ball is a keyword action introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card All-Star Kicker. Pass the ball can only be played by a team in a multiplayer game. To pass the ball, one of the players on the team gives a permanent or card in hand to another player on the team.

Example

All-Star Kicker
Creature — Orc Athlete
2/2
Assist kicker (You and up to one other player can spend mana to pay this kicker cost.)
When All-Star Kicker enters the battlefield, your team may pass the ball. Then if All-Star Kicker was kicked, creatures your team controls get +1/+1 and gain haste until end of turn. (To pass the ball, one of the players on your team gives a permanent or card in hand to another player on your team.)

Perform a magic trick

Performing a magic trick is a test card game action introduced as part of a Planechase Unknown event. It is similar to Committing a crime. The player "performs a magic trick" when you cast an instant or spell with flash, or turn a face-down creature face-up. It was introduced on the Preston's Stage plane card at the 2024 Las Vegas Planechase Unknown by creating Hat tokens whenever one did so.

Planeswalkerwalk

Planeswalkerwalk makes a creature unblockable if the defending player controls at least one planeswalker. The ability is a pun on the homophonic sound of both "Planeswalk" and "Plainswalk".

Example

Plain Walker
Creature — Kithkin Rogue
Plainswalk
Planeswalkerwalk (This creature can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a planeswalker.)
Whenever Plain Walker deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker, planeswalk. (If you're playing Planechase, proceed to the next plane.)
2/3

Plot booster

A plot booster is a concept used in Legacy-style board games, being an unknown element added to a certain game and thereby changing certain rules that players are used to. In connection to Magic: The Gathering, a plot booster named "Uncovered Cavern" was first mentioned on the test card Planequake in the Mystery Booster set. No such booster pack is part of that set in reality, much like Contraptions weren't part of Future Sight though they were mentioned on Steamflogger Boss. It may be assumed that if the plot booster would be opened, its mysterious contents could be added to a game of Magic while it is in progress, changing the playing environment drastically. A plot booster can only be opened if certain circumstances are met.

• If you don't have the appropriate unopened plot booster when instructed to open one, that part of the spell or ability's effect is ignored.
• Creatures and planeswalkers dealt lethal damage by Planequake won't be destroyed until state-based actions are performed, after you've opened the "Uncovered Cavern" plot booster if applicable.

Example

Planequake
Sorcery
Planequake deals X damage to each creature without flying and to each planeswalker. If X is 10 or more, open the “Uncovered Cavern” plot booster.

Poison modular

Poison modular is a keyword ability seen on the Arcbound Mamba test card as part of Unknown Event. A creature with it enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies, the player may put its +1/+1 counters on target player or artifact creature. If they’re put on a player this way, they become poison counters.

Poison tolerance

Poison tolerance is a static keyword ability that was featured on test cards in the Philadelphia 2023 Unknown Event. The reminder text for Poison Tolerance reads "It takes an additional N poison counters for you to lose your game to poison." where N is the number printed on the card. For example, Poison Tolerance 3 means "It takes an additional 3 poison counters for you to lose your game to poison." Poison Tolerance was featured in a cycle of six cards at the Philadelphia 2023 Unknown Event.

A permanent with poison tolerance allows the player to temporarily accumulate more poison counters than the normal 10 that would cause them to lose the game. It is an additive effect with each permanent having the ability on the battlefield to add a varied number of poison tolerance to the player. The effect only remains while the permanents remain on the battlefield so one of them leaving the battlefield could trigger a loss of the game if the tolerance drops below the number of poison counters. It has been featured on artifacts, creatures, and enchantments on Unknown Event test cards.

Example

Rosewater's Nemesis
Creature — Monkey Cleric
4/6
Vigilance, protection from Phyrexians
Poison Tolerance +3 (It takes an additional three poison counters for you to lose your game to poison.)

Cards that grant poison tolerance

Artifact

• Melira's Snacks (+3) ()

Creature

• Drake with Set's Mechanic (+2) ()
• Rosewater's Nemesis (+3) ()

Enhancement

• Burn the Phyresis (+2) ()
• Long-Term Phyresis Study (+1) ()
• Naturalize the Phyresis (+1) ()

Positioning

Positioning is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Defender of the Queue. As a creature with positioning enters, you lock your creatures in order from left to right for as long as you control a creature with positioning. Each time a creature enters or comes under your control, position it to the left or right of another creature you control. If multiple creatures enter or come under your control at the same time, position them individually. The creature with positioning may grant benefits to adjacent creatures.

Example

Defender of the Queue
Creature — Centaur Soldier
3/3
Positioning (As this creature enters, lock your creatures in order from left to right for as long as you control a creature with positioning. Each time a creature enters or comes under your control, position it to the left or right of another creature you control.)
Adjacent creatures to the left and right of Defender of the Queue get +1/+1 and have vigilance.

Proliferatelink

The Mystery Booster 2 test card Phyrexian Seedling features the variation Proliferatelink (Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to proliferate that many times. You proliferate before checking for lethal damage on creatures). The mechanic name plays off lifelink while the ability itself is a reference to Knightlifelink.

Ransom

Ransom are two different mechanics (rule-wise) that have the same name (and they are very similar flavour-wise, and thus might be considered as one) that appeared on two test cards in the Mystery Booster set.

Squidnapper uses ransom as a keyword ability, where it has a cost associated with it. Once the cost is paid, it may trigger an ability, or for Squidnapper's case, will end something. This is a design similar to Soul Ransom. It is unclear if the payment is restricted to opponents - like Soul Ransom - or if that any player may pay it, regardless of effectiveness.

Frogkin Kidnapper uses it as a keyword action, exiling a card from hand until the owner pays to return it to their hand. Unlike similar cards that allows the opponent to pay a resource during resolution to keep the effect from working, like Force Spike, the Ransom cost can be paid as a special action at any time the player has priority. Elements of this can be seen later in Elite Spellbinder.

• Paying a ransom cost to end an effect is a special action. That cost may be paid any time if having priority, and players can't take actions in between the time the player announces their intent to pay and the time the special action resolves.
• In the keyword ability case, if a card with a ransom ability loses that ability, it has no ransom cost. No player may pay its ransom cost.
• In the keyword action case, the exiled card's owner may pay its ransom cost even if the permanent that ransomed it leaves the battlefield.

Example 1

Squidnapper
Creature — Squid Pirate
3/4
When Squidnapper enters the battlefield, gain control of target creature an opponent controls until Squidnapper leaves the battlefield or that player pays the ransom.
Ransom — and 2 life

Example 2

Frogkin Kidnapper
Creature — Frog Rogue
2/1
When Frogkin Kidnapper enters the battlefield, target opponent reveals their hand. Choose a nonland card from it. Ransom that card. (Exile it. Its owner may pay at any time to return it to their hand.)

Ratmatship

Mister Cheddar, Cheese Sliver from the 2025 Las Vegas Unknown Event grants all Rats and Slivers Ratmanship (They can’t be blocked except by Cats, Rats, or other creatures with ratmanship.)

Reflect

Reflect is a keyword action that allows an opponent to create a copy of the played card. Reflect so far only appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set. As a card with Reflect enters the battlefield, each opponent may pay the Reflect cost. If they do, they create a token copy of the card except it lacks the Reflect ability. You can't pay a reflect cost more than once as a permanent with reflect enters the battlefield.

Example

Mirrored Lotus
Artifact
Reflect (As this enters the battlefield, each opponent may pay . If they do, they create a token copy of this except it lacks this ability.)
, Exile Mirrored Lotus: Add three mana of any one color.

Requirement

The Mystery Booster test card Ral's Vanguard introduced the requirement keyword, which specifies restrictions on contents of a deck that plays with a Vanguard. The rules structure is similar to the later mechanic Companion.

• A vanguard with a requirement can't be your vanguard unless its requirement is met as the game begins.
• Your starting deck includes only those cards that will be shuffled to become your library. It doesn't include your sideboard or any other cards that begin the game outside the game.

Rulebreaker

Rulebreaker is a test card commander specific ability word which signals a commander allows extra types of cards in the deck that don't need to match its color identity. The rulebreaker ability word signals a subset of cards may break the color identifier rule in the deck. Current usages have included legendary permanents of any color, instant and sorcery cards of any color, creature cards of power 4 or greater of any color, and all artifacts and enchantments regardless of color identity.

Scrycast

Scrycast is a keyword ability that allows a player to reveal a card that they have seen while scrying, which they may then cast for its Scrycast cost. The mechanic appeared on a test card in the convention version of the Mystery Booster set. If you cast a spell with scrycast, you don't look at any additional cards in your library. If you were instructed to scry 1, you won't do anything else to finish scrying, although you're still scrying while you cast the spell.

Example

Biting Remark
Creature — Elemental
3/3
Scrycast (If you see this card while scrying, you may reveal it and cast it by paying .)
Flying

Scryfall

Scryfall is an ability word which signals triggered abilities that respond to their controller scrying. The scryfall ability word rewards a player each time they scry but ignores the size of the scry. The ability will trigger while the payer is scrying but won't go on the stack until the spell or ability that caused the scry has finished resolving. The ability is a riff on landfall and the Scryfall card database and search engine.

• Search Elemental's first ability won't be put onto the stack until after the spell or ability that caused you to search your library finishes resolving.
• Search Elemental's second ability won't be put onto the stack until after the spell or ability that caused you to scry finishes resolving.
• Search Elemental doesn't have a third ability as far as we can tell, but feel free to keep looking.

Example

Search Elemental
Creature — Elemental
Whenever you search your library, scry 1
Scryfall — Whenever you scry, put a +1/+1 counter on Search Elemental. It can't be blocked this turn.
1/1

Shackle

Shackle is a keyword ability found on artifacts with the subtype "Equipment". It first appeared on a test card in Mystery Booster 2. Shackle is a related mechanic to Equip but targets your opponent's creatures instead of your own. Shackling can only be activated at sorcery speed. As with an equipped creature, when the shackled creatures leaves the battlefield, the equipment remains on the battlefield.

• Although it causes an Equipment to become attached to a creature, shackle is not an "equip ability" for the purpose of cards like Fighter Class and Leonin Shikari.
• Attaching an Equipment to a creature you don't control by using a shackle ability doesn't cause that Equipment to change controllers.
• Once an Equipment is attached to a creature, that Equipment won't fall off even if the creature changes controllers. The attachment only ends if something explicitly unattaches the Equipment or attaches it to another permanent (such as from you activating the shackle ability again).
• In the rare case where you control the targeted creature as an Equipment's shackle ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve.

Example

Avacyn's Collar, the Symbol of her Church
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature can’t attack, block, or transform, and its activated abilities can’t be activated.
Shackle (: Attach to target creature you don’t control. Shackle only as a sorcery.)

Sinecure

Sinecure is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Abbot of the Sacred Meeple. It is possibly restricted to monks, and maybe clerics.

A sinecure (/ˈsɪnɪkjʊər/ or /ˈsaɪnɪkjʊər/; from the Latin sine, 'without', and cura, 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. A creature with Sinecure can occupy a space two spaces higher on the Monk Track than its power. *If the space two spaces higher than this creature's power on the Monk Track is already occupied (or, in rare cases, if its power is so high that there is no such space), this creature can occupy any lower-valued space on the Monk Track.

Example

Abbot of the Sacred Meeple
Creature — Human Monk
2/2
Sinecure (This creature can occupy a space two spaces higher on the Monk Track than its power.)
Once on each of your odd-numbered (beige) production phases, you may spend two additional sheep when constructing a building. If you do, you may activate the lesser production ability of any building of prestige 5 or lower you control. Exceptions: Apiary, Cobbler (but not Shoemaker), Wainwright.

Spaceship

Not to be confused with Spacecraft.

Spaceship is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Vuzzle Spaceship. It was a predecessor of the Station mechanic.

Spaceship is a keyworded variant of the Clockwork creature mechanic. A Construct (not a Vehicle!) enters the battlefield with a set amount of +1/+1 counters on it, which it progressively loses when participating in combat. If it would be dealt damage, that many +1/+1 counters are removed instead. The spaceship can be recharged if additional counters are added through other means.

Spaceship also introduces new templating for static abilities that turn on or off based on the creature's power. Thrusters are active with at least six counters (the construct has flying), and lasers are active with at least 3 counters (whenever it attacks, it deals 1 damage to any target).

• If Vuzzle Spaceship is blocking a creature with flying, causing it to lose flying by removing counters from it won't stop it from blocking. Similarly, once Vuzzle Spaceship's "Lasers" ability is on the stack, removing counters from it to cause it to lose that ability won't affect the ability on the stack.

Example

Vuzzle Spaceship
Artifact Creature — Construct
0/0
Spaceship 6 (This creature enters with six +1/+1 counters. If it would be dealt damage, remove that many +1/+1 counters instead. Its abilities are active as long as it has at least that many +1/+1 counters.)
Thrusters [6] → Flying
Lasers [3] → Whenever Vuzzle Spaceship attacks, it deals 1 damage to any target.

Spark

Spark is a keyword action that appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set. It allows players to activate spark abilities by spending or giving themselves spark counters. Only one spark ability may be activated per turn, and only as a sorcery. Spark abilities act exactly like loyalty abilities, except that spark counters belong to the player, not to the card, similar to energy counters.

You can activate only one spark ability from among permanents you control each turn, no matter how many permanents you control with spark abilities. If Blood Poet loses spark, its spark abilities can't be activated.

Example

Blood Poet
Creature — Vampire Cleric
3/2
Spark (Activate spark abilities by spending or giving yourself spark counters. Activate only one spark ability per turn, and only as a sorcery.)
+1: Blood Poet gains lifelink until end of turn.
-3: Target opponent discards a card. You gain life equal to its converted mana cost.

Spellmorph

Spellmorph, that can appear on instants and sorceries, appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for . Cast it any time for its spellmorph cost). Spellmorph has been tested in design for an actual appearance, but doesn't play as well as might be imagined.

Tantrum

Tantrum is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test cards Toddler's Rage and Oddric, Lunar Marquis. It’s like trample but for blocking A defender with tantrum deals excess damage to the attacking player as it blocks.

Example

Toddler's Rage
Enchantment — Aura
Flash
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+1 and has tantrum. (It’s like trample but for blocking.)

Tasty

Tasty is a static ability that renders a creature vulnerable to direct attacks, similar how a planeswalker can be attacked.

The mechanic appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set. It takes inspiration from other card games like Hearthstone or Yu-Gi-Oh where the player on the offensive has more agency and can directly target opposing creatures. Within the context of Magic, it acts like an anti-Provoke, where instead of the controller being able to force combat with any opposing creature, the controller's opponents can force combat with this one particular one.

• If a creature attacks a creature, the controller of the attacked creature is the defending player. That player's creatures that aren't attacked can block the attacking creature.
• A player can use an attacked creature to block a creature attacking it or choose to not block with it at all.
• An unblocked attacking creature that's attacking a creature deals its combat damage to the creature it attacks and vice versa, following the same rules for an attacking creature and a creature blocking it. However, if the attacking creature has trample, it can't assign trample damage to the defending player.

Example

Seasoned Weaponsmith
Creature — Bird Warrior
5/2
Tasty (This creature can be attacked directly. If it is attacked, it can't block creatures that didn't attack it.)

Teach

Teach is a keyword ability introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Pyromancy 101. Teach only appears on Lesson cards. As opposed to Lessons learned, teaching is a cipher-like mechanic that ads its ability to other cards. When cast, a Lesson can be taught to a creature. This means that the Lesson is exiled, and for as long as it remains exiled, the creature has “: Copy the exiled card. You may cast the copy for its teach cost.”) You choose the creature to teach as Pyromancy 101 resolves. The teach ability doesn't target that creature.

Example

Pyromancy 101
Sorcery — Lesson
Pyromancy 101 deals 1 damage to any target.
Teach (Then exile this spell taught to a creature you control. For as long as this card remains exiled, that creature has “: Copy the exiled card. You may cast the copy for its teach cost.”)

Thoughtweft

Lorwyn kithkin society is based on a type of collective consciousness called the thoughtweft. Based on this trait, the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 Brigid, Who's Seen Some Stuff introduced a Sliver-like keyword ability with the same name. A creature with thoughtweft has all printed keyword abilities of other creatures you control with thoughtweft.

• All Kithkin have thoughtweft.
• Keyword abilities are abilities that provide shorthand for properties objects have, and are usually just a single word or phrase. Examples include: vigilance, double strike, banding, and space sculptor. (Okay, maybe that last one is a bad example.) Keyword actions like explore or scry aren't granted by thoughtweft, which is good because that wouldn't make much sense anyway.
• Thoughtweft confers only keyword abilities that are actually printed on the card. Any keyword abilities that are gained by the permanent are ignored, including keyword abilities gained from copy effects or static abilities. For example, a Kithkin card printed with "During your turn, this creature has first strike" is not considered to have first strike as a printed keyword ability.

Example

Brigid, Who's Seen Some Stuff
Legendary Creature — Kithkin Archer
3/3
Vigilance
Nimble (This creature can’t be blocked by creatures with power 3 or greater.)
Kithkin you control have thoughtweft. (A creature with thoughtweft has all printed keyword abilities of other creatures you control with thoughtweft.)

Flavor

Thoughtweft is a form of Kithkin magic that relies on shared beliefs, often reinforced with music or poetry. It connects the kithkin by a kind of empathic web, allowing them to share their emotions and thoughts, making them very effective in battle cooperation. Thoughtweft naturally binds kithkin together into tightly knit communities; the better you understand the thoughts and feelings of your fellow townsfolk, the closer you feel to them. A kithkin can feel and join in strong thoughtweft at a great distance.

Underdog

Underdog is an ability word that gives cards a bonus in the next game within a match, when they have lost a previous game in that match. It was introduced on the Mystery Booster test card Ruff, Underdog Champ.

Example

Ruff, Underdog Champ
Legendary Creature — Dog Soldier
3/2
All Hounds are Dogs. (We'll errata this to be true.)
First strike, lifelink
Underdog — If you've lost a game this match, CARDNAME and other Dogs you control get +1/+1.

Upgrade

Upgrade is a keyword action that can appear on artifact creatures. A card with Upgrade improves other artifacts on the battlefield. So far, the mechanic only appeared on a test card in the Mystery Booster set.

Description

An artifact creature with Upgrade moves to the battlefield covering another artifact that player controls. If it can't, it is exiled. The covered artifact is further ignored. Anywhere the card with Upgrade goes, cards underneath it also go. It has haste.

Given the rules text, Upgrade could be considered a prototype of Mutate, albeit with looser rules integrity.

• The card with upgrade moves to the battlefield, but it doesn't enter the battlefield. Instead, it overlays an artifact you control. That artifact becomes represented by the new card — if it was tapped, it's still tapped; if it had counters on it, it still has those counters; if it was attacking, it's still attacking; and so on.
• Enters-the-battlefield triggers won't trigger when an artifact with upgrade overlays another artifact.
• If you can't choose an artifact you control while applying a permanent's upgrade replacement effect, it doesn't move to or enter the battlefield at all and instead moves to exile.
• An artifact can be upgraded more than once.
• If the upgraded object moves to the top or bottom of its owner's library, that player chooses the relative order for its component cards without revealing that order.
• If a player's commander is upgraded, the resulting creature is still their commander. If it leaves the battlefield, the commander can be put into the command zone instead, and the other cards move to the expected zone.

Example

Weaponized Scrap
Artifact Creature — Construct
6/6
Upgrade (This creature enters the battlefield covering another artifact you control. If it can’t, exile it. Ignore the artifact it’s covering. Anywhere this card goes, cards underneath it also go. It has haste).

Ustujnin

The Unknown Event test card Reverse Ninja introduced Ustujnin ([cost], Return a blocking creature you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand blocking the same creature.)

Way behind

Way behind is a Magic game term introduced on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Knight of Lost Causes. It describes a game state in which a player is at a significant disadvantage.

You are way behind if, at any point during a turn, an opponent has 10 or more life than you, controls at least three more creatures than you, or has at least three more cards in hand than you. To determine if you are way behind, check the game state as it was at any point during the current turn, regardless of whether Knight of Lost Causes was on the battlefield at that time. For example, if you control one creature and an opponent controls four, then you play Knight of Lost Causes going up to two creatures, you are way behind this turn because, at some point in the past the turn, that opponent controlled three creatures more than you.

Cards of this vein have been printed prior in Eternal Magic, but rarely to the same degree of requirements. Timely Reinforcements, Sunset Revelry, Linvala, the Preserver and Beza, the Bounding Spring all articulate several states of "being behind", with the Keeper and Oath cycles in Exodus and the Pulse cycle of Darksteel have single versions. However, the major difference is that "way behind" is used as a continuous check while the other designs are instants or single triggers.

Example

Knight of Lost Causes
Creature — Human Knight
2/2
Vigilance
As long as you are way behind, Knight of Lost Causes gets +3/+3 and has indestructible. (You are way behind if, at any point during this turn, an opponent had 10 or more life than you, controlled at least three more creatures than you, or had at least three more cards in hand than you.)}

Whammy deck

A whammy deck is a tool that creates a random effect in the game play of Magic. The concept was introduced on a test card in the Mystery Booster set.

A whammy deck consists of five cards: a Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. Like a contraption deck, it exists outside of the main deck, in this case in its own whammy zone.

• If you don't have a whammy deck when an effect refers to it, shuffle a Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest card from outside the game to form your whammy deck immediately before performing any part of that effect.
• The whammy deck exists in the additional deck zone. Since this is a game zone, it's not outside the game (for effects such as that of Frontier Explorer).
• You can't draw cards from the whammy deck or interact with it in any way other than by effects that specifically interact with the whammy deck. Effects that affect cards you own not on the battlefield don't affect cards in the whammy deck.
• You choose a target as you cast Whammy Burn before revealing any cards from your whammy deck.

Example

Whammy Burn
Instant
Shuffle your whammy deck, then reveal cards from the top of your whammy deck until you reveal an Island or choose to stop. Then, if no Islands were revealed this way, Whammy Burn deals X damage to any target, where X is the number of cards revealed. (A whammy deck consists of a Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest.)