Have you ever wanted to know more about the rules of Magic? Most players have, but everyone comes at it from a different angle. Some folks just want to know how particular cards or interactions between cards work. Some folks understand what happens but are excited to find out why. And, of course, some of us love to go deep on the minute details. No matter where you fall on that spectrum, the Magic Rules Management team has you covered with the new Magic Rules Blog!

You might not have known there was a Magic Rules Management team before you started reading this. Well, now that you know, we'll introduce ourselves!

Jess Dunks (Magic Rules Architect)

My name is Jess Dunks. Officially, I have the fairly pretentious job title of Magic rules architect. Basically, I lead our team's efforts on writing and improving the rules and work with other teams at Wizards to ensure Magic's rules will continue to work with all of Magic's future endeavors. I got my start in Magic around the release of Judgment and became heavily involved in Magic events starting with Magic 2010. Outside of Magic, I'm a lover of roguelikes, factory games, and working on being the best version of myself as a new dad.

Eliana Rabinowitz (Rules Specialist)

Hi! I'm Eliana Rabinowitz (she/her), a rules specialist for Magic. I learned to play Magic by reading the comprehensive rules during the Theros block, and I've loved the game ever since! Before coming to work for Wizards, I spent years as a Magic judge, mostly traveling to large competitive events. When I'm not working on or playing Magic, I can usually be found entertaining my small dog Pi, playing all types of video games and board games that take all day, and watching streams of obscure sports!

Eric Levine (Rules Manager)

And finally, we have me, Eric Levine. Hi! I'm the rules manager for Magic, and my pronouns are they/them. I've been playing Magic since Revised Edition, but I've cared deeply about game rules since I was old enough to read instructions. I ran tournaments for my high school Magic club, became certified as a judge at Pro Tour Hollywood in 2008, and worked my way up to being the head judge of several professional-level events before coming to work at Wizards. When I'm not working on, thinking about, or playing Magic, I'm probably playing other games, reading, singing, watching the same multi-hour video essay for the 20th time, or thinking about owls.

But what does that mean? What does Magic's Rules Management team do? Well, we manage the rules! Okay, maybe the name doesn't really communicate it that well. Here are some of the things we do that should give you a better idea of how our workdays tend to go.

  • We update the rules: Specifically, the Comprehensive Rules (the CRs, as we call them). The CRs lay out the structure that allows Magic to be played in great detail, making it less of a beach read and more of a dense reference document. We update the CRs with every set release to support new cards and mechanics, clarify ambiguities, patch issues we've uncovered, and improve organization to make the document easier to reference.
  • We write things for you to read: That includes the Release Notes for each set, which contain some much breezier descriptions of mechanics than the CRs, along with some helpful rulings and set-to-set Update Bulletins that tell you about rules changes and Oracle updates. We also write this blog now, which is very exciting.
  • We work on sets in progress: We spend a lot of our time scrutinizing the cards and mechanics in upcoming sets as they move through our process, making sure that our designers can think about and test cards with a good understanding of how those cards will work (and that they will, in fact, work). This involves a lot of reading through the card file, writing drafts of rules for new mechanics, researching existing cards and mechanics, and of course, meetings. (We also get to do design work from time to time!)
  • We answer questions: Players aren't the only folks with questions about how Magic When designers have new card or mechanics ideas, they'll sometimes need help turning that idea into rules text. This could be because it's something totally novel, but it could also just be that the designer is trying to execute on a specific vision that requires some precise wording. (We work closely with editors on this sort of thing, too; they're amazing.)

So, with all of that in mind, you might want to know what we're doing with this blog. Well, the plan is to give you insights into the rules of Magic so you can learn more about the game you love. We might take a journey through a large rules concept to showcase its details, dive deep into a specific card interaction, or even go behind the scenes to discuss how a particular mechanic came to be! If you have thoughts about topics we should cover or even questions that might be appropriate for a mailbag-style article, we'll have some ways for you to submit your thoughts to us in the future, so keep your eyes on the blog and Magic's social media for more info. We plan to publish new installments of the Magic Rules Blog at a regular cadence, though you can expect our next article sooner rather than later.

I wouldn't dare close out this article without giving you a little rules tidbit, so here's a fun fact that might help you out sometime. You may already know that Aura spells require targets. (If you didn't, great news: you just learned a thing!) That target is defined by the enchant ability, which is one of the first things you'll see in an Aura's rules text. For example, here's Pacifism:

0501_MTGFDN_BBoxRep: Pacifism

Pacifism has "enchant creature," which means that you have to choose a creature as a target when you cast it. This means you won't be able to cast Pacifism and target an opponent's creature with hexproof. If you're determined enough, though, you can get that Pacifism onto an opponent's hexproof creature. All you have to do is find a way to get Pacifism onto the battlefield without casting it!

When an Aura enters without being cast, if the effect that puts it onto the battlefield doesn't specify what it will enchant, you can attach it to any object or player that fits the requirements of its enchant ability. There are a few exceptions. You couldn't attach Pacifism to a creature with protection from white, for example. Attaching an Aura this way doesn't target the object you're attaching it to.

So, let's say you have Pacifism in your graveyard. Your opponent controls Sphinx of the Final Word, and you're at 5 life.

0597_MTGFDN_SCRep1: Sphinx of the Final Word

You badly need to stop that Sphinx from attacking you, and your opponent has finally tapped all of their lands, so they won't have a response.

0025_MTGFDN_MainNew: Sun-Blessed Healer

But you've got an ace up your sleeve, or more accurately, a Sun-Blessed Healer in your hand. (Maybe it's in a card sleeve.) You can cast it with kicker, return Pacifism to the battlefield, and choose to attach it to Sphinx of the Final Word.

Of course, this wouldn't be much of a rules blog if I didn't give you a reference for this. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you next time; I'll let the rules have the final word.

303.4f If an Aura is entering the battlefield under a player's control by any means other than by resolving as an Aura spell, and the effect putting it onto the battlefield doesn't specify the object or player the Aura will enchant, that player chooses what it will enchant as the Aura enters the battlefield. The player must choose a legal object or player according to the Aura's enchant ability and any other applicable effects.