The Comprehensive Rules are designed to be the end-all, be-all of the Magic rules. In this mighty tome everything from Banding to the layering of continuous effects is described and explained. As Wizards of the Coast warns, this is not for the faint of heart. While all the rules for Magic are in the Comprehensive Rules, they're not meant for everyday use; rather, for specific cases during competitive games. In most ordinary situations, the basic rulebook is sufficient.
When making a reference to a specific rule the clearest way to do it is as follows [CR <rule>]. An example, if someone explains Mana Abilities and ends their explanation with [CR 605.1], then they make a reference to rule 605.1 which states:
From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)
- 605.1. Some activated abilities and some triggered abilities are mana abilities, which are subject to special rules. Only abilities that meet either of the following two sets of criteria are mana abilities, regardless of what other effects they may generate or what timing restrictions (such as “Activate only as an instant”) they may have.
- 605.1a An activated ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn’t require a target (see rule 115.6), it could add mana to a player’s mana pool when it resolves, and it’s not a loyalty ability. (See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”)
- 605.1b A triggered ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn’t require a target (see rule 115.6), it triggers from the activation or resolution of an activated mana ability (see rule 605.1a) or from mana being added to a player’s mana pool, and it could add mana to a player’s mana pool when it resolves.
The Comprehensive Rules are available from Wizards of the Coast in TXT, PDF, and DOCX formats, and are 210 pages long.
Rules are numbered, and many are divided into subrules. Subrules skip the lower-case letters 'l' and 'o', to avoid confusion with the numbers '1' and '0'. So, for example, 704.5k is followed by 704.5m, then 704.5n and 704.5p.
Current version
From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)
- 1. Game Concepts
- 100. General
- 101. The Magic Golden Rules
- 102. Players
- 103. Starting the Game
- 104. Ending the Game
- 105. Colors
- 106. Mana
- 107. Numbers and Symbols
- 108. Cards
- 109. Objects
- 110. Permanents
- 111. Tokens
- 112. Spells
- 113. Abilities
- 114. Emblems
- 115. Targets
- 116. Special Actions
- 117. Timing and Priority
- 118. Costs
- 119. Life
- 120. Damage
- 121. Drawing a Card
- 122. Counters
- 123. Stickers
- 2. Parts of a Card
- 200. General
- 201. Name
- 202. Mana Cost and Color
- 203. Illustration
- 204. Color Indicator
- 205. Type Line
- 206. Expansion Symbol
- 207. Text Box
- 208. Power/Toughness
- 209. Loyalty
- 210. Defense
- 211. Hand Modifier
- 212. Life Modifier
- 213. Information Below the Text Box
- 3. Card Types
- 4. Zones
- 5. Turn Structure
- 500. General
- 501. Beginning Phase
- 502. Untap Step
- 503. Upkeep Step
- 504. Draw Step
- 505. Main Phase
- 506. Combat Phase
- 507. Beginning of Combat Step
- 508. Declare Attackers Step
- 509. Declare Blockers Step
- 510. Combat Damage Step
- 511. End of Combat Step
- 512. Ending Phase
- 513. End Step
- 514. Cleanup Step
- 6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects
- 600. General
- 601. Casting Spells
- 602. Activating Activated Abilities
- 603. Handling Triggered Abilities
- 604. Handling Static Abilities
- 605. Mana Abilities
- 606. Loyalty Abilities
- 607. Linked Abilities
- 608. Resolving Spells and Abilities
- 609. Effects
- 610. One-Shot Effects
- 611. Continuous Effects
- 612. Text-Changing Effects
- 613. Interaction of Continuous Effects
- 614. Replacement Effects
- 615. Prevention Effects
- 616. Interaction of Replacement and/or Prevention Effects
- 7. Additional Rules
- 700. General
- 701. Keyword Actions
- 702. Keyword Abilities
- 703. Turn-Based Actions
- 704. State-Based Actions
- 705. Flipping a Coin
- 706. Rolling a Die
- 707. Copying Objects
- 708. Face-Down Spells and Permanents
- 709. Split Cards
- 710. Flip Cards
- 711. Leveler Cards
- 712. Double-Faced Cards
- 713. Substitute Cards
- 714. Saga Cards
- 715. Adventurer Cards
- 716. Class Cards
- 717. Attraction Cards
- 718. Prototype Cards
- 719. Case Cards
- 720. Controlling Another Player
- 721. Ending Turns and Phases
- 722. The Monarch
- 723. The Initiative
- 724. Restarting the Game
- 725. Rad Counters
- 726. Subgames
- 727. Merging with Permanents
- 728. Day and Night
- 729. Taking Shortcuts
- 730. Handling Illegal Actions
- 8. Multiplayer Rules
- 800. General
- 801. Limited Range of Influence Option
- 802. Attack Multiple Players Option
- 803. Attack Left and Attack Right Options
- 804. Deploy Creatures Option
- 805. Shared Team Turns Option
- 806. Free-for-All Variant
- 807. Grand Melee Variant
- 808. Team vs. Team Variant
- 809. Emperor Variant
- 810. Two-Headed Giant Variant
- 811. Alternating Teams Variant
- 9. Casual Variants
- 900. General
- 901. Planechase
- 902. Vanguard
- 903. Commander
- 904. Archenemy
- 905. Conspiracy Draft
The Comprehensive Rules ends with a Glossary of terms used in the document and on Magic cards throughout the game.