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{{work}}
This page is for tropes that appear in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]''{{'}}s gameplay (as opposed to [[Magic: The Gathering/Flavor And Story Tropes|tropes that appear in its flavor and storyline]]).
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* [[Action Bomb]]: Blowing oneself up is a favorite tactic of red cards, particularly among goblins. Examples include but are not limited to [http://magiccards.info/evg/en/46.html Mudbutton Torchrunner], [http://magiccards.info/sh/en/91.html Mogg Bombers], [http://magiccards.info/rav/en/151.html War-Torch Goblin], [http://magiccards.info/evg/en/43.html Ib Halfheart]'s suicide troops, and whichever schmuck ends up carrying the [http://magiccards.info/fe/en/114.html Goblin Grenade].
* [[All There in the Manual]]: The Gatherer Web site includes all rulings on cards. As the game goes on and rules get refined, the company almost constantly changes the way game abilities are printed on cards:
** This was particularly bad early on when the company was still learning what worked well in the game and there was no set standard on how to phrase anything, but every set introduces new rules terms and longstanding parts of the game may have their names or the related rules changed if necessary. The concept of the "exile" zone, for example, has been in the game since the
** The general rule is to rely on the most recent printed text of a card to determine what it does, even if someone is playing with an older copy on which its abilities are phrased differently. Without that rule, for example, casting [https://web.archive.org/web/20121104041537/http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=3842 three versions] [https://web.archive.org/web/20121104043659/http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=14593 of exactly] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130630154742/http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=107278 the same card] would mean ''none of them'' could actually attack.<ref>This is because the first card prevents every creature type but Evil Eyes attacking. The second is a Horror, not an Evil Eye, so it can't attack. It says only cards called Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore can attack (though it could potentially be read as saying only ''it'' can attack). The first card ''is'' called Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore, so it can still attack. But wait! The third card says only "Eyes" can attack. The first isn't an Eye, it's an ''Evil'' Eye, and the third isn't an Evil Eye, it's an Eye. Therefore, ''none'' of the three can now attack.</ref>
** Subverted by the [[Lethal Joke Character|joke card]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20140307142610/http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=73967 R&D's Secret Lair], which explicitly bans using later printed text, errata or the rules to 'update' cards. It's, naturally, illegal in all competitive play, and rapidly makes friendly games very unfriendly.
* [[An Axe to Grind]]: As seen [http://magiccards.info/query?q=axe+t%3A%22equip%22&v=card&s=cname here]
* [[Animated Armor]]: The effect of [http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=220529 March of the Machines].
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* [[Army of the Ages]]: The basic premise of the game, with you as the summoner.
* [[Art Evolution]]:
** Due to both a preference for more detailed, elaborate art, and much more meticulous guidance given to the artists. When the company commissioned the art for the card [http://magiccards.info/al/en/23.html Lord of the Pit], they reportedly gave the artist a one-word instruction: "balrog". (This was years before the [[The Lord of the Rings]] movies were made.) Under the circumstances, it came out pretty well, but today artists get multi-paragraph descriptions of what the image on the card should look like, generally designed taking into account both exactly what the card itself does and the flavor and description of the world of the current set. Nowadays comprehensive style guides and concept art are made for each set, or consecutive block of set that share the same setting: for example, the goblins of the current Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Besieged block have a large round head with a sharp snout and long pointed ears.
** In addition, the cards' frames themselves have been updated. All frames have become less blocky and are no longer of an equal width all the way around, and the texturing used in each has been changed.
** Many cards have related illustrations: basic lands in the same set are usually cut from a wide panorama, and for example the most recent [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205226 Holy Strength] and [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205237 Unholy Strength] face each other vertically.
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** [http://magiccards.info/ala/en/210.html Lich's Mirror] allows you to start the game over with 20 life if you die with it in play. Of course, ''you'' start over with nothing in play, but your opponent gets to keep all the cards they already have out.
** ''Shadowmoor'' block had Persist, and ''Innistrad'' has Undying, both of which are abilities that return dying creatures to play with a counter on it (-1/-1 and +1/+1 respectively), if it didn't already have one.
* [[Awesome but Impractical]]: Many cards have spectacular, awe-inspiring effects that will almost certainly win you the game - '''if''' you ever get enough mana to actually cast them before your opponent kills you, '''and''' your opponent doesn't have a counterspell or some other cheap, efficient answer. For specific examples, see [[Awesome but Impractical/Tabletop Games/Magic: The Gathering]].
* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: The game designers like powerful, tournament-dominating cards to be exciting and fun to play, so it's common to see exciting and fun cards intentionally pushed up in power level. Planeswalkers are a great example: their characters are designed to be the face of the game, so the developers make sure to give them powerful abilities. [http://magiccards.info/wwk/en/31.html Jace, the Mind Sculptor] in particular quickly gained a dominating presence in multiple tournament formats.
* [[Back Stab]]: The "Prowl" ability of Rogues in ''Morningtide'' functions as one of these.
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* [[Card Battle Game]]: Most video game adaptations, including the Microprose ''Shandalar'' game and ''Duels of the Planeswalkers''.
* [[Cave Mouth]]: The card Howling Mine looks like this most of the time, [[Depending on the Artist]].
* [[Cast
** Aside from the infamous Channel-Fireball combo, planeswalkers fall under this as well: Some of their ability require the removal of loyalty counters. These same counters effectively act as their life totals; once they're out of counters, they're gone. Most also invert this trope by having abilities that ''give'' them loyalty counters as well, as well as a few with abilities that do nothing to their counter totals.
** More recently, there are the cards that use Phyrexian mana symbols from ''New Phyrexia'': For each Phyrexian mana symbol in a cost, you can pay 1 mana of the specified color, or 2 life.
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* [[Cute Is Evil]]: [[Played for Laughs]] with the ''Unglued'' card [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=9779 Infernal Spawn of Evil], along with its sequel from ''Unhinged'', [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=73981 Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil]. As a bonus, it's also a joke about [[Actor Allusion|card artist Ron Spencer only drawing hideous monsters]].
* [[Damage Over Time]]: Several cards deal damage during a player's "Upkeep" step, in contrast to most cards which can only deal damage once at a time.
* [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]]: Applies to a few combo decks, especially combos that are [[Cast
* [[Death Is Cheap]]: Or rather, "being removed from the game is cheap". Most permanents and spells that are destroyed, discarded or otherwise gotten rid of go to the graveyard zone by default, but ever since the game was new a few abilities here and there send their targets or themselves to the "removed from game" zone. But such effects have slowly become more common over the years, and two cards were printed that retrieved any card that had been removed from the game, and variations on the effect like suspend have proved very powerful and popular. So in a 2009 rules change, the description of the "remove from game" effect was changed to "exile", to reflect the fact that there's a good chance it hasn't been "removed from the game" at all.
** Mocked by the unhinged card "AWOL", which first removes an attacking creature from the game, and then takes that creature from the "removed from the game" zone and puts it in a state called "absolutely-removed-from-the-freaking-game-forever".
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** ...cards based on [[Public Domain Characters]] and stories, with flavour text quoting things like [[The Bible]] or [[William Shakespeare]] plays, as opposed to creating an original story and basing the cards around that. Even the first expansion was based entirely off of characters and themes from ''[[Arabian Nights]]''.
* [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors]]: The Color Wheel is probably the most well-known non-traditional version in gaming.
* [[Equivalent Exchange]]: A key part of the game, every spell you cast or ability you activate has some sort of exchange going on. Even the most simple of cards require you to generate mana and fill precious deck slots with the given cards to work. Some more elaborate spells ask for more tangible costs such as [[Cast
* [[Everything's Better with Chickens]]: ''Unglued'' had a lot of fun with chickens, which would be out of place in any normal expansion.
* [[Everything's Better with Penguins]]: ''Unhinged'' brings us the rather unusual [https://web.archive.org/web/20081002013213/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=73956 Curse of the Fire Penguin], which turns a creature into a penguin. And it's contagious.
* [[Everythings Nuttier With Squirrels]]: According to Mark Rosewater, the game has squirrels because [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr30 the designers thought they were cool].
* [[Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods]]:
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* [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: the enchantment cards [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Fear Fear], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lifelink Lifelink] and [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Vigilance Vigilance] give the enchanted creature the abilities ''Fear'', ''Lifelink'', and ''Vigilance'' respectively.
* [[Expansion Pack]]: In a sense; each set is an expansion to the ever-widening game, though each block can be played independently as well.
* [[Fan Nickname]]: [[Lampshaded]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090511071338/http://ww2.wizards.com/
* [[Fan-Speak]]: Magic players have created an extensive vocabulary of slang terms and technical jargon. [[Magic: The Gathering/Useful Notes|This]] Useful Notes pages has some examples.
* [[Fastball Special]]: [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=191094&type=card Stone Giant], among others, can be tapped to hurl a creature into the air to attack your opponent directly or block an enemy flyer. This is generally not a survivable experience for the creature.
* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: Exiling or [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=19789 locking down] a creature against a [[Death Is Cheap|reanimation]] deck or (lock down only) commander in EDH.
* [[Field Power Effect]]: Various spells that boost and debuff creatures.
* [[Flavor Text]]: Famous for it.
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'''Player 1:''' Counterspell on Player 2's Counterspell. }}
:: And so on. If they do this by piling the cards onto each other (or playing online), then the trope is being played literally.
* [[Gambling Game]]:
** Originally, the official default way of playing the game was called Ante: At the start of the game players would put a random card from their deck on the table, and the winner of the game would keep the ante cards. There are a handful of cards that interact with the Ante mechanic, and must be removed from the deck prior to playing a non-Ante game. Ante proved wildly unpopular, resulting in non-Ante becoming the official default playstyle; WotC stopped printing Ante Cards, and Ante format Sanctioned Events are not allowed. Even so, official Ante rules do exist as of September 24, 2021: "each player puts one random card from their deck into the ante zone after determining which player goes first but before players draw any cards. Cards in the ante zone may be examined by any player at any time. At the end of the game, the winner becomes the owner of all the cards in the ante zone."
** The tourney-exclusive format Grandmaster plays a starter deck trimmed from 60 cards down to 40 cards. Grandmaster tourneys were run with an 8-player bracket: the winner of a match obtains their opponent's deck - which can be used to improve or rebuild their own during the rest of the tournament - and after the first match, the remaining players would have a 60 card minimum. The winner of the tourney gets to keep all the cards they won.
** Mini Masters was initially a variant of Grandmaster, and carried over the same card-claiming rules in its earliest incarnations.
* [[Game Breaker]]: <!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: Yes, there is a separate page for GameBreaker/MagicTheGathering, but please DON'T link to it here, as the examples on it are subjective. You can find it linked on the YMMV subpage. The section on this page is for IN-UNIVERSE and PLAYED WITH examples only. -->
** [[Lampshaded]] on [http://magiccards.info/tr/en/36.html Deep Analysis], whose art depicts the famously powerful (in its heyday) [http://magiccards.info/ud/en/134.html Masticore] with the flavor text "The specimen seems to be broken."
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* [[Hit Points]]: 20 for each player to start, though it can get very low, very high, and some cards even let the player [[Determinator|keep going]] [[Only Mostly Dead|with 0 or less]]. Creatures also have these (in the form of toughness), but theirs reset each turn as long as they take less-than-fatal damage. Planeswalkers have Loyalty points which work a lot like the player's hit points.
* [[Hive Mind]]:
** The sliver race. Slivers don't just have Haste, their abilities generally read like "All Slivers have Haste"; there is at least one sliver for every ability with a name and even some slivers with no ability, they just exploit others'. Naturally there was also the [[Hive Queen|Sliver]] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5233 Queen], to which succeeded the [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=45166 Sliver Overlord], to which succeeded the [[Hive Mind]] itself, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090519073631/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=136146 with its newfound consciousness].
** The Selesnya Conclave apparently also has a weak Hive Mind of some sorts. Hinted at by the Convoke mechanic.
* [[Homage]]:
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** [http://magiccards.info/isd/en/125.html Village Cannibals], a Human creature which gets a +1/+1 counter when another Human creature dies, "eating" their corpse.
** [http://magiccards.info/ex/en/75.html Spike Cannibal], which eats all the other Spikes when it enters the battlefield.
* [[In Memoriam]]: The ''Planar Chaos'' card [http://magiccards.info/pc/en/140.html Timbermare] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110611031214/http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13483.html was designed in honor of the memory of Marilyn "Mare" Wakefield], wife of pro player Jamie Wakefield (who was well-known for playing green stompy decks that used cards like Timbermare). Marilyn loved horses.
* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons]]: One of the unwritten rules of ''Magic'' expansions is that there ''must'' be dragons in every set. Even in ''Ravnica'', where dragons are extinct, there's dragons anyway. Why? Because dragons are awesome.
* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja]]: Pretty much as soon it was decided that the ''Kamigawa'' block would be based on medieval Japan, ninjas inevitably snuck in (and went on to be one of the most popular aspects of the set in which they appeared). The longer version of the story is [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr158 here].
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* [[Interface Screw]]: The preview of the [http://wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/396 Rise of the Eldrazi] set did this to your browser!
* [[Joke Character]]: Variation: each block typically contains at least one entirely awful card, deliberately put there just for the people who love to try and make it work. The game is such that they usually can.
* [[Junk Rare]]: There are a lot of these, usually [[They Plotted a Perfectly Good Waste|on purpose]]. Mark Rosewater, the head designer, wrote a lengthy [[Justified Trope|justification]] of the practice titled [https://web.archive.org/web/20090602111149/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom
* [[A Kind of One]]: It was common in the game's early days for creatures to have unique creature types based on their names, leading to types like "Aladdin" or "Uncle Istvan". Most of them are now defunct, but a couple of these odd one-of types had the honor of later being upgraded into their own races: notably, Atog and Lhurgoyf. Some just stayed as one-ofs, like the solitary Brushwagg.
* [[Kingmaker Scenario]]: Frequently crops up in multiplayer games when [[Alice and Bob|Bob]]'s position is too weak to win the game, but strong enough to pick a side and swing the game in favor of either [[Alice and Bob|Alice]] or [[Alice and Bob|Carl]] at his whim.
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** It's possible to attack your opponent's lands, denying them their mana.
** The "Mana burn" mechanic that left the game with the Magic 2010 rules changes is, ironically, not an example.
* [[Mana Drain]]: [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=1491 Mana Drain], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=3903 Drain Power], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20071103211232/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?id=25567 Mana Short], among others.
* [[Man-Eating Plant]]: [http://magiccards.info/dk/en/38.html Carnivorous Plant]
* [[Mega Manning]]:
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* [[Metagame]]: Probably the best-known instance; decks that dominate one tournament can get curbstomped in the next due to metagame changes.
* [[Mook Maker]]: A staple effect. Examples included but are ''definitely'' not limited to: [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Breeding%20Pit Breeding Pit], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kjeldoran%20Outpost Kjeldoran Outpost], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thallid Thallid], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Hive The Hive], [http://magiccards.info/on/en/309.html Riptide Replicator], ''[http://magiccards.info/ts/en/263.html Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII]'', [http://magiccards.info/mbs/en/117.html Myr Turbine], and many, many more.
* [[Multiple Demographic Appeal]]: The minds behind Magic R&D have actually created three psychographic profiles -- "Johnny", "Timmy", and "Spike" -- representing three different demographics for the game. See [https://web.archive.org/web/20080925103817/http://www.wizards.com/
* [[My Defense Need Not Protect Me Forever]]: It's common for slower strategies to establish defenses in the early game just to buy time to reach the later stages.
* [[No Ontological Inertia]]: If you are playing in a multiplayer game and you die, all the cards you own disappear from the game. This is primarily so that you don't have to stick around until the end of the game just to get back the enchantment you put on somebody else's creature.
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* [[Portmanteau]]: Seen occasionally in card names like "Blightning" and "Deadapult".
* [[Power At a Price]]: A major theme for Black. [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=207891 Phyrexian Negator], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=201129 Cosmic Horror], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=189885 Xathrid Demon]...one commentator [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Discussion.aspx?multiverseid=207891 here] describes the entire Suicide Black ethos as "tearing off your own arm so you can beat your opponent over the head with it."
* [[Power Creep]]: Of a sort. Creatures started rather poorly and rose in power and usefulness over time (compare Alpha's [http://magiccards.info/al/en/103.html Force of Nature] to Zendikar's [http://magiccards.info/zen/en/187.html Terra Stomper], both 8/8 green creatures), while some early spells were considered too powerful and weaker versions were released to replace them ([http://magiccards.info/al/en/55.html Counterspell] vs. [http://magiccards.info/m12/en/47.html Cancel]). Cards that experience either are often considered "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140216103446/http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Strictly_better strictly better/worse]".
* [[Powers as Programs]]: Creature enchantments are this. As are equipment; yes, it's possible for a bird to carry three swords, a shield, and armor clearly designed with humans in mind. Could they be [[Morph Weapon|Morph Weapons]]? It sounds like something [[A Wizard Did It|a Planeswalker could do]], but we might never know.
* [[Power Equals Rarity]]: An interesting case. Although many rares are more powerful than their common or uncommon counterparts, powerful cards are not exclusively rare. Additionally, rarity is used to balance Limited formats (in which players build decks out of a random or semi-random pool of cards). And this is only scratching the surface--whole essays can ([https://web.archive.org/web/20090602111149/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom
* [[Practical Taunt]]: [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=39890 Taunting Elf] causes all of the defending opponent's creatures to block it when it attacks.
* [[Quad Damage]]:
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** There are a few blue cards, such as [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=247186 Fact or Fiction] and [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=194971 Gifts Ungiven], that invert this to an extent--instead of forcing your opponent to choose what they want to lose, it forces them to choose which of a selection of cards they want you to gain.
** Even before New Phyrexia, the Mirrans had Painful Quandary, which, every time an opponent casts a spell, requires he either discard a card or lose five life. Remember, that's a quarter of your starting life.
** This is the basis of the "Owling Mine" deck type. [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=247316 Howling Mine] makes them draw an extra card while [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=88799 Ebony Owl Netsuke] damages them for having too many cards in their hand. This forces opponents to either effectively waste cards or take damage. The deck was once popular enough people would actually sideboard [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=88817 One With Nothing], a card which had no purpose but to discard your hand.
* [[Samurai]]: Seen in the ''Kamigawa'' block.
* [[Scunthorpe Problem]]: The problem with Assault Strobe and Cumulative upkeep on the Gatherer site. Yes, they're going that far.
* [[Serious Business]]: [[Tournament Play]]. This makes sense, because Wizards of the Coast provides some ''serious'' prize support. A single tournament can net the winner upwards of $40,000, and they've given away over $25 million in total cash prizes since they started running major tournaments. Several players have lifetime winnings in excess of $100,000, and that doesn't count minor tournaments or free plane trips to exotic foreign locales (though admittedly, you're there to play Magic, so perhaps "dreary foreign convention centre floors" would be more accurate). Of course, this trope often appears in full force even when there isn't a pile of cash at stake.
* [[Serial Escalation]]:
** Early expansions made a game of one-upping each other, with every other expansion introducing a new "largest creature in the game." First there was the 8/8 [http://magiccards.info/al/en/103.html Force of Nature] in ''Alpha'', then the 9/9 [http://magiccards.info/aq/en/11.html Colossus of Sardia] in ''Antiquities'', then the 10/10 [http://magiccards.info/dk/en/29.html Leviathan] in ''The Dark'', then ''Ice Age''{{'}}s 11/11 [http://magiccards.info/ia/en/89.html Polar Kraken], and finally the 12/12 [http://magiccards.info/mr/en/280.html Phyrexian Dreadnought] in ''Mirage''. The process was spoofed in ''Unglued''{{'}}s [http://magiccards.info/ug/en/28.html B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster)], a 99/99 creature so big that he takes up two cards and wears "[[Continuity Nod|krakens and dreadnoughts for jewelry]]", and it was nostalgically revisited in ''Coldsnap'', which introduced [http://magiccards.info/cs/en/37.html Jokulmorder], a 12/12, as a nod to the set's gimmick of supposedly predating ''Mirage
*** It didn't stop there. In ''Legions'' there was the 13/13 [http://magiccards.info/le/en/130.html Krosan Cloudscraper], followed by the 9/14 [http://magiccards.info/rav/en/191.html Autochthon Wurm] in ''Ravnica'', and finally the 15/15 [http://magiccards.info/roe/en/4.html Emrakul, The Aeons Torn] in ''Rise of the Eldrazi''.
** ''Unglued'' had cards with both [http://magiccards.info/ug/en/53.html the longest] and [http://magiccards.info/ug/en/36.html the shortest] names in the game at that time. Not to be outdone, ''Unhinged'' introduced [http://magiccards.info/uh/en/107.html a card whose name is so long it wraps completely around all four sides of the card] and [http://magiccards.info/uh/en/23.html a card with no name at all].
** ''Unglued'' also contained the card(s) with the largest mana cost, the aforementioned [http://magiccards.info/ug/en/28.html B.F.M.], whose 15 black mana symbols stretched across the entire top line of the card. Once again, ''Unhinged'' decided to top it with [http://magiccards.info/uh/en/121.html Gleemax], a card which costs 1,000,000 mana. Yes, that's one million mana. I hope you brought your [http://magiccards.info/uh/en/124.html Mox Lotus].
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* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: [http://steveargyle.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2xtmfi Chandra] manages to be quite lovely when she's not covered in a 3-inch layer of ash.
* [[Shout-Out]]:
** The Time Spiral set consisted entirely of cards that referenced other cards printed earlier. For an comprehensive list to [[Reference Overdosed|(most of?) the call-backs]] check: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120717024008/http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Time_Spiral/Trivia Here], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130509010729/http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Planar_Chaos/Trivia here] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20120716142440/http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Future_Sight/Trivia here].
** Nevinyrral's Disk is a direct reference to the "Warlock's Wheel" from [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[The Magic Goes Away (novel)|The Magic Goes Away]]'' series.
** The unreleased ''Unglued 2'' set was slated to contain a card called [[Jeopardy!|"Jeopardy"]], with [http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/arcana/658_jeopardy.jpg this art].
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* [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill]]: [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=134740 Shivan Meteor] is a prime example.
* [[Too Awesome to Use]]: The very first edition included the ante system, which allowed the winner of the match to ''take some of the loser's cards''. This made players very reluctant to add very rare, powerful cards to a deck.
* [[Took a Level
* [[Tournament Play]]: Sponsored by the game's creators.
* [[Transformation Is a Free Action]]: The Morph capacity. Free in term of timing as it don't use the stack so one can't do anything to respond its use.
* [[The Un-Reveal]]: Mark Rosewater loves to do this. For example, he once replaced most of the words in a spoiler laden paragraph with [[
{{quote|''Goblin of the Goblins'' is going to be a goblin built around the Goblin goblins, all of which have no goblin and are goblin. For example, there are two Goblins at goblin, the goblin of which is 7/7. All of the Goblins have a new goblin called goblin. Goblins with goblin have a goblin; whenever a goblin with goblin goblins, the goblin goblin must goblin that many goblins. The Goblins are very goblin but there are goblins that can create 0/1 goblins called Goblin Goblin that can be goblin to goblin one goblin goblin to your goblin goblin and will help you be able to goblin the Goblins. In addition, the goblin has a new goblin called goblin goblin. You may spend goblin on goblin with goblin goblin to improve their goblins and goblins. This Limited goblin is much goblin than the one in ''Goblin''.}}
** This is what it actually says:
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** The guy who tore up his Chaos Orb, inspiring the ''Unglued'' card "Chaos Confetti."
* [[Uriah Gambit]]: Abyssal Persecutor prevents its controller from winning the game as long as it's in play, so you'd better have one of these planned.
* [[Video Game Stealing]]: A decent number of cards let you gain control of an opponent's cards, which includes being able to steal equipment their creatures are using. Bronze Tablet has this effect in the Microprose game (the only place it will see use in due to the legality of ante), allowing you to steal cards from the deck of opposing enemies and ''keep them after the duel''.
* [[We Have Reserves]]: A creature can only block one attacker at a time. If your numbers are overwhelming enough and your opponent weak enough you can win by attacking with all your creatures, even if most of them die in the process. This is especially true in token focused decks which specialize in overwhelming numbers.
* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]]:
** [http://magiccards.info/lg/en/118.html Shelkin Brownie]'s special ability is to remove the "Bands with other" ability from creatures. In the history of ''Magic'', there are ''two'' cards with the "Bands from other" ability: the 1/1 tokens created by [http://magiccards.info/lg/en/108.html Master of the Hunt], and the ''Unhinged'' card [http://magiccards.info/uh/en/106.html Old Fogey], which is illegal in every format and only has the ability as a joke (the only creatures he can band with, aside from creatures that have the regular Banding ability, are other copies of himself). Oh, plus a cycle of lands that are serious contenders for "Worst card in the game" and probably shouldn't count. Good old Shelkin Brownie, keeping the world safe from four-mana 1/1s and legendary lands that don't produce mana!
** The infamously bad card [http://magiccards.info/lg/en/186.html Great Wall] is an enchantment that stops creatures with the Plainswalk ability. At the time of its printing, this included exactly two cards, both of them craptastic: [http://magiccards.info/lg/en/203.html Righteous Avengers], a 3/1 for 5 mana with no other abilities; and [http://magiccards.info/ch/en/5.html Giant Slug], which could only gain Plainswalk by paying 5 mana a turn. Good thing we built that wall, right?
* [[Useless Item]]: Battle of Wits makes you win the game if you have 200 or more cards in your library. Most formats have no maximum on deck size, so it's difficult to pull off and predictable (since nothing else uses a deck that big) in most formats, but not useless. In formats like ''Commander'', which requires decks have exactly 100 cards, it's useless.
** Two combos exist that could theoretically allow it to be played. Both amount to summoning nigh-infinite cards from outside the game, shuffling them all into your deck, then playing battle of wits. These have two problems 1: Having a nigh-infinite number of creatures on the battlefield pretty much wins the game anyways, especially as virtually all board wipes are banned in Commander. Shuffling them into your library then playing Battle of Wits is extraneous. 2: Commander's rules state limitations on pulling cards from outside the game have to be agreed upon by all players before the game starts, so you can only pull these off if all opponents let you.
* [[When I Was Your Age]]: The Unhinged Parody set has [http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid{{=}}74235 Old Fogey] and its accompanying flavor text.
{{quote|These kids today with their collector numbers and their newfangled tap symbol. Twenty [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid{{=}}600 Black Lotuses] and 20 [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid{{=}}3871 Plague Rats]. Now that's real '''Magic'''.}}
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** [http://magiccards.info/query?q=!Phyrexian+Obliterator Phyrexian Obliterator cruelly employs this trope]. While its earlier counterpart, Phyrexian Negator, actually encouraged the opponent to deal damage to it so that the controller would have to sacrifice something, Obliterator turns that around and makes it so that whoever's responsible for the damage has to sacrifice permanents. It can be a pain for your opponent to get rid of without causing its ability to go off. Oh--it's also an undercosted trampler, so they'll have to block it and/or destroy it, or it'll destroy them in 4 turns flat.
* [[Yeah! Shot]]: Used in [http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/daily/events/ptdka12/sat_304.jpg a photo] from the official coverage of Day 3 of the Pro Tour: Dark Ascension tournament; it's a group shot of the Top 8 all in mid-jump.
* [[Your Mind Makes It Real]]: The entire point of the Illusion tribe of creatures. They can kill other creatures and deal damage to players and planeswalkers just like any other creature, but if they are targeted by ''[[Weaksauce Weakness|anything]]'', [[Puff of Logic|they die.]] [citation needed]
* [[Zerg Rush]]:
** As mentioned above, aggro decks, especially "weenie" decks. Most (in)famous are Goblins (the Little Red Men), White Weenie (soldiers, knights, and birds of prey), and the ''Mirrodin'' block's Ravager Affinity (a rapid-fire Game-Breaker-laden deck which can inflict sudden death very rapidly on a good opening hand).
** [http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/deck/636 Kuldotha Red]. Capable of (potentially) producing as many as seven creatures in turn one.
** Single-card examples include [https://web.archive.org/web/20090504031744/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=83292 Swarm of Rats], among others.
** Saproling decks are based around generating absurd amounts of 1/1 tokens with relative ease; a [https://web.archive.org/web/20131022161620/http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=89116 Doubling Season]/[https://web.archive.org/web/20130203034953/http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=174975 Mycoloth] combo and a sacrifice of five cratures will generate 40 1/1 tokens per round, each of which the player will gleefully sacrifice for a variety of benefits.
* [[Zombie Gait]]: Evoked with some of the ''Innistrad'' zombies. [http://magiccards.info/isd/en/97.html Diregraf Ghoul] is a good example--it comes into play tapped to represent its slow gait. M11's [http://magiccards.info/m11/en/115.html Rotting Legion] does the same thing.
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