{"id":507,"date":"2019-01-18T09:14:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T09:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/?page_id=507"},"modified":"2019-01-18T09:14:39","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T09:14:39","slug":"how-to-take-turns","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/how-to-take-turns\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Take Turns"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Take Turns<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first thing to do at the start the game is to decide who goes
\nfirst. This is handled by rolling a die. The highest roller will start the
\ngame first. Both players will then draw their opening hand of seven
\ncards to begin the game with.
\nThere are several parts to each turn, which in Magic are called
\n\u201cphases\u201d. The phases are as follows:
\n1. Beginning Phase.
\n2. First Main Phase.
\n3. Combat Phase.
\n4. Second Main Phase.
\n5. Ending Phase.
\nEach phase is then broken up into smaller sub-categories as well.<\/p>\n

Beginning Phase<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first part of every turn, the beginning phase, will basically
\nset the stage for everything that happens during the rest of the turn. If
\nyou recall earlier, you briefly learned about how you tap cards (turn
\nthem sideways) to show they have been used for the turn. The
\nbeginning phase is broken down into three steps:
\n1. Untap previously tapped permanents.
\n2. Upkeep.
\n3. Draw a New Card.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Untap Previously Tapped Permanents<\/h4>\n

At the beginning of each of your turns, you will untap all
\npreviously tapped permanents. This is important because it allows
\nyour resources to be reused on subsequent turns. All lands tapped for
\nmana, creatures that survived combat, and artifacts with a tap cost in
\ntheir abilities will be affected here along with any other effects that
\ncaused a permanent to be tapped.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Upkeep<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second part of the beginning phase is called upkeep. Specific
\ncards will tell you if they require an action during your upkeep phase.
\nIf none of your permanents have an upkeep cost, you don’t have to do
\nanything during this part of your turn. Your opponent has a chance to
\ncase instant spells or activate abilities before your turn progresses.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Draw a New Card.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, your beginning phase will end as you draw a new card for
\nthe turn. Drawing a card every turn keeps restocking your hand with
\nnew spells and is mandatory. If you don\u2019t have any cards left in your
\nlibrary and you reach the draw step of your turn, you automatically
\nlose the game! At the end of your draw step, your opponent may react
\nby casting instant spells or activating abilities.<\/p>\n

First Main Phase<\/strong><\/p>\n

The main phase will allow you to add to your resources
\non the battlefield. It is during this phase that you are
\nallowed to play lands from your hand to give you access to
\nincreased mana. Remember, you may only play one land
\nper turn. You can then use your lands to cast sorcery
\nspells, creatures, enchantments, artifacts, or
\nPlaneswalkers. Your opponent may, of course, respond to
\nany spells you cast with their own instant speed spells or
\nabilities.<\/p>\n

Combat Phase<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once creatures have been summoned to the battlefield and they
\nhave been under your control for at least one turn (so they are
\nunaffected by summoning sickness), they can begin combat. The
\ncombat phase can be very complicated and often is an integral part of
\nachieving victory, so it\u2019s important to go over this phase in more detail.<\/p>\n

First, here is a break down the timing of how combat works (you
\nwill see this illustrated with a specific example soon). As with the
\nbeginning phase, the combat phase is broken down into smaller steps.<\/p>\n

They are:<\/p>\n

1. Beginning of Combat – Both players may play instants
\nand abilities.<\/p>\n

2. Declare Attackers – Decide which, if any, creatures that
\nyou control you would like to attack your opponent with.
\nYou show that creature is attacking by tapping it. Both
\nplayers may play instants and use abilities.<\/p>\n

3 Declare Blockers – Your opponent decides which, if any,
\nof their untapped creatures they want to use to block
\nyour attack. Again, both players may play instant spells
\nand use abilities.<\/p>\n

4. Assign Damage – All creatures involved in combat assign
\ndamage based on their power (the first number in the
\nlower-right of the card). This is the final opportunity for
\nall players to use instants and abilities during the combat
\nphase.<\/p>\n

5. End of Combat – If a creature is dealt more damage than
\nit has toughness. It is removed from the battlefield and
\nplaced in the graveyard. Make any changes necessary to
\nlife totals and Planeswalker loyalty counters.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s put that together with a real-life example. Here is
\nthe board state as you move to the beginning of the combat
\nphase:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In this example, the player controls two Forests and one
\nMountain and has a Runeclaw Bear under their control that
\nwas summoned during the last turn. The opponent controls
\nan Island and a Plains and has used those two lands to
\nsummon a Stormfront Pegasus.
\nFirst, the player will declare an attack. As the attacking
\nplayer, he can only declare an attack against the opposing
\nplayer or any Planeswalkers she controls. He cannot attack a
\nspecific creature. That means the decision to block or not
\nblock rests entirely on the defending player.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at both scenarios and see what would
\nhappen. Since the player is on the attack, they will declare
\ntheir Runeclaw Bears as an attacker and show this by tapping the bears<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once the attack is declared, the opponent must choose
\nwhether or not to block the bears. If she chooses not to block
\nand does not use any spells, the player\u2019s bears will assign their
\ndamage directly to her. Since Runeclaw Bears has a power of
\ntwo, the opponent\u2019s life total will go down by two points, from
\n20 to 18.<\/p>\n

If the opponent chooses to block, the creatures will deal
\ndamage to each other. Both Stormfront Pegasus and
\nRuneclaw Bears have a power of two. When creatures
\ninteract in combat, they each deal their damage (equal to
\ntheir power rating) to the other creature\u2019s toughness (the
\nsecond number at the bottom-right of the card).<\/p>\n

This means Runeclaw Bears will deal two points of damage to
\nthe Stormfront Pegasus. Since the Pegasus has a toughness of
\none, this will be enough to kill them and at the end of combat,
\nthe Pegasus will go to the graveyard. However, Stormfront
\nPegasus also has a power of two, which is enough to kill the
\nRuneclaw Bears, who have a toughness of two.<\/p>\n

In Magic terms, this type of situation is called \u201ctrading\u201d. By
\nblocking here, the defending player is sacrificing her creature
\nto in turn destroy the player\u2019s (her opponent\u2019s) creature. Both
\nwill be destroyed leaving the battlefield empty until more
\ncreatures are summoned. When two creatures deal damage
\nto each other this way, all damage is dealt at the same time.
\nTherefore, they are both destroyed simultaneously.<\/p>\n

It is also important to understand that any carryover damage
\ndoes not go on to the player. Even though the player\u2019s bears
\ndo two points of damage and the Pegasus only has a
\ntoughness of one, the extra one damage is lost, it doesn\u2019t go
\nanywhere else. It is also worth note that damage does not
\ncarry over after the turn is over. Ifa creature takes damage,
\nbut is not killed, that damage is erased when the turn is over.<\/p>\n

Revisiting the Stack<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, when speaking about game zones, we
\nbriefly touched on the concept of the stack. Now
\nit\u2019s time to take a more in-depth look at the stack
\nand how it affects game play. Remember the battle
\nbetween Runeclaw Bears and Stormfront Pegasus?
\nThis time, we will add some firepower.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you look closely, you should immediately see the
\ndifference in this battle. Now the opponent has added an
\nIsland to their side of the battlefield and all of her lands are
\nnow untapped. In a Magic duel, this is something you want to
\nwatch out for. Untapped lands usually mean your opponent
\nhas more options available to them.<\/p>\n

The player is still attacking opponent with their Runeclaw
\nBears. The opponent is going to choose her Stormfront
\nPegasus to act as a blocker in order to not lose points from her
\nlife total. This time, however, the player will play another
\nspell to try and keep their bears alive!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The spell chosen to be cast is called Giant Growth. It allows
\nthe player to tap one Forest to give a creature they control
\n+3\/+3 until end of their turn. Those pluses are applied to the
\ncreature\u2019s power and toughness, essentially upgrading the
\nbears from a 2\/2 to a high-powered 5\/5 until the end of the
\nturn.<\/p>\n

Now, instead of trading with the opponent’s Pegasus, the
\nbears will be able to kill the flying nuisance and still live to
\nfurther threaten the opponent! Unfortunately, the extra
\ndamage doesn\u2019t carry over, but the player is still happier with
\nthis situation than if they put their bears in the graveyard.<\/p>\n

The way this plays in-game is that after the player declares
\ntheir attacker (Runeclaw Bears) and the opponent has chosen
\nher blocker (Stormfront Pegasus), the player then casts their
\nGiant Growth. When that happens, Giant Growth goes on the stack. That means before it resolves and the player’s creature actually gets the bonus, the opponent has a chance to react.<\/p>\n

Let’s say they opponent decides to tap all of her lands and play a spell of her own: Cancel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In this case, she can stop the player’s Giant Growth from
\nresolving and force both of their creatures to still trade. This is true
\nbecause spells resolve in a certain order: Last in, first out.<\/p>\n

This means that the last spell cast is the first one to resolve.
\nIn the above scenario, the opponents\u2019 Cancel will resolve first,
\nwhich will stop the Giant Growth from ever happening. Let\u2019s
\ntake a look at a slightly more complex example of how to use
\nthe stack.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There is a lot happening here, so let\u2019s examine the plays here and
\nthe two possible results.<\/p>\n

If the attacking player choose to play Giant Growth as
\nbefore, the opponent can then respond. In this case, she
\ntapped a mountain to play a Lightning Bolt. Lightning Bolt
\ndeals three point of damage to a creature or player. If the
\nopponent targets the player\u2019s bears with the bolt, it will take
\nthree points of damage before their Giant Growth can take
\neffect.<\/p>\n

Since Runeclaw Bears only has two points of toughness, these
\nthree damages will destroy them and they will be placed in
\nthe graveyard. When the player’s Giant Growth spell tries to
\nmake them bigger, they will no longer be there to receive the<\/p>\n

effect. The spell will therefore \u201cfizzle\u201d and also be placed in
\nthe graveyard, and the player will be very sad, as the spell has
\nbeen wasted.
\nIf you turn things around though, use of the stack can work
\nmuch better for the player. Let\u2019s say that instead of blocking
\nthe player\u2019s bears, the opponent instead decides to just target
\nthem with the Lightning Bolt in an attempt to save her
\nPegasus for later combat. Now what happens when the player
\nplays their Giant Growth?
\nWell, because it was the last thing placed on the stack, it will
\nresolve first. That means that the bears will be 5\/5 and more
\nthan large enough to absorb the Lightning Bolt\u2019s three
\ndamage points and survive! Even better, since the opponent
\nchose not to block, all five power points will go against her life
\ntotal, knocking her down from 20 to 15!
\nAs you can see, there are many decisions to be made during
\neach and every combat phase. It is a very dynamic part of the
\ngame that will take lots of practice to master. Remember to
\nread each card carefully, as many times understanding how to
\nuse your tools and the best time to use them will be the
\ndifference between winning and losing.<\/p>\n

Second Main Phase<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When the smoke clears after combat, you will have a second
\nopportunity to reinforce your side of the battlefield. The
\nsecond main phase allows you another opportunity to play
\nyour one land for the turn and any permanents you have
\nmana to pay for.
\nSince so much can happen in combat, most good players will\u00a0advise you to play spells during your second main phase as
\nmuch as possible. A good rule of thumb is that unless it will
\nhelp you in combat, wait until the second main phase.<\/p>\n

This is a good thing to lean early in your Magic career because
\nit helps promote the right kind of thinking. Playing this way
\nwill limit the amount of information your opponent has about
\nwhat you have available to you in combat and can lead to
\nthem making mistakes. Also, your needs may change based.
\non what happens in combat, so you can play optimally if you
\nhave more information at your disposal. Remember,
\ninformation is power!<\/p>\n

End Phase<\/strong><\/p>\n

Appropriately named, the end phase marks the end
\nof every turn. The end phase is your opponents\u2019
\nlast time to play instants or activate abilities before
\nthey start their own turn. It is also when all \u201cend of
\nturn\u201d effects end (like the Giant Growth from
\nbefore) and all non-lethal damage is removed from
\ncreatures.
\nYou will also need to check how many cards you have in your
\nhand. Unless stated by an effect on a card, your hand has a
\nmaximum size of seven cards. If you have more than seven
\ncards in hand at the end of your turn, you must discard from
\nyour hand until you are down to seven.
\nOnce that is done, your turn is over. Play then passes to your
\nopponent who begins by untapping all of their permanents
\nand following the phases as outlined above. You will continue\u00a0this way, taking turns until one player\u2019s life total is reduced to
\nzero or one of you runs out of cards in your library. Then the
\ngame is over and it\u2019s time to reshuffle and play again!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to Take Turns The first thing to do at the start the game is to decide who goes first. This is handled by rolling a die. The highest roller will start the game first. Both players will then draw their opening hand of seven cards to begin the game with. There are several parts … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/507"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usmtgproxy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}