EXAMPLE

Zones of Play
In Magic, each player's cards are divided into various zones, such as your hand, your library, your graveyard, and the cards you have in play. Other players know how many cards are in your hand but not what they are. Everyone knows how many cards are in your library but not what they are. Anyone can examine the cards you have in play or in your graveyard.

If a card leaves one zone for another, it "forgets" where it used to be. For example, cards in your graveyard don't know whether they came from your hand, from play, or from somewhere else. Additionally, if a card leaves play for any other zone, it loses all memory of what happened in play, and any effects expecting it to be in play lose track of it. Any changes made to the card are erased, all counters are lost, and so on.

Some effects set a card aside, with instructions for what to do with it later. The card isn't considered to be in play and may be examined by anyone who could've seen it where it used to be; for example, nobody may examine a card set aside from a library.

Cards removed from the game are unavailable until the game is over but may be examined by anyone.

Modifying Mana Production
The type of mana produced by a spell or ability is determined after applying all effects that might modify either what the source is or what type of mana is produced by it. Effects that cause the spell or ability to produce additional mana cause it to produce mana of that type.

Counts As . . .
Some cards say in their card text that they count as a certain creature type, land type, color, or other characteristic. These cards have the appropriate characteristic in addition to any other related characteristics they might have--even when they're not in play. If a card counts as having the stated characteristic instead of the normal ones, it says so.

Older Releases
As the game of Magic has evolved, so have the rules. Earlier editions of Magic used slightly different sets of rules, and the wordings on the cards have changed over time. Keep this in mind when playing with older cards (whether they're yours or your opponent's). For example, many older spells and abilities could legally be played as interrupts when printed but can't under the new rules; these should be played as the appropriate type of spell or ability. In addition, some older cards refer to rules that applied only to that expansion; those rules aren't covered in this rulebook.