WIZARDS OF THE COAST DISCLOSES RULE MODIFICATIONS FOR MAGIC: THE GATHERING--CLASSIC GAME January 15, 1999 (Renton, Wash.)--Adventure games leader Wizards of the Coast Inc. announced today plans to disclose rule modifications for the _Magic: The Gathering(R)--Classic_(TM) (Sixth Edition) trading card game. After careful deliberation and extensive playtesting, the Magic: The Gathering Research and Development team determined that the implementation of the Classic (Sixth Edition) rule modifications will serve as a critical stepping stone for the growth and sustenance of the _Magic(R)_ player community. While preserving the in-depth strategy imperative to Magic, unified rules will both enable new players to better understand the game's core rules and minimize rules disputes for advanced- and expert-level players. According to Wizards of the Coast(R) executive designer and Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield, "The adopted rules parallel my original concept for Magic, which entailed a clear and comprehensible set of rules with the strategic play depth introduced through the cards." Garfield continued, "I played an integral part in the reevaluation process for the Classic rules, and I am confident that the elimination of extraneous and complicated rules will help establish the game as a classic like chess or Go." In response to the elevated interest and speculation surrounding these changes, Magic: The Gathering lead designer Bill Rose will address and explain each rule modification in a letter posted to the Wizards of the Coast website. Rose will also periodically respond online to rules questions from players. Players and enthusiasts can post inquiries for response or visit for updated information. The following insertion is a full description of the major modifications in the Magic: The Gathering--Classic (Sixth Edition) rules. The Classic card set will be released in April 1999, and these changes will become effective in tournament play on June 1, 1999. -------------------- Sixth Edition Rules Changes The Stack Forget batches and series--whenever you play a spell or ability, it goes on the stack. You can then play another spell or ability or pass. If you pass, your opponent gets priority to play spells and abilities. When you both pass in succession, the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves. Then the player whose turn it is (the active player) gets priority again. **You don't have to wait for everything on the stack to resolve before playing another spell.** Example: I play Hammer of Bogardan on your Fallen Angel. You respond by playing The Hive's ability to create a Wasp token. After The Hive's ability resolves and your Wasp comes into play, you sacrifice it to your Fallen Angel. The Angel, now 5/4, takes 3 damage from the Hammer and survives. Abilities that add mana to your pool don't go on the stack. (These are now called "mana abilities.") You simply get the mana immediately. *Spells* that produce mana, however, such as Dark Ritual, go on the stack like other spells. Mana abilities can be played only when you have priority or are asked to pay mana. Mana sources no longer exist. Countering Spells Classic rules do away with interrupts. All interrupts are now instants, which means you can counter a spell any time before it resolves. (Abilities that trigger on a spell being "successfully cast" now trigger on a spell being "played.") Example: I play Terror on a creature you control. You respond by playing Inspiration, which lets you draw two cards. One of the cards you draw is Counterspell. You can now play it to counter my Terror. Damage Prevention and Regeneration Classic eliminates the damage-prevention step. Damage is no longer dealt ("assigned") and then successfully dealt--it's simply dealt. Damage prevention, regeneration, and other spells and abilities that generate replacement effects are now played just like other instants. When such a spell or ability resolves, its effect creates a kind of "shield." Damage-prevention effects create shields that prevent the next damage the target would take. Regeneration's effect creates a shield that replaces a permanent's next destruction with regeneration. These shields last until used up or until the next cleanup step, whichever comes first. If an effect prevents a specific amount of damage, it creates a shield that hangs around until that amount of damage is prevented. Example: I tap my Prodigal Sorcerer to deal 1 damage to your Tundra Wolves. You respond by playing Healing Salve on the Wolves. The Salve resolves first, setting up a shield that can prevent 3 damage. When the Sorcerer's ability resolves, the shield prevents the 1 damage and waits around for the rest of the turn to prevent up to 2 more. If two different effects could each prevent the same damage, the "shielded" player or controller of the "shielded" creature chooses which effect gets applied. All damage-prevention spells and abilities are now targeted. This means, for example, that you can't play Healing Salve on a creature with protection from white. Triggered Abilities In the Classic set, any ability that begins with "when," "whenever," or "at" (as in "At the beginning of your upkeep") is a triggered ability. When a triggered ability's condition is met, the ability automatically goes on the stack. Its controller chooses all targets for it, and when it resolves, makes all other choices for it. If two or more triggered abilities go on the stack at the same time, those controlled by the active player go first. If one player controls two or more, that player chooses their order. Triggered abilities can no longer resolve while another spell or ability is resolving. Phase abilities have all been changed to triggered abilities that trigger when the specified phase or step begins. Under _Fifth Edition_(TM) rules, you couldn't play a permanent's abilities until you dealt with its phase costs and "comes-into-play" costs. This rule no longer exists. Abilities that read, "do A or do B" should now be read as "You may do A. If you don't, do B." Phases and Steps Each turn now has five phases: beginning, main, combat, second main, and end. The beginning phase has three steps: untap, upkeep, and draw. No spells or abilities can be played during the untap step, and abilities that trigger during untap wait until the beginning of the upkeep step to go on the stack. If an effect instructs you to do something at the beginning of the turn, you do it at the beginning of upkeep. Upkeep abilities ("During your upkeep, do A") are now triggered abilities: "At the beginning of your upkeep, do A." Likewise, abilities that read "During your upkeep, do A or do B" should now be read as "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may do A. If you don't, do B." There are now two main phases in every turn. They're separated by combat, which is now its own phase. You may still play only one land per turn. Phase abilities played at the beginning of or during your main phase are now triggered abilities that trigger at the beginning of your first main phase. The end phase has two steps: end of turn and cleanup. The end-of-turn step works just like the upkeep step. When it begins, all triggered abilities that start with "At end of turn" go on the stack. When the cleanup step begins, the active player discards down to the maximum hand size (usually seven cards). Then all damage on creatures is removed and effects that last "until end of turn" end. If any abilities trigger during the cleanup step, they go on the stack, and then the active player gets priority to play spells and abilities. If no abilities trigger, no one gets priority. If any spells or abilities resolve during cleanup, the whole step is repeated. Otherwise, the turn ends. Combat Combat is now its own phase with five steps: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, combat damage, and end of combat. Spells and abilities may be played during each of these steps, but only after the step's mandatory parts have been completed. For example, you can play a spell during declare attackers only after attackers have been declared. The declare attackers and declare blockers steps are unchanged, but dealing combat damage works differently. The active player announces how he or she wants attacking creatures' combat damage to be dealt, then the defending player does the same for blocking creatures. **Tapped blockers now deal combat damage just like untapped ones.** Because there's no damage-prevention step in Classic, the combat damage isn't dealt immediately--instead, it goes on the stack. Players may then play spells and abilities as usual. Nothing that happens to the attacking and blocking creatures can affect damage that's on the stack waiting to be dealt. When the stack reaches the combat damage, it's dealt according to the earlier damage announcements, even if one or more of the creatures in combat are no longer in play. Example: I block your Fire Elemental (5/4) with my Air Elemental (4/4). The creatures' combat damage goes to the stack. Afterward, I play Unsummon on my Air Elemental. The Unsummon resolves, returning the Air Elemental to my hand, and then the combat damage is dealt. The Air Elemental deals 4 damage to the Fire Elemental--even though it's no longer in play. The end-of-combat step works like the upkeep and end-of-turn steps. When the step begins, all abilities that trigger on the end of combat go on the stack. Miscellaneous You now lose the game as soon as you reach 0 life, not at the end of the phase. Artifacts' continuous abilities now work the same way as other permanents' abilities. They no longer "shut off" while the artifact is tapped. Under Classic rules, you choose modes and targets for a spell or ability (and pay costs) when you play it, but you make all other choices when the spell or ability resolves, not when it's played. You can identify modal spells and abilities by the "Choose one--" phrase. --------------------- The Magic: The Gathering trading card game was developed by award-winning game designer and mathematician Richard Garfield. In this intense game of strategy, players battle to reduce each other's score from 20 to 0 through a series of attack and defense moves using cards with varying numerical values. These illustrated cards depict fantastic monsters and imaginative worlds. With an estimated fan base of more than 6 million players, the Magic game is played in social and competitive settings, including the prestigious $1 million _Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour_(TM) circuit. Played in more than 52 countries worldwide, the Magic game is supported by the _DCI_(TM) players' organization, the governing authority for all officially sanctioned Magic tournaments. Helping both amateur and professional Magic players track their rankings, the DCI staff currently sanctions more than 60,000 Magic tournaments around the world per year. Wizards of the Coast is a leading developer and publisher of entertainment products, including the world's bestselling Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Wizards of the Coast subsidiaries include TSR Inc. and Five Rings Publishing Group Inc. Headquartered just outside of Seattle, Wash., Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website at . WIZARDS OF THE COAST, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, MAGIC, FIFTH EDITION, CLASSIC, MAGIC: THE GATHERING PRO TOUR and DCI are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. (C)1999 Wizards of the Coast Inc. ###