MTG Keywords Explained: The Ultimate Ability Glossary
The Complete Guide to Magic: The Gathering Keywords
In the complex world of Magic: The Gathering, keywords are the game's essential shorthand. They condense frequently used game actions and permanent abilities into a single word or phrase, streamlining gameplay and making cards easier to read. This guide provides a comprehensive breakdown of all types of keywords, from the ever-present "evergreen" abilities to the thematic "expert" mechanics.
What Are MTG Keywords?
Within Magic: The Gathering, individual cards carry instructions for players. To simplify these instructions, some are given as keywords, which have a common meaning across all cards.
Most keywords describe a card's abilities; for example, a creature with "Flying" can only be blocked by creatures with Flying or Reach. Some are keyword actions that describe an action a player takes, such as "Sacrifice," which means to remove a permanent you control from the battlefield and put it into your graveyard.
It's also important to distinguish these from ability words (like Landfall or Heroic). Ability words are italicized words that have no rules meaning but are used on cards with similar abilities to tie them together thematically.
Categories of Keywords
Keywords are broadly categorized by their frequency of use and design intent.
Evergreen Keywords
Fundamental abilities that may appear in any set. These are the building blocks of Magic gameplay and appear consistently across formats.
Expert Keywords
Keywords introduced in specific blocks and expansions, typically developed for that set's theme. Many become fan favorites and return in future sets.
Discontinued Keywords
Keywords that have been retired from regular use but may still appear on older cards that see play in eternal formats.
Part 1: Evergreen Keywords & Actions
These are the keywords you will see most often, present in Core Sets and many expansions. Understanding these is essential for any Magic player.
Evergreen Keyword Abilities
These are static or triggered abilities that a permanent can have. They form the foundation of creature combat and interaction in Magic.
Combat Keywords
Any amount of damage this creature deals to another creature is enough to destroy it.
This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.
This creature deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.
This creature can only be blocked by creatures with Flying or Reach.
This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
This creature can block creatures with Flying as though it had Flying.
When this creature attacks and is blocked, excess combat damage can be dealt to the defending player or planeswalker.
Attacking doesn't cause this creature to tap.
Protection & Utility Keywords
This permanent or player can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.
This permanent can't be destroyed by effects that say "destroy" or by lethal damage.
A creature with protection from a quality can't be Damaged, Enchanted/Equipped, Blocked, or Targeted by sources of that quality.
Whenever this permanent becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays an additional cost.
This creature cannot attack.
You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.
This creature can attack or use abilities with the tap symbol as soon as it enters the battlefield.
Damage dealt by this permanent also causes its controller to gain that much life.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Evergreen Keyword Actions
These are verbs that describe a common game action a player takes. Unlike keyword abilities, these represent actions you perform during the game.
To look at the top X cards of your library and put any number of them on the bottom and the rest on top in any order.
To put the top X cards of a library into its owner's graveyard.
When two creatures fight, each deals damage equal to its power to the other.
To put a permanent you control into its owner's graveyard.
To put a card into the exile zone, a place generally inaccessible to players.
To remove a spell or ability from the stack, preventing it from resolving.
To move an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification onto another permanent, causing it to become "attached."
To rotate a card 90 degrees to show it has been used; to return it to its upright orientation.
Part 2: Popular Expert-Level Keywords
These mechanics have proven popular enough to return in multiple sets and reflect the theme of their worlds. Expert keywords often define the playstyle of specific formats and archetypes.
If this creature has no +1/+1 counters, you may pay its adapt cost to put N +1/+1 counters on it.
When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with a lower mana value. You may cast it without paying its mana cost.
Pay a cost, discard this card: Draw a card.
You may cast this instant or sorcery from your graveyard by paying its flashback cost. If you do, exile it instead.
You may cast this creature spell for its mutate cost to merge it with a non-Human creature you control.
Keyword Mechanics Frequently Asked Questions
Keyword abilities are properties that a permanent has, like Flying or Deathtouch. They're always "on" and affect how the permanent interacts with the game. Keyword actions are things you do during the game, like Sacrifice or Scry. They represent specific game actions rather than ongoing properties.
Evergreen keywords appear consistently across many sets and formats. Wizards of the Coast maintains a list of evergreen mechanics that designers can use in any set. Expert keywords are tied to specific settings or mechanics and only appear in certain blocks or when that mechanic returns. If you see a keyword in a Core Set, it's likely evergreen.
Absolutely! Many powerful creatures have multiple keyword abilities. For example, a creature might have Flying, First Strike, and Lifelink all at once. Some expert mechanics even encourage stacking keywords, like the Mutate mechanic from Ikoria which lets you combine abilities from multiple creatures.
Essential Resources for Keyword Reference
Mastering Magic Through Keywords
Keywords form the fundamental language of Magic: The Gathering. As you become more familiar with these terms, you'll find yourself reading cards more quickly, anticipating your opponent's moves more accurately, and building more synergistic decks.
Remember that even experienced players occasionally need to look up specific keyword interactions. Magic has decades of rules history and thousands of cards, creating countless unique situations. Don't hesitate to consult official resources or ask judges at tournaments when you encounter unfamiliar keyword combinations.
The best way to internalize keyword knowledge is through practice. Play regularly, experiment with different keyword combinations in your decks, and pay attention to how professional players leverage keywords in competitive matches.
-Comrade KAS
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