A creature with this ability will gain +X/+X until the end of the turn whenever it blocks or is blocked by a creature. The "X" is determined by a number following the word "bushido" on the card.Back to Top
Changeling
A creature with this ability is every creature type.Back to Top
Clash
Clash is an action that involves two players. Both players reveal the top card of their libraries and compare converted mana costs. A player whose card had the highest converted mana cost wins the clash. If there is no highest converted mana cost, no one wins the clash. Regardless of the result, each player may choose to put the revealed card on either the top or bottom of his or her library.
A card without a mana cost, such as a land, has a converted mana cost of zero. A card with an X in the mana cost has the X treated as zero. Back to Top
Conspire
As the spell is played, two creatures under the owner's control may be tapped that share a color with the played card. When this happens, copy the played spell and a new target may be chosen for the copied spell.Back to Top
Deathtouch
When a creature with deathtouch deals damage to a creature, that creature is destroyed after damage resolves.Back to Top
Defender
A creature with this ability cannot attack and can only block.Back to Top
Double Strike
A creature with this ability deals an instance of First Strike, then regular combat damage for the same amount of power. If a creature is blocking, the regular combat damage would deal damage to the defending player if the defending creature is destroyed from the first strike's damage.Back to Top
Echo
A card with this ability requires the player to pay an additional cost at the beginning of their next upkeep. Creatures with echo are usually priced inexpensively, with the full cost essentially spread out over two turns.Back to Top
Fading
A card that has this ability comes into play with "X" fade counters on it, where "X" is the number following the word "fading" on the card. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a fade counter your card. If you can't remove a fading counter, then you must sacrifice your card. Thus having this card destroyed and sent to the graveyard.Back to Top
Fear
A creature with this ability may only be blocked by black creatures and/or by artifact creatures. Creatures that are both black and some other color may block a creature with fear, as may artifact creatures that have gained a color.Back to Top
First Strike
A creature with this ability will not take any damage if the creature they are fighting takes a lethal amount of damage during the exchange. Two first strike creatures are considered to attack each other simultaneously.Back to Top
Flanking
Flanking can best be thought of as a reverse of Bushido. A card with flanking will have a numerical value attached to it. When the creature with flanking is attacking, a defending creature will get -X/-X where X is the value of the flanking. For example, if the attacking creature has Flanking 1, and the defending creature is a 3/3, then the defending creature would have its power and toughness reduced to 2/2 until end of turn. Flanking only takes effect if the blocking creature does not have Flanking.Back to Top
Flash
A card with flash may be played any time an instant could be played.Back to Top
Flying
A creature with this ability cannot be blocked by non-flying creatures.Back to Top
Forestwalk
A creature with this ability cannot be blocked if the defender has Forests in play.Back to Top
Haste
A creature with this ability may attack or use an ability with the "tap symbol" in its cost the turn it comes into play. Creatures without the haste ability cannot use any "tap" activiation abilities, or attack, until they have begun a turn under the control of the current player.Back to Top
Indestructible
Indestructible permanents can't be destroyed, either by effects that say "destroy" or by lethal damage. If a spell or effect tries to destroy an indestructible permanent, nothing happens; if enough damage is dealt to an indestructible creature, it is not destroyed. Effects that do other things to an indestructible permanent work normally, so it may still be returned to a player's hand, removed from the game, and so on. In addition, a creature with a toughness of 0 or less is put into the graveyard, and indestructible creatures are not immune to this effect. For example, if you play an Indestructible creature with a toughness of 1 and your opponent plays a spell or ability that gives that creature -1 toughness, the indestructible creature is destroyed since no damage was dealt to it. Another example of this is forcing that player to Sacrifice the Indestructable Permanent with another card's ability.Back to Top
Islandwalk
A creature with this ability cannot be blocked if the defender has Islands in play.Back to Top
A card with this ability can be played as it is discarded from a player's hand for it's madness cost, which is indicated on the card. A card played with it's madness cost may be played as an instant.Back to Top
Modular
Modular is always listed with a number; an artifact creature with modular comes into play with that many +1/+1 counters on it. When that creature is put into a graveyard, you can put its +1/+1 counters onto any other artifact creature in play.Back to Top
Morph
A card with this ability may be played face-down for 3 mana. As long as it is face-down, it is a 2/2 colorless creature with no abilities. You may flip a face-down card face-up by paying its morph cost. This action does not use the stack, but you must have priority to do it. Whenever a face-down card leaves play, or if the game ends, it must be revealed to all players to show that it had morph.Back to Top
Mountainwalk
A creature with this ability cannot be blocked if the defender has Mountains in play.Back to Top
Ninjitsu
Ninjutsu is an activated ability that functions only while the card with ninjutsu is in a player's hand. "Ninjutsu [cost]" means "[Cost], Reveal this card from your hand, Return an unblocked creature you control to its owner's hand: Put this card into play from your hand tapped and attacking."
The card with ninjutsu remains revealed from the time the ability is announced until the ability leaves the stack.Back to Top
Persist
When a creature with this ability is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to play under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.Back to Top
Plainswalk
A creature with this ability cannot be blocked if the defender has Plains in play.Back to Top
Protection
Protection, like landwalk, is not a single ability but a family of abilities. A permanent will not have protection; it will have protection from . For example, it might have protection from black, protection from blue, protection from creatures, etc. Protection has a number of effects.Back to Top
Reach
A creature with this ability can block creatures with flying.Back to Top
Scry
To scry X, look at the top X cards of your library, then you may put any of those cards on the bottom of your library and the rest at the top of your library in any order.
Sometimes you can choose to make the oppent discard a number of cards or you draw a certain number of cardsBack to Top
Shadow
A creature with shadow can only block or be blocked by other creatures with shadow.Back to Top
Shroud
A permanent or a player with this ability cannot be the target of spells or abilities. If a player has shroud, he cannot be the target of any spell or ability until he loses shroud. The same goes with creatures. If a card would give all your creatures shroud, your opponents cannot target any of your creatures until they lose shroud. If a creature would give your other creatures shroud, a player cannot play a spell targeting the other creatures until the card giving your creatures shroud is destroyed. If a card would deal damage to all of your creatures, including the creature giving the others shroud, it would form a domino effect and the damage would be dealt to all the creatures.Back to Top
Split Second
As long as the spell is on the stack, players can't play spells or activated abilities that aren't mana abilities.Back to Top
Swampwalk
A creature with this ability cannot be blocked if the defender has Swamps in play.Back to Top
Trample
Normally when a creature is blocked, it deals all its damage to the blocker and none to the defending player. A creature with trample may deal its extra damage to the defending player. When the attacking player is deciding how to assign damage to blocking creatures, he also decides how much damage attackers with trample will deal to the defending player. However, he must first assign enough damage to destroy all blocking creatures. Specifically, he must assign damage equal to the blocker's toughness, less any damage already present. If a creature with trample has no blockers left when damage is assigned, it deals full damage to the defending player.
If the defending player controls a creature with "trample" and this creature blocks, no damage from this creature will be dealt to the attacking player. Only creatures that are attacking may assign their excess damage to a player.
A creature with trample that attacks a planeswalker and is blocked may assign any extra damage to the planeswalker. It may not assign any damage to the defending player. Back to Top
Vigilance
A creature with this ability does not tap to attack. This doesn't circumvent the restriction that tapped creatures can't attack.Back to Top
Whither
A creature with this ability deals damage to other creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters.Back to Top
