Magic The Gathering Comprehensive Rules Part 28

An effect can change a permanent's controller but never its owner. (A few cards have the text "Remove [this card] from your deck before playing if you're not playing for ante." These are the only cards that can change a card's owner. See rule 217.9, "Ante.") A card is always put into its owner's library, hand, or graveyard, regardless of who controlled the card in its previous zone. See rule 217.1a.

Pa.s.s

To pa.s.s is to decline to take any action (usually playing a spell or ability) when you have priority. When a player pa.s.ses, his or her opponent receives priority. See rule 408.1, "Timing, Priority, and the Stack."

Pa.s.s in Succession

To pa.s.s in succession means that all players pa.s.s without playing any spells, playing any abilities, or performing any special actions in between. If all players pa.s.s in succession, the spell, ability, or combat damage on top of the stack resolves. If the stack is empty, the phase or step ends. See rule 408.1, "Timing, Priority, and the Stack."

Pay Playing most spells and activated abilities requires paying costs; see rule 409, "Playing Spells and Activated Abilities." Declaring attackers (see rule 308, "Declare Attackers Step") and declaring blockers (see rule 309, "Declare Blockers Step") can also require paying costs.

Paying mana is done by removing the indicated amount of mana from the player's mana pool. Any time a player is asked to pay mana, mana abilities may be played. Mana abilities must be played before the costs are paid. Paying life subtracts the indicated amount of life from the player's life total. A player can't pay more mana than the amount of mana in his or her mana pool or more life than his or her life total. Zero life or zero mana can always be paid, even if the player has less than zero life.

To pay any cost, the player carries out the instructions specified by the spell, ability, or effect. It's illegal to attempt paying a cost when unable to successfully follow the instructions. For example, a player can't pay a cost that requires tapping a creature if that creature is already tapped.

Each payment applies to only one spell or ability. For example, a player can't sacrifice just one creature to play the activated abilities of two permanents that require sacrificing a creature as a cost. Also, the resolution of a spell or ability doesn't pay another spell or ability's cost, even if part of its effect is doing the same thing the other cost asks for.

Permanent

A permanent is any card or token in the in-play zone. See rule 214, "Permanents."

Permanently (Obsolete)

Certain older cards were printed with the term "permanently" to indicate effects with no expiration. This term is no longer used.

Example: An ability that originally read "Gain control of target creature permanently" would now read as follows: "Gain control of target creature." This effect grants control of the permanent until something else changes the controller or it leaves play. It doesn't make the permanent immune to other control effects.

Phase

Each turn is divided into five phases: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and end. See section 3, "Turn Structure."

Phased Out

The phased-out zone is a special zone for permanents with phasing that are temporarily out of play. See rule 502.15, "Phasing."

Phasing

Phasing is a static ability that causes a permanent to leave play and later return, without losing its "memory." See rule 502.15, "Phasing."

Pile

If a player is asked to separate a group of objects into two or more piles, the objects do not leave the zone they're currently in. If cards in a graveyard are split into piles, the order of the graveyard must be maintained. A pile can contain zero or more objects.

Plains

"Plains" is one of the five basic land types. Any land with the land type Plains has the ability "{T}: Add {W} to your mana pool." See rule 212.6d.

Plainscycling

See Landcycling.

Plainswalk

See Landwalk.

Play

The act of playing a spell, land, or ability involves announcing the action and taking the necessary steps to complete it.

Playing a spell or activated ability requires paying any costs and choosing any required modes and/or targets. See rule 409, "Playing Spells and Activated Abilities."

Playing a land simply requires choosing a land card from the hand and putting it into play. See rule 212.6, "Lands."

Playing a mana ability requires paying any costs, then immediately resolving the ability. See rule 411, "Playing Mana Abilities."

Triggered abilities and static abilities aren't played-they happen automatically. See rule 410, "Handling Triggered Abilities."

Play/Draw (Informal)

Whoever plays first in a two-player game skips his or her first draw step. This is referred to as the play/draw rule. See rule 101, "Starting the Game."

In a Two-Headed Giant multiplayer game, the team that goes first skips its first draw step (see rule 606, "Two-Headed Giant Variant"). Other multiplayer variants don't use the play/draw rule.

Player

A player is one of the people in the game. The active player is the player whose turn it is. The other players are nonactive players. See rule 200.3.

Poison Counter Some cards give poison counters to players. If a player has ten or more poison counters, he or she loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 420, "State-Based Effects."

Poly Artifact (Obsolete)