Rules
Comprehensive Rules
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9 Sections147 chapters
Turn Structure15 chapters
500. General
500.1
A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of these phases takes place every turn, even if nothing happens during the phase. The beginning, combat, and ending phases are further broken down into steps, which proceed in order.
500.10
Some effects add a step after a particular phase
500.11
Some effects can cause a step, phase, or turn to be skipped
500.12
No game events can occur between steps, phases, or turns.
500.2
A phase or step in which players receive priority ends when the stack is empty and all players pass in succession. Simply having the stack become empty doesn’t cause such a phase or step to end; all players have to pass in succession with the stack empty. Because of this, each player gets a chance to add new things to the stack before that phase or step ends.
500.3
A step in which no players receive priority ends when all specified actions that take place during that step are completed. The only such steps are the untap step (see rule 502) and certain cleanup steps (see rule 514).
500.4
As a step or phase begins, if there are effects that last until that step or phase, those effects expire.
500.5
As a step or phase ends, if there are effects that last until the end of that step or phase, those effects expire. Then any unspent mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This is a turn-based action that doesn’t use the stack (see rule 703.4q).
500.6
When a phase or step begins, any abilities that trigger “at the beginning of” that phase or step trigger. They are put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)
500.7
Some effects can give a player extra turns
500.8
Some effects can add phases to a turn
500.9
Some effects can add steps to a phase