Rules
Comprehensive Rules
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700General701Keyword Actions702Keyword Abilities703Turn-Based Actions704State-Based Actions705Flipping a Coin706Rolling a Die707Copying Objects708Face-Down Spells and Permanents709Split Cards710Flip Cards711Leveler Cards712Double-Faced Cards713Substitute Cards714Saga Cards715Adventurer Cards716Class Cards717Attraction Cards718Prototype Cards719Case Cards720Omen Cards721Station Cards722Preparation Cards723Controlling Another Player724Ending Turns and Phases725The Monarch726The Initiative727Restarting the Game728Rad Counters729Subgames730Merging with Permanents731Day and Night732Taking Shortcuts733Handling Illegal Actions
704. State-Based Actions
704.1
State-based actions are game actions that happen automatically whenever certain conditions (listed below) are met. State-based actions don’t use the stack.
704.2
State-based actions are checked throughout the game and are not controlled by any player.
704.3
Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 117, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. If any state-based actions are performed as a result of a check, the check is repeated; otherwise all triggered abilities that are waiting to be put on the stack are put on the stack, then the check is repeated. Once no more state-based actions have been performed as the result of a check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, the appropriate player gets priority. This process also occurs during the cleanup step (see rule 514), except that if no state-based actions are performed as the result of the step’s first check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, then no player gets priority and the step ends.
704.4
Unlike triggered abilities, state-based actions pay no attention to what happens during the resolution of a spell or ability.
704.5
The state-based actions are as follows:
704.6
Some variant games include additional state-based actions that aren’t normally applicable:
704.7
If multiple state-based actions would have the same result at the same time, a single replacement effect will replace all of them.
704.8
If a state-based action results in a permanent leaving the battlefield at the same time other state-based actions were performed, that permanent’s last known information is derived from the game state before any of those state-based actions were performed.