This page is current as of Comprehensive Rules June 2011. Please direct your feedback to: The Staff

Summary

1. Activated abilities --- updated by Francesco
2. Triggered abilities --- updated by Salvo
3. Static abilities --- updated by Thomas
4. Mana abilities --- updated by Nicodaemon
5. How abilities work --- updated by Jeremie

Abilities - Definition and how to recognize them

First of all, we have to point out what we are going to talk about.

Keep in your mind that an Ability can be:

1. A Characteristic possessed by an object which allows it to affect the game. Such Abilities are directly defined from the text or the effect they create. They generally use the words "has", "have", "gains" or "gain" for their purpose.
2. A Triggered Ability on the stack or Activated Ability.

However, Abilities can be beneficial or detrimental. And also an additional cost or alternative cost to cast a card is an ability of the card.

Example. Giant Growt's text matches a benefical ability. Bloodghast's first paragraph matches a detrimental ability.

Bloodghast Giant Growth

Example. Fling's additional cost matches an ability. Force Of Will's alternative cost matches an ability.

Force Of Will Fling

You can easly understand how many abilities an object has looking at the number of paragraphs in its text. Each distinct paragraph is a separate ability.

Example. Murkfiend Liege has 2 different abilities granting +1/+1 both to other green and blu creatures the player controls, plus one other "untapping" ability.

Murkfiend Liege

Abilities can generate one-shot effects or continuous effects. Some continuous effects may be substitution effects or prevention effects.

Example. Lightning Bolt's ability generates a One-Shot effect, cause it does 3 damages to the target, one time, when it resolves. Instead, Consecrated Sphinx's ability generates a continuos effect that allows the player to chose, each time the opponent draws a card, to draw 2 cards.

Consecrated Sphinx Lightning Bolt

Now we've learned to recognize what Abilities are, we can go deeply seeing which are the 4 main kinds of abilities. That would not be an exhaustive, cause you can find special in-depth knowledge section for each of them in next pages.
The 4 main kinds are:

1. Spell ability are those who follow the instructions contained in an instant or sorcery spell, while this is being resolved.

   Example. When you start resolving Ponder you have to follow that spell's ability dictates.

   Ponder

2. Activated abilities are those that have a cost and an effect, and are written in the form [cost]: [effect]. They can be activated when the player has priority and remain on the stack until they resolve, they are countered or otherwise leave the stack.

   Example. Fauna Shaman's ability needs its cost to be paid in order to benefit from its ability.

   Fauna Shaman

3. Triggered abilities are those that have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written in the form [Trigger Condition], [Effect] and usually begin with the words "when," "whenever," or "at". When the condition is fulfilled the ability automatically goes on the stack the next time a player would receive priority and remains on the stack until it's resolved, it's counterred or otherwise leaves the stack.

   Example. It's enough, for Phyrexian Obliterator, being damaged to have it's triggered ability goes on the stack next time a player would receive priority.

   Phyrexian Obliterator

4. Static Abilities are those written as statements. They are simply true. These abilities generate continuous effects that are active until the permanent with the ability remains on the battlefield and has the ability, or until the object is in the appropriate zone.

   Example. Tempered Steel's ability simply generates a continuous effect granting +2/+2 to all artifact creatures that player controls. It lasts until the enchantment remains on the battlefield.

   Tempered Steel

But, we also have some "special" kinds of Activated Abilities and Triggered Abilities that are Mana Abilities. These abilities follow special rules: do not use the stack and in some cases can be activated even if the player does not have priority.

Example. Following what we've said above you can easly recognize what kind of ability is Llanowar Elves' ability and what is Lotus Cobra's. They are both Mana Ability.

Lotus Cobra Llanowar Elves

Last special ability we're going to talk about is a special Activated Ability: Loyalty Ability. This can be activated when the player has priority, during his Main Phase and the stack is empty, and only if there are not already activated loyalty abilities of that permanent in the turn. It goes without saying, that theese abilities are Planeswalker's tipycal abilities.

Example. You cannot have Gideon Jura turns in a 6/6 creature if you have already destroyed a tapped creature in this turn by its second ability.

Gideon Jura

Last but not least, you cannot have a complete knowledge of Abilities without taking a look to Section 702 of Comprehensive Rules [CR 702]. In that section you will find a list of all abilities ever used in Magic, with their full explanation text (not only remind text, as on cards). Whenever you have a doubt about an Ability check for it in the section of Keyword Ability.