Plains make white mana, Islands make blue mana, Swamps make black mana, Mountains make red mana, and Forests make green mana. Each basic land makes one mana of a particular color.
You’ll use lands to generate mana, the game’s primary resource, which is used to cast spells and activate abilities. For example, Serra Angel’s type is creature, and its subtype is Angel. TYPE LINEĮvery card in Magic has a type, and some cards also have subtypes or supertypes that provide more information.
Serra Angel’s mana cost,, means that you must pay three mana of any kind plus two white mana to cast it. All spell cards have a mana cost in the upper right corner. Mana is the resource used to cast spells in Magic. When a card’s name appears in its text box, the card is referring only to itself, not to any other cards with the same name. In most Magic formats, you can have up to four copies of a card with the same name (except basic lands, which are unlimited). Though a card may be reprinted in many Magic sets, no two cards with the same name will ever function differently.
Magic cards are formatted so that the information you need to know is always in the same place.Įach card has a name that serves as its unique identifier. If you are new to Magic, this section will provide an introduction to the game and a rulebook to refer to when you have questions.