MTG Card Themes
ManaLotus understands 229 themes. Filter by facet to narrow the list, then open a theme to learn what it means and see example cards.
Showing 229 of 229 themes
Ability Copy
Permanents that copy activated abilities you activate, like Rings of Brighthearth, Illusionist's Bracers, and Lithoform Engine, doubling the result of each activation.
Ability Cost Reducer
Permanents that reduce the activation costs of abilities, like Training Grounds, Biomancer's Familiar, and Heartstone, making repeated activations cheaper.
Cast From Exile
Cards that enable or reward casting spells from exile, like Prosper, Tome-Bound, Etali, Primal Storm, Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald, and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer.
Untap Ability
Permanents and spells that untap a target permanent for repeated activation, like Voltaic Key, Kiora's Follower, and Thousand-Year Elixir.
Anthem
Permanents with static, always-on +N/+N buffs to your creatures, like Glorious Anthem, Honor of the Pure, and Tempered Steel.
Artifact Animator
Turns noncreature artifacts into creatures, like Ensoul Artifact, March of the Machines, and Tezzeret, the Seeker, letting Mox-style mana rocks and oddities swing as attackers.
Artifact Payoff
Cards whose abilities scale with or trigger off artifacts you control or cast, like Cranial Plating, Sai Master Thopterist, and Urza Lord High Artificer.
Artifact Recursion
Returns artifacts from the graveyard to hand or battlefield, like Goblin Welder, Emry, Lurker of the Loch, and Scrap Trawler.
Artifact Token Maker
Produces artifact creature tokens like Thopters, Servos, Myr, and Constructs. Includes Sai, Master Thopterist, Hangarback Walker, and Myr Battlesphere.
Artifact Tutor
Searches the library specifically for an artifact card, like Fabricate, Whir of Invention, and the Trinket Mage / Trophy Mage cycle.
Metalcraft
Cards with the metalcraft ability that gain a bonus while you control three or more artifacts, like Galvanic Blast, Mox Opal, and Etched Champion.
Cantrip
Cheap one-mana spells that replace themselves while sculpting draws, like Opt, Preordain, Serum Visions, and Ponder.
Card Draw
Spells and permanents that put additional cards into hand, like Divination, Night's Whisper, Phyrexian Arena, and Rhystic Study.
Draw Payoff
Permanents that reward each card drawn, scaling with draw triggers or doubling draws, like Niv-Mizzet, Parun, The Locust God, and Alhammarret's Archive.
Impulse Draw
Exiles cards from the top of your library and lets you play them for a limited time, like Light Up the Stage, Outpost Siege, and Jeska's Will.
Looting
Draw-then-discard filtering that refills selection without raw card advantage, like Faithless Looting, Merfolk Looter, and Looter il-Kor.
Rummaging
Discard-then-draw filtering where you pitch cards first and then draw replacements, like Cathartic Reunion, Thrill of Possibility, and Big Score.
Scry
Library smoothing that looks at the top cards and bottoms unwanted ones, like Preordain, Opt, Serum Visions, and Crystal Ball.
Second Draw Payoff
Permanents that trigger when you draw your second card each turn, rewarding decks built to draw at least twice, like Faerie Vandal, Irencrag Pyromancer, and Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse.
Tutor
Library searches that find a specific card by name or type and put it into hand or on top of your deck, like Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Enlightened Tutor.
Wheel
Hand-reset effects where players discard their hands and draw a fresh batch, like Wheel of Fortune, Magus of the Wheel, and Dragon Mage.
Cost Alternative
Spells with an alternative cost replacing their mana cost, paid by sacrificing or exiling resources, like Fireblast, Force of Will, and Gush.
Discover
Cards with the Discover keyword that exile cards off the top of the library and cast a nonland card with mana value less than or equal to the discover number for free, like Geological Appraiser and Quintorius Kand.
Free Spell
Spells you can cast for no mana by exiling another card from your hand, sometimes with a small life payment, like Force of Will, Fury, and Solitude.
Color Hoser
Asymmetric hate pieces that punish a chosen color, like Choke shutting off Islands, Boil destroying them, and Pyroblast countering or destroying anything blue.
Color Matters
Cards keyed to how many colors are present or that demand all five colors of mana, like Bloom Tender, Jodah, Archmage Eternal, and Sphinx of the Guildpact.
Mana Fixer
Cards that fix mana by giving access to multiple colors — rainbow/dual lands, signets, mana dorks, and color-fetching ramp, like Command Tower, Birds of Paradise, Chromatic Lantern, and Farseek.
Multicolor Payoff
Rewards casting or controlling gold cards, like Hero of Precinct One, General Ferrous Rokiric, and Knight of New Alara that trigger or scale on multicolored spells and permanents.
Attack Trigger
Triggers off attack declaration, firing 'whenever ~ attacks' abilities like Hellrider, Aurelia, the Warleader, and Goblin Rabblemaster.
Combat Damage Trigger
Triggers when a creature deals combat damage, rewarding connection with effects like card draw or life loss. Sword of Fire and Ice, Bident of Thassa, and Toski, Bearer of Secrets all pay off the hit.
Combat Trick
Instant-speed pump spells that swing combat math by buffing power and toughness, like Giant Growth, Become Immense, and Vines of Vastwood.
Extra Combat
Generates additional combat phases in the same turn, letting creatures attack twice or more. Aurelia, the Warleader, Aggravated Assault, and Relentless Assault are the canonical enablers.
Fog
Prevents all combat damage for a turn, blanking an attack step. Fog, Constant Mists, and Moment's Peace are the canonical shields.
French Vanilla
Creatures whose entire rules text is evergreen keyword abilities and nothing else, like Wind Drake (Flying) and Vampire Nighthawk (flying, deathtouch, lifelink).
Goad
Forces opposing creatures to attack and attack someone other than you, redirecting aggression. Disrupt Decorum, Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant, and Marisi, Breaker of the Coil are canonical goad pieces.
Unblockable Granter
Grants evasion by making another creature unblockable, like Aqueous Form, Whispersilk Cloak, and Rogue's Passage.
Vanilla
Creatures with no rules text at all — pure bodies defined only by power and toughness, like Grizzly Bears, Hill Giant, and Gray Ogre.
Casting Restriction
Static permanents that flatly prohibit certain spells from being cast, like Drannith Magistrate, Void Winnower, Gaddock Teeg, and Sanctum Prelate.
Creature Hoser
Static permanents that selectively shut down or restrict creatures based on power, toughness, or other creature-specific traits, like Meekstone.
Enter Tapped
Permanents that force opponents' creatures, lands, or artifacts onto the battlefield tapped, slowing tempo. Thalia, Heretic Cathar; Archon of Emeria; Authority of the Consuls.
ETB Hate
Static permanents that shut off enter-the-battlefield triggers, like Torpor Orb, Hushwing Gryff, and Hushbringer, neutering ETB-driven value engines.
Graveyard Prevention
Static permanents that shut off the graveyard zone, replacing it with exile or locking access to it, like Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void, and Grafdigger's Cage.
Hate Bear
Small, efficient creatures whose static abilities lock opponents out of key actions, like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Leonin Arbiter, and Collector Ouphe.
Pillow Fort
Static permanents that deter or prevent opponents from attacking you — attack taxes, hard 'can't attack you' effects, and attacker caps, like Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, Sphere of Safety, and Crawlspace.
Rule Of Law
Static permanents that cap how many spells each player can cast per turn, like Rule of Law, Deafening Silence, Archon of Emeria, and Ethersworn Canonist.
Search Hate
Static permanents that shut off or punish library searches, including Stranglehold, Aven Mindcensor, Leonin Arbiter, and Opposition Agent.
Spell Punisher
Permanents that punish opponents for casting spells or activating abilities, dealing damage or draining life as a trigger, like Eidolon of the Great Revel, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, and Spellshock.
Stax
Persistent resource-denial lockpieces that throttle untap steps or force ongoing sacrifices, like Winter Orb, Stasis, Smokestack, and Tangle Wire.
Tax Effect
Static permanents that inflate the mana cost of opponents' spells or attacks, like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Sphere of Resistance, and Ghostly Prison.
Copy Payoff
Rewards controlling multiples of the same name or sidesteps the legend rule, like Biovisionary, Mechanized Production, Mirror Box, and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces.
Creature Copy
Shapeshifter-style creatures that enter the battlefield as a copy of an existing creature, like Clone, Phantasmal Image, and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces.
Permanent Copy
Permanents that enter as a copy of a broader class than just creatures, spanning artifacts, enchantments, or any nonland permanent. Includes Clever Impersonator, Phyrexian Metamorph, and Spark Double.
Token Copy
Generates a token that's a copy of an existing permanent, like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Rite of Replication, and Helm of the Host.
Counter Doubler
Amplifies counters as they're placed, doubling or adding extra. Doubling Season, Hardened Scales, and Branching Evolution are the canonical examples.
Counter Mover
Relocates counters between permanents, shifting +1/+1 and other counters from one creature or object to another. Includes The Ozolith, Nesting Grounds, and Forgotten Ancient.
Counter Payoff
Cards that reward having +1/+1 counters on creatures by drawing cards, dealing damage, or winning the game, like Fathom Mage, Walking Ballista, and Simic Ascendancy.
Counter Placer
Sources that put +1/+1 counters onto creatures or other permanents, like Cathars' Crusade, Mikaeus, the Lunarch, and Cytoplast Root-Kin.
Experience Counter
Commanders that accumulate experience counters on their controller, scaling later effects by the count: Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Mizzix of the Izmagnus, Ezuri, Claw of Progress.
Proliferate
Spreads existing counters by giving another counter of each kind to permanents and players that already have one, via cards like Inexorable Tide, Evolution Sage, and Contagion Engine.
Cycling Payoff
Cards that reward you for cycling cards, like Astral Drift, Astral Slide, and Drake Haven.
Devotion Payoff
Cards that care about your devotion to a color, like Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and the Theros gods.
Discard Outlet
Activated abilities that let you discard cards from your hand as a cost for an effect, like Putrid Imp, Wild Mongrel, and Lotleth Troll.
Discard Payoff
Triggered rewards for discarding your own cards, like Archfiend of Ifnir, Drake Haven, and Bone Miser turning each discard into a tangible bonus.
Hellbent
Cards with bonuses that activate when you have no cards in hand, like Infernal Tutor and Nihilistic Glee.
Opponent Discard
Hand attack that forces opponents to discard, like Thoughtseize, Duress, and Inquisition of Kozilek.
Wheel Payoff
Punishes or capitalizes on mass hand-replacement and opponent draws, turning wheels into asymmetric advantage. Notion Thief, Narset, Parter of Veils, and Smothering Tithe are the canonical engines.
Aura Payoff
Creatures that grow or draw cards specifically from Auras attached to them, like Kor Spiritdancer, Sram, Senior Edificer, and Champion of the Flame.
Constellation
Cards with the Constellation keyword, triggering whenever an enchantment enters under your control. Eidolon of Blossoms, Setessan Champion, and Doomwake Giant headline the set.
Enchantment Payoff
Cards that scale or reward you for casting and controlling enchantments, like Ethereal Armor, Sphere of Safety, and Sigil of the Empty Throne.
Enchantment Recursion
Returns enchantment or Aura cards from the graveyard to hand, battlefield, or library, like Replenish, Starfield of Nyx, and Auramancer.
Enchantment Tutor
Searches your library for an enchantment or Aura card, like Idyllic Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, and Heliod's Pilgrim.
Enchantress Draw
Enchantment-cast and constellation draw engines like Enchantress's Presence, Sythis, Harvest's Hand, and Eidolon of Blossoms that cantrip whenever you cast or play an enchantment.
Energy Doubler
Cards that scale energy production by generating {E} from broad triggers on artifacts or permanents you control, like Gonti's Aether Heart and Aetherworks Marvel.
Energy Payoff
Cards that spend {E} energy counters to produce effects, like Bristling Hydra's hexproof pump, Whirler Virtuoso's Thopters, and Aetherworks Marvel's free spell.
Energy Producer
Generates {E} energy counters via enter-the-battlefield, cast, or combat triggers, like Aether Hub, Attune with Aether, and Glimmer of Genius.
Equipment Discount
Cuts the cost of casting or equipping gear, like Puresteel Paladin granting equip {0} under metalcraft and Sigarda's Aid giving Equipment flash plus a free attach on entry.
Equipment Payoff
Creatures that scale with attached Equipment and Auras, rewarding suit-up with stats, tokens, or cards. Champion of the Flame, Wyleth, Soul of Steel, and Kemba, Kha Regent.
Equipment Tutor
Searches the library for Equipment cards, like Stoneforge Mystic, Steelshaper's Gift, and Open the Armory.
Is Aura
Aura enchantments that attach to a creature and grant stats or abilities, like Rancor, Ethereal Armor, and Bear Umbra.
Is Equipment
Equipment artifacts that attach to a creature via the equip ability, including Sword of Fire and Ice, Skullclamp, Batterskull, and Lightning Greaves.
Etb Damage
Creatures whose enter-the-battlefield trigger deals damage or drains life, like Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Siege Rhino, ideal flicker targets for repeated burn.
Etb Doubler
Permanents that make enter-the-battlefield triggered abilities trigger an additional time, like Panharmonicon, Yarok, the Desecrated, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines.
Etb Removal
Creatures whose enter-the-battlefield trigger destroys or exiles a permanent, like Ravenous Chupacabra, Shriekmaw, and Meteor Golem.
Etb Token
Creatures whose enter-the-battlefield trigger creates tokens, like Avenger of Zendikar, Grave Titan, and Hornet Queen, doubling their value when blinked.
Etb Value
Creatures whose enter-the-battlefield trigger generates card advantage or ramp value, like Mulldrifter, Solemn Simulacrum, Wood Elves, and Eternal Witness.
Flicker Permanent
Permanents that repeatedly exile and return creatures or other permanents, like Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, Brago, King Eternal, Conjurer's Closet, and Restoration Angel.
Flicker Spell
Instants and sorceries that exile a creature and return it to the battlefield, like Ephemerate, Cloudshift, and Ghostly Flicker.
Ltb Trigger
Creatures with leaves-the-battlefield or death triggers that generate value when removed, like Reveillark, Solemn Simulacrum, and Doomed Traveler.
Extraction
Surgical disruption that names or targets a card and exiles every copy from a player's library, hand, and graveyard, like Surgical Extraction, Extirpate, Lost Legacy, and Praetor's Grasp.
Graveyard Hate
Disrupts opposing graveyards by exiling cards from them or preventing them from being used, like Rest in Peace, Bojuka Bog, and Scavenging Ooze.
Graveyard Recast
Engines that let you cast spells directly from a graveyard, like Yawgmoth's Will, Past in Flames, Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, and Mizzix's Mastery.
Graveyard Tutor
Searches your library for specific cards and puts them directly into your graveyard, like Entomb, Buried Alive, and Final Parting.
Reanimation
Returns creatures from any graveyard directly to the battlefield, like Reanimate, Animate Dead, and Living Death.
Recurring Creature
Creatures that return themselves from the graveyard to the battlefield, like Bloodghast, Reassembling Skeleton, and Bloodsoaked Champion.
Recursion
Returns cards from graveyard to hand, like Regrowth, Eternal Witness, and Gravedigger.
Self Mill
Loads your own graveyard by milling cards from your library, like Stitcher's Supplier, Hedron Crab, and Satyr Wayfinder.
Can't Be Countered
Spells and permanents that protect your own casts from being countered, like Cavern of Souls, Allosaurus Shepherd, and Prowling Serpopard.
Cheat Into Play
Effects that put a creature or big permanent onto the battlefield from hand or library without casting it, like Sneak Attack, Show and Tell, Through the Breach, and Tooth and Nail.
Counterspell
Counters target spell or ability on the stack before resolution, like Counterspell, Force of Will, and Mana Leak.
Redirect
Changes the target of a spell or ability already on the stack, turning an opponent's removal or burn back on them. Deflecting Swat, Bolt Bend, Redirect.
Theft
Permanent control-change effects that claim opposing permanents for keeps, like Control Magic, Agent of Treachery, and Gilded Drake.
Threaten
Temporary control-grab effects that borrow an opposing creature until end of turn, usually with haste, like Threaten, Act of Treason, and Zealous Conscripts.
Keyword Abilities
Detects every printed keyword ability from the Scryfall catalog, emitting has_<keyword> flags (has_flying, has_trample, …) plus parametric arrays like protection_from.
Keyword Granter
Permanents that hand keyword abilities to other creatures, like Fervor giving haste, Levitation giving flying, and Akroma's Memorial stacking flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, and haste.
Keyword Hate
Strips keyword abilities from opposing creatures, like Archetype of Imagination removing flying, Arcane Lighthouse erasing hexproof, and Humility wiping all abilities.
Keyword Payoff
Rewards or scales with creatures that have a specific keyword ability, like Favorable Winds and Empyrean Eagle pumping flyers or Fynn, the Fangbearer turning deathtouch hits into poison.
Keyword Punisher
Removal and damage that specifically targets creatures with a keyword ability, like Plummet, Whirlwind, and Hurricane punishing flyers.
Basic Land
Basic lands with the Basic supertype: Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest, their Snow-Covered versions, and Wastes.
Battle Land
Battle for Zendikar dual lands with two basic land types that enter tapped unless you control two or more basic lands, like Prairie Stream, Sunken Hollow, and Cinder Glade.
Bounce Land
Lands that enter tapped and require returning another land you control to your hand, like Azorius Chancery, Karoo, and Treva's Ruins.
Check Land
Innistrad-style two-color lands that enter untapped if you control a matching basic land type, like Glacial Fortress, Dragonskull Summit, and Hinterland Harbor.
Creature Land
Manlands: lands with an activated ability that turns them into creatures, like Celestial Colonnade, Mutavault, and Mishra's Factory.
Dual Land
Original dual lands with two basic land types and no drawback text, like Tundra, Underground Sea, and Bayou.
Fast Land
Two-color lands that enter untapped if you control two or fewer other lands, like Seachrome Coast, Spirebluff Canal, and Blackcleave Cliffs.
Fetch Land
Lands that sacrifice themselves to search your library for another land, like Flooded Strand, Scalding Tarn, Evolving Wilds, and Prismatic Vista.
Filter Land
Filter lands that tap for one colorless and convert mana into two-color combinations, like Mystic Gate, Skycloud Expanse, and Shadowblood Ridge.
Pain Land
Two-color lands that tap for colorless or deal 1 damage to you when tapped for colored mana, like Adarkar Wastes, Llanowar Wastes, and Battlefield Forge.
Pathway
Zendikar Rising modal double-faced pathway lands where each face is a single-color land producing one of two colors, like Brightclimb Pathway, Riverglide Pathway, and Barkchannel Pathway.
Reveal Land
Shadows over Innistrad dual lands that enter untapped only if you reveal a matching basic land type from your hand, like Port Town and Game Trail.
Shock Land
Ravnica two-color lands with two basic land types that enter untapped for 2 life, like Hallowed Fountain, Watery Grave, and Stomping Ground.
Slow Land
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt two-color lands that enter untapped only if you control two or more other lands, like Deserted Beach and Dreamroot Cascade.
Triome
Three-color lands with three basic land types that enter tapped and offer cycling, like Indatha Triome, Zagoth Triome, and Raffine's Tower.
Utility Land
Nonbasic lands with meaningful non-mana abilities, like Urza's Saga, Bojuka Bog, Strip Mine, and Reliquary Tower.
Extra Land Drop
Lets you play additional lands per turn beyond the normal one-per-turn limit, like Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, and Oracle of Mul Daya.
Land Animation
Turns lands into creatures that can attack and block, like Nissa, Who Shakes the World, Sylvan Awakening, and Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi.
Land Recursion
Returns or replays land cards from the graveyard, like Crucible of Worlds and Life from the Loam, fueling land-based loops and recursion engines.
Land Sacrifice
Cards that sacrifice lands as a cost or outlet for effects, like Zuran Orb, Squandered Resources, and Crop Rotation.
Land Tutor
Searches the library for any land card, including nonbasics, with effects like Crop Rotation, Expedition Map, and Sylvan Scrying.
Landfall
Creatures and permanents with the Landfall keyword that trigger when a land enters under your control, like Lotus Cobra, Scute Swarm, and Avenger of Zendikar.
Drain
Swings life totals on both sides at once, draining opponents while gaining life yourself. Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Drana's Emissary, Exquisite Blood.
Life Doubler
Replacement effects that multiply life gained, doubling each gain event. Rhox Faithmender, Boon Reflection, and Alhammarret's Archive are the canonical amplifiers.
Life Outlet
Engines that spend life as a resource for cards, mana, or effects, like Necropotence, Greed, and Bolas's Citadel.
Lifegain Payoff
Rewards triggering whenever you gain life, scaling or punishing opponents off the gain event itself, like Ajani's Pridemate, Archangel of Thune, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned.
Lifegain Source
Permanents and effects that repeatedly gain you life through triggers or upkeep, like Soul Warden, Fountain of Renewal, and Aetherflux Reservoir.
Infinite Mana Piece
Two-card-loop enablers like Basalt Monolith, Dramatic Reversal, Rings of Brighthearth, and Isochron Scepter that slot into infinite mana engines.
Mana Doubler
Multipliers that scale your mana production, doubling or tripling what your lands and rocks produce. Includes Mana Reflection, Nyxbloom Ancient, and Zendikar Resurgent.
Mana Sink
Outlets that convert arbitrarily large mana pools into wins, damage, or cards via {X} costs, like Walking Ballista, Exsanguinate, and Blue Sun's Zenith.
Mana Untapper
Untaps lands or other mana sources to reuse them mid-turn, like Palinchron, Peregrine Drake, Frantic Search, and Dramatic Reversal.
Mill Doubler
Replacement and trigger-based amplifiers that multiply how many cards opponents mill, like Bruvac the Grandiloquent and Fraying Sanity.
Mill Finisher
Heavy mill spells and permanents that aim to deck opponents in one or two shots, like Traumatize, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, and Glimpse the Unthinkable.
Mill Payoff
Cards that scale with or trigger off opponents' graveyards growing, like Wight of Precinct Six, Consuming Aberration, and Duskmantle Guildmage.
Opponent Mill
Spells and permanents that put cards from opponents' libraries into their graveyards, like Glimpse the Unthinkable, Ruin Crab, and Maddening Cacophony.
Adventure
Creatures with an instant or sorcery Adventure half you can cast first, then cast the creature later from exile, like Brazen Borrower, Bonecrusher Giant, and Murderous Rider.
Channel
Cards with the Channel keyword, granting an alternate discard-from-hand activation, like Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, and Greater Tanuki.
Mdfc Spell Land
Modal double-faced cards with a spell on the front face and a land on the back, like Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave; Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood; and Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins.
Modal Spell
Spells with bulleted choose-one, choose-two, or choose-one-or-more menus, like Cryptic Command, Kolaghan's Command, and Collective Brutality.
Split Card
Cards printed as two independently castable halves joined by //, like Fire // Ice, Wear // Tear, and Cut // Ribbons.
Becomes Monarch
Cards that make you the monarch when they enter or activate, granting the crown and its end-step card draw. Includes Palace Jailer, Queen Marchesa, and Court of Grace.
Initiative Payoff
Cards with conditional triggers or abilities that activate while you have the initiative, like Imoen, Mystic Trickster, Feywild Caretaker, and Safana, Calimport Cutthroat.
Monarch Payoff
Cards that reward you for being the monarch with bonus effects each turn, like Court of Grace, Court of Ambition, and Keeper of Keys.
Takes Initiative
Grants the initiative to you, kicking off Undercity venturing. Seen on White Plume Adventurer, Caves of Chaos Adventurer, and Sarevok's Tome.
Disguise
Cards with the Disguise keyword, the Murders at Karlov Manor evolution of morph that adds ward {2} to the face-down creature, like Aurelia's Vindicator, Hunted Bonebrute, and Alley Assailant.
Face Down Payoff
Cards that reward having or flipping face-down creatures, like Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer, Secret Plans, and Trail of Mystery.
Manifest
Puts cards onto the battlefield face down as 2/2 creatures via the manifest keyword, including Whisperwood Elemental, Soul Summons, and Cloudform.
Morph
Cards with the Morph keyword or its Megamorph variant, letting you cast them face down as a 2/2 for {3} and flip them up later for their morph cost to reveal the real card, like Willbender, Stratus Dancer, and Akroma, Angel of Fury.
Corrupted
Cards with the Corrupted ability word, which trigger bonus effects once an opponent has three or more poison counters, like Skrelv's Hive, Vivisection Evangelist, and Contaminant Grafter.
Poison Synergy
Poison-counter payoffs and enablers that pile counters on opponents, proliferate them, or scale with poison count, like Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Inexorable Tide, and Phyresis Outbreak.
Board Protection
Permanents that repeatably grant your own creatures or board hexproof, indestructible, shroud, or protection, like Mother of Runes, Giver of Runes, Selfless Savior, Darksteel Forge, and Greater Auramancy.
Protection Spell
Instant-speed saves that grant hexproof, indestructible, protection from a color, or phasing to dodge removal and combat damage, like Heroic Intervention, Teferi's Protection, and Blossoming Defense.
Regeneration
Cards using the legacy regenerate keyword or grants of it, replacing destruction with tap-and-clear-damage saves: Lotleth Troll, Wrap in Vigor, Yavimaya Hollow.
Cost Reducer
Permanents that shave generic mana off spell costs, like Goblin Electromancer, Sapphire Medallion, and Urza's Incubator.
Fast Mana
Artifacts that produce a burst of mana by sacrificing themselves, like Black Lotus, Lotus Petal, Jeweled Lotus, and Lion's Eye Diamond.
Land Ramp
Spells that put additional lands onto the battlefield or into hand, like Cultivate, Rampant Growth, and Nature's Lore.
Mana Dork
Cheap creatures that tap for mana, accelerating from turn one. Llanowar Elves, Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, and Sylvan Caryatid are the canonical examples.
Mana Rock
Artifacts that tap for mana, like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, and Mind Stone, providing repeatable acceleration on the battlefield.
Ritual
One-shot instants and sorceries that add a burst of mana when cast, like Dark Ritual, Seething Song, and Jeska's Will.
Treasure Generator
Cards that create Treasure tokens for later mana acceleration, like Smothering Tithe, Dockside Extortionist, and Goldspan Dragon.
Artifact Removal
Destroys opposing artifacts, either single-target or in a sweep, like Naturalize, Vandalblast, Shatterstorm, and Abrade.
Board Wipe
Mass-removal sweepers that destroy, exile, bounce, or shrink-to-death every creature or permanent at once, like Wrath of God, Blasphemous Act, and Toxic Deluge.
Bounce
Returns opposing permanents to their owners' hands as a tempo answer, like Unsummon, Into the Roil, Cyclonic Rift, and Devastation Tide.
Burn
Direct-damage spells that deal damage to creatures, players, or planeswalkers, like Lightning Bolt, Shock, and Lightning Helix.
Damage Amplifier
Static effects that multiply the damage your sources deal, doubling or tripling every point, like Fiery Emancipation, Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, Gratuitous Violence, and City on Fire.
Enchantment Removal
Destroys or otherwise answers opposing enchantments, like Naturalize, Krosan Grip, Back to Nature, and Acidic Slime.
Exile Removal
Single-target or mass answers that exile opposing permanents from the battlefield, like Swords to Plowshares, Anguished Unmaking, Vraska's Contempt, and Farewell.
Fight Removal
Green's fight/bite removal — point your creature at an opposing one to trade or deal power-based damage, like Prey Upon, Rabid Bite, Ulvenwald Tracker, and Pit Fight.
Land Destruction
Destroys opposing lands, either one at a time or in a sweep, like Stone Rain, Wasteland, and Armageddon.
Mass Land Denial
Symmetric mass land denial that destroys or locks down every player's lands or land production, like Armageddon, Winter Orb, and Blood Moon. Not single-target land destruction.
Pacifism
Soft removal that neutralizes a single creature without destroying it — can't-attack-or-block auras, doesn't-untap locks, and ability-stripping transforms, like Pacifism, Arrest, Claustrophobia, and Darksteel Mutation.
Pinger
Permanents with a repeatable activated ability that deals fixed damage to a target, like Prodigal Sorcerer, Cunning Sparkmage, Walking Ballista, and Pestilence.
Planeswalker Removal
Answers that can hit opposing planeswalkers, including Hero's Downfall, Dreadbore, Vindicate, and The Elderspell.
Sacrifice Removal
Forces opponents to sacrifice creatures or other permanents, sidestepping hexproof and indestructible, like Diabolic Edict, Fleshbag Marauder, and Liliana's Triumph.
Spot Removal
Single-target answers that destroy or exile one opposing permanent, like Swords to Plowshares, Murder, Fatal Push, and Hero's Downfall.
Tuck
Answers that put a permanent or countered spell into its owner's library instead of the graveyard or exile, like Condemn, Hinder, Chaos Warp, and Time Ebb.
Aristocrat
Death-trigger drain payoffs that ping opponents or drain life when creatures die, like Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Cruel Celebrant.
Death Trigger
Payoffs that trigger when creatures die, drawing cards, making tokens, or forcing opponents to sacrifice. Grave Pact, Midnight Reaper, Harvester of Souls.
Fling
Sacrifice a creature to deal damage equal to its power, usually to any target — the 'throw' finisher, like Fling, Thud, and Brion Stoutarm.
Fodder
Recursive creatures that return themselves from the graveyard or hand repeatedly, providing endless sacrifice fuel like Reassembling Skeleton, Bloodghast, and Gravecrawler.
Food Outlet
Cards with activated abilities that sacrifice Food for an effect, like Cauldron Familiar's drain-and-return, Gilded Goose's mana, and Savvy Hunter's card draw.
Food Payoff
Rewards sacrificing Food tokens with extra value beyond the life gain, like Trail of Crumbs digging for cards each time a Food is sacrificed.
Sacrifice Outlet
Repeatable activated abilities that sacrifice a creature for an effect at little or no mana cost, like Viscera Seer, Ashnod's Altar, and Goblin Bombardment.
Treasure Outlet
Cards that sacrifice Treasure tokens for non-mana effects, like Ruthless Knave drawing cards, Jolene, the Plunder Queen pinging opponents, and Magda, Brazen Outlaw tutoring Dragons.
Treasure Payoff
Rewards spending or sacrificing Treasure tokens with extra value beyond mana, like Marionette Master, Mayhem Devil, Revel in Riches, and Kalain, Reclusive Painter.
Magecraft
Creatures with the Magecraft keyword that trigger whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery, like Archmage Emeritus, Sedgemoor Witch, and Storm-Kiln Artist.
Spell Copy
Effects that copy target instant or sorcery spells on the stack, forking burn, draw, or removal into multiple resolutions. Fork, Twincast, Dualcaster Mage.
Spell Cost Reducer
Permanents that make instant and sorcery spells cost less to cast, like Goblin Electromancer, Baral, Chief of Compliance, and Jace's Sanctum.
Spell Payoff
Permanents that trigger when you cast instants and sorceries, scaling with spell volume. Young Pyromancer, Guttersnipe, and Talrand, Sky Summoner reward each cast with tokens or damage.
Loyalty Manipulation
Adds or multiplies loyalty counters on planeswalkers, like Doubling Season, Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider, Oath of Gideon, and The Elderspell.
Planeswalker Prevention
Shields planeswalkers from attacks and targeted answers with hexproof, indestructible, or similar blanket protection on your permanents. Privileged Position and Shalai, Voice of Plenty are canonical.
Planeswalker Synergy
Permanents that supercharge your planeswalkers, doubling activations, adding entry loyalty, or rewarding loyalty placement, like The Chain Veil, Oath of Teferi, and Doubling Season.
Planeswalker Tutor
Searches for planeswalker cards specifically, fetching them from library to hand or battlefield. Includes Call the Gatewatch, Deploy the Gatewatch, and Arena Rector.
Blood Maker
Creates Blood tokens, the vampire-flavored artifacts that tap, pay one mana, and sacrifice while discarding to draw. Voldaren Epicure, Bloodtithe Harvester, and Blood Fountain are the canonical makers.
Clue Maker
Creates Clue tokens, colorless artifacts you sacrifice and pay two mana to draw a card. Tireless Tracker, Thraben Inspector, and Bygone Bishop are canonical investigators.
Creature Token Maker
Produces creature tokens, the bodies that fuel go-wide strategies. Bitterblossom drips Faeries, Young Pyromancer spawns Elementals off spells, Grave Titan vomits 2/2 Zombies.
Food Maker
Creates Food tokens, artifacts you tap, sacrifice, and pay two mana to gain three life. Gilded Goose, Trail of Crumbs, and Witch's Oven are canonical producers.
Incubator Maker
Creates Incubator tokens via the incubate mechanic, which makes a transforming artifact token with +1/+1 counters that flips into a 0/0 Phyrexian creature. Chrome Host Seedshark, Sunfall, and Converter Beast.
Map Maker
Creates Map tokens, artifacts that sacrifice and tap to let a creature explore. Spyglass Siren, Cartographer's Companion, and Get Lost generate Maps.
Populate
Selesnya's populate keyword: copies a creature token you control. Trostani Selesnya's Voice, Wake the Reflections, and Growing Ranks are canonical populators.
Powerstone Maker
Creates Powerstone tokens, colorless artifacts that tap for one colorless mana that can only be spent on artifact spells and abilities. Karn, Living Legacy, Splitting the Powerstone, and Stone Retrieval Unit are canonical generators.
Token Doubler
Replacement effects that multiply token creation, so each token-making event produces extra copies. Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, and Mondrak, Glory Dominus are the canonical multipliers.
Token Payoff
Rewards going wide with creature tokens by anthemming them, triggering on each enter-the-battlefield, or scaling with creature count. Intangible Virtue, Cathars' Crusade, Impact Tremors, and Craterhoof Behemoth.
Treasure Maker
Creates Treasure tokens, the artifact tokens that tap and sacrifice for one mana of any color. Smothering Tithe, Dockside Extortionist, and Goldspan Dragon are canonical makers.
Library Manipulation
Reorders or restacks the top of your library, looking at and rearranging multiple cards. Sensei's Divining Top, Ponder, and Brainstorm are the canonical examples.
Topdeck Matters
Cards that play with the top of the library revealed and cast or play cards directly from there, like Courser of Kruphix, Future Sight, and Bolas's Citadel.
Topdeck Tutor
Library searches that place the chosen card on top of the deck for your next draw, like Mystical Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Worldly Tutor.
Tribal Lord
Static anthems that pump creatures of a specific creature type, like Goblin Chieftain, Lord of Atlantis, and Elvish Archdruid.
Tribal Payoff
Effects that scale, trigger, or generate value based on a chosen creature type, like Kindred Discovery, Vanquisher's Banner, and Herald's Horn.
Tribal Tutor
Searches your library for a creature of a specific tribe, like Goblin Matron fetching a Goblin or Elvish Harbinger finding an Elf.
Type Granter
Paints your creatures with a chosen creature type to enable tribal synergies, like Maskwood Nexus, Arcane Adaptation, and Conspiracy.
Is Vehicle
Vehicle artifacts that become creatures when crewed, like Smuggler's Copter, Heart of Kiran, and Skysovereign, Consul Flagship.
Commander Synergy
Gear and effects that specifically reward or scale with your commander or legendary creatures, like Commander's Plate, Blackblade Reforged, and Sword of the Animist.
Evasion Granter
Auras, equipment, and lands that make a single attacker hard or impossible to block, like Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, and Aqueous Form.
Power Booster
Auras and equipment that pile on large static power boosts to suit up a single attacker, like Colossification, Eldrazi Conscription, Blackblade Reforged, and Empyrial Plate.
Power Doubler
Effects that multiply combat output by granting double strike or doubling damage dealt, like Fireshrieker, Grappling Hook, and Inquisitor's Flail.
Protection From Creatures
Auras that give a creature protection from creatures, making it unblockable and immune to creature-based combat damage, like Spirit Mantle, Unquestioned Authority, and Spectra Ward.
Alternate Win
Cards with explicit 'you win the game' triggers like Thassa's Oracle, Felidar Sovereign, and Approach of the Second Sun that bypass reducing opponents to zero life.
Combat Win
Mass pump finishers that turn a wide board into lethal in one swing, like Craterhoof Behemoth, Overrun, and Triumph of the Hordes.
Damage Win
Mass burn and drain finishers that close games by emptying life totals, like Torment of Hailfire, Exsanguinate, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
Extra Turns
Spells that grant an additional turn after this one, chaining into lethal attacks or further extra-turn loops, like Time Warp, Nexus of Fate, and Alrund's Epiphany.
X Spell
Spells with {X} in their mana cost that scale into game-ending effects, like Fireball, Torment of Hailfire, Exsanguinate, and Walking Ballista.