MTG keywords explained: What every keyword means in Magic: The Gathering
From Absorb to Wither, all the keywords a MTG player needs to know.
There are an awful lot of Magic: The Gathering keywords, and frankly, it’s hard to keep them all in mind. While many will often have reminder text on the card, with some cards being so wordy already, it’s useful to know what each of these does.
In order to help you learn more about them, including where we first saw each of the many MTG keywords, we’ve decided to go ahead and make a giant list explaining what keywords in Magic: The Gathering mean. There’s a lot of them to get through, but each of them is either a part of the history of the game, or a key part of modern-day play.
A lot of these are unlikely to be seen outside of niche Commander decks, but hey, knowledge is power, and we’re aiming to make you very powerful indeed.
Magic: The Gathering keywords explained
- Absorb
- Affinity
- Afflict
- Afterlife
- Aftermath
- Amplify
- Annihilator
- Ascend
- Assist
- Aura Swap
- Awaken
- Banding
- Battle Cry
- Bestow
- Blitz
- Bloodthirst
- Boast
- Bushido
- Buyback
- Cascade
- Casualty
- Champion
- Changeling
- Cipher
- Cleave
- Companion
- Compleated
- Conspire
- Convoke
- Crew
- Cumulative Upkeep
- Cycling
- Dash
- Daybound and Nightbound
- Deathtouch
- Decayed
- Defender
- Delve
- Demonstrate
- Dethrone
- Devoid
- Devour
- Disturb
- Double Strike
- Dredge
- Echo
- Embalm
- Emerge
- Enchant
- Encore
- Entwine
- Epic
- Equip
- Escalate
- Escape
- Eternalize
- Evoke
- Evolve
- Exalted
- Exploit
- Extort
- Fabricate
- Fading
- Fear
- First Strike
- Flanking
- Flash
- Flashback
- Flying
- Forecast
- Foretell
- Fortify
- Frenzy
- Friends Forever
- Fuse
- Graft
- Gravestorm
- Haste
- Haunt
- Hexproof
- Hidden Agenda
- Hideaway
- Horsemanship
- Indestructible
- Improvise
- Infect
- Ingest
- Intimidate
- Jump Start
- Kicker
- Landwalk
- Level Up
- Lifelink
- Living Weapon
- Madness
- Melee
- Menace
- Mentor
- Miracle
- Modular
- Morph
- Mutate
- Myriad
- Ninjutsu
- Offering
- Outlast
- Overload
- Partner
- Persist
- Phasing
- Poisonous
- Protection
- Provoke
- Prowess
- Prowl
- Rampage
- Reach
- Rebound
- Reconfigure
- Recover
- Reinforce
- Renown
- Replicate
- Retrace
- Riot
- Ripple
- Scavenge
- Shadow
- Shroud
- Skulk
- Soulbond
- Soulshift
- Spectacle
- Splice
- Split Second
- Storm
- Sunburst
- Surge
- Suspend
- Totem Armor
- Training
- Trample
- Transfigure
- Transmute
- Tribute
- Undaunted
- Undying
- Unearth
- Unleash
- Vanishing
- Vigilance
- Ward
- Wither
Absorb
Absorb was introduced in Future Sight and hasn't been seen since. Absorb allows a creature to prevent some damage.
Affinity
Affinity was introduced in Mirrodin. This ability reduces the cost for a spell based on the number of certain permanents you control, usually artifacts.
Afflict
Afflict was introduced in Hour of Devastation, and allows creatures to deal damage to the opponent even if they’ve been blocked.
Afterlife
Afterlife appeared in Ravnica Allegiance and is a triggered ability that occurs when a creature dies, that allows you to create 1/1 White and Black Spirit tokens with flying.
Aftermath
Aftermath is an ability that first appeared in Amonkhet, and it is on the second spell on dual-spell cards and allows the spell to be cast from the graveyard.
Amplify
Amplify appeared in Legions and allows you to reveal creature cards from your hand to put +1/+1 counters onto a creature.
Annihilator
Annihilator is an ability unique to Eldrazi and appeared in Rise of the Eldrazi. It’s a triggered ability that occurs when attacking, and causes opponents to sacrifice a number of permanents.
Ascend
Ascend is an ability that grants the city’s blessing once you have ten permanents in play. It was in Rivals of Ixalan and usually offered benefits for having the blessing.
Assist
Assist is a Battlebond mechanic that allows other players to pay mana towards a spell you’re casting.
Aura Swap
Aura Swap appeared in Future Sight and lets you swap the card with an Aura in your hand.
Awaken
Awaken is an ability that allowed you to put +1/+1 counters onto a land and then turn it into a 0/0 Elemental creature with haste, that mostly appeared in Battle for Zendikar.
Banding
Banding is an ability that thankfully doesn’t see much play now. It was introduced in Alpha, and the short version of the ability is that it allows creatures to attack as a group.
Battle Cry
Battle Cry was first seen in Mirrodin Besieged and grants other attacking creatures +1/+0 whenever the creature with the ability attacks.
Bestow
Bestow first appeared in Theros and allows you to cast a creature as an aura instead, and grant a creature some buffs.
Blitz
Blitz appears in Streets of New Capenna and allows you to cast a creature, give it haste, and then allows you to draw a card when it dies. You also have to sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step if you cast a creature with blitz.
Bloodthirst
Bloodthirst appeared in Guildpact first, and allows creatures to enter with +1/+1 counters if an opponent has taken damage in that turn.
Boast
Boast appears in Kaldheim and allows you to pay a cost to activate a special ability if the creature it is on has attacked in that turn.
Bushido
Bushido appeared first in Champions of Kamigawa, and gives creatures extra power and toughness when they block or are blocked.
Buyback
Buyback is an ability that allows you to pay an additional cost to put a spell back in your hand after casting it. It first appeared in Tempest.
Cascade
Cascade is an ability that exiles cards from the top of your library until you find one with a lower mana value than the spell you cast, you may then cast the new one for free. It was first introduced in Alara Reborn.
Casualty
Casualty allows you to sacrifice a creature to copy the spell you’re casting. It first appeared in Streets of New Capenna.
Champion
Champion has you sacrificing the creature unless you exile another creature as it enters the battlefield. The exiled creature returns if the first card leaves. It first appeared in Lorwyn.
Changeling
Changeling is a keyword that means that the creature is every creature type, and it first appeared in Lorwyn.
Cipher
Cipher is a keyword first introduced in Gatecrash that allows you to exile the spell you cast and encode it onto a creature, which means you can recast it whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player.
Cleave
Cleave is a way of casting spells that changes their effects by removing words. It appeared in Innistrad: Crimson Vow.
Companion
Companion is an ability that allows you to pay three mana to put the card into your hand from outside of the game as long as your deck follows specific rules. It first appeared in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
Compleated
Compleated appeared in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and allows players to pay life instead of mana to cast some spells, but makes the cast planeswalker weaker as a result.
Conspire
Conspire allows you to tap creatures as you cast the spell to copy the spell. It appeared in Shadowmoor.
Convoke
Convoke allows you to tap creatures to reduce the cost of a spell. It first appeared in Ravnica: City of Guilds.
Crew
Crew is a unique ability found on vehicles that allows you to tap creatures in order to turn the vehicle into a creature for the turn. It first turned up in Kaladesh.
Cumulative Upkeep
Cumulative Upkeep is an ability that first appeared in Arabian Nights that has players paying a cost in their upkeep then placing a counter on the permanent and increasing the cost for the next turn.
Cycling
Cycling allows you to pay a cost to discard the card and draw a new one, or fetch up a specific kind of card. It first showed up in Urza’s Saga.
Dash
Dash first appeared in Fate Reforged and is an alternate cost that grants a creature haste and has it return to your hand at the beginning of the next end step.
Daybound and Nightbound
Daybound and Nightbound appeared in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and have the time of day changing based on the number of spells cast. This affects a few different things including werewolf transformations.
Deathtouch
Deathtouch means that any damage a creature deals to another creature is lethal. It was first seen in Future Sight.
Decayed
Decayed first turned up in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, and it means that the creature can’t block, and has to be sacrificed at the end of combat if it attacks.
Defender
Defender means that the creature can’t attack. It first appeared in Alpha.
Delve
Delve allows you to exile cards from your graveyard to reduce the cost of a spell. It first appeared in Future Sight.
Demonstrate
Demonstrate is an ability that appears on spells that allows you to copy the spell, but if you do so then another player also gets to cast a copy of it. It appeared in Commander 2021.
Dethrone
Dethrone is a Conspiracy keyword that gives a creature a +1/+1 counter whenever it attacks the player with the most life.
Devoid
Devoid simply means that a card has no colour. It mostly appeared in Oath of the Gatewatch.
Devour
Devour allows you to sacrifice creatures or other permanents to give the creature you’re casting +1/+1 counters. Shards of Alara was its debut.
Disturb
Disturb allows you to cast a spell from your graveyard in a different form. It appeared in both Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow.
Double Strike
Double Strike means that the creature deals first-strike damage and regular combat damage. It first appeared in Legions.
Dredge
Dredge allows you to trade your draw for a milling effect in order to return a card from your graveyard to your hand. It was first seen in Ravnica: City of Guilds.
Echo
Echo is a cost you have to pay in your upkeep to stop a permanent from being sacrificed if it entered the battlefield last turn. Its debut was Urza’s Saga.
Embalm
Embalm was first seen in Amonkhet and is an ability that allows you to exile a card from your graveyard to make a token of it that’s a White zombie.
Emerge
Emerge allows you to reduce the cost of a creature by sacrificing another creature. It is a mechanic from Eldritch Moon.
Enchant
Enchant allows you to attach an aura to something. It first appeared in Alpha.
Encore
Encore allows you to exile a creature card from your graveyard to create a token of it that has to attack each opponent you have. It was first seen in Commander Legends.
Entwine
Entwine allows you to choose every option on the card if you pay the cost and debuted in Mirrodin.
Epic
Epic appeared in Saviors of Kamigawa and allows you to copy the spell in each of your turns for the rest of the game, but you can’t cast any other spells.
Equip
Equip is a cost you pay to attach an equipment card to something. It first appeared in Mirrodin.
Escalate
Escalate appeared in Eldritch Moon and allows you to pay extra mana to choose other options on a card.
Escape
Escape allows you to pay mana to cast a card from your graveyard and was found in Theros Beyond Death.
Eternalize
Eternalize exiles a card from your graveyard to create a copy of the creature that is a 4/4 Black zombie token. It was seen in Hour of Devastation.
Evoke
Evoke lets you pay a different amount of mana to cast a creature and immediately sacrifice it when it enters the battlefield. It was first seen in Lorwyn.
Evolve
Evolve triggers whenever a creature enters the battlefield that has more power or toughness, and it allows you to put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve. This one made its first appearance in Gatecrash.
Exalted
Exalted grants a creature +1/+1 when it attacks on its own and was first seen in Shards of Alara.
Exploit
Exploit allows you to sacrifice a creature to gain an additional effect. It was first found in Dragons of Tarkir.
Extort
Extort was first seen in Gatecrash, and allows you to pay White or Black mana to drain each opponent by one life.
Fabricate
Fabricate allows you to create 1/1 servo tokens or put a +1/+1 counter on your creature as the creature enters the battlefield. It was only seen in Kaladesh.
Fading
Fading was first seen in Nemesis and means a creature enters with a number of fade counters on it which are removed at the beginning of your upkeep. The creature is then sacrificed when you can no longer remove a counter.
Fear
Fear means a creature can only be blocked by artifact creatures and Black creatures, and was first seen in Alpha.
First Strike
First strike allows a creature to deal damage before creatures without first strike or double strike. It was first seen in Alpha.
Flanking
Flanking means that creatures without flanking that block a creature with flanking get -1/-1 until the end of the turn. It was first seen in Mirage.
Flash
Flash allows you to cast spells at instant speed and was first seen in Visions.
Flashback
Flashback allows you to cast a card from the graveyard for its flashback cost and then you have to exile it. It debuted in Odyssey.
Flying
Flying creatures can only be blocked by other creatures with flying or those with reach. The first flying creature was seen in Alpha.
Forecast
Forecast is an ability that you can pay for in your upkeep if the card is in your hand that has a specific effect. It was first seen in Dissension.
Foretell
Foretell allows you to pay two mana to put a card into exile and then cast it in a later turn for a different cost. It was first seen in Kaldheim.
Fortify
Fortify appeared in Future Sight and allows you to attach the card to a land for an additional effect. It only ever appeared on one card called Darksteel Garrison.
Frenzy
Frenzy is a Future Sight mechanic that gives a creature extra power if it isn’t blocked.
Friends Forever
Friends Forever is a unique partner mechanic that only appeared in the Stranger Things Secret Lair.
Fuse
Fuse only appeared in Dragon’s Maze and on cards that were two spells. It allows you to cast both parts of the card at the same time.
Graft
Graft first appeared in Dissension and means the creature enters with +1/+1 counters on it that you can move to another creature as they enter the battlefield.
Gravestorm
Gravestorm is a variant of storm that allows you to copy a spell for each permanent put into a graveyard during that turn. It only appeared on a card called Bitter Ordeal, and shouldn’t be confused with the spell Gravestorm.
Haste
An ability that allows creatures to attack or tap on the turn they come out. This was introduced in Alpha.
Haunt
Haunt appeared in Guildpact and allows creatures to have additional effects after they die by exiling themselves and targeting another creature.
Hexproof
Hexproof first appeared in Portal Three Kingdoms and means that opponents can’t target the creature with spells or abilities.
Hidden Agenda
Hidden Agenda is a Conspiracy keyword that allows you to name a card for special effects. It returned in Conspiracy: Take the Crown as Double Agenda.
Hideaway
Hideaway was a Lorwyn mechanic that has since returned in Streets of New Capenna. It allows you to exile a card from the top of your deck and then cast it for free by fulfilling certain criteria.
Horsemanship
Horsemanship is a Portal Three Kingdoms mechanic that meant that the creature could only be blocked by other creatures with horsemanship.
Indestructible
Indestructible is a keyword that means that a permanent can’t be destroyed by damage or effects that say destroy. It first appeared in Alpha.
Improvise
Improvise allows you to tap artifacts to reduce the cost of a spell. It debuted in Aether Revolt.
Infect
Infect first appeared in Scars of Mirrodin and is an ability that allows creatures to deal damage to other creatures as -1/-1 counters, and to players as poison counters. A player with ten poison counters will die (in the game).
Ingest
Ingest mainly appeared in Battle for Zendikar and makes it so that when the creature with ingest deals damage to a player, that player exiles the top card of their library.
Intimidate
Intimidate first appeared in Zendikar and makes it so that the creature can only be blocked by artifact creatures or creatures that share a colour with it.
Jump-Start
Jump-start is an ability that allows you to cast the card from the graveyard as long as you discard a cast along with the other costs, then you have to exile the card. It first appeared in Guilds of Ravnica.
Kicker
Kicker debuted in Invasion and allows players to pay an additional cost for an additional effect. There’s also a variant of it called multikicker which allows a player to pay that cost repeatedly.
Landwalk
Landwalk makes creatures unblockable as long as the defending player controls a certain land type. It first appeared in Alpha.
Level Up
Level up allows players to pay a cost to level up a creature. This can grant new abilities or stats. It first appeared in Rise of the Eldrazi.
Lifelink
Lifelink turns any damage dealt by the creature into life for its controller and first appeared in Mirrodin.
Living Weapon
Living weapon is an equipment keyword that sees a piece of equipment coming in and creating a 0/0 Germ token to attach to instantly. It first showed up in Mirrodin Besieged.
Madness
Madness allows players to cast a card for a different cost and potentially different effect by discarding it first. It first appeared in Torment.
Melee
Melee is a Commander ability that first appeared in Conspiracy: Take the Crown. It makes a creature +1/+1 stronger for each opponent attacked in that turn.
Menace
Menace debuted in Fallen Empires and makes a creature unblockable unless the opponent uses two or more creatures.
Mentor
Mentor creatures put a +1/+1 counter on a weaker attacking creature whenever they attack together. It first appeared in Guilds of Ravnica.
Miracle
Miracle first appeared in Avacyn Restored and allows players to cast a card for a different cost if it was the first card they drew in a turn.
Modular
Modular is an ability that first turned up in Darksteel and allows creatures to enter the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on them, and then any +1/+1 counters they have onto a different artifact creature when they die.
Morph
Morph allows players to pay three mana to cast a creature face down as a 2/2, and then pay a cost to flip that card over when they want to. There’s also a variant called megamorph that does the same but places a +1/+1 counter on the creature when flipped. It first appeared in Onslaught.
Mutate
Mutate allows you to pay a different cost to put the creature over or under a non-Human creature. This allows the resulting creatures to have all of the abilities of that stack. It first appeared in Unsanctioned.
Myriad
Myriad creates a copy of the attacking creature that attacks every other available player. These copies then get exiled at the end of combat. It first appeared in Commander 2015.
Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu allows players to pay a cost to return an unblocked creature they control with the ninjutsu creature in their hand. There is a commander called ninjutsu too. It first turned up in Betrayers of Kamigawa.
Offering
Offering allows players to sacrifice a type of card to allow them to cast the card at instant speed. It only appeared in Betrayers of Kamigawa.
Outlast
Outlast allows players to tap a creature and put a +1/+1 counter on it. It debuted in Khans of Tarkir.
Overload
Overload is an alternate cost that means a spell will target all potential options instead of just one. It first appeared in Return to Ravnica.
Partner
Partner is a Commander mechanic that allows you to have two commanders instead of one. There’s also a variant where two creatures partner with each other specifically. It was first seen in Commander 2016.
Persist
Persist is an effect that triggers when a creature dies and brings them back to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on them as long as they didn’t already have one when they died. It first turned up in Shadowmoor.
Phasing
Phasing removes permanents from the game for a time meaning they can’t be interacted with in any way while they’re not there. This mechanic first appeared in Mirage.
Poisonous
Whenever a poisonous creature deals damage to a player they also put a number of poison counters on that player. This mechanic appeared in Future Sight.
Protection
Protection means a permanent can’t be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, enchanted or equipped by anything that the permanent has protection from. It first appeared in Alpha.
Provoke
Provoke allows you to choose an opposing creature, untap it, and then have it block your creature. This mechanic debuted in Legions.
Prowess
Prowess gives a creature +1/+1 whenever you cast a noncreature spell. It was first seen in Khans of Tarkir.
Prowl
Prowl allows you to cast a creature for a different cost if you’ve already dealt combat damage to a player with a specific creature type. This mechanic appeared in Morningtide.
Rampage
Rampage creatures get extra power and toughness for each creature blocking them beyond the first creature. This mechanic appeared in Legends.
Reach
Reach allows creatures to block creatures with flying. It first turned up in Alpha.
Rebound
Rebound means that if you cast the spell from your hand it can be cast again for free in your next upkeep. This mechanic was first seen in Rise of the Eldrazi.
Reconfigure
Reconfigure is an equipment ability that allows you to attach or unattach the equipment to something. This mechanic was seen in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
Recover
Recover allows you to pay mana to put a card from your graveyard to your hand. It appeared in Coldsnap.
Reinforce
Reinforce allows you to discard the card from your hand to put +1/+1 counters on a creature. This mechanic was first seen in Morningtide.
Renown
Renown initially appeared in Magic Origins and grants a creature +1/+1 counters if it deals combat damage to a player for the first time.
Replicate
Replicate is a Guildpact mechanic that allows you to copy a spell for each time you’ve paid an additional cost.
Retrace
Retrace allows you to discard a land to recast a spell from your graveyard. It first appeared in Eventide.
Riot
Riot is an ability that allows you to choose to either give a creature a +1/+1 counter or haste as it enters the battlefield. It was first seen in Ravnica Allegiance.
Ripple
Ripple allows you to reveal cards from the top of your deck and if you hit a copy of the same card you can cast it for free. It was only seen in Coldsnap.
Scavenge
Scavenge allows you to pay a cost to exile a creature from your graveyard and put +1/+1 counters on a different creature equal to the first creature’s power. It first appeared in Return to Ravnica.
Shadow
Shadow debuted in Tempest and means a creature can only block or be blocked by other creatures with shadow.
Shroud
Shroud means that nothing can target a permanent and initially appeared in Legends.
Skulk
Skulk stops creatures from blocking your creature if they have more power. It first appeared in Shadows over Innistrad.
Soulbond
Soulbond allows you to pair a creature with another creature as it enters the battlefield for beneficial effects. It was first seen in Avacyn Restored.
Soulshift
Soulshift allows you to return a different spirit creature from the graveyard to your hand as the creature dies. It was seen first in Champions of Kamigawa.
Spectacle
Spectacle is a Ravnica Allegiance mechanic that allows you to pay a different mana cost if an opponent has lost life that turn.
Splice
Splice allows you to cast a spell alongside a different spell for a cost. It first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa.
Split Second
Split second is a keyword that stops players casting anything else while it is on the stack. It was first seen in Time Spiral.
Storm
Storm makes a copy of the spell for every other spell you’ve cast that turn and debuted in Scourge.
Sunburst
Sunburst creatures enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on them for each colour of mana used to cast them.
Surge
Surge is an Oath of the Gatewatch mechanic that allows you to pay a different mana cost for a spell if your or a teammate has already cast a spell that turn.
Suspend
Suspend puts a spell into exile for a number of turns with time counters on it. You then remove one counter in your upkeep and can cast the spell without paying its mana cost when there are no more counters on it. It was first seen in Time Spiral.
Totem Armor
Totem armor is an aura mechanic which means if the permanent they’re attached to would be destroyed, the aura is destroyed instead. It appeared initially in Rise of the Eldrazi.
Training
Training allows creatures to gain a +1/+1 counter by attacking alongside a creature with greater power. It was first seen in Innistrad: Crimson Vow.
Trample
Trample allows your creature to deal any excess damage to a blocking creature to the opponent. Alpha marked its debut.
Transfigure
Transfigure allows you to pay a cost and sacrifice the permanent to look through your library for a creature with the same mana value and put it onto the battlefield. It was only seen in Future Sight.
Transmute
Transmute is a Ravnica: City of Guilds keyword that allows you to discard a card to find a card with the same mana value from your deck and put it into your hand.
Tribute
Tribute allows another player to put +1/+1 counters on your creature if they want to avoid its battlefield trigger when it enters play. It was seen first in Born of the Gods.
Undaunted
Undaunted makes spells cost less for each opponent you have. It only appeared in Commander 2016.
Undying
Undying brings creatures back to life with a +1/1 counter on them if they didn’t have a +1/+1 counter when they died, and was first seen in Dark Ascension.
Unearth
Unearth allows you to bring a creature back from the graveyard to the battlefield for a turn before exiling it and appeared in Shards of Alara initially.
Unleash
Unleash allows you to put a +1/+1 counter on a creature as it enters the battlefield, but stops the creature being able to block if you do so. This keyword appeared in Return to Ravnica originally.
Vanishing
Vanishing permanents enter the battlefield with time counters on which you remove one of in your upkeep, and then you have to sacrifice the permanent when all of the counters have been removed. This mechanic appeared first in Planar Chaos.
Vigilance
Vigilance means you don’t have to tap a creature when it attacks. It was first seen in Alpha.
Ward
Ward means enemy players have to pay mana if they want to target a creature with ward with an ability or spell they control and was introduced in Strixhaven: School of Mages.
Wither
Wither allows creatures to deal damage to other creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and debuted in Shadowmoor.