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What is a Permanent in Magic: The Gathering? A Comprehensive Guide

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In Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a permanent is a card or token that resides on the battlefield. It’s a fundamental concept that distinguishes MTG from many other card games. Unlike instants and sorceries, which are cast and then go to the graveyard, permanents stay in play, influencing the game state until they are removed. Think of them as the tangible elements of your magical world: creatures fighting for you, lands providing mana, artifacts powering your spells, enchantments bolstering your forces, planeswalkers offering unique abilities, and battles presenting new strategic challenges.

The Essence of Permanents

A permanent enters the battlefield as a result of a permanent spell resolving or a triggered/activated ability. It remains there indefinitely, contributing to the game’s evolving landscape, unless it is removed by an effect or game rule that sends it to another zone, such as the graveyard, exile, or a player’s hand. This persistence is what gives permanents their strategic weight, demanding careful consideration when playing them and planning for their potential removal by your opponent.

Think of building your mana base: lands are permanents and crucial for generating mana, which in turn allows you to cast other spells. These spells can then become permanents, furthering your overall strategy and potentially leading to victory. Therefore, understanding permanents is essential for mastering MTG.

Permanent Types: The Building Blocks of Your Strategy

There are six distinct permanent types in Magic:

Artifact: These represent magical items, constructs, or devices. They often have unique abilities and can provide utility, offense, or defense.
Battle: Representing sieges or conflicts, Battles are permanents introduced in March of the Machine. They have defenders and need to be defeated to benefit the spellcaster.
Creature: The soldiers, monsters, and allies you summon to fight for you. Creatures have power and toughness, which determine their combat prowess.
Enchantment: Spells that bestow lasting effects on the battlefield. They can buff your creatures, hinder your opponents, or create ongoing advantages.
Land: The source of your mana, which is required to cast spells. Lands are the foundation of any MTG deck.
Planeswalker: Powerful allies who can cast spells and use unique abilities called loyalty abilities. They are like mini-generals on the battlefield, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Permanent Spells: A Deeper Dive

It’s important to note that not all spells are permanent spells. A permanent spell is specifically a spell that, upon resolution, becomes a permanent on the battlefield. This includes artifact spells, creature spells, enchantment spells, and planeswalker spells.

For example, a sorcery that creates creature tokens is not a permanent spell itself, as the sorcery goes to the graveyard after resolving. However, the creature tokens it creates are permanents. This distinction is crucial when considering effects that target permanent spells.

Why Permanents Matter

Permanents form the core of most MTG strategies. Their presence on the battlefield creates a dynamic interaction between players, as each seeks to establish a board state that favors their victory. Control decks seek to manage permanents through removal spells and counterspells. Aggro decks aim to overwhelm the opponent with a flurry of creatures. Midrange decks try to establish a balance between building their own board presence and disrupting the opponent’s plans.

Understanding which permanents to play, when to play them, and how to protect them (or remove your opponent’s) are critical elements of successful MTG gameplay.

Permanents and the Stack

While lands are permanents, they are not played as spells. When you play a land, it doesn’t go on the stack, meaning your opponent can’t respond with instants or abilities. This is a key distinction that sets lands apart from other permanent types. Artifacts, creatures, enchantments, planeswalkers, and battles enter the battlefield after the spell casting that summoned them resolves.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Permanents in MTG

Here are 15 frequently asked questions, elaborated for better understanding:

Is a token a permanent? Yes, a token is a permanent as long as it’s on the battlefield. Tokens are created by spells or abilities and are not represented by physical cards (usually). Once a token leaves the battlefield, it ceases to exist unless an effect specifically states otherwise.
Are instants and sorceries permanents? No. Instants and sorceries are non-permanent spells. They are cast, resolve, and then go to the graveyard. They never enter the battlefield.
Is a land a permanent spell? No. Lands are permanents, but they are not permanent spells. They don’t go on the stack and are not cast, so they aren’t spells at all when played.
What happens if a permanent loses all its types? If a permanent somehow loses all its permanent types, it still remains on the battlefield. It is now just an object with no defined type.
Is an emblem a permanent? No, an emblem is not a permanent. Emblems are created by planeswalker abilities or other effects and exist in the command zone. They cannot be targeted or removed by any in-game effect (except restarting the game or playing a subgame).
Does Deathtouch cancel Deathtouch? The interaction between two creatures with deathtouch does not “cancel” deathtouch. If a creature with deathtouch deals damage to another creature, that creature is destroyed, regardless of whether the other creature also has deathtouch.
Is a commander a permanent? A commander is a permanent if it is on the battlefield. However, it can also exist in the command zone, where it is not considered a permanent. Casting a commander refers to playing it from the command zone as a spell.
What does it mean for a permanent to be “destroyed”? “Destroyed” means the permanent is put into its owner’s graveyard. Destruction can be caused by damage, spells, or abilities. Some permanents have abilities that prevent destruction, such as indestructible or regeneration.
What is “exile” and how does it affect permanents? Exiling a permanent means moving it to the exile zone. Unlike the graveyard, cards in exile are generally harder to retrieve. Some cards and abilities interact specifically with exiled cards.
What is “regeneration”? Regeneration is a destruction-replacement effect. If a permanent would be destroyed, regeneration prevents this by removing all damage marked on it and tapping it instead.
What is “Hexproof”? Hexproof on a permanent means that the permanent cannot be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. This protects your permanents from removal or other detrimental effects.
What is “Menace”? Menace is a keyword ability that means a creature “can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures.” This makes creatures with menace harder to block effectively.
What are some ways to protect my permanents? There are many ways to protect your permanents, including using counterspells to prevent them from being destroyed, giving them hexproof or indestructible, or using regeneration effects.
What happens if I sacrifice a permanent? Sacrificing a permanent means moving it from the battlefield to your graveyard as an intentional action. Some cards require you to sacrifice permanents as part of their cost or effect.
What is the difference between a permanent with “Indestructible” and one with “Hexproof?” Indestructible means a permanent cannot be destroyed by damage or “destroy” effects. Hexproof prevents opponents from targeting the permanent with spells or abilities they control. A permanent with indestructible can still be exiled or sacrificed.

Rule 0 and Community Input

Magic: The Gathering is a dynamic game, and one aspect that adds to its flexibility is “Rule 0,” which essentially permits players to agree upon alterations or exceptions to the established rules to enhance their shared enjoyment. This rule enables players to adapt the game to their preferences, ensuring a more customized and engaging experience for everyone involved. You can learn more about gaming and community at the Games Learning Society, a wonderful organization dedicated to the transformative power of games. Visit GamesLearningSociety.org for more information.