Decoding Magic: The Subtle Art of Casting vs. Entering the Battlefield
The world of Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is a labyrinth of intricate rules and interactions. Two of the most fundamental, and often confused, concepts are casting a spell and a permanent entering the battlefield (ETB). Understanding the distinction between these actions is crucial for mastering the game. Simply put, casting refers to the act of playing a spell from your hand, placing it on the stack, paying its costs, and ultimately resolving it. Entering the battlefield, on the other hand, describes the point at which a permanent (creature, artifact, enchantment, planeswalker, or land) physically comes into play under your control. They are related but entirely distinct events, triggering different abilities and responses. Let’s dive deeper into this fascinating difference!
Casting: The Journey from Hand to Stack
Casting a spell is a process. It begins with a card in your hand and involves declaring your intention to play that card. Here’s a breakdown of what happens:
- Declaring the Spell: You announce that you are casting a specific spell from your hand.
- Placing it on the Stack: The spell moves from your hand to the stack, which is essentially a holding area for spells and abilities waiting to resolve.
- Choosing Modes and Targets: You choose any modes the spell has (options for different effects) and designate targets for the spell.
- Paying the Costs: You pay the mana cost, any additional costs (like sacrificing a creature), or alternative costs (like using a card’s ability to cast it for a different cost).
- Priority and Resolution: After you cast the spell, your opponent has the opportunity to respond by casting their own spells or activating abilities. If no one responds, the spell resolves, and its effects occur.
Importantly, the “cast” trigger happens when the spell is initially put on the stack. Abilities that trigger “when you cast” a spell occur at this point.
Casting and Counterspells
One vital aspect of casting is its vulnerability to counterspells. If an opponent casts a counterspell targeting your spell on the stack, your spell is removed from the stack and sent to the graveyard. This prevents it from resolving and entering the battlefield. This highlights a key difference: a countered spell is cast but never enters the battlefield.
Entering the Battlefield (ETB): Arrival and Impact
“Entering the battlefield” describes the moment a permanent actually comes into play under your control. This can happen in several ways, not just through casting. For instance, a card might enter the battlefield due to an ability of another card (e.g., “put a creature card from your graveyard onto the battlefield”).
Triggers Upon Arrival
Many permanents have abilities that trigger “when [this permanent] enters the battlefield.” These ETB triggers are a powerful mechanic, allowing for immediate effects upon the permanent’s arrival. Common examples include drawing a card, dealing damage, or gaining life.
Different Pathways to the Battlefield
A permanent can enter the battlefield in various ways:
- Resolving a Spell: This is the most common way. The permanent spell resolves and moves from the stack to the battlefield.
- Being Put onto the Battlefield Directly: Spells and abilities can directly put a permanent onto the battlefield, bypassing the casting process altogether. Examples include cards like Reanimate or Show and Tell.
- Transforming: Some double-faced cards transform while on the battlefield. While the permanent doesn’t “enter” again, the transformation can trigger abilities that care about a permanent changing its characteristics.
- Returning from Exile or the Graveyard: Cards can return to the battlefield from exile or the graveyard, effectively entering the battlefield anew.
“Cast” vs. “ETB” Timing
The timing of “cast” triggers and ETB triggers is critical.
- Cast Triggers: These occur when a spell is cast, i.e., put onto the stack from your hand. These triggers resolve before the spell itself resolves.
- ETB Triggers: These occur when a permanent physically enters the battlefield.
Situational Examples
Let’s solidify these concepts with a couple of scenarios:
Scenario 1: You cast a creature spell with an ETB trigger. Your opponent casts a counterspell.
- Result: The counterspell resolves, your creature spell is countered and goes to the graveyard, and the ETB trigger never happens because the creature never entered the battlefield. The “cast” triggers would have resolved before the counterspell if there were any.
Scenario 2: You use the spell Reanimate to put a creature card from your graveyard onto the battlefield.
- Result: The creature enters the battlefield. Any ETB triggers on the creature activate. There are no “cast” triggers, as the creature was not cast.
FAQs: Unraveling the Mysteries of Casting and ETB
1. Does putting a card from my hand onto the battlefield count as casting?
No. It is only considered “cast from your hand” if you cast it as a spell from your hand. Putting it onto the battlefield from your hand using a spell or ability (like Show and Tell) does not count as casting.
2. Does enter the battlefield count itself?
Generally, yes. Enters-the-battlefield abilities are triggered after the creature enters the battlefield, so the creature is a legal permanent for its own ETB ability to affect (if applicable).
3. Can you respond to an ETB?
Yes! Whenever something goes on the stack (such as an enter-the-battlefield triggered ability), all players are able to respond with instants and abilities.
4. Does turning face up count as entering the battlefield?
No. Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.
5. Is an ETB an activated ability?
No. An ETB ability is an ability that triggers automatically when something enters the battlefield. Activated abilities are, by definition, manually activated.
6. Does playing a card count as casting?
Not necessarily. To “play” a card can mean either casting it as a spell or playing it as a land. Casting is specifically when it’s a spell, while playing is when it’s a land.
7. Does a legendary copy enter the battlefield?
Yes, a legendary permanent copy does enter the battlefield. However, the “legend rule” (704.5) is a state-based action and it doesn’t use the stack. So, when the second legendary permanent enters the battlefield, its ETB effects trigger and go on the stack. Then, the Legend Rule is checked and one must be sacrificed.
8. Can you cast mutate from the battlefield?
No. Mutate can only be used if you’re casting the spell. If the creature card were to enter the battlefield in another way, it just enters the battlefield normally.
9. Can you crew a vehicle that just entered the battlefield?
Yes! Because the crew ability doesn’t use the tap symbol, you can tap any untapped creature you control, even one that just entered the battlefield.
10. Can an Aura enter the battlefield without being cast?
Yes! Auras entering the battlefield that aren’t cast are attached to any permanent they could normally attach to of the controller’s choosing.
11. Does copying a spell count as entering the battlefield?
No. An object that enters the battlefield “as a copy” or “that’s a copy” of another object becomes a copy as it enters the battlefield. It doesn’t enter the battlefield, and then become a copy of that permanent.
12. Does morph count as colorless?
Yes, when morph cards are cast face down, they are colorless: 708.4: Objects that are cast face down are turned face down before they are put onto the stack, so effects that care about the characteristics of a spell will see only the face-down spell’s characteristics.
13. Do werewolves leave the battlefield when they transform?
No. Werewolves that transform, for instance, do not typically leave or re-enter the battlefield. It “returns transformed” – a transformation did take place, just one that requires it to leave the battlefield and re-enter.
14. Can you respond to a creature entering the battlefield without an ETB trigger?
If there is an ETB trigger, then your opponent still receives priority, but you will have a chance to respond to the trigger when they pass to you. There is no special time for you to respond to a creature entering the battlefield if it doesn’t have an ETB trigger and there is nothing else on the stack.
15. Is putting a card on the field casting?
There is a difference. Casting a spell (including a creature spell) involves multiple steps, including putting it on the stack, paying its costs, etc. Just because a permanent enters play doesn’t mean it was cast.
Understanding the intricacies of casting and entering the battlefield is essential for becoming a proficient Magic: The Gathering player. Grasping these fundamentals allows you to navigate the complexities of the game with greater confidence. For more information on games and learning, visit the Games Learning Society website at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/ or GamesLearningSociety.org to discover how games can be used for education and development.