Abbey Matron

Creature — Human Cleric 1/3, 2W (3)

{W}, {T}: Abbey Matron gets +0/+3 until end of turn.

"The Matrons are kindly souls, but don't ask one for an ale."
—Halina, Dwarven Trader

Illus. Mike Kimble

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Commander

Abomination

Creature — Horror 2/6, 3BB (5)

Whenever Abomination blocks or becomes blocked by a green or white creature, destroy that creature at end of combat.

Illus. Mark Tedin

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 10/4/2004: The color of the blocking/blocked creature is checked only at declaration of the block. If the creature is green or white at that time, it will be destroyed at the end of the combat even if it changes color before the combat ends.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Commander

Absolver Thrull

Creature — Thrull Cleric 2/3, 3W (4)

Haunt (When this creature dies, exile it haunting target creature.)

When Absolver Thrull enters the battlefield or the creature it haunts dies, destroy target enchantment.

Illus. Rob Alexander

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Abuna's Chant

Instant, 3W (4)

Choose one — You gain 5 life; or prevent the next 5 damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn.

Entwine {2} (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

Illus. John Matson

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Abyssal Nocturnus

Creature — Horror 2/2, 1BB (3)

Whenever an opponent discards a card, Abyssal Nocturnus gets +2/+2 and gains fear until end of turn. (It can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)

"I fear to keep an open mind, for there are those who would use it as a door to my soul."
—Voka Schlak,
Mauzam Asylum inmate, diary

Illus. Jon Foster

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 2/1/2006: If your opponent discards any cards during his or her cleanup step to get down to the maximum hand size, the ability will trigger and players will receive priority. After that cleanup step ends, a new one will begin and Abyssal Nocturnus's effect will end. It won't carry over into the next turn.
• 2/1/2006: If your opponent discards multiple cards to a single effect, this will trigger multiple times.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Abyssal Specter

Creature — Specter 2/3, 2BB (4)

Flying

Whenever Abyssal Specter deals damage to a player, that player discards a card.

To gaze under its hood is to invite death.

Illus. Michael Sutfin

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Active Volcano

Instant, R (1)

Choose one — Destroy target blue permanent; or return target Island to its owner's hand.

Illus. Justin Hampton

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Adarkar Sentinel

Artifact Creature — Soldier 3/3, 5 (5)

{1}: Adarkar Sentinel gets +0/+1 until end of turn.

"We encountered the Sentinels in the wastes, near no living thing. Their purpose was inscrutable."
—Disa the Restless, journal entry

Illus. Melissa Benson

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Adarkar Wastes

Land

{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.

{T}: Add {W} or {U} to your mana pool. Adarkar Wastes deals 1 damage to you.

Illus. John Avon

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Aegis of the Meek

Artifact, 3 (3)

{1}, {T}: Target 1/1 creature gets +1/+2 until end of turn.

"With this marvel, even the weak have a fighting chance!"
—Arcum Dagsson,
Soldevi Machinist

Illus. L. A. Williams

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Official Reprint Policy (This card is on the reserved list)

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Commander

Ærathi Berserker

Creature — Human Berserker 2/4, 2RRR (5)

Rampage 3 (Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +3/+3 until end of turn for each creature blocking it beyond the first.)

Ærathi children who show promise are left to survive for a year in the wilderness. Those who return are shown the way of the Berserker

Illus. Melissa Benson

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 10/4/2004: There is a typographical error in the title of the card so that the "AE" does not appear.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Commander

Aesthir Glider

Artifact Creature — Bird 2/1, 3 (3)

Flying

Aesthir Glider can't block.

"A fine example of the rewards of artifice: a thoroughly obedient steed with wings of Soldevi steel." -Arcum Dagsson, Soldevi machinist

Illus. Ruth Thompson

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Æther Mutation

Sorcery, 3UG (5)

Return target creature to its owner's hand. Put X 1/1 green Saproling creature tokens onto the battlefield, where X is that creature's converted mana cost.

Illus. Ron Spencer

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 10/4/2004: You only put the tokens onto the battlefield if the target creature is still a legal target on resolution.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Æther Rift

Enchantment, 1RG (3)

At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card at random. If you discard a creature card this way, return it from your graveyard to the battlefield unless any player pays 5 life.

Illus. Heather Hudson

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 10/1/2009: First, the card is discarded. Then, in turn order, each player is given the option to pay 5 life. Then, if no player paid 5 life, the card is put onto the battlefield from the graveyard.
• 10/1/2009: The card is actually discard, so anything which triggers on a discard will trigger. Such abilities will wait to go on the stack until after this ability has completely resolved.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Æther Snap

Sorcery, 3BB (5)

Remove all counters from all permanents and exile all tokens.

"May you wake to find you were only ever a dream."
—Mephidross curse

Illus. Kev Walker

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 12/1/2004: AEther Snap removes all counters from permanents, no matter what kind they are.
• 12/1/2004: Counters on objects that aren't permanents, such as time counters on a suspended card or poison counters on a player, are unaffected by AEther Snap.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Æther Storm

Enchantment, 3U (4)

Creature spells can't be cast.

Pay 4 life: Destroy Æther Storm. It can't be regenerated. Any player may activate this ability.

Thunder in the wind / no rain / peace mourns its passing.

Illus. Mark Tedin

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 10/4/2004: This does not stop a creature card from being put directly onto the battlefield by a spell or ability.
• 8/1/2008: Affects any spell with the type creature, including those with other types such as artifact or enchantment. This includes older cards with "summon" on their type line.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Æther Tide

Sorcery, XU (1)

As an additional cost to cast Æther Tide, discard X creature cards.

Return X target creatures to their owners' hands.

The tide of magic brought them here. Now it would take them home.

Illus. Andrew Robinson

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander

Æther Vial

Artifact, 1 (1)

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a charge counter on Æther Vial.

{T}: You may put a creature card with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Æther Vial from your hand onto the battlefield.

Illus. Karl Kopinski

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Banned in Block Constructed
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Æthermage's Touch

Instant, 2WU (4)

Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield. It has "At the beginning of your end step, return this creature to its owner's hand." Then put the rest of the cards revealed this way on the bottom of your library in any order.

Illus. Randy Gallegos

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 5/1/2006: If you reveal more than one creature card, you may put up to one of them onto the battlefield, and the rest of the revealed cards go on the bottom of your library. If you don't reveal any creature cards, all the revealed cards go on the bottom of your library.
• 5/1/2006: If the creature leaves the battlefield before the end of your turn, it won't return to your hand at the end of your turn.
• 5/1/2006: If you put a creature onto the battlefield this way during your end-of-turn step, it won't be returned to your hand until the end of your next turn.
• 5/1/2006: If the triggered ability granted to the creature is countered (with Voidslime, for example), the creature will stay on the battlefield. At the end of your next turn, the ability will trigger again.
• 5/1/2006: If a creature such as Clone copies the creature, it will not copy the triggered ability.

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern

Ætherplasm

Creature — Illusion 1/1, 2UU (4)

Whenever Ætherplasm blocks a creature, you may return Ætherplasm to its owner's hand. If you do, you may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield blocking that creature.

Its fickle form holds hints of a thousand former identities.

Illus. Nottsuo

Gatherer Card Rulings?, Legality?

• 2/1/2006: AEtherplasm will return to your hand before any combat damage is assigned.
• 2/1/2006: If you want, you can return AEtherplasm to your hand and not put anything onto the battlefield. The attacking creature will still be considered blocked, so it won't be able to deal combat damage to you unless it has trample or a similar ability.
• 2/1/2006: The creature you put onto the battlefield may be the AEtherplasm you just returned to your hand. This allows it to dodge abilities like Deathgazer's.
• 2/1/2006: The creature you put onto the battlefield from your hand is blocking the attacking creature, even if the block couldn't legally be declared (for example, if that creature enters the battlefield tapped, or it can't block, or the attacking creature has protection from it).

• Legal in Vintage (Type 1)
• Legal in Legacy (Type 1.5)
• Legal in Classic (MTGO)
• Legal in Commander
• Legal in Modern