Summon (Obsolete)
Older creature cards were printed with the type "Summon [creature type]." All "Summon [creature type]" cards should be read as "Creature [creature type]."
Summoning Sickness (Informal)
The term "summoning sickness" is an informal term which describes a creature"s inability to attack or to use activated abilities that include the tap symbol when it has come under a player"s control since the beginning of that player"s most recent turn. See rule 212.3d. See also Haste.
Sunburst
Sunburst is a static ability that functions as an object is coming into play from the stack. "Sunburst" means "If this object is coming into play from the stack as a creature, it comes into play with a +1/+1 counter on it for each color of mana used to pay its cost. If this object is coming into play from the stack and isn"t coming into play as a creature, it comes into play with a charge counter on it for each color of mana used to pay its cost." See rule 502.37, "Sunburst."
Supertype
A card can have one or more "supertypes." These are printed directly before the card"s types. If an object"s types or subtypes change, any supertypes it has are kept, although they may not be relevant to the new type. See rule 205.4, "Supertypes."
An object"s supertype is independent of its type and subtype. Changing an object"s type or subtype won"t change its supertype. Changing an object"s supertype won"t change its type or subtype. When an object gains or loses a supertype, it retains any other supertypes it had. See rule 212. "Type, Supertype, and Subtype."
The list of supertypes, updated through the Time Spiral set, is as follows: basic, legendary, snow, and world.
Suspend
Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that functions while the card with suspend is in a player"s hand. The second and third are triggered abilities that function in the removed-from-the-game zone. "Suspend N-[cost]" means "If you could play this card from your hand, you may pay [cost] and remove it from the game with N time counters on it. This action doesn"t use the stack," and "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this card is suspended, remove a time counter from it," and "When the last time counter is removed from this card, if it"s removed from the game, play it without paying its mana cost if able. If you can"t, it remains removed from the game. If you play a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of the spell or the permanent it becomes." Playing a spell as an effect of its suspend ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 409.1b and 409.1f-h. See rule 502.59, "Suspend."
Suspended
A card is "suspended" if it"s in the removed-from-the-game zone, has suspend, and has a time counter on it.
Swamp
"Swamp" is one of the five basic land types. Any land with the land type Swamp has the ability "{T}: Add {B} to your mana pool." See rule 212.6d.
Swampcycling
See Landcycling.
Swampwalk
See Landwalk.
Tap
To tap a permanent is to turn it sideways. The tap symbol ({T} in these rules) in an activation cost means "Tap this permanent"-a permanent that"s already tapped can"t be tapped again to pay the cost. Creatures that haven"t been under a player"s control continuously since the beginning of his or her most recent turn can"t use any ability of theirs with the tap symbol in the cost. See rule 104.4.
Tapped
A permanent that"s turned sideways is tapped. Tapping permanents shows that they"ve been used. Permanents untap during their controllers" untap steps. See also Status, Tap, Untap, and Untapped.
Target
Whenever the phrase "target [something]," where [something] is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone, appears in a spell or ability, the controller of the spell or ability chooses something that matches whatever follows that word. The choice of a spell or ability"s targets is made when the spell or ability is played. See rule 415, "Targeted Spells and Abilities."
An instant or sorcery is targeted if the text that will be followed when it resolves uses the phrase "target [something]," where the "something" is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone. (If an activated or triggered ability of an instant or sorcery uses the word target, that ability is targeted, but the spell is not.) An activated or triggered ability is targeted if it uses the phrase "target [something]," where the "something" is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone.
Aura spells are targeted, and their target is specified by their "enchant" abilities. They target the permanent or player they will enchant. (See rule 415.3.) An Aura permanent doesn"t target anything.
Neither Equipment spells nor Equipment permanents are targeted. (See rule 415.3.) An Equipment may have abilities which are targeted.
A spell or ability on the stack can"t target itself.
A spell that targets the same object, player, or zone more than once isn"t a "spell with a single target."
Team
In a multiplayer game between teams, players win or lose as a group rather than as individuals. The Two-Headed Giant, Emperor, and Teams multiplayer variants all use teams.
Teammate In a multiplayer game between teams, a player"s teammates are the other players on his or her team, and the player"s opponents are all players not on his or her team.
Teams
The Teams multiplayer variant involves two or more teams of equal size. Players are seated so that no one is next to a teammate and each team is equally s.p.a.ced out. A player can"t attack opponents who aren"t seated next to him or her.
The Teams variant uses the following default options: (a) The recommended range of influence is 2 (see rule 601) and (b) exactly one of the attack left, attack right, and attack multiple players options must be used (see rules 604 and 602). The deploy creatures option isn"t normally used in the Teams variant. See rule 609, "Teams Variant."
Text Box
The text box is printed below the ill.u.s.tration on a Magic card and contains rules text that defines the card"s abilities, reminder text, and flavor text. See rule 207, "Text Box."