Picked for what they do in Vilis's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Vilis's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Vilis works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast12 Jul 2019
A player loses life if they pay life.
Wizards of the Coast12 Jul 2019
If you pay life to cast a spell or activate an ability, you don't draw cards until after you've finished casting that spell or activating that ability. You draw those cards before that spell or ability resolves, but after targets are chosen for it.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.ControlControl decks answer what everyone else plays, stopping spells and removing dangerous cards, then win slowly once they are in charge. Expect lots of removal, spells that cancel other spells, and extra card draw.Open the Control page-X/-X RemovalRemoves a creature by giving it -X/-X, which lowers its toughness. A creature with 0 or less toughness goes to the graveyard. Like damage, it can miss a big creature: -3/-3 kills a 3/3 but not a 30/30. Unlike damage, it also kills a creature that can't be destroyed (indestructible), because the game's rules put a creature with 0 toughness into the graveyard without destroying it. Dismember Grasp of DarknessOpen the -X/-X Removal pageCombat TrickAn instant you cast during a fight to change how it ends: making a creature bigger or smaller, or keeping your creatures from dying. Boros Charm, Flawless ManeuverOpen the Combat Trick pageLife Pay EngineCards that let you pay life instead of mana, or pay life for an extra effect, treating your life total as something to spend.Open the Life Pay Engine pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion page
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