What lets us cast spells? What does copying a spell do? Andrew has details.

The post Spells, Casts, And Copies, Oh My! first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew looks at a fiddly Commander deck and the niche rules it relies on. What do you need to know to surprise your friends with this deck next Commander night?

The post Applied Rules: A Verdant Succession Commander Deck? first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

There are numerous transforming double-faced cards in Magic these days. Andrew examines some of the common, and not-so-common quirks of these cards.

The post Transforming Double-Faced Cards: More Than Meets the Eye first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

This week, Andrew hits the Streets of New Capenna to bring you coverage of its new mechanics and a few problematic cards.

The post Mob Rules: Running the Streets of New Capenna first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

This week, Andrew dives into state-based actions (SBAs). What are SBAs, and what do they do in the game? How many of them are there? Andrew shares the details.

The post State-Based Actions first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Building on his article from last week, today Andrew illuminates some quirks of casting spells. Can understanding these tricks make you a better spellcaster?

The post Hocus Pocus 2: Quirks in Casting Spells first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew runs through the nine-count-'em-nine steps of casting a spell. Do you know with certainty in which of the 9 steps you actually pay your mana? Read on!

The post Hocus Pocus: How to Cast a Spell first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew digs up "The Combat Heard 'Round the World" to make a case for closely reading tournament policy and understanding the inner workings of shortcuts.

The post Policy Evolution Sage: “Combat?” and Its Ambiguities first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Tapping In: Welcome back to another installment of rules stuff. This week we're looking at mana, mana values, and mana costs.

The post Mana, Mana Value, And Mana Cost first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

This week Andrew is sending creatures into the red zone, taking us through the finer points of the combat phase in Magic.

The post Math Is For Blockers: Combat In Magic first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

We've had Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty in our hands for a bit now, and nothing gets weird questions flowing quite like a new set...

The post Exploring Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Interactions first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew ties up his series on layers, focusing on effects that change colors, abilities, or power and toughness. In the process, he also demystifies Dress Down!

The post Layers, Part Four: Color-Changing, Ability-Altering, And P/T-Changing Effects first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew enlists his Judging expertise to outline a series of best practices for tournament preparation, covering everything from sleeves to lunches to alters.

The post Tips For the Tournament-Goer first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew takes a step forward in his layers series, looking now to type-changing effects and popular interactions with Blood Moon, Urza's Saga, and more.

The post Layers, Part Three: Type-Changing Effects first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew continues his layers series by delving into triggered abilities, especially missed triggers, and with the murky waters of handling this common error.

The post Handling Triggered Abilities first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

Andrew continues his rules series on layers, covering Act of Treason effects and the quirky Volrath's Shapeshifter as control- and text-changing effects.

The post Layers, Part Two: Control- and Text-Changing Effects first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

This week Andrew looks at replacement effects. What are they and how do they work? He dives into the basics and then explores some weird dark corners.

The post Replacement Effects And How To Apply Them first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

This week Andrew begins a series on Layers and continuous effects. What are layers? How do they work? Let's find out by exploring the first layer: Copy effects!

The post Layers, Part One: Copiable Values first appeared on Quiet Speculation.

This week our new resident rules guru Andrew breaks down priority. What is priority? How does it work? What are some common shortcuts used in a typical game?

The post Priority And You: A Primer first appeared on Quiet Speculation.