2. Parts of a Card
Rules overview
A card is more than its name. This section formally defines every visible piece -- name, mana cost, illustration, color indicator, type line, expansion symbol, text box, power/toughness, loyalty, defense, hand modifier, life modifier -- and how each one is read at game time.
If you've ever asked "what exactly is this card's mana value?", that question lives here (202.3). Whether the text printed on your copy is the current wording is answered in section 1: the Oracle text counts (108.1).
What you'll find
- 200 General -- the parts of a card and the order they appear.
- 201 Name -- the English name is the one that counts, interchangeable names, choosing a card name, and what a card means when it refers to itself by name.
- 202 Mana Cost and Color -- how the mana cost sets a card's colors and its mana value.
- 203 Illustration -- has no game function (yes, really).
- 204 Color Indicator -- the colored circle that gives a card its color when its mana cost can't, such as on many back faces.
- 205 Type Line -- supertypes, types, subtypes.
- 206 Expansion Symbol -- which set the card is from, plus its rarity.
- 207 Text Box -- where rules text lives, plus italic text with no game function, like reminder text and flavor text.
- 208 Power/Toughness -- the bottom-right of creature cards.
- 209 Loyalty -- a planeswalker's printed loyalty, which it enters the battlefield with as loyalty counters.
- 210 Defense -- the bottom-right number on battle cards; a battle enters with that many defense counters.
- 211 Hand Modifier / 212 Life Modifier -- only relevant in Vanguard; mostly trivia.
- 213 Information Below the Text Box -- artist credit, collector info -- not game-relevant.