Play

Keywords · beginner

To play a card means either to play it as a land or to cast it as a spell.

How it works

• "Play" is a catch-all term. Playing a land puts it onto the battlefield using your land play for the turn. Playing a nonland card means casting it.
• An effect that lets you "play" a card from exile or another zone lets you do whichever of those is appropriate for that card.

Rules notes

• Playing a land is not casting and does not use the stack. You can normally play one land per turn.
• Playing a nonland card is casting it, with all the normal rules and triggers of casting.

Rule reference

[701.18]