Beginning Phase

Turn structure · beginner

The first phase of every turn. Three steps: Untap, Upkeep, Draw.

Untap step ([502])

• The active player untaps all permanents they control (with a few exceptions for things like Verdant Force tokens that say otherwise).
• No one gets priority during the untap step. Players can't cast spells or activate abilities here.
• Phasing happens at this step, but is rare in modern Magic.

Upkeep step ([503])

• Triggered abilities "at the beginning of your upkeep" go on the stack.
• Players get priority. The active player first.
• This is the first chance each turn to respond to triggers.

Draw step ([504])

• The active player draws a card. (Skipped on the very first turn of a two-player game.)
• Triggered abilities "at the beginning of your draw step" go on the stack.
• Players get priority.

Things to remember

• Mana from the previous turn empties at the start of each phase, so the mana pool is empty when the upkeep begins.
• "Cumulative upkeep" and similar effects trigger here. They're rare but easy to forget.

[502] [503] [504]