Upkeep step

Game terms · beginner

The upkeep step is the first point in a turn where anybody can act. It is where "at the beginning of your upkeep" triggers go on the stack.

How it works

• The upkeep step has no turn-based actions of its own. Once it begins, the active player gets priority. [503.1]
• Abilities that triggered during the untap step have been waiting, and they go on the stack here, when a player would first receive priority. [502.4]

Rules notes

• Nothing in the upkeep happens automatically. An "at the beginning of your upkeep" ability is a triggered ability on the stack: it can be responded to, and it can be countered.
• Multiple upkeep triggers controlled by one player go on the stack in the order that player chooses, so the last one put on resolves first.
• If a spell may be cast only "after [a player's] upkeep step" and the turn has more than one upkeep step, it may be cast any time after the first one ends. [503.2]

Rule reference

[503.1] [503.2] [502.4]