Card type
Sorcery
A one-shot that waits for your main phase. Bigger effects, slower door.
- What it does
- A planned spell. Board wipes, tutors, extra turns — things that should not happen in combat.
- When you play it
- Only during your main phase, when the stack is empty. You cannot sorcery on their turn.
- Beginner trap
- Trying to cast a sorcery as if it were an instant after they attack. The type line is the rule.
Sorceries and instants both go to the graveyard after they resolve. The difference is the window. Sorcery is your turn, main phase, empty stack.
That slower window is why sorceries are often cheaper or larger than the instant version of the same idea.
If a card says flash, it is not a sorcery. Read the type line, not the flavor.
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More card types
Land
Not a spell. Tap for mana. One land per turn is the usual rule.
Creature
Attacks and blocks. Power / toughness is the bottom-right box.
Instant
A one-shot you can cast on either turn, as long as you have priority.
Artifact
A permanent, usually colorless. Equipment, rocks, and machines.
Enchantment
A lasting spell on the table — a rule that stays, or an Aura on one thing.
Planeswalker
A legendary ally with loyalty. You may activate one ability on your turn.