The Stack in MTG, explained

Within every Magic: The Gathering game, an unseen force rules from the shadows to determine the flow of the game–alright, maybe that’s a bit dramatic but it’s not an exaggeration. At the core of MTG lies its greatest feature known as the Stack which plays a crucial role in determining how spells are resolved. 

Becoming an expert on the Stack isn’t necessary to enjoy MTG, but knowing the basics will set you apart from other players regardless of what deck archetype you play with. With a little knowledge, you can look at a sequence of cards and understand the order in which they play out along with the board state afterward. This guide will serve as an introduction to the Stack and the various spells and actions that it applies (or doesn’t apply) to. 

What is the Stack in MTG?

The Stack isn’t represented physically within an MTG game. Though to understand how it works, we can imagine the spells or abilities that are played within a step to be ‘stacked’ on top of each other. The system for determining how these cards resolve is known as ‘first in, last out’ or FILO. 

The Active Player (the player whose turn it is) introduces the first spell or ability to the Stack which can then be responded to by the Non-Active Players. This is another MTG system referred to as APNAP or ‘Active Player, then Non-Active Player’. Players can continue to respond back and forth by adding cards to the Stack until they’re out of mana or appropriate responses. After all players pass their priority, the Stack begins to resolve the spells from top to bottom (remember FILO?) 

Still a bit confused? Let’s go over an example. One of your first encounters with the Stack will be when you cast a creature spell and your opponent responds with a counterspell. Here’s how this basic two-card Stack would play out: 

1. Casting a creature spell uses the Stack which gives your opponents a chance to respond. Imagine that when casting the spell, the card is sitting in a waiting room. The creature hasn’t entered the battlefield yet and won’t do so unless it successfully resolves. 
2. The counterspell goes on top of the creature spell and if no other cards are added, will be the first card to resolve. What happens is that the counterspell resolves and effectively negates the resolution of the creature spell underneath it. 
3. The creature card never enters the battlefield and isn’t considered ‘killed’ so any respective triggers aren’t activated. It’s simply moved to the graveyard. 

Fairly simple right? But in MTG, things can quickly become complicated. The Stack is used by many actions and spells but some don’t go onto the Stack and therefore cannot be responded to. Understanding what interacts with the Stack can help you make more informed decisions in MTG. Let’s take a look at what uses and doesn’t use the Stack. 

What uses the Stack in MTG?

• Casting spells
• Activated abilities (not to be confused with mana abilities)
• Triggered abilities

The list of what uses the Stack looks small, but it encompasses the majority of processes found within Magic: The Gathering. 

What doesn’t use the Stack in MTG?

• Special actions (such as Foretell or Morph)
• Mana abilities (tapping a land for mana is considered a mana ability.)
• Playing land cards
• Paying costs (such as cumulative upkeep)
• Static abilities (abilities that are always active, such as Flying or First Strike)
• Combat damage (the combat damage itself isn’t added to the Stack but abilities that trigger from combat damage are)
• All turn-based actions
  • Phasing in/phasing out permanents
  • Drawing a card during the draw step
  • Discarding cards during the cleanup step
  • Day and night transitions
  • Placing Lore counters on Sagas upon entering the first Main Phase
  • Rolling to visit Attractions
  • Choosing opponents to attack at the beginning of the combat step
  • Declaring attackers (not to be confused with triggers from creatures attacking)
  • Declaring blockers (not to be confused with triggers from being attacked)
  • Designating the damage assignment order amongst blocking creatures (which creature blocks first)

While the above list can look a bit intimidating, it’s worth pointing out that many actions that don’t use the Stack flow naturally within the game and aren’t controlled by players. Focus on remembering the three actions that do use the Stack and you’ll be just fine. 

The Stack is often treated like the Boogeyman of MTG but it can be every player’s best friend. Take advantage of it and don’t be afraid to start a chain of counterspells– it happens more often than you think.