Part 2

Learn about Annihilator, Beatstick, Bloodrush, and more keyword abilities in Magic: The Gathering Arena. Understand their effects and costs.

Abilities:

• ANNIHILATOR: Keyword ability found only on "Kozilek, Butcher of Truth" in this game. When the Annihilator creature attacks, the opponent sacrifices permanents of their choosing equal to the creature's annihilator value.
• BEATSTICK: Slang term for any creature that's a good attacker, often meaning high attack power or good abilities. Terra Stomper has Trample and is an 8/8, ensuring that whenever it attacks, it's likely to do some damage.
• BLOODRUSH: Keyword ability. Paying a creature's Bloodrush cost discards the card and bestows its ability to another target creature. Wrecking Ogre's Bloodrush grants +3/+3 and double strike to a specified attacker. The Bloodrush cost tends to be more stringent than if one had played the creature normally.
• BOUNCING: The term for returning cards on the field to its owner's hand or library. Cards that are bounced lose all counters placed on them, and this isn't a "destroy" effect, so it can affect indestructible creatures.
• CASCADE: An enemy-only keyword ability. When a spell with Cascade plays out, its owner picks up cards from the top of their deck until they find a nonland permanent with a CMC lower than the Cascade's. The chosen card is played cost-free; the other cards picked up are put on the library's bottom.
• CMC (CONVERTED MANA COST): The cost of a card taken as whole. For instance, a Soul of Zendikar costs 4 colorless mana and 2 green mana, so its CMC would be 6 (4+2). Cards with a variable mana amount of "X" are considered "0" for CMC calculation. Genesis Hydra is 2 green mana + "X" colorless mana, where "X" can be any applicable number. Its CMC is simply 2.
• CONVOKE: Keyword ability. Cards with Convoke cost 1 mana less to cost for each creature its player taps while it enters. If a creature shares a color with the Convoke card, it can count as that color's mana instead of just a colorless mana. Meditation Puzzle costs 3 + 2 white mana (CMC 5). It effectively costs nothing if one taps 5 white creatures; if one only has 5 black creatures, only the 3 colorless mana could be Convoked for a lower cost.
• COUNTERING: Done through instants that specify "counter target spell," along with perhaps other text. When an opponent tries get a card on the field, a counter (Negate, Dissolve, etc.) can be played to prevent its effect from occurring. Counters in this game tend to be blue cards.
• CYCLING: Keyword ability on some cards, each with their own mana cost. If the cost is paid, one discards that card and draws another ("cycling") or can search for a specific card (such as "landcycling"). Which type of cycling is applicable will be said on the card.
• DEATHTOUCH: Keyword ability. Creatures with deathtouch will destroy any creature they deal damage to. Pharika's Chosen (1/1) is chosen to block a Nemesis of Mortals with Monstrosity (10/10). In a normal battle, the two trade blows, and instead of surviving as a 10/9, the beatstick is killed as well. Deathtouch is dealt only any type of damage, but creatures immune to certain types of damage (like Guard Gamazoa) won't be slain. Creatures that pay their regeneration cost aren't destroyed by deathtouch.
• DEFENDER: Keyword ability. Defenders can block but can't attack, which befits their higher toughness. Examples: Wall of Omens, Guard Gomazoa. Some cards (Gargoyle Sentinel, Ogre Jailbreaker) can remove Defender with their own abilities; others will need Warmonger's Chariot to attack. Note that just because they're prevented from attacking, it doesn't mean they don't deal combat damage!
• DESTROY: Type of ability that destroys the target card type, either outright (Flesh to Dust) or when a condition is met (Reprisal, Assassinate). Cards with "indestructible," like Creepy Doll or Darksteel Ingot, are immune to destroy effects. Same goes for cards with protection from the spell's color (ex: the white Divine Verdict does nothing if used on a foe with protection from white).
• DEVOTION: Used in some cards, the value of which is equal to the number of specified mana symbols in mana costs of all permanents one controls. Nylea's Disciple gains life equal to one's devotion to green. Mana symbols in the card text (such as "pay green mana, tap: get X effect") don't count toward devotion.
• DEVOUR: Keyword ability. Creatures with this ability get +1/+1 counters for each creature one sacrifices as it enters the field. How many counters it gets depends on the written text's Devour cost. Thorn-Thrash Viashino has Devour 2, so it gets +2/+2 for each sacrificed creature. Any creature one controls (token, opponent-owned, etc.) can be used for the devour cost.
• DISCARD: Found in many cards means to "send the required amount of cards from hand to graveyard". Mind Rot, for one, would make a target player discard 2 cards. If a player has no cards in their hand, the effect basically does nothing. (Examples: Ostracize, Monomania, Blightening)
• DOMAIN: Keyword ability. This increases a spell's effect based off how many basic land types one owns. For instant, Drag Down gives -1/-1 to a target creature in just this manner. If one controls a Swamp, Mountain and Forest, Drag Down would do more.