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Each turn has five phases. Each phase occurs even if nothing happens during it. At the end of each phase, you take mana burn if there's any mana left in your mana pool.
[1. Beginning Phase]
-This phase has three steps.
- Untap Step - During your untap step, untap all your tapped cards. No one can play spells or abilities during this step.
- Upkeep Step - Abilities that trigger at the beginning of your upkeep go on the stack. Players can play instants and activated abilities.
- Draw Step - The first thing you do during your draw step is draw a card. Then players can play instants and activated abilities.
[2. Main Phase]
-You can play every type of spell and ability during this phase on your own turn, but your opponent can play only instants and activated abilities. You can play a land during this phase, but remember, only one land per turn.
[3. Combat Phase]
-This phase has five steps.
- Beginning Combat Step - Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step, (but they usually don't.)
- Declare Attackers Step - You choose which of your creatures will attack (if any.) When you attack with a creature, it becomes tapped. Creatures with DEFENDER, already tapped creatures, and creatures with summoning sickness -CAN NOT- attack. Also, your creatures can only attack your opponent(s), not one specific creature. Once you're done declaring, players can play instants and activated abilities.
- Declare Blockers Step - Your opponent decides which of his/her creatures will block your attacking creatures (if any.) Each blocking creature can block only one attacking creature, but your opponent can have two or more creatures "gang up" and block an attacking creature. Tapped creatures can't block. Once your opponent is done declaring, you can play instants and abilites.
- Combat Damage Step - This is when creatures actually deal their damage in combat.
-Unblocked attackers deal damage equal to their power to the defending player.
-Blocked attackers deal damage to the creatures blocking them. If more than one creature blocks an attacker, you decide how to divide the attacker's damage among the blockers.
-Blockers deal their damage to the creature they're blocking. If a creature has become tapped since it was declared a blocker, it still deals damage normally.
Furthermore, if an attacking creature was blocked at the declare blockers step (3.b), it doesn't deal any damage to the defending player. This is true even if all the blockers have left play. Once you decide how combat damage will be dealt, the damage goes on the stack. After that, the damage is "locked in." It will be dealt even if some of the creatures leave play. Players may then play instants and activated abilities. Once these have all resolved, combat damage is actually dealt. If a creature tries to deal damage to a creature no longer in play, it can't and the damage isn't dealt.
- End of Combat Step - Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step, but they usually have no reason to.
[4. Main Phase (Again)]
-Your second main phase is just like your first. You can play every type of spell and ability, but your opponent can only play instants and activated abilities. Also, you can play a land during this phase, if you didn't in your first main phase.
[5. End Phase]
-This phase has two steps:
- End of Turn Step - Players can play instants and activated abilities during this step.
- Cleanup Step - If you have more than seven cards in your hand, choose and discard cards until you have only seven. Next, all damage on creatures is removed and all "Until End of Turn" effects end. No one can play spells or abilities during this step unless an ability triggers during this step, but that rarely happens.
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