Ability Glossary

The basic keyword abilities you'll find on Magic cards, in English and Spanish, explained in plain language.

English name Spanish name ↑

Annihilator/Aniquilador: Whenever this creature attacks, the defending player sacrifices that many permanents before blockers are declared.
Convoke/Convocar: You may tap untapped creatures you control instead of paying part of this spell's mana cost — each creature pays for one generic mana, or one mana of its color.
Cycling/Ciclar: Pay this cost and discard this card from your hand to draw a new card.
Deathtouch/Toque mortal: Any amount of damage this creature deals to another creature is enough to destroy it. Doesn't work on planeswalkers or players.
Defender/Defensor: This creature can't attack.
Delve/Excavar: You may exile cards from your graveyard to pay for {1} of this spell's generic mana cost, one card per {1}.
Double Strike/Dañar dos veces: This creature deals combat damage twice: once in the first-strike step, and again in the regular damage step.
Equip/Equipar: Pay this cost to attach an Equipment card to a creature you control, as a sorcery.
Exalted/Exaltado: Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, that creature gets +1/+1 for each instance of exalted you control until end of turn.
First Strike/Daña primero: If this creature is in combat, it deals its combat damage before creatures without first strike or double strike.
Flash/Destello: You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant, not just during your main phase.
Flashback/Retrospectiva: You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.
Flying/Vuela: This creature can only be blocked by creatures with flying or reach.
Haste/Prisa: This creature can attack and use tap abilities the turn it comes under your control, ignoring summoning sickness.
Hexproof/Antimaleficio: This creature can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.
Indestructible/Indestructible: This creature can't be destroyed by damage or by effects that say "destroy". It can still be exiled, sacrificed, or have its toughness reduced to 0.
Infect/Infectar: This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters, and to players in the form of poison counters, instead of normal damage.
Lifelink/Vínculo vital: Damage dealt by this creature also causes its controller to gain that much life.
Menace/Amenaza: This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
Mutate/Mutar: You may cast this card for its mutate cost, then merge it with a non-Human creature you control, combining into one creature with both sets of abilities.
Persist/Persistir: When this creature dies, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
Plot/Tramar: During your turn, you may pay this cost to exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery without paying its mana cost on a later turn of yours.
Protection/Protección: This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted/equipped by anything with the stated quality (a color, a card type, etc.).
Prowess/Destreza: Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Reach/Alcance: This creature can block creatures with flying, even though it doesn't have flying itself.
Regenerate/Regenerar: This shield replaces the next time this creature would be destroyed this turn: instead it's tapped, removed from combat, and all damage is removed from it.
Suspend/Suspender: You may cast this card by paying its suspend cost, exiling it with time counters and removing one at each of your upkeeps. When the last is removed, cast it for free.
Toxic/Tóxico: A creature with toxic N gives that many poison counters, in addition to any damage, to any player it deals combat damage to.
Trample/Arrolla: If this creature is blocked, any combat damage beyond what's needed to destroy the blockers is dealt to the defending player or planeswalker instead.
Undying/Resiliencia: When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
Vigilance/Vigilancia: Attacking with this creature doesn't cause it to tap, so it stays available to block.
Ward/Rebatir: Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, that spell or ability is countered unless they pay the ward cost.