Cycling
MTG Mechanic
Cycling is great on situational cards like Lightshield Parry that have situationally useful effects, but if the right situation doesn't come up—say you need a creature and not a combat trick—you can dig for the card you need. Additionally, some cards have abilities that trigger when you cycle them, or when you discard other cards, so keep those cards flowing! No one wins a race when they're out of gas.
Cycling Rules
A keyword ability that lets a card be discarded and replaced with a new card. See rule 702.29, “Cycling.”
- 702.29a: Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player’s hand. “Cycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Draw a card.”
- 702.29b: Although the cycling ability can be activated only if the card is in a player’s hand, it continues to exist while the object is on the battlefield and in all other zones. Therefore objects with cycling will be affected by effects that depend on objects having one or more activated abilities.
- 702.29c: Some cards with cycling have abilities that trigger when they’re cycled. “When you cycle this card” means “When you discard this card to pay an activation cost of a cycling ability.” These abilities trigger from whatever zone the card winds up in after it’s cycled.
- 702.29d: Some cards have abilities that trigger whenever a player “cycles or discards” a card. These abilities trigger only once when a card is cycled.
- 702.29e: Typecycling is a variant of the cycling ability. “[Type]cycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Search your library for a [type] card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.” This type is usually a subtype (as in “mountaincycling”) but can be any card type, subtype, supertype, or combination thereof (as in “basic landcycling”).
- 702.29f: Typecycling abilities are cycling abilities, and typecycling costs are cycling costs. Any cards that trigger when a player cycles a card will trigger when a card is discarded to pay an activation cost of a typecycling ability. Any effect that stops players from cycling cards will stop players from activating cards’ typecycling abilities. Any effect that increases or reduces a cycling cost will increase or reduce a typecycling cost. Any effect that looks for a card with cycling will find a card with typecycling.
MTGA Sets with Cycling
Newest Cards with Cycling
