General Rulings - 605

• 605.1 - Some activated abilities and some triggered abilities are mana abilities, which are subject to special rules. Only abilities that meet either of the following two sets of criteria are mana abilities, regardless of what other effects they may generate or what timing restrictions (such as "Activate this ability only any time you could cast an instant") they may have. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.1a - An activated ability without a target that could put mana into a player's mana pool when it resolves is a mana ability. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.1b - A triggered ability without a target that triggers from activating a mana ability and could put mana into a player's mana pool when it resolves is a mana ability. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.2 - A mana ability remains a mana ability even if the game state doesn't allow it to produce mana. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
  Example: A permanent has an ability that reads "{Tap}: Add {G} to your mana pool for each creature you control." This is still a mana ability even if you control no creatures or if the permanent is already tapped. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.3 - Activating an activated mana ability follows the rules for activating any other activated ability (see Rule 602.2), with the following exceptions: [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.3a - A player may activate an activated mana ability whenever he or she has priority, whenever he or she is casting a spell or activating an ability that requires a mana payment, or whenever a rule or effect asks for a mana payment, even if it's in the middle of casting or resolving a spell or activating or resolving an ability. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.3b - An activated mana ability doesn't go on the stack, so it can't be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after it is activated. (See Rule 405.6c.) [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.4 - Triggered mana abilities follow all the rules for other triggered abilities (see Rule 603, "Handling Triggered Abilities"), with the following exception: [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.4a - A triggered mana ability doesn't go on the stack, so it can't be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to. Rather, it resolves immediately after the mana ability that triggered it, without waiting for priority. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
  Example: An enchantment reads, "Whenever a player taps a land for mana, that player adds one mana of that type to his or her mana pool." If a player taps lands for mana while casting a spell, the additional mana is added to the player's mana pool immediately and can be used to pay for the spell. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.5 - Abilities that don't meet the criteria specified in Rule 605.1a and Rule 605.1b and spells aren't mana abilities. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.5a - An ability with a target is not a mana ability, even if it could put mana into a player's mana pool when it resolves. The same is true for a triggered ability that could produce mana but triggers from an event other than activating a mana ability, or a triggered ability that triggers from activating a mana ability but couldn't produce mana. These follow the normal rules for activated or triggered abilities, as appropriate. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
• 605.5b - A spell can never be a mana ability, even if it could put mana into a player's mana pool when it resolves. It's cast and resolves just like any other spell. Some older cards were printed with the card type "mana source"; these cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference and are now instants. [CompRules 2009/07/08]