You may
playTo play a land means to put it onto the battlefield from the zone it’s in (usually the hand). A player may play a land if they have priority, it’s the main phase of their turn, the stack is empty, and they haven’t played a land this turn. Playing a land is a special action (see rule 116), so it doesn’t use the stack; it simply happens. Putting a land onto the battlefield as the result of a spell or ability isn’t the same as playing a land. See rule 305, “Lands.”
To play a card means to play that card as a land or to cast that card as a spell, whichever is appropriate.
Some effects instruct a player to “play” with a certain aspect of the game changed, such as “Play with the top card of your library revealed.” “Play” in this sense means to play the Magic game.
Previously, the action of casting a spell, or casting a card as a spell, was referred to on cards as “playing” that spell or that card. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to “casting” that spell or that card.
Previously, the action of using an activated ability was referred to on cards as “playing” that ability. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to “activating” that ability. (CR 701.18) lands and
castTo cast a spell is to take it from the zone it’s in (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. A player may cast a spell if they have priority. See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”
To cast a card is to cast it as a spell. (CR 701.5) Insect spells from your graveyard.
Whenever another Insect you control
diesIs put into a graveyard from the battlefield. (CR 700.4), put it on the bottom of its owner's library, then
millFor a player to mill a number of cards, that player puts that many cards from the top of their library into their graveyard.
A player can’t mill a number of cards greater than the number of cards in their library. If given the choice to do so, they can’t choose to take that action. If instructed to do so, they mill as many as possible. Similarly, the player can’t pay a cost that includes milling a number of cards greater than the number of cards in their library.
An effect that refers to a milled card can find that card in the zone it moved to from the library, as long as that zone is a public zone.
Some spells and abilities mill a single card and then ask for information about the milled card. If more than one card is milled due to replacement effects and the effect of a spell or ability asks for information about the milled card, such as a characteristic or mana value, it gets information from each milled card and will get multiple answers. If these answers are used to determine the value of a variable, the sum of the answers is used. If that effect grants a player permission to cast or play “that” card, the permission applies to each of the milled cards. If that effect performs any actions on “the” card, it performs that action on each milled card. If that effect performs any actions on “a” card, the controller of the spell or ability chooses which card is affected. (CR 701.17) two cards. (Put the top two cards of your library into your graveyard.)
: Target Insect gets +1/+0 and gains
deathtouchDeathtouch is a static ability.
A creature with toughness greater than 0 that’s been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked is destroyed as a state-based action. See rule 704.
Any nonzero amount of combat damage assigned to a creature by a source with deathtouch is considered to be lethal damage for the purposes of determining if excess damage is being dealt.
The deathtouch rules function no matter what zone an object with deathtouch deals damage from.
If an object is no longer in the zone it’s expected to be in as an effect causes it to deal damage, its last known information is used to determine whether it had deathtouch.
Multiple instances of deathtouch on the same object are redundant. (CR 702.2) until end of turn. (
can be paid with either
or
.)