201.1
The name of a card is printed on its upper left corner.
Historical Rules · Effective 4 February 2011
Section 201: Name
Read Section 201 continuously, or open any rule on its dedicated page.
Chapter 2 · Parts of a Card
Section 201
201. Name
8 rules
201.2
Two objects have the same name if the English versions of their names are identical.
201.3
If an effect instructs a player to name a card, the player must choose the name of a card that exists in the Oracle card reference (see rule 108.1) and is legal in the format of the game the player is playing. (See rule 100.6.) If the player wants to name a split card, the player must name both halves of the split card. (See rule 708.) If the player wants to name a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 709.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.
201.4
Text that refers to the object it’s on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.
201.4a
If an ability’s effect grants another ability to an object, and that second ability refers to that first ability’s source by name, the name refers only to the specific object that is that first ability’s source, not to any other object with the same name. Example: Saproling Burst has an ability that reads “Remove a fade counter from Saproling Burst: Put a green Saproling creature token onto the battlefield. It has ‘This creature’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of fade counters on Saproling Burst.’” The ability granted to the token only looks at the Saproling Burst that created the token, not at any other Saproling Burst on the battlefield.
201.4b
If an ability of an object refers to that object by name, and an object with a different name gains that ability, all instances of the first name in the gained ability should be treated as the second name. Example: Quicksilver Elemental says, in part, “{U}: Quicksilver Elemental gains all activated abilities of target creature until end of turn.” If it gains an ability that says “{B}: Regenerate Drudge Skeletons,” activating that ability will regenerate Quicksilver Elemental, not the Drudge Skeletons it gained the ability from. Example: Glacial Ray is an instant with “splice onto Arcane” that says “Glacial Ray deals 2 damage to target creature or player.” If it’s spliced onto a Kodama’s Reach, that Kodama’s Reach deals 2 damage to the target creature or player. Example: Dimir Doppelganger says “{1}{U}{B}: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Dimir Doppelganger becomes a copy of that card and gains this ability.” Dimir Doppelganger’s ability is activated targeting a Runeclaw Bear card. The Doppelganger becomes a copy of Runeclaw Bear and gains an ability that should be treated as saying “{1}{U}{B}: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Runeclaw Bear becomes a copy of that card and gains this ability.”
201.4c
Text printed on some legendary cards refers to that card by a shortened version of its name. This occurs only on a second reference or later; first references always use the card’s full name. Instances of a card’s shortened name used in this manner are treated as though they used the card’s full name.
201.5
If an ability of an object uses a phrase such as “this [something]” to identify an object, where [something] is a characteristic, it is referring to that particular object, even if it isn’t the appropriate characteristic at the time. Example: An ability reads “Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Destroy that creature at the beginning of the next end step.” The ability will destroy the object it gave +2/+2 to even if that object isn’t a creature at the beginning of the next end step.