DoesItResolve Unofficial Magic rules reference

Current Comprehensive Rules · Effective 2026-08-07

Section 606: Loyalty Abilities

Read Section 606 continuously, or open any rule on its dedicated page.

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Chapter 6 · Spells, Abilities, and Effects

Section 606

606. Loyalty Abilities

6 rules

  1. 606.1

    Some activated abilities are loyalty abilities, which are subject to special rules.

  2. 606.2

    An activated ability with a loyalty symbol in its cost is a loyalty ability. Normally, only planeswalkers have loyalty abilities.

  3. 606.3

    A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent they control any time they have priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of their turn, but only if no player has previously activated a loyalty ability of that permanent that turn.

  4. 606.4

    The cost to activate a loyalty ability of a permanent is to put on or remove from that permanent a certain number of loyalty counters, as shown by the loyalty symbol in the ability’s cost. This cost may be modified by other effects.

  5. 606.5

    If the total cost to activate a loyalty ability contains multiple costs to add or remove loyalty counters, those costs are combined into a single cost to add or remove loyalty counters, as appropriate. Example: A player controls Carth the Lion, which says, in part, “Planeswalkers’ loyalty abilities you control cost an additional [+1] to activate. That player also controls a planeswalker with three loyalty counters. To activate one of that planeswalker’s abilities that normally costs [+1], they put two loyalty counters on it. To activate one of its abilities that normally costs [−4], they remove three loyalty counters from it.

  6. 606.6

    A loyalty ability with a negative loyalty cost, taking into account any additional costs, can’t be activated unless the permanent has at least that many loyalty counters on it.