TLDR
The rules of Magic create many priority passes, but players normally compress them into mutually understood shortcuts. The underlying rule is simple: an object on the stack resolves only after every player passes priority consecutively without anyone adding something new. In sanctioned play, tournament policy gives common words and actions default meanings, so explicitly say “retain priority” when you intend to act again before an opponent can respond.
This MTG priority shortcut table is an editorial quick reference synthesized from the Comprehensive Rules and Magic Tournament Rules. It is not an official Wizards table. The crucial distinction is that the Comprehensive Rules determine when players may act, while tournament policy determines what common communication is presumed to mean.
MTG priority shortcut table
| Situation or statement | Base game rule | Sanctioned-tournament default | Useful wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| You cast a spell or activate a non-mana ability | After completing the action, you receive priority again. | Adding an object to the stack normally communicates that you are passing priority unless you explicitly retain it. | “Cast this, retain priority.” |
| Every player passes with an object on the stack | The top object resolves. All passes must be consecutive and without an intervening action. | Same underlying result. | “No response.” |
| Every player passes with an empty stack | The current step or phase ends and the game advances. | Common statements may be interpreted through tournament shortcut defaults. | “Pass priority and move to combat.” |
| An object finishes resolving | After state-based actions and required trigger handling, the active player receives priority. | Same underlying result. | “That resolves. Any triggers?” |
| You want to respond to your own spell or ability | You may act when you receive priority after putting it on the stack. | You must clearly retain priority rather than relying on the rules-level priority return. | “Hold priority; activate this ability.” |
| A spell or ability is resolving | Players do not receive priority during resolution. Choices are made as instructed, and mana abilities may be used where the resolving effect permits a mana payment. | Same underlying result. | Wait until resolution is complete. |
| Active player passes in the first main phase with an empty stack | Consecutive passes eventually advance the game from the main phase. | Generally treated as proposing to move to beginning of combat. An opponent’s action is generally treated as happening there, subject to tournament-policy exceptions involving beginning-of-combat triggers. | “Move to combat.” Specify an earlier point if it matters. |
| Active player passes in the second main phase | Consecutive passes can advance the game toward the end step. | Generally treated as proposing to move to the end step. An opponent’s action is generally treated as happening in the end step, subject to the applicable trigger exception. | “Go to my end step.” |
| A player requests priority but does nothing | Priority normally moves through passes and actions. | A request for priority without taking an action is nullified, and priority returns to the player who originally had it. | Say what action you intend to take. |
| A player proposes several routine actions or passes | Rules shortcuts can condense a legal sequence. Another player may interrupt at a point where that player would make a different choice. | Tournament policy supplies additional default shortcuts for familiar statements and actions. | “Before that resolves…” or “In beginning of combat…” |
The priority loop underneath every shortcut
Priority is permission to take certain game actions. It is not ownership of the stack, and it does not permanently belong to the active player. At ordinary priority points, the active player receives priority first. Players can cast appropriate spells, activate abilities, take special actions, or pass. Priority then moves in turn order.
If a player takes an action that uses the stack, the pass sequence effectively starts over around the new top object. The game does not resolve the whole stack because everyone passed once several actions ago. Every newly added spell or ability creates another opportunity for players to respond before that top object resolves.
- The game performs any applicable turn-based action for the step or phase.
- State-based actions are checked. If any occur, they are checked again until none apply.
- Triggered abilities waiting to be put on the stack are placed there in the required order.
- The appropriate player receives priority, normally beginning with the active player.
- Players act or pass in turn order.
- If everyone passes consecutively with a nonempty stack, only the top object resolves.
- If everyone passes consecutively with an empty stack, the game advances to the next step or phase.
That machinery explains why real games do not need a ceremonial “pass priority” after every land, trigger, spell, and combat decision. Players shortcut stretches in which nobody intends to act. The full sequence remains available whenever someone needs to interrupt it.
Casting a spell does not automatically make it resolve
Under the base rules, the player who casts a spell receives priority again after finishing the casting process. That means you can respond to your own spell before another player acts. This is relevant when copying a spell, sacrificing a permanent before an opponent can remove it, or placing multiple abilities on the stack in a deliberate order.
Tournament communication changes the practical handling. Placing an object on the stack normally conveys that you are passing unless you clearly say you are retaining priority. If you cast a spell and silently pause, you cannot wait for every opponent to pass and then decide to add your own response before it resolves. Once all players pass consecutively, the top object resolves.
Use explicit language when the sequence matters: “Cast the spell and retain priority. Activate this ability targeting it.” That sentence identifies both the shortcut you are rejecting and the action you are taking. “Wait, I wanted to do another thing” is less effective because it leaves the previous communication ambiguous.
What happens after an object resolves?
The controller of the resolving object does not automatically get the next action. After resolution and the required checks, the active player receives priority. If you resolve an instant during an opponent’s turn, your opponent normally receives priority first afterward because that opponent is the active player.
Nobody receives priority in the middle of resolution. Players make the choices demanded by the resolving instructions, and they may activate mana abilities if an instruction permits a mana payment, but they cannot insert an ordinary instant or activated ability between two sentences of the effect. Once resolution is complete, state-based actions and triggers are handled before a player gets another priority window.
Why a 0-toughness creature dies before anyone can respond
State-based actions are the game’s automatic cleanup system. They are checked before a player would receive priority, not placed on the stack, and checked repeatedly until no further state-based action applies. Waiting triggered abilities are then put on the stack as required before priority is given.
Suppose an effect finishes resolving and leaves a creature with 0 toughness. Before any player can cast a protective spell, state-based actions put that creature into its owner’s graveyard. This is not destruction, and players cannot respond to the state-based action itself. A player needed to change the outcome at an earlier priority point, assuming a legal action was available then.
This is also why “I respond after it resolves but before the creature dies” does not work. There is no priority window in that gap. Magic checks whether the game state is legal before handing anyone the controls again.
Tournament defaults are not universal casual conventions
The Magic Tournament Rules establish communication policies for sanctioned events. Casual groups often use similar phrases, but those phrases do not automatically carry every tournament-policy implication at a kitchen table. A Commander pod can agree that “combat?” means “I am proposing to leave my first main phase,” then let an opponent identify the exact legal point where an action occurs.
This distinction matters most when timing changes the outcome. The legality of attacking, the creation of a beginning-of-combat trigger, or an opponent’s last opportunity to tap a creature can depend on the precise step. For more on why additional combat phases make this structure especially important, see extra combat cards and combat sequencing.
At a sanctioned event, an active player passing with an empty stack in the first main phase is generally proposing to move to beginning of combat. An opponent acting through that shortcut is generally acting in beginning of combat, subject to the tournament rule’s stated trigger exception. Do not attempt to gain an advantage by racing through “combat, attackers” before the opponent can identify a legal interruption point.
A similar default applies when the active player passes in the second main phase: the proposal generally moves toward the end step, and an opponent’s action is generally treated as occurring in that end step, subject to the applicable exception. Clear language prevents most disputes: “In your second main phase…” or “In your end step…” tells everyone which window you mean.
How priority moves around a Commander table
In multiplayer Magic, priority passes in turn order. Imagine Alex is active, followed by Bea, Chen, and Dev. Alex casts a spell and passes. Bea passes. Chen responds with an instant. Dev, Alex, Bea, and Chen must then receive opportunities around the table before Chen’s instant can resolve. The earlier passes do not count toward resolving the newly added object.
The practical diagram is: active player or current priority holder → next player in turn order → remaining players → top object resolves if everyone passes, or another circuit begins if somebody acts. Once the top object resolves, state-based actions and triggers are handled, and the active player receives priority again.
This is the friction point behind many Commander misunderstandings. “Nobody else had anything” is not enough if the pass order skipped a player, and one player’s response reopens opportunities for everyone. Shared-team-turn formats have additional rules, so do not assume the four-player free-for-all model covers them.
Shortcuts, loops, and out-of-order sequencing
A shortcut proposes a known legal sequence while omitting repetitive priority exchanges or actions. Another player can interrupt at a legal decision point and describe a different choice. Interrupting the shortcut does not necessarily rewind everything; it identifies the earliest relevant point where the proposed sequence stops being accepted.
A deterministic loop can also be shortcut when the player describes a repeatable legal sequence and specifies a number of iterations. “Repeat this process 20 times” is useful when each iteration has the same defined result. A loop involving hidden information, uncertain choices, or a condition that may not occur needs more careful handling and may require a judge.
Out-of-order sequencing is related but distinct. It concerns technically imprecise ordering that still communicates a clear, legal result without exploiting reactions or revealing extra information. A shortcut instead compresses future passes or repeated actions. Tournament policy governs both concepts, so players should not use either as permission to retroactively change a choice after seeing an opponent’s response.
Communication that prevents priority disputes
- “Cast this and retain priority.”
- “No response; pass priority.”
- “Move to beginning of combat.”
- “Before you leave your first main phase, I cast this.”
- “In your beginning of combat step, before attackers are declared…”
- “In your end step, I activate this ability.”
- “I interrupt that shortcut after the first iteration.”
- “Can we confirm the stack from top to bottom?”
At Regular Rules Enforcement Level, a clear question often solves the problem. At any sanctioned event, call a judge when players disagree about what was communicated, which step the game has reached, or whether a shortcut was accepted. Calling a judge is the normal way to establish the game state, not an accusation that someone cheated.
The useful rule to remember
Do not try to memorize every invisible priority pass. Remember the resolution test: all players must pass consecutively with no intervening action. If the stack is nonempty, its top object resolves. If it is empty, the game advances. Everything else is communication about how much of that process the table is agreeing to skip.
For sanctioned play, verify the latest wording through Wizards’ official Magic rules page and the WPN Rules and Documentation page. Rules and tournament shortcuts can be revised, so the live documents should decide close cases—not a remembered convention, an old PDF, or the most confident person at the table.