Mana: Basic unit of energy. Is required to do anything useful in a game of Magic.Life: The amount of damage a player may take before they officially lose the game. Starts at 20, may fluctuate.Library: A player’s deck is referred to as their library. Entails a collection of spells a player cast as soon as they are in the hand so long as the mana cost requirement is met. Having no cards left in your library when you are required to draw results in losing the game.Spells: Anything that isn’t land. Can be a number of different things, including Artifacts, Creatures, Sorceries, and Instants.Permanents: Once a spell has been cast it is a permanent or a non-permanent. Anything that remains on the field after casting is permanent. Things that go straight to the graveyard are non-permanents, providing a one-time-use effect, then going away.Rogue deck: An assembled deck of cards that are not expected to be seen in tournament play. Due to random nature, rouge decks are unpredictable, beating some net decks easily, while losing to others most of the time. [See: Net deck]Net deck: A deck of cards that is copied from ones listed on the Internet. These decks can carry people to the top rankings at tournaments, however, lack the originality that many players seek to display.Three Philosophies: Three archetypal player attitudes towards the game [Timmy, Johnny, Spike].Banning: A banning occurs when one card is decided to be too powerful and has too much potential for abuse to be allowed any further tournament play. Is determined when a) The card can be found in multiples of four in any deck at any tournament, or b) When every deck is playing four copies or resolves around beating the card.Black Lotus: Most expensive Magic card. Can be cast for zero mana, and gives three in return. Is currently priced at over $1,000, but can usually be found for as low at $200.Combo: A combination of cards that, when used at once or in sequence, allow the player to win the game, or assure victory over the course of the game.Counter decks: Decks that are built specifically to stop net decks, usually only focused to stop one net deck they will generally lose to all other decks they face.D-20: A 20-sided die, usually rolled before a game to determine who goes first.Regionals: The regional competition for Magic players.Worlds: The world competition for Magic players.Wizards: The company that produces the game Magic.Garfield: Richard Garfield, PhD. The creator of Magic: The Gathering.To “pop”: To cast a spell or use an ability that destroys something on the table. The destroyed card is considered popped. To “swing”: To attack with a creature is called swinging. Works the same way as when you swing your fist at someone.To “bounce”: Casting a spell or using an ability that returns a permanent to its owner’s hand. The returned permanent is considered bounced.To “dance”: Dancing occurs after a particularly awesome play has been made. The player executing the play may stand up and dance to mock the opponent. This is not condoned in organized play.To “topdeck”: When a player has no cards left in their hand and the game can be won with the drawing of a single card a player is said to be topdecking, or “living on the prayer” that the card is sitting on top of the deck.To topdeck like a Pro: The same situation as before, however the card actually shows itself and the player wins the game.