VOCAB
Here is a glossary of terms, acronyms, and common references to help new players talk shop in a Local Game Store or at a card tournament.
GLOSSARY
- Anthem
- Named after Glorious Anthem, any effect that buffs or pumps your entire team.
- Avengers-Level Threat
- A threat that feels like ultron or thanos.
- Bear
- MTG Term. Creature that costs 2/2 for two. This is used as a baseline for power levels/value costs in the game and these numbers have changed with power creep but bears are still frequently reprinted at common.
- Bounce
- MTG Term. Effect or spell that returns a card that is on the battlefield to its owner's hand.
- Cantrip
- MTG term. A "cantrip" effect. A spell minor game effect with the text “Draw a card” added at the end so that it’s worthwhile to put in your deck. Based on Dungeons & Dragons as slang for a spell with a minor effect and no cost
- CCG
- Collectible Card Game e.g. Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, etc.
- CMC
- Converted Mana Cost (CMC). Now referred to officially as just "Mana Value".
- Commander
- Another name for the Magic the Gathering format Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH).
- Constructed
- Card game format where you build your deck.
- Digital collectible card game
- Digital game that emulates a TCG e.g. Heartstone, Magic the Gathering Arena.
- Dork
- a small creatures for sacking or feeding to a sack outlet.
- Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH)
- Fan created Magic the Gathering format. Now more commonly called COMMANDER.
- Enter the Battlefield (ETB)
- Magic the Gathering effect also seen in most card games (e.g. urchin from Keyforge). Frequently combined with flicker effects.
- Esper
- Magic the Gathering slang. One of five Shards of Alara. It is primarily blue-aligned, with white and black as secondary colors.
- Flicker
- MTG Term. Exiling something, then returning it to the battlefield. Typically to create another ETB trigger or shake off targeted removal.
- Flooded
- MTG Term. (mana) Flooded. When you've drawn far more lands than you need.
- GAMA
- the name comes from the GAMA Expo - Game Manufacturers Association. Game retailers (at the start of keyforge's history) could sign up for a unique cota deck generated from the algorith. This is a tournament legal deck (unique) with a name based on the retail store name and the game logo on the archon art.
- GEM Software
- Global Event Manager (GEM). FFG Official OP software. Enables tracking player results, facilitating tournaments, etc. See the Official FFG blog post for more info.
- Grixis
- MTG term.. One of five shards of Alara. Primarily black-aligned, with blue and red as secondary colors.
- Hate Bear
- MTG slang. Creature that costs 2/2 for two with some kind of text that is good against a specific kind of deck. Bear is in reference to a 2/2 bear.
- LCG
- Living Card Game e.g. Android: Netrunner, Legend of the Five rings, LCGs have regular expansions and deck construction like CCGs, but do not have the "blind buy purchase model" of CCGs.
- Legal
- Playable via format's rules and limitations.
- LGS
- Local Game Store.
- Limited
- MTG term. In Limited events, you open fresh packs of cards once the tournament begins and have to build your deck on the fly. e.g. Sealed, Draft.
- Mana Dork
- A low cost creature that taps for a resource in MTG.
- Minion
- A small critter e.g. reference from Dota and/or Heartstone.
- Modal Card
- MTG term. A spell that requires you to choose modes as you cast it e.g. Abzan Charm.
- MOTO / MODO
- Magic the Gathering Online.
- MTG
- Magic the Gathering.
- Naya
- Magic the Gathering slang. One of five Shards of Alara. Primarily green-aligned, with red and white as secondary colors.
- Organized Play (OP)
- Processes, roles, and events at the local, regional, national, or global level. Generally Official activity by a game publisher.
- OTK
- One-Turn-Kill swing for a win combo in a TCG.
- Poxy
- Budget-print of an expensive or un-owned card.
- Power Creep
- Newer cards or items in a game are stronger/better than previous options. Inevitable as better cards will keep players coming back to buy more cards.
- PTQ
- Pro Tour Qualifier. One-day Magic tournaments held by Wizards of the Coast. Sunset in 2019.
- Sac-Outlet
- A sacrifice (Sac) outlet for creatures or permanents with destroy effects.
- Sealed Cube
- Fill a cube with a bunch of interesting packs of a game's history. Ideally open packs & play a tournament with friends. The cards opened are the cube forever.
- Stax
- MTG term. Stax is a term used to describe a deck strategy that mostly relies on resource denial, taxing effects, disruption, and sacrifice enablers to potentially lock down opponents and make it difficult to cast spells, play creatures, attack, breath, sleep, and/or have any kind of reliable board state.
- Sweeper
- See WRATH.
- TCG
- Trading Card Game eg. Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, etc.
- Tuck
- MTG. Putting cards on the bottom of its owner's library, or shuffling them into owner's library. Considered really strong spot removal in Commander/EDG because of the 100 card deck minimum.
- Vanilla
- A Card with No spell text or abilities or activated powers.
- Voltron
- MTG slang. Archetype with the goal of casting one creature, then using Auras, Equipment, Upgrades to enhance that creature and making it a threat. Based on the anime Voltron i.e. it features several small robots that combine into one large robot.
- Win Con
- Win Condition. A threat, combination, or situation intended to finish the game.
- WOTC (WOT-SEE)
- Wizards of the Coast. The company that currently owns the rights to Dungenons and Dragons as well as Magic the Gathering.
- Wrath
- In Refeference to Magic the Gathering card WRATH OF GOD. "Destroy all Creatures".