401.6. Any spell can have static abilities that apply while the spell is on the stack. These include, but are not limited to, additional costs, alternative costs, and cost reductions. See rule 409, “Playing Spells and Activated Abilities.”

401.7. As the final part of an instant or sorcery spell’s resolution, the card is put into its owner’s graveyard. As the final part of an artifact, creature, or enchantment spell’s resolution, the card becomes a permanent and is put into the in-play zone under the control of the spell’s controller. If any spell is countered, the card is put into its owner’s graveyard as part of the resolution of the countering spell or ability. (See rule 413, “Resolving Spells and Activated Abilities.”)

402.1. An ability is text on an object that’s not reminder text or flavor text (see rule 400.1). The result of following such an instruction is an effect. (See rule 416, “Effects.”) Abilities can affect the objects they’re on; they can also affect other objects and/or players. Abilities can grant abilities to other objects or to the objects they’re on; they do so when the words “has,” “have,” “gains,” or “gain” are used.

402.2. There are three general categories of abilities: activated, triggered, and static. Activated and triggered abilities can also be mana abilities. Abilities can generate one-shot effects or continuous effects. Some effects are replacement effects or prevention effects.

402.3. Abilities can be beneficial or detrimental.

Example: “[This creature] can’t block” is an ability.

402.4. An additional cost or alternative cost to play a card is an ability of the card.

402.5. An ability isn’t a spell and therefore can’t be countered by anything that counters only spells. Abilities can be countered by effects that specifically counter abilities, as well as by the rules (for example, an ability with one or more targets is countered if all its targets become illegal).

402.6. Once activated or triggered, an ability exists independently of its source as an ability on the stack. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won’t affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, “Prodigal Sorcerer deals 1 damage to target creature or player”) rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source because the effect needs to be divided checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in play, its last known information is used.

402.7. An object may have multiple abilities. Aside from certain defined abilities that may be strung together on a single line (see rule 502, “Keyword Abilities”), each paragraph break in a card’s text marks a separate ability. An object may also have multiple instances of the same ability. Each instance functions independently. This may or may not produce more effects than a single instance; refer to the specific ability for more information.

402.8. Abilities of an instant or sorcery usually function only while the object is on the stack. Abilities of all other objects usually function only while that object is in play. The exceptions are as follows:

402.8a A characteristic-setting ability that sets type, subtype, supertype, or color functions in all zones.

402.8b An ability that states which zones it functions in functions only from those zones.

402.8c An ability of an object that modifies what it costs to play functions on the stack.

402.8d An object’s ability that restricts or modifies how that object can be played functions in any zone from which it could be played.

402.8e An object’s activated ability that has a cost that can’t be paid while the object is in play functions from any zone in which its cost can be paid.

402.8f A trigger condition that can trigger only in a zone other than the in-play zone triggers from that zone. Other trigger conditions of the same triggered ability may function in different zones.

Example: Absolver Thrull has the ability “When Absolver Thrull comes into play or the creature it haunts is put into a graveyard, destroy target enchantment.” The first trigger condition triggers from the in-play zone and the second trigger condition functions from the removed-from-the-game zone.

402.8g An ability whose cost or effect specifies that it moves the object it’s on out of a particular zone functions only in that zone, unless that ability’s trigger condition, or a previous part of that ability’s cost or effect, specifies that the object is put into that zone.

Example: Necrosavant says “{3}{B}{B}, Sacrifice a creature: Return Necrosavant from your graveyard to play. Play this ability only during your upkeep.” A player may play this ability only if Necrosavant is in his or her graveyard.

403.1. An activated ability is written as “[cost]: [effect].” The activation cost is everything before the colon (:). An ability’s activation cost must be paid by the player who is playing it.

403.2. Only an object’s controller (or its owner, if it doesn’t have a controller) can play its activated ability unless the object specifically says otherwise.

403.3. If an activated ability has a restriction on its use (for example, “Play this ability only once each turn”), the restriction continues to apply to that object even if its controller changes.

403.4. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol ({T}) in its activation cost can’t be played unless the creature has been under its controller’s control since the start of his or her most recent turn. Ignore this rule for creatures with haste (see rule 502.5).

403.5. Activated abilities that read “Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery” mean the player must follow the timing rules for playing a sorcery, though the ability isn’t actually a sorcery. Activated abilities that read “Play this ability only any time you could play an instant” mean the player must follow the timing rules for playing an instant, though the ability isn’t actually an instant.

404.1. A triggered ability begins with the word “when,” “whenever,” or “at.” The phrase containing one of these words is the trigger condition, which defines the trigger event.

404.2. Triggered abilities aren’t played. Instead, a triggered ability automatically “triggers” each time its trigger event occurs. Once an ability has triggered, it goes on the stack the next time a player would receive priority. See rule 408.1, “Timing, Priority, and the Stack,” and rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”