Beginning Of My Upkeep

Asked by onthestack 12 years ago

I've been hearing from numerous players and judges that at the beginning of any players' upkeep, they have priority first. Understanding priority is something I still have an issue with, so bear with me. If I don't cast spells or activate abilities at my upkeep, does my opponent get to?

vila_a23 says... #1

Yes, your opponent has the ability to cast instants during your upkeep phase.

May 30, 2012 9:51 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #2

These are the times a player gets priority:

1. At the beginning of each step and phase (except for Untap and Cleanup), the active player gets priority
2. After a spell or ability is added to the stack, the player who put it there gets priority
3. After a spell or ability resolves, the active player gets priority
4. If a player with priority passes, the next player in turn order gets priority, unless his pass has caused all players to pass in succession. In that case, either the top object on the stack resolves, or, if the stack is empty, the game moves on to the next step or phase

If you pass after you get priority at the beginning of your Upkeep, then your opponent gets priority, and he can either do stuff or pass. If he passes, the game moves on to your Draw step. Note that in order to move out of your Upkeep to the rest of the game, you're going to have to pass priority eventually.

May 30, 2012 9:56 p.m.