Here’s Exactly How the Upkeep Works in Magic: the Gathering

Last updated on September 13, 2025

Mystic Remora (Secret Lair) | Illustration by Kelogsloops

Magic has, as many players find out the more that they play, an astounding level of complexity when it comes to how each player’s turns and interactions take place. Most games have simple systems of damage and turn-taking, but Magic’s turn system is (I think) a work of art.

It’s wildly complex so that every possible situation can be worked out to know what action is correct in a mess of cards, but still simple enough to be understood by young children at its fundamental level. Today I’m focusing in on the upkeep step and answering some common questions as to how it works.

Let’s get started!

What Is Your Upkeep in MTG?

Knight of the Keep | Illustration by Nicholas Gregory

Your upkeep is the second step of your turn, between your untap and draw steps. It’s meant for triggers that are set to happen before your draw step and open up the opportunity for players to cast spells and activate other abilities before a player’s draw step, but after they’ve untapped.

Is Upkeep Before or After Draw?

The upkeep step is before you draw. The draw step is immediately after it, with the untap step being just before.

What Is the Beginning of Upkeep?

The “beginning of upkeep” is when all abilities that trigger on upkeep or at the beginning of upkeep go onto the stack. Then the active player gains priority for the first time. That player can then either do something or pass priority, to which their opponent(s) can respond or let the items on the stack resolve.

How Does the Upkeep Step Work?

The upkeep step is the second of the three beginning steps during your turn. It follows the untap step when you untap all your permanents and is often where a lot of triggered abilities are put onto the stack from other spells or cards.

The upkeep step is important to have because it allows actions to take place before a player has drawn their first card. It’s also where some of the earliest interaction can take place.

What Can You Do During Your Upkeep?

You can do anything at instant speed during your upkeep, and that’s it. You can’t cast any creatures without flash or any sorceries since you’re limited to instant-speed spells and abilities. You could activate Seeker of Skybreak, cast Emergency Eject, and flash in Orcish Bowmasters, though in many games, doing nothing in this step is perfectly normal.

Do You Get Priority During Upkeep?

Yes, you get priority during your upkeep. The beginning of upkeep after any triggered abilities have been put on the stack is the first time a player receives priority for their turn.

Can You Respond to Upkeep Abilities?

Yes, you can respond to any upkeep abilities as long as you have priority. This priority is given first to the active player, whose turn it is. After they put a spell onto the stack or just pass priority, the opponent(s) get their chance before the stack resolves.

How Do Upkeep Triggers Stack?

Effects and spells behave like normal on the stack. The first trigger is put on the bottom and the next one on top of that, and they resolve from the top down.

If there are multiple triggers that happen at the same time, from multiple players, add the active player's triggers first, then the non active player's triggers. Then, if there are multiple triggers from one player, that player chooses the order in which they resolve.

Can You Skip Your Upkeep?

No, you can’t skip your upkeep. But you can just move through it without doing anything by passing priority and having no triggers or spells on the stack. The upkeep step still happens, but it just happens instantly and is quickly moved past. A special ability on Gibbering Descent does force you to conditionally skip the step, but the card is a rare sight and might belong on the most horrible art list.

What Happens If I Forget An Upkeep Trigger?

The best action to take if you forgot an upkeep trigger is to ask an available judge. It may depend on the rules being enforced for your game, and if it's been more than a turn since the missed trigger, you might just skip the trigger. If the trigger is a negative for the offending player, a penalty may still be enforced.

In most casual settings, you can rewind to return the steps and phases to the state before the mistake that you and your opponent agree on. Some players leave themselves a marker on their library to remind themselves “I have a trigger before drawing”.

Can You Activate Abilities Before Your Upkeep?

No, you can’t activate abilities before your upkeep. You get priority for the first time during your turn once your upkeep has started and any triggered abilities have gone onto the stack. After that, you gain priority during your turn as normal.

Upkeep Phase vs. Upkeep Step

The upkeep step is in the beginning phase, which contains your untap, upkeep, and draw steps. The upkeep is a step, not a phase, so there is no such thing as an “upkeep phase.”

What Is an Upkeep Cost?

An upkeep cost is something that you need to pay to maintain an ability or permanent on the battlefield, usually a mana cost. It’s a sort of tax that allows for cards like Glacial Chasm to be balanced. The effect would be far too broken if you only had to pay 2 life for it once. Braid of Fire is a peculiar one because in the days of mana burn the adding to your mana pool during the beginning phase would potentially cost you some life. Without mana burn it's a great way to play instants for free in red. Nicol Bolas is another example of a non-cumulative upkeep cost.

What Is Cumulative Upkeep?

Cumulative upkeep is an upkeep cost that grows in size each turn. Permanents with cumulative upkeep gain an age counter on your upkeep, then prompt you to pay the cost for each age counter on them. If you can't or choose not to, you sacrifice the permanent. Mystic Remora is a great example here. The amount you have to pay each turn is one more than the last, and it starts at one.

Do I Have to Pay Cumulative Upkeep Costs?

Paying a cumulative upkeep cost is always optional. You can always allow the permanent with cumulative upkeep to be sacrificed if you'd prefer not to pay the cost.

Can I Cast an Instant Before My Upkeep?

No, the only step that happens before your upkeep is the untap step, and you do not get priority during the untap step. The earliest point in the turn where you can cast an instant is during the upkeep, right after “beginning of upkeep” triggers have gone on the stack.

What Does “Each Upkeep” Mean?

An effect that mentions “each upkeep” is referring to your own upkeep as well as each of your opponents' upkeeps. A card like Tendershoot Dryad will trigger four times per turn cycle in a game of Commander, once on your turn, and once on each of your opponents' upkeeps.

What’s an Extra Upkeep? Can You Get One?

An extra upkeep is just another upkeep step that can be added to your turn, usually directly after your normal upkeep. This is incredibly useful in decks with a lot of different upkeep triggers that want to double the value being generated by those triggers. A few cards offer extra upkeeps: The Ninth Doctor, Paradox Haze, and Obeka, Splitter of Seconds.

Wrap Up

Linvala, Keeper of Silence | Illustration by Igor Kieryluk

That wraps up just about everything you need to know about the upkeep step. Are you ready to draw a card yet? Magic is certainly a game that’s easy to pick up and play, but you’ll quickly notice as you grow in skill it has much more complexity than you once thought. Don’t even get me started on state-based actions!

I’ve always loved Magic’s setup when it comes to turn phases and how the stack works. I think it’s a near-perfect system that’s been perfected over the decades. But what do you think? Could there be improvements or adjustments made? Let me know in the comments or over in the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!