Enchantment

The Future Sight symbol for Enchantment cards.

Enchantments represent persistent magical effects, usually remaining in play indefinitely. Most have continuous or triggered abilities, but some have abilities that can be activated by their controllers.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 303. Enchantments
  • 303.1. A player who has priority may cast an enchantment card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting an enchantment as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)
  • 303.2. When an enchantment spell resolves, its controller puts it onto the battlefield under their control.
  • 303.3. Enchantment subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Enchantment — Shrine.” Each word after the dash is a separate subtype. Enchantment subtypes are also called enchantment types. Enchantments may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3h for the complete list of enchantment types.
  • 303.4. Some enchantments have the subtype “Aura.” An Aura enters the battlefield attached to an object or player. What an Aura can be attached to is defined by its enchant keyword ability (see rule 702.5, “Enchant”). Other effects can limit what a permanent can be enchanted by.
    • 303.4a An Aura spell requires a target, which is defined by its enchant ability.
    • 303.4b The object or player an Aura is attached to is called enchanted. The Aura is attached to, or “enchants,” that object or player.
    • 303.4c If an Aura is enchanting an illegal object or player as defined by its enchant ability and other applicable effects, the object it was attached to no longer exists, or the player it was attached to has left the game, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)
    • 303.4d An Aura can’t enchant itself. If this occurs somehow, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard. An Aura that’s also a creature can’t enchant anything. If this occurs somehow, the Aura becomes unattached, then is put into its owner’s graveyard. (These are state-based actions. See rule 704.) An Aura can’t enchant more than one object or player. If a spell or ability would cause an Aura to become attached to more than one object or player, the Aura’s controller chooses which object or player it becomes attached to.
    • 303.4e An Aura’s controller is separate from the enchanted object’s controller or the enchanted player; the two need not be the same. If an Aura enchants an object, changing control of the object doesn’t change control of the Aura, and vice versa. Only the Aura’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Aura grants an ability to the enchanted object (with “gains” or “has”), the enchanted object’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.
    • 303.4f If an Aura is entering the battlefield under a player’s control by any means other than by resolving as an Aura spell, and the effect putting it onto the battlefield doesn’t specify the object or player the Aura will enchant, that player chooses what it will enchant as the Aura enters the battlefield. The player must choose a legal object or player according to the Aura’s enchant ability and any other applicable effects.
    • 303.4g If an Aura is entering the battlefield and there is no legal object or player for it to enchant, the Aura remains in its current zone, unless that zone is the stack. In that case, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard instead of entering the battlefield. If the Aura is a token, it isn’t created.
    • 303.4h If an effect attempts to put a permanent that isn’t an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification onto the battlefield attached to an object or player, it enters the battlefield unattached.
    • 303.4i If an effect attempts to put an Aura onto the battlefield attached to either an object or player it can’t legally enchant or an object or player that is undefined, the Aura remains in its current zone, unless that zone is the stack. In that case, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard instead of entering the battlefield. If the Aura is a token, it isn’t created.
    • 303.4j If an effect attempts to attach an Aura on the battlefield to an object or player it can’t legally enchant, the Aura doesn’t move.
    • 303.4k If an effect allows an Aura that’s being turned face up to become attached to an object or player, the Aura’s controller considers the characteristics of that Aura as it would exist if it were face up to determine what it may be attached to, and they must choose a legal object or player according to the Aura’s enchant ability and any other applicable effects.
    • 303.4m An ability of a permanent that refers to the “enchanted [object or player]” refers to whatever object or player that permanent is attached to, even if the permanent with the ability isn’t an Aura.
  • 303.5. Some enchantments have the subtype “Saga.” See rule 714 for more information about Saga cards.
  • 303.6. Some enchantments have the subtype “Class.” See rule 716 for more information about Class cards.
  • 303.7. Some Aura enchantments also have the subtype “Role.”
    • 303.7a If a permanent has more than one Role controlled by the same player attached to it, each of those Roles except the one with the most recent timestamp is put into its owner’s graveyard. This is a state-based action. See rule 704.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

Enchantment

A card type. An enchantment is a permanent. See rule 303, “Enchantments.” See also Aura.

Subtypes

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

Enchantment Type

A subtype that’s correlated to the enchantment card type. See rule 303, “Enchantments.” See rule 205.3h for the list of enchantment types.

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 205.3h Enchantments have their own unique set of subtypes; these subtypes are called enchantment types. The enchantment types are Aura (see rule 303.4), Background, Cartouche, Case (see rule 719), Class (see rule 716), Curse, Role (see rule 303.7), Rune, Saga (see rule 714), Shard, and Shrine.

Formerly, enchantments were one of two types; enchant permanents (now Auras) or global enchantment.

Now, the term "global enchantment" is not officially used anymore, but other subtypes of enchantments have come into existence.

Aura

Enchantments that possess the rules text "Enchant" are of the Aura subtype. These enchantments must be attached to an object specified by the Enchant ability, and exert an effect on that object.

An Aura's text box will specify what kind of permanents it can be attached to, reading "Enchant [type]." When an Aura spell is played, it must target an appropriate permanent, and when it resolves, it comes into play attached to (and no longer targeting) that permanent. If the permanent it is attached to leaves play at any time, becomes a type that the Aura cannot enchant, or gains protection against any of the Aura's characteristics, the Aura becomes unattached and will go to the graveyard.

Auras can be destroyed by cards with "destroy target aura" or "destroy target enchantment" as auras are just subtypes of enchantments.

Cartouche

Cartouches are Auras that enchant creatures, giving them a boost that represents some kind of success or accomplishment. They give the creature they are enchanted to a boost of +1/+1 and a keyword, which is primary in that color. They also carry a secondary enter the battlefield effect, which also directly reflects the flavor of its color.

Curse

Curses are Auras that enchant players. They were introduced in Innistrad and featured in the Innistrad block and Commander 2013. Although all Curses enchant players, not all enchantments with the "Enchant player" rules text are Curses. In fact, the ability has been featured on cards from previous expansion sets, such as Psychic Possession from Dissension.

Saga

Sagas are enchantments with several triggered effects that change with the passage of turns as each "chapter" unfolds. As the Saga enters the battlefield and then right after the player's draw step, they add a lore counter to the Saga, triggering the correspondent chapter ability, until the third chapter is reached and the Saga is sacrificed. Flavor-wise, each Saga is meant to tell the story of a key event from the past, like the rise of Benalia or the Mending.

Shrine

Shrines are enchantments that possess an ability that is triggered at the beginning of its controller's upkeep. The effect is proportional to the number of Shrines that player controls. Shrines were introduced and featured in Champions of Kamigawa only, and all Shrines possess the legendary supertype.

Enchantment creatures and enchantment artifacts

The Theros block had an "enchantments matter" theme and introduced enchantment creatures and enchantment artifacts.

Friendly to enchantments

White and green are the two colors that most appreciate enchantments and reward the player for playing them.

Enchantment destruction

White and green usually have one enchantment destruction card at common, although green's is usually also a spell that destroys artifacts.