Welcome to the 50^th issue of Magic the Classroom. It's crazy to think about but with this article I've written 50 weekly articles here at ManaNation.com. If you've been around for all 50, thank you, if you're just starting... watch me go for 100.

Today's piece is one that I've been thinking and jotting down notes for since about article 20. I've always tried to gear my stuff towards the beginner and casual player. A major problem when writing for beginners is assuming they know some common slang terms that seems natural for the seasoned player to use. I can't tell you how many times I have deleted, changed, or even gone in a new direction during my writing to avoid using some term. So I've made a list of terms that I've seen or heard used.

Using a 187

A creature that has an "enters the battlefield" ability, preferably one that destroys another creature like Gatekeeper of Malakir. The term"187" comes from one of two sources. It's the LA Police code for a murder, or because Nekrataal, a famous killer, was card #187 in Visions, or it could be both and the designers intentional named Nekrataal so it would fit the police code.

Alpha Strike

To attack with everything. Hopefully for the win. Overrun is a card built to Alpha Strike with. Be careful with Alpha Striking. I once drop a Coat of Arms and turned all my dudes sideways only to watch my opponent play Safe Passage and return with a newly pumped army of his own Soldiers.

Autoloss/Autowin

Some decks/cards can cause a deck to lose or win no matter what. Therefore the win is so likely that it is considered an automatic loss or win depending on your side of the table.

Beatdown

Mostly used to refer to decks that drop heavy amounts of creatures to keep smashing their opponent. Also referred to in the classic article by Mike Flores "Who's the Beatdown" to mean which player has the on board leverage to dictate the game.

Bird

Unless a specific card is mentioned, a Bird is the classic Birds of Paradise.

Boarding

The process of bringing in a card for games 2 or 3 in a tournament match. Often used when talking about how you deck fares against another. "I like your deck but what do you board for Jund?"

Bolt the Dork

Here we hit two common words in one. 'Bolt' is a reference to Lightning Bolt but could also mean any cheap damage spell. 'Dork' is a creature that can tap for mana like Llanowar Elves. 'Bolting the Dork' would mean to use your damage spell early to avoid having your opponent accelerate and drop something big before you have a way to answer it.

Bounce

A spell that returns a card to someone's hand.

Broken

A card that's overly powerful. Usually a card that you can't afford to play without if you're playing in those colors. When a card is officially broken is of some debate within the Magic community. Many players misuse the term just because they hate a card being played against them. I personally hate it when I cast a great card only to see a Cancel from my opponent but that doesn't mean Cancel is broken.

Bruce

If you've never read John Friggin' Rizzo you should. He is a hilarious writer and he coined the term "Bruce". "Bruce" is a guy who just needs to lose no matter what. When you're making a bad decision for no apparent reason, throwing weird sideboard cards in, choosing a deck that everyone says is horrible, et cetera you're being a "Bruce".

Burn

Direct damage, commonly red.

CC/cc

This one I've heard used two ways and has often caused me confusion. I've always thought of it as the 'casting cost' of a spell. Day of Judgment is a 4 cc spell, 2 + + = 4. But many players are using it also to mean a card that kills creatures. In their mind CC stands for Crowd Control thus Day of Judgment is a CC card as well.

Chump or Chump-Block

To block a creature with a smaller one, generally to buy time.

CIPper (pronounced Kipper)

Another term for cards that have an "enter the battlefield" ability. It's a cute way to shorten "comes into play" which is the now outdated phrasing for "enters the battlefield." For newer players comes into play was how Wizards said "enter the battlefield" before M10.

Combo

A deck that is designed to win by mixing multiple cards together, usually done in one turn.

Control

A deck design to deal with threats and try to control what happens until it can win on its own. It's also a style of play that is Opposite of "Beatdown" referred to earlier.

To deck or Get decked

To run someone out of cards. When you can't draw any more cards, you've lost the game.

EOT

End of turn. A good player learns to wait to use instants/abilities until the End of Turn so your opponent has less time to answer.

Fatties

Big creatures, generally 5/5 or bigger.

Gas

An indication that your hand has a lot of good cards."This hand is nothing but gas!" Conversely, when you're at the end of the game and are low on resources, you've run out of gas.

Goldfish

Playing your deck against an imaginary opponent that does nothing to see how fast you can win. If your deck "goldfishes" on turn 5 or more scrap it.

Gooch

A term used when you blame someone else for you misfortune. This one is pretty much at my local store only. When I was in High School there was a friend of mine named Gooch. Whenever we hung out something bad happened and all plans where ruined. One night I let another player borrow my deck and for about a week I got hosed with it. I told him he "gooched" my deck and it became slang.

Hippie

An affectionate term used for the card Hypnotic Specter.

Jank

A term used for cards that are bad and shouldn't be used. Also used by players that get their decks from the net and assume everything else is unplayable. I personally love to hear a player say "lost to some Jank card" at a tournament.

Johnny

A style of player who wants to win via the coolest way possible, preferably with cards that nobody else has seen before; it has been said that Johnny doesn't mind losing nine games in a row as long as his five-card combo comes together in the tenth. The name was coined by Wizards' R&D department as a way of defining the types of players and the cards they like; Timmy likes 'em big, Johnny likes 'em cool, and Spike doesn't care what it is as long as he takes the prize.

LD

Short for Land Destruction.

Metagame

An analysis of the decks you are likely to face at a tournament. The best players at this game are the ones that can predict what most of their opponents will be using before a tournament begins and build a deck and sideboard to beat most of those.

Mirror Match

Playing against a deck that is almost the same as yours. If you play a Net Deck then you should expect to see it played by others as well. The better the deck the more you'll face the Mirror.

Mise

This one is why I started writing this article. I always thought that Mising was to hoard away or save a card for later use and greater impact. Turns out 'to Mise' is to get lucky and draw what you need just when you need it.

Netdeck

A decklist copied off of the internet, generally because it won a tournament or performed well. Netdecks, due to their virtue of being designed by better players and tweaked by the pros, tend to be far better than what most people can design on their own. Problem is that everyone else has the same information available and can build or tune their deck to beat yours. Also the Metagame of your tournament may not be the same as the tournament the deck won.

Permission

A style of deck that is heavy on counterspells and control. So called because you have to ask when you cast anything.

Pro (color/card type/something)

A shorthand term for protection from _______.

Rogue or Homebrew

The opposite of a Netdeck. A Rogue deck is made by its user and no one else. I always cheer for the Rogue deck. It's doubly cool when it plays "jank" cards and wins.

Sac

To sacrifice.

Spike

A style of player who enjoys winning, and nothing else. The phrase was coined by Wizards' R&D department in order to define the types of players and the cards they like; Timmy likes 'em big, Johnny likes 'em cool, and Spike doesn't care what it is as long as he takes the prize.

Stick

A term used when a common spell gets attached to a creature. I first heard of this with Sakura Tribe-Elder. It was Rampant Growth on a Stick. Also used in reference to when a creature resolves without being countered, "it sticks."

Swing

To attack."I swung with everything."

T2

An abbrevation for Type 2, or Standard tournament format.

Tech

A card that makes you deck better in a matchup. Often in the sideboard to beat a popular deck. In Extended right now I've been losing game one to the Angel's Grace/ Ad Nauseam Combo. But in my board I have Leyline of Sanctity. Game two that card becomes an Autowin.

Tier One

In any given tournament scene, there are decks that are just plain better than others. These decks are referred to as Tier One decks. Other playable decks are Tier Two. There are some players who also subscribe to Tier 1.5 to refer to decks that can win a tournament if the Meta is just right.

Timmy

A style of player who enjoys beating down with BIG creatures - the bigger, the better. The name was coined by Wizards' R&D department as a way of defining the types of players and the cards they like; Timmy likes 'em big, Johnny likes 'em cool, and Spike doesn't care what it is as long as he takes the prize.

Topdeck

To draw the card you absolutely needed at that time. Also used when a player has no cards in hand. He's in Topdeck mode means that he can only play what he draws.

That's quite a list but there are a lot that I didn't mention. Magic is a vibrant community that has a deeply developed language and culture. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

That's class for today. Post any slang that I overlooked or that you use in the comments! [And feel free to congratulate Dan on getting to #50! - Trick]