Subject: 2.1.06: 1999

Sets released: Urza's Legacy, Sixth Edition, Urza's Destiny, Portal:
Three Kingdoms, Starter, Mercadian Masques

Major stuff:

- Sixth edition was a pretty complete rethink of the whole timing system
and card templating, ending up with the 'Grand Unified Timing System'
- No more batches, interrupt windows, damage prevention bubbles,
pre-series, phase abilities or phase costs.
- No more interrupt or mana source cards, these can be played as
instant cards under the new system.
- The stack was introduced.
- The term 'fast effect' was dropped from the rules.
- The term 'pseudospell' was dropped from the rules.
- The concept of setting up a prevention or replacement shield was
introduced.
- The term 'bury' was dropped from Magic vocabulary.
- The term 'successfully cast' was dropped as well.
- The ability 'haste' was introduced and the term 'summoning sickness'
was dropped.
- No more summon cards, replaced with creature cards instead.
- Creature cards with multiple-word creature types now count as each
separate creature type individually, with many older types being
hyphenated.
- No more 'fizzle', replaced with 'countered on resolution'.
- No more 'cast', replaced with 'play'.
- No more 'total mana cost', replaced with 'converted mana cost'.
- Triggered abilities never resolve at the pauses during a spell,
they all use the stack and resolve independently.
- Players lose from having 0 life almost immediately, rather than
waiting until the end of the phase.
- Combat became a phase of its own.
- Combat damage uses the stack.
- Protection no longer absorb all trample damage, as the damage
assignment ignores the protection ability.
- Tapped blockers now deal combat damage, they previously didn't.
- Tapped artifacts don't automatically turn off; Howling Mine, Static
Orb and Winter Orb got errata to preserve their turning off behaviour.
- The end of turn step / until end of turn wear-off distinction is
introduced.
- The Oracle was introduced.
- The core set has its own expansion symbol as of Sixth Edition.
- Urza's Legacy introduced premium (foil) cards.
- Urza's Legacy also marked a trend for effects that tap or untap
something to change from only being "target creature, artifact or land"
to "target permanent"