TLDR: A copy normally takes the original object’s copiable values. For spells, it also preserves choices such as modes, targets, and the value of X. Copying a spell does not usually cast it. If the copied spell is a permanent spell, its copy resolves as a token—but, in one of Magic’s stranger distinctions, that token was not “created.” Copying a permanent already on the battlefield is different: that normally creates a token copy, so token-creation effects apply.
Those distinctions determine whether cast triggers happen, whether token doublers work, what enters the battlefield first, and which details survive the copying process. The current Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules provides the underlying rules machinery.
What does an MTG copy effect actually copy?
A copy effect uses the object’s copiable values. For a card or permanent, these generally include its name, mana cost, color indicator, card types and subtypes, rules text, power, toughness, loyalty, and defense, as applicable. Other copy effects that already changed those values can also become part of what a later effect copies.
What usually does not transfer is the object’s current battlefield condition. A new copy does not inherit counters, marked damage, whether the original is tapped, what it is attached to, or most temporary effects changing its characteristics. If a Giant Growth has made a 2/2 creature into a 5/5, copying that creature normally gives you its underlying 2/2 values, not the temporary +3/+3.
| Detail on the original | Normally copied? |
|---|---|
| Name, types, rules text, and printed characteristics | Yes |
| Changes produced by another copy effect | Generally yes |
| Modes, targets, X, and other casting choices of a copied spell | Yes |
| Counters on a permanent | No |
| Tapped or untapped status | No |
| Damage marked on a permanent | No |
| Temporary power/toughness changes | Usually no |
| Attachments and other battlefield relationships | No |
Some cards define exceptions or modify the resulting copy, so their exact Oracle text still controls. “Copy it, except…” means the exception becomes part of the new object’s characteristics as instructed.
Copying an instant or sorcery spell
When an effect copies a spell, it normally puts the copy directly onto the stack. That copy is a spell, but it was not cast. You do not pay its costs again, and abilities that trigger whenever you cast a spell do not trigger from the copy entering the stack. It also does not increase the storm count.
The copy retains decisions already made for the original spell, including its modes, targets, value of X, and other casting choices. If the copying effect says you may choose new targets, you may change any or all of them, provided every changed target is legal. A decision made only while the spell resolves is made separately for the copy.
The copy is normally placed above the original on the stack, so it resolves first. The original remains below it and will still resolve later unless it is countered or otherwise removed from the stack. If a spell copy leaves the stack without resolving, it ceases to exist instead of reaching a graveyard.
Occasionally an effect tells a player to copy a card or spell and then cast the copy. That wording matters: a copy that is actually cast follows the casting process and can trigger cast abilities. This is different from simply putting a spell copy onto the stack. Related designs can become unusually dependent on the object producing the copy, as illustrated by the interaction between Prepare and its associated permanent.
What happens when you copy a permanent spell?
A permanent spell is an artifact, battle, creature, enchantment, or planeswalker spell on the stack. Lands are permanent cards, but playing a land is not casting a permanent spell.
If an effect copies a permanent spell, the copy begins as another spell on the stack. It retains the original spell’s copiable characteristics and casting choices, but it is not cast unless the effect explicitly says otherwise. When that copy resolves, it enters the battlefield as a token. It is no longer a spell copy once it is on the battlefield.
Suppose you cast a creature spell and copy it. The copy will normally resolve first and enter as a token creature. Its usual enters-the-battlefield ability can trigger. The original creature spell can then resolve and enter as a nontoken creature, causing its own ability to trigger.
The token exists, but it was not created
This is the unintuitive part. The rules say that a resolving copy of a permanent spell becomes a token, but that token is not “created” for rules purposes. Therefore, abilities that trigger when you create a token do not trigger, and replacement effects that modify token creation do not apply.
The official Zendikar Rising release notes for Lithoform Engine make the same distinction: the copied permanent spell resolves as a token, but that token is not created. The notes also confirm that the copy normally resolves before the original and was not cast.
That does not stop ordinary enters-the-battlefield abilities. The token still entered the battlefield; it merely arrived through an event that the rules do not classify as token creation. “Enters the battlefield” and “create a token” are overlapping ideas in everyday speech, but they are not interchangeable rules events.
Copying a permanent already on the battlefield
An effect that says to create a token that is a copy of a permanent starts with a battlefield object rather than a spell on the stack. This is genuine token creation. Abilities that trigger when a token is created can see it, and replacement effects that change how many tokens are created can apply.
The resulting token copies the permanent’s copiable values, not its counters, damage, tapped status, attachments, or most temporary modifications. If the source permanent is itself copying something, however, the applicable copied characteristics can carry into the new token.
This creates the central rules contrast: copying a creature spell produces a token when that spell copy resolves, but does not count as creating one; creating a token copy of a creature permanent is token creation from the beginning.
A copied legendary permanent is still legendary
Copying does not quietly remove the legendary supertype. If one player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, the legend rule makes that player choose one to keep and put the others into their owners’ graveyards. This applies whether the additional legendary permanent came from a copied spell or a token-copy effect, unless another effect changes the relevant name or removes the legendary supertype.
The rule that resolves most copy questions
First identify what is being copied and where it exists. A spell copy goes onto the stack and normally is not cast. A copied permanent spell resolves as a token that was not created. A token copy of a permanent already on the battlefield is created normally. After that, check the object’s copiable values rather than its counters, damage, tapped status, or temporary bonuses.
That location-and-event distinction is the key: the results may look similar on the battlefield, but Magic cares about how each copy got there.