Rules and Assumptions

Looking for a clarification on what something in one of our puzzles means, or some general puzzle info? Read on.
Winning
Unless otherwise stated, you must win the puzzle by inflicting lethal damage to your opponent before the turn ends. This can be as late as during the cleanup step if necessary. Your solution must work for all possible outcomes, such as your opponent’s actions and blocking decisions (see below.)
Phase
Unless otherwise stated, you begin each puzzle at the beginning of your first main phase. You have already drawn a card and gone past upkeep triggers. You have not yet played a land, cast any spells, activated any abilities of permanents on the battlefield, or attacked.
Your Opponent’s Resources / Actions
Unless otherwise stated, your opponent has no cards in hand and no other permanents in play (including no lands – despite the lack of realism there.) This means the only actions you need to consider are activated abilities with no mana cost. Most puzzles with opponent actions will offer more information on this.
Blocking
You cannot assume that your opponent will block a certain way, unless they are somehow forced to. Your solution must satisfy all possible blocking scenarios, even ones that would seem strange in a regular game, and always deal lethal in order to be correct.
Dice
Sometimes you will see six-sided dice placed on cards. These are meant to indicate counters, of whatever type is most reasonable to be there. On most creatures they will be +1/+1 counters, on most artifacts and lands they will be charge counters, and on most Planeswalkers they will be loyalty counters.
If the card specifies a type of counter itself, however (like Icatian Javelineers or Raging Ravine), that will dictate which type it is. 
For -1/-1 counters, we will use a separate graphic to avoid confusion.
Zones
Unless otherwise stated, all zones not displayed are empty. Neither you nor your opponent have cards in graveyards or in exile.
Cards Drawn from Libraries
In any puzzle in which either player might draw cards or otherwise access their library, the puzzle will stipulate some known or assumed information about the library.
Most commonly, this will be a statement that you should assume that the cards remaining in libraries are to be assumed to be irrelevant to the puzzle.
Your Life
Occasionally, your own life total might appear to matter – for cards like Anguished Unmaking, for example. If we require you to consider your own life total in a puzzle, it will be displayed.
If your life total is not shown, you may assume it is irrelevant and effectively infinite.
Submission Rules
For competitive-level Patrons, note that your answer submission is final and irreversible.
Still unclear?
Send us an email at mtgpuzzles@gmail.com.