Within Magic: The Gathering (MTG), “untap” refers to the act of straightening a tapped permanent, returning it to its ready state. Permanents are tapped to signify their use and are often required to activate abilities or pay costs. Focusing on artifacts specifically, this action allows them to be utilized again in the same turn or immediately in the following turn. For instance, if a player taps an artifact that produces mana to cast a spell, untapping that artifact allows them to generate more mana later in the turn.
The ability to ready artifacts offers significant strategic advantages. It enables repeated use of artifact abilities within a single turn, providing increased resource generation, card draw, or other powerful effects. This manipulation of game tempo can be pivotal in securing victory. The concept has been present in MTG since its inception, influencing deck construction and gameplay strategies throughout the game’s history. The prevalence of powerful artifact effects makes the capacity to ready them a highly sought-after ability in many decks.