Beginning phase

The beginning phase is the first phase in a turn. It consists of three steps, in order:
*Untap step
*Upkeep step
*Draw step
==Untap step==
The untap step is the first step of the beginning phase. The following events happen during the untap step, in order:
*All permanents with phasing controlled by the active player phase out, and all phased-out permanents that were controlled by the active player simultaneously phase in. Note the timing which means tapped permanents phasing in will almost immediately get to untap.
*If the day and night cycle has started, the number of spells cast in the previous turn is checked, and if the appropriate conditions are met, day turns to night or night turns to day, including the transformation of Daybound and Nightbound permanents.
*The active player determines which permanents controlled by that player untap, then untaps all those permanents simultaneously. (The player will untap all permanents they control unless a card effect prevents this.)
No player receives priority during this step so spells or abilities cannot be played. Any state-based effects or triggered abilities that happen during this step are delayed until the upkeep step.
==Upkeep step==
The upkeep step is the second step of the beginning phase. At the beginning of the upkeep step, any abilities that trigger either during the untap step or at the beginning of upkeep go on the stack. Then the active player gains priority the first time during their turn.
Upkeep costs were formerly a specific type of cost paid for permanents in play "during your upkeep", but are now triggered abilities prompting for payments which activate at the beginning of the upkeep step. It can be paid to gain something (<c>Farmstead</c>), or to prevent a negative consequence (<c>Force of Nature</c>), especially to avoid the sacrifice of the permanent (<c>Nicol Bolas</c>). This last use is what the step is named after - paying for the "upkeep" of the permanent to keep it alive - although this kind of upkeep cost is rarely used as a game mechanic anymore. Cumulative upkeep is a keyword ability variation of the mechanic.
When Richard Garfield first made Magic, he was very excited by upkeep costs. However , players didn’t generally like them. They caused memory issues, and created problems at sanctioned tournaments, so they are used infrequently.
==Draw step==
The draw step is the third step of the beginning phase. The following events occur during this phase, in order:
*The active player draws a card from their library.
*Any abilities that trigger at the beginning of the draw step go on the stack.
*The active player gains priority.
==References==