Cleanup order
When a cleanup runs and what it does, step by step. Written for rules effective 2026-10-16.
When one runs
After the turn goes between Open and Closed, after a phase change (unless specified otherwise), after an item is added to, finalized on or removed from the chain, after game objects enter or leave the board, after any status change, and after a move completes.
Rule 319.1 · Rule 319.2 · Rule 319.3 · Rule 319.4 · Rule 319.5 · Rule 319.6 · Rule 319.7 · Rule 319.8
When one runs
Chain items cannot be finalized or resolved during a cleanup. New pending items may be added, but priority and Focus are not passed or awarded.
When one runs
A cleanup does not happen while a chain item is resolving. It waits until the item has resolved.
When one runs
If a cleanup causes another cleanup, that one runs right after, and so on until a cleanup changes nothing.
Order of a cleanup
Win check: a player with points at or above the Victory Score and more than every opponent wins.
Order of a cleanup
Combat designations: give or remove Attacker and Defender as needed if a Combat is in progress.
Order of a cleanup
Board state: every Unit with lethal damage is killed and goes to its owner's Trash.
Order of a cleanup
Control: players lose control of battlefields their Units no longer occupy, if the turn is Open and no Showdown or Combat is there.
Order of a cleanup
Recall: unattached non-Unit Gear and non-Unit Runes at battlefields, and unattached permanents and Runes in a Base that is not their controller's. Hidden cards at battlefields their owner does not control go to the Trash.
Order of a cleanup
Stage a Showdown at each Contested battlefield with no Combat.
Order of a cleanup
Stage a Combat at each Contested battlefield where opposing Units are present and no Combat is going on.
Order of a cleanup
A Combat staged at a battlefield stops being staged, before it has opened, when Units of two opposing players are no longer there.
Order of a cleanup
Remove Contested from a battlefield where the player who applied it has no Units and no Showdown or Combat is there.
Order of a cleanup
In a Neutral Open State with Showdowns staged and no Combat staged, the Turn Player picks one and it begins.
Order of a cleanup
In a Neutral Open State with Combats staged, the Turn Player picks one and Combat begins.
Special cleanups
A Combat cleanup and an Ending cleanup add steps to the normal list, such as "Heal all Units". If something during one needs another cleanup, that one is a normal cleanup.
Rule 324 · Rule 324.1 · Rule 324.2 · Rule 468.1.a · Rule 468.1.a.1