Evergreen

The term "evergreen", as in the context of "an evergreen keyword", refers to keywords or keyword actions that are regularly seen in premier sets. This is in contrast to deciduous, which are also available for sets but not always called upon. If not a set mechanic, most creature keyword abilities are evergreen.

As the core set has always been the place for new players to start, as of Eighth Edition it was decided to include reminder text with the evergreen creature keywords.

Primary/secondary/tertiary

When talking about which colors get which evergreen creature keywords, R&D tends to talk about a system called "primary/secondary/tertiary". In their quest to differentiate the colors in the color wheel, each should have strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, not every color gets every keyword.

• Primary — This is the color (or colors) the ability is seen most in as-fan. That means it shows up in the highest volume and usually at the lowest rarity that the type of effects get used at. The primary color will almost always get this effect in a set if it's an ability we do every set. It also tends to be the color that most often pushes the power level, if it's an effect we push the power level on. There's a wide range on what primary means, because different types of effects exist at different levels. A color secondary in flying can show up way more than a color primary in taking extra turns, for instance, because there are more flying cards than extra-turn cards.
• Secondary — This is the color (or colors) that an ability shows up in on a somewhat regular basis, but not as often as the primary and not always in as low of rarity as the primary. If the effect is something we do a lot of, the secondary color will usually get the ability in most sets. Sometimes a secondary color will have restrictions. For instance, red is secondary in flying, but only on Dragons and Phoenixes.
• Tertiary — This is the color (or colors) that get the ability occasionally. It's not every set. For some abilities, we could go years without seeing a tertiary color using it. Tertiary colors can often come with rules, meaning it's a very narrow subset that makes use of the mechanic. For example, black is tertiary in first strike and gets it primarily on Knights, most often when paired against a mirrored white Knight.

Current evergreen keywords

Keyword	Type	Found in	First used in	First keyworded in
Activate	Action	All colors	Alpha	Sixth Edition
Attach	Action	All colors	Mirrodin	Mirrodin
Cast	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha
Counter	Action		Alpha	Alpha
Create	Action	All colors	Alpha	Kaladesh
Destroy	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha
Discard	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha
Exchange	Action	All colors	Alpha	Sixth Edition
Exile	Action	All colors	Alpha	Magic 2010
Fight	Action		Visions	Innistrad
Mill	Action		Antiquities	Core Set 2021
Play	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha
Reveal	Action	All colors	Sixth Edition	Sixth Edition
Sacrifice	Action	All colors	Alpha	Revised Edition
Scry	Action		Alliances	Fifth Dawn
Search	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha
Shuffle	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha
Tap/Untap	Action	All colors	Alpha	Alpha

Multiplayer only

One keyword is evergreen in multiplayer games only.

Keyword	Type	Found in	First used in	First keyworded in
Goad	Action	All colors	Commander 2017	Commander 2017

Abilities

New Icon	Old Icon	Keyword	Type	Found in	First used in	First keyworded in
		Deathtouch	Static ability		Future Sight	Future Sight
		Defender	Static ability	Walls in all colors	Alpha	Betrayers of Kamigawa
		Double strike	Static ability		Legions	Legions
		Enchant	Static ability	Auras of all colors	Alpha	Alpha
		Equip	Activated ability	Equipment	Mirrodin	Mirrodin
		First strike	Static ability		Alpha	Alpha
		Flash	Static ability		Visions	Time Spiral
		Flying	Static ability		Alpha	Alpha
		Haste	Static ability		Alpha	Sixth Edition
		Hexproof	Static ability		Portal Three Kingdoms	Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012
		Indestructible	Static ability	Artifacts and	Alpha	Darksteel
		Lifelink	Static ability		Arabian Nights, Mirrodin	Future Sight
		Menace	Static ability		Fallen Empires	Magic Origins‎
		Protection	Static ability		Alpha	Alpha
		Reach	Static ability		Alpha	Future Sight
		Trample	Static ability		Alpha	Alpha
		Vigilance	Static ability		Alpha	Champions of Kamigawa
		Ward	Static ability	All colors	Commander 2014	Strixhaven: School of Mages

Former evergreen keywords

Actions

Icon	Keyword	Type	Found in	First used in	First keyworded in	Last used in	Supplanted by
	Ante	Action	Artifacts, black, red, green	Alpha	Alpha	Homelands	Nothing
	Bury	Action	All colors	Revised Edition	Revised Edition	Fifth Edition	Destroy [something]. It can't be regenerated.
	Regenerate	Action		Alpha	Alpha	Oath of the Gatewatch	Indestructible (until end of turn)

Abilities

Icon	Keyword	Type	Found in	First used in	First keyworded in	Last used in	Supplanted by
	Banding	Static ability		Alpha	Alpha	Weatherlight	Nothing
	Fear	Static ability		Alpha	Onslaught	Alara Reborn	Intimidate
	Shroud	Static ability		Legends	Future Sight	Mirrodin Besieged	Hexproof
	Intimidate	Static ability		Zendikar	Zendikar	Commander 2014	Menace
	Landwalk	Static ability	(islandwalk) (swampwalk) (mountainwalk) (forestwalk) (plainswalk)	Alpha	Alpha	Khans of Tarkir	Nothing
	Prowess	Triggered ability		Khans of Tarkir	Khans of Tarkir	Hour of Devastation	Nothing, but this mechanic is now deciduous.

Most these have been obsoleted, but protection was considered to be deciduous. It is a tool in R&D's toolbox that they're allowed to use, but it's not something they expect to use in every set.

However, protection was reinstated as Evergreen in Core Set 2020.

Evergreen keywords by color

Color	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary	Obsolete
White	Defender, double strike, first strike, flying, indestructible, lifelink, vigilance	Scry	Flash, hexproof, reach, trample	Banding
Blue	Counter, flash, flying, hexproof, scry	Defender, vigilance	Indestructible, trample	Landwalk, shroud
Black	Deathtouch, menace	Defender, flash, flying, indestructible, lifelink, scry	First strike, haste, hexproof, trample	Fear, intimidate, regenerate
Red	Double strike, first strike, haste	Defender, fight, menace, reach, scry, trample	Flash, flying, indestructible	Intimidate
Green	Fight, reach, trample	Deathtouch, defender, flash, haste, hexproof, indestructible, scry, vigilance	Flying, menace	Regenerate, shroud
Colorless	Equip, indestructible

Of particular note are the evergreen creature keywords that are each shared between two colors. Prowess formerly served as the red/blue keyword before it lost its evergreen status.

Pair	Keyword
	Flying
	Flash
	Menace
	Trample, haste
	Vigilance

Pair	Keyword
	Lifelink
	-
	Deathtouch
	First strike, double strike
	Hexproof

Evergreen keyword matters

A small set of cards reward having multiple evergreen keywords amongst one's cards, usually on the battlefield or in the graveyard. One case is from drafting (Animus of Predation) and one is from the library (Selective Adaptation). These cards are an unusual class of mechanical relevance as "Evergreen Keyword" is not a defined term, so they often list eight or more abilities in its rules text. This list has a tendency to change every printing as evergreen mechanics are introduced or are deprecated and can't be updated with errata as it would make a functional change to the card. A brief list of interesting results follows:

• The first "instance" of this, Escaped Shapeshifter, only had flying, first strike, trample and protection amongst its options, as common keywords double strike, haste, deathtouch, vigilance, menace, reach and lifelink were not keyworded yet. It also required the opponent to be the one with the keyworded creatures.
• Death-Mask Duplicant and Concerted Effort included fear and landwalk, which later were deprecated. Death-Mask Duplicant excludes vigilance as it was keyworded in Champions of Kamigawa, while Concerted Effort excludes haste as it is an upkeep trigger. Later keyword-granting effects do so at beginning of combat as to keep haste relevant.
• Cairn Wanderer is the only one of these that has Shroud, being the only design of this style made in the four years between Future Sight keywording it and Hexproof replacing it in Magic 2012.
• Odric, Lunarch Marshal lists Skulk, suggesting that it was intended to be an evergreen keyword before reception and gameplay determined otherwise. Curiously, it is also the only one to use first strike as the example rather than flying.
• Thunderous Orator gains abilities when attacking, so the defensive keywords hexproof and reach are left out, as are haste and vigilance, for obvious reasons.
• Odric, Blood-Cursed is the only one of these whose keyword counting has nothing to do with combat, instead creating a blood for each keyword.
• Indominus Rex, Alpha gains keyword counters, which introduces the haste keyword counter, in contrast to Kathril, Aspect Warper. It also inexplicably switches the order of hexproof and haste in its listing.