Banding with "can't block" cards?

Asked by UniqueUserID 9 years ago

Might seem like a silly question, but what happens when you block with a banding creature such as Wall of Shields and then choose Aesthir Glider to band with it.

I'm guessing you choose the blocking creatures first, THEN the extra band man target?

Errr... I might of answered this question myself...

TheRedMage says... Accepted answer #1

This is example #234 of why banding is a problematic ability. Quoting the comprehensive rules:

702.21c As a player declares attackers, he or she may declare that one or more attacking creatures with banding and up to one attacking creature without banding (even if it has bands with other) are all in a band. He or she may also declare that one or more attacking [quality]creatures with bands with other [quality] and any number of other attacking [quality]creatures are all in a band. A player may declare as many attacking bands as he or she wants, but each creature may be a member of only one of them. (Defending players cant declare bands but may use banding in a different way; see rule 702.21j.)

So this is step one of your answer. Your blocking creatures will not be in a band. If we take a look at the quoted paragraph:

702.21j During the combat damage step, if an attacking creature is being blocked by a creature with banding, or by both a [quality] creature with bands with other [quality] and another [quality] creature, the defending player (rather than the active player) chooses how the attacking creatures damage is assigned. That player can divide that creatures combat damage as he or she chooses among any number of creatures blocking it. This is an exception to the procedure described in rule 510.1c.

So there you have it. In order for your creatures to "pseudo-band" when blocking, both need to be blocking the same attacking creature. Aesthir Glider can't block at all, so it's impossible for it to benefit from the fact that the wall can band.

February 25, 2015 2:39 p.m.

This discussion has been closed