Does Drana, Liberator of Malakir trigger Mer-Ek Nightblade Interaction?

Asked by Wizno 8 years ago

I have been running a mono-black aggro deck recently in Standard and came upon an interesting interaction that I think, rules-wise, does occur but I wanted to see what the public thinks. If I declare a series of attackers including Drana, Liberator of Malakir and she does first strike damage then I can then put +1/+1 counters on the remaining attacking creatures before the normal attack phase. However, if Mer-Ek Nightblade is on the field, does this mean that those creatures that received counters due to Drana's effect now also have Deathtouch? Your help would be greatly appreciated as I think this could be a great little combo to use down the road!

Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1

Yes. That's what the cards say they do. Is there a reason you thought this might not work?

October 11, 2015 6:57 p.m.

Wizno says... #2

Thank you for answering my question Epochalyptik! I wasn't sure that Mer-Ek Nightblade's effect would trigger after the first strike damage by Drana so I wanted to be sure before adding him to my deck. Thanks again for your help! I'm excited to try this combo out.

October 11, 2015 8:21 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... #3

Mer-Ek Nightblade does not have a triggered ability. It has a static ability that just applies to any relevant object.

October 11, 2015 9:14 p.m.

gebell says... #4

To piggy back on this. If Drana, Liberator of Malakir has double-strike - will all your creatures get 2 +1/+1 counters...?

October 14, 2015 2:25 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... #5

Yes. Double strike means the creature deals damage in two separate combat damage steps. Because it deals damage twice, on-hit abilities will trigger twice.

October 14, 2015 2:27 p.m.