Heartless Hide's damage
Asked by thewyzman 8 years ago
Does Heartless Hidetsugu's damage count towards:
1) Lifelink?
2) Doublers, such as Dictate of the Twin Gods? (killing players with one tap seems a little fishy)
It says deals damage.
So, for example:
- Three-player EDH game.
- Each opponent has starting base 40 life.
- Dictate of the Twin Gods and Heartless Hidetsugu on the field and active, equipped with Basilisk Collar.
I 
Hidetsugu, everyone dies? And I don't gain the lifelink trigger because I'm dead... but if I wasn't dead, then I would gain life equal to all the damage to opponents' life totals?
No wonder this guy is a poopyhead killmagnet.
May 9, 2015 11:58 a.m.
Colten_Lee says... #3
Why wouldn't you gain the life?? I thought lifelink was a static ability that didn't use the stack...I could be wrong.
May 9, 2015 1:17 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #4
Lifelink isn't a triggered ability anymore. That changed with the M10 rules update. You gain life at the same time damage is dealt.
May 9, 2015 1:21 p.m.
Mind that Heartless plus a damage doubler will only kill players with an even life total due to the fact that he rounds down. Players with an odd life total will be set to 1 life.
This is the basis of most Heartless EDH lists.
May 9, 2015 3:48 p.m.
I was discussing this at my LGS earlier today and as sonnet666 said, you'd want to have an odd-numbered life total to survive Hide's ability yourself, but with the lifelink, you're essentially absorbing your opponents life totals. Quite a few of us had some good laughs over the combos/possibilities/effects of such shenanigins.
Otherwise, lifegain only happens before damage if first strike is applied to it; or else lifegain and damage happen simultaneously, as Rhadamanthus described.
May 9, 2015 5:27 p.m.
Would Temur Battle Rage and other double-strike enablers work?
...or is the damage not considered combat damage?
May 9, 2015 5:44 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #10
The lifegain never happens before damage with lifelink.
Also, ability damage is never combat damage. First strike and double strike have nothing to do with this damage.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
Lifelink means that any damage dealt by the source causes its controller to gain that much life. Lifelink doesn't care about the reason for the damage; it applies to combat, abilities, and spells.
Damage doublers also work. Heartless Hidetsugu's ability checks each player's life total, then calculates an amount of damage to deal to that player. Damage-increasing effects apply at this time.
May 9, 2015 11:35 a.m.