Magma Spray an Indestructible?
Asked by belugawhaleonthefloor 6 years ago
Let's say Bontu the Glorified has 4 -1/-1 counters on him. Can I Magma Spray to kill him? What about if he didn't have any counters and his toughness was still 6; could I Cut him and then Magma Spray to finish him off. Because magma spray states that if the creature would die this turn, its exiled instead. But after taking 6 damage, Bantu wouldn't die because he's indestructible. So how does damage vs indestrucble work/stack up?
Schuesseled says... #2
As above, reduce him to zero toughness or force a sacrifice after magma spray then it would be exiled, otherwise simply won't die at any point.
Honestly better just to straight up exile him.
BlueScope says... Accepted answer #1
First and foremost - damage doesn't reduce toughness.
Damage works as usual against creatures, whether they're indestructible or not - it's marked on them until end of turn. A state-based action will destroy a creature with damage equal to or larger than its toughness, however if the creature is indestructible, this will not happen because the create can't be destroyed.
Because of that, it doesn't matter how much damage you rack up on a creature - it will never be destroyed by lethal damage, and therefore not die from lethal damage. Magma Spray will exile the creature if it would die, but since it won't, nothing in particular will happen. After Cut and Magma Spray, you're looking at a Bontu with 6 damage marked on it (and maybe 4 -1/-1 counters), alive and well, that would be exiled instead of being put into the graveyard if it would die this turn.
The only way Magma Spray could help you is if you cast it on Bontu (dealing 2 damage to it), then actually reduce it's toughness to 0 or less, for example with Tragic Slip. Reducing an indestructible creature's toughness to 0 or less will still kill it, and because that means it would be put into the graveyard, it will be exiled instead because of Magma Sprays effect.
August 12, 2017 9:17 p.m.