Multiple blockers and one has first strike.
Asked by Hermanmango 3 years ago
So here is the example my Wife and I are trying to figure out. I have a 4/2 with menace attacking so she has declared 2 blockers. A 1/1 and a 2/2 with first strike. I assign damage to the 1/1 first, then to the 2/2. The two ways I could see this resolve are as follows:
Either - I do damage to the 1/1 first, it dies, and I move on to the 2/2 which will kill me with first strike before I kill it.
or- Despite me having assigned damage to the 1/1 first, the first strike from the 2/2 will do damage before I do any damage and kill me.
If anyone could help me out with understanding how the first strike/ double strike damage takes place when only one out of the multiple defenders has it I'd appreciate it.
defamagraphy1 says... #2
All combat damage is assigned at the same time with the exception of first strike and double strike. Then it's taken in steps as you assign which takes damage and the resulting damage from your creature is split
September 6, 2020 1:47 a.m.
defamagraphy1 says... #3
So on the opposite end with one first strike creature and mutiple blockers, depending on the power of the first strike creature, the damage will be divided amongst the other creatures as you assign who gets to block first.
If it's a 7/7 with first strike and it's being blocked by two 4/4's one of them will survive with 1 toughness left, now let's say its 5/3 and a 4/4 then the 7/7 will be the only one left with 3 toughness.
Now let's say, you have a 6/6 First Strike, she has a 5/1 first strike and a 1/6. Combat damage would go through both first strike creatures first, then the remaining 1/6 would take the rest of the damage still surviving and not allowing you to choose which to pick first
September 6, 2020 2:06 a.m.
defamagraphy1 says... #4
If it's double strike both hits would take place in the similar way. First strike would assign first, then normal combat damage. If you have a 2/2 with double strike, and there's a 1/4 and a 2/2 blocking, and you choose to assign it to the 1/4 first, the 1/4 will die and the 2/2 survives killing the double strike creature.
September 6, 2020 2:14 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #5
Your attacking creature will die before it deals any combat damage.
When your opponent blocks with multiple creatures, you choose the damage assignment order for your attacker, like you explained in your question. Since there are creatures with first strike involved in combat, there will be two combat damage steps: a first strike damage step and a "regular" damage step. In your example the 2/2 blocker with first strike will deal 2 damage to the 4/2 attacker in the first strike damage step. The attacker will be destroyed by the lethal damage before the regular damage step begins and won't deal any damage to the blocking creatures.
EDIT: To answer your secondary question, if your attacker somehow survives the first strike damage step (if it was a 4/3, for example) then it and the other blocker without first strike would deal their damage in the regular combat damage step. Only creatures with first strike or double strike deal damage in the first strike damage step, and then creatures with double strike and any others that haven't yet dealt damage will deal damage in the regular damage step.
September 6, 2020 2:10 p.m. Edited.
DragonSliver9001 says... #6
creatures with first strike and double strike deal damage before creatures without those keywords, regardless of how damage is assigned. if a creature is dealt lethal damage in the first strike phase, it dies before dealing damage in the normal damage phase. pretty simple stuff.
September 7, 2020 7:42 p.m.
Yeah some of these answers don't seem right if I'm reading them correctly.
First strike damage happens first. Then regular combat damage. So the first strike blockers will all deal damage to your menace creature, which will die horribly. Then.. nothing.
September 9, 2020 2:45 a.m.
Hermanmango says... #8
Thanks for the responses. I guess my real problem was that I wasn't sure if there was a separate combat phase for each defender when there are multiple defenders. It sounds like regardless of how many defenders there are that there is still just one combat phase. Which means that regardless of how many D/S F/S defenders there are, or which order they are assigned damage in, they will still assign their damage before the normal combat damage takes place.
Am I understanding this correctly now?
September 9, 2020 10:39 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #9
Right, each individual creature doesn't have it's own separate combat damage step. Everyone with first strike and double strike deals damage in the first combat damage step (with the damage assignment order established when blockers were declared), and then of the creatures that survived, the ones with double strike and the others that haven't dealt damage yet deal damage in the regular combat damage step (also according to the damage assignment order established earlier).
September 10, 2020 10:03 a.m.
Yup, all first strike damage is dealt and then all regular combat damage is dealt in two consecutive game steps. In fact, players even get priority after first strike damage is dealt, before regular combat damage. So, say you had a 3/3 first strike creature on the field and a Heartfire in hand.. You swing, and the opponent blocks with a 7/7 creature. You could allow first strike damage to be dealt and then cast Heartfire sacrificing your creature before passing to the regular damage step, dealing 4 damage to finish off their creature.
If you were on the defense instead and blocked the opponents 7/7 attack with the same 3/3 first strike, you could do the same Heartfire maneuver after first strike damage, before regular combat damage, and eliminate their creature and all damage the it would deal, even if it had trample.
Taking advantage of that time frame gives you the chance to both deal damage with your creature and sacrifice it as fodder before it dies in combat, getting some pretty good value and allowing you to kill a 7/7 that you could not have killed with a regular 3/3 and Heartfire no matter which way you dice it.
defamagraphy1 says... #1
Picture it like this, creatures with first strike hit first. Then normal damage follows
You would decide how the damage is dealt to which one first.
In this case, by blocking the 1/1 "first", 1 damage is assigned as it has first strike and since it didn't kill your creature, normal damage would follow killing hers.
After which, the 2/2 would deal its damage first, and since your 4/2 is now a "temporary" 4/1, it will kill it not giving your creature a chance to hit back.
September 6, 2020 1:32 a.m.