Would The Elementals be able to Block?
Asked by Zonia 4 years ago
I was in a match with someone while using a merfolk deck, one of the cards I pulled out was Master of Waves , which resulted in me getting 6 2/1 elemental tokens. However, my opponent had a creature that’s Ability was “Target creature blocks this creature this turn if able.” They then selected Master of Waves as the target and attacked with all. They insisted that master of waves is killed BEFORE I declare my blocker resulting in all my elementals dying before I declare blockers. Is this correct?
dragonstryke58 says... #2
I forgot to note that Master of Waves is only forced to be declared a blocker for that creature IF ABLE. If he was somehow tapped due to paying a cost (like convoke) or another ability (like Icy Manipulator ), he would be unable to block and thus not forced to be declared as a blocker during combat.
May 16, 2019 2:15 p.m.
GreatSword says... #3
Dude that sucks.
Unless there was some sneaky stuff with blocking like Ashmouth Hound 's ability or a quick spell that killed the Master of the Waves, yeah you got got. That's not the way the game's played and dragonstryke58's citation is correct.
May 17, 2019 11:09 a.m.
the other guy definitely tried to pull a fast one on you. you should have asked "what specifically is killing my Master of Waves ?". because if i were a bettin man, his only possible answer could have been "combat damage", in which case you easily counter by saying "how can there be combat damage if i havent declared blockers yet?". the trick in situations like these is knowing which questions to ask your opponent, in order to force them to find a way to defend their claims.
May 17, 2019 4:33 p.m.
Greatsword : even Ashmouth Hound 's ability wouldn't kill Master of Waves before blockers were declared, for 2 reasons. the first is that the hounds ability can't trigger until after blockers are declared, and the 2nd is that Master of Waves has pro-red, and can't be dealt damage by Ashmouth Hound .
May 17, 2019 5:03 p.m.
GreatSword says... #6
lol yeah Im a card
Zonia pick an answer to empty it from the que please.
dragonstryke58's answer is fine.
May 19, 2019 5:33 p.m.
In the future, please remember to hit the "Mark as Answer" button once your question has been resolved. Not only does this signal to other users that you have no follow-up questions, but it also helps keep the unanswered questions list clear of resolved questions and helps future users quickly identify the correct answer.
As this question has been resolved for a couple days, I have gone ahead and marked an answer on your behalf.
dragonstryke58 says... Accepted answer #1
That is incorrect.
All that happens is Master of Waves must be declared a blocker during combat.
As the declare blockers step of combat happens before damage, you can still declare your elementals as blockers before any combat damage has been dealt.
For reference: 506.1. The combat phase has five steps, which proceed in order: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, combat damage, and end of combat. The declare blockers and combat damage steps are skipped if no creatures are declared as attackers or put onto the battlefield attacking (see rule 508.8). There are two combat damage steps if any attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4).
May 16, 2019 2:03 p.m. Edited.