Are planeswalkers players?
Asked by UmbrotheUmbreon 12 years ago
My friend and I are debating about this.
Is a planeswalker a player?
Can you redirect the damage from Sickening Dreams to a planeswalker?
MagnorCriol says... Accepted answer #2
Planeswalkers aren't players, no, as Kirtanei said.
Effects that do something to each player in the game (such as Breath of Malfegor ) don't hit planeswalkers. Also consider things that do something for every player:
You can redirect noncombat damage at a planeswalker, again as Kirtanei said. In fact it's technically the only way to do it - you don't target their Jace with a Lightning Bolt , you target them with a lightning bolt and then, if it resolves, you can choose to redirect the damage to their Jace instead of them. (Simply saying "Bolt at Jace" is, however, a commonly accepted shortcut.)
In the above Breath of Malfegor example, you could choose to redirect Player B's 5 damage to a planeswalker they control as the spell resolves, but you couldn't hit both Player B and his planeswalker, nor could you hit more than one of his planeswalkers if he controls more than one.
That only applies to effects that deal damage, however. If you had a life-loss effect (such as Essence Harvest ), that can't be redirected. Only players can lose life.
December 23, 2012 6:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
Also note that you may only redirect noncombat damage you control to a planeswalker an opponent controls. You cannot redirect any damage to a planeswalker you control.
December 23, 2012 7:29 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #4
Who in the hell would kill off their own walker? ._.
December 23, 2012 7:29 p.m.
Imagine firing off a high-X Earthquake when you had a Planeswalker with only 1-2 Loyalty Counters left.
December 23, 2012 7:36 p.m.
My favorite thing to do like this is card:Rakdos's Return and target a planeswalker. They still have to discard which is really funny. lol
December 23, 2012 10:50 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #8
Well, you don't technically target the walker, just redirect the damage
December 23, 2012 11:01 p.m.
@Epochalyptik: Are you sure you can't use the likes of Lightning Bolt on your own Planeswalker? That doesn't make much sense. I could think of plenty of scenarios in which killing off your own Walker would benefit you.
December 24, 2012 1:31 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #10
The rule that allows you to redirect damage to planeswalkers specifies that it can only be applied when you would deal noncombat damage to an opponent.
306.7. If noncombat damage would be dealt to a player by a source controlled by an opponent, that opponent may have that source deal that damage to a planeswalker the first player controls instead. This is a redirection effect (see rule 614.9) and is subject to the normal rules for ordering replacement effects (see rule 616). The opponent chooses whether to redirect the damage as the redirection effect is applied.
Kirtanei says... #1
Planeswalkers are not players, they are Permanents.
In the case of Sickening Dreams you may opt to redirect the damage to the opposing player to a Planeswalker he or she controls instead.
December 23, 2012 4:37 p.m.