Block and Tap abilities
Asked by babos86 11 years ago
Can a player select a blocking creature and after that tap it and activate an ability of this creature(mana or tap ability)? And if you do that what will happen withe the damage of the battle?
Absinthman says... #2
A player can do that any time he or she has priority if that creature is not currently affected by summoning sickness. Tapping a blocker has absolutely no effect on the combat that follows. Everything proceeds regularly.
A creature must be untapped for you to declare it as a blocker, but once you do that, you can tap it and nothing changes.
June 14, 2013 9:59 a.m.
yes you may block and after that use the activated ability, as long as is not sacrifice the creature or an ability or spell to remove the blocking creature from the battle the combat damage should be assign as normal
June 14, 2013 10:01 a.m.
So the damage between the creatures will be calculated normaly. Because someone told me that the blocking creature will be considered as it has 0 power. The first effect from AEtherling can not be activated if he is selected as blocker?
June 14, 2013 10:11 a.m.
I can't declare Hellhole Flailer for blocker an then activate his ability?
June 14, 2013 10:27 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #6
When a creature is declared as a blocker, only effects that specifically say "remove from combat" will remove that creature from combat. You can activate abilities and tap the blocker, but those actions won't affect the blocker or its ability to deal combat damage. Damage will be calculated and dealt normally.
Also, AEtherling 's first ability may absolutely be activated after it is declared as a blocker. Once a creature is blocked, it is blocked for the rest of the combat step. Removing its blocker won't cause a blocked attacker to become unblocked. If a blocked creature has no blocker when combat damage would be assigned and dealt, it deals no combat damage (assuming it doesn't have trample).
Also, I get the impression from your question that you don't quite understand what mana abilities are. A mana ability is any ability that doesn't target, isn't a loyalty ability, and adds mana to a player's mana pool. It is not an ability that costs mana.
June 14, 2013 10:32 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
Also, you may absolutely declare Hellhole Flailer as a blocker, then activate its ability. Do note, though, that if Hellhole Flailer has a +1/+1 counter on it, it won't be able to block as per the restrictions of unleash.
June 14, 2013 10:33 a.m.
smash10101 says... #8
you can block with something and then activate it's ability (possibly causing it to be removed from combat). If the blocker is removed from combat due to this (for example, it was sacrificed to an ability) the creature will deal no damage and take no damage. As long as the creature it was blocking did not have trample, that creature will deal no combat damage (it is still blocked)
Example:
You attack with Vorstclaw
I declare AEtherling as a blocker and pay U to remover him from the game.
No combat damage happens because Vorstclaw is still blocked, even though AEtherling is gone.
June 14, 2013 10:37 a.m.
Thank you very much Epochalyptik. Yes i have an issue with the abilities of the creatures that is why i am asking so much. Many times i confuse the activated abilities. For example if you play Arrest on Captain of the Watch other soldiers will still have +1/+1 and vigilance right? Activated abilities are only mana abilities ?
June 14, 2013 10:40 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #10
An activated ability is always written as "Cost : Effect". Some examples: Prodigal Pyromancer , Liliana of the Veil , Drudge Skeletons , Master Decoy , Bloodthrone Vampire , etc. (note that not every activated ability requires a mana payment). Because Captain of the Watch doesn't have any activated abilities, Arrest will only stop it from attacking and blocking.
Many years ago it used to be true that a tapped blocker didn't deal combat damage, but that rule was taken out of the game in the Sixth Edition rules update, so it hasn't been true for a looooong time.
June 14, 2013 10:55 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #11
Again, mana abilities must meet the following conditions:
- Has no target.
- Is not a loyalty ability.
- Adds mana to a player's mana pool.
- The first ability, vigilance, is a static ability.
- The second ability is also a static ability.
- The third ability is a triggered ability that triggers when Captain of the Watch enters the battlefield.
If the ability doesn't meet those criteria, it is not a mana ability. For example, Arbor Elf has a mana ability, but Spectral Searchlight does not.
An activated ability is always written in the form [cost]: [effect]. If the ability doesn't contain a cost and effect separated by a colon (the colon is a defining characteristic of activated abilities), then it isn't an activated ability. Activated abilities can cost mana (note that this doesn't make them mana abilities), they can require you to tap something, or they could even require you to sacrifice something or pay life.
A triggered ability always begins with the word when, whenever, or at. It triggers when the stated condition happens.
A static ability is an ability that is always functional. It says something true about the game.
For example, Captain of the Watch has three abilities:
Because Arrest does not stop triggered or static abilities, it does nothing to interfere with Captain of the Watch 's abilities.
June 14, 2013 10:57 a.m.
Thank you very much for the help. I play only a few months the game and my friends as i can see know some things wrong. That is why i first enter this site to learn how to play correctly the game.
June 14, 2013 11 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #13
No problem. We're here to help, so ask any questions you have.
You may also want to consider referring to the Comprehensive Rulebook, which can be found along with other resources here. The CR is the official resource for all rules and procedures in game, and it details almost everything you could ever need to know. I wouldn't read it like a book (well, I would, but I don't recommend you do), but it's a nice resource for quick CTRL+F searches when you need clarification.
June 14, 2013 11:04 a.m.
I will try and reading that. But i am from Greece and i don't understand everything clearly all the times. I am going now to hahave a game with my friends. Next time i will ask somethings for the site that i don't undrstand.
June 14, 2013 11:12 a.m.
Absinthman says... #15
A little correction. Epochalyptik mistakenly put Arbor Elf as an example of mana ability. Its ability is not mana abili though, because it doesn't add mana to a player's pool. It untaps a forest which is not the same, although untapping a forest results in your gaining another chance to tap it for mana. Proper example for a mana ability would be Llanowar Elves or Avacyn's Pilgrim .
June 14, 2013 11:36 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #16
Sorry, I was thinking of Avacyn's Pilgrim . I don't really know how I ended up writing Arbor Elf . Good catch.
RussischerZar says... #1
A tapped creature only can't be declared as a blocker. If it already is declared as a blocker, being tapped will have no influence on the outcome of the combat.
June 14, 2013 9:59 a.m.