"Burn from Within" on an indestructible creature previously dealt damage from a source with deathtouch
Asked by TheHroth 9 years ago
In regards to the latest spoiler:
Burn from Within deals X damage to target creature or player. If a creature is dealt damage this way, it loses indestructible until end of turn. If that creature would die this turn, exile it instead.
Relevant rules:
702.2b. Any nonzero amount of combat damage assigned to a creature by a source with deathtouch is considered to be lethal damage.
702.2c. A creature with toughness greater than 0 that's been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked is destroyed as a state-based action.
I see two ways to look at this:
Deathtouch has no effect on indestructible creatures. By the time Burn from Within is cast, the deathtouch damage has not destroyed the creature, and it will simply be marked with that much damage. X in this case would need to be enough to make the damage lethal and destroy (exile) the creature.
Deathtouch counts as lethal damage. After the creature hit by Burn from Within loses indestructible, will the damage marked on it remember that it was from a source with deathtouch? Will that damage then still be considered lethal? If so, X will only need to be equal to 1 in this situation to remove the indestructible creature.
In both scenarios, the creature will be exiled as per Burn from Within's exile clause.
merrowMania says... Accepted answer #2
704.5h. If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and it's been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked, that creature is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
Since SBA have been checked many times since the damage was dealt, the 'lethalness' of deathtouch is no longer relevant.
March 20, 2016 6:06 p.m.
Awesome sauce. Thought that was the more likely scenario. Thanks!
merrowMania says... #1
Deathtouch damage only looks when the damage is dealt. If the creature survives, it will just have the amount of damage marked on it. Scenario 1 is correct. There is a rule about this in the comprehensive rules. I'll post it here when I find it.
March 20, 2016 6:03 p.m.