can Searing Spear cause damage to Xenagos, the Reveler or any planeswalker
Asked by moneyj75 11 years ago
I cast Searing Spear for 3 damage to Xenagos, The Reveler , im told that I cannot do this because a planeswalker is neither a creature or a player. is this true?
MagicalHacker says... #2
Only if the player says "targeting you, redirecting to Xenagos using the planeswalker damage redirection rule."
November 15, 2013 10:39 a.m.
Whenever a spell like Searing Spear would deal damage to a player, you can choose to deal that damage to a Planeswalker they control instead.
So you can't target Xenagos with Searing Spear, but you can target Xenagos' controller, and then redirect the damage to Xenagos on resolution.
Bear in mind that while many people will say things like "Searing Spear your Xenagos" as shorthand to keep the game moving faster, if they have more than one PW in play, you absolutely don't need to say before the spell resolves which, if any, planeswalker you are targeting.
So they don't get to know where you are sending the damage before they decide whether to counter the spell etc.
November 15, 2013 10:39 a.m.
You could also just say that you're casting Searing Spear on them (as in, targeting them), and then if they don't respond to it and allow it to resolve, mention that you're redirecting the damage to the planeswalker. They might think you're making a misplay by burning them in the face when in reality you're just following the rules.
raithe000 says... Accepted answer #1
While it is true that Searing Spear cannot target Planeswalkers (see Dreadbore for a spell that can), there are special rules that allow you to redirect non-combat damage dealt to a player to any planeswalker he controls. So effectively you can use Searing Spear to deal 3 damage to Xenagos.
November 15, 2013 10:34 a.m.