Can someone elaborate on melee, confused on how it plays

Asked by Nuubi 6 years ago

So the scenario goes I have one blocker and my opponent has two creatures he is attacking with. He declares attackers and casts Melee . He chooses for my creature not to block. Would that mean that both his creatures untap and nothing would happen since he didn’t declare a blocker? The card says “if creatures are unblocked untap them and treat them as if they had never attacked” on the mtg site, so does that mean the attack wouldn’t be legal? I’m confused...any input is much appreciated.

StupidDroid says... Accepted answer #1

For clarity, I'm going to paste the updated oracle text of Melee in here, because the updated text makes more sense:

" Cast this spell only during your turn and only during combat before blockers are declared.

You choose which creatures block this combat and how those creatures block.

Whenever a creature attacks and isn’t blocked this combat, untap it and remove it from combat. "

So, your opponent casts Melee , then they move to the declare blockers step. Because of Melee , they choose whether your creature blocks and how it blocks. Let's say they choose that your creature isn't going to block. At this point, since blockers have been declared, Melee 's third block of text triggers. Since both of your opponent's creatures are unblocked, it will untap them both and remove both of them from combat. Since all attacking creatures have been removed from combat, no damage is dealt during combat. Combat ends and it becomes your opponent's second main phase.

April 26, 2019 2:44 p.m.