Damage & -1 counters to indestructible creatures?
Asked by Esper_Silence 9 years ago
if I am being attacked by a 4/4 hexproof indestructible Fleecemane Lion and i block with a 2/2 Mutavault the Lion should become a 4/2 until end of turn, because as far as I know, indestructible only prevents lethal damage, it can still take damage to lower defense. So 2nd main phase my opponent casts a 2nd Fleecemane Lion and at turn I cast Bile Blight on the one that's not hexproof, does the -3/-3 kill the indestructible one? it's not targeting it, and it took damage from a creature during the damage step.
Thanks in advance.
Nebulousone says... Accepted answer #2
Indestructible creatures must be placed in the graveyard if their toughness is reduced to 0. Bile Blight reduces the Fleecemane Lion toughness to 1, but this is unrelated to damage. Damage accumulates on the creature, but like LightAndDarkness said, damage doesn't reduce toughness. So basically until end of turn the lion becomes a 1/1 indestructible with 2 damage accumulated on it. This would come into play if the lion lost indestructible, in which case it would be killed. I found the below articles helpful:
http://wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/443/~/magic%3A-the-gathering%3A-indestructible
http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Indestructible
August 7, 2014 12:19 a.m.
MSU_Iced_Z says... #3
I don't know if this is the source of the confusion, but if you play Duels of the Planeswalkers that would explain it. They show damage the way you describe in your example (a 4/4 with 2 damage is displayed as a 4/2) even though that's 100% wrong, as the answers above said. Just wanted to mention that because it drives me insane for this exact reason.
August 7, 2014 12:48 a.m.
yarnbender says... #4
any creature that has their toughness reduce to 0 dies indestructable or not but don't misread the text a indestructible creature is immune to death by damage. -1/-1 counters kill indestructible creatures because their toughness becomes 0. i hope this helps you.
August 7, 2014 2:51 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #5
There are some digital versions of the game that use a "visual shortcut" of displaying an apparent toughness reduction from damage, just as a clean way to show how close a creature is to dying, but that's not what's actually happening. Damage dealt to a creature is "marked" on that creature until end of turn. Its toughness stays the same.
"Lethal damage" means either "marked damage equal to or greater than a creature's toughness" or "any amount of damage from a source with Deathtouch". In your example, the monstrous Fleecemane Lion is a 4/4 with 2 damage marked on it. After you play Bile Blight it's a 1/1 with 2 damage marked on it. This is lethal damage, but the Indestructible ability means the Lion isn't destroyed.
LightAndDarkness says... #1
Damage does not reduce toughness. The monstrous Lion is an indestructible 1/1 with 2 damage marked on it, and survives.
August 6, 2014 11:50 p.m.