Defining Sources
Asked by FearenRehnet 9 years ago
Could Someone tell me what a "source" is? Just like in Deflecting Palm . Do Sources include players?
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #2
This is the full technical explanation for what you can choose as a "source of damage":
609.7a If an effect requires a player to choose a source of damage, he or she may choose a permanent; a spell on the stack (including a permanent spell); any object referred to by an object on the stack, by a replacement or prevention effect thats waiting to apply, or by a delayed triggered ability thats waiting to trigger (even if that object is no longer in the zone it used to be in); or, for certain casual variant games, a face-up card in the command zone. A source doesn't need to be capable of dealing damage to be a legal choice. The source is chosen when the effect is created. If the player chooses a permanent, the effect will apply to the next damage dealt by that permanent, regardless of whether its combat damage or damage dealt as the result of a spell or ability. If the player chooses a permanent spell, the effect will apply to any damage dealt by that spell and any damage dealt by the permanent that spell becomes when it resolves.
So as you can see, players can't be chosen as a source of damage. The source is the particular thing that is actually dealing the damage, not its controller/owner.
September 23, 2014 9:44 a.m.
FearenRehnet says... #3
Oh okay. Thanks! Are sources in Deflecting Palm targeted or you just have to name it and that's it?
September 24, 2014 9:02 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #4
A spell or ability only targets what it specifically says it "targets". Sometimes this is packed into the full rules text of a keyword ability (like "Enchant NN" or "Equip") instead of being written out in full, but that's not the case here. Deflecting Palm doesn't target.
It might be important to note that this means you don't technically have to choose the source until Deflecting Palm is actually resolving. If you play Deflecting Palm and your opponent makes a response that causes you to change your mind about what source you want to prevent damage from, you can pick the new preferred source when the spell starts resolving.
GreatSword says... #1
A source of damage is an object (like a creature or spell) that dealt damage. A player can't deal damage.
You could use Deflecting Palm to prevent damage from an attacking creature, for example. The attacking creature's controller would take the damage instead.
Note that Deflecting Palm only prevents damage, not loss of life, like fromCaustic Tar . Deflecting Palm won't prevent anything from an effect like that.
September 23, 2014 9:01 a.m.