Do Deathtouch and Trample have an interaction?
Asked by Ragnarok0220 11 years ago
Deathtouch says- any amount of damage this creature deals is lethalTrample says- if you deal enough combat damage to destroy all creatures blocking yours, you deal the excess to the defending player/planeswalker.
My scenario- if I attack with 4/4 creature, that has trample AND deathtouch, and I am blocked by a 2/2 creature- will my opponent take 2 or 3 damage?
My understanding would be that the opponent would take 3 damage as Deathtouch makes the amount of damage needed to destroy a blocker= 1. Arguments have been made to me though that the blocking creature still has to take damage equal to its toughness in regards to trample, thus making it so that trample and Deathtouch have no interaction whatsoever.
Any help would be appreciated! I've had different answers at different card shops, and would just like to know how this officially works.
GreatSword says... #2
Yes, they do work well together. That's why Nylea, God of the Hunt and Bow of Nylea were printed with those abilities.
Trample says you must deal lethal damage to the defending creature before assigning the remainder to the defending player/planeswalker. Any non-zero amount of damage dealt by a creature with deathtouch is considered lethal damage.
In your above scenario, the defending player will take 3 damage.
November 18, 2013 1:29 p.m.
Absinthman says... #3
Just to follow up on what has been said. It is very important to remember that this interaction works. I've seen many videos on YouTube where players lost just because they forgot or didn't know about it. They blocked a 4/4 deathtouch, trample with a 0/4 wall, believing that it will soak up all the damage, and... they woke up dead.
November 18, 2013 1:56 p.m.
PrimeSpeaky says... #4
Epochalyptik is right on the interaction, lethal damage becomes one and therefore that is all you would need to assign to each blocker, except for in one case he stated. (and this is just me being nit picky for the record, I've only seen this crop up a couple times.) If a creature has protection from a source, lets use Etched Champion for this example, and a creature with trample, say Woodfall Primus , swings out and your opponent blocks the creature with trample he would still take all the damage to the face. Protection states that the creature cannot be damaged by spells or creatures of that source, so when your creature goes to trample, it can't assign damage to the blocking creature and instead goes straight to either the next blocking creature or your opponent's face, its pretty funny really.
November 18, 2013 2:22 p.m.
I believe if the creature has trample, but not death touch, he still has to assign what would be lethal damage to the blocking creature. In your example, Woodfall Primus would get blocked by Etched Champion , assign it 2 points of damage (which would be prevented, providing metalcraft is turned on) and trample over for 4. If Woodfall Primus was given deathtouch, you would be able to assign 1 point of damage instead, and trample over for 5
November 18, 2013 2:39 p.m.
PrimeSpeaky says... #6
I apologize, I did go look at the rule book to check but I was totally off base lol.
November 18, 2013 2:46 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
@PrimeSpeaky: Protection does nothing to interfere with the assignment of damage. You can still assign damage to a protected object, but the damage will be prevented instead of dealt.
November 18, 2013 3 p.m.
BroadScholar says... #8
@Absinthman i just want to clarify for everybody else that you can't wake up dead. that's like turning up lost. hahaha
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1
You are correct in this case.
Deathtouch means that any damage dealt by the source is considered lethal damage to a creature.
Trample just checks that you assigned lethal damage to the blocker(s) before you assign any to the defending player or planeswalker.
Because deathtouch makes any amount of damage lethal, you only need to assign 1 damage to each blocker before trampling over. Even if the blocker is indestructible or has protection, you still only need to assign 1 damage because trample checks damage assignment rather than the result of damage.
November 18, 2013 1:27 p.m.