Does +1+1 buffs absorb the damage?

Asked by Bockduck 6 years ago

My friends and I played commander and one guy played zombies and had Coat of Arms out, giving all zombies +9+9. One guy did cast a fireball effect, dealing 6 damage to every creature. Everything died but not the zombies. He then removed the Coat of arms with a bounce effect and said that all the zombies do die now, cause they have marked 6 damage on them. We all were not sure how this would work, I myself would think that the damage was "absorbed" by the + health so they would not die.

Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1

The creatures will die.

Rule 119.6 states:

Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.14, “Regenerate”) and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).

Your friend was correct--the creatures had six damage marked on them. They went from being, say, 11/11s with 6 damage marked on them to being 2/2s with 6 damage marked on them. As such, the total damage was greater than toughness, and the creatures are destroyed.

September 9, 2018 11:52 a.m. Edited.