Double strike + trample clarification
Asked by firemanefruitcake 11 years ago
from my understanding, a creature with just double strike will basically just assign its first strike damage to the blocking creature, which we will say kills it, then hit the already dead creature again for the normal combat. From what I have read, Double strike + trample allows the first strike damage phase to go as normal, but the normal damage phase can fully hit the defending player if the blocking creature was killed in the damage phase before.
firemanefruitcake says... #3
thanks just wanted to make sure, because there are lots of people who disagree with it even after i tell them how it works
May 4, 2014 11:15 a.m.
PremiumCola says... #4
Just so you know there is a gap in between first strike damage and regular damage. So lets say you attack with a 4/4 double strike. And you opponent blocks with a 3/3 death touch and a 8/8.
You can assign 4 of your first strike damage to the 3/3 death touch so it dies. You can then cast a Tragic Slip
on the 8/8 so your 4/4 double strike wont die.
There is a gap in between the "first strike damage" stage and the "regular damage" stage, so you can cast spells in after a certain creature dies (3/3 deathtouch), but before another creature has dealt damage (8/8). You can do this as long as you assign you combat damage in the correct order.
May 4, 2014 11:29 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
Note that if the other creature is destroyed or removed during the first combat damage step, a double striker will not hit it again during the second combat damage step. You can't assign and deal damage to a creature that isn't on the battlefield.
May 4, 2014 3:40 p.m.
firemanefruitcake says... #6
Are you sure Epochalyptik? The first answer I received and your answer seem to be contradictory to each other
May 4, 2014 9:41 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
Devonin's answer is mostly correct, but he may have been a bit too general in saying "That's how it works."
You cannot assign combat damage to a creature that's no longer part of combat. If you attack with a double striker and your opponent blocks, and if your double striker kills the blocker in the first combat damage step, the double striker will not deal damage in the second combat damage step (unless it has trample, in which case it will hit the defending player or planeswalker).
May 4, 2014 9:46 p.m.
firemanefruitcake says... #8
Understood! I needed to know this for an EDH deck where every creature has trample. I decided to add double strike equipment and etc for maximum damage
Devonin says... Accepted answer #1
This isn't a question, but yes. That's how it works.
Essentially, the function of trample is to say "If a creature with trample would assign combat damage, and all possible blocking sources have been dealt lethal damage, the damage may be assigned to the defending player"
So a Double-strike Trampling 4/4 blocked by a 3/3 would actually deal 3 to the creature and 1 to the player in the first strike damage phase, and then 4 to the player in the normal damage phase.
Remove trample from the equation, and you only get 4 dealt to the creature in first strike, and then nothing in regular.
May 4, 2014 9:19 a.m.