How Do Doran and Zilortha Interact?

Asked by DemonDragonJ 3 years ago

If a player controls both Doran, the Siege Tower and Zilortha, Strength Incarnate, how is damage calculated?

Tylord2894 says... #1

These two don't interact. Doran affects how creatures deal damage. Zilortha affects what it takes to kill a creature with damage. So with or without Zilortha, creatures will deal combat damage equal to their toughness. Zilortha will just affect how much damage your creature can take.

Hope this helps!!

May 12, 2020 2:13 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #2

Tylord2894, perhaps an example would help me to better understand the situation: if a player attacks with two 4/4 creatures, and the defending player blocks one with Doran and the other with Zilortha, what shall happen?

May 12, 2020 9:09 p.m.

Tylord2894 says... Accepted answer #3

Sure!! I'm going to amend your example slightly to explain it as best as possible.

Let's say your opponent attacks you with two Dune Beetles (vanilla 1/4s). You choose to block one with Doran and the other with Zilortha. Because of Doran, the two Bettles will each deal 4 damage to their respective blocker, and Doran will deal 5 damage to its Beetle. Zilortha will deal 3 damage to its Beetle. Nothing has modified what "lethal damage" means for the Beetles, so the Beetle that took 5 damage is very dead while the Beetle that took 3 damage is fine. As for your creatures, Doran has 4 damage marked on it. Since "lethal damage" for your creatures is determined by their power, Doran will die. Meanwhile, Zilortha will be fine because its power is 7. After the dust settles, you no longer have Doran, and your opponent is down a Beetle.

Effectively what happened for your creatures is that there power and toughness switched, with a couple of caveats. First, Doran affects all creatures, not just yours. Second, Doran doesn't die automatically because of Zilortha. The definition of "lethal damage" now requires damage to be dealt (for this very interaction). The combination of these cards does sort of make your creature's power and toughness swap, but only sort of.

Do that help clear things up?

May 12, 2020 9:31 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #4

Tylord2894, I believe that I understand that, but the chances of such a scenario ever actually occurring are minimal, so I should not need to worry about understanding it unless I actually find myself in such a situation.

May 12, 2020 10:51 p.m.

Tylord2894 says... #5

DemonDragonJ, I agree that you will like never encounter this, but I disagree that you should ask about the interaction. Learning about the rules of the game is never a bad idea. Moreover, learning about goofy interaction that are not likely to happen can help you better understand interactions that are you see more often.

May 13, 2020 7:50 a.m.

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