If a blocker becomes tapped after declare blockers, does it still block?
Asked by mfogle 5 years ago
Your opponent attacks with a creature and you block with a mana dork i.e. Palladium Myr , but before damage is applied you tap it for mana. In the scenario, would damage still be applied to your creature, would he no longer be considered a viable blocker, or would the block occur with no target for the damage (similar to when a creature is removed from combat after declare blockers but before damage)? I suppose it's also worth asking if this is even a legal play in the first place.
I appreciate the incredibly fast response on that.
According to this, tapping the blocker is legal and the attacking creature remains blocked. Just for clarification, the damage is still applied to the blocking creature since he was declared as blocker and still in combat, correct?
February 11, 2019 10:36 a.m.
That is correct. It will remain in combat until combat ends (specifically when the game progresses to the End of Combat Step) or until an effect, such as Hollowhenge Spirit 's enter the battlefield ability, removes it from combat.
Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1
Once a creature is declared as blocking an attacking creature, that attacking creature is considered blocked. This is true if it becomes tapped after being declared as a blocker (as in your situation) or even if the creature leaves the battlefield before combat damage (such as if your opponent kills it or you sacrifice it).
Here are the relevant rules:
509.1a The defending player chooses which creatures they control, if any, will block. The chosen creatures must be untapped. For each of the chosen creatures, the defending player chooses one creature for it to block that's attacking that player or a planeswalker they control.
509.1h An attacking creature with one or more creatures declared as blockers for it becomes a blocked creature; one with no creatures declared as blockers for it becomes an unblocked creature. This remains unchanged until the creature is removed from combat, an effect says that it becomes blocked or unblocked, or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. A creature remains blocked even if all the creatures blocking it are removed from combat.
Notice how the rules say a creature must be untapped at the time of declaring it as a blocker, but that "the blocking creature becomes tapped" or "the blocking creature leaves the battlefield" are not conditions which would result in the attacking creature becoming unblocked per 509.1h.
February 11, 2019 10:13 a.m.