Is deathtouch damage assignment optional?
Asked by nobu_the_bard 11 years ago
So I have a 2/2 creature with lifelink and deathtouch that can block more than one creature. Let's say it has Basilisk Collar and Echo Circlet attached, perhaps. It blocks two 2/2 creatures. What are my options for distributing the damage to the attackers?
If I only want to kill one (maybe the other has an ability that benefits me), can I assign 2 damage to just one of them, even though 1 damage is sufficient to be lethal?
If it only takes 1 damage for the attack to be lethal, and I didn't need to assign both of my damage (either because I only want to kill 1 attacker and assigning all of my damage is optional, or perhaps I Lightning Bolt the other attack before damage assignment), would I still gain 2 from lifelink or only 1 from lifelink (since 1 only damage is needed for the attack to be lethal).
I tried rereading the relevant rules but got my head twisted around trying to understand to what degree I can control the damage assignments when blocking, and how deathtouch interacts here.
nobu_the_bard says... #2
Thanks, that clears it up a bit. Who/what determines the damage assignment order you referred to, and is it the same for the attacker and defender? (ie., if Attacker's Creatures A1 and A2 are in that order, does that mean the defender must deal damage in that sequence, or can he declare the reverse order for his damage assignment?)
December 9, 2013 1:20 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #3
Whether attacking or blocking, it's the player with the single creature who decides what the damage assignment order is.
- If an attacking creature is blocked by multiple blocking creatures, the attacking player decides an order B1, B2, etc. He has to go by that assignment order, and can't change his mind if something changes in-between the declaration of the order and actual damage assignment.
- Likewise, if a blocking creature blocks multiple attacking creatures, the defending player decides an order A1, A2, etc.
- It's possible for multiple attacking creatures to all be blocked by multiple blocking creatures who can block more than one creature. If this happens, both the attacking and defending player need to make damage assignment order decisions.
December 9, 2013 1:31 p.m.
nobu_the_bard says... #4
Awesome, that explains the rest of it, thanks guys.
Devonin says... Accepted answer #1
You can assign any amount of damage to a creature, provided that every creature before it in the damage assignment order has been dealt lethal damage.
So if your 2/2 with deathtouch is blocking two creatures, you can deal 2/0 or 1/1 but not 0/2 to the creatures in the damage assignment order.
Dealing both damage to one creature is still going to gain you 2 life from lifelink, because both damage are dealt even if the creature is theoretically dead after the first 1.
December 9, 2013 1:13 p.m.