Multiple Blockers how the hell?

Asked by athena95 11 years ago

I've been playing for since Innistrad, and I always knew that you could assign multiple blockers, but my teacher pretty much left it there. What i am looking for is straight-forward no nosense answer to the details. Please do not post the rules word for word, because I looked at them and I think I'm more confused now than I was before.

Specifically:1) Trample on multiple blockers2) Who decides what order the damage is dealt to the blockers? Do I (the attacker) pick the order, or does my opponent (the defender)?3) Deathtouch and Multiple blockers. Can I have my 5/5 Vampire Nighthawk kill five blockers?4) My opponent picks a 4/4, a 3/3 and a 1/1 to block my 4/4, can I kill the 3/3 and the 1/1 or do I have to deal with the pesky 4/4 they have?

Thank you for any assistance you can give, and if you feel like sharing any other details about multiple blockers, I would be very happy.

Devonin says... Accepted answer #1

When your attacker is blocked by multiple creatures, you choose the damage assignment order for the blockers. Basically, this is the order in which they are dealt damage.

You can deal as much damage to a given blocker as you want, but you can only move on to another blocker in the order you chose, if the one before it has been dealt lethal damage.

1) Trample on multiple blockers: You still have to deal all the blockers lethal damage. Any remaining damage can be dealt to the player or planeswalker you were attacking.

2) You the attacker decide which order damage is dealt to the blockers.

3) Deathtouch is a static ability that says "Any amount of damage dealt by a creature with deathtouch is considered lethal damage" so yes, a 5/5 deathtouch could, if blocked by 5 creatures, deal 1 to each of the 5 creatures.

4) You could choose the damage assignment order: 1/1, 3/3, 4/4, and then deal 1 to the 1/1 and 3 to the 3/3, leaving the 4/4 alive.

August 7, 2013 10:35 a.m.

Absinthman says... #2

1. The attacker decides in which order the blockers will be dealt damage right after the defender announces how he or she is blocking. That is before anybody gets priority and before the game moves to the combat damage step.
   
   
2. When the combat damage step comes, the attacker announces how much damage will be dealt to each blocking creature. There is one limitation. The attacker must first deal enough damage to the first blocking creature to kill in before he can move to the next. If the attacker has deathtouch, it simply means that even 1 damage from it is enough to kill a creature. Therefore yes, you can kill 5 blockers with a 5/5 deathtouch creature.
3. Trample works the same as with one blocker. The attacking creature with trample must assign lethal damage to each blocoker before it can assign any damage to the defending player.
4. If your 4/4 is blocked with a 4/4, 3/3 and a 1/1, it is you who decides in what order the damage will be dealt. Yes, you can kill the 1/1 and a 3/3 and leave th 4/4 there.

August 7, 2013 10:38 a.m.

athena95 says... #3

So they decide how their defenders hit and I decide how my attacker hits? That seems like it would make it impossible to assign damage. I could choose to assign damage to the 1/1 and 3/3 first, but they choose to hit with the 4/4. Wouldn't that mean my creature is dead before assigning damage?

August 7, 2013 10:44 a.m.

Absinthman says... #4

That's not how dealing damage works. All creatures deal combat damage simultaneoulsy. If you decide to for the blockers to go in the order 1/1, then 3/3, then 4/4, your creature will deal 1 damage to the 1/1 and 3 damage to the 3/3 while at the same time receiving total 8 damage from your opponents creatures.

Only creatures with first strike (or double strike) are able to deal combat damage earlier than other creatures.

August 7, 2013 10:49 a.m.

athena95 says... #5

alright, that pretty much clears it up. Thanks guys!!

August 7, 2013 10:52 a.m.

tigersfan774 says... #6

The only thing the defender decides when blocking with multiple creatures is who he's blocking with. All damage is dealt at the same time and is dealt to the creatures you (the attacker) chooses in the quantity you choose, up to the attacking creatures power.

August 7, 2013 10:54 a.m.