Multiple Instances of Damage Prevention
Asked by lil_cheez 1 year ago
Good day folks,
I run an Iroas, God of Victory commander deck and I always look for creatures with high devotion when a new set releases, and Phyrexian Vindicator got my attention.
But then I realized that when attacking, the damage to the Vindicator would be prevented by Iroas' ability, and not by the Vindicator's; and Vindicator clearly says that to do its trick the damage should be prevented by its own ability ("When damage is prevented this way...")
Am I able to choose what "barrier" of damage prevention is being applied to a Vindicator I control? Or at the moment it attacks Iroas' "barrier" kicks in and nullifies the Vindicator's? Because if this is the case, I don't think it'll be worth a slot in the deck.
If the answer could be backed up with the rule It'd be very helpful!
Thanks in advance!
Lil Cheez
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #1
You can choose.
Damage prevention interactions are treated similarly to replacement effect interactions. If multiple replacement/prevention effects could apply to how an event affects an object or player, then the affected player or controller of the affected object (or owner, if it doesn't have a controller) chooses which one to apply. After the event is modified, you look at any remaining replacement/prevention effects that could be applied to the modified event and keep going until there's nothing left to apply. In your example that means you can choose to apply the Vindicator's effect first and then there's nothing left for Iroas' effect to apply to.
There are some other details to consider in general cases but they aren't important for your specific example. If you want to see the full rules, refer to section 616 of the Comprehensive Rules: Link to rules wiki
February 6, 2023 12:19 p.m.