Planeswalker Interaction with Indestructible
Asked by Chris1018 7 years ago
I was wondering if a planeswalker could be killed with indestructible granted to it. There are two ways to grant indestructible that I can think; Mycosynth Lattice + Darksteel Forge or Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
I could only see if you were to use a minus ability and it would reduce loyalty to zero but would combat damage leave it at; one, kill it or do no damage?
Damage results in the removal of loyalty counters. A Planeswalker with no loyalty counters on it is put into the graveyard as a state based action. What indestructible will do for a planeswalker is prevent destroy effects like Never from destroying it. Damage and planeswalker abilities can still result in the planeswalker going to the graveyard.
June 17, 2017 2:33 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #3
Importantly indestructibility doesn't prevent damage being dealt, so something like Sword of Kaldra or infect/wither (enough of it) will still result in your creature dying/being exiled.
Damage to planeswalkers reduces loyalty, so indestructibility won't help.
hyperlocke says... Accepted answer #1
So the important rules here are these three:
306.8. Damage dealt to a planeswalker results in that many loyalty counters being removed from it.
306.9. If a planeswalker's loyalty is 0, it's put into its owner's graveyard. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)
702.12b A permanent with indestructible can't be destroyed. Such permanents aren't destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the state-based action that checks for lethal damage (see rule 704.5g).
To recap: damage to planeswalkers results in loss of loyalty counters, once they're at zero, they get put into the graveyard (similar to creatures with lethal damage).
Now, indestructibility protects permanents from being put into the grave because of lethal damage, because it explicitly says so. The rule doesn't say anything in regard to loyalty, so planeswalkers with zero loyalty still die. If creatures attack your indestructible planeswalker and get its loyalty to zero, it dies.
Indestructibility saves a planeswalker from being destroyed by things like Hero's Downfall or Dreadbore.
June 17, 2017 2:31 p.m. Edited.