Trample Deathtouch vs Indestructible
Asked by sarpnasty 13 years ago
I was recently in a situation where I pumped a Grave Titan with Kessig Wolf Run it was a 11/6 with trample and deathtouch. My opponent blocks with a Darksteel Juggernaut that was a 5/5. I know that normally with trample you have to deal lethal damage to a creature to trample through, and if the trampler has deathtouch, lethal damage is 1.
My question though is if the defending creature is indestructible, and lethal damage doesn't kill it, can i still assign just 1 damage before i trample with the rest. Moreover, in my situation, should I have been able to deal 10 damage to my opponent, or should only 6 damage go through?
Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #2
702.18b The controller of an attacking creature with trample first assigns damage to the creature(s) blocking it. Once all those blocking creatures are assigned lethal damage, any remaining damage is assigned as its controller chooses among those blocking creatures and the player or planeswalker the creature is attacking. When checking for assigned lethal damage, take into account damage already marked on the creature and damage from other creatures that's being assigned during the same combat damage step, but not any abilities or effects that might change the amount of damage that's actually dealt. The attacking creature's controller need not assign lethal damage to all those blocking creatures but in that case can't assign any damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.
As per the above rule, trample does not care if the blocking creature is actually destroyed by the assigned damage. It only cares that the blocker(s) would have been destroyed if there were no extenuating circumstances.
January 12, 2012 1:31 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #3
Therefore, a deathtouch trampler only needs to assign 1 damage to each blocker, then the rest may be assigned to the defending player or planeswalker.
January 12, 2012 1:32 p.m.
Thanks, for providing the official rule as well. One more question though:
I'm assuming that where it says "not any abilities or effects that might change the amount of damage that's actually dealt" that this also applies to protection, and more specificly card:Apostle's Blessing and Stave Off , so can I still assign 1 damge from a trample/deathtouch creature even if that damage cannot be dealt to it because of protection, correct?
January 12, 2012 1:58 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
Yes. The assignment of damage is not affected, only the dealing of damage. Trample doesn't care about that part, so it's fine.
January 12, 2012 2 p.m.
Minousmancer says... #6
So say I swing with a Marit Lage token at Cockatrice?
Minathia says... #1
One damage is still lethal. The Titan doesn't need to know if that 1 damage actually does kill the juggernaut, just that it would have.
One damage gets assigned to the juggernaut (which is considered lethal), rest to player.
damage gets dealt, juggernaut lives because he is indestructable.
January 12, 2012 1:29 p.m.