Does rolling earthquake hit planeswalkers?

Does Rolling Earthquake Hit Planeswalkers?

In a world where planeswalkers wield immense power and walk among mortals, questions about their vulnerabilities arise. One such question is: can a planeswalker be affected by a rolling earthquake? In this article, we’ll delve into the answer and explore the ins and outs of planeswalkers and earthquake damage.

The Short Answer

Unfortunately, this can’t hit planeswalkers. You can only transfer damage to a planeswalker if you’re targeting a player with it; any damage that says "each player" can’t do anything to a PW. In other words, you need to specifically target the player controlling the planeswalker for the damage to have an effect.

Redirection of Damage

Planeswalkers, being Planeswalkers, don’t have a physical form and therefore can’t take damage directly. However, their controllers can take damage and redirect it to them. This is where rules like "damage dealt to a planeswalker" or "planeswalker takes x damage" come into play.

Rolling Earthquake Example

Let’s imagine a scenario where a Rolling Earthquake (a popular Magic the Gathering card) is used. The card reads:

Rolling Earthquake: "Each player mills 2 cards. Players each gain 2 life. Then, each non-black creature deals 2 damage to its controller. Put a 2/2 red Beast creature token named Quarry Beetle onto the battlefield."

In this situation, the Rolling Earthquake does not directly target planeswalkers. Instead, it targets each player and the non-black creatures controlled by those players. So, even if a player controlling a planeswalker gets damaged, the planeswalker itself won’t take the damage.

Hexproof and Indestructible Creatures

In the case where you have a creature with Hexproof and Indestructible on the battlefield, rolling an earthquake will not target it. This is because hexproof prevents abilities and spells from targeting the creature, and indestructible means the creature cannot be destroyed or damaged.

Here’s a breakdown of this situation: