What Happens If You Regenerate a Sacrificed Creature?
In Magic: The Gathering, the concept of regenerating and sacrificing creatures can be confusing, especially for new players. Regenerating a creature means that instead of it being destroyed, it gains a temporary shield that removes all damage marked on it and taps it. However, when a creature is sacrificed, it is taken out of the game completely. But what happens when you regenerate a creature that has already been sacrificed?
The Basic Rule: Sacrifice and Regenerate are Mutually Exclusive
The short answer is that you cannot regenerate a sacrificed creature. Sacrifice is a permanent removal of the creature from the game, and regenerating a creature requires that it still exist in the game. Therefore, regenerating a creature that has been sacrificed does not apply, and it will not return to the game.
The Case of Sacrificing with Shroud
One of the tricky situations in which you might need to consider regeneration is when you sacrifice a creature with Shroud. A creature with Shroud is not a target, and it cannot be targeted. This means that even when you sacrifice a creature with Shroud, it still exists in the game but is removed from play.
However, if you regenerated a creature that was previously sacrificed with Shroud, it would technically still be a target since it’s no longer considered a target while it was sacrificed. In this scenario, you could regenerate it, but this would contradict the fundamental concept of regenerating a creature that is no longer in the game.
Why Can’t You Regenerate a Sacrificed Creature?
There are a few reasons why regenerating a sacrificed creature doesn’t work. First, sacrifice is considered a removal effect, while regeneration is a temporary fix that requires the creature to still be in the game. Additionally, sacrificing a creature effectively removes it from the game, making it unable to fulfill the necessary requirements for regeneration.
Real-World Examples
Here are some examples of real-world scenarios that illustrate this concept:
- Card Example 1: Deathgrip – "Players can’t sacrifice creatures". In this case, sacrificing a creature is explicitly denied, making regeneration impossible.