Can you block indestructible?

Can You Block Indestructible?

In Magic: The Gathering, blocking is a crucial aspect of the game, allowing you to protect your creatures and prevent your opponent from dealing damage to you. But what happens when your opponent has an indestructible creature? Can you still block it? The answer is yes, you can block indestructible creatures, but there are some important nuances to consider.

Blocking Indestructible Creatures

Indestructible creatures are creatures that have an ability that prevents them from being destroyed. This can be due to a spell, an ability, or a card effect. However, this does not prevent them from being blocked. When you block an indestructible creature, it will still be considered blocked, and your opponent will not be able to assign combat damage to you for that turn.

Example:

• Your opponent has an indestructible creature, Keranos, God of Storms, with 3 toughness.
• You have a 2/2 creature, Serra Angel, with flying.
• You block Keranos with Serra Angel.
• In this scenario, Serra Angel is blocking Keranos, and your opponent will not be able to assign damage to you for that turn.

Lethal Damage

However, if the indestructible creature would deal lethal damage to your creature, it will still be destroyed. In this case, the blocking creature will be destroyed, but the indestructible creature will remain on the battlefield.

Example:

• Your opponent has an indestructible creature, Keranos, God of Storms, with 3 toughness.
• You have a 2/2 creature, Serra Angel, with flying.
• You block Keranos with Serra Angel.
• Keranos deals 3 damage to Serra Angel.
• In this scenario, Serra Angel is destroyed, but Keranos remains on the battlefield because it is indestructible.

Trample and Indestructible Creatures

When an indestructible creature has trample, it will still deal damage to you even if your creature blocks it. Trample allows the creature to deal excess damage to you, even if it has been blocked.

Example:

• Your opponent has an indestructible creature, Keranos, God of Storms, with 4 toughness and trample.
• You have a 2/2 creature, Serra Angel, with flying.
• You block Keranos with Serra Angel.
• Keranos deals 4 damage to Serra Angel and 2 damage to you.
• In this scenario, Serra Angel is destroyed, but Keranos deals 2 damage to you because of its trample ability.

Bouncing Indestructible Creatures

Some cards, such as Return to Hand, can bounce indestructible creatures back to their owner’s hand. In this case, the creature will be removed from combat and will not deal any damage.

Example:

• Your opponent has an indestructible creature, Keranos, God of Storms, with 3 toughness.
• You have Return to Hand on the battlefield.
• You use Return to Hand to bounce Keranos back to your opponent’s hand.
• In this scenario, Keranos is removed from combat, and your opponent will not be able to deal damage to you for that turn.

Conclusion

Blocking indestructible creatures is possible, but it is important to consider the specifics of the situation. Make sure to take into account the creature’s toughness, trample ability, and any other relevant abilities before blocking. Remember that blocking indestructible creatures can still result in your blocking creature being destroyed, but it can also prevent damage from being dealt to you.