Does Crew have Summoning Sickness?
In the world of Magic: The Gathering, summoning sickness is a common phenomenon that affects several types of permanents, including creatures. But what about crewed vehicles? Can they also be affected by summoning sickness? The answer is yes, crews can have summoning sickness.
But before we dive into this topic, let’s define what summoning sickness is:
What is Summoning Sickness?
In Magic: The Gathering, summoning sickness is a rule that prevents creatures that enter the battlefield from performing any actions on their turns, except for attacking in the case of creatures of 2 or more. This means that a newly summoned creature cannot use their abilities, cast spells, or activate any triggered or triggered abilities on their controller’s turn.
Summoning Sickness and Vehicles
Vehicles, the type of permanents created by the crew ability, are no exception to summoning sickness. Summoning sickness affects vehicles whether they are crewed or not. This is because vehicles are creatures until the end of the turn, and creatures are prone to summoning sickness.
The crew ability, however, allows vehicles to become instant creatures, meaning they immediately gain the ability to make attacks and use their special abilities. But, for the purposes of summoning sickness, vehicles are considered creatures, and therefore, may be affected by summoning sickness.
When Summoning Sickness Applies
Summoning sickness applies only when a vehicle enters the battlefield, either as part of the game setup or through a card effect. Summoning sickness does not transfer from one creature to another, nor does it "stack" with other magical effects.
Here’s how summoning sickness applies specifically to vehicles:
| Vehicles | Summoning Sickness |
|---|---|
| Crewed (instant creature) | Only on the turn they became instant creatures |
| Recruited (not crewed, but still a creature) | Only on the turn they entered the battlefield, not on subsequent turns after being recruited |
Breaking Down the Crew Ability
The crew ability allows any number of creatures with the specified power or more to crew a vehicle. It’s essential to understand the timing of the crew ability:
- Creature(s) with the total power equal to or more than the crew value, tap.
- The card’s ability resolves, making it an instant creature until end of turn.
In scenarios where creatures with the appropriate power are tapped to activate the crew ability, you can only declare blockers. You cannot activate abilities for the rest of the game turn.
Key takeaways
- Vehicles, including those that use the crew ability, experience summoning sickness.
- Summoning sickness for vehicles applies only when entering the battlefield, not repeatedly.
- Creatures recruiting a vehicle, not instant creatures, may be temporarily affected by summoning sickness.
Conclusion
This article has shed light on the complex topic of crew and summoning sickness in Magic: The Gathering. It’s evident that summoning sickness cannot be ignored, even if you’re crewing up your favorite vehicle. Players must carefully consider the mechanics and timing of summoning sickness when deciding when and how to crew their Vehicles.
By understanding summoning sickness and its application in the context of vehicles with the crew ability, your gameplay will become more focused and strategic.