Does double strike hit the player if it kills the blocker?

Does Double Strike Hit the Player if it Kills the blocker?

In the world of Magic: The Gathering, double strike is a highly potent ability that allows a creature to deal damage twice during combat. But one crucial question remains: what happens to the creature’s double strike ability when the blocker is killed during the combat process?

To answer this question, let’s start with a brief overview of how combat and blocking work in Magic. When an attacker declares a creature attack, its player has the opportunity to choose a blocker(s) to defend against it. The amount of combat damage dealt to the creature based on its power and toughness is typically decided during the combat damage step, once any applicable abilities have been resolved. Combat damage is then assigned to the blocking creatures and, if the blocker or blockers are destroyed, the attacked creature deals damage to its opponent(s).

Now, let’s specifically consider the case where a creature has the double strike ability and attacks an opponent(s) with a single blocker between the creature’s power and toughness, leaving enough damage for the opponent(s). What happens to the double strike ability in this scenario?

Does double strike trigger twice?

Fortunately, WotC has directly addressed this question in their official clarifications. According to Chris Marrin, Senior Game Design Lead at Wizards of the Coast, "[if] a creature with double strike doesn’t deal damage to a defending creature, it still deals half the damage to the defending player[emphasis added]" (via The Magic Companion).

Moreover, Magic’s official rulebook states in C.R. 701.15a: "A creature that receives no damage from an attacking creature will still have any applicable activated abilities (such as a double-strike ability) triggered by receiving damage to trigger" (Core Rules, 2021).

Divide and Conquer: Blocking with Double Strike

When combat occurs, the game follows strict damage assignment rules. If more than one creature (not just a single monster, as we’re discussing this), has double strike and attacks (note: only one ability counts), the ability will trigger its normal damage output. However, keep in mind that damage assignment from those abilities will happen serially, which means some monsters might only receive portions of that damage, depending on damage capacities.

Let’s consider three combat scenarios involving double-striking creatures:

In A and B, both damage events would trigger Monster 1’s double strike, but this may not be the case for Monster 1 with different abilities in B

So, to answer the question above:

Does double strike trigger twice?

No, double strike only triggers once within this context, provided the blocker lives during the combat damage step!

Please note: The wording can be different depending upon various Magic editions or versions. Refer to the official rules and documents, specifically the ‘Magic Community Resources’ section for the most definitive clarifications.