Does protection protect against board wipe?

Does Protection Protect Against Board Wipe?

Board wipes are a common phenomenon in the world of Magic: The Gathering. When a board wipe occurs, all permanents on the battlefield are destroyed, often leaving players with nothing but rubble to rebuild from. But does protection, a powerful keyword ability, protect players from these devastating effects? In this article, we’ll delve into the intricacies of protection and explore whether it can shield your board from board wipes.

What is Protection?

Before we dive into the main topic, let’s define what protection is. Protection is a keyword ability that grants a permanent or player immunity from target effects controlled by opponents. In essence, protection prevents opponents from targeting you or your permanents with their spells or abilities. This includes creatures with protection, as well as planeswalkers and other permanents with this ability.

Does Protection Protect Against Board Wipes?

Now, let’s tackle the main question: does protection protect against board wipes? The answer is: no, protection does not inherently protect against board wipes. Board wipes do not target specific permanents; they’re designed to destroy all permanents on the battlefield, regardless of their protection. As such, protection does not provide immunity against these effects.

Why Doesn’t Protection Work Against Board Wipes?

There are several reasons why protection doesn’t work against board wipes. For one, board wipes do not target specific permanents, which means they don’t trigger the protection ability. Secondly, protection only prevents opponents from targeting a particular permanent or player, whereas board wipes destroy all permanents, regardless of whether they have protection or not.

Which Cards Can Wipe Out the Board?

There are several types of cards that can wipe out the board. Mass destruction spells, such as ‘Supreme Verdict’, ‘Path to Exile’, and ‘Doom Blade’, can destroy all permanents on the battlefield. Auras with sacrifice effects, like ‘Wrath of God’ and ‘Cinder Glow’, can exile all permanents, leaving only their controller’s life totals as a reminder of the board wipe. Triggers, such as ‘Terror of Estrid’ and ‘Necrologia’, can exile all permanents, turning the board into a barren wasteland.

Types of Protection

While protection does not inherently protect against board wipes, there are other types of protection that may come into play. Hexproof permanents, for example, are protected against target effects, but they still can be destroyed by non-targeted effects, such as board wipes. Indestructible permanents are resistant to destruction, but they can still be exiled or sacrificed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, protection does not provide immunity against board wipes. Board wipes are designed to destroy all permanents on the battlefield, regardless of their protection. While there are other types of protection, such as hexproof and indestructible, these also have limitations and may not protect your board from the devastating effects of a board wipe.

Table: Types of Protection vs. Board Wipes

In the next article, we’ll explore more advanced strategies and cards that can help you survive the impact of a board wipe.