Does trample beat deathtouch?

Does Trample Beat Deathtouch?

In Magic: The Gathering, both Trample and Deathtouch are powerful abilities that can greatly impact the outcome of a game. While they seem mutually exclusive, they often face off against each other on the battlefield. But when they do, which ability comes out on top?

Direct Answer

Short answer: Yes, Trample beats Deathtouch. But don’t just take our word for it; let’s break down the details.

How Trample Works

• Trample allows a creature to assign excess damage from its combat damage to any target, including players.
• Excess damage is the damage exceeding the toughness of a blocked creature.
• If an attacking creature has Trample, it will first deal damage to the blocked creatures, and then the remainder of the damage (the excess) will be assigned to the defending player or planeswalker.

How Deathtouch Works

• Deathtouch makes an attacking creature’s each point of damage deal an additional point of lethal damage to any blocking creature.
• In other words, if a blocking creature would normally survive a damage assignment, Deathtouch makes it instantly lethal.

The Battle Royale

Now, when Trample meets Deathtouch on the battlefield, let’s see what happens:

• Trample deals excess damage first (damage exceeding the blocked creature’s toughness).
• At this point, Deathtouch doesn’t intervene, as the creature won’t be dealing enough lethal damage to kill the blocking creature.
• If any damage remains after assigning the excess damage, Deathtouch kicks in: each point of remaining damage becomes lethal damage.
• Since the blocking creature already died from the initial assignment of excess damage, this additional lethal damage won’t affect it.

Subtle Points

• Trample doesn’t destroy creatures; it just allows for excess damage to be dealt to other targets. Since Deathtouch cares about lethal damage, Trample’s effects only matter after the Deathtouch damage assignment has been made.
• Indestructible creatures can still benefit from Trample, even when they wouldn’t be able to die from damage in the first place.

Example Scenarios

Suppose we have:

Creature A with Deathtouch, +3/+3 and no Trample
Creature B with Trample, +2/+0 and no Deathtouch

• Creature B attacks and deals 3 damage to Creature A (toughness 6). Creature A, as a result, has become lethal and dies. Remaining damage (1 point) is dealt to the defender.
• In another example, Creature B with +5/+0 attacks an indestructible blocking creature with toughness 2, dealing 5 damage.

Conclusion

Trample and Deathtouch are both powerful abilities with unique effects. While Deathtouch can immediately turn a blocking creature into dust, Trample gets to deal excess damage only after Deathtouch has done its part. In the end, Trample’s effects supplant Deathtouch’s, making Trample the victor in a battle of abilities. Now, go forth and claim victory with your trample creatures!