Is Blocking Dealing Damage in Magic?
In the game of Magic: The Gathering, understanding the concept of blocking is crucial for strategy and decision-making. Blocking is indeed dealing damage, which is a common misconception. In this article, we will delve into the mechanics of blocking and explore when and how blocking deals damage.
Dealing Combat Damage
To begin, let’s clarify what constitutes combat damage in Magic. Combat damage refers to any damage dealt by a creature, planeswalker, or other attacking objects to the opponent’s life total. Lifelink and trample are keywords that manipulate combat damage, but in this context, we’ll focus on the fundamental concept of combat damage itself.
Blocking as a Form of Combat Damage
When a creature attacks and is not blocked, the attacking player deals the attacking creature’s power as damage to the defending player. However, when a defending player declares a creature to block an attacking creature, they are choosing to absorb some or all of the combat damage the attacking creature would have dealt. In this case, the defending player’s creature is indeed dealing combat damage to themselves. This damage is not counted as "opponent dealt damage" or "other damage" but rather direct combat damage to the blocking creature.
How Blocking Deals Damage
When a creature blocks, it will deal its own toughness value in combat damage to itself. For example, if a 3/3 creature is blocking an attacking 5/5 creature, it will take 3 damage from the blocking. The blocking creature’s toughness (3 in this case) is compared to the amount of damage it would take from the attacking creature, and any excess damage is dealt to the opponent’s life total. In our example, 2 excess damage (5 – 3 = 2) would be dealt to the opponent’s life total.
Important Point: Blockers Can Deal Damage in the Combat Step
- Blockers can be destroyed by any source during the combat damage step. This is crucial because it means blockers can deal damage to the opponent before the opponent gets a chance to respond or block in return.
- Double strike allows a creature to deal both combat damage and damage during the second combat damage step**.
Examples
| Attack | Block |
|---|---|
| 5/5 | 3/3 |
| 8/8 | 2/2 |
In the table above:
- The attacking 5/5 creature would deal 5 – 3 = 2 excess damage to the opponent’s life total.
- The attacking 8/8 creature would deal 8 – 2 = 6 excess damage to the opponent’s life total.
Conclusion
Blocking is, indeed, a form of dealing damage in Magic. When a defender declares a creature to block, that creature is dealing combat damage to itself, which can then be reflected to the opponent’s life total through excess damage. Understanding blocking as a way to deal damage is essential for successful gameplay and can greatly improve your Magic skills.
I hope this helps!