What happens if a Planeswalker is indestructible?

What happens if a Planeswalker is indestructible?

A Planeswalker is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering, representing a powerful and epic being. They have numerous abilities, powers, and effects that set them apart from regular creatures. Indestructible is one such ability that ensures a Planeswalker will not be destroyed by traditional means, but what actually happens to an indestructible Planeswalker when it takes damage?

Removing Loyalty Counters

To begin with, it is essential to understand that loyalty counters are integral to Planeswalkers. Whenever a Planeswalker is attacked or affected by an ability, some of these counters are removed. Indestructible status does not affect this aspect. A Planeswalker with indestructible ability will continue to have its loyalty counters removed when dealt damage, as per normal rules. The number of loyalty counters an indestructible Planeswalker maintains will impact its fate.

Going to the Graveyard

0 Loyalty Counters

If the indestructible Planeswalker is left with zero loyalty counters, it will not be considered destroyed, despite its inability to have loyalty counters further removed. According to official Magic rules, when the loyalty counters of a planeswalker decrease to zero or below, that planeswalker is put into the graveyard.

Sacrifice and Destruction

Other forms of destruction, aside from direct destruction by players or external forces, have no impact on an indestructible Planeswalker. If an indestructible Planeswalker’s toughness falls to zero through damage or any other effect, it will stay on the battlefield, undestroyed and still on the game state. Examples of this include Deathtouch abilities or "destroy X" effects with X set to zero, which wouldn’t have a direct effect on the planeswalker’s state.

Countering

Now that we have addressed the interaction between an indestructible Planeswalker and normal destruction effects, let us explore another critical aspect: countering. Indestructible has no effect on counters targeting the planeswalker or on its permanent state in the game world. Therefore, counters intended to reduce its loyalty counter count, deal damage to it, or manipulate it in some other way are still functional against an indestructible Planeswalker.

Interactions

Here are some specific interactions to consider, which affect an indestructible Planeswalker when dealing with:

• Lethal Damage: Remember that indesctrutable does not stop a planewalker from taking lethal damage. In the event where a Planeswalker falls to 0 life as a result of an indesctrutable-protected planewalker losing all life the spell will only "win", but still do no work.
• Life Total reduction: an indestructible Planeswalker can "die" as a consequence of reduction to zero.
• Permanents that target the planewalker as a destruction trigger.
  • Such permanent would also trigger upon removal.
  • Trigger of indestructible for planeswalker being destroyed in addition to those triggers on its permanent.

Recap

1. Indestructible Planeswalker continues losing loyalty counters normally.

   • A indestructible Planeswalker that stays on the game with one or less loyalty counter at the beginning of its next upkeep it would go back to seven, because otherwise it can still die of zero counter loyalty.
     • Because when loyalty gets to 0 the owner of that Planeswalker can say no.

2. If a Plaineswalker gets destroyed this is where indesctrutable come into play so it goes on to go to its grave instead but it gets around.

3. Any counter not targeting will target a specific permanent for some kind if effect they also apply normally.

   What happens when an indestructible Planeswalker faces damage remains quite nuanced in Magic. To ensure we understand and can play as intended, remember the guidelines outlined here.

   You can continue playing Magic!