Eric O. LEBIGOT
France
Paris
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Must a creature with Deathtouch assign damage equal to toughness to each blocking creature (in the blocking order)?
For example, if a 3/5 creature with Deathtouch is blocked by a 2/2, a 2/3, and a 1/2 creature, the first two creature die, right? In particular, it's not possible to assign 1+1+1 damage to the 3 blockers,… or is it?
I understand that damage is assigned so that all blocking creatures first receive Lethal Damage, and that Lethal Damage is simply damage equal or larger than the Toughness (so that 1 Damage on a 2/2 creature is not Lethal damage, even when assigned by a creature with Deathtouch).
Is this correct?
As always, references to the official rules are most welcome.
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Jeff Thompson
United States
Homewood
Illinois
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Creatures assign damage so that all blocking creatures receive lethal damage...
...
except...
...
those with Deathtouch. They get to do it the old fashioned way. And so all three blocking creatures die in your example.
I suppose look up Deathtouch in the rules. Should be there.
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Tim Stellmach
United States
Arlington
Massachusetts
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Normally, you have to assign lethal damage if possible before moving on to the next blocking/blocked creature (Comprehensive rules, 510.1c-d). However, the rule for Deathtouch explicitly makes an exception to 510.1c-d (Comprehensive rules, 702.2b) allowing you to divide your combat damage any way you choose among the blocking or blocked creatures.
So, as far as I can see, go ahead with the 1-1-1.
lebigot wrote: I understand that damage is assigned so that all blocking creatures first receive Lethal Damage, and that Lethal Damage is simply damage equal or larger than the Toughness
Not exactly. You get to take into account any damage already taken when determining what counts as Lethal. Which is an aside, though, since you don't have to assign lethal damage from a creature with Deathtouch.
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Jeremy Koopmans
Canada
St Albert
Alberta
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See this page for the latest Deathtouch rules and explanation, complete with the comprehensive rules.
It's about 80% down the page.
To quote, in short, "Starting with M11, deathtouch no longer ignores blocking order in situations involving multiple blockers. Additionally, you only need to assign a single point of damage from a creature with deathtouch to each blocker"
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Eric O. LEBIGOT
France
Paris
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timstellmach wrote: Normally, you have to assign lethal damage if possible before moving on to the next blocking/blocked creature (Comprehensive rules, 510.1c-d). However, the rule for Deathtouch explicitly makes an exception to 510.1c-d (Comprehensive rules, 702.2b) allowing you to divide your combat damage any way you choose among the blocking or blocked creatures.
So, as far as I can see, go ahead with the 1-1-1. Thanks! I had checked section 702.2, but had obviously read it too fast (it's a bit late, here in France).
timstellmach wrote: lebigot wrote: I understand that damage is assigned so that all blocking creatures first receive Lethal Damage, and that Lethal Damage is simply damage equal or larger than the Toughness Not exactly. You get to take into account any damage already taken when determining what counts as Lethal. Which is an aside, though, since you don't have to assign lethal damage from a creature with Deathtouch.
Thanks again: it feels good to know the rules better.
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Todd Werner
United States
Portland
United States
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timstellmach wrote: Which is an aside, though, since you don't have to assign lethal damage from a creature with Deathtouch.
You DO have to assign lethal damage to each creature in blocking order before assigning any damage to the next creature "in line." However, per 702.2b (a rule you referenced), any nonzero amount of damage assigned by a source with deathtouch is considered lethal.
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702.2b Any nonzero amount of combat damage assigned to a creature by a source with deathtouch is considered to be lethal damage, regardless of that creature's toughness. See rules 510.1c-d.
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Kind of a nitpick. I do think it's easier to just remember that you have to assign lethal damage to each creature in order before moving on to the next one and that any damage from a deathtouch source is lethal.
And so, to answer the OP (which was already done, but to reinforce!), your creature with deathtouch can assign 1 point to the 2/2, which is considered lethal, and then move on to assign 1 point to the 2/3, which is considered lethal, and then move on to assign its last point to the 1/2 (which is also considered lethal).
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Tommy Occhipinti
United States
Irvine
California
Magic Fanboy
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Note that for this reason Trample and Deathtouch make a deadly combination. Consider what happens when you cast Overrun with a Grave Titan. Ouch!
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Tim Stellmach
United States
Arlington
Massachusetts
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louper wrote: You DO have to assign lethal damage to each creature in blocking order before assigning any damage to the next creature "in line." However, per 702.2b (a rule you referenced), any nonzero amount of damage assigned by a source with deathtouch is considered lethal.
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702.2b Any nonzero amount of combat damage assigned to a creature by a source with deathtouch is considered to be lethal damage, regardless of that creature's toughness. See rules 510.1c-d.
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Quite right. I was looking at an outdated version of the Comprehensive Rules, which instead made an exception to the requirement of assigning Lethal Damage. My error. The current version is as you say.
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Eric O. LEBIGOT
France
Paris
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timstellmach wrote: I was looking at an outdated version of the Comprehensive Rules, (…) I love the following comprehensive rules site: http://www.yawgatog.com/resources/magic-rules/. It is always up to date. The rules are also hyperlinked, which makes this site very convenient.
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Posted Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:25 pm
