I like that you also sometimes revisit basics like this. It's nice to sometimes see a question and be confident that you know the answer, and it also helps new players that you explain some of the in-game advantages (like preventing lifelink) that this interaction can have.
I want to use this example to say I love the fact that you rate the video's difficulty with stars. These 1 stars are good for new players, and then when I see the higher ones I know it's time to buckle up and get deep. So thank you :)
Ngl I've been watching videos for a while and never noticed the stars 😅 so thank you for pointing that out! Normally just look at the cards or click from the notif
This kind of thing really tripped me up when I played Legends of Runeterra for the first time. I kept using their equivalent of Village Rites to sac tokens I used as chump blockers, and getting really confused whenever a (seemingly arbitrary) attacker got through.
Advanced question based on this scenario: If the attacking creature has trample and all blockers are removed, do you HAVE TO assign the combat damage to the player?
Yes. "702.19d If an attacking creature with trample or trample over planeswalkers is blocked, but there are no creatures blocking it when damage is assigned, its damage is assigned to the defending player and/or planeswalker as though all blocking creatures have been assigned lethal damage."
If there aren't *any* blockers, then yes. As long as there is only 1 blocker though, you are free to assign as much as you want to that one if you want to avoid trampling over for some reason.
It's probably too niche to see print, but it'd be neat to have a double striker that has trample during the normal combat damage step, but not the first one. Or just to be weird, trample on first strike damage step, and no trample after :) Could be done with a trigger ("after this deals combat damage, it gains/loses trample until end of turn") but a static ability would be more elegant IMO. I think that'd be the first ability other than the strike abilities themselves that has to distinguish between the two combat damage steps?
Interesting idea. I think the best way to word it would be "This creature has trample as long as it has dealt combat damage this turn" or "Whenever this creature deals combat damage, it gains trample until end of turn."
We don't really see them much anymore but I always liked the odd ability on cards like Thorn Elemental that allowed you to assign damage as though it weren't blocked even if it was.
Hey Judge Dave, thanks for your work! I have a question about rules that popped up since I've seen this interaction happen in Standard recently, but I'm not entirely sure why it happens. Amy (I) cast Overlord of the Balemurk for its Impending Cost as Nate (opponent) has an Authority of the Consuls in play. I know that Overlord enters tapped, but why? Isn't the Impending cost supposed to make it not a creature?
Not a hundred percent on this, but the impending ability set up a static ability that says while it has time counters on it, it is not a creature, and a seperate ability to enter with counters. So, on the stack, it's a creature that will come in tapped and with the time counters, at which point it stops being a creature.
I have a question unrelated to the video topic that I think I know the answer to, but hopefully someone can confirm whether I'm correct. I'm trying to brainstorm a commander deck with The Celestial Toymaker (Dr. Who Secret Lair) as my commander. The relevant ability I'm working with is the second ability that causes life loss after having to guess or put cards into piles. Do cards specifically have to say "guess" on them, or does naming a card for a spell such as Foreshadow also count as guessing for purposes of triggering the ability? My thought is that naming an unknown card is not going to trigger the ability because you're not actually guessing which card will be on top of the library. If I'm incorrect, clarification as to why would be greatly appreciated.
its little things like this that still give me trouble logically. if i put up a blocker that will die to the attack, i can still sacrifice it for some other purpose but it has still blocked the damage. how can it do both?
The attacker gets distracted by the thing that jumped in front of it falling over dead before it even gets touched, and forgets that it had a planeswalker (remember: the players are planeswalkers, too) or battle to hit. 😛
Just imagine that every creature in MTG is canonically lazy. Yes, this is technically a battle between the two powerful mages, but there isn't any reason for almost any creature to support them or to work overtime. Most of the planes have their problems to solve, but instead of doing exactly that, you are instead summoned by some weirdo, just because he cast a spell. If the creature is being told by one mage to attack, it attacks, if it's being told by another mage, that it's blocked-it prepares to encounter enemy forces, if the enemy forces never appear-well, it tried. Does it care if enemy forces were brutally destroyed by some devilish trick by one mage or backstabbed and sacrificed by another? No, it does not care.
I like to think of combat as the attacker sending creatures charging across a field with the defender sending their own creatures out to block them. In this scenario, the attacking creature sees the blocking creature coming and slows down to meet it so they can square up and fight. Just as they are about to exchange blows, the defender falls over dead. The attacker has already stopped to prepare to fight though and doesn't have enough time to make it to the defending player before they have to return. Trample by contrast means they never stop. They keep going until they are weighed down by enough defenders and are forced to stop.
@@seandun7083 Yes, this is the metaphor I like too. The blockers aren't blocking the damage itself, they're stopping the attacker's movement toward the player, and they jump in the way as soon as you declare blockers, even though the actual fighting takes a few seconds (i.e. happens later during combat damage step).
@@seandun7083 I prefer to think of it as attacking creatures aim their attacks at whatever is blocking them and then...attacks. If all the blockers magically dropped dead they just miss their attack.
![เปิดบ้าน โคตรสวย ป๋องกพล รู้จักตั้งนาน เพิ่งรู้ว่ารวย!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tmgCF_2HfYI/mqdefault.jpg)
I like that you also sometimes revisit basics like this.
It's nice to sometimes see a question and be confident that you know the answer, and it also helps new players that you explain some of the in-game advantages (like preventing lifelink) that this interaction can have.
I want to use this example to say I love the fact that you rate the video's difficulty with stars. These 1 stars are good for new players, and then when I see the higher ones I know it's time to buckle up and get deep. So thank you :)
Ngl I've been watching videos for a while and never noticed the stars 😅 so thank you for pointing that out! Normally just look at the cards or click from the notif
Where are the stars? Can't see them
@@enricobrasil they're in the top right of the thumbnails
Oh, in the thumbnail... thx
On the thumbnail and at the start of the description
thanks so much for this detailed but concise answer! this interaction really confused me when i was learning the game
This kind of thing really tripped me up when I played Legends of Runeterra for the first time. I kept using their equivalent of Village Rites to sac tokens I used as chump blockers, and getting really confused whenever a (seemingly arbitrary) attacker got through.
Advanced question based on this scenario:
If the attacking creature has trample and all blockers are removed, do you HAVE TO assign the combat damage to the player?
Yes.
"702.19d If an attacking creature with trample or trample over planeswalkers is blocked, but there are no creatures blocking it when damage is assigned, its damage is assigned to the defending player and/or planeswalker as though all blocking creatures have been assigned lethal damage."
If there aren't *any* blockers, then yes. As long as there is only 1 blocker though, you are free to assign as much as you want to that one if you want to avoid trampling over for some reason.
Thank you for revisiting basics since even I screw up sometimes on the basics
It's probably too niche to see print, but it'd be neat to have a double striker that has trample during the normal combat damage step, but not the first one. Or just to be weird, trample on first strike damage step, and no trample after :) Could be done with a trigger ("after this deals combat damage, it gains/loses trample until end of turn") but a static ability would be more elegant IMO. I think that'd be the first ability other than the strike abilities themselves that has to distinguish between the two combat damage steps?
Interesting idea. I think the best way to word it would be "This creature has trample as long as it has dealt combat damage this turn" or "Whenever this creature deals combat damage, it gains trample until end of turn."
Ah, I miss Mogg Fanatic
We don't really see them much anymore but I always liked the odd ability on cards like Thorn Elemental that allowed you to assign damage as though it weren't blocked even if it was.
Got me scared for a second that this might have changed with the recent damage assignment changes.
This is like a half star, tops
Hey Judge Dave, thanks for your work!
I have a question about rules that popped up since I've seen this interaction happen in Standard recently, but I'm not entirely sure why it happens.
Amy (I) cast Overlord of the Balemurk for its Impending Cost as Nate (opponent) has an Authority of the Consuls in play. I know that Overlord enters tapped, but why? Isn't the Impending cost supposed to make it not a creature?
Not a hundred percent on this, but the impending ability set up a static ability that says while it has time counters on it, it is not a creature, and a seperate ability to enter with counters. So, on the stack, it's a creature that will come in tapped and with the time counters, at which point it stops being a creature.
@jasonlim8892 I looked this up on scryfall and that seems to be the case yep! Still, is love to see a deeper dive
I have a question unrelated to the video topic that I think I know the answer to, but hopefully someone can confirm whether I'm correct. I'm trying to brainstorm a commander deck with The Celestial Toymaker (Dr. Who Secret Lair) as my commander. The relevant ability I'm working with is the second ability that causes life loss after having to guess or put cards into piles.
Do cards specifically have to say "guess" on them, or does naming a card for a spell such as Foreshadow also count as guessing for purposes of triggering the ability? My thought is that naming an unknown card is not going to trigger the ability because you're not actually guessing which card will be on top of the library. If I'm incorrect, clarification as to why would be greatly appreciated.
That's an unusual card for sure. I would say that choosing isn't the same as guessing. Toymaker needs it to specifically say "guess" or "pile."
its little things like this that still give me trouble logically. if i put up a blocker that will die to the attack, i can still sacrifice it for some other purpose but it has still blocked the damage. how can it do both?
The attacker gets distracted by the thing that jumped in front of it falling over dead before it even gets touched, and forgets that it had a planeswalker (remember: the players are planeswalkers, too) or battle to hit. 😛
Just imagine that every creature in MTG is canonically lazy.
Yes, this is technically a battle between the two powerful mages, but there isn't any reason for almost any creature to support them or to work overtime. Most of the planes have their problems to solve, but instead of doing exactly that, you are instead summoned by some weirdo, just because he cast a spell.
If the creature is being told by one mage to attack, it attacks, if it's being told by another mage, that it's blocked-it prepares to encounter enemy forces, if the enemy forces never appear-well, it tried.
Does it care if enemy forces were brutally destroyed by some devilish trick by one mage or backstabbed and sacrificed by another? No, it does not care.
I like to think of combat as the attacker sending creatures charging across a field with the defender sending their own creatures out to block them.
In this scenario, the attacking creature sees the blocking creature coming and slows down to meet it so they can square up and fight. Just as they are about to exchange blows, the defender falls over dead. The attacker has already stopped to prepare to fight though and doesn't have enough time to make it to the defending player before they have to return.
Trample by contrast means they never stop. They keep going until they are weighed down by enough defenders and are forced to stop.
@@seandun7083 Yes, this is the metaphor I like too. The blockers aren't blocking the damage itself, they're stopping the attacker's movement toward the player, and they jump in the way as soon as you declare blockers, even though the actual fighting takes a few seconds (i.e. happens later during combat damage step).
@@seandun7083 I prefer to think of it as attacking creatures aim their attacks at whatever is blocking them and then...attacks. If all the blockers magically dropped dead they just miss their attack.