3

I am unsure how the following situation resolves:

Player A attacks Player B with a Two-Headed Cerberus with a Baleful Eidolon bestowed upon it, making it effectively a 2/3 with double strike and deathtouch. Player B blocks with a Nessian Asp.

The first strike damage will kill Player B's asp, so he regenerates it using Boon of Erebos.

What happens in the next damage phase? I can see three possibilities:

  1. Both creatures die (the Asp is killed by the deathtouch, the Cerberus by damage)
  2. Neither creature dies because the regeneration removed the Asp from combat, but the Cerberus was still effectively blocked and does not hit Player B.
  3. Neither creature dies, but the Cerberus is not blocked in the second damage phase (I don't think this makes sense) and so hits Player B for 2 damage

1 Answer 1

8

The answer is #2. Regenerate causes the creature to be removed from combat:

614.8. Regeneration is a destruction-replacement effect. The word “instead” doesn’t appear on the card but is implicit in the definition of regeneration. “Regenerate [permanent]” means “The next time [permanent] would be destroyed this turn, instead remove all damage marked on it and tap it. If it’s an attacking or blocking creature, remove it from combat.” Abilities that trigger from damage being dealt still trigger even if the permanent regenerates. See rule 701.12.

As for the damage that the attacking creature would do, once a creature becomes blocked, it stays blocked no matter what happens to the blocking creature:

509.1h An attacking creature with one or more creatures declared as blockers for it becomes a blocked creature; one with no creatures declared as blockers for it becomes an unblocked creature. This remains unchanged until the creature is removed from combat, an effect says that it becomes blocked or unblocked, or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. A creature remains blocked even if all the creatures blocking it are removed from combat.

510.1c. A blocked creature assigns its combat damage to the creatures blocking it. If no creatures are currently blocking it (if, for example, they were destroyed or removed from combat), it assigns no combat damage.

3
  • This remains true even for double strike. Double strike simply gives you an additional round of damage to deal, it does not alter it's blocked status. I personally think the flavor would be better if its regular combat damage step damage made it through if the blocker was killed in the first strike damage step, but in terms of game mechanics, I think it's better for it to remain as written: blocked is blocked is blocked.
    – corsiKa
    Dec 5, 2013 at 23:38
  • @corsiKa, If the double strike creature has trample, the second swing will go through.
    – Brian S
    Dec 6, 2013 at 15:20
  • @BrianS Of course it will. It's already assigned lethal damage but still has damage to deal. My comment was merely that the flavor of double strike would be better if the second strike got through even without trample if the first strike damage was sufficient to cause lethal damage.
    – corsiKa
    Dec 6, 2013 at 17:01

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .