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Let's say I have a 1/1 with first strike that's attacking and blocked by a vanilla 4/4.

It deals first strike damage, but that's not enough to kill the defending creature. Right now, the attacking creature will have to take damage from the blocking creature.

Before the attacking creature takes that damage, can I “finish off” the blocking creature by casting Lightning Bolt and avoid it taking damage?

I am unsure whether,and when,a player gains priority during that step.

What, in my opinion, distinguishes this question from the others with which it can be associated, is the exact moment in which the players have the priority to cast spells again, which I believe should be placed exactly between the conclusion of the "first strike damage assignment phase" - in which first strike creatures assign their damage - and the "ordinary combat phase" - in which other creatures without first strike assign their damage.

It should be specified when players gain priority and it is possible to cast spells able to damage creatures during combat, and if it is possible to do so; and, above all, if these damages due to spells are assigned without the possibility,for creatures without first strike, to respond to them.

I don't think these are trivial things ...

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  • I urge anyone interested in making this great site more democratic, reading this question carefully, and comparing it to the one it was associated with - and that was considered a duplicate of it. And, after finding that these are two absolutely different questions, if they deem it appropriate, I invite those who have the right to vote for its reopening. Thank you
    – ManoFromBerlin
    Jan 11, 2020 at 10:31
  • Having shown exactly what my complaints are, I would now like to know from you,who close this question, which is the point of the linked question that exactly matches mine. If you do not find it, or it is not there, then it would be appropriate for you to vote for the reopening of my application. At the very least,it would be important for you, to recover credibility and consistency.
    – ManoFromBerlin
    Jan 13, 2020 at 11:19
  • The only thing these two questions have in common, is the fact that the creatures we are talking about have the "first strike" ability. But I guess that's not enough ...Or, anyway, that's my opinion. Probably, it is true that there may be some other questions similar to mine on the net. But the fact is that, if there is already a question equal to mine, well this question is not the one you refer to in the duplication box.
    – ManoFromBerlin
    Jan 13, 2020 at 11:20

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Yes, that's a thing you can do.

It works out like this:

  1. The first strike combat damage step begins:
    1. All creatures with first strike or double strike assign combat damage. Your 1/1 deals its damage to the 4/4, which now has 1 damage marked on it.
    2. All players get priority.
    3. You cast a spell—Lightning Bolt—and deal 3 damage to the 4/4. It now has 4 damage marked on it and dies.
    4. All players (including you) choose to do nothing else, passing priority to let the next step begin.
  2. The regular combat damage step begins:
    1. All creatures still present now deal damage, except your 1/1 because it already dealt its first strike damage. The 4/4 is no longer around, so it won't do anything.

Your 1/1 survives this combat.

Naturally we'd normally see this scenario if you can't deal a whole 4 damage with any one spell or creature, but you can combine these damage sources to get the job done. However, you're also definitely not limited to eliminating the creature via damage in the middle of combat: if you have a spell like Murder or Final Reward you can also remove the creature that way after first strike combat damage and have the same outcome. You may choose to do things that way if your 1/1 has Lifelink, to gain some life before eliminating the enemy creature.

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  • Too bad that the comments have been deleted. They were useful, not only for me, but for various other users. But the main thing is that the excellent answer remains! Here it was well understood that one of the key points of the question is in knowing if, and when, players can regain priority to cast other spells - all during the fight itself: neither before nor after, but during the course of the fight itself.
    – ManoFromBerlin
    Jan 20, 2020 at 16:46
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    @ManoFromBerlin I flagged them for removal. Comments have a specific purpose described here — they're temporary post-it notes used for requesting clarification or suggesting improvement. They are not for discussiony commentary for example, e.g. for the comments that were about the question getting closed the place for that is on Board & Card Games Meta. I appreciate you like my answer, but please stick to using comments within their guidelines; I would prefer not to keep getting pings for this answer unless I need to do something.
    – doppelgreener
    Jan 20, 2020 at 17:33

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