Direct damage and Bile Blight
Standard forum
Posted on March 31, 2014, 10:12 p.m. by jyork1213
So tonight I was playing standard. I had a Desecration Demon on the board and proceeded to cast Anger of the Gods to wipe his board. I then moved to combat and attacked with the Demon. He cast Bile Blight and said that it would kill the demon because he had already taken 3 damage. Is this correct or I did I lose a game due to a bad call?
@Epochalyptik if an indestructible creature is dealt damage, let's say Thassa, God of the Sea takes 2 from Searing Blood then is also hit by Bile Blight would she die as her toughness is brought to zero? or would it need to be a card like Dismember where the negative amount being applied equals the toughness printed on the indestructible creature? I'm still having trouble understanding that aspect.
March 31, 2014 10:21 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
@Behgz: No. Remember that damage does not reduce toughness (although it is often displayed that way in games like MTGO). If you cast Searing Blood on Thassa, God of the Sea , you'd end up with an indestructible 5/5 with 2 damage marked on it. Then, if you cast Bile Blight on it, it would be an indestructible 2/2 with 2 damage marked on it.
It's still indestructible, so it won't be destroyed. You need to actually reduce the toughness to 0 or less; damage is irrelevant to indestructible creatures.
You could kill Thassa, God of the Sea with two Bile Blight , or with a Dismember . Remember that it will simply be put into its owner's graveyard as a state-based action. It won't be destroyed because permanents are only destroyed by lethal damage and destroy effects.
March 31, 2014 10:24 p.m.
Quag Sickness in mono-black is good for that sort of thing.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Rules questions should be asked in the Q&A, which is linked in the header bar.
That's correct. When a creature is dealt damage, that damage remains marked on the creature until the end of the turn. Desecration Demon was a 6/6 with 3 damage marked on it. Bile Blight reduced it to a 3/3 with 3 damage marked on it, and it was destroyed as a state-based action for having lethal damage marked on it.
March 31, 2014 10:14 p.m.