How does regeneration interact with infect?

Asked by zigkid3 14 years ago

so i was playing amatch one day with someone. it was infect deck vs. infect deck.

anyways i had out a Blight Mamba and he had some random infect creature.

if i or he blocks an attack where Blight Mamba is involved what happens to it if i pay to regenerate it?

he claims that it still dies because it takes the -1/-1 counters. but if that were the case then that means regeneration would happen after being hit instead of being used as an instant which would basically make it a useless ability in the first place then (as then it die from normal combat damage as well for hitting 0 health then too). so i'm not so sure what he was saying was right.

cardcoin says... Accepted answer #1

Your opponent is correct.

You pay the mana to regenerate before the creature is damaged, if it takes damage from an infect creature, then that damage is dealt in -1/-1 counters to the creature, therefore it has 0 defence and as a state based effect it will die unless there is something that can give it at least a +1 defence and keep it's defence above 0.

October 18, 2010 7:24 p.m.

I believe regeneration removes all damage from the creature, and removes it from combat (if it was in combat). So if creatures with infect deal damage in -1/-1 counters, and you remove the damage from your mamba, it won't take any -1/-1 counters.

If your mamba's toughness IS reduced by -1/-1 counters some other way, then regeneration is useless.

I'd wait to see what some others think though, I may be wrong in some areas

October 18, 2010 7:35 p.m.

my bad, didn't see cardcoin's explanation

October 18, 2010 7:36 p.m.

squire1 says... #4

regeneration doe not remove damage or remove from combat.

All non-firststrike damage is dealt simultaneously.

Regeneration states that the next time this creature is dealt lethal damage and/or would be destroyed this turn, it is not instead. Tap the creature. It still deals and is dealt damage.

So when it receives a toughness of 0 from -1/-1 counters, it is neither destroyed or dealt lethal damage. It has its toughness reduce to 0 and goes to the graveyard as a state-based effect.

Regenerate does not help at all.

October 18, 2010 7:41 p.m.

KrazyCaley says... #5

Technically regeneration DOES remove damage from the creature AND it pulls the creature out of combat. See 614.8. However, by "remove damage," it means damage markers. A creature that deals its damage in the form of -1/-1 evades this because regeneration is looking for normal damage markers, not -1/-1 counters.

So regeneration doesn't save you for the same reason it doesn't save you from Infest and other such effects.

October 19, 2010 2:08 a.m.

This discussion has been closed