If someone casts Diminish on a Protean Hydra with seven +1/+1 counters on it would it be an 8/8?
Asked by pdubs 13 years ago
Let's say I've got a Protean Hydra with 7 +1/+1 counters, and an opponent casts Diminish and blocks with a 1/1 creature. Does the hydra bite it as a 1/1, or is it technically now an 8/8? I'm pretty sure the 1/1 of Diminish overrides the counters or other pre-existing boosts, but wanted to check with the experts here.
Gatherer ruling on Diminish :
"Effects that modify the targeted creature's power or toughness, such as the effects of Giant Growth or Honor of the Pure, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature's power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness."
Diminish only changes a creature's power and toughness, while ignoring counters and the effects of other spells. Thus, the opponent would be changing your Protean Hydra from a 0/0 with 7 +1/+1 counters on it to a 1/1 with 7 +1/+1 counters on it.
MagnorCriol says... #1
This is a facet of the sometimes uber-complex layering rules.
The short, non-legalese version is: It's an 8/8. Think of the counters as some sort of hovering magical boost that just boost whatever's beneath them; you can change the thing beneath them, but they still grant their collective 7-power bonus.
If you're actually interested in the more thorough, technical, legal explanation, I can type it up if you ask.
January 11, 2011 11:25 p.m.