A destroyed attacker
Lucraneo
with, let's say, an instant. Do my creature's attack points still go
through? Or does my attacker go straight to the graveyard, do not
pass go?
David DeLaney
... Let's get some terminology and timing straightened out.
First off, you do know there's several different steps in Combat phase, right?
Declaring your attacker(s) happens as step 2 starts. Him declaring blockers, if
any, happens as step 3 starts; combat damage gets assigned onto the stack as
step 4 starts. (Step 1 is for stuff that triggers at the beginning of combat;
step 5 is for stuff that triggers at end of combat.) Each step has space inside
it for both players to Do Stuff.
Therefore, it depends a good deal on WHEN your opponent is doing this. If he
destroys your attacker during step 2, declare-attackers step, or during step
3, declare-blockers step, then it won't be around in play to ASSIGN any combat
damage [there's no such thing as 'attack points'] as step 4 starts, and nothing
much will happen this combat. If he waits till step 4 has started and the
combat damage from your attacker is already on the stack? Then destroys the
attacker? That in no way "undoes" the combat damage assignment on the stack,
and it'll resolve and deal damage (to the opponent, since no mention of
blocking was made) during step 4 as normal.
So: When did your opponent do this? Did he do it during declare-attackers
step, before any blockers could be declared at all? Did he do it during
declare-blockers step, before combat damage can go on the stack? Either of
these two means that that attacker doesn't survive to assign or deal combat
damage this turn. Did he wait until combat damage was already on the stack
and respond by destroying the attacker (usually not a smart move)? If so, then
the combat damage from the attacker still resolves and gets dealt.
Dave
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Daniel W. Johnson
"attack points"?
If it is destroyed, it is no longer a creature, much less an attacking
creature. If it's not an attacking (or blocking) creature when the
combat damage step begins, it doesn't get to assign combat damage.
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Zoe Stephenson
Possibly, both can happen.
Let's review the combat step:
Beginning of Combat Step
- Active player gets priority. Players can play instants and abilities.
- This is the last chance to tap a creature to prevent it from being
able to attack.
- When players all pass with the stack empty, go to the next step.
Declare Attackers Step
- Active player declares all of the attacking creatures and who they're
attacking, simultaneously, paying any costs and tapping declared
attackers that don't have vigilance. Those creatures become attacking
creatures.
- Active player gets priority. Players can play instants and abilities.
- This is the last chance to tap a creature to prevent it from being
able to block.
- When players all pass with the stack empty, go to the next step.
Declare Blockers Step
- Each defending player declares all of the blocking creatures and which
creature(s) they're blocking, simultaneously, paying any costs. The
creatures that block become blocking creatures. The attacking
creatures become blocked creatures and unblocked creatures, depending
on how they're blocked.
- Active player gets priority. Players can play instants and abilities.
- This is the last definite chance to alter a creature's power to
control the amount of damage it will assign - if any creature has first
strike or double strike, there will be another chance in the first
strike combat damage step.
- When players all pass with the stack empty, go to the next step.
First Strike Combat Damage Step
- This step only exists if any attacking creature has first strike or
double strike.
- A combat damage object goes on the stack, containing instructions
for each creature with first strike and each creature with double
strike to deal its damage among creatures that it battles in combat
and the defending players, according to how creatures are blocked
and whether creatures have trample or similar abilities.
- Active player gets priority. Players can play instants and abilities.
- When the combat damage object resolves, creatures deal damage as
assigned. If players respond to this object while it's on the stack,
they can change creatures' toughness or play damage-prevention or
redirection abilities to affect the outcome when the combat damage
resolves.
- This is the last chance to alter a creature's power to control the
amount of damage it will assign in the next step.
- When players all pass with the stack empty, go to the next step.
Regular Combat Damage Step
- A combat damage object goes on the stack, containing instructions
for each creature with double strike and each creature in combat
that did not already assign combat damage to deal its damage among
creatures that it battles in combat and the defending players,
according to how creatures are blocked and whether creatures have
trample or similar abilities.
- Active player gets priority. Players can play instants and abilities.
- When the combat damage object resolves, creatures deal damage as
assigned. If players respond to this object while it's on the stack,
they can change creatures' toughness or play damage-prevention or
redirection abilities to affect the outcome when the combat damage
resolves. Killing the creature doesn't stop the damage from being
dealt though - it'll be dealt by a source with the characteristics
that the creature had when it was last in play.
- When players all pass with the stack empty, go to the next step.
End of Combat Step
- Any 'at end of combat' triggers trigger.
- Active player gets priority. Players can play instants and abilities.
- This is the last chance to tap a creature to prevent it from being
able to attack.
- When players all pass with the stack empty, players mana-burn and the
game goes to the main phase.
OK, so, armed with that knowledge, the question is simply this: did
the attacking creature assign its combat damage yet? If so, then
destroying the attacking creature at this point won't change the
amount of damage that's going to be dealt when the combat damage
event resolves.
If the creature gets destroyed before assigning combat damage, _then_
the combat damage from that creature won't ever be assigned.
Hope that's all clear.
--
-- Zoe Stephenson, NetRep rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules
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