Blocking

Reprinting text-less full art

Hey Mark, could cards be reprinted as text less full arts with the same art they already had? I just saw Campbell White's art for the elemental incarnation cycle in the MH3 special guests for the first time, and think that it actually gets hurt by the text box blocking a bit of it, and think it would be really cool if versions with just the art could exist.

It depends on the art ratio.

Art Blocking Elementals Guests Incarnations Modern Horizons 3 Reprints

Blue Creature's Reach

Modern Horizons includes a 4U common creature with reach. I understand blue doesn't have problems blocking flyers but it's so weird to see reach on a blue card.

Reach is an aesthetic bend (aka the color doesn’t usually do this to help the colors feel distinct) not a mechanical one. That is why it feels weird.

Bend / Break Blocking Blue Colors Creatures Modern Horizons

Optimal Damage Assignment

“ The answer is 2. Each creature has to be dealt lethal damage which is 1 point of deathtouch damage, the rest tramples over to the player.” Isn’t the answer to all blocking creatures with both deathtouch and trample scenarios ‘It depends how the attacking player decides to assign damage’? Can’t you assign more damage than lethal to a creature?

Yes, but we can assume the players are making optimal choices to win the game.

Attacking Blocking Creatures Deathtouch Trample

Rampage Rating

Where is rampage on the scale?

I’ll call it an 8. It not working on the first creature to block it is a huge flaw. Not a lot of blocking happens with two creatures.

Blocking Creatures Rampage

Blocking Rules Complexity

What's the current opinion on the ability to block while tapped?

I don’t think it’s a great rule to break as whenever we’ve experimented with it, it just caused endless confusion.

Blocking Rules

Keywording and Blocking Queries

Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason why "This creature is indestructible" became keyworded as "indestructible", but "This creature is unblockable" was abandoned in favor of "this creature can't be blocked"?

The key to a keyword is that the same template is used, as a keyword has to replace an exact line(s) of text. Indestructible was used consistently in its template, while unblockability was not. We did spend some time trying to unify it, but we couldn’t find an acceptable answer, as there are a bunch of different ways we use it. We changed how unblockability was templated to lessen players falsely believing it was a keyword.

Blocking Creatures Indestructible Keywords Templating

White's Combat Mechanics

Can White Fight creatures that are attacking or blocking?

No, it can deal damage to attackers/blockers though.

Attacking Blocking Creatures Deal Damage Fight / Bite Mechanics White

Banding Mechanic Future

Hi Mark!Which is more likely?• Functional banding on attack only• Functional banding on defense only?It could be as small as a single card or as big as keyworded mechanic, and exactly banding or simply a cleaner functional way to say either "If any member of the group becomes blocked by a creature, they all become blocked by that creature", or "when blocking a creature with a group, you assign combat damage" l.

The offensive quality of banding was much better gameplay than the defensive quality. I doubt we’ll bring back a functional replacement, but we’ll make inspired mechanics like enlist.

Banding Blocking Creatures Enlist Game Play Mechanics

Detective Tokens Function

Just curious, did detective tokens ever do anything detective-y? Such as, blocking suspected creatures as though they weren’t suspected?

Not that I know of. We tend to limit how much text we put on the tokens.

Blocking Creatures Detective Tokens

Pseudo-Last Strike

Could there be a pseudo-last strike by saying “creatures blocking and blocked by (CARDNAME) have first strike” ?

We’ve made cards that do that.

Blocking Creatures First Strike

Blocking Pompous Gadabout

Can an unactivated ______ block Pompous Gadabout?

No. It doesn’t have a name.

_____ Blocking Pompous Gadabout

Rampage Mechanic

Why should ramapage not say “beyond the first”?

It makes it relevant. Double blocking happens so rarely.

Blocking Mechanics Rampage

Blocking Trample Issues

Why is blocking trample a problem

It is both confusing in how it works, and hard to make happen.

Blocking Trample

Blocking Trample Concept

If/When a creature that tramples when it blocks a smaller creature?

If. “Blocking trample” is problematic on several levels.

Blocking Creatures If/When Trample

Attack Blocking Mechanics

Hey Mark,"This can't be blocked" is primary in blue, and "target creature can't block this turn" is primary in red.Would "whenever this attacks, target creature can't block it this turn" be in-pie for blue/red? Is that effect appropriate for an evergreen keyword?

It’s an area where we like the differentiation, so we don’t want to line them up.

Blocking Blue Creatures Evergreen Izzet (U/R) Keywords Mechanics Primary Red

Stun Counter Proposition

What about UR giving opponents' blocking creatures a stun counter? For red, this punishes both the choice to block and subsequently attack, and slows down the opponent (a la exert or Urabrask The Hidden). For blue, stunning is a classic.

We don’t have red stunning creatures.

Blocking Blue Creatures Exert Izzet (U/R) Red Stun Urabrask the Hidden

Combat Terminology Simplification

"blocking or blocked by" -> "in combat with"?

It doesn’t save much space and is less exact. I think it might cause confusion with fighting.

Blocking

Red's Blocking Mechanics

Can mono red get the "This creature can't block or be blocked" effect? Thanks for answering our questions sir

Red gets “this creature can’t block” but doesn’t get “this creature can’t be blocked”. The one exception is we do let red do “tunneling” (aka “target creature with power 2 or less can’t be blocked”).

Blocking Creatures Mechanics Red

Benefactor’s Drought Analysis

Is Benefactor’s Drought in pie still?

It’s technically green, but is playing in a little bendy space. Green can untap creatures, and it gets card draw tied to creatures, but the blocking trigger doesn’t do a great job of making the card draw about creatures, so it isn’t something I expect us to do often.

Blocking Card Draw Creatures Green Tap / Untap

Concept of Last Strike

Could "Last Strike" be made black-border by doing something like creatures blocking this creature get first strike until end of combat/turn? Maybe needing additional wording to make it work.

There is a card that does that. It’s not quite last strike, and doesn’t allow triple strike.

Blocking Creatures First Strike