Can You Crew Vehicles on an Opponent’s Turn?

The short, direct answer is yes, you absolutely can crew Vehicles on your opponent’s turn in Magic: The Gathering. This is a crucial aspect of how Vehicles function and unlocks a lot of strategic depth. The ability to crew at instant speed means you can react to your opponent’s actions and use your Vehicles both offensively and defensively. However, there are nuances and limitations to be aware of, which we’ll explore in more detail.

Understanding Crewing Mechanics

To fully grasp why and how you can crew during your opponent’s turn, it’s essential to understand the core mechanics of the Crew ability. Here’s a quick recap:

• Crew Cost: Every Vehicle card has a Crew N ability, where N represents a number.
• Tapping Creatures: To activate the Crew ability, you must tap any number of untapped creatures you control whose total power is equal to or greater than the Crew cost (N).
• Instant Speed: Crucially, Crew is an activated ability that can be used at instant speed, whenever you have priority.
• Transformation: Once crewed, a Vehicle becomes an Artifact Creature with the power and toughness printed on the card and it remains a creature until the end of the turn.
• Temporary Transformation: It’s important to remember that the Vehicle only becomes a creature until the end of the turn. You must crew it again to use it as a creature in subsequent turns.

Crewing on Your Opponent’s Turn

The fact that Crew can be activated at instant speed is what allows for crewing during your opponent’s turn. Here’s how you might use it strategically:

Defensive Crewing

The most common application is using Vehicles to defend against an attack. If your opponent declares attackers and you have an untapped Vehicle and enough creatures with sufficient power, you can wait until the last possible moment to crew it. The critical timing here is before your opponent moves into the declare blockers step of the combat phase. Once crewed, the Vehicle becomes a creature that can now block attacking creatures.

Surprise Attacks

While less common during the opponent’s turn, you could also use the crew mechanic aggressively. If for some reason, your opponent was caught off-guard by your ability to crew a vehicle, or by tapping specific creatures to achieve this, it could enable you to attack with a vehicle on your turn, or even attack on your opponents turn if a card effect allows this.

Reaction to Spells

Crew can also be used as a response to certain spells. If your opponent casts a spell targeting your creature, you might crew a vehicle to avoid the spell’s effect and change the battlefield state, depending on the card’s text, effects, and game context.

Limitations of Crewing on Opponent’s Turn

Although versatile, you need to consider these limitations when crewing on your opponent’s turn:

• Timing is Crucial: Crewing must be done before the declare blockers step if you intend to use the Vehicle to block.
• Tapped Crewers: You cannot use creatures that have already been tapped (e.g., from attacking or other abilities).
• Summoning Sickness: If a Vehicle becomes a creature on your opponent’s turn because you crewed it, and it is a new creature you brought into play that turn, it will still have summoning sickness. This means it cannot attack on your opponent’s turn, only block.
• Priority: You can only crew when you have priority, meaning you cannot interrupt your opponent in the middle of casting a spell or resolving an ability, unless triggered abilities are involved.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are 15 frequently asked questions to help you better understand the rules around crewing vehicles:

1. Can I crew a Vehicle during my opponent’s Upkeep or Draw step?

Yes, you can crew a Vehicle during your opponent’s Upkeep step, Draw step, or any other time they have priority before the combat phase. As long as you have the required untapped creatures and are in an open priority window, you can activate the crew ability at instant speed.

2. Can I crew multiple times on the same turn?

Yes, you can crew a Vehicle as many times as you have the necessary creatures and the opportunity. If it stops being a creature at the end of turn, and you wish to use it again, it will require a recrew on the next turn.

3. Can I use a Vehicle that has already been crewed to crew another Vehicle?

Yes. Vehicles that have already become creatures can be tapped to Crew another Vehicle. The vehicle itself doesn’t need to be not crewed to crew it, as long as it is an untapped creature. This also means a crewed vehicle can crew another vehicle.

4. Do Vehicles get summoning sickness when they are crewed?

Yes. Vehicles function like any other creature once they’ve been crewed, and are subject to summoning sickness, meaning they cannot attack on the same turn they came into play. This means if they are crewed after they are brought into play, they have summoning sickness, similar to any other creature.

5. Can a Vehicle block if I crew it during my opponent’s attack phase?

Yes. If you crew a Vehicle during your opponent’s attack phase, but before the declare blockers step, it can then block an attacking creature. You must make this decision before your opponent declares their blockers.

6. Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness to crew a Vehicle?

Yes, you can. Even though a creature with summoning sickness can’t attack or use tap abilities of its own, you can still tap it to pay for crew costs.

7. Can I tap a Vehicle that is already a creature to pay for a crew cost?

Yes. A crewed vehicle is an artifact creature, so this means it can be tapped to crew a different vehicle, or even the same one.

8. Does Deathtouch work on Vehicles?

Yes, Deathtouch works on Vehicles as long as they are in their creature form. If a Vehicle is blocking or blocked by a creature with deathtouch, the Vehicle will be destroyed. This only works when the vehicle is in its Artifact Creature state.

9. Does Indestructible protect against Deathtouch when dealing damage to a Vehicle?

Yes, Indestructible creatures are not destroyed by Deathtouch damage. If the Vehicle itself has indestructible, the same rules apply.

10. Can I partially pay for a crew cost?

No. You must tap creatures with a combined power equal to or greater than the Crew cost. You can’t tap some creatures and leave the crew ability unactivated.

11. Can I crew a Vehicle in the graveyard?

No. The Crew ability requires tapping creatures you control on the battlefield, so you cannot Crew a vehicle if it is in the graveyard.

12. Do Vehicles tap after attacking?

Yes. Just like any other creature, if a vehicle attacks, it will be tapped unless it has Vigilance. This also means even after becoming no longer a creature at the end of the turn, they still remain tapped until there is a reason to untap them.

13. How long does a Vehicle stay a creature after being crewed?

A Vehicle remains an Artifact Creature until the end of the turn. At the start of the next turn it will revert back to just being an artifact.

14. Do vehicles retain the “vehicle” type while they are artifact creatures?

Yes, a Vehicle that’s crewed will have the type “Artifact Creature – Vehicle.”

15. Can a Vehicle crew itself?

No, a vehicle can no longer crew itself. Previously, it was allowed, but the rules were changed.

Conclusion

Crewing Vehicles on your opponent’s turn is a powerful and versatile tool in Magic: The Gathering. Understanding the timing and limitations of this ability is essential to fully utilizing the strategic depth that Vehicles offer. By understanding these core principles and answering common questions, you can be better equipped to use them effectively in your next game. Remember to pay close attention to the board state and priority windows to maximize the impact of your vehicles.