Can You Board Wipe an Indestructible Creature? The Definitive Guide

The short answer is: sometimes. Indestructibility is a powerful keyword in Magic: The Gathering, but it’s not a complete shield against all removal. The success of a board wipe against an indestructible creature hinges entirely on the specific effect of the board wipe spell.

Understanding Indestructibility

Before diving in, let’s clarify what indestructible actually means. It’s a crucial keyword ability that prevents a permanent from being destroyed by:

• Lethal damage: Damage that would reduce a creature’s toughness to 0 or less.
• Effects that say “destroy”: This includes spells like “Wrath of God” or abilities that specifically instruct to destroy a permanent.

However, indestructible does not protect against:

• Exile effects: Being exiled removes a permanent from the game entirely, bypassing indestructibility.
• Sacrifice effects: Forcing a player to sacrifice a permanent circumvents indestructibility.
• Toughness reduction to zero: If a creature’s toughness is reduced to zero or less through -1/-1 counters or similar effects, it will still die, even with indestructible.
• Bouncing: Returning a permanent to its owner’s hand is another way to remove it from the battlefield.

How Board Wipes Interact with Indestructibility

With the definition of indestructible clear, we can analyze how various types of board wipes interact with it. A board wipe is any spell or ability that affects multiple permanents on the battlefield simultaneously, usually resulting in their removal.

Board Wipes That Don’t Work Against Indestructible

• “Destroy All Creatures” Effects: Classic board wipes like “Wrath of God,” “Damnation,” or “Cleansing Nova” (when choosing the destroy option) are ineffective against indestructible creatures. These spells directly attempt to destroy creatures, which is precisely what indestructibility prevents.

• Damage-Based Wipes: “Blasphemous Act” and other board wipes that deal damage to all creatures may not be sufficient. While they can deal lethal damage, indestructible prevents destruction by lethal damage.

Board Wipes That Do Work Against Indestructible

• Exile Effects: Board wipes like “Farewell” (when exiling creatures) and “Merciless Eviction” (when choosing creatures) are devastating against indestructible creatures. Exile completely removes the creature from the game, ignoring indestructibility.

• -X/-X Effects: Spells such as “Toxic Deluge” and “Black Sun’s Zenith” can reduce a creature’s toughness to zero or less, causing it to die regardless of indestructibility. Be careful with effects that are prevented by protection, such as protection from black for Black Sun’s Zenith.

• Sacrifice Effects: “Pox” and other effects that force players to sacrifice creatures are effective. Indestructibility only prevents destruction, not sacrifice.

• Bounce Effects: “Cyclonic Rift” overloaded can return all nonland permanents to their owner’s hands, removing indestructible creatures temporarily.

Strategies for Dealing with Indestructible Creatures

Knowing how indestructible works and how board wipes interact with it is key to devising effective strategies. If your opponent has an indestructible threat, consider these options:

• Include exile-based removal in your deck: Cards like “Swords to Plowshares” or “Path to Exile” are single-target options, while board wipes like “Farewell” offer wider removal.
• Utilize sacrifice effects: Cards like “Grave Pact” or “Dictate of Erebos” punish opponents for having creatures, forcing them to sacrifice even indestructible ones.
• Employ -X/-X effects: “Grasp of Darkness” or “Languish” can reduce toughness to zero, eliminating indestructible threats.
• Control the board with counterspells: Prevent the indestructible creature from ever hitting the battlefield in the first place.
• Don’t forget good old-fashioned combat: With enough creatures of your own, you can often overwhelm an indestructible blocker and still get damage through to your opponent.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Indestructible and Board Wipes

Here are 15 frequently asked questions to further clarify the nuances of indestructible and board wipes:

1. Does “Wrath of God” kill indestructible creatures?

No. “Wrath of God” destroys all creatures, but indestructibility prevents creatures from being destroyed by such effects.

2. Does “Toxic Deluge” kill indestructible creatures?

Yes, if you pay enough life to reduce their toughness to 0 or less. Indestructibility doesn’t prevent toughness reduction.

3. Does “Farewell” get rid of indestructible creatures?

Yes, if you choose to exile creatures when casting “Farewell.” Exile ignores indestructibility.

4. Can you counter an indestructible creature spell?

Yes. Indestructibility only applies once the creature is on the battlefield. You can counter it while it’s still a spell on the stack.

5. Does deathtouch kill an indestructible creature?

No. Deathtouch causes damage dealt by a creature to be considered lethal, but indestructible prevents destruction by lethal damage.

6. Does indestructible prevent sacrifice?

No. Indestructibility only prevents destruction. If a player is forced to sacrifice a permanent, it still goes to the graveyard.

7. Does the legendary rule affect indestructible creatures?

Yes. If you control two or more legendary permanents with the same name, you must choose one to keep and put the others into your graveyard. This is not destruction or sacrifice, so indestructible will not affect the legend rule.

8. Does “Blasphemous Act” kill indestructible creatures?

No, as it deals lethal damage to all creatures. Indestructible creatures are not destroyed by damage.

9. If I give an indestructible creature -1/-1 counters, will it die?

Yes, if the counters reduce its toughness to 0 or less. Indestructibility doesn’t prevent a creature from dying due to having zero or less toughness.

10. Does hexproof protect against board wipes?

Hexproof only prevents a permanent from being the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. Most board wipes don’t target individual permanents, so hexproof is typically ineffective against them.

11. Does protection from [color] stop a board wipe?

It depends on the effect. Protection from [color] prevents damage, targeting, enchanting/equipping/fortifying, and blocking from sources of that color. If the board wipe deals damage of that color or targets a permanent with that color, protection will work. However, protection from [color] will not stop the board wipe if it exiles or forces a sacrifice, as these effects do not target or deal damage.

12. Can you bounce an indestructible creature?

Yes. Returning a creature to its owner’s hand (bouncing) is a common way to deal with indestructible threats temporarily.

13. If a Planeswalker is indestructible, does it still lose loyalty counters when damaged?

Yes. Indestructibility only prevents the planeswalker from being destroyed by damage. It still loses loyalty counters as damage is dealt to it.

14. Does infect get around indestructible?

Yes, in a roundabout way. Infect creatures deal damage in the form of -1/-1 counters to creatures. If the creature receives enough -1/-1 counters to reduce its toughness to 0, it will be sent to the graveyard.

15. Are there any truly “indestructible” things in real life?

While not perfectly analogous to the game mechanic, the tardigrade (also known as a water bear) is often cited as one of the most resilient animals on Earth. They can survive extreme conditions, including radiation, dehydration, and even the vacuum of space. For more about learning and games, visit the Games Learning Society website at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/.

Conclusion

Indestructibility is a powerful ability, but it’s not unbeatable. By understanding its limitations and employing the right strategies, you can effectively deal with indestructible creatures and maintain control of the board. Knowing when a board wipe will succeed – and when it will fail – is crucial for success in Magic: The Gathering.