Does Blinking Remove Summoning Sickness? The Ultimate Guide

No, blinking does not remove summoning sickness. Summoning sickness, in the context of trading card games like Magic: The Gathering (MTG), is a game mechanic that prevents a creature from attacking or using abilities with the tap symbol in the turn it enters the battlefield under your control. This status is unrelated to the physical act of blinking your eyes. It’s a temporary limitation imposed by the game rules.

Understanding Summoning Sickness in Detail

Summoning sickness is a critical rule designed to balance gameplay. Imagine if you could simply slam down a powerful creature and immediately attack with it! Games would quickly devolve into a race to drop the biggest threat first, negating strategic deck building and tactical decision-making. Summoning sickness introduces a delay, forcing players to think ahead, protect their creatures, and consider alternative strategies.

The term itself is a bit misleading. It’s not a disease or condition that affects the creature in-universe. It’s simply a limitation placed on newly summoned creatures for one turn cycle. While a creature is “summoning sick,” it can still block, use abilities that don’t require tapping, and be targeted by spells or abilities.

Beyond Blinking: Exploring the Real Solutions

Since blinking won’t help, what does get rid of summoning sickness? There are several ways a creature can bypass or negate summoning sickness:

• Haste: The keyword Haste explicitly allows a creature to attack and use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield. This is the most common and straightforward way to overcome summoning sickness. Many cards grant haste to creatures, either to specific creatures or as a global effect.

• Activated Abilities without the Tap Symbol: Even with summoning sickness, a creature can still use abilities that don’t require the tap symbol. For example, a creature with an ability that triggers when it attacks can’t attack the turn it enters the battlefield, but it can still use an ability that says “Pay X: Do Y.”

• Static Abilities: A creature’s static abilities, such as Flying, Trample, or Vigilance, function normally even when the creature is summoning sick. These abilities do not require any activation or specific action from the creature.

• Waiting a Turn: The simplest, albeit sometimes frustrating, solution is to simply wait until your next turn. At the beginning of your next turn, your creature will no longer be summoning sick and can attack and use tap abilities.

• Cards that Specifically Ignore Summoning Sickness: Some cards have effects that specifically allow creatures to attack as though they didn’t have summoning sickness. These cards can be incredibly powerful, especially in decks that rely on quickly deploying large creatures.

Debunking the “Blinking” Myth

Where did this idea of blinking removing summoning sickness even come from? It’s likely a misunderstanding or a humorous exaggeration stemming from the frustration of having a powerful creature unable to attack immediately. Perhaps someone joked that if you blink really fast, the creature will be ready to attack sooner, and the idea stuck. It’s a fun concept, but unfortunately, it has no basis in the actual rules of the game.

The Games Learning Society promotes the understanding and strategic depth of games like MTG, and part of that is clarifying common misconceptions like this one. Understanding the actual rules ensures a fair and enjoyable gaming experience for everyone. You can learn more about the intersection of gaming and education at GamesLearningSociety.org.

Summoning Sickness Across Different Games

While summoning sickness is most prominently associated with MTG, similar mechanics exist in other trading card games and even video games. These mechanics often serve the same purpose: preventing a sudden, overwhelming advantage from simply playing a powerful unit or character. While the specific names and implementations might vary, the underlying principle remains the same: a temporary period of vulnerability or inactivity upon entering the battlefield.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. If I play a land and then summon a creature on the same turn, does the creature have summoning sickness?

Yes, playing a land has no impact on whether a creature has summoning sickness. Summoning sickness is determined solely by whether the creature has been under your control since the beginning of your turn.

2. Can I block with a creature that has summoning sickness?

Yes, you can absolutely block with a creature that has summoning sickness. Summoning sickness only prevents attacking and using abilities that require tapping the creature. Blocking is a defensive action, and creatures are always able to block, regardless of how recently they entered the battlefield.

3. If I gain control of an opponent’s creature on my turn, does it have summoning sickness?

Yes, a creature you gain control of on your turn is subject to summoning sickness. Even though your opponent may have controlled it previously, it’s considered a “new” creature under your control for the purpose of summoning sickness.

4. Does summoning sickness affect Planeswalkers?

No, summoning sickness does not affect Planeswalkers. Planeswalkers can use their loyalty abilities the turn they enter the battlefield. Summoning sickness only applies to creatures.

5. What happens if I flicker a creature (exile it and then return it to the battlefield immediately)?

Flickering a creature causes it to be treated as a brand new creature entering the battlefield. Therefore, it will be subject to summoning sickness when it returns. This is true even if it had haste before being flickered.

6. Does summoning sickness apply to Artifact Creatures?

Yes, summoning sickness applies to Artifact Creatures just like it applies to any other creature type. The creature’s type does not affect its susceptibility to summoning sickness.

7. Can I equip a creature with equipment even if it has summoning sickness?

Yes, you can equip a creature with equipment even if it has summoning sickness. Equipping is an action you take that doesn’t require the creature to activate any abilities.

8. If a creature has an ability that triggers when it enters the battlefield, will that ability still trigger even if the creature has summoning sickness?

Yes, enter-the-battlefield abilities will still trigger even if the creature has summoning sickness. These abilities trigger based on the creature entering the battlefield, regardless of whether it can attack or use tap abilities.

9. How does summoning sickness interact with creatures that have defender?

Creatures with Defender cannot attack, regardless of summoning sickness. Defender simply prevents them from attacking at all, while summoning sickness only prevents attacking on the turn the creature enters the battlefield. Therefore, summoning sickness is largely irrelevant for creatures with Defender.

10. If a creature gains haste after entering the battlefield, can it attack that turn?

Yes, if a creature gains Haste after entering the battlefield, it can attack that turn. The key is that the creature must have haste at the moment it is declared as an attacker.

11. Can I use an ability that sacrifices a creature with summoning sickness?

Yes, you can sacrifice a creature with summoning sickness. Summoning sickness only restricts attacking and using tap abilities, not sacrificing.

12. Does summoning sickness affect creatures that are put onto the battlefield tapped and attacking?

Creatures that enter the battlefield tapped and attacking are an exception. Even though they entered the battlefield this turn, because they entered attacking, they are considered to have bypassed summoning sickness for that combat phase. They won’t be able to attack again on your turn.

13. What happens if a creature with summoning sickness transforms into a different creature on the same turn?

If a creature transforms, it is still considered to have entered the battlefield this turn (in its initial form), and therefore it is still summoning sick.

14. If a creature with summoning sickness is exiled and then returned to the battlefield under my control during the same turn, does it have summoning sickness again?

Yes, each time a creature enters the battlefield under your control, it is subject to summoning sickness. Exiling and returning a creature is essentially treating it as a new creature.

15. Are there any exceptions to the summoning sickness rule besides Haste?

While Haste is the most common, some specific card effects can grant a creature the ability to attack or use tap abilities on the turn it enters the battlefield, effectively bypassing summoning sickness. Always read the card text carefully!