Does Infect Still Deal Damage to Players?

Infect still deals damage to players, but not in the traditional sense, as it deals damage in the form of poison counters instead of reducing their life total. The infect mechanic is a unique ability that allows creatures to deal damage to players in the form of poison counters, which can be lethal if a player accumulates ten or more poison counters.

Understanding Infect and Its Effects

To better understand how infect works, let’s dive into some frequently asked questions that can provide more insight into this Magic: The Gathering mechanic.

Infect and Damage

1. Does infect modify the results of any damage dealt by a source with infect? Yes, infect modifies the results of any damage dealt by a source with infect, but it is still considered damage.
2. Do creatures with infect deal damage to players? Yes, creatures with infect deal damage to players in the form of poison counters.
3. Do damage doublers work with infect? Yes, damage doublers work with infect, as they double the amount of -1/-1 counters or poison counters dealt.

Infect vs. Other Mechanics

4. Is toxic better than infect? Toxic creatures deal combat damage as well as poison damage, giving them an advantage over infect creatures in terms of applying pressure.
5. Does infect bypass indestructible? Yes, infect can bypass indestructible creatures by giving them -1/-1 counters, which can still send them to the graveyard.
6. Does infect prevent lifelink? No, infect does not prevent lifelink, as the damage dealt by a creature with infect still triggers lifelink abilities.

Interactions with Other Abilities

7. Does infect beat Teferi’s protection? Yes, infect can beat Teferi’s Protection, as it does not prevent infect or poison counters.
8. Does fog stop infect mtg? Yes, fog effects can prevent infect and toxic from putting counters on a player.
9. Does Lathril work with infect? Lathril‘s ability causes loss of life, which is not modified by infect, as infect only modifies how damage is dealt.

Regenerate and Deathtouch

10. How does regenerate work with infect? Regenerate replaces a destroy effect, but infect deals damage via -1/-1 counters, which is not a destroy effect, so regenerate cannot prevent it.
11. How does infect and Deathtouch work? Deathtouch damage does not kill players, and lethal damage only applies to creatures, but a creature with deathtouch can still kill a player if it deals enough damage to bring their life to 0.

Additional Questions

12. Is infect an activated ability? No, infect is a static ability that modifies how damage is dealt.
13. Do infect and poison counters stack? Yes, infect and poison counters can stack, as multiple sources of infect can deal damage to a player in the form of poison counters.
14. Can you proliferate poison counters? No, you cannot proliferate poison counters, as the proliferate ability only gives additional counters of a kind already on a permanent or player.
15. How many poison counters to lose? A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game, making infect a potentially powerful and game-ending strategy.