Are Vehicles Affected by Summoning Sickness in Magic: The Gathering?
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Yes and no. A Vehicle itself, being an artifact, isn’t inherently affected by summoning sickness. However, the moment you Crew it and it becomes an Artifact Creature – Vehicle, it is subject to summoning sickness if it hasn’t been under your control since the beginning of your most recent turn. This crucial distinction often causes confusion, so let’s delve deeper into the intricacies. The Vehicle only becomes a creature when it’s crewed, at which point normal creature rules apply, including the limitations imposed by summoning sickness. It’s a temporary state change with potentially significant ramifications on your game plan.
Understanding Summoning Sickness and Its Impact
Summoning sickness is a fundamental rule in Magic: The Gathering that prevents a creature from attacking or using activated abilities with the tap symbol in the turn it comes under your control. It’s a game mechanic designed to add a layer of strategy and prevent players from immediately dominating the board with newly played creatures.
The key phrase here is “comes under your control.” This means that if you play a creature (or turn an artifact into a creature via Crewing) and it hasn’t been under your control since the beginning of your most recent turn, it’s afflicted with summoning sickness. It can block, and it can use abilities that don’t require tapping, but it can’t attack or use tap abilities.
Vehicles: Artifacts with a Creature Potential
Vehicles, on the other hand, start their lives as artifacts. They’re inert until you activate their Crew ability. Crew essentially allows you to temporarily transform the Vehicle into a creature by tapping creatures you control with sufficient total power. Once crewed, the Vehicle gains the “Artifact Creature – Vehicle” type and becomes subject to all creature rules, including summoning sickness, if applicable.
Therefore, if you play a Vehicle and immediately Crew it on the same turn, it will be affected by summoning sickness. It won’t be able to attack that turn. This is where the “no” from the initial answer becomes more clear. The vehicle itself is not affected, but as a creautre that just came under your control, it is!
Mitigating Summoning Sickness with Vehicles
Fortunately, there are ways to circumvent the limitations of summoning sickness when using Vehicles:
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Haste: Granting your Vehicle Haste allows it to attack the turn it becomes a creature, effectively bypassing summoning sickness. Cards that grant haste to artifacts or creatures are invaluable in a Vehicle-centric strategy.
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Patience: Sometimes, the best strategy is to simply wait. Play the Vehicle on one turn and Crew it on the next, ensuring it’s been under your control since the beginning of your most recent turn.
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Abilities that Don’t Require Tapping: Even with summoning sickness, a crewed Vehicle can use activated abilities that don’t involve the tap symbol. Some Vehicles may have such abilities that can still be utilized effectively.
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Crew on your opponent’s turn: One clever tactic is to crew the Vehicle on your opponent’s turn, effectively getting around the summoning sickness by your next turn. It can then attack freely.
The strategic use of Vehicles hinges on understanding these nuances of the rules.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Vehicles and Summoning Sickness
Here are some frequently asked questions about vehicles and summoning sickness in Magic: The Gathering, with detailed answers to further clarify the interaction of these two concepts.
1. Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness to crew a vehicle?
Yes! This is a crucial point. You can tap a creature with summoning sickness to activate a Crew ability. Summoning sickness only restricts attacking and using activated abilities with the tap symbol.
2. Can a vehicle block the turn it’s played and crewed?
Yes. Since summoning sickness only affects attacking and using activated abilities with the tap symbol, a newly crewed Vehicle can block. This makes Vehicles excellent defensive options, especially when you need a powerful blocker immediately.
3. If I play a Vehicle and crew it on my opponent’s turn, can it attack on my next turn?
Yes, that’s correct. Because the vehicle was under your control since the beginning of your turn, when your turn starts, it is no longer affected by summoning sickness. You can tap a creature with summoning sickness to activate a Crew ability on your opponent’s turn, and have the vehicle ready for attacking on your next turn.
4. Does giving a Vehicle haste bypass summoning sickness after crewing?
Absolutely! Granting Haste to the crewed Vehicle overrides the limitations imposed by summoning sickness. You can immediately attack with it.
5. If I flicker a crewed Vehicle, does it get summoning sickness when it returns?
Yes. When a Vehicle is flickered (exiled and then returned to the battlefield), it’s treated as a new permanent. If it’s a creature when it returns (because it’s still crewed), it will be affected by summoning sickness if it hasn’t been under your control since the beginning of your most recent turn.
6. If a land becomes a creature and then crews a vehicle, is it still affected by summoning sickness?
The land’s summoning sickness carries over. If the land-creature was subject to summoning sickness because it just entered the battlefield or became a creature, it cannot tap as part of the Crew ability, but if another legal creature taps to crew the vehicle, the vehicle will have summoning sickness.
7. Can I crew a vehicle at instant speed?
Yes! The Crew ability can be activated at instant speed, allowing you to respond to threats or surprise your opponent with a sudden attacker or blocker.
8. Can a Vehicle be crewed by another Vehicle that is already a creature?
Yes, you can tap an animated Vehicle to crew another Vehicle, so long as the first vehicle’s power is high enough.
9. Does deathtouch on a creature transfer to a vehicle that it crews?
No. The deathtouch ability belongs to the creature, not the Vehicle. The Vehicle simply gains the power of the creature for the purpose of crewing. If the vehicle becomes a creature, it does not have deathtouch unless specifically granted that ability.
10. What happens if a creature with double strike crews a vehicle?
The double strike ability doesn’t transfer to the Vehicle. Similar to deathtouch, abilities on the creature used to crew the Vehicle don’t affect the Vehicle itself, unless explicitly stated by another effect. The vehicle is only affected by summoning sickness.
11. Can you crew a vehicle on your opponent’s turn to block with it?
Yes, as long as you do it before the Declare Blockers step. You have to tap your creatures to crew it before they declare attackers so your vehicle can be ready to block.
12. If I copy a Vehicle, does the copy have summoning sickness?
Yes, assuming you crew it. A copied Vehicle will be affected by summoning sickness if it’s crewed on the same turn it enters the battlefield, because it’s treated as a brand new permanent that you just brought under your control.
13. Can a Vehicle use tap abilities on the turn it’s crewed if it has summoning sickness?
No. If the Vehicle is a creature and has summoning sickness, it cannot use any activated abilities that require it to tap.
14. Does crewing a Vehicle count as “attacking” with the creatures used to crew it?
No. Crewing a Vehicle is a separate action from attacking. The creatures used to Crew simply become tapped; they aren’t considered to have attacked.
15. Are incubator tokens affected by summoning sickness?
This is a bit of a trick question! Incubator tokens aren’t creatures, so they aren’t affected by summoning sickness. However, if they transform into Phyrexian creatures the turn they enter the battlefield, those creatures will have summoning sickness, in the same way a Vehicle does if it is crewed the same turn it enters the battlefield.
Final Thoughts
Mastering the interactions between Vehicles and summoning sickness is essential for any Magic: The Gathering player looking to pilot a Vehicle-based deck effectively. Understanding the timing and limitations imposed by summoning sickness, as well as how to mitigate its effects, can give you a significant edge over your opponents. It also highlights the depth and complexity of the game, demonstrating how seemingly simple rules can have intricate interactions. For more resources on Magic: The Gathering strategy and card interactions, consider exploring resources such as the Games Learning Society and their website, GamesLearningSociety.org, to deepen your understanding of the game.