Can You Equip a Creature with a Creature? A Deep Dive into MTG’s Equipment Rules
No, you cannot directly equip a creature with another creature in Magic: The Gathering (MTG). The equip ability specifically targets artifacts with the subtype “Equipment,” allowing you to attach them to a creature you control. Creatures themselves lack the “Equipment” subtype and the associated equip ability. However, MTG, being the wonderfully complex game it is, offers several ways to simulate a creature being “equipped” with another, using clever card interactions and strategic gameplay.
Understanding Equipment and Auras
To fully grasp why a creature can’t simply be equipped with another creature, we need to understand the core mechanics of Equipment cards and their close cousins, Auras.
- Equipment: These are artifact cards that enhance a creature’s abilities when attached. They have the “Equip [cost]” ability, which allows you to pay a mana cost at sorcery speed to attach the Equipment to a creature you control.
- Auras: These are enchantments that attach to permanents, including creatures. Some Auras buff creatures in similar ways to Equipment. However, Auras function differently. They are cast as spells targeting the creature, and if the target becomes illegal (e.g., gains protection from enchantments or leaves the battlefield), the Aura is usually put into the graveyard.
The key difference is the method of attachment. Equipment uses an activated ability, allowing for re-attachment to different creatures, while Auras are spells that remain attached as long as their target remains valid.
Simulating “Equipping” a Creature with a Creature
While direct equipping is impossible, here are a few methods to achieve a similar effect:
- Auras That Turn Creatures into Auras: Some cards transform creatures into Auras, allowing them to attach to other creatures and grant them abilities. For example, cards that grant the “Bestow” ability can be cast as Auras, effectively “equipping” a creature to another.
- Combining Creatures: Mechanics like “Meld” or “Combine” on transforming double-faced cards can create a larger creature from two smaller ones, essentially one “equipping” the other to form a more powerful entity. These are less about equipping and more about transformation and synergy.
- Creatures That Grant Abilities: Certain creatures have abilities that, when in play, effectively “equip” other creatures with those abilities. For example, a creature that gives all other creatures you control +1/+1 is, in a way, equipping them with an extra point of power and toughness.
- “Voltron” Strategies: While not literal equipping, Voltron strategies involve using Equipment (actual Equipment cards) and Auras to stack buffs onto a single creature, turning it into a formidable threat. It’s not a creature “equipping” another, but it achieves a similar result by concentrating power onto one creature.
The “Reconfigure” Mechanic
A recent addition to the game, the “Reconfigure” mechanic, blurs the lines between Equipment and creatures. A card with Reconfigure is a creature that can also become an Equipment. You can pay its Reconfigure cost to attach it to a creature you control, and it becomes an Equipment until you pay the cost again to detach it and turn it back into a creature. This is as close as we currently get to a creature “equipping” another creature through a defined mechanic.
Why Not Just Equip Creatures with Creatures?
The simple answer lies in game balance and design. Allowing creatures to directly equip each other would fundamentally change how creatures interact and could lead to incredibly complex and potentially broken interactions. The separation between Equipment and creatures creates a strategic tension and forces players to make meaningful decisions about which resources to invest in.
The design philosophy around Equipment and Auras aims to create strategic choices. Equipment, because of its re-attachable nature, is more resilient but requires an activation cost. Auras are more vulnerable but offer immediate benefits. The limitations on equipping are intentional, shaping gameplay in a meaningful way.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the equip rule in Magic: The Gathering?
The equip keyword ability allows you to attach an Equipment card to a creature you control by paying the equip cost. This can only be done at sorcery speed. Rule 702.6 of the Comprehensive Rules defines the equip mechanic.
2. Can you equip a creature twice?
No, an Equipment can only equip one creature at a time. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.
3. Can you equip a creature with shroud?
No. Because the equip ability targets a creature, you cannot equip a creature with shroud, as shroud prevents creatures from being targeted by spells or abilities.
4. Can you equip an Equipment to an opponent’s creature?
Normally, no. The equip ability specifically targets a creature you control. However, some rare cards or effects might circumvent this restriction.
5. Can you equip at instant speed?
Typically, no. The equip ability can only be activated at sorcery speed. However, certain cards might grant an ability to equip at instant speed.
6. Does equip target a creature?
Yes, using the equip ability targets the creature you are equipping. This is crucial for understanding interactions with abilities like shroud or hexproof.
7. Does equip count as an activated ability?
Yes, equip is an activated ability denoted by the “Equip [cost]” text on Equipment cards.
8. How does the “Reconfigure” mechanic work?
The Reconfigure mechanic allows a creature to become an Equipment and attach to another creature. By paying the Reconfigure cost, the card transforms and equips. Paying the cost again detaches it and returns it to creature form.
9. What happens when an equipped creature dies?
When an equipped creature dies, the Equipment remains on the battlefield, unattached. You can then pay its equip cost to attach it to another creature you control.
10. Can you “unequip” a creature?
The term “unequip” doesn’t officially exist in the rules. An Equipment only becomes unattached if the equipped creature leaves the battlefield, gains protection from artifacts, or if you pay the Reconfigure cost of an Equipment that has that ability to make it a creature again. Otherwise, you can only move the Equipment to another creature by paying its equip cost.
11. Can you equip the same Equipment to the same creature repeatedly?
Yes, assuming the Equipment has become unattached for some reason and you still control the target creature, you can re-equip the same equipment to the same creature by paying the equip cost.
12. What is “summoning sickness,” and does it affect Equipment?
Summoning sickness prevents a creature from attacking or activating abilities with the tap (T) or untap (Q) symbol on the turn it enters the battlefield under your control. Equipment itself doesn’t have summoning sickness; however, a creature that becomes an Equipment (using a mechanic like Reconfigure) will no longer be affected by summoning sickness.
13. What is a “Living Weapon”?
Living Weapon is a keyword ability that creates a 0/0 black Germ creature token and attaches the Equipment to that token when the Equipment enters the battlefield. It essentially equips itself upon entering the battlefield.
14. Can you sacrifice a creature you own but don’t control?
No. To sacrifice a permanent, including a creature, you must be its controller.
15. Does Deathtouch cancel Deathtouch?
No, Deathtouch doesn’t cancel Deathtouch. If a creature with Deathtouch deals damage to another creature with Deathtouch, the damaged creature is destroyed. The rule about canceling abilities that you may be thinking of is actually about lifelink – multiple instances of lifelink are redundant and do not stack.
Conclusion
While you can’t equip a creature with another creature in the literal sense, Magic: The Gathering provides numerous ways to simulate this effect through creative card interactions and strategic deck-building. Understanding the nuances of Equipment, Auras, and abilities like Reconfigure opens up a world of possibilities for enhancing your creatures and dominating the battlefield. Dive deeper into game design and learning at the GamesLearningSociety.org!