Can You Tap a Creature With Summoning Sickness for Another Card’s Ability?
Fast answer first. Then use the tabs or video for more detail.
- Watch the video explanation below for a faster overview.
- Game mechanics may change with updates or patches.
- Use this block to get the short answer without scrolling the whole page.
- Read the FAQ section if the article has one.
- Use the table of contents to jump straight to the detailed section you need.
- Watch the video first, then skim the article for specifics.
The question of whether you can tap a creature suffering from summoning sickness for another card’s ability often puzzles new and even seasoned Magic: The Gathering players. The answer, in short, is it depends on the specific ability you are trying to use. Let’s delve into the intricacies of summoning sickness and how it interacts with various card abilities.
The core concept of summoning sickness prevents a creature from attacking or using abilities that require tapping it, during the turn it enters the battlefield. However, this restriction does not universally apply to all instances where a creature might be tapped.
Direct Answer: A creature with summoning sickness cannot use its own tap abilities (abilities with the {T} symbol in the activation cost), nor can it attack. However, it can be tapped to pay for the costs of other cards’ abilities, provided those abilities allow or require tapping a creature as part of their cost. This notably includes abilities like Convoke.
Understanding Summoning Sickness
Summoning sickness, also known as the “newly arrived” penalty, affects all creatures unless they have haste. When a creature enters the battlefield, it is considered under the effects of summoning sickness until the start of your next turn. This means the creature cannot attack or activate its own abilities with the tap symbol ({T}) in the cost. It’s important to understand that summoning sickness is not a status like being tapped; it’s a restriction on the creature’s actions.
What Summoning Sickness Prevents:
- Attacking: Creatures with summoning sickness cannot be declared as attackers.
- Tap Abilities: They cannot use their own activated abilities that require tapping as a cost (marked by the {T} symbol).
- Untap Abilities: They also cannot use abilities that require untapping as a cost (marked by the {Q} symbol) under summoning sickness.
What Summoning Sickness Does NOT Prevent:
- Blocking: A creature with summoning sickness can block an attacking creature.
- Static Abilities: It still benefits from any static abilities the creature possesses.
- Activated Abilities Without Taps: It can activate any abilities that do not require it to tap or untap.
- Being Tapped By Other Spells or Abilities: This is crucial: The creature can be tapped as a cost or requirement of another card’s ability.
Tapping for Other Abilities: The Case of Convoke
A prime example of where summoning sickness does not prevent a creature from being tapped is with Convoke. Convoke is a keyword ability found on some spells. It allows you to tap untapped creatures you control to help pay for the spell’s mana cost. Crucially, Convoke does not care about summoning sickness.
- How Convoke Works: When you cast a spell with Convoke, you can tap any number of your untapped creatures to reduce the spell’s total mana cost.
- Summoning Sickness and Convoke: A creature with summoning sickness, though unable to attack or use its own tap abilities, can be tapped to help pay for a Convoke spell. This is because it is the Convoke ability, not the creature’s ability, that is doing the tapping.
Other Examples Where Tapping is Possible
Any spell or ability that says, “Tap target creature” can tap any creature, regardless of summoning sickness. Examples may include activated abilities on some other cards which have the cost “Tap an untapped creature you control”, or an enchantment that may tap a creature as part of its ability.
15 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to further clarify the nuances of tapping creatures with summoning sickness:
- Can a creature with summoning sickness be tapped for mana? No. Tapping a creature for mana is an activated ability with a tap symbol in its cost, and creatures with summoning sickness can’t use their own tap abilities.
- Can I attack with a creature that has haste the turn it is played? Yes, creatures with haste ignore summoning sickness restrictions for attacking and for tapping abilities.
- Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness to pay for an ability that says “Tap an untapped creature you control”? Yes, absolutely. This is an ability that another card uses, and the summoning sickness restrictions only apply to the creature itself.
- Does tapping a creature for Convoke count as an activated ability for that creature? No. Tapping a creature for convoke is part of paying the cost for the convoke spell, it’s not an ability of the tapped creature.
- Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness and then untap it for a tap ability on the same turn? No. You still can’t use its own tap ability while suffering from summoning sickness, regardless of whether it’s tapped or untapped.
- If I mutate onto a creature with summoning sickness, does the new creature still have summoning sickness? Yes, the mutated creature will still have summoning sickness.
- Does blocking count as tapping for the purposes of summoning sickness? No. A creature that blocks remains tapped regardless of summoning sickness.
- Can I tap a creature the same turn I play it for an ability that doesn’t have a tap symbol? Yes, as long as the ability does not have a tap symbol as part of its cost, summoning sickness does not prevent the creature from being used for that ability.
- What happens if I tap a creature and then it gets hit with a spell that removes its summoning sickness? The act of tapping is completed. Removal of summoning sickness does not reverse the tap.
- Can I tap a creature as a cost for another spell, then attack with it if it gets haste during the same turn? No. Even if the creature gains haste after being tapped, it cannot be declared as an attacker until your next turn, because it was tapped for the cost of another spell and it’s already tapped.
- Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness to reduce the cost of a spell if it’s an alternate cost like delve, or improvise? Yes, Delve and Improvise are also alternate costs similar to Convoke and can tap creatures with summoning sickness.
- If I tap a creature with summoning sickness for Convoke, does it become “tapped” in the sense that I can’t use it again until the next untap step? Yes. Any creature that is tapped (for any reason) needs to wait until the untap phase to untap again, unless otherwise affected by a different ability.
- If a card says I can tap any creature, even a tapped one, can I tap a summoning sick creature that is already tapped? Yes. While typically you can’t tap a tapped creature, an ability that specifically allows you to tap any creature, even a tapped one, allows you to tap a summoning sick creature if it is already tapped.
- Can I tap a summoning sick creature in response to another spell or ability? Yes, if the other spell or ability requires it as part of its cost or effect. You’d just be tapping it at the time the other spell/ability is being used.
- If I have a permanent that says “Tap a creature you control: draw a card” can I tap a creature with summoning sickness to draw a card? Yes. Since you are tapping the creature as a cost of another ability, not its own tap ability, you can tap the summoning sick creature.
Conclusion
Understanding when and how you can tap a creature with summoning sickness is essential for strategic Magic: The Gathering play. While you cannot use a creature’s own tap abilities or attack with it while it’s suffering from summoning sickness, you absolutely can tap it as part of paying for the costs of another card’s abilities, like those with Convoke or similar effects. This distinction is crucial and opens up many opportunities on the battlefield. By mastering these rules, you can elevate your gameplay and outmaneuver your opponents with greater precision.