Can You Tap a Summon Sick Creature in Magic: The Gathering? A Comprehensive Guide
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The answer to the question “Can you tap a summon sick creature?” isn’t a simple yes or no. It depends on why you’re trying to tap the creature. A creature with summoning sickness is restricted in what it can do the turn it enters the battlefield under your control. Understanding these restrictions is crucial to mastering Magic: The Gathering (MTG).
Essentially, a creature suffering from summoning sickness cannot attack or use activated abilities that include the tap symbol ( ⟳ ) in their cost. However, this doesn’t mean the creature is entirely useless. It can still block attacking creatures, and it can use abilities that don’t require tapping as part of their activation cost. This leads us to a deeper dive into the nuances of summoning sickness and its impact on gameplay.
Understanding Summoning Sickness in Detail
Summoning sickness applies to creatures that haven’t been under your continuous control since the beginning of your most recent turn. This rule is in place to prevent players from immediately utilizing newly summoned creatures to their full potential, adding a layer of strategy and timing to the game.
The key things to remember about summoning sickness are:
- It only affects creatures: Planeswalkers, artifacts, enchantments, and lands are not affected by summoning sickness unless they become creatures.
- It’s based on continuous control: If you gain control of an opponent’s creature, it has summoning sickness until the start of your next turn. Similarly, if a creature leaves the battlefield and returns under your control (e.g., via a blink effect), it regains summoning sickness.
- Haste overrides it: Creatures with the Haste ability can ignore summoning sickness and attack or use tap abilities the turn they enter the battlefield.
- It doesn’t prevent blocking: A creature with summoning sickness can still be declared as a blocker during your opponent’s combat phase.
The Tap Symbol: The Key Restriction
The presence or absence of the tap symbol (⟳) in a creature’s activated ability is what dictates whether a creature with summoning sickness can use that ability. If the ability’s cost includes (⟳), the creature can’t activate it if it has summoning sickness. If the ability doesn’t include (⟳), the creature can activate it as normal.
For example, Llanowar Elves has the ability: “⟳: Add {G}.” Because this ability has the tap symbol, Llanowar Elves cannot use this ability the turn it enters the battlefield unless it has haste. However, if a creature has an ability like “Pay 2 life: Draw a card,” it can use this ability even with summoning sickness because it doesn’t involve tapping.
Practical Implications of Summoning Sickness
The summoning sickness rule forces players to think ahead and consider the timing of their creature deployments. It also creates strategic opportunities for both the player controlling the creature and their opponent. For instance, an opponent might choose to attack a creature with summoning sickness knowing it can’t attack back, or they might delay their own creature plays to avoid giving their opponent blockers.
Furthermore, understanding summoning sickness is essential for utilizing cards that manipulate creatures, such as flicker effects or cards that steal creatures from opponents. Knowing when a creature will be affected by summoning sickness can be the difference between a game-winning play and a wasted opportunity.
Summoning Sickness and the Games Learning Society
Understanding the intricacies of Magic: The Gathering, including rules like summoning sickness, can enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The Games Learning Society promotes learning through games and highlights how complex games like MTG can be valuable educational tools. Visit GamesLearningSociety.org to learn more about their research and initiatives.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Summoning Sickness
Here are some of the most common questions related to summoning sickness, ensuring you have a complete understanding of this fundamental MTG rule:
1. Can a creature with summoning sickness block?
Yes, a creature with summoning sickness can block attacking creatures. Summoning sickness only prevents attacking and activating abilities that require tapping.
2. Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness for mana?
It depends. If the mana ability requires tapping the creature, such as with Llanowar Elves, you cannot do it if the creature has summoning sickness. However, if the ability doesn’t require tapping, like a creature with “Pay 2 life: Add one mana of any color,” it can be used.
3. Does blinking a creature remove summoning sickness permanently?
No, “blinking” a creature (exiling it and immediately returning it to the battlefield) causes it to be treated as a new creature entering the battlefield. It will have summoning sickness again for the rest of the turn plus your opponent’s turn, but as soon as your next turn starts it’ll be fine.
4. Does gaining control of an opponent’s creature give it summoning sickness?
Yes. Any creature you gain control of is treated as if it just entered the battlefield under your control, thus it is subject to summoning sickness.
5. Can I attack with a creature that I played last turn but didn’t attack with?
Yes, if you’ve controlled the creature continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn, it’s no longer affected by summoning sickness and can attack.
6. Does summoning sickness affect abilities that don’t require tapping?
No. Only activated abilities that include the tap symbol (⟳) in their cost are restricted by summoning sickness.
7. If I play a creature on my opponent’s turn, can I attack with it on my next turn?
Yes, since you will have controlled it continuously since the beginning of your last turn.
8. Does summoning sickness affect lands that are also creatures?
Yes, if a land is also a creature (like Dryad Arbor), it is affected by summoning sickness in the same way as any other creature.
9. Can I use a planeswalker’s ability the turn it enters the battlefield?
Yes, planeswalkers are not subject to summoning sickness. You can use their abilities the turn they enter the battlefield, provided you have enough loyalty counters and it’s your turn.
10. Does summoning sickness affect artifacts?
No, unless the artifact becomes a creature. If an artifact turns into a creature, it is then subject to summoning sickness.
11. What is haste, and how does it interact with summoning sickness?
Haste is an ability that allows a creature to ignore summoning sickness. A creature with haste can attack or use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield.
12. Can I tap a creature in response to it being cast?
No. By the time you have the opportunity to respond to a creature being cast, it is already on the battlefield, and summoning sickness applies to it.
13. If I mutate a creature, does the resulting creature have summoning sickness?
The mutated creature is not affected by summoning sickness as long as the base part wasn’t.
14. Do incubate tokens have summoning sickness?
If you transform an Incubator the same turn it enters the battlefield, the transformed Phyrexian creature will have summoning sickness and not be able to attack.
15. Does bouncing a creature remove summoning sickness?
Bouncing a creature, which means returning it to its owner’s hand, will effectively reset its summoning sickness status if it’s replayed. When the creature is cast again, it will be subject to summoning sickness until your next turn.
By understanding these nuances of summoning sickness, you’ll be better equipped to make strategic decisions, optimize your gameplay, and ultimately achieve victory in your Magic: The Gathering games.