Can You Target a Tapped Creature with a Tap Spell?
Yes, absolutely. The core rule is: you can target a tapped creature with a tap spell or ability unless specifically stated otherwise on the card. Many players, especially newer ones, find this a bit counterintuitive, but in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), being tapped doesn’t typically prevent a creature from being a legal target. The ‘tap’ status is a state, not a restriction on what can be targeted by spells and abilities. Let’s delve into the specifics and common situations surrounding this rule.
Understanding Tap Effects
When a spell or ability has an effect that involves tapping a permanent, it’s crucial to understand what happens if that permanent is already tapped. Simply put, attempting to tap an already tapped permanent doesn’t “untap” it first. It just remains tapped. The relevant text or ability will often have another effect that still occurs, like preventing the creature from untapping next turn or generating an additional effect such as life gain or additional damage. For example, many tap abilities have a secondary effect beyond just tapping. These effects will still resolve even when targeting an already tapped creature.
How it Works
The key point is that targeting a card and the act of tapping are two separate events. A spell or ability will usually do a couple of things:
- Target a creature or permanent, which must be a valid target per the card’s text.
- Tap the targeted card (or at least attempt to).
If the card is already tapped, the second step just has no effect, but it doesn’t make the target illegal at step one.
Why Target Tapped Creatures with Tap Effects?
If tapping a tapped creature does nothing, why bother targeting them at all? There are several reasons why this can be tactically beneficial:
- Additional Effects: Many effects that tap a creature also do something else, like preventing the creature from untapping, dealing damage, or granting a benefit to the player. These additional effects usually occur even if the creature was already tapped.
- Disruption: You might want to use a tap effect to force an opponent into wasting a card or mana for a specific response or cause additional disruptions if a card can’t untap.
- Combo Pieces: In some scenarios, using a tap ability on a tapped creature is part of a combo where the tap itself is irrelevant; for example, cards that trigger when an opponent controls a tapped creature.
- Goading: Some cards, like Karazikar, can target any creature to goad it when you attack a player. It doesn’t need to be untapped.
- Triggering Abilities: Some cards have abilities that trigger when they become tapped, or when a permanent becomes tapped. Targeting a tapped permanent with a tap spell can trigger these.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 frequently asked questions that further clarify the rules about targeting tapped creatures with tap effects:
1. Can you target a tapped creature with Brightmare?
Yes. Brightmare’s ability can target a tapped creature. If the target is already tapped when the ability resolves, the creature remains tapped, and you gain life equal to its power. The tap part fails to have an effect, but the life gain will still happen.
2. Can Frost Trickster tap a tapped creature?
Yes. Frost Trickster’s ability can target a creature that’s already tapped. The tapped creature won’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
3. Can Shipbreaker Kraken target a tapped creature?
Yes. The Shipbreaker Kraken’s ability can target a tapped creature. If the targeted creature is already tapped when it resolves, it remains tapped, and it doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
4. Can Sharktocrab target a tapped creature?
Yes. Sharktocrab’s triggered ability can target a creature that’s already tapped. The targeted creature will still not untap during its controller’s next untap step.
5. Can you target a tapped creature to fight?
Yes. Tapped creatures can fight. Being tapped has no relevance to fighting unless a specific card dictates otherwise. Note that fighting itself does not tap a creature (unless the specific fight spell or ability says otherwise).
6. Can you tap a creature while it is attacking?
No, you cannot tap an attacking creature during the Declare Attackers step because nobody has priority during that step. However, once you get to the combat phase, before the attackers are declared, you can tap creatures. Once an attacking or blocking creature, tapping it doesn’t change anything for the ongoing combat.
7. What happens if you tap an attacking creature after it’s declared as an attacker?
Once a creature is declared as an attacker, tapping it does not remove it from combat. It will still deal and receive combat damage as normal. A tapped, attacking creature can only be removed from the battlefield by other effects.
8. Can you regenerate a tapped creature?
Yes. If a creature with regenerate has been dealt lethal damage, and you regenerate it, it gets tapped afterwards. A creature that is already tapped can still be regenerated, and it will remain tapped.
9. Can you tap a tapped creature to pay a cost?
No. You cannot tap a tapped creature to pay a cost that requires tapping a creature to resolve. Tapping is an action that cannot be done on a card that is already tapped.
10. Can you tap a blocking creature?
Yes, you can tap a blocking creature. This does not change the fact that it’s blocking during the combat phase. For example, you could block an attacker, and then activate an ability that requires you to tap that blocker.
11. Does Deathtouch cancel Deathtouch?
No. Two instances of Deathtouch do not cancel each other out. If a creature with deathtouch deals damage to a creature with deathtouch, the defending creature will die.
12. What wins between indestructible and Deathtouch?
Indestructible will win against Deathtouch. A creature with indestructible cannot be destroyed by lethal damage from deathtouch. The creature with indestructible will survive, and the creature with deathtouch will not.
13. Does Hexproof cancel Deathtouch?
No. Hexproof only prevents a creature from being the target of spells or abilities that an opponent controls. Since Deathtouch is a static ability that triggers through damage dealing (not targeting), Hexproof does not prevent it from working.
14. Can you tap a creature right away?
A creature’s activated ability with a tap symbol as a cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control since the beginning of their most recent turn. That is, a creature cannot use a tap ability if it has summoning sickness. The exception is if the creature has Haste.
15. Do tap abilities count as spells?
No. Abilities are not spells. This means abilities cannot be countered, and will not trigger “spell cast” type abilities.
Conclusion
In summary, you can target a tapped creature with a tap spell or ability. While it might not result in an actual tapping action, it can still have other consequences, such as preventing untapping or triggering additional effects. Understanding this nuanced interaction of the game is crucial for both casual and competitive MTG play. Always refer to the specific card text for any unique exceptions.