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Abilities and Combat Damage in Magic: The Gathering: A Deep Dive

No, abilities do not count as combat damage in Magic: The Gathering (MTG). Combat damage is a very specific type of damage dealt by attacking or blocking creatures during the combat damage step of the combat phase. Damage dealt by spells, activated abilities, or triggered abilities is considered non-combat damage.

Understanding Combat Damage

To fully grasp why abilities don’t count as combat damage, we need to understand exactly what combat damage is. In MTG, combat damage is the damage dealt by creatures during the combat damage step. This damage is determined by the creature’s power. If an attacking creature is unblocked, it deals damage equal to its power to the defending player or planeswalker. If it’s blocked, the damage is dealt to the blocking creature.

The Combat Phase Breakdown

The combat phase in MTG has several distinct steps:

Beginning of Combat Step: This is when players can cast spells and activate abilities before attackers are declared.
Declare Attackers Step: The active player chooses which creatures they control will attack, and who or what they are attacking.
Declare Blockers Step: The defending player chooses which of their creatures will block the attacking creatures.
Combat Damage Step: This is the critical step where creatures deal damage to each other or to players/planeswalkers they are attacking. This damage is combat damage.
End of Combat Step: This is the final step of the combat phase, where players can again cast spells and activate abilities.

What Isn’t Combat Damage?

Anything that doesn’t occur during the combat damage step and isn’t dealt by an attacking or blocking creature isn’t combat damage. This includes:

Damage dealt by spells (like Lightning Bolt).
Damage dealt by activated abilities (like Prodigal Pyromancer’s ability to deal 1 damage).
Damage dealt by triggered abilities (like the damage dealt when a creature with an ability like “When this creature enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to target creature or player” enters).
Damage dealt by planeswalker abilities.

Why the Distinction Matters

The distinction between combat and non-combat damage is crucial because certain game mechanics only care about combat damage. The most notable example is commander damage.

Commander Damage Explained

In the Commander format, a player loses the game if they have been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game. Importantly, only combat damage from a commander counts towards this total. Damage from a commander’s activated abilities, even if it’s a direct damage ability, does not count as commander damage. This rule strongly incentivizes attacking with your commander and makes combat a central part of the Commander experience. To further explore the complexities and nuances of gaming and its intersection with learning, consider visiting the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org.

Toxic and Combat Damage

The Toxic ability is another example where the distinction matters. Creatures with Toxic deal combat damage as usual. If a creature with Toxic deals combat damage to a player, that player receives the normal damage and also gets a specified number of poison counters. The Toxic ability itself doesn’t change the fact that the damage is combat damage, it simply adds an additional effect.

Activated Abilities and the Combat Phase

While abilities don’t deal combat damage, they are heavily used during the combat phase to influence the outcome of combat.

Using Activated Abilities

You can activate abilities at almost any time you have priority, including during the combat phase. This allows you to:

Pump up your attacking creatures before damage is dealt.
Weaken blocking creatures to make them easier to defeat.
Give your creatures abilities like first strike or lifelink to change how combat damage is calculated.

Responding to Spells and Abilities

You can even respond to spells and abilities played by your opponent during the combat phase. For example, if your opponent casts a spell to boost their attacker, you can respond by casting a spell to weaken it or destroy it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions related to abilities and combat damage in MTG:

Does commander damage include damage from my commander’s activated abilities? No, commander damage is only combat damage dealt by your commander. Activated abilities don’t count.
If my commander has an ability that deals damage, does that contribute to the 21 commander damage needed to defeat a player? No. Only combat damage dealt by your commander counts toward the 21 damage threshold.
Can I use activated abilities during combat? Yes, you can use activated abilities at almost any time you have priority, including during the combat phase.
Does damage from a planeswalker’s loyalty abilities count as combat damage? No, damage from planeswalker abilities is non-combat damage.
If I use an activated ability to give my creature +1/+1, does that make the damage it deals in combat combat damage? Yes, the damage is still combat damage. The ability is simply modifying the amount of combat damage the creature deals.
Does infect change combat damage into something else? No, infect simply changes the effect of combat damage on players (turning damage into poison counters), but it’s still combat damage.
If I use an ability to tap a blocking creature, does that prevent combat damage? Tapping a blocking creature does not remove it from combat. The attacking creature remains blocked and damage is still dealt.
Can I activate an ability in response to my opponent declaring attackers? You can activate abilities during the beginning of combat step before attackers are declared. Once attackers are declared, it’s too late to use abilities that would affect whether a creature can attack (unless you have a way to remove the attacking creature from combat).
If a creature has an ability that triggers when it deals damage, will that ability trigger if the creature deals combat damage? Yes, absolutely! Abilities that trigger “when this creature deals damage” will trigger when it deals combat damage.
Does damage from a triggered ability, like “When this creature enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to target creature or player,” count as combat damage? No, triggered abilities deal non-combat damage.
Can I use activated abilities on my opponent’s turn during combat? Yes, as long as you have priority. You could, for example, use an ability to tap an attacking creature before it deals damage.
If a creature with toxic deals combat damage to a player, does that count as combat damage for other effects that care about combat damage? Yes! The damage is still combat damage. The toxic ability simply adds the additional effect of giving the player poison counters.
If I turn my planeswalker into a creature with Luxior, Giada’s Gift, does damage it deals count as commander damage if it is my commander? Yes, since the planeswalker is now a creature, any combat damage it deals does count as commander damage.
What’s the difference between activated and triggered abilities? Activated abilities require you to pay a cost to activate them (e.g., tapping a creature, paying mana). Triggered abilities automatically happen when a specific condition is met (e.g., “When this creature enters the battlefield…”). Only combat damage affects commander total damage, so be sure to GamesLearningSociety.org to better understand the nuances of triggered effects and combat damage calculations.
Does prevention of damage affect the commander damage total? Yes, if combat damage is prevented (e.g., with a spell like Darkness), it’s as if that damage never happened. It does not contribute to the 21 commander damage.

Hopefully, this article has clarified the difference between combat damage and damage from abilities in MTG. Knowing this distinction is key to understanding certain strategies and interactions within the game, especially in formats like Commander.

Do abilities count as combat damage?