Does “Fight” Get Around Indestructible in Magic: The Gathering?
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The short answer is no, “fight” does not inherently bypass indestructible. While a creature with indestructible can still be involved in a fight, the indestructible ability prevents it from being destroyed by the damage it receives. The fight resolves, damage is dealt, but the creature with indestructible remains on the battlefield. However, the indestructible creature can still deal damage to the other creature involved in the fight.
Understanding Fight, Damage, and Indestructible
To fully understand why “fight” doesn’t circumvent indestructible, let’s break down each component:
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Fight: “Fight” is a mechanic in Magic: The Gathering that forces two creatures to deal damage to each other simultaneously. The amount of damage each creature deals is equal to its power.
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Damage: In combat (or during a fight), damage is assigned and dealt. The damage is marked on the creature. A creature dealt damage equal to or greater than its toughness is considered to have been dealt lethal damage.
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Indestructible: This keyword ability means that “destroy” effects and lethal damage don’t cause the permanent (usually a creature) to be put into its owner’s graveyard. It can still be sacrificed, exiled, or its toughness reduced to zero.
During a “fight”, both creatures deal damage to each other. If the creature without indestructible is dealt damage equal to or greater than its toughness, it is destroyed and put into the graveyard. However, if the creature with indestructible is dealt lethal damage during the fight, it survives. Indestructible does not prevent the damage from being dealt; it only prevents the destruction that would normally result from that damage.
Ultimately, ‘Fight’ spells will resolve, and damage will be dealt. Indestructible creatures are exempt from dying from the fight.
Circumventing Indestructible: Alternative Strategies
While “fight” alone isn’t enough, there are numerous ways to remove or neutralize an indestructible creature. Here are a few common tactics:
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Exile: Exile removes a permanent from the battlefield entirely, bypassing indestructible. Spells like “Swords to Plowshares” or “Path to Exile” are classic examples.
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Sacrifice: Forcing an opponent to sacrifice their indestructible creature is a highly effective tactic. Spells like “Diabolic Edict” or effects from cards like “Grave Pact” make opponents sacrifice creatures.
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Toughness Reduction: Reducing a creature’s toughness to zero or less, typically using -1/-1 counters or spells that grant negative power/toughness, will cause it to die, even if it has indestructible. Cards like “Grasp of Darkness” can accomplish this.
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Bounce: “Bouncing” a creature, returning it to its owner’s hand, is a temporary solution, but it can disrupt your opponent’s strategy. Spells like “Unsummon” achieve this.
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Counterspells: The easiest way to get around indestructible is to prevent it from hitting the battlefield to begin with. Spells like “Counterspell” and “Negate” can stop an indestructible creature from being cast.
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The “Legend Rule”: If your opponent controls two legendary permanents with the same name, they must sacrifice one of them. This works even if both are indestructible.
Understanding these alternative strategies is crucial for developing a well-rounded strategy against decks that rely on indestructible creatures.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 frequently asked questions about indestructible, fight, and related mechanics in Magic: The Gathering.
1. Does deathtouch get around indestructible in a fight?
No. While deathtouch means that any amount of damage a creature deals to another is considered lethal, indestructible prevents destruction. The indestructible creature will be dealt damage, but it will not be destroyed. Since indestructible prevents destroy effects, deathtouch will have no effect on the indestructible creature.
2. If my creature has both indestructible and lifelink, do I still gain life when it fights?
Yes. Damage is still dealt as normal. Lifelink triggers whenever your creature deals damage, regardless of whether the creature it’s damaging is destroyed or not. You will gain life equal to the amount of damage dealt by your creature with lifelink.
3. Can I use proliferate to add more -1/-1 counters to an indestructible creature?
Yes. Proliferate lets you add another counter of each kind already on permanents and/or players. If an indestructible creature already has -1/-1 counters, you can add more, potentially reducing its toughness to zero.
4. Does indestructible prevent damage from being dealt?
No. Indestructible only prevents the destruction of a permanent. Damage is still assigned and dealt as normal. The creature just ignores the lethal damage.
5. If a creature with indestructible fights a creature with infect, what happens?
The creature with indestructible is not destroyed by the damage, but it does receive -1/-1 counters equal to the power of the creature with infect. If enough -1/-1 counters are placed on it to reduce its toughness to zero or less, it will be put into the graveyard.
6. Can I enchant an indestructible creature with an aura that gives it -X/-X?
Yes. Auras can be attached to indestructible creatures. If the aura reduces the creature’s toughness to zero or less, it will be put into the graveyard, as indestructible does not prevent this.
7. Does trample work against a blocking indestructible creature?
Yes. Trample allows excess damage to be assigned to the defending player or planeswalker after assigning lethal damage to the blocking creature. Since you only need to assign lethal damage, the remaining damage will trample over to the opponent.
8. What’s the difference between indestructible and hexproof?
Indestructible prevents destruction from damage and “destroy” effects. Hexproof prevents the permanent from being targeted by your opponents’ spells and abilities. They are distinct protections with different weaknesses.
9. Does Wrath of God kill indestructible creatures?
No. “Wrath of God” says “Destroy all creatures.” Since indestructible prevents destruction, the creatures survive.
10. Can I use a board wipe to get rid of an indestructible creature?
It depends on the board wipe. If the spell says “destroy all creatures”, the indestructible creature is unaffected. However, if the spell exiles all creatures or gives all creatures -X/-X, it will get around indestructible.
11. If an indestructible creature is blocked, does it still deal combat damage?
Yes. Unless there is an ability preventing the creature from dealing combat damage, it still deals damage to the creature(s) blocking it, as well as trampling damage if it has trample.
12. Can I sacrifice an indestructible creature?
Yes. Indestructible only protects from destruction, not sacrifice. You can sacrifice your own indestructible creature to pay a cost for an ability or spell.
13. Does regenerate work on an indestructible creature?
No. Regenerate is an older mechanic that prevents the next time a creature would be destroyed that turn. Indestructible already prevents destruction, so regeneration is redundant.
14. Can an indestructible creature still be exiled?
Yes. Exile is a separate zone from the graveyard. Indestructible only protects from destruction, not from being exiled.
15. Are there resources to learn more about Magic: The Gathering rules and strategy?
Absolutely! A great resource for learning more about Magic: The Gathering strategy and concepts is the Games Learning Society at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast, the makers of Magic, have the official rules and resources on their website.
Understanding the intricacies of indestructible and how it interacts with other mechanics is crucial for mastering Magic: The Gathering. While “fight” alone won’t take down an indestructible foe, a combination of strategic thinking and well-chosen spells will ensure you can overcome even the most resilient threats.