Decoding Indestructible: Does It Stop Sorcery Damage?
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The short answer is: it depends on what the sorcery does. Indestructible prevents destruction due to damage from any source, including sorceries. It also prevents effects that say “destroy.” However, indestructible doesn’t stop other effects a sorcery might have, like exiling a permanent, reducing its toughness to zero, forcing a player to sacrifice it, or returning it to its owner’s hand. Let’s delve deeper into this crucial mechanic.
Understanding Indestructible in Magic: The Gathering
Indestructible is a powerful keyword ability in Magic: The Gathering that provides significant protection to permanents, especially creatures. It essentially shields a permanent from two specific kinds of effects: destruction due to damage (including combat damage and damage from spells and abilities), and effects that explicitly say “destroy.” The ability doesn’t make a permanent immune to everything, though. There are still several ways to get rid of an indestructible permanent. Now, let’s address some frequently asked questions to clarify the nuances of this ability.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Indestructible
Here are 15 of the most commonly asked questions about the Indestructible keyword ability in Magic: The Gathering.
1. What Does Indestructible Actually Prevent?
Indestructible is quite straightforward: it prevents a permanent from being destroyed by damage or by effects that use the word “destroy.” That’s really the core of it. It’s a shield against these two types of effects and nothing more.
2. Does Indestructible Prevent Damage?
No, indestructible does not prevent damage. A creature with indestructible still takes damage. However, that damage will not cause the creature to be destroyed. The damage is marked on the creature but is effectively ignored when determining if it should be put into the graveyard due to lethal damage.
3. How Does Damage Work with Indestructible?
Damage is still dealt as normal to an indestructible creature. It’s just that when state-based actions are checked (which happens frequently throughout the game), the check for lethal damage is ignored for that creature. If an indestructible creature has, say, 10 damage marked on it and then loses indestructible, it will be destroyed the next time state-based actions are checked.
4. Can A Sorcery Destroy An Indestructible Creature?
A sorcery that specifically says “destroy” will not destroy an indestructible creature. However, sorceries can still remove indestructible creatures through other methods like exiling them, bouncing them back to the owner’s hand, or forcing the player to sacrifice them.
5. Does Indestructible Protect Against Spells?
Indestructible protects against the “destroy” effect of spells and from destruction from damage dealt by spells. It does not protect against all spells. For example, a spell that exiles a creature will still work on an indestructible creature.
6. What Kills Indestructible in Magic?
While indestructible prevents destruction, it doesn’t grant immunity to all forms of removal. Here’s a rundown of what does work:
- Exile Effects: Cards like “Swords to Plowshares” or “Path to Exile” remove the permanent from the game entirely.
- Reducing Toughness to 0: Effects that reduce a creature’s toughness to zero or less will still cause it to die, even with indestructible. Cards like “Grasp of Darkness” can accomplish this.
- Sacrifice Effects: Cards that force a player to sacrifice a permanent, such as “Diabolic Edict,” bypass indestructible.
- Bounce Effects: Returning a permanent to its owner’s hand using spells like “Unsummon” effectively removes it from the battlefield.
- “Fighting” Effects: While the indestructible creature won’t be destroyed, it will still deal combat damage back to the creature it is fighting.
- -X/-X Effects: These are similar to reducing toughness to 0 and will kill an indestructible creature.
- Planeswalker removal: If a planeswalker with indestructible has no loyalty counters, it will still be put into its owner’s graveyard, as the rule that does this doesn’t destroy the planeswalker.
- Legend rule: Indestructible permanents can still be put into their owner’s graveyard by the “legend rule.”
7. Does Deathtouch Beat Indestructible?
No, deathtouch does not beat indestructible. Normally, any amount of damage from a creature with deathtouch is considered lethal. However, since indestructible creatures can’t be destroyed by damage, they are effectively immune to deathtouch.
8. Do “Destroy” Spells Work on Indestructible?
No. If a spell or ability specifically says “destroy,” it will have no effect on an indestructible permanent.
9. Do Board Wipes Destroy Indestructible Creatures?
It depends on the board wipe. If the board wipe uses the word “destroy” or deals lethal damage, it won’t affect indestructible creatures. However, board wipes that exile creatures or reduce their toughness will work. An example of this would be Farewell as it has the option of exiling creatures.
10. Does Indestructible Stop Sacrifice Magic?
No, indestructible does not prevent sacrifice. Sacrifice effects force a player to put their own permanent into the graveyard. This is not the same as destroying it, so indestructible offers no protection.
11. Does Indestructible Prevent 0 Toughness?
Indestructible does not prevent a creature from dying due to having 0 or less toughness. If a creature with indestructible has its toughness reduced to 0, it will be put into the graveyard as a state-based action.
12. What is the Hardest Thing to Destroy in Magic: The Gathering?
Determining the “hardest thing to destroy” is subjective and depends on the context. A permanent with both indestructible and hexproof is particularly difficult to remove. However, even these can still be sacrificed or have their toughness reduced to zero.
13. Can You Exile Indestructible?
Yes, you absolutely can exile an indestructible permanent. Indestructible only protects against destruction; it doesn’t stop exile effects.
14. Does Hexproof Stop Deathtouch?
No, hexproof does not stop deathtouch. Hexproof only prevents a permanent from being targeted by spells or abilities controlled by an opponent. Deathtouch is a static ability of the creature dealing the damage, not a targeted effect.
15. What Magic Card Makes Everything Indestructible?
There are several cards that can grant indestructible to multiple permanents. One of the most iconic is Avacyn, Angel of Hope. For eight mana, she grants indestructible to all permanents you control. Another card is Darksteel Forge, which makes all of your artifacts indestructible.
Understanding the Nuances
Indestructible is a powerful ability, but it’s important to understand its limitations. It protects against damage and effects that specifically say “destroy,” but it leaves a permanent vulnerable to a variety of other removal methods. Recognizing these weaknesses is essential for both playing against and playing with indestructible permanents.
Magic: The Gathering is full of intricate rules interactions, and understanding keywords like indestructible is crucial for becoming a skilled player. For more insights and learning resources about the game, consider visiting the Games Learning Society at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/. This organization provides resources for educators and learners interested in exploring the educational potential of games.
This thorough examination of indestructible should equip you with the knowledge to navigate this key mechanic effectively. Now you can confidently determine if that sorcery will affect that seemingly invincible creature!