Does Protection Remove Equipment in Magic: The Gathering? A Comprehensive Guide
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Yes, protection can absolutely remove equipment in Magic: The Gathering (MTG). However, the specifics depend on what the protection is from. If a creature gains protection from artifacts, or protection from the color of the equipment, the equipment will indeed fall off. This is a key element to understand when building decks and strategizing during gameplay. Let’s delve deeper into the mechanics of protection and how it interacts with equipment and other card types.
Understanding Protection in MTG
Protection is a keyword ability in MTG that grants a permanent (usually a creature) immunity to certain effects. Specifically, protection prevents four things, often remembered by the acronym DEBT:
- Damage: Prevents all damage dealt by sources with the specified quality.
- Enchanting/Equipping: Cannot be enchanted by Auras or equipped by Equipment with the specified quality.
- Blocking: Cannot be blocked by creatures with the specified quality.
- Targeting: Cannot be targeted by spells or abilities from sources with the specified quality.
The “specified quality” refers to whatever the permanent has protection from. This could be a color (e.g., protection from black), a card type (e.g., protection from artifacts), or even “everything” (protection from everything).
The Equipment Interaction
The part of protection that deals with equipment is the “E” for Enchanting/Equipping. The rules state that a permanent with protection cannot be equipped by Equipment that has the stated quality. This means if a creature gains protection from artifacts, any Equipment currently attached to it will immediately fall off as a state-based action. The Equipment goes to the graveyard if the creature’s controller owned the Equipment, or remains on the battlefield under its owner’s control, unattached.
Consider these scenarios:
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Scenario 1: Protection from Artifacts: You have a creature equipped with a powerful artifact Equipment like a Sword of Fire and Ice. Your opponent casts Tel-Jilad Defiance, giving your creature protection from artifacts until end of turn. The Sword of Fire and Ice immediately detaches from your creature and remains on the battlefield, unattached.
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Scenario 2: Protection from a Color: You have a creature equipped with a colored artifact Equipment, such as a black Equipment called Nightmare Lash. If your creature gains protection from black, Nightmare Lash immediately falls off because it has the color black.
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Scenario 3: Protection from Everything: You have a creature equipped with both artifact and colored Equipment. If your creature gains protection from everything, all Equipment will immediately fall off, regardless of whether it is an artifact or colored.
It’s crucial to note that the protection must exist after the Equipment is attached. You can’t equip a creature that already has protection from the Equipment’s qualities.
Using Protection Strategically
Protection can be a powerful offensive and defensive tool. You can use it to protect your own creatures from removal spells, or to disrupt your opponent’s strategy by removing their Equipment. The GamesLearningSociety.org fosters strategic thinking through games, an element crucial to mastering MTG.
Protection in Your Favor
If your opponent has a creature equipped with powerful artifacts, you can cast a spell like Tel-Jilad Defiance, which grants protection from artifacts to that creature. This will force their Equipment to fall off, potentially disrupting their entire strategy. Similarly, against Voltron strategies which rely on stacking enchantments and equipment on one creature, protection can create vulnerabilities.
Protecting Your Own Creatures
Using cards that grant protection to your own creatures can safeguard them from targeted removal spells and combat damage. However, be mindful of your own Equipment. If you equip your creature first, then give it protection, your Equipment could fall off! This means you should often consider protecting your creatures before you attach equipment to them.
Protection is a Game Changer
Understanding how protection interacts with Equipment, Auras, and other card types is vital to becoming a skilled MTG player. It influences deck building, in-game decision making, and overall strategic planning. Protection provides a unique layer of complexity to the game, enabling players to outmaneuver their opponents through careful timing and strategic choices.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 FAQs to further clarify the intricacies of protection in MTG:
1. What happens if a creature with protection from artifacts is targeted by an artifact spell?
The spell cannot target the creature due to protection. The spell will fizzle (if it requires a target) or have no effect on the creature.
2. Does protection from artifacts prevent artifact creatures from blocking?
Yes, if a creature has protection from artifacts, artifact creatures cannot block it. Protection from artifacts applies to creatures with the artifact quality, preventing them from blocking.
3. Can I equip a creature with Equipment if it gains protection later in the turn?
Yes, you can equip a creature with Equipment. If the creature later gains protection that prevents it from being equipped, the Equipment will fall off as a state-based action. Timing matters!
4. Does protection from a color stop a board wipe of that color?
No, protection from a color does not stop board wipes of that color. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation do not target creatures. Protection only prevents targeting, damage, blocking, enchanting, and equipping.
5. What happens to Equipment that falls off due to protection?
The Equipment remains on the battlefield unattached under its owner’s control. However, if a creature has its equipment fall off, that equipment will be owned by the creature’s controller and goes to the graveyard. It does not return to the owner’s hand or graveyard.
6. Does protection stop Deathtouch?
Yes, protection stops Deathtouch. Deathtouch only makes damage lethal, but protection prevents the damage from being dealt in the first place.
7. Can I target my own creature with a spell if it has protection from that spell’s color?
No, you cannot target your own creature with a spell if it has protection from that spell’s color. Protection applies regardless of who controls the spell or creature.
8. What does protection from everything actually protect against?
Protection from everything protects against being damaged by any source, enchanted or equipped by any source, targeted by any source, or blocked by any creature. It is almost complete protection, but still susceptible to board wipes.
9. If my creature has protection from artifacts, can I still activate abilities of artifact creatures?
Yes, protection only affects targeting, damage, blocking, enchanting and equipping. You can still activate abilities of artifact creatures as long as you are not targeting the protected creature with the ability.
10. Does protection prevent the loss of life?
It depends. If the life loss is caused by damage from a source with the specified quality, protection will prevent it. If the life loss is from another effect (like a card that says “you lose X life”), protection does not prevent it because it is not damage.
11. If an Equipment has multiple colors, does protection from any of those colors make it fall off?
Yes, if an Equipment has multiple colors, protection from any of those colors will cause it to fall off. For example, if an Equipment is both black and red, protection from either black or red will make it fall off.
12. Does protection prevent the equip ability from being activated?
No, the equip ability can be activated, but the Equipment cannot attach to the creature with protection from the specified qualities. The equip ability will resolve with no effect and the Equipment remains unattached.
13. Can I block a creature with protection from a certain color if my creature doesn’t have that color?
Yes, you can block a creature with protection from a certain color if your creature doesn’t have that color. Protection only prevents blocking by creatures with the specified quality.
14. What is the difference between hexproof and protection?
Hexproof only prevents your opponents from targeting the permanent, and applies only when something is trying to be targeted. Protection prevents targeting, damage, blocking, enchanting, and equipping from sources of the specified quality, regardless of who controls them.
15. If a creature has both protection from black and hexproof, is it virtually immune to black spells and abilities?
Yes, a creature with both protection from black and hexproof is extremely difficult to interact with using black spells and abilities. Protection from black prevents damage, blocking, targeting, enchanting and equipping from black sources, while hexproof prevents opponents from targeting it with spells and abilities. This combination makes it resilient against black-based strategies.