Summoning Sickness and Blocking: Your MTG Combat Guide
No, summoning sickness does not stop you from blocking. This is a crucial rule to understand in Magic: The Gathering, as it significantly impacts your defensive strategy. While a creature with summoning sickness can’t attack or use activated abilities with the tap symbol (or the untap symbol!), it can absolutely be declared as a blocker.
Understanding Summoning Sickness
Summoning sickness is a rule that applies to creatures when they first enter the battlefield under your control. This “illness” restricts what they can do in that very first turn. Think of it as your creature needing a moment to adjust to its new surroundings before it can fully participate in combat or use certain abilities.
What Summoning Sickness Prevents
Summoning sickness prevents a creature from:
- Attacking: The creature cannot be declared as an attacker during your combat phase.
- Activating abilities with the tap symbol: Abilities that require you to tap the creature (depicted by the tap symbol) cannot be used. This limitation also applies to abilities with the untap symbol.
What Summoning Sickness Doesn’t Prevent
Crucially, summoning sickness does not prevent a creature from:
- Blocking: A creature with summoning sickness can be declared as a blocker during an opponent’s combat phase.
- Activating abilities without the tap symbol: Abilities that don’t require tapping the creature can be used, even if the creature has summoning sickness.
- Using triggered abilities: Triggered abilities (abilities that automatically activate when a certain condition is met) function normally, regardless of summoning sickness.
- Using static abilities: Static abilities (abilities that constantly apply their effect) function normally, regardless of summoning sickness.
- Being enchanted or equipped: Summoning sickness doesn’t prevent you from attaching Auras or Equipment to the creature.
Blocking: Your First Line of Defense
Blocking is a fundamental part of MTG strategy. It allows you to protect yourself, your planeswalkers, and other vital permanents from incoming attacks. Knowing that creatures with summoning sickness can block opens up many tactical possibilities. You can play a creature on your turn and immediately use it to defend yourself during your opponent’s turn, even if it can’t attack the turn it comes into play.
This is especially important in formats like Limited (Draft and Sealed), where resources are often scarce, and having a blocker available immediately can swing the game in your favor. It also comes into play when you play creatures with valuable activated abilities. You can block with that creature immediately and use the ability next turn.
Summoning Sickness and Vehicles
Vehicles introduce an interesting dynamic to the summoning sickness discussion. Remember, a Vehicle only becomes a creature when it’s Crewed. If you Crew a Vehicle on the same turn it came under your control, it has summoning sickness as a creature. You can Crew a vehicle to block, but you can’t attack with it the turn it comes into play unless it has haste.
Haste: The Cure for Summoning Sickness
Haste is an ability that completely circumvents summoning sickness. A creature with haste can attack and use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield. This is why haste is such a valuable keyword, turning a newly summoned creature into an immediate threat.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 frequently asked questions about summoning sickness and blocking, designed to further solidify your understanding of this crucial MTG mechanic:
1. Can I tap a creature with summoning sickness for mana?
If the ability to generate mana involves tapping the creature and is an activated ability (meaning you have to choose to activate it and pay a cost), then no. Summoning sickness prevents you from activating such abilities. However, if the mana generation is a triggered ability (like with some lands that tap for mana when a creature enters the battlefield), then the summoning sickness doesn’t matter; the ability will still trigger.
2. If I gain control of an opponent’s creature, does it have summoning sickness?
Yes. Any time a creature comes under your control, it is subject to summoning sickness for that turn, regardless of how long it has been on the battlefield.
3. Can I block with a creature, then tap it for an ability after blocking?
Yes. The creature only needs to be untapped when you declare it as a blocker. Once it’s declared as a blocker, you can tap it for other abilities or effects without affecting its blocking status. It will still deal and receive combat damage as a blocker.
4. Does summoning sickness affect creatures with vigilance?
No. Vigilance simply means the creature doesn’t tap when it attacks. It doesn’t bypass summoning sickness, which prevents attacking altogether for creatures that just came under your control. A creature with vigilance and summoning sickness can block, and if it somehow could attack, it would not tap.
5. What happens if a creature loses haste after it has already attacked this turn?
Losing haste doesn’t retroactively undo the attack. The attack is already declared, and the creature remains an attacker. Haste only matters at the moment you declare attackers.
6. Can I use a creature with summoning sickness to pay a cost that requires tapping it?
No. Paying a cost that requires tapping a creature is considered activating an ability that requires tapping and is prohibited by summoning sickness.
7. If I flicker a creature (exile it and return it to the battlefield), does it get summoning sickness again?
Yes. Flickering a creature essentially treats it as a brand new permanent entering the battlefield. Therefore, it is subject to summoning sickness again.
8. Can I block with a creature that has been tapped by an opponent’s spell?
Yes. As long as the creature is untapped at the beginning of the declare blockers step, you can declare it as a blocker. If your opponent taps your creature after you declare it as a blocker, it remains a blocker.
9. If I have multiple blockers assigned to one attacker, can I tap one of the blockers after it has been declared?
Yes. Tapping a blocker after it has been declared does not remove it from blocking. The attacker will still deal damage to the blockers as assigned, and the blockers will deal damage back.
10. Can a creature with summoning sickness crew a vehicle?
Yes. Crewing a vehicle does require tapping but crewing is an ability of the vehicle and is not an ability of the creature, so it does not violate the restrictions on creatures with summoning sickness.
11. Does summoning sickness affect planeswalkers?
No. Summoning sickness only applies to creatures. Planeswalkers have different rules governing when they can use their loyalty abilities.
12. If a creature gains haste after entering the battlefield, can it attack immediately?
Yes. If a creature gains haste after entering the battlefield on the same turn it comes under your control, it can attack.
13. Can a creature block a creature with protection?
It depends on the type of protection. If the attacking creature has protection from creatures, then no, the creature cannot be blocked. Protection from a color means the creature can’t be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, enchanted, or equipped by anything of that color. If the blocking creature has protection, then the ability will protect the creature.
14. How do I remember which abilities summoning sickness affects?
Focus on the tap symbol. If the activated ability you want to use requires you to tap the creature, summoning sickness prevents you from using it. You can also think of it as the creature needing to “rest” when it first comes out, so it cannot be taxed further.
15. Is there somewhere I can learn more about complex MTG rules and strategies?
Absolutely! The Games Learning Society is a great resource for learning about the intricacies of Magic: The Gathering and other games. Check them out at GamesLearningSociety.org to explore more about the educational aspects of gaming and game-based learning. You may find that you learn better with the right study tool.
In conclusion, understanding the nuances of summoning sickness and blocking is crucial for mastering Magic: The Gathering. Remember that while summoning sickness restricts attacking and certain activated abilities, it never prevents a creature from defending you! Use this knowledge wisely to enhance your gameplay and dominate the battlefield.