Conquering Color Protection: A Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming MTG’s Elusive Mechanic

The protection mechanic in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is a powerful ability that can render some of your opponent’s strategies completely useless. A creature with protection from a color can be a frustrating obstacle, seemingly invulnerable to your carefully constructed attacks. However, understanding how protection works and the ways to circumvent it is key to becoming a successful MTG player. So, how do you actually beat protection from a color?

The most direct approach to beating protection from a color in MTG involves employing removal spells of different colors. If your opponent has a creature with protection from black, for example, your black removal spells will be ineffective. However, you can use red removal spells like Lightning Bolt or Abrade to take that creature off the board. Diversifying your removal suite ensures that you are not entirely stonewalled by a single protection effect. Beyond color diversification, you can target creatures with board wipes, abilities that don’t target, or by exploiting other combat interactions to bypass protection, all of which are detailed further in the article.

Understanding Protection and Its Limitations

Before diving into specific strategies, it’s crucial to understand exactly what protection does (and does not) do. In MTG, protection from a color means that a permanent cannot be:

• Damaged by sources of that color.
• Enchanted or equipped by auras or equipment of that color.
• Blocked by creatures of that color.
• Targeted by spells or abilities from sources of that color.

This acronym, DEBT, is a helpful mnemonic to remember what protection prevents. What it doesn’t do is just as important. Protection does not stop:

• Board wipes: Spells like Wrath of God or Damnation that destroy all creatures don’t target individual creatures, so protection does not protect from those.
• Abilities that don’t target: Many triggered abilities or activated abilities that affect multiple creatures at once bypass protection.
• Combat damage in specific situations: While a creature with protection from red can’t be blocked by a red creature, a red creature with trample can still deal excess damage to the player if the protection creature blocks it.

Strategies to Overcome Protection

Diverse Removal Spells

As mentioned above, the most direct way to overcome protection from a color is by using removal spells of different colors. If you’re playing a black/red deck, you could have both Murder (black) and Lightning Bolt (red). This allows you to take down a creature with protection from red with your black removal, or take down a creature with protection from black using your red removal.

Non-Targeting Removal and Board Wipes

Board wipes like Wrath of God, Damnation, or Toxic Deluge don’t target, so they will destroy creatures with protection, regardless of the color they’re protected from. Similarly, non-targeting removal like certain activated or triggered abilities, can also bypass protection. For instance, a creature with a trigger that “all creatures get -1/-1” will remove protection creatures with 1 toughness.

Combat Tricks and Trample

While creatures with protection from a color can’t be blocked by creatures of that color, a creature with trample can still assign damage to the player, even if it’s blocked by a creature with protection from the color of the trample creature. The trample mechanic works by assigning lethal damage to the blocker. Since protection will prevent the damage to the blocker, the trample creature can still deal the rest of the damage through to the defending player.

Colorless Options

Colorless removal spells and abilities offer a unique avenue to get past protection. Colorless spells and abilities are unaffected by any protection from color because they are not associated with any color. Examples include Kozilek’s Return which is a colorless board wipe.

Exploiting Other Mechanics

Understanding how protection interacts with other mechanics is also important. For example:

• Deathtouch: While deathtouch is often devastating, it will still be prevented if a source of deathtouch is blocked by a creature with protection from the color of the deathtouch creature.
• Auras: Auras of the protected color cannot enchant a creature with protection from that color and will be removed if attached before the protection was granted.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Does protection from a color stop destroy effects?

No, protection does not stop destroy effects that do not target, such as board wipes. It prevents damage, attaching auras and equipment, blocking, and targeting.

2. Does protection from a color prevent trample damage?

No, protection does not stop trample damage from going through to the player. Trample will assign lethal damage to the blocker, and any extra damage can be assigned to the defending player.

3. Does protection from a color stop board wipes?

Yes, global effects like Wrath of God or Day of Judgment do not target individual creatures and are not stopped by protection.

4. Does protection from a color prevent Deathtouch?

Yes, protection prevents any damage from sources of the protected color, including damage from creatures with deathtouch.

5. Does protection from a color include spells?

Yes, protection prevents targeting by spells of that color and damage from spells of that color.

6. Does protection from a color remove auras?

Yes, auras of the protected color can’t enchant a creature with protection from that color and are removed.

7. Can you block a creature with protection from a color?

No, you cannot block a creature with protection from a color using a creature of that color.

8. Does protection from a color prevent damage from an ability?

Yes, any ability of a protected color that would deal damage to a creature with protection from that color will be prevented.

9. Does hexproof cancel deathtouch?

No, hexproof only prevents targeting, and deathtouch does not target a creature. Therefore, a creature with hexproof can still be destroyed by a source of damage with deathtouch.

10. Does indestructible stop deathtouch?

Yes, indestructible creatures are immune to damage from a source of deathtouch.

11. What is protection against multicolored?

Protection from multicolored means the creature can’t be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, enchanted, or equipped by anything multicolored.

12. Can you target your own creature if it has protection from a color?

No, a permanent with protection cannot be targeted by abilities from a source of the specified color, even if the player controls both the source and the protected permanent.

13. How do you destroy protection from everything?

Protection from everything means that a creature can’t be blocked, dealt damage from any source, or targeted by spells and abilities. Board wipes such as Wrath of God or Day of Judgement will remove the creature since they don’t target it directly.

14. Can you have protection from colorless?

While there is no card that specifically grants protection from colorless, in theory, it would function like any other protection: preventing damage, attachment, blocking and targeting from colorless sources.

15. Can you counter spells with protection?

Yes, protection only functions while a card is a permanent on the battlefield. It does not affect a card on the stack (while it is a spell). Therefore, you can counter a spell that is a color even if a permanent on the field has protection from that color.

Conclusion

Protection from a color is a powerful mechanic that can seem insurmountable, but by understanding its limitations and utilizing diverse strategies, you can effectively overcome it. Using a combination of diverse removal, non-targeting effects, combat maneuvers, and colorless options, you will be well-equipped to handle any creature with protection that crosses your path, bringing you closer to victory. Remember, adaptability and a thorough understanding of the rules are the keys to mastering MTG and conquering any challenge you encounter.