Understanding Summoning Sickness and Man Lands in Magic: The Gathering
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Summoning sickness, in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), is an informal term that describes the restriction on a creature’s ability to attack or use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield under your control. This limitation exists until the start of your next turn. Man lands (also known as creature lands) are lands that have the ability to become creatures, often by paying mana. The interplay between summoning sickness and man lands is that, once a man land becomes a creature, it is subject to summoning sickness if it hasn’t been continuously under your control since the beginning of your most recent turn.
Delving Deeper into Summoning Sickness
Summoning sickness is a fundamental rule that prevents newly played creatures from immediately attacking or using activated abilities that require tapping. Imagine it as the creature needing a moment to adjust to the battlefield after being summoned. While the creature is “sick,” it can still block, act as a crew member for a Vehicle, and generally exist on the battlefield. Summoning sickness only applies to creatures, not to Planeswalkers, Artifacts, or other permanent types.
The key aspect to remember is that summoning sickness is based on control and continuous presence on the battlefield. If a creature changes control (e.g., through a “Threaten” effect), it will be affected by summoning sickness until it has been under the new controller’s control since the beginning of their turn (unless it has haste).
Man Lands: Creatures in Disguise
Man lands are a unique and versatile type of land that can transform into a creature, typically by paying a mana cost. Examples include Raging Ravine, Mutavault, and Celestial Colonnade. These lands provide the crucial function of producing mana but can also become offensive threats or defensive blockers when needed. This dual nature makes them powerful additions to many decks.
Summoning Sickness and Animated Lands
When a man land is activated and becomes a creature, it becomes subject to summoning sickness, but only if it hasn’t been under your control since the beginning of your turn. This is a common point of confusion. If the land was already on the battlefield at the beginning of your turn, it’s been continuously under your control, so activating it into a creature doesn’t give it summoning sickness. However, if you played the land this turn and then activate its ability, it won’t be able to attack or tap for abilities that require tapping.
The important distinction is that the act of becoming a creature does not inherently cause summoning sickness. Summoning sickness is tied to when the permanent (the land) entered the battlefield under your control.
FAQs: Summoning Sickness and Man Lands
1. Does summoning sickness affect lands?
No, summoning sickness specifically affects creatures. Lands themselves are not affected. However, if a land becomes a creature (like a man land), it is then subject to summoning sickness as a creature.
2. Can I block with a creature that has summoning sickness?
Yes! A creature with summoning sickness can block normally. The only restrictions are on attacking and using activated abilities that require tapping.
3. If I play a land and then activate it to become a creature on the same turn, can it attack?
No. Because you played the land this turn, it hasn’t been continuously under your control since the beginning of your turn. Activating it into a creature doesn’t change that, so it will have summoning sickness and cannot attack.
4. What happens if I gain control of an opponent’s creature?
If you gain control of an opponent’s creature, it has summoning sickness until the beginning of your next turn (unless it has haste). This is because it hasn’t been under your control since the beginning of your turn.
5. Does giving a creature haste negate summoning sickness?
Yes, haste allows a creature to ignore summoning sickness. A creature with haste can attack or use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield under your control.
6. Can I use a tap ability of a land the turn I play it?
Yes, you can tap a land for mana the turn you play it. Playing a land is a special action and doesn’t use the stack, it doesn’t count as a spell, so lands do not have summoning sickness when first played. Summoning sickness only applies to creatures, not to lands.
7. If a man land becomes a creature, does it lose its land type?
No, a man land remains a land even when it becomes a creature. It will be both a land and a creature (for example, “Land Creature – Elemental”).
8. Do counters stay on a man land when it’s not a creature?
Yes, counters remain on a permanent unless specifically removed or the permanent leaves the battlefield. This applies to +1/+1 counters, loyalty counters, or any other type of counter. So, if a man land has +1/+1 counters on it while it’s a land, those counters will still be there when it becomes a creature.
9. Can I crew a Vehicle with a creature that has summoning sickness?
Yes, you can crew a Vehicle using a creature with summoning sickness. The act of crewing only requires you to tap the creature, not to attack or use a tap ability.
10. If I flicker a creature, does it get summoning sickness when it returns?
Yes, if you flicker a creature, it is considered a new object when it returns to the battlefield. Unless it has haste, it will be affected by summoning sickness.
11. What happens if a creature loses haste?
If a creature loses haste on the same turn it entered the battlefield, it will be affected by summoning sickness. Haste only allows it to ignore summoning sickness, it doesn’t remove summoning sickness entirely.
12. Does summoning sickness prevent me from activating abilities that don’t require tapping?
No, summoning sickness only prevents attacking and using activated abilities that require tapping. You can still activate other abilities that don’t require tapping.
13. If I animate a land into a creature on my opponent’s turn, can it block?
Yes, even if you animate the land on your opponent’s turn, it is still able to block assuming it has been under your control since the beginning of your most recent turn. This is because your summoning sickness restrictions don’t apply on your opponent’s turn.
14. How does deathtouch interact with indestructible creatures?
Indestructible creatures are not destroyed by damage, including damage from a creature with deathtouch. Deathtouch normally causes a creature to be destroyed if it is dealt damage by a source with deathtouch, but indestructible prevents this destruction.
15. Is double strike the same as first strike?
No, double strike is not the same as first strike. A creature with double strike deals combat damage in both the first-strike combat damage step and the regular combat damage step. A creature with first strike only deals combat damage in the first-strike combat damage step. While similar, they are distinct abilities.
Understanding summoning sickness and how it interacts with man lands is crucial for playing Magic: The Gathering effectively. This rule impacts your strategic decisions, especially when considering offensive and defensive plays with creature lands. Mastering this aspect of the game will significantly improve your gameplay and give you an edge in battles.
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