What is the Fear Rule in Magic?
The fear ability in Magic: The Gathering is an evasion keyword that dictates which creatures can block a creature with fear. Specifically, a creature with fear can only be blocked by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. This makes fear a potent tool for offense, allowing creatures to bypass most defenses and connect with the opposing player or their planeswalkers. It’s an ability that’s most commonly found on black creatures, reflecting their thematic association with intimidation and psychological warfare.
Essentially, fear is a form of conditional unblockability, forcing your opponent to have specific kinds of creatures to interact with your fearful attacker. It is important to note that fear only affects blocking; it does not impact the ability of spells or other abilities to target the creature with fear. It also doesn’t interact with other combat mechanics like trample or first strike directly.
Understanding Fear in Combat
To fully grasp how fear works, let’s break down a typical combat scenario. If you attack with a creature that has fear, your opponent can only block that creature if they control either an artifact creature or a black creature. If they control neither of these, the creature with fear is essentially unblockable and will deal its combat damage directly. This puts considerable pressure on your opponent, forcing them to carefully manage their creature resources.
For example, if you attack with a Shriekmaw, a black creature with fear, and your opponent has only green and white creatures on the battlefield, they will not be able to block Shriekmaw. If, however, they have a Darksteel Myr (an artifact creature) or a Grave Titan (a black creature), they can block.
Fear vs. Other Evasion Abilities
Fear is one of many evasion abilities that exist within Magic: The Gathering. Here’s how it compares to some of the others:
Fear vs. Protection
While both fear and protection grant an advantage in combat, they operate very differently. Fear dictates what can block a creature, while protection prevents damage, targeting, enchanting, equipping, and blocking of a creature with the specified color. For example, protection from black will completely nullify a black creature’s ability to interact with the protected creature, making it much more potent as defense than fear is. A creature with fear would still be able to be damaged by the creature with protection from black if it is blocked by it.
Fear vs. Intimidate
Intimidate is another evasion keyword, and a close cousin to fear. A creature with intimidate can’t be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it. Although functionally similar, the difference is that intimidate considers any color, while fear focuses solely on black. Intimidate is considered a deprecated keyword, meaning that it is no longer printed on new cards.
FAQs About Fear in Magic: The Gathering
Here are some frequently asked questions about the fear ability to help further your understanding:
What happens if a creature with fear is blocked by multiple creatures, and one of them is legal?
If a creature with fear is blocked by multiple creatures, and at least one of them is either an artifact creature or a black creature, then the blocking is legal. The damage calculations proceed as normal.
Can a creature with fear be targeted by spells or abilities?
Yes, the fear ability only affects blocking. Creatures with fear can be targeted by spells, abilities, enchantments, and equipment as usual.
Does fear make a creature unblockable?
No, fear does not make a creature unblockable. It simply limits which creatures can legally block it. If there are no legal blockers on the field, then it will appear to be unblockable, but it is still technically a blockable creature.
Is fear a good ability?
Fear is generally considered a strong evasion ability, especially in formats where black and artifact creatures aren’t overly prevalent. It allows you to consistently deal damage and pressure your opponent.
Can fear be stacked?
No. There are very few instances of keyword abilities being “stackable” and fear is not one of them. Having multiple instances of fear on a creature does nothing more than having just one.
How can you counter or play against fear?
You can counter creatures with fear using spells or abilities, but the best defense is to include artifact creatures or black creatures in your deck to act as blockers.
Does fear work against planeswalkers?
Yes, fear works against planeswalkers. If a creature with fear attacks a planeswalker, the same blocking rules apply.
What is the difference between fear and menace?
Menace (This creature can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures.) differs from fear in that it can be blocked by any number of creatures, as long as there are at least two of them. This is different from fear, which limits blockers by type or color.
Can a creature with fear be blocked by a creature that’s temporarily black or artifact?
Yes, if a creature on the battlefield gains the black or artifact type through an effect or spell, it will be able to legally block a creature with fear.
Does fear interact with the trample keyword?
Fear does not directly interact with trample. If a creature with fear is blocked by a single creature and has trample, it will deal its excess damage to the defending player or planeswalker even if it is blocked by a legal blocker.
Is fear a common ability in Magic?
Fear was a very common ability when it was actively being designed. The ability is considered a deprecated ability, meaning that it is no longer being printed on new cards. You will mostly find this ability on cards that were made years ago.
Does fear prevent triggered abilities?
No, fear does not prevent triggered abilities. A creature with fear that is blocked may trigger a variety of triggered abilities, and is not exempt from the blocking rules.
Can fear be removed?
Yes, a creature can lose the fear ability with spells or effects that change or remove its abilities, such as Turn to Frog.
Does fear have any other hidden interactions?
No, the rules for fear are very clear. A creature with fear can only be blocked by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.
Are there variations of fear?
No, there are no official variations of the fear ability. However, some other evasion abilities like intimidate function similarly.