Decoding MTG’s Rule 704.5g: Lethal Damage and Creature Destruction

Rule 704.5g of the Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules addresses the crucial aspect of lethal damage and its consequence: creature destruction. It states: “If a creature has toughness greater than 0, it has damage marked on it, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.” In essence, this rule dictates when a creature meets its demise in combat or from spell effects due to accumulated damage.

Breaking Down Rule 704.5g

Let’s dissect the key elements of this rule to fully grasp its implications:

• Toughness Greater Than 0: This is the first condition. A creature must have a toughness stat above zero for rule 704.5g to apply. Creatures with zero or negative toughness are handled by a different state-based action (704.5f), which sends them directly to the graveyard without the possibility of regeneration.

• Damage Marked On It: The creature must have received some amount of damage, be it from combat, spells, or abilities. This damage is tracked on the creature until the end of the turn or until an effect removes it.

• Damage ≥ Toughness: The core of the rule. If the total damage marked on the creature equals or exceeds its toughness, it’s considered to have received lethal damage.

• Destruction: The consequence of receiving lethal damage is that the creature is destroyed and put into its owner’s graveyard.

• Regeneration: An important exception. Some creatures have the ability to regenerate. Regeneration acts as a one-time shield against destruction. When a creature with regeneration would be destroyed, the regeneration effect replaces the destruction. Usually this involves tapping the creature, removing all damage from it, and sometimes other costs.

The Importance of State-Based Actions

Rule 704.5g is a state-based action. These are actions the game takes automatically whenever a player would receive priority. This means that players cannot respond to a creature being destroyed by lethal damage after the game checks state-based actions. However, they can respond before, potentially preventing the damage or boosting the creature’s toughness.

Examples in Action

Imagine a Grizzly Bears (a 2/2 creature) blocking a Charging Badger (a 1/1 creature) on the battlefield.

1. The Charging Badger deals 1 damage to the Grizzly Bears during combat. The Grizzly Bears now has 1 damage marked on it.
2. Later in the turn, a Shock spell deals 2 damage to the Grizzly Bears. It now has a total of 3 damage marked on it.
3. Because the Grizzly Bears’ toughness is 2, and it has 3 damage marked on it (3 ≥ 2), it is dealt lethal damage.
4. The game checks state-based actions, sees that the Grizzly Bears has lethal damage, and destroys it.
5. If the Grizzly Bears had a regeneration ability, the controller could choose to regenerate it instead of allowing it to be destroyed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What happens if a creature’s toughness becomes 0 or less while it has damage marked on it?

Rule 704.5f comes into play. The creature is immediately put into its owner’s graveyard, and regeneration cannot save it. The order in which these SBA’s are checked does not matter – the creature will die regardless.

2. Can I cast a spell to save my creature after it’s been dealt lethal damage but before it hits the graveyard?

No. State-based actions are checked and executed automatically whenever a player would receive priority. By the time you have the opportunity to cast a spell, the creature is already in the graveyard.

3. Does deathtouch change how lethal damage is calculated?

Yes, but indirectly. Deathtouch doesn’t alter the rule 704.5g itself, but it changes how much damage is considered lethal. A creature with deathtouch only needs to deal 1 damage to a creature to destroy it.

4. How does indestructible interact with rule 704.5g?

Creatures with indestructible ignore the “destroy” part of rule 704.5g. They can still have damage marked on them, but they won’t be put into the graveyard due to having lethal damage marked on them.

5. If a creature has multiple instances of an ability like lifelink, do they stack?

No. Multiple instances of lifelink are redundant, according to rule 702.15f. Only one instance of the ability is needed to gain life equal to the damage dealt.

6. What is the difference between destroying a creature and sacrificing it?

Destroying a creature is usually the result of combat damage or a spell effect, and rule 704.5g is often involved. Sacrificing a creature is an action a player takes, often as a cost to activate an ability or cast a spell. Rule 704.5g does not involve the act of sacrificing a creature.

7. Does damage stay on a creature indefinitely?

No. Generally, damage marked on a creature is removed during the cleanup step of each turn. However, some effects can cause damage to persist across turns.

8. Can a creature with 0 power still deal lethal damage?

Yes, if it has deathtouch. Even though the creature deals no combat damage, the deathtouch ability ensures that any amount of damage dealt is considered lethal.

9. What is the “legend rule,” and how does it affect gameplay?

The “legend rule” states that if a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, they must choose one to keep and put the rest into their graveyard. This is distinct from rule 704.5g but is another state-based action. Also, you do not sacrifice a creature due to the Legend Rule–you choose one of that Legend and the rest go to the graveyard.

10. What are static abilities, and how do they differ from triggered or activated abilities?

Static abilities are always active and constantly affect the game state (e.g., flying, deathtouch). Triggered abilities trigger when a specific event occurs (e.g., “when this creature enters the battlefield…”). Activated abilities require a player to pay a cost to activate them (e.g., “{T}: Add one mana of any color”).

11. What happens if a creature has both first strike and double strike?

According to rule 702.4d, giving double strike to a creature with first strike after it has already dealt combat damage in the first combat damage step will allow the creature to assign combat damage in the second combat damage step.

12. If a game state results in a mandatory infinite loop, what happens?

Rule 727.4 states that if a loop contains only mandatory actions, the game is a draw.

13. What are the primary strategic archetypes in Magic: The Gathering?

The four major strategies are aggro (aggressive, early-game focused), control (defensive, aiming for late-game dominance), combo (reliant on specific card combinations for a sudden win), and midrange (a balanced approach, adapting to the opponent).

14. What does it mean for a card to be “overpowered”?

“Overpowered” refers to cards that are considered significantly stronger than other cards of similar mana cost and rarity, often leading to imbalances in gameplay. The increasing power of cards in each set is referred to as “power creep”. Power creep will always be present in MTG.

15. What are some resources for learning more about Magic: The Gathering rules and strategy?

Beyond the Comprehensive Rules, websites like the MTG Wiki, ChannelFireball, and Tolarian Community College offer articles, videos, and forums for players of all levels. You can also explore the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org for insights into the educational aspects of gaming.