What is Trample when Blocker is Removed?
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When a blocker is removed, trample allows an attacking creature to deal lethal damage to the removed blocker, considering it as 0 damage, and then deal the rest of its damage to the defending player. This means that if a declared blocker is removed before combat damage is assigned, the attacking creature with trample will deal all its damage to the defending player, as there is no blocker to absorb the damage.
Understanding Trample and Blockers
To grasp the concept of trample when a blocker is removed, it’s essential to understand how trample works in general. Trample is a static ability that modifies the rules for assigning an attacking creature’s combat damage. When an attacking creature with trample is blocked, its controller first assigns damage to the blocking creature(s) until they are assigned lethal damage. Any excess damage beyond what is required to kill the blocker can then be assigned to the defending player or planeswalker.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Trample Apply When Blocking?
Trample is a static ability that has no effect when a creature with trample is blocking or is dealing non-combat damage.
2. What Does Trample Do?
Trample is a static ability that lets a creature deal excess combat damage to a defending player or planeswalker while attacking.
3. Does Trample Deal Damage When Blocking?
Trample only applies when a creature is attacking, not when it is blocking.
4. What is Trample Damage?
Trample damage refers to the excess combat damage dealt by an attacking creature with trample to the defending player or planeswalker after the blocking creature(s) have been assigned lethal damage.
5. Does Trample Work If You’re Defending?
Only an attacking creature with trample can assign combat damage to the defending player once the blocking creature(s) have been assigned lethal damage.
6. Does Deathtouch Cancel Deathtouch?
Any two instances of the Deathtouch ability against one another cancel out the Deathtouch ability.
7. Does Indestructible Prevent Deathtouch?
Indestructible creatures ignore Deathtouch, meaning they cannot be destroyed by Deathtouch damage.
8. Does Trample Hit Over Indestructible?
Although an indestructible creature cannot be destroyed, trample damage can still be dealt to it, and any excess damage can trample over to the defending player.
9. Does Trample Count When Creatures Fight?
Trample matters only for combat damage and does not apply when creatures fight.
10. Does Protection from Green Stop Trample?
Protection prevents the damage dealt to the creature, not the damage that “tramples over” to the attacked player or planeswalker.
11. How Do You Remove a Blocker?
A blocker can be removed from combat through various means, such as spells or abilities that cause it to stop blocking.
12. Does Hexproof Cancel Deathtouch?
Hexproof does not prevent Deathtouch because Deathtouch does not target the creature.
13. Does Regenerate Beat Deathtouch?
One regeneration effect is enough to prevent both lethal damage and Deathtouch.
14. Does Deathtouch Beat Trample?
Unless the creature with Deathtouch has first strike, Deathtouch does nothing to stop a creature from trampling over to the defending player.
15. Does Double Strike Damage Trample?
If a creature has both double strike and trample, the combat damage it assigned during the first combat damage step will be considered when determining how much damage can trample through in the second combat damage step.