When Does Summoning Sickness End? A Comprehensive Guide
The question of when a creature loses summoning sickness in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is a fundamental one for both new and experienced players. The answer is straightforward: a creature loses summoning sickness at the start of its controller’s next turn. This means that if you play a creature on your turn, it won’t be able to attack or use tap abilities (unless it has haste or other exemptions) until your next turn begins. More precisely, the sickness disappears during the untap step of your following turn.
Understanding Summoning Sickness in Detail
The Core Concept
The concept of summoning sickness was introduced to add a layer of strategic depth to the game. Imagine being able to play a powerful creature and immediately attack with it. The game would become significantly unbalanced, favoring aggressive strategies over others. Summoning sickness acts as a balancing mechanism, giving opponents a chance to respond before a newly summoned creature can engage in combat or use tap-activated abilities.
Defining “Continuous Control”
A creature is considered to have summoning sickness unless it has been under the continuous control of its current controller since the beginning of that controller’s most recent turn. This is a key point. If you steal an opponent’s creature during your turn, it will still be affected by summoning sickness until the start of your next turn. Likewise, if you blink a creature during your turn, it will get summoning sickness until the start of your next turn as well.
The Untap Step and the End of Summoning Sickness
The Untap Step
The untap step is the first step of every player’s turn. It’s during this phase that all of a player’s permanents, including creatures, that are tapped untap. At the same moment, summoning sickness ceases to affect those creatures that were under your control since the beginning of the phase. Once the untap step is over, the creature is free to attack, use tap abilities, and generally act like a seasoned member of your army.
Exceptions to the Rule: Haste and Other Abilities
It’s important to remember that some creatures are immune to summoning sickness due to having the haste ability. Haste essentially gives the creature an immediate “go-ahead” upon entering the battlefield. Also, some cards specifically state that a creature is unaffected by summoning sickness. These exemptions allow players to circumvent the standard rule and introduce a faster pace of play.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do creatures have summoning sickness when they phase in?
No. Phasing doesn’t affect summoning sickness. When a creature phases out, it is still considered on the battlefield, just not accessible until it phases back in. So, a creature that phases back in will never have summoning sickness when it returns.
What happens when a creature phases out?
Phasing is a mechanic where permanents temporarily disappear, treating them as if they don’t exist until they phase back in during their owner’s next untap step. It’s a useful tool for both protection and disrupting opponents.
Do creatures have summoning sickness after exile?
Yes, a creature returning from exile is treated as if it has just entered the battlefield. As such, it will suffer from summoning sickness until the start of its controller’s next turn. Additionally, any counters or effects that were on the creature prior to exile are lost.
When you exile a creature, does it lose its counters?
Yes, when a creature is exiled, counters do not just disappear; they cease to exist. The creature, as it returns from exile, is a new entity in game terms.
Does a creature being exiled count as dying?
No. Exiling a creature removes it from the game entirely, whereas dying moves it to the graveyard. Therefore, any effects that trigger on death won’t trigger if a creature is exiled.
Do creatures have summoning sickness until your next turn?
Yes. Creatures have summoning sickness from the moment they enter the battlefield until the start of their controller’s next turn or unless they have haste.
Does killing a creature stop a triggered ability?
No. Triggered abilities go on the stack, and once they’re there, they resolve independently of their source. Destroying, exiling, or any other removal of a creature will not stop an ability already on the stack.
Do Planeswalkers have summoning sickness?
No, only creatures are affected by summoning sickness. Planeswalkers can use their loyalty abilities as soon as they come into play, assuming it is your turn and they have enough loyalty counters.
Can I crew with summoning sickness?
Yes. You can use any untapped creature you control to activate a crew ability, even if that creature has summoning sickness. This is because using a creature to crew is not considered a tap ability.
Does blinking cause summoning sickness?
Yes. Blinking a creature will bring it back into play as if it were a brand new creature, subjecting it to summoning sickness. It will remain summoning sick until your next turn begins.
Can you untap a creature with summoning sickness?
Yes, a creature can be untapped, but it doesn’t remove summoning sickness. Summoning sickness only prevents the creature from tapping for an attack or tap abilities on the turn it enters the battlefield. It can still block if needed on your opponent’s turn.
Can a creature tap first turn?
It depends. A creature with summoning sickness can’t tap to attack or use tap abilities. However, abilities that don’t require tapping the creature can be used.
Are lands that turn into creatures affected by summoning sickness?
Yes. If a land becomes a creature, it is subject to summoning sickness. This means that you can’t attack or use any of its tap abilities unless it was under your control at the start of your turn.
Can you tap an artifact the turn you play it?
Yes, unless it’s a creature. Only creatures are affected by summoning sickness. If an artifact becomes a creature, it will be affected by summoning sickness.
Can you exile indestructible?
Yes. Indestructible doesn’t protect a permanent from being exiled. It does, however, protect a permanent from being destroyed or from damage. Indestructible permanents can still be removed from the battlefield via exile, being sacrificed, or having zero toughness.
Conclusion
Understanding summoning sickness and its timing is a cornerstone of playing Magic: The Gathering strategically. By understanding when this condition ends and being aware of the exceptions, you can make more informed decisions, plan your turns more effectively, and use your creatures to their full potential. Remember, the sickness fades at the start of your next turn, making that moment a critical turning point in the game.