Rules
Comprehensive Rules
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100General101The Magic Golden Rules102Players103Starting the Game104Ending the Game105Colors106Mana107Numbers and Symbols108Cards109Objects110Permanents111Tokens112Spells113Abilities114Emblems115Targets116Special Actions117Timing and Priority118Costs119Life120Damage121Drawing a Card122Counters123Stickers
120. Damage
120.1
Objects can deal damage to battles, creatures, planeswalkers, and players. This is generally detrimental to the object or player that receives that damage. An object that deals damage is the source of that damage.
120.10
Some triggered abilities check whether a permanent has been dealt excess damage. These abilities check after the permanent has been dealt damage by one or more sources. If those sources together dealt an amount of damage to a creature greater than lethal damage, excess damage equal to the difference was dealt to that creature. If those sources together dealt an amount of damage to a planeswalker greater than that planeswalker’s loyalty before the damage was dealt, excess damage equal to the difference was dealt to that planeswalker. If those sources together dealt an amount of damage to a battle greater than that battle’s defense before the damage was dealt, excess damage equal to the difference was dealt to that battle. If a permanent has multiple card types from among the list of creature, planeswalker, and battle, the excess damage dealt to that permanent is the greatest of the calculated amounts for each of the card types it has.
120.2
Any object can deal damage.
120.3
Damage may have one or more of the following results, depending on whether the recipient of the damage is a player or permanent, the characteristics of the damage’s source, and the characteristics of the damage’s recipient (if it’s a permanent).
120.4
Damage is processed in a four-part sequence.
120.5
Damage dealt to a creature, planeswalker, or battle doesn’t destroy it. Likewise, the source of that damage doesn’t destroy it. Rather, state-based actions may destroy a creature or otherwise put a permanent into its owner’s graveyard, due to the results of the damage dealt to that permanent. See rule 704.
120.6
Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.19, “Regenerate”) and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).
120.7
The source of damage is the object that dealt it
120.8
If a source would deal 0 damage, it does not deal damage at all. That means abilities that trigger on damage being dealt won’t trigger. It also means that replacement effects that would increase the damage dealt by that source, or would have that source deal that damage to a different object or player, have no event to replace, so they have no effect.
120.9
If an ability triggers on damage being dealt by a specific source or sources, and the effect refers to the “damage dealt,” it refers only to the damage dealt by the specified sources and not to any damage dealt at the same time by other sources.