Attacking in Magic: All Your Rules Questions Answered

Last updated on February 4, 2025

Adeline, Resplendent Cathar | Illustration by Bryan Sola

Tussles tend to be untidy topics, and Magic is no exception.

Even if the whole game works under very precise rules, there's so much going on during the combat phase that deciphering how attacking works can be one of the messiest matters in the game.

But despair not: Unlike real life, Magic melees are a strictly structured subject. So let's press the offense and find out how the best defense works!

What Is Attacking?

Relentless Assault | Illustration by Christopher Moeller

Attacking is the primary way to win a game of Magic by taking your opponent's life to 0.

A creature is attacking if it's declared as an attacker during the “declare attackers step” (the second step of the combat phase), or if some effect puts it onto the battlefield attacking, like when Adeline, Resplendent Cathar puts an attacking 1/1 human creature token into play.

Only creatures can attack, and they can have only three types of objectives: opponents, planeswalkers they control, or battles they defend.

Unless it has vigilance, the attacking player taps a creature to declare it as an attacker. Creatures with summoning sickness can’t attack the turn they entered the battlefield unless they gave haste.

As a refresher, a turn in MTG has five phases: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending phase. The combat phase is further divided into five steps:

1. Beginning of Combat
2. Declare Attackers
3. Declare Blockers
4. Combat Damage
5. End of Combat

Creatures are no longer considered attacking or blocking once the combat phase ends. Some effects, like Moraug, Fury of Akoum or Relentless Assault, refer to creatures that have attacked; but if the combat phase is over, they are no longer attacking.

If there's another combat phase, like with Relentless Assault, creatures may once again become attackers.

How Does Attacking Work?

Combat starts with the “beginning of combat” step, where some triggered abilities will trigger and priority passes between players before attackers are declared. This is the last opportunity for an opponent to interact before the active player attacks. Multiplayer formats may have their own rules on the matter so we won't cover them here.

At the start of the “declare attackers” step, the attacking player declares which of their creatures will attack, and what/who they’re attacking (a player, planeswalker, or battle). Each attacking creature can attack a single objective, but different attackers can aim for different objectives.

The attacking player taps each creature that's declared as an attacker.

By the way: Expressions that mention “you” as an attacker, like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, mean “when at least one of your creatures is declared as an attacker” – you don't have to, you know, verbally assault or personally punch anybody, or anything like that!

Can I Attack the Turn I Play a Creature?

No, a creature needs haste in order to attack the turn it enters.

Can I Attack My Opponent's Creatures?

You can't directly attack creatures. Your opponent must choose to block with a creature in order for you to get combat damage between creatures.

Can I Attack a Planeswalker and a Player in the Same Turn?

Yes, you can attack both planeswalkers and players as long as you have one objective per attacking creature. If you only have one creature you'd need to choose if, who, or what it attacks.

Attack vs. Attacking vs. Attacked

Here are some nuances on effects related to when creatures attack. Armasaur Guide awards you when you declare three or more attackers, and the target gets a +1/+1 counter before blockers are declared. Joust Through can destroy an “attacking” or “blocking” creature before damage is dealt as long as it was legally declared as an attacker or blocker, and Minas Tirith doesn't do much until after the declare attackers step to see which ones attacked.

When Can You Unassign Attackers?

Once you declare attackers, that's it – they’re attacking. No going back. There is no “unassigning attackers,” though some effects might remove a creature from combat, in which case it’s no longer attacking.

And no changing objectives, either! If you declared your 6/6 as attacking a planeswalker, they can't attack anything else in the same combat phase unless some effect allows them to.

What’s Assigning Damage? Who Chooses?

The attacking creature's controller chooses how to assign combat damage after blockers are declared.

It can get messy with multiple blockers, though, so let's go step by step.

An attacking player declares attackers and what they’re attacking during the declare attackers step.

After attackers are declared, there’s a priority pass where players can interact before the game proceeds to the declare blockers step. That's when the defending player chooses which of their creatures block the incoming attackers. If multiple creatures block a single attacker, it's the attacking player (not the defender) who gets to choose how their creature's power is assigned.

No creature deals combat damage during the declare blockers step. That happens at the combat damage step, during which the attacking player gets to decide how much damage an attacking creature deals to its blockers.

You do have to follow some rules:

• You must assign all combat damage, which is equal to your attacking creature's power.
• If you wish, you can assign more than lethal damage to any blocker(s), which is when things get tricky; more on this below.

Example: Your opponent assigned three blockers to your one attacker, Gorehorn Raider is a 4/4, Eager Cadet is a 1/1, and Runeclaw Bear is a 2/2. You’re attacking with a Colossal Dreadmaw 6/6 you can deal 4 to the Raider, 1 to the Cadet, and 1 to the Bear. Or you could deal 2 to the Bear, 1 to the Cadet, and only have 3 left for the Raider. Trample turns a blockers toughness into a subtraction equation, so if only the Bear blocked Dreadmaw, 4 damage would get through. Without trample, a 1/1 can take all the damage from an attacking creature and none get through to the objective.

Can You Cast Instants After Attackers Are Declared?

Yep! Right after the attacking player declares attackers, they receive priority and they can cast instants. Once they pass, other players can do the same.

Once everybody passes with an empty stack, the game proceeds to the declare blockers step, which works similarly (the active player gets priority right after blockers are declared).

What If You Tap an Attacking Creature?

Once a creature is attacking, tapping or untapping it has no effect as far as combat is concerned. The creature is still attacking, and combat damage is unaffected.

The same is true for blockers, by the way.

However, if an effect taps a creature before it attacks (or blocks), then it won’t be able to engage in combat. Tip: If you have a tap ability and want to prevent a creature from attacking, the “beginning of combat” step is your last chance to do so.

What Happens if an Attacker is Destroyed Before Blockers are Declared?

If an attacking creature is destroyed before blockers are declared, no damage is dealt by that attacker, and no blocker can be assigned to it. As with Aurelia, the Warleader, an attack trigger may take effect even if an opponent destroys it.

How Is Damage Dealt with Multiple Blockers?

If you’re the attacker then you get to choose how your attacking creature deals damage to the blockers.

The rules of engagement are:

• Whenever a single attacker gets multiple blockers, it's the attacking player (not the defender!) who gets to assign damage to any of the blockers, right after the defending player chooses their blockers.
• Creatures assign all their power as combat damage.
• Attackers can overkill a blocker if they want by assigning more damage than would be necessary to kill that blocker and assigning less damage to other blockers – not something you'll want to do often, but it's an option if for some reason you want to focus on a specific blocker and allow another blocker to survive.

Attacking vs. Fighting

While combat damage and fighting have several points in common, they’re different effects and don't entirely overlap.

When an effect instructs two creatures to fight (like when Kogla, the Titan Ape ETBs), each of those creatures deals damage equal to its power to the other creature. In that aspect, fighting is like combat damage.

Deathtouch also works the same way and a single point of damage is lethal: An Infectious Bite from Baleful Strix can kill any creature.

But damage dealt when creatures fight is considered non-combat damage. In particular, first strike and double strike don't work while fighting; they only modify how combat damage is handled. Similarly, trample creatures won't harm the other player even if they deal excess damage in a fight.

Attacking vs. Biting

Effects like Rabid Bite or Bite Down are a different kettle of fish. Unlike fighting or combat damage, bite-like effects are one-sided, and the target doesn’t strike back. This is also considered non-combat damage.

Is Attacking a Crime MTG?

No, committing a crime requires you to target, and attacking in Magic does not target.

Can I Attack With a Creature and Then Sacrifice it Before Damage?

Yes, a creature can be declared as an attacker, and sacrificed by some sacrifice outlets before damage.

Do Creatures That Enter Tapped and Attacking Count as Having Attacked?

No, if a creature enters tapped and attacking, it never had a chance to “attack”.

What Happens When I Attack and Then Flicker (Exile and Return) My Creature?

If you attack with an Apothecary Stomper and cast Flicker of Fate before damage is dealt any of its blockers will not take damage and the Stomper is longer engaged in combat. The flicker does get you that ETB effect though.

Can I Attack If My Opponent Has Hexproof or Shroud?

Yes, an opponent with hexproof or shroud can still be attacked like normal.

Do Vehicles Tap After Attacking?

Indeed! A vehicle turns into a creature when crewed, and therefore behaves exactly like a creature… because it is a creature at that point!

Therefore, it taps if it attacks (unless it has vigilance, like Parhelion II).

Notice that artifacts that turn into a creature will have summoning sickness during their first turn under your control.

Can I Attack Multiple Opponents in a Multiplayer Game?

Yes, your creatures can attack multiple opponents or planeswalkers in a given combat phase. Myriad is a special ability that creates copies of your attacker, one for each opponent!

Wrap Up

Rabid Bite | Illustration by John Thacker

Alright, time to break up this tussle!

Combat is perhaps the most complex phase in a turn, with lots of things going on during each step. You may want to read about the other steps in detail, since each one has its own quirks, but I hope I’ve clarified how attacking works.

If you have further comments or questions please drop a comment below, stop by the Draftsim Discord for a chat, or ping me on the social network formerly known as Twitter.

And good luck out there!