{"id":1397,"date":"2026-07-30T12:01:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-combat-damage-keywords\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T06:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:52:30","slug":"mtg-combat-damage-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-combat-damage-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"MTG Combat Damage Explained: First Strike, Double Strike, Deathtouch, and Trample (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kraken-img-1785412449-mtg-combat-keywords.jpg\" alt=\"A colossal armored war-beast smashing through a line of shield-bearing defenders and carrying on toward a distant throne \u2014 trample in Magic: The Gathering\" \/><figcaption>Trample is the reason a big creature stops caring about small blockers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Almost every rules argument at a kitchen table comes down to the same four words: <strong>first strike<\/strong>, <strong>double strike<\/strong>, <strong>deathtouch<\/strong> and <strong>trample<\/strong>. They look like simple bonuses printed on a card. They are not bonuses. Each one is an edit to a specific part of how combat damage gets dealt \u2014 and once you know <em>which<\/em> part each one edits, every confusing interaction between them answers itself.<\/p>\n\n<p>That is the thing almost no guide says out loud. Search any of these keywords and you get a Reddit thread, a fan wiki stub, a Facebook group answer and a database page. What you don&#8217;t get is the order of operations. So here it is: the four damage keywords, what each one actually changes, and then the interactions \u2014 deathtouch plus trample, first strike plus deathtouch, double strike plus trample, and what beats all of them.<\/p>\n\n<p>Every card below was checked against the live Scryfall card database at the time of writing: oracle text, mana cost, Commander legality and price. Prices are the cheapest normal printing and move around, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The one idea that makes all four keywords obvious<\/h2>\n\n<p>Combat in Magic is a sequence, not a moment. It runs in this order:<\/p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Beginning of combat<\/strong> \u2014 last chance to act before attackers are locked in.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Declare attackers<\/strong> \u2014 you choose who attacks. Attacking normally taps the creature.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Declare blockers<\/strong> \u2014 the defending player chooses who blocks whom.<\/li>\n<li><strong>First-strike combat damage step<\/strong> \u2014 this step <em>only exists<\/em> if something in combat has first strike or double strike.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Regular combat damage step<\/strong> \u2014 everything else deals its damage.<\/li>\n<li><strong>End of combat.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>Now place the keywords on that sequence:<\/p>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Keyword<\/th><th>Which part of combat it edits<\/th><th>What it actually changes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>First strike<\/strong><\/td><td>Creates step 4<\/td><td>Your damage happens in an earlier step than your opponent&#8217;s<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Double strike<\/strong><\/td><td>Creates step 4 <em>and<\/em> keeps step 5<\/td><td>You deal your damage twice, in two different steps<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Deathtouch<\/strong><\/td><td>Step 4 or 5 \u2014 damage results<\/td><td>Any nonzero damage counts as lethal damage<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Trample<\/strong><\/td><td>Step 4 or 5 \u2014 damage assignment<\/td><td>Excess damage above lethal goes to the player instead of being wasted<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Menace<\/td><td>Step 3<\/td><td>Needs two or more blockers<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Vigilance<\/td><td>Step 2<\/td><td>Attacking no longer taps the creature<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Haste<\/td><td>Before step 2<\/td><td>A creature can attack the turn it arrives<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<p>Read that table once and the famous arguments dissolve. Deathtouch and trample interact because they both touch the same step from different angles \u2014 one redefines how much damage is &#8220;lethal,&#8221; the other decides where the leftovers go. First strike and deathtouch interact because first strike moves your lethal damage into a step your opponent isn&#8217;t in yet.<\/p>\n\n<h2>First strike: you are not stronger, you are earlier<\/h2>\n\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kraken-img-1785412502-mtg-combat-keywords-firststrike.jpg\" alt=\"A duelist's blade already through the opponent's guard while the enemy sword is still half-drawn \u2014 first strike in MTG\" \/><figcaption>First strike doesn&#8217;t add damage. It moves your damage into an earlier step.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>A creature with first strike deals its combat damage in an extra damage step before creatures without first strike. If the blocker dies in that step, the blocker never deals damage at all \u2014 it&#8217;s gone before the regular damage step arrives.<\/p>\n\n<p>That is the whole of it, and it has three consequences worth internalising:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>First strike is best on small, efficient bodies.<\/strong> A 2\/1 first striker beats a 2\/2 blocker one-for-nothing. A 7\/7 first striker beats the same blocker it would have beaten anyway.<\/li>\n<li><strong>First strike vs first strike is just normal combat.<\/strong> If the attacker and the blocker both have it, they both deal damage in step 4 and both may die. Nobody gets to strike &#8220;more first.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Blockers get it too.<\/strong> Nothing about first strike is offence-only. A first-striking blocker eats attackers for free, which is why the ability shows up on defensive walls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>Double strike: two damage steps, not double damage<\/h2>\n\n<p>Double strike is often described as &#8220;deals damage twice.&#8221; That is true, but the precise wording matters: a creature with double strike deals its damage in <em>both<\/em> the first-strike step and the regular step. Two separate events, not one doubled number.<\/p>\n\n<p>Why the distinction is worth money:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Every &#8220;deals combat damage&#8221; trigger fires twice.<\/strong> A creature that draws you a card or makes a Treasure when it connects does it twice per attack.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pump spells cast between the steps get counted twice.<\/strong> Give a double striker +3\/+0 after its first hit and the second hit is bigger.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anything that already killed the blocker makes the second hit free.<\/strong> This is the interaction that turns double strike from good into unfair \u2014 see the matrix below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Card<\/th><th>Cost<\/th><th>What it does<\/th><th>Price<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>Fireshrieker<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}<\/td><td>Equipped creature has double strike. The cheapest, cleanest way to buy the ability<\/td><td>$0.25<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Silverblade Paladin<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}{W}{W}<\/td><td>Soulbond \u2014 while paired, <em>both<\/em> creatures have double strike. Two for one<\/td><td>$0.79<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Grappling Hook<\/strong><\/td><td>{4}<\/td><td>Double strike, plus it forces a chosen creature to block \u2014 you pick what dies<\/td><td>$1.14<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Odric, Lunarch Marshal<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{W}<\/td><td>Shares first strike, double strike, deathtouch, trample and more across your whole team<\/td><td>$1.04<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Duelist&#8217;s Heritage<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{W}<\/td><td>Grants double strike to one attacker every combat, for free, forever<\/td><td>$1.96<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Glissa Sunslayer<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}{B}{G}<\/td><td>First strike <em>and<\/em> deathtouch on a three-mana body, plus a modal draw\/removal trigger<\/td><td>$0.45<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Sword of Vengeance<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}<\/td><td>+2\/+0 with first strike, vigilance, trample and haste \u2014 four keywords, one card<\/td><td>$1.12<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>True Conviction<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{W}{W}{W}<\/td><td>Your whole team has double strike and lifelink. Expensive, and it ends games<\/td><td>$4.64<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Akroma, Angel of Wrath<\/strong><\/td><td>{5}{W}{W}{W}<\/td><td>Flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, protection from black and red<\/td><td>$6.01<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Embercleave<\/strong><\/td><td>{4}{R}{R}<\/td><td>Flash, cost reduction per attacker, then +1\/+1 with double strike <em>and<\/em> trample<\/td><td>$8.73<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2>Deathtouch: any damage is lethal damage<\/h2>\n\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kraken-img-1785412544-mtg-combat-keywords-deathtouch.jpg\" alt=\"A venomous serpent's fangs cracking apart a far larger stone golem \u2014 deathtouch in MTG\" \/><figcaption>Deathtouch means one point of damage is as good as twenty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Deathtouch is a static ability that changes what counts as lethal: any nonzero amount of damage dealt by a source with deathtouch is treated as lethal damage to a creature. One damage kills a 12\/12. That&#8217;s it \u2014 but three details follow that most players miss.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>It is not a combat-only ability.<\/strong> Deathtouch applies to <em>any<\/em> damage from that source, not just combat damage. Put <strong>Basilisk Collar<\/strong> on a creature that pings for 1 and you have converted a repeatable 1 damage into repeatable &#8220;destroy target creature.&#8221; That single interaction is why the Collar costs more than the {1} on its face suggests.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>It is a defensive ability first.<\/strong> A 1\/1 with deathtouch stops any ground attacker in the game. Players build deathtouch decks to attack; deathtouch mostly earns its keep by making attacks into you a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>It has a hard counter, and it isn&#8217;t removal.<\/strong> See the interactions section \u2014 indestructible turns deathtouch off completely.<\/p>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Card<\/th><th>Cost<\/th><th>What it does<\/th><th>Price<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons<\/strong><\/td><td>{B}{G}<\/td><td>Two mana. Connects, drops a -1\/-1 counter, and every counter you place makes a deathtouch Snake<\/td><td>$0.35<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Gorgon Flail<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}<\/td><td>+1\/+1 and deathtouch for two mana, equip two. Budget backbone<\/td><td>$0.58<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Ophiomancer<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{B}<\/td><td>A free 1\/1 deathtouch Snake at every upkeep you don&#8217;t have one \u2014 a permanent &#8220;do not attack me&#8221; sign<\/td><td>$0.86<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Archetype of Finality<\/strong><\/td><td>{4}{B}{B}<\/td><td>Your creatures have deathtouch and your opponents&#8217; creatures <em>cannot<\/em> have it<\/td><td>$2.79<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Bow of Nylea<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}{G}{G}<\/td><td>Attacking creatures you control have deathtouch, plus four useful activated modes<\/td><td>$3.88<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Questing Beast<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{G}{G}<\/td><td>Vigilance, deathtouch and haste on one card \u2014 and its combat damage can&#8217;t be prevented<\/td><td>$3.91<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Basilisk Collar<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}<\/td><td>Deathtouch and lifelink for one mana. The best deathtouch card in the game, on any budget<\/td><td>$4.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Vraska, Golgari Queen<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{B}{G}<\/td><td>Sacrifice value now, and an emblem that makes any combat damage lethal to a <em>player<\/em><\/td><td>$5.67<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Ohran Frostfang<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{G}{G}<\/td><td>Attackers get deathtouch <em>and<\/em> you draw a card for each one that connects<\/td><td>$5.95<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2>Trample: the leftovers go somewhere useful<\/h2>\n\n<p>Without trample, a blocked creature&#8217;s damage is spent on its blockers, and anything beyond what was needed is simply wasted. Trample changes the destination of the excess: a creature with trample can assign damage beyond lethal to the player or planeswalker it is attacking.<\/p>\n\n<p>Two things follow, and one of them is the most common misconception about the keyword.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Trample does nothing on an unblocked creature.<\/strong> An unblocked attacker already hits the player for its full power. Trample is only ever relevant against blockers. If nobody is blocking, the Rancor on your creature is just +2\/+0.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Trample turns chump blocking from a solution into a delay.<\/strong> A 9\/9 trampler attacked into a 1\/1 token deals 1 to the token and 8 to the player. This is the reason big-creature decks in Commander live and die on whether their threats have trample \u2014 a 10\/10 without it is answered by a single 1\/1 for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Card<\/th><th>Cost<\/th><th>What it does<\/th><th>Price<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>Behemoth Sledge<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}{G}{W}<\/td><td>+2\/+2 with trample and lifelink for three mana<\/td><td>$0.31<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Kessig Wolf Run<\/strong><\/td><td>Land<\/td><td>A land that grants +X\/+0 and trample at instant speed. Zero deck-slot cost<\/td><td>$0.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Garruk&#8217;s Uprising<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{G}<\/td><td>Team-wide trample <em>and<\/em> a card every time a power-4 creature arrives<\/td><td>$0.42<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Ghalta, Primal Hunger<\/strong><\/td><td>{10}{G}{G}<\/td><td>A 12\/12 trampler that routinely costs two mana in a board-full green deck<\/td><td>$1.19<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Rancor<\/strong><\/td><td>{G}<\/td><td>+2\/+0 and trample for one mana, and it comes back to your hand when destroyed<\/td><td>$1.76<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Loxodon Warhammer<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}<\/td><td>+3\/+0 with trample and lifelink \u2014 the classic Voltron beater<\/td><td>$2.51<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Nylea, God of the Hunt<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{G}<\/td><td>Indestructible enchantment that gives your other creatures trample, plus a pump outlet<\/td><td>$11.40<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Vigor<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{G}{G}{G}<\/td><td>Trample, and damage to your other creatures becomes +1\/+1 counters instead<\/td><td>$15.23<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Berserk<\/strong><\/td><td>{G}<\/td><td>One mana: trample and double a creature&#8217;s power for the turn. It dies at end of turn<\/td><td>$15.50<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Craterhoof Behemoth<\/strong><\/td><td>{5}{G}{G}{G}<\/td><td>Hasty, and it hands your whole board trample and a huge pump the turn it lands<\/td><td>$23.99<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2>The interactions \u2014 this is the section people actually search for<\/h2>\n\n<p>Here is every combination that comes up in real games, with the answer and the reason.<\/p>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Interaction<\/th><th>What happens<\/th><th>Why<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>Deathtouch + trample<\/strong><\/td><td>Assign <strong>1<\/strong> damage to each blocker, everything else hits the player<\/td><td>Deathtouch makes any nonzero damage lethal, and trample only requires lethal damage be assigned to blockers before the excess spills over<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>First strike + deathtouch<\/strong><\/td><td>The blocker dies in the first-strike step and deals no damage back<\/td><td>Your lethal damage lands in step 4; the blocker was going to deal its damage in step 5, which it never reaches<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Double strike + trample<\/strong><\/td><td>If the first hit kills the blockers, the <em>entire<\/em> second hit goes to the player<\/td><td>A blocked trampler whose blockers have left the battlefield assigns all its damage to the defending player<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Double strike + deathtouch<\/strong><\/td><td>Mostly wasted against creatures, devastating with trample<\/td><td>The first hit already killed the blocker, so the second hit has no creature left to kill \u2014 unless trample sends it upstairs<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>First strike + double strike on the same creature<\/strong><\/td><td>Double strike wins; nothing is added<\/td><td>Double strike already includes a first-strike hit. Stacking them is a wasted card<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Deathtouch vs indestructible<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Indestructible wins. Deathtouch does nothing.<\/strong><\/td><td>Deathtouch only marks the damage as lethal; lethal damage destroys creatures, and indestructible creatures can&#8217;t be destroyed by lethal damage<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Deathtouch vs damage prevention<\/strong><\/td><td>Prevention wins<\/td><td>Prevented damage is never dealt, so there is no damage for deathtouch to reclassify<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Deathtouch vs -X\/-X effects<\/strong><\/td><td>Unrelated \u2014 they kill by toughness, not damage<\/td><td>This is the same distinction that decides whether protection saves a creature from a board wipe<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Menace + trample<\/strong><\/td><td>Excellent pairing<\/td><td>Menace forces two blockers into the fight, and trample means the extra bodies just donate more excess damage to the player<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Trample on an unblocked creature<\/strong><\/td><td>Completely irrelevant<\/td><td>Unblocked damage already goes to the player<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<p>Two of those deserve to be spelled out, because they are the ones that cost people games.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Indestructible is the answer to deathtouch, and it is a permanent one.<\/strong> Deathtouch does not say &#8220;destroy&#8221; \u2014 it says the damage counts as lethal. Destruction is the step that follows, and indestructible skips it. So a deathtouch creature blocking <strong>Avacyn, Angel of Hope<\/strong> ({5}{W}{W}{W}, $29.43) or anything carrying <strong>Darksteel Plate<\/strong> ({3}, $6.82) achieves nothing at all. If you are playing against a deathtouch deck, a single Plate is worth more than any removal spell in your deck.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Damage prevention also beats deathtouch \u2014 and one card beats the prevention.<\/strong> <strong>Iroas, God of Victory<\/strong> ({2}{R}{W}, $12.91) prevents all damage that would be dealt to your attacking creatures, which means your attackers simply cannot die in combat, deathtouch or not. <strong>Fog<\/strong> ({G}, $2.85) does the same for one turn on a whole board, and <strong>Maze of Ith<\/strong> (a land, $10.07) untaps an attacker and prevents all damage it would deal <em>and<\/em> be dealt. The counter-counter is <strong>Questing Beast<\/strong>, whose oracle text reads &#8220;Combat damage that would be dealt by creatures you control can&#8217;t be prevented&#8221; \u2014 a four-mana green creature that turns off every Fog in the format.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The other three combat keywords: menace, vigilance and haste<\/h2>\n\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kraken-img-1785412578-mtg-combat-keywords-menace.jpg\" alt=\"Two guards forced to close in together on one towering hooded figure \u2014 menace in MTG\" \/><figcaption>Menace doesn&#8217;t make a creature unblockable. It makes blocking expensive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>These three don&#8217;t touch the damage steps, so they belong in a different mental bucket \u2014 but they are the keywords most often confused with the four above, and each one has a trap.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Menace<\/strong> means the creature can&#8217;t be blocked except by two or more creatures. It is not evasion in the way flying is. Against an opponent with two untapped bodies, menace does nothing except guarantee your creature gets hit by <em>both<\/em> of them \u2014 which is how a menace attacker dies to blockers it would have survived one-on-one. Menace is at its best on something big, or on something with trample, or on a board where opponents are tapped out. Menace lives in the declare-blockers step rather than the damage step, which is why it behaves so differently from everything else on this page \u2014 we cover it, along with vigilance, haste, reach and defender, in <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-menace-vigilance-haste-keywords\/\">how attacking and blocking actually work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Vigilance<\/strong> means attacking doesn&#8217;t cause the creature to tap. Read that carefully, because the near-universal beginner error is assuming vigilance lets a tapped creature attack. It does not. If you tapped your creature for mana, or used its tap ability, it cannot attack that turn no matter how much vigilance it has. Vigilance only prevents the tap that attacking would otherwise cause.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Haste<\/strong> means the creature can attack and use its {T} abilities the turn it comes under your control. The second half is the half people forget \u2014 haste is what makes a mana creature produce mana immediately, and what makes a &#8220;tap: draw a card&#8221; creature work on turn one of its life. In Commander, where the best creatures are expensive and removal is everywhere, haste is frequently the difference between a threat that does something and a threat that dies before untapping.<\/p>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Card<\/th><th>Cost<\/th><th>Keyword<\/th><th>Price<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>Angrath, Captain of Chaos<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{B\/R}{B\/R}<\/td><td>Menace for your whole team, on a static planeswalker<\/td><td>$0.16<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Gruul War Chant<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{R}{G}<\/td><td>Attackers get +1\/+0 and menace<\/td><td>$0.32<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Graf Harvest<\/strong><\/td><td>{B}<\/td><td>One mana: Zombies you control have menace, plus a token outlet<\/td><td>$0.32<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Anger<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{R}<\/td><td>Haste for your team from the <em>graveyard<\/em>, as long as you control a Mountain<\/td><td>$0.51<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Ajani, the Greathearted<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{G}{W}<\/td><td>Team-wide vigilance plus a counters ultimate<\/td><td>$0.58<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Serra&#8217;s Blessing<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}{W}<\/td><td>Two mana, permanent team-wide vigilance<\/td><td>$1.07<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Goblin War Drums<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{R}<\/td><td>Team-wide menace, no strings attached<\/td><td>$1.11<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Whispersilk Cloak<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}<\/td><td>Can&#8217;t be blocked at all \u2014 strictly better than menace, plus shroud<\/td><td>$1.56<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Swiftfoot Boots<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}<\/td><td>Hexproof and haste, equip {1}<\/td><td>$1.91<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Lightning Greaves<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}<\/td><td>Haste and shroud, equip {0}<\/td><td>$3.92<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Urabrask the Hidden<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}{R}{R}<\/td><td>Your creatures have haste; your opponents&#8217; creatures enter tapped<\/td><td>$4.39<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Brave the Sands<\/strong><\/td><td>{1}{W}<\/td><td>Vigilance <em>and<\/em> each of your creatures can block an extra attacker<\/td><td>$6.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Fervor<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{R}<\/td><td>The cleanest team-wide haste enchantment in the game<\/td><td>$6.38<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Iroas, God of Victory<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{R}{W}<\/td><td>Menace for your team, and your attackers take no damage at all<\/td><td>$12.91<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2>The keyword-sharing cards, and an honest catch about them<\/h2>\n\n<p>Two cards exist specifically to spread keywords across your board, and they are a genuine deck archetype in Commander: load one creature with abilities, then hand them to everyone.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Odric, Lunarch Marshal<\/strong> ({3}{W}, $1.04) shares, per his oracle text, first strike, flying, deathtouch, double strike, haste, hexproof, indestructible, lifelink, menace, reach, skulk, trample and vigilance. <strong>Concerted Effort<\/strong> ({2}{W}{W}, $5.45) shares flying, fear, first strike, double strike, landwalk, protection, trample and vigilance.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here is the catch, and it is the kind of thing that decides a game: <strong>those two lists are not the same list.<\/strong> Odric shares deathtouch, menace, haste, hexproof, indestructible and lifelink \u2014 Concerted Effort shares none of those. Concerted Effort shares protection \u2014 Odric does not. And <strong>neither of them shares ward<\/strong>, because ward is a triggered ability rather than a static one, which is exactly the distinction we covered in our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-hexproof-shroud-ward-protection\/\">hexproof, shroud, ward and protection<\/a>. If you build a keyword-soup deck around the wrong one of these two cards for the keywords you actually have, the enchantment does nothing.<\/p>\n\n<p>The blunt-instrument alternative is <strong>Akroma&#8217;s Memorial<\/strong> ({7}, $32.98), which simply gives your creatures flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste and protection from black and from red with no conditions at all. Seven mana, but it needs no setup and no matching creature.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What beats a combat-keyword deck<\/h2>\n\n<p>Building around combat keywords means building a board that has to connect. That has clear, cheap answers, and knowing them is half of playing against them.<\/p>\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Card<\/th><th>Cost<\/th><th>Why it answers combat keywords<\/th><th>Price<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><strong>Bedevil<\/strong><\/td><td>{B}{B}{R}<\/td><td>Destroys the creature carrying every keyword. Cheapest possible answer<\/td><td>$0.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Blasphemous Act<\/strong><\/td><td>{8}{R}<\/td><td>13 damage to each creature \u2014 often costs {R} in a full board<\/td><td>$0.68<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Fog<\/strong><\/td><td>{G}<\/td><td>Prevents all combat damage for a turn, which turns off deathtouch and trample at once<\/td><td>$2.85<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Toxic Deluge<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{B}<\/td><td>-X\/-X, so it kills through indestructible and ignores damage prevention entirely<\/td><td>$3.71<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Darksteel Plate<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}<\/td><td>Makes one creature immune to deathtouch and combat damage permanently<\/td><td>$6.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Nemesis Mask<\/strong><\/td><td>{3}<\/td><td>Forces every creature able to block to do so \u2014 mass-removal disguised as Equipment<\/td><td>$8.80<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Maze of Ith<\/strong><\/td><td>Land<\/td><td>A land that neutralises one attacker per turn, forever, for free<\/td><td>$10.07<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Teferi&#8217;s Protection<\/strong><\/td><td>{2}{W}<\/td><td>Phases your board out \u2014 the attack finds nothing to hit<\/td><td>$51.76<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<p>If you want the wider version of this list, our guides to <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/best-board-wipes-mtg\/\">the best board wipes in MTG<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/best-removal-spells-mtg\/\">the best removal spells<\/a> cover the whole interaction suite.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Putting it in a deck: how many keyword cards do you need?<\/h2>\n\n<p>The failure mode of a combat-keyword deck is the same one that kills every &#8220;good cards&#8221; pile: all enablers, no bodies. Keywords are multipliers, and a multiplier applied to nothing is nothing.<\/p>\n\n<p>For a 100-card Commander deck built around combat damage, a working ratio looks like this:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>8\u201312 threats worth buffing<\/strong> \u2014 creatures with real power, or creatures with &#8220;deals combat damage&#8221; triggers that reward connecting twice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>6\u201310 keyword granters<\/strong>, weighted toward the permanent, team-wide ones (Garruk&#8217;s Uprising, Fervor, Serra&#8217;s Blessing) over one-shot spells.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2\u20133 extra-combat effects<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Aggravated Assault<\/strong> ({2}{R}, $35.32) is the classic; an extra combat doubles every keyword you already paid for.<\/li>\n<li><strong>8\u201310 pieces of interaction<\/strong>, because a board that has to connect loses to a board wipe, and you need to be able to remove the blocker that is holding up your whole plan.<\/li>\n<li><strong>36 lands<\/strong>, non-negotiable in Commander. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-commander-deck-a-step-by-step-guide-2026\/\">step-by-step Commander deck guide<\/a> for the full curve.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Trample is the one keyword to over-index on. Every other keyword makes your creature better in a fight; trample makes the fight stop mattering. If you are picking one granter and one Equipment, pick the two that give trample.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here is the shortlist as a shopping list. It is a <em>menu<\/em> across five colours, not a deck \u2014 pick the six or eight that match your commander&#8217;s colours.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"ktm-deck-cta\"><h4>The Combat Keyword Toolbox<\/h4><p>21 cards \u2014 one click loads the full list into a TCGplayer cart so you can check real prices and grab the whole deck at once.<\/p><a class=\"ktm-cta-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/partner.tcgplayer.com\/c\/7439974\/1780961\/21018?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tcgplayer.com%2Fmassentry%3Fproductline%3DMagic%26c%3D1%2520Basilisk%2520Collar%257C%257C1%2520Gorgon%2520Flail%257C%257C1%2520Bow%2520of%2520Nylea%257C%257C1%2520Ohran%2520Frostfang%257C%257C1%2520Archetype%2520of%2520Finality%257C%257C1%2520Questing%2520Beast%257C%257C1%2520Fireshrieker%257C%257C1%2520Grappling%2520Hook%257C%257C1%2520Silverblade%2520Paladin%257C%257C1%2520Duelist%25E2%2580%2599s%2520Heritage%257C%257C1%2520Sword%2520of%2520Vengeance%257C%257C1%2520Embercleave%257C%257C1%2520Rancor%257C%257C1%2520Loxodon%2520Warhammer%257C%257C1%2520Behemoth%2520Sledge%257C%257C1%2520Garruk%25E2%2580%2599s%2520Uprising%257C%257C1%2520Kessig%2520Wolf%2520Run%257C%257C1%2520Odric%252C%2520Lunarch%2520Marshal%257C%257C1%2520Serra%25E2%2580%2599s%2520Blessing%257C%257C1%2520Fervor%257C%257C1%2520Goblin%2520War%2520Drums%26utm_source%3Dkrakenthemeta\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow noopener\">Buy this deck on TCGplayer<\/a><span class=\"ktm-cta-note\">Affiliate link \u2014 buying through it supports KrakenTheMeta at no extra cost to you.<\/span><\/div>\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d rather have the ratios worked out for you, our <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/\">AI deck builder<\/a> takes a commander and a budget and returns a full 100-card list with the mana base already balanced \u2014 and you can browse what other players have built on the <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/decks.php\">public decks page<\/a> or check current prices for any of the cards above on our <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/cards-pricing.php\">card pricing tool<\/a>. For the cards that belong in almost any list regardless of archetype, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/commander-staples\/\">Commander staples guide<\/a>, and for the Equipment side of this plan specifically, our <a href=\"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/best-equipment-mtg\/\">best Equipment in MTG guide<\/a> goes much deeper on Voltron.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n<h3>Does deathtouch work with trample?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, and the combination is one of the strongest in Magic. Because deathtouch makes any nonzero damage lethal, you only have to assign <strong>1<\/strong> damage to each blocking creature, and trample lets all the remaining damage hit the defending player. A 10\/10 with deathtouch and trample blocked by two creatures deals 1 to each and 8 to the player.<\/p>\n\n<h3>What is the difference between first strike and double strike?<\/h3>\n<p>First strike deals damage <em>only<\/em> in the first-strike damage step. Double strike deals damage in the first-strike step <em>and again<\/em> in the regular step. Double strike includes everything first strike does, so putting both on the same creature adds nothing.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Does deathtouch kill an indestructible creature?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Deathtouch only makes the damage count as lethal damage; destroying the creature is a separate step, and indestructible creatures can&#8217;t be destroyed by lethal damage. Deathtouch is completely blank against indestructible. Use a -X\/-X effect, exile, or a sacrifice effect instead.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Can a tapped creature attack if it has vigilance?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Vigilance only means that attacking doesn&#8217;t cause the creature to tap. A creature that is already tapped \u2014 because you tapped it for mana or used an ability \u2014 still cannot be declared as an attacker.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Is trample useful if my creature isn&#8217;t blocked?<\/h3>\n<p>No. An unblocked creature already deals all of its combat damage to the player. Trample only matters against blockers, which is also why it&#8217;s the single best keyword to have on a large creature in a multiplayer game full of small chump blockers.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Do &#8220;deals combat damage&#8221; triggers fire twice with double strike?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Double strike creates two separate damage events, so any trigger that reads &#8220;whenever this creature deals combat damage&#8221; fires once per step. This is why Equipment that copies itself or draws cards on connection scales so hard with double strike.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Can a first striker be killed before it deals damage?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes \u2014 by anything that happens before the first-strike damage step. Instant-speed removal in the declare-blockers step, a damage-prevention effect, or a Fog all get there first. First strike beats other creatures, not the rest of the game.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How combat damage really resolves in MTG: first strike, double strike, deathtouch and trample, every interaction explained, plus the best cards for each.","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mtg-guides"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - 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