{"id":1404,"date":"2026-07-31T06:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-menace-vigilance-haste-keywords\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T06:51:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:51:45","slug":"mtg-menace-vigilance-haste-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-menace-vigilance-haste-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"MTG Menace, Vigilance, Haste, Reach and Defender: How Attacking and Blocking Actually Work (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost every combat argument that isn’t about damage is really an argument about permission<\/em>. Can that creature attack yet? Can that creature block it? Can it block it alone<\/em>? Those questions get settled in the two steps that happen before<\/strong> any damage is dealt \u2014 declare attackers and declare blockers \u2014 and a small set of evergreen keywords exists purely to edit them.<\/p>\n\n

That is the whole idea behind this guide. Menace, vigilance, haste, reach, flying and defender are not damage abilities and they are not bonuses. Each one changes a legality<\/em> rule in a specific combat step. Once you know which step a keyword edits, every argument about it resolves itself, and you stop mixing up the ones that look similar but happen at completely different times.<\/p>\n\n

This is the companion piece to our guide on how combat damage actually works<\/a>, which covers first strike, double strike, deathtouch and trample \u2014 the keywords that edit the damage steps. This one covers everything that happens before the swords come down.<\/p>\n\n

\n\"A\n
Menace, in one image: it takes two of them to stop one of you.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n

The combat sequence, and which keyword edits which step<\/h2>\n\n

Combat runs in a fixed order. Every keyword in this guide slots into exactly one point in that order, and knowing which point is the entire trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step<\/th>What happens<\/th>Keywords that edit this step<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Untap step<\/strong><\/td>You untap your permanents. Combat hasn’t started.<\/td>None \u2014 but this is where “pseudo-vigilance” untappers live<\/td><\/tr>\n
Beginning of combat<\/strong><\/td>Last chance to act before attackers are chosen.<\/td>Haste granters that trigger here (Xenagos, Helm of the Host)<\/td><\/tr>\n
Declare attackers<\/strong><\/td>You choose attackers and tap them. Legality is checked now.<\/td>Haste<\/strong>, summoning sickness, vigilance<\/strong>, defender<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>\n
Declare blockers<\/strong><\/td>The defender chooses blockers. Legality is checked now.<\/td>Menace<\/strong>, flying<\/strong>, reach<\/strong>, “can’t be blocked” effects<\/td><\/tr>\n
Combat damage<\/strong><\/td>Damage is assigned and dealt simultaneously.<\/td>First strike, double strike, deathtouch, trample \u2014 covered here<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\n
End of combat<\/strong><\/td>“Until end of combat” effects wear off.<\/td>Extra-combat effects (Aurelia) loop back to beginning of combat<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Read that table one more time, because it explains something people find genuinely confusing: vigilance and menace never interact.<\/strong> They sit in different steps. Vigilance is resolved when you declare attackers; menace is resolved when your opponent declares blockers. A creature can have both, and each one does its job without ever touching the other.<\/p>\n\n

Can it attack at all? Summoning sickness and haste<\/h2>\n\n

What summoning sickness actually restricts<\/h3>\n\n

Rule 302.6 is the one every new player meets and almost nobody reads carefully. A creature can’t attack, and can’t use an activated ability with the tap symbol {T}<\/code> or the untap symbol {Q}<\/code> in its cost, unless its controller has controlled it continuously since the beginning of their most recent turn.<\/p>\n\n

Three consequences fall straight out of that wording, and all three are commonly missed:<\/p>\n\n