Can you sacrifice a blocker

It seems like the rulings even allow for the blocking player to wait until the damage is put on the stack. Once the damage is on the stack, I can sacrifice my creature, gain the benefits from the sacrifice ability AND deal damage to the attacking create.

In my Blood Pet example I would be able to kill an attacking creature with toughness 1 and get 1 B-Mana. There was a fairly long period of time ending with Magic when you could put damage on the stack, and then play instants and abilities before the damage resolved. Those days are over! Nowadays, you declare blockers, and then both players have a chance to play spells and abilities.

Once everyone is finished doing this, we move onto the combat damage phase, and only then do creatures even start thinking about dealing damage to each other. If you sacrificed your creature after declaring it as a blocker, then it never gets an opportunity to deal damage, I'm afraid!

One corner case: if your creature has First Strike and also a sacrifice ability, you can have it deal its first strike damage and then sacrifice it in the window of opportunity both players have to play spells and effects before normal combat damage.

Try this page for a handy breakdown of when players have a chance to do things in the course of a Magic game. Also have a look at Magic Rule Change , explaining some of the latest changes made to the game rules, particularly section 5, about combat damage not using the stack.

Much more readable than the Comprehensive Rulebook, I think you'll find If you sacrifice an attacking or blocking creature during the declare blockers step, it won't deal combat damage. If you wait until the combat damage step, but the creature you wish to sacrifice is dealt lethal damage, it'll be destroyed before you get a chance to sacrifice it. As you can no longer play spells or abilities before damage resolves, it is not possible to sacrifice a creature after dealing damage. Combat damage no longer uses the stack, so by the time you are able to cast instants and activate abilities in the Combat Damage Step, combat damage has already been dealt and any creatures dealt lethal damage have died.

Also, note that each time we reach a "Players may cast instants" part of the turn, the "active" player the person whose turn it is always goes first. So if you want to block and then sacrifice, there will be a chance between the block and the sacrifice for your opponent to activate something, though thanks to the stack they probably can't stop you since you can use your sacrifice ability in response to whatever they do.

Finally, you are correct that in general a blocked creature whose blocker has disappeared will deal no combat damage. As always in Magic, there are tons of abilities that can mess with everything I've said, including First Strike which will add an extra Combat Damage Step into the sequence and Trample which can allow a blocked creature whose blocker is gone to still deal damage to your face.

When you sacrifice a blocking creature, it does not deal combat damage, but the attacking creature it is blocking is still considered "blocked" and won't deal combat damage to you unless it has trample. You essentially get to chose whether to have your creature deal damage or whether to sacrifice it. The relevant rules are as follows.

This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it's dealt.

If no creatures are currently blocking it if, for example, they were destroyed or removed from combat , it assigns no combat damage. Exception 1: if the blocking creature has sufficient toughness, indestructible, regeneration, etc, it can both deal damage and be sacrificed but that is a result of it surviving combat, not of anything in how combat damage works. Exception 2: if the blocking creature has first strike or double strike and the attacking creature does not, the blocking creature can both deal damage and be sacrificed for an effect by sacrificing it during the first strike combat damage step after first strike damage has been dealt but before regular combat damage has been dealt.

Historic note: before , combat damage went on the stack and you could both have a creature deal combat damage and sacrifice it for an ability.

The "simple" way I see this is kinda silly, but it works. Look at the cards during combat like a somewhat real battlefield:. Opponent declares attack, monster now run towards YOU monsters always go towards you or planeswalker, unless something say otherwise. Attacking and blocking creature now meet, both ready for impact, attacker lift axe to strike, blocker raise shield to block.

Attacker swings to deal damage, attacker blocks to soak the damage. Nothing can really be done now. Regeneration effects are now in play. Creatures that are not regenerated and has taken fatal damage will be dead after this step.

This "list" is basically the whole attack pace broken down to show how it more or less works. You negate the entire attack and still get the benefit of whatever sacrifice effect it has? Has this always been a thing? If the creature isn't there to take any damage the player should take the damage you would think Last edited by Landale ; 8 Aug, pm. Showing 1 - 7 of 7 comments. Blade View Profile View Posts. Since at least 3rd Edition MTG. After you declare blockers, the damage is considered blocked.

It was a bit weird to wrap my head around the first time I saw it too, but that was back in like or so. Garick View Profile View Posts. Always been a thing. Block phase is completed, then theres a phase for instant, then damage assignment. If the blocker or attacker is sarificed or otherwise detroyed between those phases that slice of combat still acts as creature to creature.

Effects that go off on 'if this creature is blocked' or 'if this creature blocks' should still trigger I dont know if such cards exist in this game. It is a very similar logic to spell fizzles, where a spell on the stack fails because its target dissapears between spell cast and spell resolution. What Blade said. Its been like that since before I even started playing. Thread: if i block and sacrifice a trample creature do i take damage.

Add Thread to del. Wong this Thread! Join Date Feb Posts Share Share this post on Digg Del. Wong this Post! Join Date Dec Posts 8, Re: if i block and sacrifice a trample creature do i take damage If you block a creature with trample and then sacrifice the blocking creature?