Combat in Commander: attacking, blocking and commander damage

Combat in Commander uses the same rules as any game of Magic, with two big differences: you can attack several opponents in the same combat, and a commander that keeps connecting can knock a player out no matter how much life they have. This guide walks through the steps, the keywords that matter most, the math of commander damage, and the judgment calls that decide multiplayer games.

The five steps of combat

The combat phase has five steps, in this order (rule 506.1). Players get a chance to cast instants and activate abilities in every one of them.

1. Beginning of combat. Nothing happens automatically, but this is the last moment to act before attackers are chosen. If you want to stop an opponent's creature from attacking, by tapping it or removing it, do it now.
2. Declare attackers. The active player (whoever's turn it is) chooses which creatures attack and what each one is attacking. Attacking creatures become tapped, unless they have vigilance. A creature can attack only if it's been under your control since the start of your turn or has haste. Then "whenever this attacks" abilities trigger.
3. Declare blockers. Each defending player chooses which of their untapped creatures block, and which attacker each one blocks.
4. Combat damage. All attacking and blocking creatures deal their damage at the same time. Unblocked attackers hit whatever they're attacking; blocked attackers hit the creatures blocking them.
5. End of combat. A final window to act before creatures are removed from combat and the turn moves to the second main phase.

First strike and double strike add a step

If any attacking or blocking creature has first strike or double strike when the damage step begins, combat gets two damage steps instead of one (rule 510.4). In the first, only creatures with first strike or double strike deal damage. In the second, everything else deals damage, plus creatures with double strike deal damage again. A creature that died in the first step deals no damage in the second.

Attacking in a four-player game

Commander's default multiplayer setup is free-for-all with the attack multiple players option (rule 903.2). That means:

• Every opponent is a defending player. You don't pick one opponent for the whole combat.
• Each attacking creature attacks exactly one thing: one opponent, one planeswalker an opponent controls, or one battle an opponent protects (rule 508.1b). You can send your dragon at Player B, two soldiers at Player C, and a knight at Player D's planeswalker, all in the same combat.
• You can also attack just one player, or not attack at all.

Who can block what

Here's the rule that trips people up: a defending player can block only creatures that are attacking them, their planeswalkers, or their battles (rule 802.4a). If you attack Player C, Player B can't jump in with a blocker to help C, even if B wants to.

When several players are being attacked, they declare blockers one at a time in turn order, starting with the first defending player after the attacker (rule 802.4). Each player's blocks are checked on their own, ignoring creatures attacking other players.

This also changes how evasion works. A creature with menace can't be blocked except by two or more creatures, and in multiplayer both blockers must belong to the player it's attacking.

The keywords that matter most

Keyword	What it does in combat
Flying	Can be blocked only by creatures with flying or reach.
Reach	Can block creatures with flying.
Menace	Can be blocked only by two or more creatures.
First strike	Deals combat damage in the first damage step, before creatures without it.
Double strike	Deals combat damage in both damage steps.
Trample	Damage beyond what's lethal to its blockers can go to the player or permanent it's attacking.
Deathtouch	Any damage it deals to a creature destroys that creature.
Vigilance	Doesn't tap when it attacks, so it can still block on other players' turns.
Lifelink	Its controller gains life equal to the damage it deals.
Indestructible	Isn't destroyed by lethal damage or "destroy" effects.

A few details worth knowing:

• Indestructible isn't invincible. It stops damage and "destroy" effects, including deathtouch, but not exile, sacrifice, or effects that lower toughness to 0.
• First strike plus deathtouch is a nasty combination: the creature kills its blocker or attacker before that creature gets to deal damage back.
• Multiple blockers. If several creatures block one attacker, the attacker's controller divides its damage among them however they like (rule 510.1c). Older guides mention a "damage assignment order"; that rule was removed with the Foundations set in late 2024.

Trample, done correctly

With trample, you must assign lethal damage to every blocker before any damage can go to the player (rule 702.19b). "Lethal" means enough to cover the blocker's toughness after any damage already marked on it this turn. You can choose to put extra damage on a blocker, but anything left over can go to the player.

• A 7/7 trampler blocked by a 3/3 assigns 3 to the blocker and 4 to the player.
• If that 3/3 already took 2 damage earlier in the turn, only 1 counts as lethal, so 6 can trample over.
• Indestructible blockers don't soak up extra damage. Lethal damage is measured against toughness, so a 5/5 trampler blocked by an indestructible 2/2 still sends 3 to the player. The blocker just doesn't die.

Deathtouch plus trample

Deathtouch makes 1 damage count as lethal for trample purposes (rule 702.2c). A 6/6 with deathtouch and trample blocked by a single 5/5 needs to assign only 1 damage to the blocker, and the other 5 go to the player. Blocked by two creatures, it assigns 1 to each and tramples over for 4. This is why deathtouch-and-trample creatures are so hard to block profitably.

Trample plus double strike

If a 6/6 with double strike and trample is blocked by a 2/2, it assigns 2 to the blocker and 4 to the player in the first damage step. The blocker dies. In the second step there's no blocker left, so all 6 go to the player (rule 702.19d), for 10 total. Without trample, the same creature would deal nothing to the player: a blocked creature stays blocked even after its blocker dies.

Commander damage

If a player has been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game, they lose (rule 903.10a). The details:

• Only combat damage counts. Damage from a commander's activated or triggered abilities, or from a fight effect, doesn't.
• It's tracked per commander. Ten from one opponent's commander and eleven from another's doesn't add up. If a player has two partner commanders, each one is a separate commander with its own count.
• It lasts all game. The count follows the commander card even if it dies, goes back to the command zone and is cast again. Wizards' official Commander page states that the commander is tracked across zone changes for this purpose.
• It ignores life total. Gaining life does nothing to commander damage already dealt. A player at 60 life still loses to their twenty-first point from one commander.
• It must be dealt to the player. Damage to a player's planeswalkers or battles doesn't count.

Worked example: a double strike commander

Rafiq of the Many is a 3/3 with exalted ("whenever a creature you control attacks alone, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn") that also gives a creature attacking alone double strike.

• Rafiq attacks alone: exalted makes it 4/4, and it has double strike. Unblocked, it deals 4 in the first damage step and 4 in the second: 8 commander damage.
• Three unblocked attacks deal 24, enough to kill a player from 40 life.
• Give Rafiq an equipment that adds +2/+0, and it's a 6/4 with double strike: 12 per hit. Two hits is 24, a kill in two turns.
• Every other exalted creature you control adds another +1/+1, which double strike counts twice.

That's why Voltron decks (decks built to make one creature, usually the commander, huge) can threaten a lethal hit long before anyone's life total looks low. Watch commander damage as closely as you watch life.

Goad

Some cards goad creatures. A goaded creature must attack each combat if able, and must attack a player other than the one who goaded it if able, until that player's next turn (rule 701.15). Disrupt Decorum, for example, goads every creature you don't control. Goad is a tool for steering the table's biggest creatures toward each other instead of toward you, and it's worth remembering when you're deciding who's a threat. See Threat assessment and table politics.

When to attack and when to hold back

The swing-back problem

Every creature that attacks taps (unless it has vigilance), and it stays tapped through every other player's turn until your next untap step. Attack with everything, and you've left yourself open to all three opponents. In a duel, one opponent can swing back at you; in Commander, three can.

Before you attack, ask:

• Who can attack me before my next turn, and with what? Count their power against your untapped blockers.
• Is this attack worth the opening? Dealing 6 damage to someone at 40 rarely justifies leaving yourself without defense.
• Am I the obvious target if I tap out? Players who are behind look for the easiest life total to hit.

Good reasons to attack

• The damage matters: it puts a player in range, or adds commander damage toward 21.
• Your attacker has evasion and isn't needed as a blocker.
• Something rewards you for connecting, such as becoming the monarch. Whenever a creature deals combat damage to the monarch, its controller becomes the monarch, and the monarch draws a card at the beginning of each of their end steps.
• The defenders can't block profitably, so your attack forces chump blocks that thin out their board.

Good reasons to hold back

• Your creatures are your only defense and opponents are building up.
• The trade is bad. Sending a creature into a bigger blocker just loses a card.
• You're setting up a bigger turn. Sometimes waiting one turn for an equipment or an anthem (a spell that pumps all your creatures) turns a small attack into a game-ending one.

Combat tricks and instant-speed responses

Every combat step gives players priority, so plenty can happen between "I attack" and the damage. Remember that all three opponents can act during your combat, not just the one you attacked.

• Before attackers: removal or tapping during the beginning of combat keeps a creature from attacking at all.
• After attackers are declared: removing an attacker means it deals no damage. Some cards punish attacking outright; Settle the Wreckage exiles every attacking creature one player controls.
• After blockers are declared: this is the classic window for pump spells and tricks, because blocks are locked in. If a blocker is removed now, the attacker stays blocked and deals no damage unless it has trample (rule 509.1h).
• Protection in response: Heroic Intervention gives your permanents hexproof and indestructible until end of turn, which can save a board from a combat blowout or a removal spell.
• During damage: once damage starts, nobody can respond until it's dealt (rule 510.2). The last chance for a trick is right after blockers.

If you attack into open mana, expect a response. Holding up your own instant during an opponent's combat is often the best defense you have.

Combat on Podtable

The free Commander game at play.podtable.app draws an arrow from each attacker to the player it's attacking, and an Attack all button sends everything at once when that's the plan. When you block, it previews the result: a skull marks creatures that would die, and it shows the damage you'd take. Commander damage is tracked per commander automatically and shown as chips on each player, such as 12/21, so you always know how close a commander is to lethal.

Next: Threat assessment and table politics covers deciding who to attack, and The stack and priority explains how instant-speed responses resolve.