How does banding work in magic

This week, we'll cover one of the most misunderstood rules in the game, Banding. Removed from the basic game as of Classic 6th Edition, Banding is a static ability that modifies the rules for declaring attackers, declaring blockers, and assigning combat damage. Banded creatures don't share abilities, just a common purpose when it comes to attacking or blocking.

They remain individual and distinct creatures. Banding can be divided into two separate abilities, referred to by Stephen D'Angelo as "mutual assistance" and "damage sharing. Any number creatures with banding and up to one creature without banding may form an attacking band.

This is declared as the player declares attackers. Once it's been declared, these creatures will be banded until the end of combat, even if something removes the banding ability later.

A creature removed from combat, however, will lose banding. Attacking banding creatures "agree" to be limited by the rest of the band; what can block one of them will block them all. This is the mutual assistance. Five banding lands can give the ability to legendary creatures , one creature can create tokens with the ability Master of the Hunt and two cards can remove the ability Shelkin Brownie and Tolaria.

There are no tournament-legal creature cards that have "bands with other" ability. The only creature card actually printed with "bands with other" ability is Old Fogey in Unhinged.

Mark Rosewater rates the mechanic an 11 on the Storm Scale of Any number of attacking creatures with banding can join together with up to one attacking creature without banding; the defending player must either block the entire band or allow it to be unblocked. If a blocking creature can block any one creature in the band, it can block the entire band.

A given creature with banding attacks and bands with a creature with flying. The opposing player is then allowed to block the entire band with Stratozeppelid. In addition, if an attacking creature with banding becomes blocked, the attacking player chooses how damage from the blocking creatures is assigned.

When blocking, if at least one creature blocking an attacker has banding, then the defending player may choose how the creature blocked by the creature s with banding assigns combat damage. This is a change from the normal rule in which the attacking player always chooses how their attacking creatures assign combat damage. Bands are blocked as a group. If any creatures with banding you control are blocking or being blocked by a creature, you divide that creature's combat damage, not its controller, among any of the creatures it's being blocked by or is blocking.

Started playing Magic in high school by a friend who unknowingly unleashed a monster. Currently working on becoming a rules judge. Favorite foods are salty tears and the souls of his enemies. If found, please contact Xenozfan2 on Twitter. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit. Serra Angel won't fly on but will help her band and you'd both assign damage of the opposing creatures instead of your own. I don't see what's the problem. Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is before 6th Edition, so the damage rules aren't as clearly defined, so there may not even be an answer, let alone a modern M10 intuitive one.

Oh look all the fun's fallen out and all we're left with is maths and an argument. CeesTimmerman Well, no. By definition, damage is only dealt simultaneously within its "strike class".

Which brings me back to my question. If I kill the actual creature with banding using first strike damage, does the band fall apart before the normal combat damage step, during the intermediate stage? Does a creature with first strike that's in a band even still have first strike? This is the problem.

Even if you know the rules, the fact that you have to learn them, that they have to be "tuned" and that these questions are open is the problem that you "don't see". I know this answer is pretty old, but that article that's linked doesn't appear to be accurate. The old rules were that a creature with 'bands with other [quality]' could band with other creatures with the same 'bands with other [quality]' but not actually with [quality].

Show 4 more comments. The current official reminder text for Banding is as follows: Banding Any creatures with banding, and up to one without, can attack in a band. Take for example the en-Kor ability from Stronghold: 0: The next 1 damage that would be dealt to [this en-Kor] this turn is dealt to target creature you control instead. Banding allows me to take all damage with an indestructible Pegasus in my Fluttershy deck. Wizards could make new cards with banding. But they have no reason to.

From Mark Rosewater's tumblr pussipiru asked: Do you ever dream of taking old unpopular set like Homelands, Fallen Empires or Mercadian Masques and remaking it to be cool? Designing something to prove that you can is a horrible motivation for design. Arcanist Lupus Arcanist Lupus Rasilio Rasilio I guess this is sort of an answer to the question, in that you're saying "nothing was complicated", but that's kind of obviously false: in the first paragraph you've essentially stated that either everyone you knew was playing with it wrong or the rules weren't clear enough to tell what was right, so obviously it was too complicated for a lot of players to get right.

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