How does banding work in magic the gathering

It was first printed in Alpha "bands" was the original keyword used to represent the ability. While acknowledging that banding was flavorful and effective if used properly, it has been effectively abandoned by designers for being overly confusing.

Example: A player attacks with a band consisting of a creature with flying and a creature with swampwalk. The defending player, who controls a Swamp, can block the flying creature if able. If they do, then the creature with swampwalk will also become blocked by the blocking creature s. A variant of banding, " bands with other " restricts banding to working with other creatures of a given quality such as creatures that have a certain name.

However, before the Magic rules changes which came several years later than any cards featuring the ability , it was probably the most counter-intuitive ability in the game, because instead of allowing banding of with creatures of the given type, it only allowed banding with creatures with the same "bands with other" ability. There are eight cards in the Legends set with "bands with other" in the card text. 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.

Under normal circumstances, Jules would decide how the Hellkite's damage is divided. Since the Pegasus has Banding, Peter will decide. Obviously, his smartest play is to assign all the Hellkite's damage it's a red creature to the Thermal Glider, whose Protection from Red will allow it to survive, while the combined damage from the three creatures will kill the Hellkite. The situation would seem to get a bit more complicated when both the attackers and blockers have Banding, but the damage sharing still is operative.

The attacker decides how the blockers will deal their damage to his creatures, and the defender decides how the attackers will deal damage to hers. Peter assigns the Hellkite's 6 and Griffin's 2 to the Pegasus. When the damage resolves, the Pegasus is the only creature to die unless Peter had played something to prevent all the damage to or regenerate it.

Bands with Other is special form of Banding, but otherwise basically follows all the same rules. An attacking creature with "bands with other [creature type]" can form an attacking band with other creatures that have the same "bands with other [creature type]" ability. Creatures with banding can also join this band, but creatures without banding can't. The creatures in this band don't have to have the creature type specified in the "bands with other [creature type]" ability.

Blocking this band follows the same general rules as for banding. Black Legend creatures you control gain bands with other Legend creatures.

Example: Jules has an Unholy Citadel in play. She can form a band because they're both black as well red and blue and both Legends. 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. David Saunders — Lost: one David Saunders. Newest GameTyrant Posts.