Lethal Damage

Interactions · intermediate

A creature has lethal damage marked on it when the damage marked is greater than or equal to its toughness. As a state-based action, it's destroyed.

How it actually works

• Damage is marked on creatures, not subtracted from their toughness. A 3/3 with 2 damage is still a 3/3 -- it just has 2 damage marked.
• Damage stays marked until the cleanup step (or until something explicitly removes it like Light of Promise or healing).
• "Lethal damage" is a status that triggers state-based action destruction. The creature isn't dead the moment it takes damage -- it's dead the next time SBAs check.

Deathtouch makes nonzero damage lethal

• A creature dealt damage by a deathtouch source has lethal damage no matter the amount. Deathtouch is the rule that lets a 1/1 kill a 100/100.
• Note: deathtouch makes the damage lethal, but indestructible creatures still survive.

"Damage doesn't actually kill until SBAs check"

This produces some surprising rulings:

• A creature loses to Wrath of God via "destroy all creatures" -- a destroy effect, not lethal damage.
• A creature with toughness 0 dies as a different SBA -- "creature with 0 or less toughness" -- this is a different rule from "lethal damage."
• Indestructible creatures don't die to lethal damage but DO die to "toughness 0 or less" (a -X/-X effect can kill them).

Common interactions

• Damage in increments: a 3/3 takes 2 damage one turn, 1 damage the next -- the marks reset at cleanup, so it survives indefinitely.
• Combat math: assigning blockers and trying to ensure both creatures take lethal damage simultaneously requires understanding marked damage and SBAs.
• First strike + non-first-strike combat: SBAs check between the first strike and regular damage steps, so a creature that took lethal first-strike damage dies before getting to deal regular damage.

Rule reference

[704.5g] (the SBA) [702.2] (deathtouch)