Blight

Keywords · intermediate

Blight N means putting N -1/-1 counters on a creature you control, usually as a cost or an optional additional cost tied to another effect.

How it works

• To "blight N," a player puts N -1/-1 counters on a creature they control.
• If a player is given the choice to blight but can't put N -1/-1 counters on a creature they control — most often because they control no creatures — they can't choose to blight.
• Some cards refer to "the blighted creature": that phrase means the specific creature the blighting player chose to put the -1/-1 counters on.
• An ability that triggers "whenever a player blights" triggers after the blight process is complete, regardless of what actually happened as a result of those counters being added.

Rules notes

• Blight is a choice you make about your own board, not a targeted effect. You choose which creature you control gets the -1/-1 counters, and you cannot blight a creature you don't control.
• Because it's often optional ("you may blight N," or bundled into a ward cost, or an activation cost), check the exact wording on the card — the cards that use it apply it as a mandatory effect, an optional additional cost, a ward cost, and an activated-ability cost in different printings.

Rule reference

[701.68]