Deathtouch

Keywords · beginner

Any amount of damage a creature with deathtouch deals to another creature is enough to destroy it.

How it works

• Deathtouch makes nonzero damage from this creature lethal damage for all purposes.
• A 1/1 deathtouch creature can kill a 10/10. (State-based actions destroy the larger creature because it has lethal damage marked on it.)
• Deathtouch only matters when damage is being dealt, not when toughness is being compared.

Common interactions

• Trample + deathtouch: Each blocker only needs 1 damage assigned, so the rest tramples. See [702.19].
• First strike + deathtouch: The deathtouch creature deals damage in the first-strike step and destroys its target before it can fight back.
• Indestructible: Indestructible creatures don't die to deathtouch -- "destroy" effects don't work on them.
• Damage prevention: If the damage is prevented, deathtouch doesn't matter -- no damage was dealt.

Rule reference

[702.2]