Directing Damage To Planeswalkers

DEALING DAMAGE TO PLANESWALKERS

If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to an opponent, you may have that source deal that damage to a planeswalker that opponent controls instead. This is a redirection effect: you choose whether to redirect the damage as the redirection effect is applied, and it's subject to the normal rules for ordering replacement effects. The player affected by the damage chooses the order in which to apply such effects, but the controller of the source of the damage chooses whether the damage is redirected. Note that this redirection can't be applied to combat damage.

- For example, although you can't target a planeswalker with Shock, you can target your opponent with Shock, and then as Shock resolves, choose to have Shock deal its 2 damage to one of your opponent's planeswalkers. If you do, two loyalty counters are removed from that planeswalker.

- You can't choose to split the damage between a player and a planeswalker. In the Shock example above, you couldn't have Shock deal 1 damage to the player and 1 damage to the planeswalker.

- If a source you control would deal damage to you, you can't have that source deal that damage to one of your planeswalkers instead.

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/19163862/Trample_and_Planeswalkers

Q: Are planeswalkers considered 'players' to effects that target players?

A: No. "target player" cannot be targeted at a planeswalker. However, if you would deal noncombat damage to your opponent
with a Shock, for example, you can choose during the resolution of your spell or ability to redirect the damage to one of his planeswalkers.


Q: Say a creature with trample for all intensive purposes, we'll stay with Siege wurm attacks a planes walker, Ajani Vengeant and the planeswalker only has 1 loyalty counter on it. Does the damage trample over to the player?

A: No. A creature attacks either a player or a planeswalker, and it can deal damage only to blocking creatures and/or the player or planeswalker it attacked.

So like I said at the shop yesterday, when you say "I target Garruk with my lightning bolt" what you really mean is I target my opponent with l.bolt and direct the damage through him and into Garruk.

Although now that makes me wonder about hideous end (destroy target creature, controller loses two life)

Since it says "lose 2 life" and not "takes 2 damage" can it be redirected? Or is it considered a unique source since the planeswalker has no life to lose

Warren "The Proxy" Hallam wrote:

Although now that makes me wonder about hideous end (destroy target creature, controller loses two life)

Since it says "lose 2 life" and not "takes 2 damage" can it be redirected? Or is it considered a unique source since the planeswalker has no life to lose

This would be dealt to the players life.

Just thought I'd add these Multi-Player rulings as well:

If a source you control would deal damage to you, you can't have that source deal that damage to one of your planeswalkers instead.

In a Two-Headed Giant game, damage that would be dealt to a player can't be redirected to a planeswalker his or her teammate controls.

Another thing regarding this topic is that in the case of Damage Prevention, from Safe Passage for example, damage is also prevented from hitting Planeswalkers thru redirection in the case of Shock/Lightning Bolt, since if damage can't be done to a player, it can't be redirected through that player either.

Yes, this would also work with is Harm's Way

Yes I believe it would

Quote :

117. Life

117.2. Damage dealt to a player causes that player to lose that much life.

117.3. If an effect causes a player to gain life or lose life, that player’s life total is adjusted accordingly.

Quote :

118. Damage

118.1. Objects can deal damage to creatures, planeswalkers, and players. This is generally detrimental to the object or player that receives that damage. An object that deals damage is the source of that damage.

Although the these rules don't say so directly, it seems to me that rule 117.2 means that losing life is different than being dealt damage. Therefore, losing life cannot be redirected to planeswalkers or by other means such as Harm's Way.

Harm's Way specifically states "The next 2 damage" and not "The next time you would lose 2 life".

Yes you are right, if something does cause you to lose life, you can't re-direct it to the players planeswalker, because the plainswalker doesn't have life. Also Harm's Way won't prevent this because it doesn't deal damage.

In any other case though:

Basically if you tried to deal damage to my Planeswalker, I could re-direct up to 2 of that damage.

This works because my Planeswalker is a permanent. And you're dealing damage to it.

This card has nothing to do with wether you losing life or not.

Now one thing that I'm not 100% sure of is wether this would kill a creature with 2 toughness if you redirected the damage to it and prevent all the damage it's doing if it's power was higher than 2...

I know the Instant would resolve before the damage was dealt, and being an instant it would deal the damage to the creature, but the damage hasn't been dealt yet...

So what I'm asking is this: If you attack my Planeswalker with a 3/2 creature and I use Harm's way to deal 2 of it's damage to said creature, does my Planeswalker still take 1 damage.

The next 2 damage that a source of your choice would deal to you and/or permanents you control this turn is dealt to target creature or player instead.

seems pretty clear cut to me

the damage has to be done for it to be redirected, he'd swing deal 3, 2 of it would be negated, 1 of it would get through then then the 2 redirected damage would kill the creature