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Dec 8, 2012 -- 8:19AM, cats_and_me wrote:

Smoke Grenadier -
Creature - Human Soldier
Double Strike
Whenever Smoke Grenadier deals combat damage, a random blocked creature becomes unblocked.
2/1

Inspired by another card that I designed 3-4 years ago, but apparently elegance is more important for me now..

I don't think it works. Before the damage resolution step is the damage assignment step, so damage has already been assigned before it has a chance to first strike.

That and other first strikers on your side will not benefit and first strikers on your opponents side won't tell the difference.

Dec 8, 2012 -- 11:10PM, cats_and_me wrote:

What happens when you're attacking with the creature and with nothing else? When the creature becomes blocked, the first strike damage causes a random blocked creature to become unblocked, so this creature becomes unblocked.. And that means that it's regular damage is dealt to defending player, because it's unblocked now! Honestly, I don't understand what you're talking about, what do ~you~ think happens in this scenario?

I'm not 100% on this, but I'm thinking the rules don't allow for it. You'd already assigned combat damage to the blocking creature, so your creature would first strike it, the opposing creature would be removed from combat, then your creature would attempt to attack the creature again, to no avail.

It's why removing blockers ala unsummon doesn't stop the blocked creatures from being blocked.

In other words, in order to make it work you'd need to alter how it or other creatures assign damage (Trample alters damage assignment, as does thorn elemental or rhox ) or have it somehow 'unblock' the creatures before the damage resolution step so you have to assign the damage again.

I understand what you're trying to accomplish, it's just that the rules are very messy, delicate things. But hey, maybe I'm dead wrong because this crap is complicated. Feel free to pose a question to the guys in the Rules Questions subforum, the guys there always seem to have the official rulebook open in another browser and can quote a specific passage in seconds.

yes

It does work. Double strike wasn't really artistic though. I think that's a little power hungry. Maybe you were a little too worried about this not being good enough, and that's why you went with double strike instead of first strike. However, first strike is a much more articulate keyword to use here. That fixes everything by the way.

Once this strikes with first strike damage, the ability is going to trigger and halt everything. It's going to take precedence over everything else. You'll choose an unblocked creature, it will become blocked before it can do anything (unless it deals first strike damage, this would be useless against that alone). Any non-first strikers can be subject to the effect though, because their damage can be turned back as long as it's not done yet. First strike damage would be the point of no return because this ability triggers in the same time-frame as that damage is dealt, it can only effect damage/attackers whose effects would fall into place after the first strike damage step.

First strike is very potent in terms of flavor. It's like when the SWAT team goes in for a sting, the first thing they do is hit them with a smoke grenade. It's like their first strike, you get it?

Problem is all first strike damage is done at the same time, and this ability goes onto the stack after it's dealt; but it goes onto the stack before any other attacker/damage resolve, so it can undo that which has not been done yet.