Protection is arguably Magic: The Gathering’s most commonly misunderstood mechanic. Despite being an evergreen keyword, its full description is rarely printed on cards anymore, leading to frequent questions about what it actually protects against. If you’ve ever wanted to fully understand protection, you’re in the right place!
Let’s jump into this mechanic and, hopefully, clarify a few things along the way.
Protection is relatively straightforward. It’s all about remembering what it protects from. “Protection from X” means that anything with the X attribute (be it a particular color, card type, or mana value) cannot deal damage, enchant or equip, block, or target the protected card. These actions are often summed up with the acronym “DEBT” to make them easier to recall.
For example, consider Silver Knight, which has protection from red. This means a card like Pyroclasm cannot deal damage to it, the Knight can’t be enchanted by Aspect of Manticore or equipped with Embercleave, it can’t be blocked by red creatures, and it can’t be targeted by spells like Academic Dispute.
The History of Protection
Protection is one of Magic’s oldest keywords, dating back to the Alpha set. Initially, it appeared on just seven cards: the iconic Black Knight and White Knight, along with a cycle of “wards,” which were white auras granting protection from a specific color.
Over time, protection was used to emphasize Magic’s ally and enemy color pairs. Most creatures with protection were safeguarded from an enemy color, diverging from this guideline only in rare instances. The variety of attributes from which protection could shield a card has expanded significantly over the years.
Following the release of Magic Origins in July 2015, Wizards of the Coast announced that protection would be phased out, not fitting well with their design goals. The reprint of Goblin Piledriver was the only card with protection in that set, marking a shift towards the “hexproof from X” mechanic, as seen with Knight of Malice and Knight of Grace in Dominaria. To date, only 12 cards use the “hexproof from X” template, though protection has made a cautious return in recent Standard sets, such as Sejiri Shelter in Zendikar Rising and Gods Willing in the Strixhaven Mystical Archive.
Where Is Protection Focused in the Color Pie?
Protection is a mechanic found across hundreds of cards, predominantly in white. Nearly half of all protection cards are white, aligning with the color’s themes of safeguarding creatures and countering threats from its natural enemies, black and red.
What Does DEBT Mean for Protection?
DEBT stands for damage, enchanting/equipping, blocking, and targeting, summarizing the four key aspects protection shields against.
Protection from a Color vs. From Creatures vs. From Everything
“Protection from X” can cover a wide range of attributes. Whether it’s a color, creature type, or any other characteristic, protection functions the same across the board. Let’s explore a few specific examples:
- Protection from Creatures: This shields a creature from harm, obstruction, or targeting by other creatures, giving it a significant tactical advantage in both offense and defense.
- Protection from Dogs (Creature Types): A quirky example, like Feline Sovereign providing “protection from dogs,” illustrates protection’s versatility, even against hypothetical threats.
- Protection from Ring-bearers: With mechanics like “the ring tempts you” from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, protection can apply to unique gameplay and thematic elements, such as shielding from Ring-bearers.
- Protection from Colored Spells: This stops spells on the stack from affecting the protected entity, illustrating protection’s broad applicability, even against spells that are not creatures.
- Protection from Snow: Reflecting Magic’s diverse settings, protection can extend to supertypes like snow, offering thematic and strategic depth.
- “You Have Protection”: Variants like Runed Halo grant protection directly to players, showcasing the mechanic’s flexibility.
- Protection from Mana Values: Cards like Haktos the Unscarred demonstrate protection’s utility against cards of certain mana values, adding an element of unpredictability and strategy.
- Protection from Artifacts: This shows protection’s ability to shield against specific card types, further broadening its defensive scope.
- Protection from… Everything: Progenitus famously has “protection from everything,” epitomizing the mechanic’s potential to completely safeguard against all forms of harm.
Protection Official Rules
From the Comprehensive Rules:
- 702.16.Protection
- 702.16a Protection is a static ability, written “Protection from [quality].” This quality is usually a color (as in “protection from black”) but can be any characteristic value or information. If the quality happens to be a card name, it is treated as such only if the protection ability specifies that the quality is a name. If the quality is a card type, subtype, or supertype, the ability applies to sources that are permanents with that card type, subtype, or supertype and to any sources not on the battlefield that are of that card type, subtype, or supertype. This is an exception to rule 109.2.
- 702.16b A permanent or player with protection can’t be targeted by spells with the stated quality and can’t be targeted by abilities from a source with the stated quality.
- 702.16c A permanent or player with protection can’t be enchanted by Auras that have the stated quality. Such Auras attached to the permanent or player with protection will be put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based action. (See rule 704, “State-Based Actions.”)
- 702.16d A permanent with protection can’t be equipped by Equipment that have the stated quality or fortified by Fortifications that have the stated quality. Such Equipment or Fortifications become unattached from that permanent as a state-based action, but remain on the battlefield. (See rule 704, “State-Based Actions.”)
- 702.16e Any damage that would be dealt by sources that have the stated quality to a permanent or player with protection is prevented.
- 702.16f Attacking creatures with protection can’t be blocked by creatures that have the stated quality.
- 702.16g “Protection from [quality A] and from [quality B]” is shorthand for “protection from [quality A]” and “protection from [quality B]”; it behaves as two separate protection abilities. If an effect causes an object with such an ability to lose protection from [quality A], for example, that object would still have protection from [quality B].
- 702.16h “Protection from all [characteristic]” is shorthand for “protection from [quality A],” “protection from [quality B],” and so on for each possible quality the listed characteristic could have; it behaves as multiple separate protection abilities. If an effect causes an object with such an ability to lose protection from [quality A], for example, that object would still have protection from [quality B], [quality C], and so on.
- 702.16i “Protection from each [set of characteristics, qualities, or players]” is shorthand for “protection from [A],” “protection from [B],” and so on for each characteristic, quality, or player in the set. It behaves as multiple separate protection abilities.
- 702.16j “Protection from everything” is a variant of the protection ability. A permanent or player with protection from everything has protection from each object regardless of that object’s characteristic values. Such a permanent or player can’t be targeted by spells or abilities and can’t be enchanted by Auras. Such a permanent can’t be equipped by Equipment, fortified by Fortifications, or blocked by creatures. All damage that would be dealt to such a permanent or player is prevented.
- 702.16k “Protection from [a player]” is a variant of the protection ability. A permanent or player with protection from a specific player has protection from each object that player controls and protection from each object that player owns not controlled by another player, regardless of that object’s characteristic values. Such a permanent or player can’t be targeted by spells or abilities the specified player controls and can’t be enchanted by Auras that player controls. Such a permanent can’t be equipped by Equipment that player controls, fortified by Fortifications that player controls, or blocked by creatures that player controls. All damage that would be dealt to such a permanent or player by sources controlled by the specified player or owned by that player but not controlled by another player is prevented.
- 702.16m Multiple instances of protection from the same quality on the same permanent or player are redundant.
- 702.16n Some Auras both give the enchanted creature protection from a quality and say “this effect doesn’t remove” either that specific Aura or all Auras. This means that the specified Auras aren’t put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based action. If the creature has other instances of protection from the same quality, those instances affect Auras as normal.
- 702.16p One Aura (Benevolent Blessing) gives the enchanted creature protection from a quality and says the effect doesn’t remove certain permanents that are “already attached to” that creature. This means that, when the protection effect starts to apply, any objects with the stated quality that are already attached to that creature (including the Aura giving that creature protection) will not be put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based action. Other permanents with the stated quality can’t become attached to the creature. If the creature has other instances of protection from the same quality, those instances affect attached permanents as normal.
Protection Strategy and Interactions
Protection in Magic: The Gathering is a nuanced mechanic that significantly affects gameplay, offering unique strategies and challenges. Understanding how protection interacts with various aspects of the game, such as blocking, trample, and board wipes, is crucial for both deploying and countering protected creatures effectively.
Interactions with Blocking and Trample
Protection prevents a creature from being blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted/equipped by anything with the specified attribute. This makes creatures with protection ideal blockers against creatures they are protected from, as they can block those creatures without sustaining any damage. However, when facing trample, the rules become more complex. If a creature with trample attacks and is blocked by a creature with protection, the trample damage can still spill over to the player or planeswalker being attacked, provided enough damage to theoretically “destroy” the blocking creature is assigned to it, despite that damage being prevented by protection.
Dealing with Board Wipes
Board wipes are an effective way to deal with protected creatures, as long as the wipe doesn’t target or deal damage. Protection does not shield a creature from effects that declare “destroy all creatures” or alter the game state in a way that does not involve targeting or dealing damage. Therefore, global effects like “Wrath of God” can bypass protection entirely, making them a reliable answer to otherwise troublesome protected creatures.
Strategies for Bypassing Protection
- Global Effects: Utilize spells and abilities that affect all creatures or players, as these typically do not target individual creatures and thus bypass protection.
- Choosing the Right Removal: Select removal spells that don’t target, such as “Settle the Wreckage,” which forces a player to exile attacking creatures, circumventing protection.
- Colorless Solutions: Use colorless sources of damage or effects, as protection often specifies a color. Artifacts and colorless spells can interact with protected creatures normally.
- Changing Characteristics: Altering the characteristics of your own spells or creatures, such as giving them a color that the opponent’s creatures aren’t protected from, can be an effective workaround.
Best Protection Cards in Magic’s History
Several protection cards have made a significant impact on Magic’s history due to their utility and strategic depth:
- Mother of Runes: Gives any creature protection from a color of your choice until end of turn, making it incredibly versatile in protecting key creatures or enabling attacks through enemy lines.
- True-Name Nemesis: Has protection from a chosen player, making it an unblockable, untouchable threat against that player’s board.
- Sword of Fire and Ice: Provides protection from two colors while offering additional benefits, showcasing the dual utility of protection in both defense and advantage generation.
- Kor Firewalker: Specifically strong in red-dominated metas, providing not just protection from red but also a lifegain mechanism.
- Ethersworn Canonist: While not providing protection in the traditional sense, it restricts spell casting in a way that protects your game plan against certain decks, illustrating the broader strategic use of protection-like effects.
Understanding and utilizing protection effectively requires a deep knowledge of Magic’s rules and an ability to anticipate and react to an opponent’s strategies. These cards, among others, highlight the depth and strategic complexity that protection adds to the game, offering players powerful tools for both offense and defense.