You know that feeling when your prized 6-mana creature, you know, the one you spent turn after turn pouring your heart and soul into summoning, gets absolutely bamboozled by a simple 2-mana Doom Blade? If it's the first time it's happened to you, I'd imagine the feeling to be along the lines of finally filling up your water gun all the way only for your cousin Johnny to dump all the water out before you even get a shot in it (yes, Johnny, I still vividly remember that golden Summer afternoon). Well, it turns out, there's actually a great way to keep that from happening in your next game of MTG.

Ladies and gentlemen, in today's Mechanics Overview Segment, allow me to formally introduce you to Indestructible, the mechanic that says, "What's the matter, Johnny? You afraid to get wet?"

What Is Indestructible?

Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy this.

In a nutshell, Indestructible is a static keyword ability that prevents a permanent from being destroyed, whether by lethal damage or by effects that specifically use the word "destroy." Seems strong, doesn't it? However, as we'll soon see, the seemingly unstoppable fortress that is Indestructible still has a couple of cracks amongst its walls.

The History of Indestructible

Indestructible cards first popped up, in concept if not in official keyword form, way back in the olden days of MTG with Consecrate Land from Alpha (1993) and Guardian Beast from Arabian Nights (also 1993). Though these cards effectively made things "Indestructible," the keyword wasn't yet a recognized, official piece of MTG's rules text.

Soon enough, players noticed the word "Indestructible" and started treating it like a keyword anyway. Wizards of the Coast then said, "You know what? Sure, let's make it official." So, in Magic 2014 (2014), Indestructible became a real, legitimate keyword. And the Magic universe collectively rejoiced (or wept, depending on which side of the table you were on).

Indestructible became such a staple that it even got a cameo as yet another source of Counters in Ikoria Commander (2020). Yeah, I'd say we've certainly come a long way from having to awkwardly explain old Guardian Beast's 1993 text.

How Indestructible Interacts with, Well... Everything

As I had alluded to earlier, as powerful as Indestructible is, it certainly doesn't do everything. Let's quickly go over what it can and cannot save your precious permanents from:

• Destroy Effects:

  You're golden. That "Destroy target creature," or "Destroy all creatures" board-wipe your friend spent all their mana on? Your Indestructible permanent doesn't care one bit.

• Lethal Damage:

  A normal creature that takes lethal damage (damage >= toughness) heads straight for the graveyard. An Indestructible creature takes on all comers when it comes to damage. And while the damage sticks around until cleanup, your creature will remain standing.

• Damage Redirection / Effects That Care About "Damage Dealt":

  Because the damage is still actually dealt, abilities that trigger when something is dealt damage still work to some degree. So, if your 5/5 Indestructible creature is dealt 5 damage by a source with Lifelink, your opponent still gains the 5 life. Similarly, if a source has Wither to pass -1/-1 Counters to pass around, that, too, will have some effect on your creature, but not in a shrug-it-off kind of way.

• -X/-X Effects or 0 Toughness:

  Meet Toxic Deluge, Tragic Slip, or literally anything that says "-X/-X." If a creature's toughness is reduced to 0 or less, or if it accumulates enough -1/-1 counters to drop to 0 or less, it dies to state-based actions. This completely bypasses the entire concept of "destroy," so Indestructible is, unfortunately, useless here.

• Sacrifice:

  "Sacrifice a creature" or effects that force you to sacrifice a permanent will absolutely make you wave farewell to your Indestructible friend.

• Exile:

  Speaking of Farewell, Indestructible won't save you when presented with a one-way ticket to the shadow realm. Commander All-Star cards like Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares will all circumvent your indestructibility.

• Return to Hand / Return to Library:

  Bouncing or tucking an Indestructible permanent also sidesteps that otherwise unwavering resilience. No destruction is involved, so off it goes.

• Legend Rule:

  If you control two copies of the same legendary permanent, the one chosen to remain on the battlefield is safe--everything else heads to the graveyard. This sadly won't be considered as "destroying," as it's a unique rule-based action.

• Planeswalkers and Loyalty:

  Lastly, a planeswalker that becomes Indestructible is still removed if its loyalty hits zero. This is not "destroying." This is "going to the graveyard because it ran out of loyalty counters." And before you ask, yes, even the mighty Gideon has to obey this rule.

Indestructible vs. Regeneration

Regeneration used to be one of Magic's main ways to save creatures from destruction. But with Kaladesh (2016), it started fading in design. Instead of "this creature gains regeneration," we now see "this creature gains Indestructible until end of turn." What happened?

Here's how I see it:

• Regeneration can be complicated: you have to pay a cost, create a "regeneration shield," know how it interacts with lethal damage, and watch for "destroy" effects that say "can't be regenerated."
• Indestructible, on the other hand, is much simpler: it's just a static ability that says "nope" to being destroyed. If you want to keep your creature alive mid-combat or during a board wipe, "gains Indestructible" is a straightforward, easy-to-grok fix.

And this is not to say Regeneration doesn't still exist on older cards or that it doesn't matter, but if you're looking at newer sets and you see a function similar to "save from lethal damage," chances are you'll see something that grants Indestructible instead.

Indestructible Forever

At the end of the day, Indestructible, to me, is so much more than just a fancy keyword for "can't be destroyed." It's a design philosophy that's literally grown up alongside the game of Magic itself. From the quirky early days of "this land can't be destroyed" on a random Alpha card, to the modern era of entire sets featuring Gods that stand tall with enough Devotion amongst its followers, Indestructible has undoubtedly proven it's here to stay.

So the next time you're cackling maniacally as you cast a Star of Extinction with your haughty Brash Taunter on your side of the field, or you're rummaging for that Vapor Snag to deal with your opponent's Kaldra Compleat, I hope you'll continue to appreciate the utter brilliance behind this evergreen mechanic.

And that's all I've got in the chamber for this one! As always, happy brewing and may you continue to embrace the unstoppable, outsmart the unbreakable, and stay Indestructible. Until next time!