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What's better than hitting someone once in a combat phase? How about twice? Double strike is an evergreen keyword that's been around since the early 2000s. It shows up primarily (but not only) on Red and White cards since it falls into their section of the color pie. Learning about double strike helped me greatly with how combat and damage worked. What is double strike, and how does it work in the game's framework? Let's take a look.
What is Double Strike?
Double strike has a pretty strange origin story. In 2002, Wizards of the Coast offered players a chance to design their own card. Double strike came out of that design competition, but it wasn't included on the card they finally went with. Instead, they kept it for another set since the design philosophy was sound, but the keyword simply didn't fit into Green's color identity.
In the Legions expansion in 2003, the keyword debuted on two Red cards, Ridgetop Raptor and Rockshard Elemental. Since then, it's seen consistent appearances on Red and White cards, and occasional appearances in other colors.
How Does Double Strike Even Work?
Double strike is pretty straightforward, since it does what it says on the tin - it strikes twice in the same combat phase. How does it do that? Well, the reminder text on the original cards should give you a hint.
In Magic, the combat phase is divided up into several sub-steps:
- Entering Combat
- Declaring Attackers
- Declaring Blockers
- Damage Step
- End of Combat Step
This seems simple enough, until you realize that the damage step is actually two steps. Creatures with first strike deal damage before those without it. Double strike creatures deal damage on both phases, effectively doubling their damage.
By itself, double strike is a pretty powerful keyword. It increases damage output and if you could pump the creature, it could end a game quickly. However, it's not so intuitive with other keyword abilities.
Double Strike and Trample
What happens when a double-strike creature kills the blocking creature after the first strike damage is dealt? Normally, that means that no extra damage is assigned to the defending player. However, with Trample on the same creature, the defending player not only receives the rest of the first strike damage that tramples over but the entirety of the damage for the regular damage phase as well.
Double Strike and Lifelink
Lifelink is also pretty simple to understand, and yes, it does work with double-striking creatures. If the creature deals damage, the controller gains that much life. That counts both first-strike and regular damage, meaning that the controller of a double-striking, lifelinking creature would gain life twice, in two separate instances.
Other Rules Questions
While double strike seems straightforward, there are a lot of edge cases that pop up during the regular course of the game. Let's cover a few of them to help you understand double strike a bit more.
Deals Damage Triggers
Some cards have triggers that mention, "When this creature deals damage..." and they trigger twice on a double-striking creature. Since the creature deals damage twice, the trigger would activate twice. In the case of Markov Blademaster, a single successful attack would add two counters to the creature.
When Attacking Triggers
Occasionally, card text includes, "Whenever this creature attacks..." but does it double-up for double-striking creatures?. This ability triggers when the creature is declared as an attacker so it would only trigger once since the creature only enters the attack phrase once. It may deal damage twice, but it only attacks once.
Does Removing First Strike From a Creature Remove Double Strike?
Some creatures can remove first strike from another creature, either through blocking or an activated ability. Since double strike deals first strike and regular strike damage, does that mean these creatures effectively stop one of those damage phases? No, they don't. The cards specifically state that they remove first strike. Double strike is a completely different ability altogether.
Can You Have Both First Strike and Double Strike?
As we covered before, double strike contains both first strike and regular damage, so could a creature theoretically have first strike and double strike to deal three times as much damage? No, they can't. First strike on a double-striking creature is redundant and doesn't change the creature's double strike ability.
Does Double Strike Work When Fighting?
The "fight" rule means that one creature deals damage to another creature and that creature, in turn, deals damage to the original creature. Some keyword abilities (like deathtouch) work with fight. Double strike does not. When a double-striking creature fights another creature, only the base damage is dealt.
Does Double Strike Deal Commander Damage, Too?
Yes, double strike works with commanders. They will deal their damage twice and both instances of damage will count as commander damage. That means the amount of damage needed to kill a player (21) can be dealt in half the time.
Is Double Strike Good?
Double strike is a powerful keyword. On some cards, it can be overpowering. In all cases, it is strictly better than first strike since it deals more damage. It's right at home in Red and White since Boros loves dealing as much damage as it can as fast as possible. It's hard to say if double strike is good, but it's still strictly better than regular damage or first strike. That alone makes it worth considering for your next deck!
