One question frequently asked by new Magic players: "Can I attack creatures?"

An understandable inquiry. Whilst we build our own army, our opponents do the same, so it's tempting to whittle down enemy forces to clear a path. Unfortunately, the opposing choice of who to send into the ring is entirely up to our opponent, who's more likely to keep their useful utility creatures at home rather than deploy them as chump blockers.

That is, unless Provoke shows up.

Background: What is Provoke?

With only 10 cards to their name, one of which hails from Unhinged, Provoke has little in the way of a spotlight. It's debut in Legions was meant to fill a very specific role. Legions remains the first and only all-creature set, so Provoke was designed to replicate removal in the absence of Instants and Sorceries. Taking that into consideration, it's odd we'd only see Provoke on so few cards. Sure, others managed to provide removal in their own ways (Ex. Bane of the Living, Willbender), but Provoke stayed largely isolated to a handful of commons and uncommons. What little Provoke we have came in Naya (White, Red, and Green). Among these, most of the Red/Green creatures with Provoke were wild beasts (Ex. Krosan Vorine), befitting the storyline.

At that point in Onslaught block lore, the Krosan forest was growing at wild proportions, producing newer, bigger beasts by the day. This was the result of the transformative presence of the Mirari. While the novels didn't address how this artifact affected other creature types, the cards certainly did. Clerics went from humble priests (Daru Healer) to glowing entities bound in wicker shells (Noble Templar). Elves transformed from usual humanoid forest dwellers (Wellwisher) to plant-like elementals (Wirewood Guardian). When it comes to Provoke, the other most common creature type to wield the ability - Soldiers - underwent their own unique metamorphosis. What started as largely-human troops in Onslaught (Glory Seeker) would lose both mouths and hair in Legions (Lowland Tracker), then grow to hulking muscle-men in Scourge (Daru Warchief).

It was a bold design choice that didn't ultimately take root, as these mutations were only ever represented in the Onslaught block, and even then, outside of the official novels. It's an interesting novelty to the history of the era, when Wizards was willing to take bizarre, experimental risks with their world-building. Provoke lives on as a part of that memory, where combat became the zone of choice for all things removal. At least in Limited.

Provoke Rulings

Whenever a creature with Provoke attacks, you may target an opposing creature. That creature untaps, then must block your attacker if able. Ideally, your attacking creature will outsize the creature it's provoking, acting as removal-on-legs. Alternatively, you could employ Provoke as a means to tie up blockers, helping larger threats get through for damage.

It doesn't take much imagination to see how a high volume of this ability could warp a Limited format. Provoke made sense in Legions, as removal only came in the form of creatures, but even then, only nine creatures received the ability. Wizards seems to have played it safe with Provoke-creature stats, as most on are the smaller side when it come to power and toughness. This means they'd commonly trade with their targets rather than continually removal them turn after turn.

Crested Craghorn is a perfect example of this "break in case of emergency" removal, hitting hard with 4 power if the coast is clear, then trading with a blocker to either get other sources of damage through or remove an opposing threat with 4 toughness or less. Discounting the variance of Feral Throwback, the only Rare creature with Provoke, the largest brute is Brontotherium, who still only musters up 3-power. However, despite their small statures, creatures with Provoke were of tremendous importance in the Limited format of the time, due to these two troublemakers:

Onslaught-Legions-Scourge was a typal block, rewarding players who could build the largest armies of a given creature type (Ancestor's Prophet, Synapse Sliver, Undead Warchief, etc.). Most notorious of these were the dreaded Sparksmith and Wellwisher, who appeared frequently due to being common and would take over if left unchecked.

Provoke provided a means to axe these two in the early game, but even then, the window of opportunity was tight. If Sparksmith and Wellwisher already shrugged off summoning sickness, all Provoke would do was provide your opponent with a 'free' activation of their creatures. Because Provoke untaps a creature before it can block, your opponent can use its activated ability, tapping it again before the declare-blockers step. This makes the provoked-creature unable to block your attacker.

In order to remove them for good, your Turn 1 Deftblade Elite or Goblin Grappler needed to be in play the moment Sparksmith or Wellwisher came down, to ensure their summoning sickness prevented them from escaping a forced-block.

Feral Throwback by Carl Critchlow

The Future

Despite the potential threat, I could envision Provoke making a small comeback, as it provides a unique twist on combat. For an ability that almost harkens to the fight-mechanic (Ex. Pounce, Prey Upon), there's some extra nuance in how targeted creatures untap. The biggest hurdle is the impact it has on Limited, where players will hesitate to play out their smaller creatures if they're aware of Provoke being a major player in the format. If Provoke does make a comeback, I envision it attached to a Legendary creature who excels in combat. Perhaps some sort of arrogant duelist or drunken brawler? Another possibility is a fixed-version of the ability that limits its impact, say for example the untap-clause was removed, making it more difficult to ensnare opposing creatures.

Next time your opponent sends attackers your way, be thankful they (probably) lack the ability to Provoke your troops into forced-blocks. Control of battlefield tactics is incredibly powerful, letting you shape the flow of combat each turn. If you often find early Esper Sentinels or Birds of Paradise an annoying presence in your Commander meta, consider introducing some Provoke to the table.

Thanks for reading, and may you ever control the combat-zone,

- Matt Lotti-

@Intrepid_tautog