What does regenerate mean in magic

So, if your creature would receive lethal damage or be targeted by a Doom Blade or something, you can activate regeneration, and when the effect occurs, the destruction part of the effect is ignored, and instead the creature is tapped, if it wasn't already. So a creature with lethal damage has the damage removed, but the creature remains in play. The regeneration "shield" only protects against the first such effect; if your creature has two toughness and there are two Lightning Bolts on the stack targeting it, you'll need to activate its regeneration ability twice to keep it from dying.

Regeneration also doesn't protect against effects that exile the creature, sacrifice effects, or effects that specify that the creature is destroyed and cannot be regenerated. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How does regeneration work in Magic the Gathering?

Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 2 months ago. Active 2 years, 7 months ago. Viewed k times. How does regeneration work? Improve this question. Adam Arold Adam Arold 1, 7 7 gold badges 22 22 silver badges 29 29 bronze badges. After reading your edit, I think this article on Priority and the Stack may be helpful for you.

After the Shock is played you have priority to respond. AdamArold, Your link is down. Pacerier AdamArold isn't the one who provided the link, and if you notice a broken link, it's way more helpful to everyone if you just take a couple seconds to figure out how to fix it: mtgsalvation.

Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. If a destruction event would happen and the creature has a "regeneration shield" active, the following things happen: One of those shields is removed All damage received by the creature this turn is removed If a destruction effect caused the event to trigger, it resolves but has no effect The creature gets tapped Note that this is an effect of regeneration.

The creature does not have to be untapped to regenerate it The creature gets removed from combat, if it was regenerated during combat Note that certain spells or effects state something like "Destroy target creature. Improve this answer. Hackworth Hackworth Therefore a Shock never resolves immediately, and you can always respond to it, unless as always another effect or ability prevents you from doing so.

Hackworth, So "regeneration" is a misnomer and should have been called "double life". When do triggered abilities that say "when this creature regenerates" occur? Do they occur when a shield is used up or when a shield is created? Responding to your edit: What I really wanted to know is that if someone uses for example Shock on my creature can I say at that moment "Ok, I will spend 2 mana and regenerate my creature" or when that Shock is played it is resolved immediately any my creature is destroyed assuming that it has 1 toughness and no regeneration shield on it How the rules of Magic work is as follows: Your opponent pays 1 red mana and casts Shock.

Thanks for the clear explanation. By the way can a regenerate effect be countered by - for example - a blue player who has a lot of counters? And if he counters it can I cast regenerate again for 2 additional mana?

It can be countered by a spell which says "counter target activated ability", e. And yes, if some counters your regeneration ability with Stifle there is nothing to stop you regenerating again, either in response to the Stifle or after it has resolved. It is a creature ability I think. Thanks anyway. This is slightly in contrast to mana burn , which ended up being completely nixed. After a while, regeneration moved over to make room for simpler mechanics. Among some of the first is Reassembling Skeleton , producing what comes down to the exact same effect as Drudge Skeletons with much less hassle.

Eventually, the ability saw its last use in Oath of the Gatewatch in , with Birthing Hulk being the last to bear its name. Before it saw its last feature, though, there were some wicked cards that carried the regenerate mantle. Some of them have been used to frustrate opponents to no end. Especially Thrun, the Last Troll. Thrun is a hell of a card.

You have just about no options to deal with this guy, other than a dedicated blocker like Wall of Mist or a hexproof-remover like Glaring Spotlight. See the difference in Oracle text on Gatherer between Thrun and Canopy Cover , which was not changed. This comment thread on reddit explains the why of it a bit. Veilstone Amulet. There are also some less annoying but equally useful creatures with regeneration, such as River Boa.

There are even some lands like Yavimaya Hollow. Remember Death Pits of Rath? Great example. Wrath of God. If you like Goblin-themed decks, Mad Auntie is a good addition. Maybe, but it allows for more varied plays instead of just an indestructible creature bashing away.

Bash to Bits. Regeneration has been out of the game for quite a while, and anything similar that comes along in new sets would be a great door to some unique gameplay. What do you think? Should maybe a simpler version of regeneration be brought back, or is this just a relic of the past that seems better than it was?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below! Note: this post contains affiliate links. I like regeneration more than indestructible. To me, indestructible is more confusing. Register Don't have an account? Edit this Page. Edit source History Talk 0. See rule Regenerate Wizards of the Coast.

Rush of Vitality? Keyword Abilities. Keyword Actions. Backbone Conjure Perpetually Seek Unstoppable. Ante Divvy Rhystic. Bury Landhome Substance.