So here's the situation. I was trying out my new Orzhov deck. My hubby was trying out his new Gruul deck. Within a few turns, we ran into a situation which we weren't quite sure how to handle. And, surprisingly enough, we weren't able to find a rule clarification online, either. Usually this isn't an issue, because MTGSalvation or the Judge's Blog or some official resource is able to clear things up pretty quickly. Here's how it played out:
My husband had a 10/10 with Trample on the field. It was his only creature. He attacked me. I chose to block with my High Priest of Penance. Upon choosing which permanent to destroy, I chose his creature. Now here is our predicament:
To trigger the high priest's ability, it has to be dealt damage. So the destroy doesn't go off until the combat damage resolves on the priest. However, does the destroy occur between the combat damage and the Trample damage? Or does the Trample damage resolve at the same time as the combat damage? I know that in cases like Double Strike, the creature can be destroyed between the First Strike phase and the regular combat phase -- does Trample work the same way?
I couldn't find any resource that could clarify this for me. My husband feels that the Trample damage is just an extension of the combat damage, so it shouldn't be considered a separate "damage phase".
However, then you take into consideration cards like Executioner's Swing. The creature has to deal damage before you can utilize that card, as well. So once it's dealt damage, what is the point of giving it -5 to its power? The card might as well read "gives target creature -0/-5" or "destroys target creature with toughness 5 or less" (as I've seen similar rules on other cards).
Anyway, if someone could clear this up for us, we'd be very grateful. Thanks!
