Tapped blockers still deal damage
Although this doesn't mean that you can declare a tapped creature as a blocker, it does
make several creatures a lot stronger. The reason for this is that if you declare a creature as a blocker,
you can use any tap abilities it may have, and it will still deal its combat damage to the attacking creature.
The obvious application for this is Prodigal Sorceror, who is now able to take out any 2/2 attacker it can target
and block. Mother of Runes also becomes a whole lot better...
Interrupts are no more
No, this doesn't mean that counterspells are gone. What it does mean is that everything that was an interrupt is
now an instant. To understand the way this affects the game, we really need to look at something else 6e brings with it,
The Stack. However, for now, believe me when I say that this change will not really affect the game that much.
The Stack
OK, let's start this at the very beginning. Whenever you play a spell now, it goes on the Stack. Enchantments, sorceries
and creature spells can only be played on an empty stack in your main phase. Once a spell has been put on the Stack, the player who
put that spell on the Stack now has priority to respond with instants. If he passes, priority passes to the opponent. If he passes, the spell
resolves. If either player has a response, that spell or ability goes on top of the one already there. After both players have passed, the top
spell in the Stack resolves, after which the active player again has priority to add something to the Stack. This is something different:
under previous rules, once a batch of spells had started to resolve, nothing else could be added. A counterspell may target any spell below it on the Stack.
For example, if I play Armageddon, then respond to that by sacrificing all my lands to Zuran Orb, you may respond by countering Armageddon, even though it is not
the top item on the Stack. Here is a further example:
A plays Giant Growth on his Grizzly Bears
B plays Shock, targetting the Bears
A taps Mother of Runes, giving his Grizzly Bears protection from Red
B casts counterspell on the Giant Growth.
Both players pass, and the spells resolve from the last cast to the first. Therefore, the counterspell resolves, and the Giant Growth is removed from the stack. Then the Mother ability resolves, giving the Bears Protection from Red. Finally, the Shock tris to resolve, but is countered for illegal target on resolution (this used to be called fizzling, but it was changed to counter for 6e). The Giant Growth would have resolved now, but it was countered earlier.
The Stack allows for all sorts of new abuses. For example, if your Prodigal Sorceror is about to die, and you have several ways to untap it, you can tap it, untap it, and tap it again, and so on, before the killing spell resolves. This was not possible before.
No more damage prevention phase
Basically, all damage prevention is now played prior to the damage being dealt, and sticks around until end of turn, or until used up. This includes redirection
effects like the en-Kor, and prevention effects like Healing Salve. The best way to think of it is that Salve sets up a 3 point "shield" that will prevent the next 3 damage dealt
to that creature this turn. This shield can be used up all at once or piecemeal, but it will prevent 3 damage. Oh, and redirection effects now target the creature they redirect the damage to.
So what tricks does this allow? Well, Angelic Protector and Task Force just got a lot better, combined with the en-Kor. You can target them as many times as you want with a redirection
ability, increasing their toughness by 3 each time, and making them unkillable with damage. Tehn use Worthy Cause or About Face...
Combat Damage goes on the Stack
The reasoning behind this was to bring combat damage in line with the silver rule of Magic: Removing the source of an effect will not remove the effect. Previously,
if you declared a blocker, then it was removed from combat in some way, no damage would be dealt by it, although the attacker would remain blocked. However, if the blocker is removed from combat
after damage has been put on the Stack, it steals deals damage, though it does not receive any.
Tapped artifacts still function normally
Thought to be cluttering up the rulebook, the rule that they didn't was removed. You now cannot tap a Winter Orb to turn it off, and you can sacrifice Bottle of Suleiman and several others
while they are tapped.
