MTG : Massacre Girl, Known Killer : Wither

Recently, Wizards have been including one or two cards with old abilities in new sets. In Murders at Karlov Manor, Wither made a surprise appearance. It's a great opportunity to talk about it, especially since the ability is simple but impactful.

Massacre Girl, Known Killer has three abilities: two static abilities and one triggered ability.

Menace means this creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures. Pairing Menace with Wither and 4 power makes for an attractive combination.

Massacre Girl, Known Killer's Triggered Ability

Massacre Girl's triggered ability tracks the movement of creatures your opponent controls from the battlefield to the graveyard.

This is a conditional trigger — it triggers and resolves only if the condition is met: the creature that died had toughness less than 1. Note that leave-the-battlefield triggers check the state of the creature at the last moment it was on the battlefield, meaning the game engine looks at its toughness before it left the battlefield. Obviously, -1/-1 counters from Wither help reduce the toughness of opposing creatures.

Keep in mind that regular damage does not reduce a creature's toughness.

If multiple creatures your opponent controls die simultaneously with toughness less than 1, the trigger will go off multiple times.

The second ability of Massacre Girl, Known Killer grants Wither to all creatures you control, including Massacre Girl, Known Killer herself. This ability functions only while Massacre Girl, Known Killer is on the battlefield. Once a cunning opponent manages to remove her, your creatures will no longer have Wither unless they inherently possess that ability.

Wither

Wither is a static ability that modifies how damage is dealt to creatures. If a source with Wither deals damage, the result is as follows:

Players lose life equal to the damage dealt;
Creatures receive a corresponding number of -1/-1 counters;
Loyalty counters are removed from Planeswalkers;
Defense counters are removed from Battles.

Other than the fact that damage is not marked on creatures and does not get removed during the cleanup step or by regeneration, nothing else about damage is changed:

Damage remains combat or non-combat, as appropriate;
The number of -1/-1 counters equals the amount of damage dealt;
This damage can be prevented or redirected;
Triggered abilities that trigger upon dealing damage still trigger as normal.

Unlike most other static abilities (with the exception of Lifelink, Deathtouch, and Infect), if a source with Wither leaves the battlefield, the game uses the last known information to determine whether it had Wither.

If Necroskitter gains Lifelink and blocks an opponent's creature, it will deal 1 damage. As a result, its controller will gain 1 life due to the Lifelink.

Due to Hateflayer's activated ability, it will deal 5 damage to the target creature, resulting in the placement of five -1/-1 counters on that creature.

Damage dealt to a Planeswalker by a source with Wither removes that many loyalty counters. If the Planeswalker is also a creature, it will receive -1/-1 counters equal to the amount of damage dealt.

Wither and First Strike

This is indeed a powerful synergy! Dealing damage earlier in combat gives a creature with Wither a chance to either weaken or outright kill the opponent's creature. Since the damage is dealt in the form of -1/-1 counters, the power of the opponent's attacker or blocker can be significantly reduced. For example, if you attack with Rustrazor Butcher and your opponent blocks with Aven Interrupter, on the first strike damage step, Rustrazor Butcher will deal 1 damage. That 1 damage becomes a -1/-1 counter, reducing Aven Interrupter to a 1/1 creature. Now, on the second combat damage step, Aven Interrupter is too weak to kill Rustrazor Butcher, giving your creature a big advantage.

Wither VS Fight

In the case of a fight, a creature with Wither does not gain any advantages, as damage is dealt simultaneously. For example, if Nightfall Predator fights Massacre Girl, Known Killer, they will deal damage to each other at the same time. Since both creatures are dealing lethal damage, they will end up killing each other.

Wither and Deathtouch

If you control Massacre Girl, Known Killer and attack Tinybones, the Pickpocket, the toughness of the blocking creature doesn't matter. One point of damage from a creature with Deathtouch is enough to deal lethal damage. The fact that the damage is dealt in the form of -1/-1 counters due to Wither doesn't change this outcome.

Melira, Sylvok Outcast VS Wither

If you control Melira, Sylvok Outcast and your cunning opponent attacks with Massacre Girl, Known Killer, your blockers are safe. Damage from a creature with Wither is dealt in the form of -1/-1 counters, but Melira's effect prevents -1/-1 counters from being placed on your creatures.

Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider and Wither

Vorinclex, under your control, is always a good thing. It's even better if your creatures have Wither, meaning they deal damage to other creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters, which Vorinclex's ability doubles.

However, having Vorinclex under your opponent's control is always bad. He will halve (rounded down) the -1/-1 counters that your Wither creatures deal to your opponent's creatures.

Soul-Scar Mage VS Massacre Girl, Known Killer

The ability of Soul-Scar Mage is not equivalent to Wither. Note the wording: here, damage is replaced with placing -1/-1 counters.

This means that:

Lifelink and Deathtouch will not work;
Abilities that are events triggered by damage will not trigger;
Damage that cannot be prevented is replaced with -1/-1 counters.

Translated by ChatGPT

Massacre Girl, Known Killer

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