Combat
Modifying and Splitting Damage
Compare damage to each target with a shared split total, then apply prevention and identify what dealt the damage.
Guide overview
What you’ll learn
- “To each” adds Bonus Damage per target; “split” adds it to one total.
- Choose targets while completing the ability’s choices and costs; divide the damage when its instructions are carried out.
- Prevention includes the bonus and can stop damage entirely.
Guide content
Understand the concept
A damage bonus changes the amount dealt by an action, not the unit’s MightMight represents both how much Combat Damage a unit can contribute and how much marked Damage it can normally take before being killed.View in Glossary , the value used to deal combat damage and withstand damage. Before calculating anything, read whether the instruction deals an amount to each TargetA specific object, player or zone chosen by a spell or ability under the targeting rules. Check legality when choosing and when resolving. Costs, automatic groups and explicit "pick" choices do not target; pending Chain items cannot be targeted.View in Glossary or splits one total. Those two patterns use Bonus DamageA positive increase to a Deal action. It adds once to a single target, separately to each target dealt an amount, or once to the shared total when damage is split.View in Glossary differently. Afterwards, apply PreventReduce the next matching damage a unit would take by the stated amount. Only the amount actually prevented is used; any remainder lasts for the effect's stated duration.View in Glossary and record only the damage that actually gets through.
Add the applicable bonuses once
When several Bonus Damage effects apply to one action dealing damage, add their values together. Apply that total once using the action’s targeting pattern. A +1 bonus and a +2 bonus make +3 Bonus Damage. They do not successively multiply the previous total.
Multiple damage sources are a separate question: a source is the game element, such as a unit, spell or ability, that the rules identify as dealing the damage. Combat damage comes from the opposing units, while an instruction can name a particular unit as the source of non-combat damage. Identify the action dealing damage and the bonuses that actually apply to it; the mere existence of several sources does not itself grant additional bonuses.
Each target receives the bonus
An instruction dealing an amount to each target applies the bonus separately to each. With Annie, Fiery’s +1 Bonus Damage, Singularity’s 6 damage to each of up to two units becomes 7 to each chosen unit. It does not become a shared pool of 7.
Worked numbers - Choose two legal units → the normal instruction is 6 to A and 6 to B → +1 Bonus Damage makes 7 to A and 7 to B. If A prevents 3 of its damage, A takes 4 and B takes 7. Prevention on A does not subtract damage from B.
Card example
Annie, Fiery
Annie grants +1 Bonus Damage to your spells and abilities; this does not increase their targets’ Might.
Champion Unit
Annie
Fiery
Your spells and abilities deal 1 Bonus Damage. (Each instance of damage the spell deals is increased by 1.)
Card example
Singularity
“To each” applies the +1 to both chosen units: 7 damage each.
Spell
Singularity
Deal 6 to each of up to two units.
Split damage increases one total
If an instruction splits damage, add Bonus Damage to the total being split. With Annie, Volibear, Furious’s attack ability splits 6 instead of 5. That can increase the number of eligible targets chosen, since each must receive at least 1.
Choose the targets while finalizing the ability, when you complete its choices, costs and legality checks. Divide the damage later, as the ability ResolveCarry out a finalized Chain item's effects. Normally the newest waiting item resolves after everyone passes Priority in sequence. Units, Gear and Add abilities instead resolve immediately when finalized.View in Glossary and carries out its instructions. Example - You chose three legal enemy units at Volibear’s battlefield. Split the 6 as 3, 2 and 1. You do not give each target another +1 after that split. If the available total changes before resolution, use the current supported total and keep the targeting limits; do not add previously unchosen targets.
Card example
Volibear, Furious
Volibear’s attack ability splits one total. Annie adds 1 to that total, not 1 per enemy.
Champion Unit
Volibear
Furious
[Deflect 2] (Opponents must pay [Rainbow] [Rainbow] to choose me with a spell or ability.) When I attack, deal 5 damage split among any number of enemy units here.
Prevention does not change who dealt the damage
Prevention includes Bonus Damage in the amount being prevented. If all damage is prevented, the unit was not dealt damage, so an ability requiring it to take damage does not trigger. Bonus Damage cannot create damage when the instruction deals none in the first place.
Keep the source named by the instruction. If a spell says a chosen unit deals the damage, that unit is the source rather than the spell. If an ability itself deals it, attribution includes the ability and its source. A bonus changes the amount, not this attribution; do not credit Annie with damage merely because she supplied the bonus.
Keep in mind
Key points
- “To each” adds Bonus Damage per target; “split” adds it to one total.
- Choose targets while completing the ability’s choices and costs; divide the damage when its instructions are carried out.
- Prevention includes the bonus and can stop damage entirely.
- Changing the amount does not change the identified source.