Stone-Tongue Basilisk and modern Combat

[AngryTroll]

If I attack with a Stone-Tongue Basilisk with Threshold, and my opponent blocks with a bunch of his creatures, do I have to assign damage to each creature equal to it's toughness before I can move on to another creature?

From the Comprehensive Rules linked in the "How to Answer your Own Question" thread in this section:

510.1c A blocked creature assigns its combat damage to the creatures blocking it.

...

If two or more creatures are blocking it, it assigns its combat damage to those creatures according to the damage assignment order announced for it. This may allow the blocked creature to divide its combat damage. However, it can’t assign combat damage to a creature that’s blocking it unless each creature that precedes that blocking creature in its order is assigned lethal damage. When checking for assigned lethal damage, take into account damage already marked on the creature and damage from other creatures that’s being assigned during the same combat damage step, but not any abilities or effects that might change the amount of damage that’s actually dealt. An amount of damage that’s greater than a creature’s lethal damage may be assigned to it.

Is this different than how Deathtouch and combat damage works?


I understand that Deathtouch is functionally different from how Stone-Tongue Basilisk is worded, but it's current function is also different from how it was originally worded (I believe). To whom do I send emails to get Stone-Tongue Basilisk back into my EDH deck?

[Broham]

If I attack with a Stone-Tongue Basilisk with Threshold, and my opponent blocks with a bunch of his creatures, do I have to assign damage to each creature equal to it's toughness before I can move on to another creature?

However, it can’t assign combat damage to a creature that’s blocking it unless each creature that precedes that blocking creature in its order is assigned lethal damage.

I think you answered your own question sir. The "venom" ability of the Basilisk is triggered after damage is assigned and dealt. And you must assign what would be lethal damage to each blocker before assigning damage to additional blockers.

I am half asleep, did this answer your question?

[AngryTroll]

Yes. It's frustrating, because that's not how the card originally worked, and under current rules, it doesn't make it into EDH decks.

What would the wording be to make it work the way it was intended to work? It doesn't quite have Deathtouch, because non-combat damage doesn't trigger its ability. "Any amount of combat damage dealt by Stone-Tongue Basilisk is lethal damage."?

[cdr]

"Stone-tongue Basilisk assigns combat damage as if it had deathtouch" or similar should work.

[warallthetimne]

i have a question, who decides the order of creatures blockin? Example being say stonetongue attacks is blocked by three creautures, who decides the order in which i must kill them?

[Atwa]

i have a question, who decides the order of creatures blockin? Example being say stonetongue attacks is blocked by three creautures, who decides the order in which i must kill them?

The attacking player does. All the defending player can do is decide which creatures are going to block.