Infect Mechanic Scars of Mirrodin

[Josh]

Discuss the new ability from scars of Mirrodin "Infect"

Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters)

[Josh]

Scars of Mirrodin Mechanics : Daily MTG : Magic: The Gathering

Infect

The Phyrexians' arsenal contains potent weapons to wear down Mirrodin's defenses. Chief among them are poison counters and -1/-1 counters, both of which are handed out most prominently in this set by the infect mechanic:



Creatures with infect deal damage to creatures and players in the form of -1/-1 counters and poison counters, respectively. So what does that mean, exactly?

When a creature with infect deals damage to a player, the player doesn't lose any life as a result of the damage—he or she gets that many poison counters instead. If any player ever has ten or more poison counters, that player loses the game.

When a creature with infect deals damage to another creature, the -1/-1 counters remain on the creature indefinitely. They're not removed if the creature regenerates or the turn ends. A creature with 0 or less toughness is put into the graveyard, even if it's indestructible or can regenerate.

Infect applies to any damage, not just combat damage—so if you can somehow give your Prodigal Pyromancer infect, its ability will deal damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.

Damage from a source with infect is damage, even though it does something different from other damage. Lifelink, deathtouch, and abilities that trigger when a creature deals damage will all work as normal, and the damage can be prevented or redirected just like any other damage.

Damage from a source with infect affects planeswalkers normally.