| Daunt | |
|---|---|
| Mechanic | |
| Introduced | Magic 2015 |
| Last used | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Reminder Text | A creature with daunt can’t be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less. |
| Statistics |
32 cards  75%  6.3%  6.3%  3.1%  9.4% |
| Scryfall Search | |
| fulloracle:"can't be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less" | |
Daunt is R&D slang term used for "can't be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less".[1][2] It is primary in green.[3] It is also a named mechanic on a test card.
Description
Daunt is considered to have a little of the gameplay of trample, with fewer words and a template that's much easier to understand.[1][4][5]
Before Daunt, attempts were made to give Green and Red another form of evasion, and this was around the time when trample (functionally, unblockable by low toughness) was being reconsidered as a keyword. "Unblockable by lesser power" was used sporadically since Guildpact, but the design space is small and plays poorly; only eight cards were printed with this ability, all in green. Later, Red received two cards with "unblockable by 1 power or less" on Hero of Oxid Ridge and War-Name Aspirant.
History
The blocking restriction was first printed on Magic 2015's Scuttling Doom Engine. As an experiment, it was also featured on several cards in Kaladesh and Amonkhet.[1][6][7] The power level is generally higher than most common keywords, therefore it appears on only one or two cards a set, if at all. As such, it has few prospects of being officially named.[8] If it would be keyworded, R&D would probably add it to a second color beside green.[9]
Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate has a variant requiring 3 power to block (Dread Linnorm, Saddle of the Cavalier).
Daunt became a named mechanic on the 2024 Mystery Booster 2 test card Hish of the Snake Cult.
Cards with Daunt
- Antique Collector
- Arlinn's Wolf
- Brushfire Elemental
- Cavern Stomper
- Chomping Kavu
- Demolition Stomper
- Elegant Edgecrafters
- Enraged Ceratok
- Fin-Clade Fugitives
- Garenbrig Paladin
- Gate Colossus
- Giltgrove Stalker
- Glinting Creeper
- Glissa's Retriever
- Greater Sandwurm
- Harvesttide Sentry
- Hierophant Bio-Titan
- Hish of the Snake Cult (Test card)
- Legolas Greenleaf
- Linebreaker Baloth
- Outland Boar
- Paladin of Predation
- Park Heights Maverick
- Questing Beast
- Ravenous Slime
- Rhonas's Stalwart
- Riphook Raider
- Scuttling Doom Engine
- Shadowheart, Cleric of Twilight
- Steel Leaf Champion
- Stormkeld Vanguard
- Verdant Outrider
Cards granting Daunt
- Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener - triggered ability
- Chomping Kavu - Backup effect
- Ghirapur Guide - activated ability
- Mournwillow - triggered ability, Daunt for all creatures
Variants
- Dread Linnorm (power 3 or less)
- Hero of Oxid Ridge (power 1 or less)
- Saddle of the Cavalier - (equipment; power 3 or less)
- War-Name Aspirant (power 1 or less)
References
- ↑ a b c Mark Rosewater (October 3, 2016). ""Do You Feel Lucky, Aetherpunk?" Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 29, 2018). "Ive noticed the prevalence of cant be blocked...". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 5, 2017). "Mechanical Color Pie 2017". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 4, 2016). "Are we one day going to lose trample as an Evergreen keyword?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 4, 2016). "I think it is a good mechanic, but not worth replacing Trample.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 3, 2016). "You forgot about Demolition Stomper". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 6, 2017). "Is Daunt a mechanic we can expect to see more of in the future?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 11, 2024). "IWhy isn't Daunt a keyword ability?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 13, 2024). "If daunt got keyworded, would it be expanded to more colors?". Blogatog. Tumblr.