If my friend uses a primordial hydra where the strength and toughness double each turn can I use my Boros Reckoned on it? If he attacks me when it's at 64/64 and I block with a Boros reckoned would it be a stalemate?
No, I'm afraid not. First off, because {Primordial Hydra} gains trample once it gets big, it would only deal 3 damage to a {Boros Reckoner} blocking it. The rest would be dealt to you, killing you before the reckoner's damage trigger can even resolve.
So my best bet is to use Act of Treason, Pacify, oblivion ring or other such cards?
Pretty much. Removing it is your best bet. Or trickery like {act of treason} or even a well-timed {fog} can bait a hydra-using opponent into a loss
Yeah my friend bought that card and it's a pain to deal with. Now what if I use {Fog Bank}?
Quote from: rnf73trumpet on May 08, 2013, 12:34:00 AM
Yeah my friend bought that card and it's a pain to deal with. Now what if I use {Fog Bank}?
Damage prevention effects are only taken into consideration when damage is being dealt, not when it's assigned. A creature with trample has to assign at least 2 damage to the {Fog Bank}, and the rest can trample over to the player/planeswalker it's attacking. When the damage is dealt, {Fog Bank}'s ability kicks in and prevents the damage to it, but the damage assigned to the player/planeswalker is unaffected.
Same for indestructible creatures. A trample creature needs to only assign 1 point of damage to {Stuffy Doll}, because 1 damage is lethal - until prevention effects are taken into account.