TLDR
- Protection is basically DEBT: it stops Damage, Enchant/Equip, Block, and Target from sources with the protected quality.
- Protection from everything means DEBT applies against… well, everything. No targeting, no damage, no blocking, no Auras or Equipment staying attached.
- It does not stop effects that don’t target and aren’t damage, like board wipes, sacrifice effects, or “each opponent loses life.”
- It also doesn’t protect the spell on the stack, so your “invincible” creature can still get countered before it ever hits the battlefield.
- The fastest test: If it doesn’t target and it isn’t damage, protection usually doesn’t care.
At some point, every Magic player reads “protection from everything” and briefly believes they’ve achieved immortality. Then someone casts a board wipe, you sacrifice it to an edict, or you lose life anyway, and the dream dies. Protection from everything is strong, but it’s not a force field. It’s more like a very specific set of “nope” rules, with a surprisingly long list of things that still bonk you in the face.
Let’s make it clean.
Protection in MTG, the actual rules in human words
Protection is a keyword ability that cares about a quality (usually a color, but it can be other things). If you have protection from a quality, four things happen. Remember DEBT:
- Damage: Damage from sources with that quality is prevented.
- Enchant/Equip: You can’t be enchanted by Auras with that quality, and you can’t be equipped/fortified by Equipment/Fortifications with that quality. If they’re already attached, they fall off (or Auras go to the graveyard) as the game cleans up state-based actions.
- Block: Creatures with the protected quality can’t block the protected attacker.
- Target: Spells with that quality and abilities from sources with that quality can’t target you/that permanent.
That’s it. That’s the whole trick. Protection does not say “ignore everything,” it says “ignore these four interaction types.”
So what changes with “protection from everything”?
“Protection from everything” means the game stops asking “what quality are we talking about?” and answers “yes.”
So DEBT applies against all objects, regardless of their characteristics. In practice, that means:
- You can’t be targeted by anything. Not your opponents, not your helpful little combat trick, not your own equip activation.
- All damage is prevented. Combat damage, pings, burn spells, everything.
- Nothing can block it. If a creature has protection from everything, it’s basically unblockable.
- It can’t wear anything. Auras and Equipment don’t get to stick around. If it gains protection from everything while suited up, all that gear is suddenly unemployed.
This is why cards like Progenitus feel like a mythic boss fight, and why The One Ring can create a brief moment where you are, technically, a problem.
What protection from everything does NOT stop
Here’s where most of the table arguments are born.
Protection from everything does not stop effects that:
- Don’t target, and
- Aren’t damage, and
- Don’t involve attaching/blocking.
So these still work:
- Board wipes that say “destroy all creatures” or “exile all creatures.” Those usually don’t target.
- Sacrifice effects like “each opponent sacrifices a creature.” Sacrificing isn’t damage and doesn’t target.
- -X/-X and toughness reduction effects. That’s not damage. Your creature can still hit 0 toughness and die.
- Life loss (important for The One Ring). If something makes you “lose life,” that is not damage, and protection doesn’t prevent it.
- Attack triggers that don’t target, like annihilator-style “defending player sacrifices…” Protection won’t save your permanents from being fed into the woodchipper.
Basically, protection from everything is incredible at stopping the parts of Magic that say “target” or “deal damage,” and much less impressive against the parts of Magic that say “each” or “all.”
The 10-second checklist
When you’re unsure, run this quick test:
- Is it trying to TARGET the protected thing/player? If yes, protection stops it.
- Is it trying to deal DAMAGE? If yes, protection stops it (unless something says damage can’t be prevented).
- Is it trying to ENCHANT/EQUIP/FORTIFY? If yes, protection stops it, and attachments won’t stay on.
- Is it trying to BLOCK the protected attacker? If yes, protection stops it.
- If none of those apply, protection probably does nothing.
FAQs
Does protection from everything make something indestructible?
No. Indestructible stops “destroy.” Protection stops DEBT. A “destroy all creatures” spell can still destroy a creature with protection from everything because it doesn’t target and it isn’t damage.
Can you counter a creature with protection from everything?
Yes. Protection is defined for permanents and players. While the card is on the stack as a spell, protection doesn’t help it.
Can I target my own creature that has protection from everything?
No. “Everything” includes your stuff too. You can’t target it with your own spells or abilities, and you can’t keep your own Equipment attached.
If I have protection from everything, can creatures still attack me?
They can be declared as attackers (attacking doesn’t target), but the combat damage that would be dealt to you is prevented. Attack triggers can still happen though.
Does “damage can’t be prevented” punch through protection from everything?
It can punch through the damage prevention part, yes. Protection still stops targeting, blocking, and attaching.