So, I’ve tried looking for another thread that matches this question but I can only find threads asking about multiple totem armors proccing or if totem armor can be saved if the creature regenerates. Anyway, my question is this: does totem armor (from something like Bear Umbra) count as regeneration for the purpose overcoming destruction from a card like Damnation? I feel like it doesn’t because it doesn’t actually use the word “regenerate” so that any card that is supposed to stop regeneration can be bypassed with armors.
You're correct, Totem Armor works against Damnation and the like. Despite working in a similar way mechanically, Totem Armor is not actual regeneration. "Regenerate" is what's called a keyword action; anything that mentions it means things that use the actual keyword only.
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Effects that destroy a permanent in normal cases and provide that that permanent "can't be regenerated", such as found in Damnation or Wrath of God, don't stop totem armor effects, even though they change what happens if the appropriate permanent would be destroyed, just like regeneration (C.R. 701.14a, 702.88a).
If a creature to which an Aura with totem armor is attached is under a regeneration effect (e.g., if that creature is Thrun, the Last Troll and its last ability resolves) (C.R. 701.14a, 701.14c), there will generally be two replacement effects that would replace that creature being destroyed with something else: regeneration and totem armor (C.R. 701.14a, 702.88a, 303.4k). For neither effect does that something else involve the creature being destroyed, however (C.R. 701.14a, 702.88a, 303.4k), so that choosing one will make the other inapplicable (C.R. 616.1, 614.6, 614.7; see also C.R. 616.2). However, if the effect that would destroy that creature provides that it "can't be regenerated" (e.g., Damnation or Wrath of God), any regeneration effects won't apply (C.R. 701.14c; see also C.R. 608.2c, 101.2), so that the totem armor effect remains.
No, totem armor is not regeneration. The most important difference between the two is, that totem armor does not remove the creature from combat while regeneration does. But to "regenerate" is also a keyword action, which is what Wrath of God, Terror, Damnation and the like mean with the phrase "can't be regenerated". So even if some hypothetical effect would do the exact same thing as regeneration, if it doesn't actually use that word, it's not regeneration.
The two abilities create replecement effects, and since after applying any one of them (even if there are multiples of the same), the event of destruction is no longer about to happen, so no other can be applied anymore. This means, that the controller of the affected permanent chooses the one effect to apply while the rest gets ignored.
If a creature to which an Aura with totem armor is attached is under a regeneration effect (e.g., if that creature is Thrun, the Last Troll and its last ability resolves) (C.R. 701.14a, 701.14c), there will generally be two replacement effects that would replace that creature being destroyed with something else: regeneration and totem armor (C.R. 701.14a, 702.88a, 303.4k). For neither effect does that something else involve the creature being destroyed, however (C.R. 701.14a, 702.88a, 303.4k), so that choosing one will make the other inapplicable (C.R. 616.1, 614.6, 614.7; see also C.R. 616.2). However, if the effect that would destroy that creature provides that it "can't be regenerated" (e.g., Damnation or Wrath of God), any regeneration effects won't apply (C.R. 701.14c; see also C.R. 608.2c, 101.2), so that the totem armor effect remains.
See also this thread and this thread.
The two abilities create replecement effects, and since after applying any one of them (even if there are multiples of the same), the event of destruction is no longer about to happen, so no other can be applied anymore. This means, that the controller of the affected permanent chooses the one effect to apply while the rest gets ignored.
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