With a game that has as many different mechanics as Magic: The Gathering, there’s a lot of questions as to how certain mechanics actually interact. Sometimes the answers are exactly what you’d expect, some of them are a tad more complicated, and the interaction of the Deathtouch mechanic and the Trample mechanic is one of the latter.
Deathtouch means that any damage a creature assigns is classed as lethal damage. What this is meant to do is disincentivize attackers, as an opponent is able to block an attacker with a creature with deathtouch and instantly kill some massive creatures. Trample, however, is meant to incentivize attacking. It makes it so that when a creature assigns combat damage equal to lethal, any excess damage is actually dealt to the opponent (so if a 6/6 Colossal Dreadmaw attacks a 1/1 Hired Poisoner, the opponent will take five damage directly to the face).
So how do these two mechanics collide? Well, what’ll happen in this scenario is that the trample damage will still go over to an opponent. One damage will be dealt to the attacking creature by the creature with deathtouch, meaning that it’ll die the next time state-based actions are checked (i.e, post-combat). The opponent will still take damage, but both players will lose their creatures.
What this means is that it’s essential to really think about what you’re declaring attackers on. Make sure that you’re always aware of your opponent’s board state, hold onto any cards that can make your cards indestructible such as Heroic Intervention (which will get around Deathtouch), and try to use targeted removal on those cards specifically so that you’re not faced with the prospect of losing your creatures, leaving you open to a counter-attack from your opponent’s during their next turn.
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