What does first strike mean in Magic: The Gathering?

First strike is a static ability that causes a creature to deal its combat damage in a separate, earlier combat damage step. If that damage is lethal to a creature without first strike, the other creature dies before it ever deals damage back. It is a defensive and offensive advantage in one, and it does nothing outside combat.

What does double strike mean in Magic: The Gathering?

Double strike causes a creature to deal combat damage in both combat damage steps — the first-strike step and the normal step. It is not the same as doubling power: the second helping of damage still has to have somewhere to go, and if the blocker died to the first hit, a creature without trample deals nothing in the second step.

How many combat damage steps are there?

Normally one. If any attacking or blocking creature has first strike or double strike as the combat damage step begins, there are two. In the first step, only creatures with first strike or double strike deal damage. In the second, everything that has not yet dealt damage does — plus anything that currently has double strike.

Does double strike double a creature's power?

Not exactly, and the difference matters. It deals damage twice, but each helping is assigned independently. Against an unblocked creature the effect is the same as double power. Against a blocker that dies to the first hit, the creature is still blocked with no blockers, so it deals no damage at all in the second step unless it has trample.

What happens when first strike meets deathtouch?

It is one of the strongest combinations in combat. A creature with both deals lethal damage in the first-strike step — any nonzero damage is lethal with deathtouch — so the opposing creature dies before it can strike back, regardless of how large it is. A 1/1 with first strike and deathtouch kills a 10/10 and survives.

Can a 3/3 with double strike kill a 5/5 and survive?

No. In the first-strike step it deals 3, which the 5/5 survives. In the normal step both deal damage simultaneously — the double striker adds 3 more for a total of 6 and kills the 5/5, but takes 5 and dies too. For a double striker to kill and survive, its first-strike damage alone must be lethal to the other creature.

What happens if a creature gains first strike after the first combat damage step?

It deals damage only once, in the second step. CR 510.4 checks whether a creature had first strike or double strike as the first combat damage step began. A creature that did not have it then is in the group that deals damage in the second step, so gaining first strike late gains nothing.

What if a creature with first strike gains double strike between the steps?

It deals damage twice. The second step includes creatures that currently have double strike, and that check happens at the second step rather than at the first. So granting double strike after first-strike damage has already been dealt genuinely adds a second helping.

Do two instances of first strike stack?

No. First strike is a binary static ability — a creature either has it or does not. Multiple instances do nothing extra. Double strike is likewise not cumulative; a creature with two instances of double strike still deals damage in exactly two steps.

Does first strike help against a creature that also has first strike?

It cancels out. If both creatures have first strike, both deal damage in the first-strike step, simultaneously, exactly as an ordinary combat would resolve in the normal step. The advantage of first strike only exists against creatures that do not have it.

MTG First Strike and Double Strike Explained: Rules, Combat Math and Timing (2026)

Two Keywords, One Mechanism

First strike and double strike look like separate abilities and are really two settings on the same switch.

Both work by splitting combat damage into two steps instead of one. First strike says "deal damage in the earlier step only". Double strike says "deal damage in both". Everything else about them follows from that single structural change.

Understanding them together is worth more than learning them apart, because the interesting cases — the trades that look even and are not, the double striker that deals half the damage you expected — all come from the two-step structure rather than from either keyword individually.

One mechanism: an extra combat damage step. First strike uses only the first. Double strike uses both.

The Rules

First strike is a static ability. A creature that has it deals its combat damage in the first-strike combat damage step rather than the normal one.

Double strike is a static ability. A creature that has it deals combat damage in both steps.

Neither does anything outside combat. Neither is cumulative — two instances of first strike are identical to one.

How the two steps work (CR 510.4)

Normally there is one combat damage step. If any attacking or blocking creature has first strike or double strike as the combat damage step begins, there are two:

First step. Only creatures that have first strike or double strike assign damage.

Second step. Damage is assigned by everything that had neither first strike nor double strike as the first step began, plus anything that currently has double strike.

That wording is precise for a reason, and it produces the timing results below.

The two rows worth remembering: granting first strike late does nothing, because the check is made as the first step begins. But granting double strike late works, because the second step asks what a creature currently has.

The Combat Math

This is where the value is, and where most misjudgements happen.

First strike: kill it before it swings

A creature with first strike that deals lethal damage in the first step faces no damage back at all — the other creature is already dead when the normal step arrives.

First strike plus deathtouch is the strongest pairing in combat. Deathtouch makes any nonzero damage lethal, and first strike makes it land first, so the creature kills anything it meets and survives regardless of size.

First strike against first strike cancels out. Both deal damage in the same step, simultaneously — an ordinary trade that happens one step earlier than usual.

Double strike: not simply double power

The double strike trap

A double striker that kills its blocker in the first step is still a blocked creature with no blockers. Without trample it deals no damage at all in the second step.

This is the single most common misplay with the keyword: attacking into a chump block expecting eleven damage and dealing one. Double strike and trample together are worth far more than either alone.

The survival rule for double strike: a double striker kills and survives only when its first-strike damage alone is lethal to the other creature. If the blocker survives step 1, both deal damage simultaneously in step 2 and the trade happens normally.

The Other Pairings

Double strike + lifelink. Life is gained twice, once per damage step. Lifelink applies to all damage, so both helpings count.

Double strike + deathtouch. The first hit kills the blocker. Without trample the second hit is wasted; with trample, deathtouch makes lethal equal 1, so almost everything tramples through in both steps.

Double strike + "whenever this deals combat damage" triggers. These trigger twice, once per step. This is often where double strike's real value sits — a saboteur ability firing twice is worth more than the extra damage.

Double strike + a pump spell between steps. Damage marked in step 1 does not go away, and a buff cast before step 2 applies to the second helping. Buffing after first-strike damage is a standard way to squeeze out extra damage.

First strike + vigilance. Attack without tapping, then hold up a first-striking blocker. Defensively this is close to unattackable for small creatures.

Where They Live

First strike is primarily white and red, with white using it defensively on small efficient creatures and red using it aggressively. Double strike is rarer and sits mostly in white and red as well, occasionally green. Neither is a blue or black ability, which is consistent with the colour pie — both are combat-superiority keywords, and blue and black are not supposed to win fair fights.

Both can also be granted by keyword counters, equipment and auras, which is where the mid-combat timing rules above start to matter in real games.

Common Misconceptions

"Double strike doubles my power." Only when unblocked or trampling. Against a dead blocker it deals nothing in the second step.

"Granting first strike mid-combat saves my creature." Only if you do it before the first combat damage step begins. Once that step has started, the check is already made.

"Two first strikes are better than one." They are identical. The ability is binary.

"First strike beats everything." It beats creatures that would kill it back. Against a blocker with more toughness than your power, first strike changes nothing — you deal damage early, it survives, and it kills you in the second step.

"A 3/3 with double strike beats a 5/5." It trades with it. See the table above.

Conclusion: One Step Earlier Is a Whole Advantage

First strike is the cheapest form of combat superiority in Magic. It adds no power and no toughness, and it wins fights that an identical creature without it would lose — because a dead creature deals no damage. That is the entire ability, and it scales with deathtouch into something close to unbeatable in a fair fight.

Double strike looks like the bigger version and is really a different ability with a condition attached. Its second helping of damage needs somewhere to go. Unblocked, it is double damage. Into a chump block, it is nothing at all — unless the creature also has trample, at which point it becomes the most damage any single attack in the game can produce.

And the timing rule is worth memorising because it is counterintuitive in both directions: granting first strike after the first damage step gains you nothing, while granting double strike after it gains you a whole extra hit.

Citations & Resources

The Ultimate MTG Keywords Glossary — every keyword, with a printable cheat sheet
What Trample Means in MTG — the keyword double strike needs to reach its potential
What Lifelink Means in MTG — gaining life in both damage steps
MTG Vigilance Explained — attacking without giving up the block
MTG Phases and Turn Structure — where the two damage steps sit in a turn
The Ultimate Guide to MTG Counters — granting either keyword with counters
What Deathtouch Means in MTG - why any nonzero damage is lethal

MTG First Strike and Double Strike Explained: Rules, Combat Math and Timing (2026)

Quick Verdict