Silverblade Paladin‘s ability allows it to pair with another creature, and for as long as the two are paired, they both have double strike. In order for creatures to un-pair, one of the three things must happen: One of the creatures leaves the battlefield; one of the creatures changes control; or one of the creatures stops being a creature.

This means the pairing can be broken between the first strike damage step and the regular damage step. For example, you attack with a Silverblade Paladin and a 1/1 Human token it’s paired with, and the human token is blocked by Haunted Guardian while the Paladin goes unblocked. In the first strike damage step, all the creatures deal damage at the same time, which results in the Human token and the Haunted Guardian being destroyed, and the defending player taking 2 damage. Because the Human token that was paired to the Paladin has left the battlefield, the Silverblade Paladin no longer has double strike, so it will not deal any damage when you move to the normal combat damage step. That’s because the only creatures that deal damage in the normal (second) damage step are those that currently have double strike, and those creatures that didn’t have first strike or double strike as the first damage step began.

Today’s Rules Tip written by
Ronny Alvarado, Level 2 judge from Houston, TX