There are some keyword abilities that are useful in multiples. Generally speaking, it’s the triggered abilities (like Exalted or Flanking) that make sense to have more than one. Static abilities that modify power/toughness (like Predatory Sliver or Megantic Sliver) also make cumulative sense.

However, there are also many abilities that are useless when duplicated. Things like Trample, First Strike (Striking Sliver), Double Strike (Bonescythe Sliver), Infect, Flying (Galerider Sliver), Reach, Deathtouch and Haste (Blur Sliver) don’t perform any differently if a creature has one or twenty copies of the ability.

The one that seems to be most commonly confused is lifelink. Long ago (before M10 rules), lifelink was a triggered ability, and having multiples meant something. However, that is no longer the case. For the last several years and the foreseeable future, lifelink has been and will continue to be a static ability that changes the result of damage such that damage from a source with lifelink also causes its controller to gain that much life. That means whether you control one or four Syphon Slivers, each one can only gain you as much damage as it deals (2, in the case of a 2/2 sliver). Though each sliver technically has “lifelink, lifelink, lifelink, lifelink,” that is 100% the same as having simply “lifelink.”

Today’s Rules Tip written by Josh Stansfield