Tromokratis is one of the more confusing cards from Born of the Gods. Tromo’s second ability is what the rules call a blocking restriction. This is because it limits the ways in which your opponents can block Tromo. In fact, there’s only one way to block Tromo: if all creatures the defending player controls block it. The ability is different from “Lure” abilities like Noble Quarry, which only force creatures who are able to block into blocking. For Tromokratis, the defending player gets to choose whether he wants to block Tromo or not, but if he wants to block, he needs to block with every creature he controls — not just those that would normally be legal blockers. If the defending player can’t block Tromokratis with all creatures he controls — perhaps because one of them is tapped — then he can’t block Tromokratis at all.

Tromokratis has some interesting interactions with abilities that create blocking requirements — effects that say creatures must block if able, like the aforementioned Noble Quarry. The general rule is that you must satisfy as many blocking requirements as you can, and you can never violate any blocking restrictions. If you’re clever, you can sometimes force your opponent into unpleasant situations where they have to make a block that’s bad for them!

One example of this is our good friend Tromo. Suppose my opponent controls a 3/3 Centaur token, a 2/2 Boar token, and a 1/1 Soldier token, all of which are untapped, and nothing else. If I cast Culling Mark on the Centaur, and then I attack with only Tromokratis, my opponent has to block with all of his creatures. This is because he needs to block with the Centaur, but blocking Tromokratis with only one of his creatures is illegal. The only block that satisfys Culling Mark’s blocking requirement without violating any restrictions is to bock Tromokratis with all three creatures, so my opponent must do that.

This scenario would be very different if the Soldier token were tapped. In that scenario, it’s impossible for the Centaur token to block Tromokratis — he’s not allowed to declare the Centaur as the only blocker, and he can’t block with all his creatures, since one of them is tapped. So the only legal blocking decision is not to block anything at all. (The moral of this example is that blocking requirements never let you ignore restrictions.)

Finally, suppose that we’re back to the example of Culling Mark being cast on my opponent’s untapped Centaur, and he also has an untapped Boar and Soldier. However, I attack with both my Tromokratis and a Great Hart I control. My opponent now has options: As before, blocking Tromo with all his creatures is legal. However, it’s also now legal for his 3/3 Centaur token to simply block my Great Hart, and for the rest of his creatures to block nothing. This block lets my opponent fulfill the one blocking requirement, without violating any restrictions.

While these situations are often complicated, carefully thinking through all the potential blocks will often help you out. Just remember that your opponent always has to satisfy as many requirements as possible (like Culling Mark), without violating any restrictions (like Tromokratis‘s ability). And if you’re ever confused, feel free to call a judge before you attack!

Today’s Rules Tip Written by Paul Baranay