Flying
| Flying | |
|---|---|
| Keyword Ability | |
| Type | Evasion |
| Introduced | Alpha |
| Last used | Evergreen |
| Reminder Text | Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying and/or reach.) |
| Scryfall Search | |
| keyword:"Flying" | |
Flying is an evergreen evasion ability that makes creatures without flying unable to block creatures with flying. It has been in Magic since the original Alpha set.[1][2] It was the first mechanic that Richard Garfield designed for the game.[3]
Description
Flying appears on over 1,000 different cards and is scattered wildly on the color wheel, mostly being found on blue and white cards, and to a lesser extent in black and red.[4] Green rarely has flying creatures, but is the best color at destroying them (e.g. Hurricane, Plummet).[4] There are a number of creature types that almost always have flying, such as Angels, Birds, Sphinxes, Dragons, and Griffins (each of these generally being creatures with wings).
Rules
Examples
Example
Bog Imp 
Creature — Imp
1/1
Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.)
Enchantments that grant just Flying
One creature
- Flight
- Shimmering Wings
- Arcanum Wings
- Buoyancy
- Crown of Ascension
- Dragon Wings
- Illuminated Wings
- Launch
- Phantom Wings
- Flight of Fancy
All your creatures
Pseudo-flying
Some creatures without flying can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach. Mark Rosewater is not a fan of this design.[5]
Tunneling
Some creatures without flying can't be blocked by creatures with flying. This is a red ability, and is nicknamed "Tunneling"[6]
See also
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (Monday, November 17, 2003). "Up, Up and Away". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 8, 2015). "Evergreen Eggs & Ham". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Brady Dommermuth (June 01, 2009). "Mechanically Inclined". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (June 5, 2017). "Mechanical Color Pie 2017". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 16, 2017). "What is the point of pseudo-flying creatures like Signal Pest and Orchard Spirit?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 12, 2018). "What color is "can't be blocked by creatures with flying"?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
External links
- A Planeswalker's Primer for Magic 2010: Flying
- Gavin Verhey (February 3, 2017). "The Invention of Flying". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.