Fear

[["Keyword Ability",[{"data":"[[Evasion ability|Evasion]]","label":"Type"},{"data":"''[[Alpha]]'' (mechanic)''[[Onslaught]]'' (keyword)","label":"Introduced"},{"data":"''[[The Brothers' War/Commander decks]]''","label":"Last used"},{"data":"Fear ''(This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)''","label":"Reminder Text"},{"data":"10 ([[List of deprecated mechanics|deprecated]])","label":"[[Storm Scale]]"},{"data":"40  cards[[File:W.svg|x15px|alt={W}|link=]] 2.5% [[File:B.svg|x15px|alt={B}|link=]] 77.5% [[File:R.svg|x15px|alt={R}|link=]] 2.5% [[File:UB.svg|x15px|alt={U/B}|link=]] 7.5% [[File:BR.svg|x15px|alt={B/R}|link=]] 5% [[File:artifact symbol.svg|x15px|alt={artifact symbol}|link=]] 5% ","label":"Statistics"}]],["Scryfall Search",[{"data":"[https://scryfall.com/search?q=keyword%3A%22Fear%22 keyword:\"Fear\"]"}]]]

Fear
Keyword Ability
Type	Evasion
Introduced	Alpha (mechanic) Onslaught (keyword)
Last used	The Brothers' War/Commander decks
Reminder Text	Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)
Storm Scale	10 (deprecated)
Statistics	40 cards 2.5% 77.5% 2.5% 7.5% 5% 5%
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Fear"

Fear is a keyword ability found primarily on black creatures. It is an evasion ability that allows a creature only to be blocked by black or artifact creatures.

Description

The ability has existed since Alpha, where it was printed on a card called, appropriately, Fear. The rules text of that card was originally the rules text for the fear ability. The ability was first keyworded in the Onslaught set. It showed up in a core set for the first time in Eighth Edition. All pre-Onslaught cards have been errata'd to replace the older rules text with the fear keyword.

With Magic 2010 Wizards of the Coast obsoleted Fear, in favor of the new keyword Intimidate. Intimidate differs in that nonartifact creatures can block the creature if they share a color with the blocked creature. Thus, Intimidate can interact with color-changing effects and a nonblack deck can be built to use it against black creatures. Intimidate would, in turn, be obsoleted by Menace.

Fear reappeared in The Brothers' War commander deck as a reference back to the period of Magic depicted in Antiquities.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Fear

A keyword ability that restricts how a creature may be blocked. See rule 702.36, “Fear.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 702.36. Fear
  • 702.36a Fear is an evasion ability.
  • 702.36b A creature with fear can’t be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. (See rule 509, “Declare Blockers Step.”)
  • 702.36c Multiple instances of fear on the same creature are redundant.

Rulings

• Cards that change color words do not change the Fear ability. The reminder text on the card can change, but it's just reminder text and does not define the ability.

Examples

Example

Severed Legion
Creature — Zombie
2/2
Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)

Enchantments that grant just Fear

One creature

• Fear
• Sleeper's Guile
• Sleeper's Robe

Creatures of the chosen type

• Cover of Darkness

All your creatures

• Intimidation

Trivia

• The fear, lifelink, manifest dread, regenerate, and vigilance keywords are the only keywords with a card of the exact name (Fear, Lifelink, Manifest Dread, Regenerate, and Vigilance respectively).