Unpreventable damage

Some Magic: The Gathering cards either cause unpreventable damage, or create circumstances where damage caused by other permanents or spells can't be subject to prevention effects. These include effects on mechanics such as protection and shield counters, but not regeneration or indestructible.

Description

If damage that "can't be prevented" would be dealt, any applicable prevention effects are still applied to it. Those effects won’t prevent any damage, but any additional effects they have will take place.

The mechanic was first seen on a green card in The Dark with Whippoorwill, but has mostly been seen on red cards since. In Throne of Eldraine it once again showed up in green with Questing Beast. As partial prevention has been scaled down in recent designs, unpreventability has also been lessened; it is now used as a countermeasure against protection.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 615.12. Some effects state that damage “can’t be prevented.” If unpreventable damage would be dealt, any applicable prevention effects are still applied to it. Those effects won’t prevent any damage, but any additional effects they have will take place. Existing damage prevention shields won’t be reduced by damage that can’t be prevented.
  • 615.12a A prevention effect is applied to any particular unpreventable damage event just once. It won’t invoke itself repeatedly trying to prevent that damage.

Card list

Cards in order of release

• Whippoorwill
• Lava Burst
• Urza's Rage
• Flaring Pain
• Lightning Surge
• Pinpoint Avalanche
• Flames of the Blood Hand
• Excruciator
• Demonfire
• Volcano Hellion
• Everlasting Torment
• Banefire
• Unstable Footing
• Combust
• Leyline of Punishment
• Malignus
• Skullcrack
• Arrow Storm
• Wild Slash
• Insult
• Stomp
• Questing Beast
• Alchemist's Gambit
• Call In a Professional
• A-Ready to Rumble
• Fear, Fire, Foes!