Tornado Elemental is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
When this creature enters, it deals 6 damage to each creature with flying. You may have this creature assign its combat damage as though it weren't blocked.
Complete guide
Tornado Elemental is a massive force of nature that can clear the skies and bypass any defensive line. This high-impact Elemental ensures that pesky fliers never stand in your way while threatening to end the game by ignoring blockers entirely.
Clearing the Skies
When Tornado Elemental enters the battlefield, its triggered ability deals 6 damage to every creature with flying. This effect is mandatory and affects all fliers, including your own, so be mindful of your board state before casting it. Since it happens upon entry, it functions as a localized board wipe for aerial threats.
The Super-Trample Effect
The most unique feature of Tornado Elemental is its ability to assign combat damage as though it weren't blocked. When it is blocked, you face a binary choice: you can either deal all of its combat damage to the creatures blocking it, or you can assign all 6 damage directly to the defending player or planeswalker it is attacking. You cannot split the damage between the blockers and the player; it is an all-or-nothing decision.
Bypassing Protection and Banding
This damage assignment ability is particularly potent against creatures with Protection from Green or damage prevention shields. Because you are assigning the damage directly to the player 'as though' the blockers weren't there, the blockers' abilities never get a chance to interfere with the damage hitting your opponent. However, if your opponent blocks with a creature that has banding, they—not you—get to decide whether the damage is assigned normally or as though the Elemental weren't blocked.
When to Cast It
You should play Tornado Elemental when the opponent has established a superior air presence or when they are relying on a single large blocker to stay alive. It serves as both a removal spell for flying utility creatures and a finisher that punishes opponents for being at low life, regardless of how many ground blockers they have.
Interaction examples
Craterhoof BehemothIf you have both creatures on the battlefield, the 'enters' trigger of Craterhoof Behemoth will give Tornado Elemental a massive power boost and trample. When you attack, you can use the Elemental's ability to ignore all blockers and deal its massive, buffed power directly to the opponent's life total, rendering the trample ability redundant but effectively lethal.
Avenger of ZendikarSince both cards are Elementals, they share tribal synergies in certain decks. If you play Avenger of Zendikar first to create Plant tokens, then follow up with Tornado Elemental, you clear out any flying blockers that might have flown over your Plants. This ensures your ground army, led by the Elemental's unblockable damage, can finish the job.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Tornado Elemental
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
You can decide to assign damage to the defending player or planeswalker even if the blocking creature has protection from green or damage preventing effects on it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
When assigning combat damage, you choose whether you want to assign all damage to blocking creatures, or if you want to assign all of it to the player or planeswalker this creature is attacking. You can’t split the damage assignment between them.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If blocked by a creature with banding, the defending player decides whether or not the damage is assigned “as though it weren’t blocked”.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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