First strike

First strike is a static ability that changes combat timing. A creature with first strike deals its combat damage before creatures without first strike do. That means if a first striker blocks or is blocked by an ordinary creature, the first striker hits first. If that damage is lethal, the other creature dies before it can hit back.

In play, first strike is about winning combat without trading. It lets smaller creatures beat bigger ones, or survive a block that would otherwise kill them. Granting first strike to another creature, as some effects do, can turn any attacker or blocker into a combat winner. It also works with protection, making a creature hard to block and hard to damage in return.

• Our catalog lists 396 unique cards with first strike, spread across 1,123 printings and 311 sets.
• The oldest card is from Limited Edition Alpha (1993), and the newest set represented is Star Trek.
• These cards are mostly creatures — 388 Creature cards — alongside 25 Artifacts and 9 Enchantments.
• The main colors are White and Red, and rarities seen include common, uncommon, rare, mythic, and special.
• Frequently printed examples include White Knight, Black Knight, Elvish Archers, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Nekrataal, Combustible Gearhulk, Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Knight of the White Orchid, Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, Lyra Dawnbringer, and Akroma, Angel of Wrath.