Combat in Magic is not “the part where creatures bonk each other.” Combat is a five-step bureaucracy where everyone gets a chance to do something, but only in the correct window, with the correct phrasing, before the table collectively decides you “missed it.”
And that’s why “Can I do X before blockers?” is basically its own format. (It’s also why you should say what you mean, not what you hope the rules will interpret kindly.)
This is your practical guide to the combat timing windows people forget: after attackers, after blockers, before damage, and after damage—plus the sneaky “beginning of combat” window that causes most of the salt.
For the big picture of how priority and the stack make these windows exist, read here:
And if you want the “why did we just argue about priority for four minutes” companion:
The combat phase is five steps (not one)
Combat has five steps, in order:
- Beginning of Combat
- Declare Attackers
- Declare Blockers
- Combat Damage (sometimes two damage steps)
- End of Combat
Here’s the key: most “before X” actions actually belong in the priority window of the previous step.
If you internalize that, you stop trying to cast spells in a window that does not exist.
The cheat sheet: where the real windows are
If you only want the “tell me where to do the thing” version, here you go:
“Before attackers”
Do it in Beginning of Combat.
This is where you tap something down, remove a potential attacker, or stop “at the beginning of combat” triggers from mattering.
“After attackers, before blockers”
Do it after attackers are declared (Declare Attackers step, priority window).
This is the “can I do X before blockers?” window. Yes. This is it.
“After blockers, before damage”
Do it after blockers are declared (Declare Blockers step, priority window).
This is the classic combat trick window.
“After damage”
Do it after combat damage is dealt (Combat Damage step, priority window).
This is the “damage already happened, now what?” window.
Bonus: “Between first strike and regular damage”
If first strike/double strike is involved, there can be two damage steps. You get a window after first strike damage and before regular damage.
Step 1: Beginning of Combat — the last clean moment
This is the step that causes 80% of “wait, you can do that when?” moments.
What happens here?
Nothing attacks yet. It’s basically the “final boarding call” before attackers are chosen.
What you can do here (and why you should):
- Tap down a creature you don’t want attacking
- Bounce/remove a creature before it can be declared as an attacker
- Use effects that say “target creature can’t attack this turn”
- Fire off abilities that trigger “at the beginning of combat” (yours or theirs), then respond to them
The shortcut that creates fights
In paper play, when someone says “Combat?” they’re usually using a tournament shortcut that implies “I’m moving to combat and passing priority.” Most tables interpret this as giving the opponent a chance to act in Beginning of Combat, because that’s the last “normal” chance to stop attackers from being declared.
If you want a specific window, say it:
- “Before combat” (still main phase)
- “Beginning of combat”
- “After attackers”
Words matter. Magic is not a vibes-based system.
Step 2: Declare Attackers — attackers are chosen, then you get your window
This is the step people accidentally time-travel into.
Important reality check:
You do not get priority before attackers are declared in this step. Attackers are declared first. Then triggered abilities that trigger on attacking happen. Then players get priority.
The “before blockers” window everyone asks about
Yes, you can absolutely do things after attackers are declared but before blockers are declared. That’s this window.
This is where you:
- Remove an attacker before it can be blocked
- Tap an attacker (sometimes relevant, sometimes not—depends on the effect)
- Cast a spell that changes combat math before blocks are chosen
- Make a surprise creature to block later (flash creature) if you’re the defending player, though it won’t affect what’s already attacking
The classic misplay
Trying to stop an attack by killing a creature after it has already been declared as an attacker… can still work (it removes it from combat), but it’s not the same as preventing it from attacking in the first place.
If your goal is “you don’t get attack triggers,” you needed to act before attackers were declared (Beginning of Combat). If your goal is “that creature won’t connect,” acting after attackers can still be fine.
Step 3: Declare Blockers — blocks happen, then the combat tricks start flying
This is the one everyone recognizes, because it’s where combat tricks were born and will eventually die.
Order of business:
- Defending player declares blockers
- “When this blocks / becomes blocked” triggers happen
- Players get priority
The “I’ll pump after blocks” window
If you want to:
- Cast Giant Growth after seeing blocks
- Give a creature first strike before damage
- Remove a blocker so damage goes through
- Bounce the attacker after it’s been blocked (yes, that’s a thing)
…this is the window you’re looking for.
Why “before damage” usually means this
Most of the time when a player says “before damage,” what they really mean is “after blocks, while we still have time to change the damage math.”
That’s Declare Blockers priority.
Step 4: Combat Damage — damage happens, and then you get priority
This is where tables get sloppy, because people act like there’s a universal “before damage” pause. There isn’t a special pause in the Combat Damage step the way many players narrate it.
The combat damage step has a turn-based action: damage is assigned and dealt. Then players get priority.
So when you say “I do it before damage,” you usually mean:
- After blocks (Declare Blockers window), or
- Between first strike and regular damage (if applicable)
First strike and double strike: the hidden extra window
If any attacking or blocking creatures have first strike or double strike, combat can have two combat damage steps:
- First strike damage step
- Regular damage step
That creates a very real and very spicy timing window:
- First strike damage happens
- Then players get priority
- Then regular damage happens later
This is why you’ll sometimes see plays like:
- First strike creature hits
- Then someone removes the non-first-strike creature before it gets to hit back in regular damage
It feels like cheating until you realize the rules are just doing their job.
“After damage” plays that matter
After damage is dealt, you can still:
- Finish off something that survived
- Save something that took damage (if it’s not dead yet)
- Trigger additional effects or activate abilities before end of combat
- Do tricks that care about damage having been dealt (because now it has)
Just don’t expect to retroactively change damage. Damage already happened. That ship has sailed.
Step 5: End of Combat — the “are we done here?” window
A surprising number of games hinge on End of Combat because players mentally skip it.
This is where you can:
- Remove a creature that is “attacking” or “blocking” before it stops being in combat
- Fire off effects that care about “until end of combat”
- Do end-of-combat cleanup plays before second main phase begins
If you’re trying to do something “after combat” but before main phase 2, End of Combat is often where you actually want to be.
So… “Can I do X before blockers?”
Here’s the answer you can safely tattoo onto a playmat:
Yes — after attackers are declared, before blockers are declared, players get priority.
That’s the Declare Attackers window.
But be specific about what you’re trying to accomplish:
- Stop them from being declared as attackers at all?
You need Beginning of Combat. - Let them attack, then remove one before blocks?
Use the after attackers window. - Wait to see blocks, then blow someone out?
Use the after blockers window. - Do something once damage has happened?
Use the after damage window.
Timing phrases that prevent table arguments
DraftSim-style practical advice: don’t say “in response” when you mean “in a specific step.”
Use these instead:
- “In your beginning of combat…”
- “After you declare attackers…”
- “After blockers…”
- “Between first strike and regular damage…”
- “End of combat…”
You’ll sound like a wizard (the job title, not the company), and your games will move faster.
Wrap-up: combat is a ladder, not a room
Combat timing is easy once you stop treating combat like a single event and start treating it like a sequence of priority windows with very specific “too early / too late” failure states.
- Want to stop attackers? Beginning of Combat
- Want to do a thing before blockers? After attackers
- Want to do tricks before damage? After blockers
- Want to react to damage? After damage
- Want the weird bonus window? First strike / double strike
And the next time someone asks, “Can I do X before blockers?” you can say, “Yes,” and mean it—without having to summon the Comprehensive Rules like a cursed tome.
