Declare Attackers Step

308. Declare Attackers Step

• 308.1. As the declare attackers step begins, the active player declares attackers. This game action doesn’t use the stack. If the defending player controls any planeswalkers, or the game allows the active player to attack multiple other players, he or she declares which player or planeswalker each creature is attacking. Effects from a creature that refer to a defending player refer only to the defending player it’s attacking (if it’s attacking a player) or the controller of the planeswalker it’s attacking (if it’s attacking a planeswalker). Then any abilities that triggered on attackers being declared go on the stack. (See rule 410, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”) Then the active player gets priority and players may play spells and abilities.
• 308.2. To declare attackers, the active player follows the steps below, in order. If at any point during the declaration of attackers, the active player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the declaration was illegal; the game returns to the moment before the declaration (see rule 422, “Handling Illegal Actions,” and rule 500, “Legal Attacks and Blocks”).

• 308.2a For each untapped creature the active player controls that he or she has controlled continuously since the beginning of the turn or that has haste, that player either chooses not to attack with it, or chooses an opponent or a planeswalker controlled by an opponent for that creature to attack. Then he or she determines whether this set of attackers is legal. (See rule 500, “Legal Attacks and Blocks.”)
• 308.2b If any of the chosen creatures have banding or a bands with other ability, the active player announces which creatures, if any, are banded with which. (See rule 502.10, “Banding.”)
• 308.2c The active player taps the chosen creatures. Tapping a creature when it’s declared as an attacker isn’t a cost; attacking simply causes creatures to become tapped.
• 308.2d If any of the creatures require paying costs to attack, the active player determines the total cost to attack. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. Once the total cost is determined, it becomes “locked in.” If effects would change the total cost after this time, ignore this change.
• 308.2e If any of the costs require mana, the active player then has a chance to play mana abilities (see rule 411, “Playing Mana Abilities”).
• 308.2f Once the player has enough mana in his or her mana pool, he or she pays all costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed.
• 308.2g Each chosen creature becomes an attacking creature if all costs have been paid, but only if it’s still controlled by the active player. It remains an attacking creature until it’s removed from combat or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. See rule 306.4.

• 308.3. Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They will not trigger if a creature attacks and then that creature’s characteristics change to match the ability’s trigger condition.

Example: A permanent has the ability “Whenever a green creature attacks, destroy that creature at end of combat.” If a blue creature attacks and is later turned green, the ability will not trigger.

• 308.4. If a creature is put into play attacking, its controller chooses which defending player or which planeswalker a defending player controls it’s attacking as it comes into play (unless the effect that put it into play specifies what it’s attacking). Such creatures are “attacking” but, for the purposes of trigger events and effects, they never “attacked.”
• 308.5. If no creatures are declared as attackers or put into play attacking, skip the declare blockers and combat damage steps.