Annihilator in MTG: Rules, History, and FAQ

Last updated on August 9, 2025

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn | Illustration by Mark Tedin

Dozens of mechanics have come and gone without much impact in Magic’s more than 30-year long history. There have been some bangers, some confusing ones, and even some mechanics that everybody absolutely hated. This mechanic had an influx of new cards in Modern Horizons 3, and both the new and old ones are certainly bangers.

That mechanic is annihilator, and you’re probably facing down an eldrazi attacker right now. The mechanic can be a little confusing and you should make sure you know exactly how it works before you start sacrificing your precious permanents.

Today I’ll do a bit of a deep dive on the mechanic and cover how it works, how it can be stopped, and what cards you need to look out for. Let’s get started!

How Does Annihilator Work?

Pathrazer of Ulamog | Illustration by Austin Hsu

Annihilator is a triggered ability on a lot of eldrazi creatures that forces players being attacked by the creature to sacrifice a given number of permanents. It goes onto the stack when attackers are declared and resolves when the defending player sacrifices the necessary number of permanents.

The History of Annihilator in MTG

Annihilator was first introduced in Rise of the Eldrazi in 2010 on cards like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Hand of Emrakul. There are 19 cards with annihilator and reprints are rare. The keyword is incredibly powerful and has a similar level of being “unfun”, hence the gaps between releases.

What Does Annihilator X Mean?

If a creature has “annihilator X” then whenever a player is attacked by that creature they have to sacrifice X number of permanents. It’s a triggered ability that doesn’t target a specific player and has to resolve before blockers can be declared.

Does Annihilator Trigger Before Blocks?

Yes, annihilator triggers when attackers are declared, which is before blockers can be determined by the defending player. This makes the mechanic especially brutal because an opponent might be forced to sacrifice their strong blocker to the annihilator creature.

Who Chooses Which Permanents to Sacrifice for Annihilator?

The player being attacked chooses which permanents to sacrifice to satisfy the annihilator ability.

Can I Sacrifice Tapped Permanents to Satisfy the Annihilator Trigger?

Yes, you may sacrifice permanents that are tapped as forced by annihilator. This allows you to keep untapped chump blockers available and pray they don't have blasters trample.

Can My Sacrifice for Something Else Count for Annihilator?

No, I cannot sacrifice my permanent to a sacrifice outlet or other effect to satisfy an annihilator trigger.

Does Annihilator Affect All Opponents in a Multiplayer Game?

No, annihilator looks at one opponent that a creature attacks, and that opponent needs to sacrifice permanents to annihilator.

Is Annihilator an Activated Ability?

No, annihilator is not an activated ability. It’s a triggered ability because it has no cost and activates whenever a creature with the ability attacks.

Does Annihilator Stack?

Yes, you can stack annihilator triggers as long as you have added the annihilator ability to a creature that already has it, or multiple attackers with the ability. But they’ll still trigger one at a time. For example, if you have annihilator 6, annihilator 3, and annihilator 1, your opponent will do them one at a time rather than all 10 permanents at once.

What Happens if Multiple Creatures With Annihilator Attack at the Same Time?

The annihilator attacks of multiple creatures trigger separately, one after the other, and still before the declare blockers step.

Does Annihilator Target?

Annihilator doesn’t target a specific player, it just refers to the player as “the defending player.” This is very important because it won’t trigger other abilities or be stopped by a player with hexproof. Annihilator does not target permanents when the sacrifices are selected.

Can Annihilator be Copied?

Yes, annihilator is a triggered ability and can be copied by certain ability doublers and the likes of Strionic Resonator or Return the Favor.

How Does Annihilator Work if a Player Has Hexproof?

Annihilator still works even if a player has hexproof. Hexproof stops a player from being targeted by opponents, but the annihilator trigger doesn’t target it just specifies that the “defending player” has to do something.

Does Annihilator Trigger if the Creature Attacks a Planeswalker?

Yes, the defending player must sacrifice permanents equal to the annihilator number if the creature attacks a planeswalker. If that planeswalker is sacrificed, the attacking creature won't deal combat damage to anything unless blocked.

Does Double Strike Work with Annihilator?

No, double strike does not cause double the annihilator sacrifices. Annihilator looks at the instances of attacks and double strike deals damage twice from one attack.

Does Indestructible Protect Against Annihilator?

No, indestructible offers no protection against annihilator. If I control a Darksteel Ingot and Toski, Bearer of Secrets as my last two permanents and am attacked by an Ulamog's Crusher, I need to sacrifice my two things before I can even declare blockers.

Does Annihilator Trigger if You Ninjutsu?

No, annihilator doesn’t trigger if you ninjutsu a creature with the ability in. Annihilator triggers when a creature with the keyword attacks, not does damage or just is attacking. The window for the trigger to occur (declaring attackers) will have already passed if you ninjutsu the annihilator creature in.

Can You Respond to Annihilator?

Yes, you can respond to annihilator. It’s a triggered ability, which means it goes onto the stack. This means you can tap your pinger before sacrificing it, or Stifle or Disallow the trigger. You might also use something like white instant Teferi's Protection, Magic's most powerful phasing card and one of the best protection spells in the game, to insulate you from the effect.

Can You Stifle Annihilator? Can You Counter It?

Yes, you can use a Stifle to counter annihilator since it’s a triggered ability. But you can’t use Counterspell since it’s not a regular spell, but an ability on the stack.

How Do You Stop Annihilator?

You can stop annihilator in a few ways. Sigarda, Host of Herons is one of your best options since you won't need to sacrifice anything in response to annihilator. The next easiest way is to remove the creature before it can attack, or prevent it from attacking in the first place with a tapper. The ability triggers when it attacks, so you can deal with it by skipping combat and preventing that step from coming to fruition.

If you’re past that and the annihilator trigger is already on the stack then you can either prevent it through protective measures like Teferi's Protection or Stifle to counter the ability outright.

Gallery of Annihilator Cards

Decklist: Ulamog, the Defiler

Kozilek, the Great Distortion | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot

Thanks to Modern Horizons 3 commanders and the associated eldrazi you have enough annihilator cards to warrant an entire deck, Ulamog, the Defiler is one of the most powerful colorless commanders, which naturally plays a lot of the best annihilator cards out there and is a fine fit in a powerful colorless eldrazi EDH deck. It revolves around ramping out colorless mana, or cheating them into play with a card like Ugin's Mastery to play heavy-hitting eldrazi and artifacts to ramp and support it early while having some of the best late game plays imaginable.

You’ve got some prominent annihilator creatures like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, It That Betrays, and Flayer of Loyalties in here. There’s also some other sweet eldrazi tech like It That Heralds the End, Spawnbed Protector, and Thought-Knot Seer for extra flavor.

Wrap Up

Nulldrifter | Illustration by Johann Bodin

That wraps up today’s deep dive into annihilator! One of the most powerful and one-sided mechanics in Magic, I’ve never been more annoyed being on the receiving end of a triggered ability before.

What do you think of annihilator? Does it deserve to be on other monstrosity cards like demons or dinos? Is it a strong end-game mechanic, or is it too “un-fun” and dumb overall? I want to hear your thoughts, so let me know your opinions in the comments or come chat about it over in the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!