If the blocker disappears, does the attacker hit the player?

The scenario

Your Grizzly Bears attacks a player and is blocked by one ordinary creature. After blockers are declared, you cast Unsummon on the blocker. The Bears has no trample or other relevant ability. Does it deal combat damage to the player?

Short answer

No. The Bears remains blocked even though its blocker left. A blocked attacker without trample assigns no combat damage when nothing is currently blocking it.

Step by step

1. Declaring the blocker makes the Bears a blocked creature. Players can act after blockers are declared and before combat damage.
2. Unsummon removes the blocker from combat, but does not make the Bears unblocked.
3. At combat damage assignment, the blocked Bears has no creature to assign damage to and no trample permission to assign damage to the player. It assigns no combat damage.

What changes the answer?

Give the attacker trample

If the Bears has trample when it assigns damage, such as from a Rancor already attached to it, it can assign its combat damage to the attacked player when no blockers remain.

Remove the blocker before it blocks

Returning a potential blocker during the declare attackers step can prevent it from being declared as a blocker. That is different from removing it after it has already blocked.

Rules and verification

Checked against the Comprehensive Rules effective 2026-09-25. Read the dated official source. Rule-browser links may use an older site snapshot; the dated official document is this scenario's verification source.

• CR 509.1h: An attacker remains blocked after all its blockers leave combat.
• CR 510.1c: A blocked attacker with no current blockers normally assigns no combat damage.
• CR 702.19d: Trample provides a special damage-assignment rule when no blockers remain.

Card sources

Oracle text snapshot checked 2026-10-15. These quotations are card reference material, not original MtG-RC explanations.

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