Spillover

From CMC Wiki

Spillover, sometimes also called overflow refers to damage which reaches a player who blocks a monster with one of his/her monsters. Spillover occurs when the attacker overkills the blocker (deals more damage than the blocker has life, as opposed to exactly the blocker's life). The amount of damage the player recieves is half the value of the spillover damage, rounded down.

It is important to note that spillover does not occur when targeting a monster with the attacker, the attacker must be "attacking directly" and then be blocked. As a result, it is often better to target the opponent directly, even if you expect to be blocked.

Since monsters with (Lifebar) reduce life changes to one they cannot be "overkilled," thus, no spillover.

Player A has Media Player Ray (56/33) and Melrak Axeman (40/30) in play. Player B has Kelar Warrior (34/40) and Fairy Lightbringer (25/30) in play. Player A attacks directly with both of his monsters. Player B blocks the Melrak Axeman with his Kelar Warrior and the Media Player Ray with his Fairy Lightbringer. The Media Player Ray overkills the Fairly Lightbringer by 26, resulting in 13 points of spillover damage to player B. The Melrak Axeman and Kelar Warrior both die without either player taking damage: although the Melrak Axeman was overkilled, the Kelar Warrior was a blocker, not an attacker.

A couple of cards reduce damage from spillover. The location Abandoned Fortress eliminates it, while an Angel Protector halves it. Being a location, Abandoned Fortress works for both players, while the Angel Protector only helps the one who plays it.