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so kinda a dumb question, but still asking. so I'm playing with buddies, modern/standard at home, and a argument formed so i need some clarification.

player A - has enchantment, that grants himself "hexproof", in play.

player B - has Leyline of Punishment, stating that "damage cannot be prevented", in play.

so, here's the argument so far...

b, swings with X goblins, dealing X damage.

A, casts Holy Day, to prevent the damage. but leyline is still in play.

A states that Holy Day is protected by himself having hexproof (hill he's dying on), but myself and player B said no, because the leyline negates the effects of holy day, causing A, to take the X damage from B, since hexproof doesnt stop the combat damage being dealt.

who is right, who is wrong?

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  • Exactly what was "the enchantment, that grants himself "hexproof", in play"? Commented yesterday
  • 1
    @PhilipKendall probably leyline of sanctity, though i don't think the specific card giving a player hexproof matters, we know there is an enchantment that does the job. Commented yesterday
  • 1
    @Andrew I tend to agree, just we've seen enough questions here where the details did matter because of something that wasn't mentioned in the question. Commented 9 hours ago
  • @PhilipKendall Fair, but there really is no ability that would counter the "cannot be prevented" effect on Leyline of Punishment, besides countering/destroying Punishment itself, so in this case it wouldn't make a difference Commented 6 hours ago
  • @Andrew chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/68459423#68459423 Commented 4 hours ago

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Hexproof is irrelevant here as that prevents (in this case) a player from being targeted by spells or abilities:

702.11c “Hexproof” on a player means “You can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.”

Leyline of Punishment does not target (because it does not use the literal word "target") so is unaffected by the unnamed enchantment giving hexproof; Comprehensive Rule 115.10a:

115.10a Just because an object or player is being affected by a spell or ability doesn’t make that object or player a target of that spell or ability. Unless that object or player is identified by the word “target” in the text of that spell or ability, or the rule for that keyword ability, it’s not a target.

Therefore we refer to the Golden Rule:

101.2 When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.

Given the two effects "Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn" (Holy Day) and "Damage can't be prevented" (Leyline of Punishment), the Leyline of Punishment effect takes precedence and the damage is dealt. It's probably best not to refer to this as "negating" the effect of Holy Day though as that's not a term used in the rules.

(Rules references from the 2025-09-19 Comprehensive Rules)

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