Watch: MTG Pro Ben Stark Uses First Strike Against His Opponent

Wizards of the Coast

There's a lot of Magic: The Gathering abilities that could give a creature card more advantage during combat and First Strike is one of them. However, American Hall of Famer Ben Stark proved that First Strike can be a disadvantage during hisMagic Arena livestream. Watch how he does it: 

As you can see, Stark used his Chandra Pyrohelix to kill the Kraul Stinger after his opponent's Ahn-Crop Invader's First Strike damage was done so he could pump up his Burning Prophet and kill the Invader before giving his opponent a chance to sacrifice the Stinger to make the Invader bigger. Because the First Strike damage was already done, it would be too late to sacrifice the Stinger to the Invader so the Burning Prophet survives and his opponent loses two creatures. If he burned the Stinger before First Strike damage was done, his opponent will be able to activate the Invader's ability and kill the Prophet but Stark knew better. This is a high-level move that not most players would probably miss if faced with this scenario and it's a great lesson for players to learn how advantageous mechanics like First Strike can also be used against you. 

For your reference, just in case you're not familiar with the cards, here are images of Burning Prophet and Ahn-Crop Invader: 

Check out our Magic Arena video below: 

 Watch:MTG Pro Gabriel Nassif Wins With Elderspell and Nicol Bolas