Alpha strike

Alpha strike
Keyword Ability
Type	Static
Introduced	Unfinity
Last used	Unfinity
Reminder Text	Alpha strike (This creature has first strike as long as it's blocking or being blocked by a creature that comes after it alphabetically.)
Statistics	2 cards 50% 50%
Scryfall Search
fulloracle:"Alpha strike"

Alpha strike is a acorn keyword ability introduced in Unfinity on two cards.

Description

Alpha strike grants the creature first strike if it is alphabetically ahead of at least one of the creature(s) it is blocking or being blocked by.

Slang term

An alpha strike refers to an all-out attack, in which a player (more often than not, who believes that they will win from that attack) aims to deal a lethal amount of damage to the opponent. Since this leaves the attacker defenseless, it is generally used when the attacking player is positive that their attack will result in a win. Such attacks are often accompanied by spells or abilities (such as Overrun, Garruk Wildspeaker, or Relentless Assault) that will create a nearly hopeless situation for the opponent.

The term comes from the computer game MechWarrior, where it describes the firing of all of the player's weapons simultaneously.

Rulings

• Numbers come before letters alphabetically, in ascending order by value (e.g. 0, 1, 2, etc.)
• Spaces and punctuation, including blank lines, are ignored when determining alphabetic order.
• In Un- games, the name of a card is the actual printed card name, not the card's Oracle text or its name in a language other than the one used on the card.
  • In Un- games, a token's name will be in the same language as the the source that created the token.

Examples

Example

Jetpack Janitor
Creature — Human Employee
3/2
Alpha strike (This creature has first strike as long as its blocking or being blocked by a creature that comes after it alphabetically.)

Cards that grant alpha strike

Sorcery

• Aardwolf’s Advantage