Trample lets an attacking creature push leftover combat damage past its blockers. Deathtouch makes any nonzero amount of combat damage count as lethal. Put both on one creature and it only needs to assign 1 damage to each blocker, then the rest carries over to whatever it was attacking.
The attacker chooses how its 14 damage is split. Deathtouch sets lethal at 1 per blocker, so 3 damage covers all three 6/6s. Trample sends the remaining 11 to the planeswalker behind them.
Assign lethal damage to every blocker first, then the excess goes where you choose. Because deathtouch makes 1 damage lethal, each blocker soaks only a single point. Everything left over lands on the player, planeswalker, or battle being attacked.
Blocking does not wall off the damage. Three blockers in front of a planeswalker stop only 3 of the attacker's 14 damage. The other 11 still get through. Each extra blocker removes just 1 point of trample damage.
Technical Breakdown
How The Assignment Works
- Trample order. The attacker first assigns damage to its blockers. Only once every blocker has been assigned lethal damage can the rest be assigned to the player, planeswalker, or battle. (CR 702.19b)
- Deathtouch lethal. Any nonzero combat damage from a source with deathtouch counts as lethal, no matter the blocker's toughness. So 1 damage is enough per blocker. (CR 702.2c)
- Lethal means assigned, not dealt. The check looks at how much damage is assigned, plus damage already marked on the blocker. It ignores effects that change the damage actually dealt, such as prevention, protection, or damage doublers. (CR 510.1c)
- Multiple blockers. Set your damage assignment order, put 1 into each blocker, then trample the remainder over. You still have to reach each blocker in that order before moving past it. (CR 510.1c)
- No trample, no carryover. Deathtouch by itself does not free up the extra damage. Without trample, all of the attacker's power stays on the blockers and none reaches the player. (CR 510.1c)
- Target type does not matter. The leftover damage behaves the same whether the attacker is hitting a player, a planeswalker, or a battle. (CR 702.19b)
Worked Scenarios
Two boards that run on the same rule. The first is the classic blowout. The second shows that lethal is about the number assigned, not whether the blocker survives.
A 14/14 with deathtouch and trample attacks your planeswalker. You declare three 6/6 blockers, hoping to keep none of the damage from getting through. The attacker assigns 1 damage to each 6/6, which is lethal because of deathtouch, then sends the remaining 11 to the planeswalker. All three blockers die and the planeswalker still takes 11. (CR 702.19b, 702.2c)
A 6/6 with deathtouch and trample attacks into an indestructible 8/8. You assign 1 damage to the 8/8 and trample 5 over to the player. The 8/8 counts as having lethal damage assigned, so the trample math is unchanged, even though it cannot be destroyed and survives the turn. The same holds against a fog effect, damage prevention, or protection: those change whether the blocker dies, not how much damage carries over. (CR 510.1c, 702.2c)
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