Can the attacking player split the 2 damage from a recruit among both defending units when Imperial Decree is in play, since it makes 1 damage lethal?

Question

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you can legally split a single 2-damage Deal action into 1 and 1 on two defending units, you may do so, and each unit will take damage and be killed by Imperial Decree.

If the 2 damage is coming from a single Deal action that can be split among multiple units, allocating 1 damage to each defending unit is a legal allocation (damage must be at least 1) and those damage instances are Dealt as part of the same Deal action. Because damage can be Dealt to more than one unit at the same time, both units will take damage and Imperial Decree's effect (“When any unit takes damage this turn, kill it.”) will trigger for each unit, killing both (unless some other effect prevents that damage from being Dealt). Cite: [417.1.e] [417.1.d] [417.1.a].

Confirm the 2 damage is from a single Deal action that permits splitting among multiple units. Choose a legal split; because Valid Damage must be at least 1, splitting 2 into 1 and 1 is legal [417.1.e]. When the Deal action resolves, the game Dealt those two damage amounts (they can be Dealt to more than one unit at the same time) [417.1.d]. Each unit that takes damage will trigger the "when any unit takes damage this turn, kill it" instruction from Imperial Decree; each trigger resolves and kills its respective unit, unless some effect prevented that particular damage from being Dealt [417.1.d] [417.1.e]. If the damage was assigned during the Combat Damage Step, remember assignment is separate from Dealing; the kill checks happen when the damage is actually Dealt after assignment is complete [417.1.a].

If some effect prevents a given instance of damage such that the net Dealt damage would be 0, that instance is not Valid Damage and Imperial Decree will not trigger for that unit [417.1.e]. If the 2 damage comes from two separate Deal actions (not one splittable action) applied sequentially, then the timing of Imperial Decree triggers and kills could interleave differently; each Deal action that deals >=1 to a unit will cause Imperial Decree to trigger for that unit [417.1.d] [417.1.e]. If another effect replaces or modifies the Deal action before damage is Dealt (e.g., replacement effects that change where damage would go), that could change which units take damage or whether damage is Dealt at all; those interactions should be resolved in accordance with Replacement Effect rules if relevant [370]. If damage is assigned during combat (Combat Damage Step), assignment itself isn't Dealing — the damage is Dealt after assignment — but the result is the same: simultaneous Dealt damage can cause multiple kills from Imperial Decree when dealt [417.1.a] [417.1.d].

Short answer: yes — splitting 2 into 1 and 1 is legal and will kill both defenders under Imperial Decree if nothing prevents the damage. Rationale: The rules require that any damage amount that is Dealt be a positive integer (at least 1) — see Valid Damage [417.1.e]. Splitting a single Deal action of 2 into two allocations of 1 and 1 meets that requirement. The rules also explicitly allow damage to be Dealt to more than one unit at the same time [417.1.d]. When such a Deal action resolves and both units each receive 1 damage as part of the same Deal, both units have taken damage; Imperial Decree reads “When any unit takes damage this turn, kill it,” so it will trigger for each unit that was Dealt damage, and those triggers will kill those units (unless some effect prevented that damage from being Dealt). If this all occurs during combat, remember that assigning damage during the Combat Damage Step is not itself Dealing Damage; the damage is Dealt after assignment is complete, but that does not change the simultaneous nature of the Dealt damage or the interaction with Imperial Decree [417.1.a] [417.1.d]. Important exception: if some other effect prevents the damage so that an allocation would be reduced to 0, that allocation is not Valid Damage and won't cause Imperial Decree to trigger for that unit [417.1.e]. Also, if the 2 damage is actually two separate Deal actions rather than one splittable Deal action, timing could differ and kills may happen after the first Deal action resolves; handle those as separate Deal events [417.1.d] [417.1.e].