Does Frigid Touch kill units when they are at 2 or 1 Might, and how does negative Might interact with buff spells?

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Accepted Answer

No — Frigid Touch itself does not deal damage and so does not directly "kill" a unit just by reducing its Might to 2, 1, 0, or a negative value. It gives a unit -2 Might this turn (so a 2-Might unit becomes 0, a 1-Might unit becomes -1), which can make existing damage become lethal or make future damage more likely to be lethal. Might values less than 0 are treated as 0 when referenced by most spells/abilities and when summing Might for combat, but effects that calculate Might changes use the actual (possibly negative) value when performing their math. [143.2.a] [143.2.b] [143.2.b.1] [FAQ:unleashed#8]

Playing Frigid Touch on a 2-Might unit makes its Might 0; on a 1-Might unit makes its Might -1. That does not kill the unit by itself because no damage is being marked by Frigid Touch. However, if the unit already has non-zero damage marked that is now greater than or equal to its (new) Might, it will be killed in the appropriate cleanup. When a unit’s Might is below 0 it is treated as 0 for references and combat-Might sums, but calculations that add or subtract Might use the actual negative value when resolving. [143.2.a] [143.2.b] [143.2.b.1] [FAQ:unleashed#8]

You play Frigid Touch and choose a unit; its Might is reduced by 2 for the turn (e.g., 2 → 0, 1 → -1). The spell does not mark or deal damage; it only modifies Might. Killing is based on damage marked versus the unit's Might: a unit is Killed if it has nonzero damage marked that is greater than or equal to its current Might [143.2.a]. So, if the chosen unit had no damage marked, reducing its Might to 0 or negative does not immediately kill it because there is no damage marked to compare to Might [143.2.a]. If the unit already had non-zero damage marked, that existing damage is compared to the unit's new Might. If the existing damage is ≥ the new Might, it is lethal and the unit will be killed in the appropriate cleanup [143.2.a] [FAQ:unleashed#8]. When other spells or abilities reference the unit's Might (for example to decide costs, checks, or combat assignment), a negative Might is treated as 0 for those references and for summing Might in combat [143.2.b]. But when applying a buff or debuff that changes Might (for example a spell that gives +X Might), the actual stored Might (which may be negative) is used to compute the new value — the calculation uses the actual value, not the treated-as-0 value [143.2.b.1].

A unit with 0 damage marked: lowering its Might to 0 or below via Frigid Touch will not send it to the Trash by itself because there is no nonzero damage to compare to its Might [143.2.a]. A unit with 1 damage marked that becomes 0 Might: that 1 damage is nonzero and ≥ 0, so the unit is now considered to have lethal damage and will be killed in cleanup [143.2.a] [FAQ:unleashed#8]. Stacking multiple negative effects can push a unit to negative Might (e.g., 1 → -3). When a later effect grants +2 Might, the calculation uses the actual negative value first (e.g., -3 + 2 = -1), then any references treat it as 0 until further changes [143.2.b.1] [143.2.b]. Effects that look at a unit’s Might for non-combat uses (such as reducing an Equip cost like Hextech Gauntlets's reduction) will see 0 if the unit’s Might is negative, because negative Might is treated as 0 when referenced [143.2.b]. If multiple effects resolve simultaneously that both change Might and mark damage, the order of resolution matters because killing checks compare the resulting damage vs the updated Might per the normal resolution/cleanup timing [143.2.a].

What Frigid Touch does: it applies -2 Might to a chosen unit for the turn (the Repeat option only repeats that same effect). That is a change to the unit’s Might, not a dealing of damage. Killing condition: a unit is Killed only when it has nonzero damage marked that is greater than or equal to its Might [143.2.a]. Because Frigid Touch marks no damage, it cannot by itself kill a unit that has no damage marked. Example — unit at 2 Might with 0 damage: Frigid Touch → Might becomes 0; no damage is marked, so it is not Killed. Example — unit at 2 Might with 1 damage already marked: Frigid Touch → Might becomes 0; the unit now has nonzero damage (1) ≥ its Might (0), so that damage is lethal and the unit will be Killed in the cleanup [143.2.a] [FAQ:unleashed#8]. Interaction with negative Might and buffs: if a unit’s Might becomes negative, most references treat it as 0 (including spells/abilities that read the unit's Might and summing Might for combat assignments) [143.2.b]. However, when an effect computes a new Might by adding or subtracting values, it uses the unit’s actual (possibly negative) Might in that math, not the treated-as-0 value [143.2.b.1]. Practical implications: an effect that discounts cost by a unit’s Might (e.g., Hextech Gauntlets) will see 0 if the unit’s Might is negative; a subsequent +1 Might buff applied to a unit at -1 will compute -1 + 1 = 0 (and that 0 will be treated as 0 for references), while a +2 buff would compute -1 + 2 = 1, producing a positive Might. Finally, remember that becoming Mighty or losing Mighty status depends on the unit’s current Might as it changes (units become Mighty when crossing from less than 5 to 5 or greater) [710].