Banding

Banding is a keyword ability that lets a player form bands from their creatures and during combat takes the right to distribute damage from the opponent. It also changes the rules for attacking and blocking if a band is formed. It was introduced in Alpha, and is no longer used on regular cards.
==Description==
By nature, banding is primarily a white ability (distributing damage – or another way of preventing damage by having it go to another creature). It was first printed in Alpha ("bands" was the original keyword used to represent the ability). 
While acknowledging that banding was flavorful and effective if used properly, it has been effectively abandoned by designers for being overly confusing. The last basic set in which banding appeared was the Fifth Edition, and the last tournament-legal set was Weatherlight. The most recent card to be printed with banding is .
===Attacking and blocking===
The rules needed to be different for attacking and blocking to express the effect properly, as the player takes on different roles in each situation. In both forms, the player with the banding creature assigns damage for both the banding creature and the creature(s) that are in combat with it, as opposed to each player assigning their own.
====Attacking====
Any number of attacking creatures with banding can join together with up to one attacking creature without banding; the defending player must either block the entire band or allow it to be unblocked. If a blocking creature can block any one creature in the band, it can block the entire band.
In addition, if an attacking creature with banding becomes blocked, the attacking player chooses how damage from the blocking creatures is assigned.
====Blocking====
When blocking, if at least one creature blocking an attacker has banding, then the defending player may choose how the creature blocked by the creature(s) with banding assigns combat damage. 
==Rules==
===Bands with other===
A variant of banding, "bands with other" restricts banding to working with other creatures of a given quality (such as creatures that have a certain name). However, before the Magic 2010 rules changes (which came several years later than any cards featuring the ability), it was probably the most counter-intuitive ability in the game, because instead of allowing banding with any number of creatures of the given type, it only allowed banding with creatures with the same "bands with other" ability or regular banding. This was due to a stipulation in banding's rules that was not addressed in making "bands with others" only one nonbanding creature can band, and the flavorful text "with other legends" was not a recognized phrase ruleswise.
There are eight cards - all in the Legends set - with "bands with other" in the card text, though none have the actual ability "bands with other". The only creature card printed with "bands with other" ability is <c>Old Fogey</c> in Unhinged. Five banding lands can give the ability to legendary creatures, and one creature can create tokens with the ability (<c>Master of the Hunt</c>) and two cards can remove the ability (<c>Shelkin Brownie</c> and <c>Tolaria</c>). Mark Rosewater rates the mechanic an 11 out of 10 on the Storm Scale.
==Rulings==
*If a creature with banding attacks, it can team up with any number of other attacking creatures with banding (and up to one nonbanding creature) and attack as a unit called a "band." The band can be blocked by any creature that could block a single creature in the band. Blocking any creature in a band blocks the entire band. If a creature with banding is blocked, the attacking player chooses how the blockers' damage is assigned.
*A maximum of one nonbanding creature can join an attacking band no matter how many creatures with banding are in it. 
*Creatures in the same band must all attack the same player, planeswalker, or battle. 
*If a creature in combat has banding, its controller assigns damage for creatures blocking or blocked by it. That player can ignore the damage assignment order when making this assignment.
==Cards that grant banding==
Enchantments
*<c>Nature's Blessing </c> 
Enchanted creature
*<c>Cooperation</c> 
Wall creatures you control
*<c>Fortified Area</c> (walls only)
Instant
*<c>Formation</c> 
Artifacts
*<c>Helm of Chatzuk</c> 
*<c>Baton of Morale</c> 
==Examples==
==External links==
*
==References==