Magic the Gathering: Damage terminology question?

Question

What is the difference between "doing damage", "paying life" and "losing life"?

Specifically, which ones apply to the cards "Furnace of Wrath" and "Wound Reflection"?

Answer 1

While I don't know the specific cards in question...

"Doing damage" is not the same as "paying life".

However, both "doing damage" (to the player) and "paying life" causes one to "lose life".

Answer 2

Doing damage can cause loss of life, but damage can be prevented. Also, damage can be dealt to creatures. Paying life means you lose life as a cost of a card. Losing life can be by taking damage that wasn't prevented, taking mana burn, or getting hit with an effect that says that you lose X life. Furnace of Wrath only affects the damage. I think Wound Reflection only affects doing damage and losing life. I'm not sure myself, but I think that paying life doesn't get affected by Wound Reflection.

Answer 3

Paying life also counts as loss of life.

So, Wound Reflection would also double your life lost as a result of paying life for something.

Answer 4

In short. damage is anything that causes life loss. When a creature with power 3 attacks (and is not blocked) it deals 3 damage to the defending player.

Damage (from spells, permanents, etc) is assigned (to a creature, player, -or now- planeswalker). Once damage is assigned, it can be prevented, redirected, replaced etc (depending on the card you play). Once damage is dealt, it will cause life loss.

A few cards (mostly black) will cause life loss without damage (like guilfeeder). Life loss can not be prevented, redirected. Some effects replace it but there are very few (look up Transcendence).

Paying life is usually a cost for an ability. Since paying life is a cost, it can not be prevented or redirected (basically there is no way arround paying life for something). Some cards that let you pay life are Necropotence, cavern harpy, etc.

Furnace of Rath and Wound reflection interact with each other with no problems.

Furnace of rath basically duplicates the damage dealt by a source. If a creature would deal 5 damage, with furnace of rath it will do 10. If an instant would do 2, it will do 4.

Wound reflection will count all life loss of the turn and make each opponent lose life.

For example.

Let say You have furnace of rath and wound reflection.

You attack with a 3/3. No blocks. Furnace of rath doubles the damage, I lose 6 life (because of the damage). At the end of turn Wound reflection will make me lose other 6 life.

Same scenario but this time I cast healing salve (preventing 3 damage). So 6 (damage) - 3 (prevented)= 3 damage. At the end of turn I will lose 3 more lifes because of wound reflection.

Hope this helps