RulingHall of Heroes (rules 1.7)2026-01-26

Since RRG1.7, overkill definition has evolved from “dealt” to “taken” damage. it is a great clarification:…

Question

Since RRG1.7, overkill definition has evolved from “dealt” to “taken” damage. it is a great clarification: it comes naturally that a tough status card on a minion prevents damage he would take, so any overkill damage.
But the RRG paragraph “EXCESS DAMAGE” has not been updated the same way: “Excess damage is any amount of damage that is dealt to a character beyond that character’s remaining hit points.”
=> so Rocket Raccoon “Murdered You!” is about excess damage dealt? even there is no excess damage taken?
Also the paragraph “OVERKILL” says: “If a card ability counts excess damage dealt, that ability counts the same value of excess damage that is calculated when resolving the overkill keyword”
=> “Into the Fray” is about excess damage taken? maybe not because it has no overkill…
=> “Into the Fray” + “Marked” is about excess damage taken?
Let’s take an exemple mixing dealt/taken excess damage: What if as the hero “Rocket Raccoon”, I play “Into the Fray” on the minion Nimrod with 4 remaining hit points ?
Is Rocket Raccoon “Murdered You!” triggered?
Does “Into the Fray” remove threat?
Having “Marked” attached on Nimrod changes anything?

Answer

Overkill was updated to count damage taken, not dealt. However, the definition of excess damage has not changed; it’s still defined as damage dealt to a character beyond its remaining hit points. Excess damage can be dealt to a target even if that target doesn’t take that damage, which is important for the cards you’ve asked about. Rocket Raccoon’s “Murdered You!” ability still triggers when he deals excess damage to an enemy, even if that enemy doesn’t take all of that damage.

Into the Fray still has its additional effect if the minion is dealt excess damage, regardless of damage taken. So, if Rocket Raccoon plays Into the Fray to attack Nimrod with 4 remaining hit points, Rocket “deals” 6, Nimrod “takes” 3, and because Nimrod had 4 hit points, the excess damage dealt by the event is 2, so 2 threat is removed and Rocket draws 1 card. If Nimrod had Marked attached at the time, nothing additional would happen, as no excess damage was “taken” by Nimrod so no damage is dealt to the villain via overkill.

— Alex