Players can respond to the reflexive triggered ability as normal, knowing the amount of damage that will be dealt as that ability resolves
That's a play pattern from the past, but still representative of the blowouts you can pull off with this merfolk
And since those new nightbound transformation rules allow her to show up already transformed in most cases, this Arlinn feels much more like one of the pack
On top of that, it provides devotion for Gods like Iroas, God of Victory a cheeky little bonus
If this plan fails, at least youll have gotten a few laughs and maybe forced your group to do some mental gymnastics
Damage doesn't reduce a creature's toughness, so that won't work, but a -X/-X effect or an accumulation of -1/-1 counters do the trick