What it does
Provoke is a combat-triggered ability on creatures. When a creature with provoke attacks, you may choose a creature defending player controls; that creature untaps and must block the provoking creature if able. This lets you drag a blocker into combat on your terms—often to kill an opposing creature using your attacker's superior stats, or to force a bad block.
The nuance people miss: provoke only forces the chosen creature to block that specific attacker, and only if it's able. If the provoked creature can't legally block (it has defender-bypassing issues like flying when your attacker isn't, or it's tapped down again by another effect), the requirement is simply ignored. Also, untapping it can backfire—you're giving them an untapped creature.
In Commander, provoke shines as removal-on-a-stick, picking off key blockers or value creatures while pushing damage across a wide board.
Iconic cards with Provoke
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