Quest for Pure Flame + Trample

[Didley]

Quick question guys:

I'm playing mono-red fast aggro/burn and I have Quest for pure flame with 4 counters on the field. I drop a Ball Lightning. My opponent has some generic creature with 4 toughness out.

Let's say I sac the quest and he blocks with his 4 toughness creature. Can I assign only 2 damage to the creature and have the other 4 trample over since when the two is doubled it will be lethal to the creature? This lets me hit my opponent for 8. Or must I first assign 4 to the creature?

Little unsure on how this works. I've played it a couple times in tournaments locally and we've been playing that I would have to assign 4 damage to the creature, then two tramples over and is then doubled. My confusion is that the Ball Lightning has trample and if it does 4 to the creature and then it is doubled to 8, shouldn't the extra 4 trample over with the other 2 from ball lightning? Sorry if this is confusing or hard to follow. Please let me know. Thanks.

[Seras]

you choose to apply the pure flame effect to the creature...that way you deal 12 dmg to it.

4 of those kill it, the rest (8) tramples over to the player.

[Didley]

You sure I can assign all the damage to the creature? The way the judge explained it was I had to assign the 4 to the creature, then 2 went over and was doubled. But this didn't make too much sense since it doubles on creature and players. And since it doubles on the creature and ball lightning has trample, shouldn't the extra 4 trample over also... so a total of 6 is hitting the player then doubled to twelve?

[Seras]

it doubles dmg against ONE target, not both.

[Didley]

Ok... reason being that it says: if a source you control would deal damage to a creature OR an opponent, it deals double that damage instead? I was thinking that any damage dealt by the creature would be doubled.

How then would it work with volcanic fallout?

[Seras]

hum...i've reread the card and some rulings and I was totally incorrect

it doubles ALL dmg dealt that turn by any and all sources you control.

i withdraw my previous comments, I do not have my head wrapped around this interaction as i thought i did, sorry. I would go with what the judge says until there is a more specific ruling.

maybe you should post the question on the Wizards site itself to get an official ruling.

[Didley]

Will do. Thanks, Sera.

[Didley]

Here's how it was explained in the Magic Rules Q&A forum:

You sac a Quest for Pure Flame, you're attacking with a Ball Lightning, and your opponent has one blocker... say a 2/2. He declares the blocker, you MUST assign two damage to it (not 1 even though when it doubles it will be lethal to the creature), then 4 tramples over. After you've assigned the damage (ie 2 to the creature, 4 to the player) the damage is then doubled. The bear takes 4 damage, but none of that will trample over. And the player will take 4 which doubles to 8.