Three abilities, different checks
A creature that is hard to target is not necessarily impossible to destroy. In Magic: The Gathering, shroud and hexproof restrict target selection; ward usually allows selection, then triggers an ability that can counter an opponent’s spell or ability. Mixing these steps leads to premature payments or refusing a legal buff.
This is a targeting routine, not a power ranking. Examples use unnamed permanents with no other restrictions. Review the stack and priority for transitions between actions. Current card text always takes precedence over a general explanation.
First identify a target
Read the entire spell or ability, including reminder text. Target creature identifies a target; all creatures does not individually target those creatures. Targeting is not determined by how many permanents are eventually affected. An effect affecting just one creature need not target it.
Rules can also supply targeting. An Aura spell targets what it will enchant. Equip targets the creature the Equipment will attach to. An effect putting an Aura directly onto the battlefield may work differently: check its instructions and enchant restrictions before deciding.
Shroud stops your own targeting too
Shroud means the permanent or player cannot be targeted by spells or abilities, not merely an opponent’s. Normally you cannot target your shrouded creature with your own buff or equip ability. Being beneficial is not an exception.
An attached Aura or Equipment does not become unattached merely because the creature gains shroud. Selecting a new target differs from an existing attachment. Ask whether this is a new targeted action or an object already attached. Shroud is not protection, which has different rules.
Hexproof allows your own targeting
Hexproof on a permanent prevents spells and abilities controlled by its controller’s opponents from targeting it. Normally your own buff, Aura spell or equip ability can target your creature. Other requirements still apply: target type, timing and additional restrictions.
Ask who controls the spell or ability, not who owns the card. In multiplayer, use the format’s opponent relationships. A qualified version such as hexproof from a quality is not a blanket restriction; read its precise scope.
Ward creates a stack response
When a permanent with ward becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, ward triggers. The target may be legal. Ward itself is not an additional cost to cast that spell. Its triggered ability goes above the relevant object on the stack and normally resolves first.
As the ward ability resolves, the spell or ability’s controller may pay the ward cost or let the object be countered. The actual cost may require something other than mana. Announce the trigger before moving resources. Players can respond under normal priority rules; paying early does not replace the sequence.
Two examples of unnecessary payment
You control a hexproof creature and want to cast a targeted buff on it. Without other restrictions, that target is legal. Shroud would forbid that same target. Ward normally does not trigger from your own spell, because you are not your own opponent.
An opponent targets your ward creature. They finish casting, then the ward ability joins the stack; payment is chosen when it resolves. An uncounterable spell still triggers ward, but ward cannot counter it, so its controller may decline payment. Uncounterability does not permit targets forbidden by shroud or hexproof.
Responding after target selection
An opponent legally targets your creature. A response grants it hexproof before the original spell resolves. Targets are checked again. If all are now illegal, the spell does not resolve. If others remain legal, it can resolve for them; do not automatically dismiss the whole spell.
Granting ward after the permanent became a target does not retroactively trigger it. The ability needs its triggering event, not just the current board state. A ward ability already triggered exists independently of its source. Record targeting, response, response resolution and remaining checks in order.
What these abilities do not guarantee
None automatically prevents combat damage, untargeted global effects or a player being instructed to sacrifice a creature. A spell may target the player without targeting the creature they sacrifice; check restrictions on that player too. Follow each actual target instead of assuming invulnerability.
Target restrictions do not prevent damage. See damage prevention and replacement for that separate step. Multiple instances of ward trigger separately and may each require payment. Identical instances of shroud or hexproof do not become stronger in the same way.
The Poke-Geek targeting checklist
Identify the target, action controller, exact keywords and other restrictions. Check target legality, whether ward triggers, when payment occurs and what must be rechecked at resolution. Finally separate targeting restrictions from effects the card can still suffer.
Practise your own buff, an opponent’s targeted spell and untargeted mass destruction. Explain the reason rather than simply saying the card is protected. Browse the Magic collection for catalogue formats, then check card language and current text separately.
Before your next game, choose a protection card and a targeted spell; announce their controllers, the target and the expected outcome.