Does a creature that blocks multiple attackers using banding assign damage to each attacker separately?

Banding is a combat keyword that changes who controls damage assignment. Normally, when a creature blocks multiple attackers, the defending player assigns that blocker's combat damage. With banding involved on the blocking side, the rules still have the defending player assign damage, but the key twist is how it is distributed among the multiple attackers it is blocking.

Under CR 702.22j, if a creature with banding is blocking (or is blocked by a banding attacker), the defending player — not the attacking player — chooses how to divide the blocking creature's combat damage among the creatures it's blocking. The defending player must still follow the normal lethal-damage ordering rules from CR 510.1: each attacker must be assigned lethal damage before the next receives any, unless the blocker has trample or a similar ability.

So yes, the damage is assigned separately to each attacker in sequence, but the defending player gets to choose the order and distribution (subject to the lethal-damage requirement), which is the major advantage banding grants to the defender.

Example: Two 3/3 attackers are both blocked by your 4/4 creature that has banding. You, as the defending player, assign damage in order. You could assign 3 damage to the first attacker (lethal) and 1 damage to the second, or 4 damage entirely to one attacker. You choose the order and split, giving you meaningful control over which attackers survive.

This is banding's core defensive benefit: it lets the defending player dictate damage assignment rather than leaving it to the attacking player, as referenced in CR 702.22h and 702.22j.