Does Persist Count as Regeneration?
The short and definitive answer is no, persist does not count as regeneration. While both mechanics involve bringing a creature back from the brink of death, they function in fundamentally different ways within the rules of Magic: The Gathering (MTG). This difference is crucial for understanding how various card interactions work and is a common source of confusion for players new to the game. Regeneration is a replacement effect that prevents destruction, while persist is a triggered ability that triggers upon a creature going to the graveyard. Understanding the mechanics of each is essential to navigate the complexities of MTG.
Understanding Regeneration
How Regeneration Works
“Regenerate [permanent]” means “The next time [permanent] would be destroyed this turn, instead remove all damage marked on it and tap it. If it’s an attacking or blocking creature, remove it from combat.” This ability acts as a replacement effect. Instead of going to the graveyard upon receiving lethal damage, the creature’s destruction is replaced by the regeneration action. The key features of regeneration are:
- Damage Removal: Regeneration removes all damage marked on the creature.
- Tapping: The creature becomes tapped.
- Removal from Combat: If the creature was attacking or blocking, it’s removed from combat.
- Replacement Effect: Regeneration does not use the stack. It happens instead of the creature being destroyed.
- Prevention of Destruction: Regeneration does not trigger after a creature dies; it PREVENTS it from dying from destruction.
- Multiple Uses: A creature can regenerate multiple times in a turn provided it has multiple regeneration abilities, or multiple instances of the same effect.
What “Can’t Be Regenerated” Means
An effect that says something “can’t be regenerated” means that the normal regeneration replacement effect will not work. It doesn’t stop you from casting spells that grant regenerate, but the regeneration effect will simply be ineffective. The creature will be destroyed even if regeneration would normally save it.
Regeneration vs. Indestructible
It’s important to note the differences between regeneration and indestructible. An indestructible creature cannot be destroyed by damage or by effects that say “destroy,” but it can still be sacrificed or be put into a graveyard by effects that specifically say “exile.” An indestructible creature also retains damage marked on it, while regeneration removes all marked damage.
Regeneration and Damage Triggers
Even if a creature regenerates, abilities that trigger from damage being dealt still trigger. Regeneration only changes the result of lethal damage. The trigger from damage already happened before the replacement effect.
Understanding Persist
How Persist Works
Persist is a triggered ability. When a creature with persist dies and is put into a graveyard, the persist ability triggers and returns the card to the battlefield under its owner’s control with a -1/-1 counter on it. Key characteristics include:
- Triggered Ability: Persist goes on the stack, unlike regeneration which is a replacement effect.
- Graveyard Interaction: Persist triggers when a creature goes to the graveyard from the battlefield.
- Return to Battlefield: Persist brings the creature back to the battlefield.
- -1/-1 Counter: The creature returns to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- Stack Use: As it’s a triggered ability, persist uses the stack. This means you can react to it.
Persist and Tokens
Tokens can gain persist and the ability will trigger if a token dies. However, because tokens cease to exist once they leave the battlefield, the token cannot return with the persist trigger.
Persist and Undying
When a creature has both persist and undying, the abilities can essentially cancel each other out. When the creature dies, you choose which ability goes on the stack first. If persist resolves first, it returns with a -1/-1 counter. If undying resolves next, it returns with a +1/+1 counter, which removes the -1/-1 counter, and the creature has no counters. If the creature dies again, you can repeat this process again.
Persist and the Stack
Since persist is a triggered ability, it goes on the stack. This means players can react to the ability before the creature returns to the battlefield. For example, a player could remove the creature from the graveyard before the ability resolves, causing persist to fizzle, and the creature won’t return.
Key Differences Summarized
| Feature | Regeneration | Persist |
|---|---|---|
| ———————- | ——————————————– | ——————————————— |
| Mechanism | Replacement effect that prevents destruction | Triggered ability when creature dies |
| Interaction with Damage | Removes all damage marked on the creature | Doesn’t affect damage |
| Tapping | The creature becomes tapped | No tapping effect |
| Stack | Does not use the stack | Uses the stack |
| Graveyard | Doesn’t involve going to the graveyard | Returns the card from the graveyard to the battlefield |
| Counters | Does not add counters | Adds a -1/-1 counter |
| Tokens | Does not affect tokens | Tokens can trigger but don’t return |
| Combat | Removes the creature from combat | No direct effect on combat |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can you regenerate after damage is dealt?
No. You can’t regenerate a destroyed creature because it’s already dead and gone. The game state must see a destruction event happen before the replacement effect is used. This means that you must activate regeneration before lethal damage occurs.
2. Does regenerate remove from combat?
Yes, when a creature is regenerated, it is removed from combat. This is part of the regeneration replacement effect.
3. Does regenerate stop sacrifice?
No, regenerate does not stop sacrifice. Sacrificing a permanent is not the same as destroying it. Sacrifice moves the creature to the graveyard as a cost or as a part of an effect. Therefore, regeneration does not apply since there is no destruction.
4. Is sacrifice the same as destroy in MTG?
No, sacrificing is not the same as destroying. Destroy is a keyword that requires a creature to take lethal damage, but a sacrifice is an effect that puts a creature from the battlefield into the graveyard.
5. Does undying count as regeneration?
No, undying does not count as regeneration. Undying is a triggered ability that returns a creature to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter after it dies and goes to the graveyard, while regeneration is a replacement effect that prevents destruction.
6. Does persist work on tokens?
No, persist does not work on tokens. Although tokens trigger persist upon dying, they cease to exist before the ability resolves so they cannot be returned to the battlefield.
7. Do creatures with undying hit the graveyard?
Yes, creatures with undying go to the graveyard when they die. The undying ability triggers from the graveyard and brings the creature back to the battlefield when it resolves.
8. Can you sacrifice a creature with undying?
Yes, you can sacrifice a creature with undying. When you do, its undying ability will trigger, and the creature will return to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.
9. How do you respond to a persist trigger?
You can respond to a persist trigger like any triggered ability. For example, you could exile the creature from the graveyard before persist resolves, preventing it from returning to the battlefield.
10. What happens if a creature has both persist and undying?
If a creature has both persist and undying, these abilities essentially cancel each other out upon death, assuming you stack the triggers in the right order. The creature can keep returning to the battlefield each time it dies with no counters on it.
11. Is undying the same as regeneration?
No, undying is not the same as regeneration. Undying is a triggered ability that brings the creature back after it dies. Regeneration is a replacement effect that stops destruction.
12. Can you regenerate after damage?
You cannot regenerate after the creature has been destroyed by the damage. Regeneration is a replacement effect, and replacement effects have to apply BEFORE something is destroyed.
13. Do regeneration and conversion take place at the same time?
There is no conversion mentioned in the rules of the game. So this question doesn’t make sense in regards to MTG and the rules of regeneration and conversion.
14. Does regenerate go on the stack?
No, regenerate does not go on the stack because it is a replacement effect. However, activated abilities that grant regenerate, or triggered abilities that grant regenerate, do use the stack.
15. What is the difference between regeneration and indestructible?
Regeneration is a replacement effect that stops a creature from dying by removing all damage, tapping it, and removing it from combat (if in combat). Indestructible prevents a creature from being destroyed by damage or destroy effects. Regenerated creatures are tapped, and damage is removed from them, but indestructible creatures retain damage and may still die from effects that don’t say “destroy” (e.g. sacrifice, or exile).
Understanding the differences between persist and regeneration, including their nuances and interactions with other abilities, is vital for mastering MTG. While they might seem similar on the surface, they function very differently according to the game’s rules.