What happens if a creature has both persist and undying?
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When a creature with both Persist and Undying dies in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), it creates an intriguing interaction where the creature can potentially come back to the battlefield multiple times, as the controller of the creature gets to choose the order of the triggers on the stack. The combination of Persist and Undying on a creature allows it to return to the battlefield under specific conditions, making it a powerful and complex interaction that can significantly impact the game’s outcome.
Understanding Persist and Undying
To delve into the specifics of what happens when a creature has both Persist and Undying, it’s essential to understand each ability individually. Persist is a triggered ability that returns a creature to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter if it had no -1/-1 counters on it when it died. On the other hand, Undying is also a triggered ability that returns a creature to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter if it had no +1/+1 counters on it when it died.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs about Persist and Undying
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Does a creature with Persist and Undying cancel itself out? A creature with Persist and Undying does not cancel itself out; instead, the controller chooses the order of triggers, allowing the creature to potentially return to the battlefield multiple times.
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How does Persist work with Undying? In most situations, a creature with both Persist and Undying will keep coming back every time it dies because the controller gets to choose the order of the abilities on the stack.
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Do creatures with Persist go to the graveyard? Yes, when a permanent with Persist dies and then returns to the battlefield, it becomes a new object with no memory of its previous existence and has summoning sickness.
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Does a creature with Undying go to the graveyard? Yes, Undying creatures do go to the graveyard, and the Undying ability triggers when the Undying creature goes to the graveyard.
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Is Undying an activated ability? No, Undying is a triggered ability, as stated in rule 702.93a of the Magic: The Gathering comprehensive rules.
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What is Undying? Undying is a keyword ability that means “When this permanent is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control with a +1/+1 counter on it.”
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Do Undying creatures have summoning sickness? Yes, unless it has haste, a creature who returns to the battlefield with Undying does have summoning sickness.
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What are the rules for Undying in Magic: The Gathering? Undying returns the creature to play under its owner’s control, and if you gain control of an Undying creature owned by an opponent, when it dies and returns to play, it will not return to play under your control.
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Does Undying work with sacrifice? Yes, sacrificing the creature triggers its Undying ability, which is put on the stack on top of the Beast’s ability.
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Do Undying creatures have haste? No, Undying creatures do not have haste by default.
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Does Undying go on the stack? Yes, when your creature dies for whatever reason, and both Undying triggers go on the stack, when the first trigger resolves, it returns with one counter, and the other trigger is still on the stack.
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Is Persist a triggered ability? Yes, Persist is a triggered ability, as defined in rule 702.78a of the Magic: The Gathering comprehensive rules.
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Does Persist count as regeneration? No, Persist does not count as regeneration because it doesn’t bring anything back from the graveyard, and only effects that say “regenerate” count as regeneration.
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How does Undying Malice work? Undying Malice gives a target creature the ability to return to the battlefield tapped with a +1/+1 counter when it dies until the end of the turn.
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Can you respond to a Persist trigger? Yes, you can respond to a Persist trigger, and if the creature gets removed from the graveyard before the trigger resolves, there’s no creature to return, so it won’t.
By understanding the intricacies of Persist and Undying, players can leverage these abilities to create complex and powerful strategies in Magic: The Gathering, making the game more engaging and challenging. The interaction between Persist and Undying showcases the depth and complexity of MTG’s rules and mechanics, offering a rich experience for players to explore and master.