| Finality counter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Counter | |
| Use | Exiling permanents when they die |
| Placed on | Permanents |
| Introduced | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Last used | Duskmourn: House of Horror |
| Statistics | |
|
23 counter creation cards  8.7%  39.1%  17.4%  4.3%  8.7%  8.7%  4.3%  4.3%  4.3% | |
| Scryfall search | |
| oracle:"Finality counter" | |
Finality counters are a type of deciduous counter introduced in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.[1][2] They were designed to minimize memory issues for cards that return something from the graveyard with "if it would die, it's exiled instead" rules.[3][4]
Description[ | ]
Lost Caverns punch card with Finality counters
If a permanent with a finality counter on it would die, it is exiled instead. This is a replacement effect. The use of counters makes for better memory tracking, as permanents can be on the battlefield for long periods before their exiling is relevant. Having multiple finality counters on a permanent produces no additional effects.
This effect is usually used for creatures that have been returned from the graveyard to the battlefield at a reduced rate. Similar text was first seen as far back as Dreams of the Dead (Ice Age); later cards like Isareth, the Awakener or From the Catacombs sometimes used corpse counters to mark affected creatures. Unlike corpse counters, however, where the counter is merely a reminder and the ability remains regardless of the counter's presence, the rules for finality counters are included as part of the counter itself. Thus, if a finality counter is removed, upon destruction the creature returns to the graveyard as normal.
All colors have access to finality counters. Colors that bring things back from the graveyard are most likely to use it, with red, king of temporary effects, probably number one.[5] In practice, however, black and its styles of reanimation has been first by a wide margin, followed by green, with red having only one representative of a {U}{B}{R} card.
Rules[ | ]
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (September 20, 2024—Duskmourn: House of Horror)
- Finality Counter
- A counter that exiles the permanent it is on if that permanent would go to the graveyard from the battlefield. See rule 122.1h.
122.1h defines how finality counters work:
From the Comprehensive Rules (September 20, 2024—Duskmourn: House of Horror)
- 122.1h One or more finality counters on a permanent create a single replacement effect that stops the permanent from going to the graveyard. That effect is “If this permanent would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead.”
Rulings[ | ]
- Finality counters work on any permanent, not only creatures. If a permanent with a finality counter on it would go to a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead.
- Finality counters don't stop permanents from going to zones other than the graveyard from the battlefield. For example, if a permanent with a finality counter on it would be put into its owner's hand from the battlefield, it does so normally.
- Finality counters aren't keyword counters, and a finality counter doesn't give any abilities to the permanent it's on. If that permanent loses its abilities and then goes to a graveyard, it will still be exiled instead.
- Multiple finality counters on a single permanent are redundant.
Trivia[ | ]
- In Magic Online, the counter is colored blue as its considered a neutral effect.[6]
References[ | ]
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 24, 2023). "Which of the new counters is deciduous?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Matt Tabak (October 24, 2023). "The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Zakeel Gordon (October 24, 2023). "Collecting The Lost Caverns of Ixalan". magicthegathering.com.
- ↑ Jess Dunks and Eric Levine (November 3, 2023). "The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 19, 2023). "Where on color pie would you set finality counters and effects placing them (not only on your own creatures)?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Christopher Bellach (September 5, 2018). "Counter Development in Magic Online". magicthegathering.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022.