Enters the battlefield
A nontoken permanent “enters the battlefield” when it’s moved onto the battlefield from another zone. A token “enters the battlefield” when it’s created.
History
"Enters the battlefield" effects were first designed as a mechanic designed by Bill Rose for Portal. He liked it so much that it was transferred to Visions.[1] Popular cards with with "enters the battlefield" effects were Nekrataal and Man-o'-War.[2]
Prior to Magic 2010, "enters the battlefield" effects were known as CIP or 187 effects.[3]
Rules
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- Enters the Battlefield
- A nontoken permanent “enters the battlefield” when it’s moved onto the battlefield from another zone. A token “enters the battlefield” when it’s created. See rules 403.3, 603.6a, 603.6d, and 614.12.
From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- 603.6a Enters-the-battlefield abilities trigger when a permanent enters the battlefield. These are written, “When [this object] enters the battlefield, . . . “ or “Whenever a [type] enters the battlefield, . . .” Each time an event puts one or more permanents onto the battlefield, all permanents on the battlefield (including the newcomers) are checked for any enters-the-battlefield triggers that match the event.