Persist

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Persist
Keyword Ability
Type	Triggered
Introduced	Shadowmoor
Last used	Modern Horizons 3
Reminder Text	Persist (When this creature dies, 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.)
Storm Scale	8
Statistics	28 cards 3.6% 7.1% 7.1% 10.7% 7.1% 7.1% 3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 10.7% 7.1% 3.6% 7.1% 17.9%
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Persist"

Persist is a keyword ability introduced in Shadowmoor.

Description

When a permanent with Persist dies, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, it is returned it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.

While the ability is popular and is reasonably wide in design, being tied to -1/-1 counters makes it difficult to bring back; while Rosewater once thought it likely to return in 2012 with a Storm Scale of 3, in the 2020s he had dropped it to the other end at 8 because of the difficulties of -1/-1 counter designs.

History

Persist was also used in Eventide, Modern Horizons and was one of the non-evergreen, non-deciduous keywords included in the Unfinity sticker sheets. Later appearances were in Lost Caverns Commander and Modern Horizons 3.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Persist

A keyword ability that can return a creature from the graveyard to the battlefield. See rule 702.79, “Persist.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 702.79. Persist
  • 702.79a Persist is a triggered ability. “Persist” 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.”

Rulings

• All cards currently printed with persist are creatures. If a creature with persist stops being a creature (for example, if a creature with persist becomes a noncreature artifact due to being enchanted by Swift Reconfiguration), persist will still trigger.
• Likewise, if a noncreature permanent becomes a creature, gains persist, and dies, the persist ability will still trigger even though that permanent won't be a creature when it returns to the battlefield.
• If a permanent has multiple instances of persist, they'll each trigger separately, but the redundant instances will have no effect. If one instance returns the card to the battlefield, any others will do nothing since the card is no longer in a graveyard.
• If a card with persist is removed from a graveyard before the persist ability resolves, persist will do nothing.
• Tokens can gain persist, and the ability will trigger if a token dies. However, like all tokens, it can't return to the battlefield and will cease to exist as a state-based action before the ability would go on the stack.
• When a permanent with persist dies and then returns to the battlefield, it becomes a new object with no memory of its previous existence. It has "summoning sickness."
• Persist triggers when the permanent is put into a graveyard and relies on the last known information about that permanent when it left the battlefield. If a permanent with a +1/+1 counter on it receives enough -1/-1 counters to reduce its toughness to 0 or less or have lethal damage marked on it, it won't return to the battlefield despite the state-based action of +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters "canceling each other out". As the permanent last existed on the battlefield, it had a -1/-1 counter on it, so persist won't trigger.

Examples

Example

Safehold Elite
Creature — Elf Scout
2/2
Persist (When this creature dies, 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.)

Cards that grant Persist

Creature

• Antler Skulkin (white creature)

Instant

• Cauldron Haze

Artifact

• Cauldron of Souls

Sticker

• Night Brushwagg Ringmaster

Trivia

• Persist was featured as rules card 5 of 6 in the Shadowmoor set and 5 of 8 in the Eventide set.
• Undying was a mechanic inspired by Persist, with +1/+1 counters instead of -1/-1 counters. The design technology also influenced some single-card designs like Luminous Broodmoth and Unstoppable Slasher.

External links

• A Planeswalker's Primer for Shadowmoor 3: Persist (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.