Can you exile a token as it hits graveyard?

Can You Exile a Token as It Hits Graveyard?

In the world of Magic: The Gathering, cards and tokens can have many different fates. Among the most common are dying, exiling, or returning to the hand or battlefield. But what about tokens? Can you exile a token as it hits the graveyard? In this article, we’ll dive into the rules and explain the intricacies of exiling tokens.

Do Tokens Die?

Let’s start with the question: do tokens die when they’re sent to the graveyard? The answer is yes. According to the Comprehensive Rules, death is defined as the moment a permanent (a card or token) moves from the battlefield to another zone, such as the graveyard (CR 110.5g). Since tokens are permanents, they too can die in this way.

How Do Tokens Get to the Graveyard?

But how do tokens actually end up in the graveyard? There are several ways tokens can get there:

• Creatures with destruction effects: Some creatures, like Kolaghan, the Storm’s Fury, have abilities that can destroy creatures.
• Removal spells: Certain spells, like Vraska’s Contempt, can remove creatures from the battlefield.
• State-based actions: Whenever a player’s life total falls to 0 or a permanent would leave a zone it’s in, state-based actions are checked. If a token is involved, it will be destroyed and sent to the graveyard.

Can You Exile a Token as It Hits Graveyard?

Now, let’s address the question at hand: can you exile a token as it hits the graveyard? No, you cannot exile a token in this way. When a token is sent to the graveyard, it is first removed from the battlefield and then placed in the graveyard. This process happens as a result of state-based actions, which are non-interactive and cannot be affected by player actions like exiling.

Other Ways to Exile Tokens

While you can’t exile a token as it hits the graveyard, there are other ways to exile tokens:

• Exiling effects: Some cards have abilities that can exile specific types of permanents, including tokens.
• Exile effects triggered by death: Some cards trigger when a permanent dies. These effects can exile tokens that die.
• Exiling effects triggered by state-based actions: Cards can trigger when a specific state-based action occurs. If a token is about to be destroyed, for example, an exiling effect might trigger.

Table: Exiling Tokens

Conclusion

To summarize, tokens can be exiled in various ways, but not as they hit the graveyard. Tokens are removed from the game as a result of state-based actions, not as a result of exile effects. While you may not be able to exile a token as it dies, there are other ways to exile tokens using different effects and triggers. We hope this article has shed light on the intricacies of exiling tokens in Magic: The Gathering.

References

• Comprehensive Rules. Wizards of the Coast, 2022.
• Magic: The Gathering Official FAQs. Wizards of the Coast, 2022.