Rhys wants a deck that sacrifices its own creatures to drain opponents' life. It also works in a deck built around Elves or Warriors.
Mana cost
White ()
Power / toughness2 / 2
RarityRare
Flash
When Rhys enters, another target creature you control gains persist until end of turn. (When it 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.)
, : Remove any number of counters from target creature you control. Activate only as a sorcery.
Picked for what they do in Rhys's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Rhys's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Rhys works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast17 Nov 2025
If a creature has +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it, state-based actions remove the same number of each so that it has only one kind of those counters on it. A creature's persist ability can bring it back again if its -1/-1 counters are removed this way.
Wizards of the Coast17 Nov 2025
If a creature with persist that has +1/+1 counters on it receives enough -1/-1 counters to cause it to be destroyed by lethal damage or put into its owner's graveyard for having 0 or less toughness, persist won't trigger and the card won't return to the battlefield. That's because persist checks the creature as it last existed on the battlefield, and it still had -1/-1 counters on it at that point.
Wizards of the Coast17 Nov 2025
If the target creature dies but that card leaves the graveyard before the persist ability resolves, it won't be returned to the battlefield.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.AristocratsAristocrats decks sacrifice their own creatures on purpose and profit every time one dies, often by draining life from each opponent. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you like, decides when that happens.Open the Aristocrats pageDeath TriggerTriggers when a creature dies, whether it is this creature, one of yours or an opponent's. These are the cards that pay you in an Aristocrats deck: something else makes creatures die, and these decide what you get each time. Blood Artist, Solemn SimulacrumOpen the Death Trigger pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink pageCounter ManipulationAdds, moves or multiplies counters already on permanents. It works on any kind (+1/+1, loyalty, charge), so the same card can serve very different decks. Karn's Bastion, Doubling SeasonOpen the Counter Manipulation pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value pageCombat TrickAn instant you cast during a fight to change how it ends: making a creature bigger or smaller, or keeping your creatures from dying. Boros Charm, Flawless ManeuverOpen the Combat Trick page-1/-1 CountersPuts -1/-1 counters on creatures, lowering their power and toughness for good. Unlike damage, which wears off at the end of the turn, the counters stay, and a creature whose toughness reaches zero dies. Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, Devoted DruidOpen the -1/-1 Counters page
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: Remove any number of counters from target creature you control. Activate only as a sorcery.
Open the full glossary
