Blink & flicker
Zones & actions
Exile a permanent and return it — as a brand-new object, for better and worse.
How it works
"Blink" and "flicker" are player slang, not rules terms, for effects that exile a permanent and return it to the battlefield — immediately (Ephemerate, Restoration Angel) or at the next end step. The usual point is the enters trigger: it happens again.
The permanent that returns is a new object with no memory of its old self. Counters are gone, damage is gone, "until end of turn" effects are gone, Auras on it go to the graveyard, Equipment stays on the battlefield unattached, and it has summoning sickness again.
Common confusions
“I blinked a token.”
It's gone for good. A token that leaves the battlefield ceases to exist, so it never comes back.
“I blinked a creature I'd stolen.”
Read the card. One that returns it "under your control" (Restoration Angel, Conjurer's Closet) keeps it yours indefinitely. One that returns it "under its owner's control" hands it back.
“Blinking my commander.”
When your commander would be exiled you may move it to the command zone instead — if you do, it won't come back. Decline and it returns as normal. Blinking never raises commander tax; only casting it from the command zone does.
“Blinking in response to removal.”
The removal's target left the battlefield, so the spell has an illegal target. The new object that returns was never targeted and isn't affected.
“Is phasing a kind of blink?”
No. Phasing doesn't leave the battlefield: nothing triggers on the way out or back, and counters and Auras stay. See the phasing article.
Blink & flicker cards
Ranked by how often Commander decks actually play them.
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