The Battlefield

Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward

$0.15

Cloudshift

$1.22

Restoration Angel

$0.36

AI DraftFeb 26, 2026

Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward + Cloudshift + Restoration Angel

Overview

When Abdel Adrian’s enter-the-battlefield ability resolves it exiles any number of other nonland permanents you control “until Abdel Adrian leaves the battlefield” and creates 1/1 Soldier tokens for those exiled permanents. If you exile (blink) Abdel with Cloudshift or with Restoration Angel while those permanents are exiled, Abdel is removed from the battlefield (so the “until Abdel Adrian leaves the battlefield” condition ends and those exiled permanents return), and then Cloudshift/Restoration Angel’s effect returns Abdel to the battlefield, causing Abdel’s enter-the-battlefield ability to trigger again. The exile/return relationship created by Abdel’s ability is a linked pair (the exile action and the reference to “the exiled cards”), so the “exiled this way” language refers only to the cards exiled by that ability .

Step 1

Abdel Adrian enters the battlefield; its triggered ability resolves and you exile any number of other nonland permanents you control "until Abdel Adrian leaves the battlefield," then create a 1/1 Soldier for each permanent exiled this way (the exiling action and the reference to "the exiled cards" are linked by the card’s text) .

Step 2

Keep the permanents exiled by Abdel’s ability in a separate pile so you can track which permanents will return with Abdel’s departure and which return with other effects .

Step 3

While those permanents are exiled, you cast Cloudshift targeting Abdel (or Restoration Angel enters and you choose to exile Abdel with its ETB). When the blink effect resolves it first exiles Abdel (Abdel leaves the battlefield).

Step 4

The moment Abdel leaves the battlefield, the condition that kept those permanents exiled ("until Abdel Adrian leaves the battlefield") ends, so the permanents exiled by Abdel’s ETB return to the battlefield. If any of the exiled objects were tokens, they cease to exist and will not return (Ruling [2022-06-10]; Ruling [2021-03-19]).

Step 5

Continuing the blink effect’s resolution, Cloudshift or Restoration Angel then returns Abdel to the battlefield under your control. Since Abdel re-entered, its enter-the-battlefield ability triggers again and you may exile permanents again and create additional Soldier tokens for those exiled this time .

Step 6

If Cloudshift was the effect that blinked Abdel and it returned Abdel to you, the returned creature is controlled by you indefinitely; consult multiplayer/leave-game implications from Ruling [2018-03-16] if players leave the game.

Resolution

If Abdel has already exiled permanents and you target Abdel with Cloudshift or Restoration Angel, the sequence is: the blink effect exiles Abdel (Abdel leaves the battlefield), the permanents exiled by Abdel’s ETB return to the battlefield as a result of the “until Abdel leaves the battlefield” condition ending, then the blink effect returns Abdel to the battlefield and Abdel’s ETB will trigger again (allowing you to exile permanents again and create more Soldier tokens). Tokens exiled by Abdel’s ability cease to exist and won’t return, though you still created Soldier tokens for them when the ETB initially resolved (Ruling [2022-06-10]; Ruling [2021-03-19]). Also note the exile piles should be kept separate to track what returns with what source . Ruling [2018-03-16] applies to Cloudshift control/return interactions in multiplayer/leave-the-game scenarios.

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