The Battlefield

Felidar Guardian
Restoration Angel
AI DraftFeb 26, 2026

Felidar Guardian + Restoration Angel

Overview
When Restoration Angel enters the battlefield it can exile and return Felidar Guardian (Guardian is a legal target because Angel’s triggered ability targets a non-Angel creature you control), and when Guardian returns its own enters-the-battlefield trigger can exile and return another permanent you control (including Restoration Angel). The sequence relies on creatures entering the battlefield and the triggered abilities put on the stack; targets are chosen for those triggers as they are put on the stack per triggered-ability/target rules . Exiled cards are kept face up by default . If a token is exiled by one of these abilities it ceases to exist and will not return (Ruling [2017-02-09]; Ruling [2021-03-19]).
Step 1
You cast Restoration Angel (it resolves and enters the battlefield; see ).
Step 2
Restoration Angel’s triggered ability (“When this creature enters...”) is created and put on the stack; when that triggered ability is put on the stack you choose its target(s) according to the ability’s wording and targeting rules .
Step 3
You may choose Felidar Guardian as the target because Angel’s ability targets a non-Angel creature you control and Guardian is not an Angel.
Step 4
When Restoration Angel’s ETB ability resolves, it exiles the targeted Felidar Guardian and then returns that card to the battlefield under its owner’s control (the exile happens, then the return happens as part of the same ability’s resolution) .
Step 5
Felidar Guardian returns to the battlefield; creatures enter the battlefield when their spells resolve or when they are put onto the battlefield by an effect , so Guardian’s own ETB triggered ability is created and put on the stack when it enters.
Step 6
When Guardian’s ETB resolves you may exile another target permanent you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control; at that moment Restoration Angel is a legal target for Guardian’s ability (Guardian’s text says “another target permanent you control,” so it can target Angel but not itself).
Step 7
If you choose to target Restoration Angel with Guardian’s ETB, Guardian’s ability resolves, exiling Angel and returning it to the battlefield; when Angel returns its ETB will again trigger and may target Guardian, repeating the cycle as long as each triggered ability’s controller chooses to use the “may” or as long as legal targets exist.
Step 8
If any of the permanents exiled this way was a token, the token ceases to exist when exiled and will not return (Ruling [2017-02-09]; Ruling [2021-03-19]).
Resolution
Restoration Angel + Felidar Guardian can repeatedly 'blink' each other: Angel’s ETB can exile Guardian and return it; Guardian’s ETB can then exile Angel and return it, and so on, as long as each triggered ability’s controller chooses to use the “may” on resolution and there are legal targets. Each ETB is a separate triggered ability that goes on and resolves on the stack and creatures enter the battlefield when their spells resolve . If any of the permanents involved is a token, exiling it causes it to cease to exist and it will not return (Ruling [2017-02-09]; Ruling [2021-03-19]).
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