MagicTheGathering.fyi

Persist

Sorcery

Return target nonlegendary creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Modern Horizons 2
Price
$3.39
EDHREC rank
#1374
Buy on TCGplayer
Persist card art
Persist returns a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield — at instant speed, for two mana — and if that creature has no -1/-1 counters, it comes back with one, setting up immediate sacrifice loops. The cost is that you need a counter-removal outlet to go infinite, but a deck built around Ashnod's Altar already has everything Auntie Ool, Cursewretch needs to close a game on the spot.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch

Auntie Ool, Cursewretch

78.1% of decks · synergy 0.71

Auntie Ool, Cursewretch is in 78% of Persist decks because the spell is essentially the engine's fuel — Auntie Ool removes -1/-1 counters as a natural byproduct of her ability, which means Persist produces an arbitrarily repeatable loop the moment a sacrifice outlet like Ashnod's Altar is on board.

02

Runo Stromkirk

47.8% of decks · synergy 0.44

Runo Stromkirk runs Persist because getting a large sea creature back at instant speed — likely with no -1/-1 counter if it died to combat — lets Runo flip reliably and rebuild the board in the same turn.

03
The Reaper, King No More

The Reaper, King No More

51.8% of decks · synergy 0.44

The Reaper, King No More treats Persist as a recursive threat engine: bring back a high-power creature, attack again, and the -1/-1 counter is often irrelevant given the Reaper's synergy with +1/+1 counter payoffs that can erase it.

04
The Scorpion God

The Scorpion God

41.7% of decks · synergy 0.39

The Scorpion God actively wants -1/-1 counters on creatures, so Persist becomes a draw trigger — the returning creature enters with a counter, The Scorpion God draws a card, and the counter removal cycle turns one reanimation spell into sustained card advantage.

05
Old Stickfingers

Old Stickfingers

38.2% of decks · synergy 0.36

Old Stickfingers mills creatures into the graveyard as a core function, and Persist converts that self-mill into immediate board presence by pulling one of those creatures back, often a high-power threat that went in unplayed.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Persist does its best work — singleton format means you run it in dedicated sacrifice or -1/-1 counter synergy decks, and the instant speed lets you respond to removal by rebuilding your board in the same window opponents thought they'd cleared it. In Legacy and Vintage, Persist sees fringe play in combo shells that can immediately remove the counter and loop the creature, but faster interaction and better redundancy in those formats keep it from being a staple. Modern has the legal status but the card rarely appears competitively, squeezed out by more efficient graveyard tools. Pioneer and Standard players can't run Persist at all, and Pauper's color restrictions aside, it's simply not at common. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander's dynamic closely enough that the same sacrifice-loop builds that want it there want it here.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$3.39 cheap tier

At $3.39, Persist sits in budget-rare territory — affordable enough to slot into most Commander builds without a second thought. It's a staple in its archetypes rather than a spec target, so the price reflects steady demand more than hype, and it's unlikely to swing dramatically in either direction.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.