Abzan Battle Priest is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Outlast(
: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Outlast only as a sorcery.) Each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it has lifelink.
Complete guide
Abzan Battle Priest is a cornerstone for any deck focused on +1/+1 counters, providing a massive swing in life totals. This Human Cleric not only grows itself over time but also turns your entire army into a source of healing. By granting lifelink to your bolstered units, it ensures you can survive even the most aggressive onslaughts.
Understanding Outlast
Abzan Battle Priest features the Outlast ability, which allows you to pay one white mana and tap the creature to place a +1/+1 counter on it. It is important to remember that Outlast is treated as a sorcery, meaning you can only activate it during your own main phase while the stack is empty. Because the cost includes the tap symbol, the Priest must have been under your control since the start of your turn to use this ability.
The Lifelink Aura
The second ability is a static effect that checks your board for any creature with a +1/+1 counter. It does not matter how the counter got there—whether through Outlast, a spell, or another creature's ability—the Battle Priest will grant that creature lifelink. If the Battle Priest itself has a counter, it also gains lifelink. If the Battle Priest leaves the battlefield, your other creatures immediately lose the lifelink granted by this ability unless they have it from another source.
Strategic Timing
Since Outlast requires tapping the creature, you must choose between attacking or growing your Battle Priest. Generally, you want to activate Outlast if you need to stabilize your life total later or if the creature cannot safely attack this turn. Common mistakes include trying to activate Outlast on an opponent's turn or forgetting that the creature won't be available as a blocker once you've tapped it to add a counter.
Interaction examples
You cast Abzan Battle Priest. On your next turn, you pay one white mana and tap it to activate Outlast. Once the ability resolves, the Priest has a +1/+1 counter. Because it now has a counter, its static ability applies to itself, granting it lifelink. If it deals damage, you gain that much life.
Solemn SimulacrumYou have Abzan Battle Priest and Solemn Simulacrum on the battlefield. You use an external spell to put a +1/+1 counter on Solemn Simulacrum. The Battle Priest's ability immediately grants the Simulacrum lifelink. When Solemn Simulacrum deals combat damage, you gain life, even though it did not use the Outlast ability itself.
Roaming ThroneYou control Abzan Battle Priest and cast Roaming Throne, choosing 'Human' as it enters. Note that Outlast is an activated ability, not a triggered ability, so Roaming Throne does not cause Outlast to resolve twice. However, if Roaming Throne has a +1/+1 counter on it, the Battle Priest will grant the Throne lifelink, allowing you to gain life from its attacks.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Abzan Battle Priest
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The cost to activate a creature's outlast ability includes the tap symbol (
). A creature's outlast ability can't be activated unless that creature has been under your control continuously since the beginning of your turn.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Several creatures with outlast also grant an ability to creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them, including themselves. These counters could come from an outlast ability, but any +1/+1 counter on the creature will count.
No other card is named in this ruling.
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Meta decks with Abzan Battle Priest
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