Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 1

Once Obstinate Gargoyle has been blocked, causing it to gain flying by modifying it won't cause it to stop being blocked.

Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 2

If a card with persist is removed from the graveyard after it dies but before the triggered ability resolves, it won't be returned to the battlefield.

Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 3

If a creature has +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it, state-based actions remove the same number of each so that it has only one kind of those counters on it. A creature's persist ability can bring it back again if its -1/-1 counters are removed this way.

Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 4

If a creature with persist that has +1/+1 counters on it receives enough -1/-1 counters to cause it to be destroyed by lethal damage or put into its owner's graveyard for having 0 or less toughness, persist won't trigger and the card won't return to the battlefield. That's because persist checks the creature as it last existed on the battlefield, and it still had -1/-1 counters on it at that point.

Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 5

An Aura controlled by another player does not cause a creature you control to be modified.

Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 6

A creature with a counter on it is considered modified no matter what kind of counter it is or which player put it on that creature.

Obstinate Gargoyle — ruling 7

A creature that is equipped is considered modified no matter who controls the Equipment that's attached to it.

Obstinate Gargoyle : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Obstinate Gargoyle 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

This creature has flying as long as it's modified. (Equipment, Auras you control, and counters are modifications.) Persist (When this creature dies, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.)

How it works : Obstinate Gargoyle

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
Once Obstinate Gargoyle has been blocked, causing it to gain flying by modifying it won't cause it to stop being blocked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
If a card with persist is removed from the graveyard after it dies but before the triggered ability resolves, it won't be returned to the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#3June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature has +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it, state-based actions remove the same number of each so that it has only one kind of those counters on it. A creature's persist ability can bring it back again if its -1/-1 counters are removed this way.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#4June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature with persist that has +1/+1 counters on it receives enough -1/-1 counters to cause it to be destroyed by lethal damage or put into its owner's graveyard for having 0 or less toughness, persist won't trigger and the card won't return to the battlefield. That's because persist checks the creature as it last existed on the battlefield, and it still had -1/-1 counters on it at that point.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#5June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
An Aura controlled by another player does not cause a creature you control to be modified.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#6June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
A creature with a counter on it is considered modified no matter what kind of counter it is or which player put it on that creature.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#7June 7, 2024· Wizards of the Coast
A creature that is equipped is considered modified no matter who controls the Equipment that's attached to it.
No other card is named in this ruling.