Does Rally the Troops buff tokens created by cards like Vanguard Captain?

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Accepted Answer

Yes. Rally the Troops will buff the 1 [M] Recruit unit tokens created by Vanguard Captain when they are played. Tokens created by effects that say “play” are played and therefore satisfy Rally’s “When a friendly unit is played this turn” trigger; Rally will place a Buff counter on each such token if it doesn’t already have one. [184] [375] [426.1.b]

When you play Vanguard Captain and its Legion ability plays two 1 [M] Recruit unit tokens, those tokens are considered played and will trigger Rally the Troops’s effect. Rally the Troops will Buff each token as it is played, placing a Buff counter on each token that does not already have one. If a token already has a Buff, it does not get another. [184] [375] [426.1.b] [426.1.b.1]

Play Rally the Troops on your turn; it sets up an effect that watches for "When a friendly unit is played this turn, buff it." [426.2.a] Later that turn, play Vanguard Captain. Its Legion ability instructs you to play two 1 [M] Recruit unit tokens at that battlefield as part of playing Vanguard Captain. [184] Each time one of those Recruit tokens is played, the Rally the Troops condition is satisfied and the Rally effect directs you to Buff that token. Place a Buff counter on the token if it does not already have one. [375] [426.1.b] If a token already has a Buff counter, you do not place another one. [426.1.b.1]

If a Replacement Effect or other game effect modifies the act of playing the token (for example, plays it exhausted or adds characteristics), the Replacement Effect is applied to the token play event and the token still inherits those modifications; Rally still responds to the token being played. [375] If multiple tokens are played by the same event (for example, two tokens from Vanguard Captain), Rally the Troops will apply for each unit played, buffing each token that qualifies (subject to timing/order rules not provided here). [426.2.a] [184] If a token enters the battlefield already carrying a Buff from some other effect, Rally the Troops will not place a second Buff on it, since a unit cannot have more than one Buff. [702.3] [426.1.b.1] If some effect replaces "play a token" with a different outcome that prevents the token from being played at all (e.g., an effect that says "if you would play a token, do something else instead"), then that replaced event may mean no token is played and so Rally would not trigger. [375]

The key points are: Vanguard Captain’s Legion ability instructs you to play two 1 [M] Recruit unit tokens when you play Vanguard Captain; those tokens are unit tokens as described by the token rules. [184] The example and text about Replacement Effects show that playing a token is an event that other effects can respond to or modify; a replacement that applies to the event of a token being played is applied to that event. [375] Rally the Troops watches for "When a friendly unit is played this turn" and, when that condition occurs, it directs you to Buff that unit. Placing a Buff counter is the Buffing action and will place a Buff on a unit that does not already have one. [426.1.b] If the unit already has a Buff, it does not get another. [426.1.b.1] Because the tokens are being played by Vanguard Captain’s effect, they satisfy Rally the Troops’s trigger and will be buffed as they are played (subject to usual timing and replacement rules). [184] [375] [426.1.b]