If a unit with Temporary is saved by Zhonyas during an opponent's turn, does it still die at the start of my next turn?

Question

Accepted Answer

If a Replacement Effect like Zhonya’s Hourglass replaces the Temporary-triggered kill when it would occur, the unit does not die then — but Temporary remains a characteristic of the permanent, so at the start of your next Beginning Phase the Temporary trigger will occur again and attempt to kill it unless another effect replaces or removes it.

Yes — saving the unit via a replacement effect prevents that instance of the Temporary-triggered kill, but it does not remove the Temporary keyword. Temporary will trigger again at the start of the unit's controller’s next Beginning Phase and will attempt to kill the unit then (unless that kill is also replaced or the Temporary keyword is removed). See [816.1.b] and [370.1.a].

Temporary is a triggered ability that reads “At the start of this permanent’s controller’s Beginning Phase, before scoring, kill this.” and is a characteristic of the permanent [816.1.b] [816.1.a]. When your Beginning Phase starts, Temporary triggers and its instruction is to kill the permanent at that time [816.1.b]. If a Replacement Effect like Zhonya’s Hourglass applies to that kill, it replaces the kill instruction with whatever it specifies (for example: kill the gear instead, heal/exhaust/recall the unit) [370.1.a] [370.1]. Because the Replacement Effect replaced the kill, the unit is not killed by that instance of Temporary. The Temporary keyword remains a characteristic of the permanent (Temporary was not removed by the replacement unless an effect explicitly removed it) [816.1.b]. At the start of the unit controller’s next Beginning Phase, Temporary will again trigger and attempt to kill the unit then — unless another effect replaces or prevents that kill, or Temporary is removed before that time.

If the Replacement Effect both prevents the kill and also removes the Temporary keyword from the permanent (an uncommon, explicit effect), then Temporary will not trigger later. This requires an effect that specifically removes Temporary. If the Replacement Effect moves the unit to a zone where it is no longer a permanent (for example, the unit is banished or otherwise ceases to exist as a permanent), then there will be no future Temporary trigger while it is not a permanent on the board. Use rule [370.3] for timing of replacement availability. If the unit is not on the board at the start of the next Beginning Phase (for example, it remains in base or was moved to another zone), other rules about where permanents can trigger or about checking characteristics may interact; the core text shows characteristics like Temporary persist, but whether the trigger can fire depends on whether the object is still a permanent in a zone that allows it to have triggered abilities. If you need a ruling here, provide the exact zones and effects in play.

Temporary is a triggered ability printed on a permanent that functions as “At the start of this permanent’s controller’s Beginning Phase, before scoring, kill this.” so each Beginning Phase the ability will attempt to kill that permanent [816.1.b] [816.1.a]. Replacement Effects can replace events or instructions that would cause things like a permanent to die; when a Replacement Effect applies it replaces the qualifying event with other Game Actions or instructions [370.1.a] [370.1].

If an effect like Zhonya’s Hourglass replaces the kill created by Temporary (for example, the replacement says “kill this instead; heal and recall the unit”), then that instance of the Temporary kill is replaced and the unit is not killed at that moment. The Replacement Effect changes the instruction that would have been executed [370.1.a]. The rules’ example of replacement effects that trade a unit’s death for other actions demonstrates that replacement prevents the original death event from occurring [370.3].

However, Temporary is a characteristic of the permanent and remains on the card unless an effect explicitly removes it. Because the Temporary keyword was not removed merely by a replacement that prevented the kill, Temporary will still be present and will trigger again at the start of the controller’s next Beginning Phase, attempting to kill the permanent again then [816.1.b]. If you want the unit to remain beyond that next Beginning Phase, you must either remove the Temporary keyword, have another replacement effect apply at that later trigger, or otherwise prevent that later kill.

Official clarifications support that granted Temporary still functions and will trigger (for example granted Temporary on attached Equipment will still cause that Equipment to die in its controller’s next Beginning Phase) [FAQ:unleashed#14]. That FAQ and the Replacement Effect rules together show that preventing one kill via replacement does not erase the underlying Temporary characteristic that will cause a future trigger unless something explicitly removes it.

Therefore: the Zhonya-style replacement saves the unit from that instance of the Temporary kill, but unless Temporary is removed the unit will be subject to Temporary again at your next Beginning Phase and will die then unless another replacement or prevention happens.