Cards And Zones
What Is the Difference Between Killing, Banishing and Recalling?
Kill sends a permanent from the board to its owner's Trash, Banish sends a card to its owner's Banishment, and Recall sends a permanent to its controller's Base.
RiftPal explanation · Answer first
The short answer
KillSend a permanent directly from the board to its owner's Trash, either by an instruction or because the rules find it should die.View in Glossary sends a permanent from the board to its owner's TrashA player's off-board zone for cards that are killed or discarded and spells that finish resolving, unless an effect changes their destination. Its cards are public information and their order does not matter.View in Glossary . BanishMove a card from its current zone directly into its owner's Banishment. Banishing is separate from killing and discarding.View in Glossary sends a card from its current zone to its owner's BanishmentA player's off-board zone for banished cards. Its cards are public information and their order does not matter. It is separate from the Trash; some effects use it temporarily.View in Glossary . RecallRecall means moving a permanent back to its controller's Base.View in Glossary sends a permanent to its controller's Base. These are three different actions.
RiftPal explanation
How it works
A banished card was not killed or discarded. A recalled permanent was not killed or moved. Restrictions that stop movement do not stop a RecallRecall means moving a permanent back to its controller's Base.View in Glossary , and recalling does not clear the permanent's damage or statuses.
Card reference
Watchful Sentry
DeathknellAn ability that triggers when its own permanent is killed and sent to the Trash. Replacing that death with something else prevents the Deathknell from happening.View in Glossary means "When I die." It works only when the permanent is killed and sent to the TrashA player's off-board zone for cards that are killed or discarded and spells that finish resolving, unless an effect changes their destination. Its cards are public information and their order does not matter.View in Glossary . If the death is replaced and the permanent is recalled or banished instead, its Deathknell does not resolve.
Unit
Watchful Sentry
[Deathknell] — Draw 1. (When I die, get the effect.)
Cards always enter their owner's non-board zones. If you banish an opponent's card, it goes to that opponent's BanishmentA player's off-board zone for banished cards. Its cards are public information and their order does not matter. It is separate from the Trash; some effects use it temporarily.View in Glossary , not yours.
In practice
Example
If the same unit is killed, it goes from the board to its owner's Trash and its Deathknell can happen. If it is banished, it goes to its owner's Banishment and was not killed. If it is recalled, it goes to its controller's Base with its damage and statuses still marked.