Emperor of Bones
Creature — Skeleton Noble
At the beginning of combat on your turn, exile up to one target card from a graveyard.
: Adapt 2.
Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on this creature, put a creature card exiled with this creature onto the battlefield under your control with a finality counter on it. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.
Josh Hass
Modern Horizons 3 (MH3)
• #90Rulings
Finality counters aren't keyword counters, and a finality counter doesn't give any abilities to the permanent it's on. If that permanent loses its abilities and then would go to a graveyard, it will still be exiled instead.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
If any permanent with a finality counter on it would go to a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
Finality counters don't stop permanents from going to zones other than the graveyard from the battlefield. For example, if a permanent with a finality counter on it would be put into its owner's hand from the battlefield, it does so normally.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
You can always activate an ability that will cause a creature to adapt. As that ability resolves, if the creature has a +1/+1 counter on it for any reason, you simply won't put any +1/+1 counters on it.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
Multiple finality counters on a single permanent are redundant.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
If a creature somehow loses all of its +1/+1 counters, it can adapt again and get more +1/+1 counters.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
Rulings
Finality counters aren't keyword counters, and a finality counter doesn't give any abilities to the permanent it's on. If that permanent loses its abilities and then would go to a graveyard, it will still be exiled instead.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
If any permanent with a finality counter on it would go to a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
Finality counters don't stop permanents from going to zones other than the graveyard from the battlefield. For example, if a permanent with a finality counter on it would be put into its owner's hand from the battlefield, it does so normally.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
You can always activate an ability that will cause a creature to adapt. As that ability resolves, if the creature has a +1/+1 counter on it for any reason, you simply won't put any +1/+1 counters on it.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
Multiple finality counters on a single permanent are redundant.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)
If a creature somehow loses all of its +1/+1 counters, it can adapt again and get more +1/+1 counters.
(wotc • 2024-06-07)