Deathknell

Deathknell is a Triggered Ability keyword present on Permanents.

It is formatted as "Deathknell - [Effect]".

It is functionally short for "When I die, [Effect]."

The Trigger for this effect is the Permanent being Killed and sent to the Trash.

If the Permanent with the effect is not sent to the Trash, for example because its "killed" event was replaced with a recall, the triggered ability will be removed from the chain.

Before the card is moved to the Trash, its location, attributes, and any other details related to its triggered ability are noted, so the effect can be processed after it has been Finalized.

As of the Vendetta rules update, all abilities that trigger "When I die" are aligned with Deathknell and may use information from before their source died.

Each instance of Deathknell a Permanent may have will trigger separately, and the controller will choose the order to add these Triggers to the chain.

Deathknell, and whether or not a permanent has Deathknell, is a characteristic of the permanent and may be checked or referenced by other Game Effects.

During the combat cleanup step, Deathknell abilities trigger before "win a combat" triggers. Combat winners are determined after damage and healing are applied, but Deathknell resolves first in the trigger ordering.