Does damage dealt to a unit outside of combat persist when that unit enters combat during the same turn?

Ruling: Damage dealt to a unit outside of combat persists until the end of that combat or the end of the turn. Damage does not reduce a unit's might value; once accumulated damage equals or exceeds the unit's might, the unit dies.

Sequence:

• Damage is dealt to a unit outside of combat (e.g., 5 damage to a 10 might Volibear)
• The damaged unit enters combat still carrying that damage
• During combat, the attacking unit's might is added to any pre-existing damage on the defender
• If total damage equals or exceeds the defender's might (plus any modifiers like Shield), the defender dies
• Damage is cleared from all units at the end of combat and at the end of each player's turn

Nuances:

• Defensive keywords like Shield increase the effective might of the defender during combat, so pre-combat damage plus attacking might must exceed the modified total (e.g., 5 damage + 6 might attack = 11 total, which does not kill a 10 might Volibear with Shield giving +3 for 13 total)