When Altar to Unity's hold effect or Herald of the Arcane's ability creates a Recruit token, does that unit enter play ready or exhausted?

Ruling: Recruit tokens enter play exhausted by default unless the effect specifically states they enter ready.

Nuances:

  • This applies to all token-generating effects unless the card text explicitly says the token enters ready
  • The default state for tokens differs from the general rule for permanents entering play
  • Units played from hand follow different rules than tokens created by effects