Does Deathknell happen after unit heal from Showdown?

To clarify the interaction between Deathknell abilities and healing after a combat showdown, the healing occurs before Deathknell abilities resolve.

According to the official sequence defined in Rule 461 and clarified in RiftJudge FAQ #9514 and FAQ #9677, the process is as follows:

The Correct Sequence (Combat Cleanup)

1. Combat Damage Step: Combat damage is dealt to units (Rule 460.2.d).
2. Triggering Deathknell: As part of the Combat Special Cleanup, units with lethal damage trigger their Deathknell abilities. These are added to the chain as Pending Items (Rule 808.1.d.2, Rule 323.4).
3. Killing Units: Units with lethal damage are moved to the trash (Rule 323.5).
4. Healing: Surviving units are healed (Rule 461.1.a.1).
5. Resolution: The game returns to the FEPR (Finalize, Execute, Pass, Resolve) process. The pending Deathknell triggers that were added to the chain are now finalized and resolved (Rule 808.1.d.3, FAQ #9514).

Key Takeaways

• Healing First: Units survive the Combat Damage Step are healed before any Deathknell abilities resolve.
• No "Saving" Units: Because units are killed for having lethal damage during the cleanup phase (Step 3 above), a Deathknell effect cannot be used to "save" a unit that already took lethal combat damage.
• No "Finishing Off": Because healing occurs (Step 4) before the Deathknell triggers resolve (Step 5), a Deathknell ability cannot be used to finish off an enemy unit that survived the combat damage, as that damage will be cleared by the healing step before the Deathknell effect can be executed.

In summary, while the Deathknell trigger is placed on the chain during the cleanup, the resolution of the effect—where the card text actually executes—happens only after the healing step is completed.