Is this worded correctly? I want it to be able to survive combat vs a a 2/3 (when it has three counters on it).
Bone Thrull (Common) 1B
3/3
Bone Thrull enters the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it. Reap — Whenever a creature dealt damage by Bone Thrull this turn dies, remove a +1/+1 counter from Bone Thrull at end of turn.
No, that doesn't really work. You could word it as "Whenever a creature dealt damage by Bone Thrull this turn dies, remove a +1/+1 counter from Bone Thrull at the beginning of the cleanup step". Not much uses this template (see Necromancy for example) but it is out there. Since this occurs in the Cleanup Step, all damage marked on it has already been "erased" and then another Cleanup Step will occur after the trigger resolves.
I'm confused.
You want this to be able to survive a 2/3 with three +1/+1 counters on it (thus a 5/6), or this with three +1/+1 counters on it (a 6/6) to survive a 2/3?
If you want this with three +1/+1 counters on it (6/6) to survive a 2/3 with three +1/+1 counters on it (5/6), currently it does (for the same reason a creature that has been Giant Growth'd doesn't start to die at the end of the turn).
I had to go dig up into the rules to check up on this (I wasn't sure when the trigger resolved relative to the automated actions). The rules actually aren't super clear on it, but imply that actions will resolve after the Cleanup actions (discard, then damage removal, then UEOT effects ending).
Where I wanted to go was that the template is not current "magicese". The correct modern formualtion is "at the beginning of the cleanup step" (Bounty of the Hunt). This trigger has never been used on a new card, and otherwise only to render older card functional. It is almost certainly not compliant with any sensible way to write a modern magic card. An additional problem is that the template "at end of turn" actually translate to a different meaning for 99% of the card that used it! It was originally replaced with "at the beginning of the (next) end step", and that interpretation would not allow this card to survive a fight with a 5/* creature. If you insist on survival, this template may well be the worst solution possible.
"At the end of turn, if a creature dealt damage by Bone Thrull died this turn, remove a +1/+1 counter from Bone Thrull."
You could also add "and regenerate it", "and remove all damage marked on it" (not currently used on a card I'm aware of) or "and it gains indestructible until end of turn", although the first and third have other implications.
Have you considered using the Werewolf transformation method of avoiding cleanup step problems, i.e. an upkeep trigger that looks back at the previous turn?
Does this work:
"Whenever a creature dealt damage by Bone Thrull this turn dies, remove all damage from Bone Thrull, then remove a +1/+1 counter from it."
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Bone Thrull (Common)
1B
3/3
Bone Thrull enters the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it.
Reap — Whenever a creature dealt damage by Bone Thrull this turn dies, remove a +1/+1 counter from Bone Thrull at end of turn.
I had to go dig up into the rules to check up on this (I wasn't sure when the trigger resolved relative to the automated actions). The rules actually aren't super clear on it, but imply that actions will resolve after the Cleanup actions (discard, then damage removal, then UEOT effects ending).
Where I wanted to go was that the template is not current "magicese". The correct modern formualtion is "at the beginning of the cleanup step" (Bounty of the Hunt). This trigger has never been used on a new card, and otherwise only to render older card functional. It is almost certainly not compliant with any sensible way to write a modern magic card. An additional problem is that the template "at end of turn" actually translate to a different meaning for 99% of the card that used it! It was originally replaced with "at the beginning of the (next) end step", and that interpretation would not allow this card to survive a fight with a 5/* creature. If you insist on survival, this template may well be the worst solution possible.
You could also add "and regenerate it", "and remove all damage marked on it" (not currently used on a card I'm aware of) or "and it gains indestructible until end of turn", although the first and third have other implications.
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"Whenever a creature dealt damage by Bone Thrull this turn dies, remove all damage from Bone Thrull, then remove a +1/+1 counter from it."