Does a token put into exile cease to exist immediately or after state-based actions are checked?

When a token moves to a zone where it cannot exist — such as exile, a graveyard, a library, or a player's hand — it doesn't vanish the instant it arrives. Instead, it remains as a game object in that zone until state-based actions are checked, at which point it ceases to exist and is removed from the game. This is governed by CR 110.5g and CR 704.5d.

This distinction matters because there is a brief window between when the token arrives in exile and when state-based actions are checked. During that window, the token technically exists in exile as a game object. This is why triggered abilities that look for something being put into exile — for example, an ability that triggers whenever a creature card is exiled — will still trigger when a token is exiled, because the token was indeed put into exile. However, it won't be there afterward.

It's also worth noting that tokens never actually 'exist' in exile in a meaningful way for most purposes: you cannot return them from exile, target them there, or use them in any lingering sense. The token simply disappears once state-based actions next apply.

Concrete example: You control a Treasure token and an opponent casts a spell that exiles all tokens. The Treasure token moves to exile. If you have a triggered ability that says 'whenever a permanent is exiled, draw a card,' that trigger will go on the stack — because the token was put into exile — but the token itself will cease to exist the next time state-based actions are checked (typically before any player gets priority).

So the short answer: the token lands in exile first, then vanishes at the next state-based action check per CR 110.5g and CR 704.5d, not the moment it touches exile.