Spirit Island · Board game rules
Can a land still be defended if its presence is destroyed?
Quick answer
Yes. Defend effects protect a land from Invader damage regardless of whether your Presence there is destroyed. [p.18 — Defend]
Details
Defend is a property of the land itself, not tied to your Presence in it. When you play a Power with a Defend effect, it reduces the Damage the Invaders deal to that land and its Dahan for the entire turn. [p.18 — Defend]
If Blight is added to a defended land during the Ravage Action, your Presence there is destroyed first (as part of the Blight cascade), but the Defend effect still applies to reduce the Invaders' Damage. The sequence is: Invaders deal Damage → Defend reduces it → Blight is added (if 2+ Damage) → your Presence is destroyed by the Blight. [p.9 — Ravage] and [p.15 — Effects of Blight]
Watch out: Defend effects last only for the current turn. They do not persist to future turns, even if your Presence remains in the land.