Can You Return a Commander to Its Owner’s Hand in MTG? A Comprehensive Guide

The simple answer is yes, you can return a commander to its owner’s hand. However, like many things in Magic: The Gathering, especially within the Commander format, the process is nuanced and involves a specific set of rules. Understanding how your commander interacts with cards that bounce (return cards to hand) is essential for strategic gameplay. This article will delve into the details, clarifying the rules and addressing common questions about this crucial mechanic.

How Returning a Commander to Hand Works

The key aspect of returning a commander to hand lies in the card’s phrasing: it will always specify returning a card to its “owner’s hand,” not the controller’s hand. This distinction is critical. While the controller of a card can change multiple times during a game (through effects like Mind Control or Act of Treason), the owner remains the same throughout.

When your commander is targeted by an effect that returns it to its owner’s hand, you as the owner have a choice. You can either allow it to be returned to your hand, or you can choose to have it go back to the command zone. This is a crucial difference from other cards.

Choosing the Command Zone vs. Hand

• Returning to the Hand: If you opt for your commander to return to your hand, you may cast it again from your hand as you would with any other creature card, and you do not pay any additional commander tax (the extra {2} mana cost incurred for each time a commander has been cast from the command zone).

• Returning to the Command Zone: If you choose to send it to the command zone, you then subject it to the commander tax when you cast it again. Each time it returns to the command zone from the battlefield during a game, the next time you cast it from the command zone, its cost will be increased by {2} colorless mana more than the last time it was cast from the command zone.

The choice depends on your strategy, the game state, and what resources you have available.

Key Differences: Hand vs. Command Zone

It’s important to understand that a commander in your hand is treated as any other card in your hand. This means it can be affected by cards that discard, reveal, or interact with cards in hand. When the commander is in the command zone, its primary purpose is to be cast from there, with the tax applying each time. The command zone is also the zone that is checked when a card states “If you own a commander on the battlefield or in the command zone”.

Why the Commander Rule is in Place

This unique interaction with the command zone is a critical part of the Commander format’s design. It ensures that commanders can be returned to the battlefield throughout a game, but with a cost that becomes increasingly difficult to manage as the game progresses. This is especially important for Commanders that are powerful or have an ability that would otherwise be extremely easy to reuse. This allows for some commanders to be targeted and removed in a way that the player who plays that commander must consider if the commander is a necessary aspect to their game strategy. This makes a very powerful or strong commander still removable and thus brings some more balance to the game and the card pool.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To further clarify this mechanic and related rules, here are 15 frequently asked questions about commanders and their interaction with being returned to hand or the command zone:

1. Can I return my commander to the command zone at any time?

Yes, you can return your commander to the command zone during a Commander game. If your commander is in your graveyard or in exile and was put there since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone. This is a state-based action, and you may not put a commander into the command zone except during state-based actions.

2. How much does it cost to bring my commander back after it goes to the command zone?

A commander cast from the command zone costs an additional {2} for each previous time the player casting it has cast it from the command zone that game. This cost is known as the “commander tax.” If it is returned to the hand, then this tax is not paid.

3. Can I exile and then return my commander to the command zone?

Yes, you can exile a commander. The owner of the commander has the choice to return the commander to the command zone instead of leaving it in exile. If they choose to leave it exiled, it is exiled with the card as normal.

4. What happens if my commander is put into my library or graveyard?

If your commander would be put into your library, hand, graveyard, or exile from anywhere, you may return it to your command zone instead. This is a replacement effect and is a choice the owner of the commander gets to make.

5. Can I permanently exile a commander?

You can exile a commander with a spell or ability just like any other creature. However, the owner of that commander gets to choose if they want to leave their leader in exile or send it back to the command zone. It is very important to note that they must choose during state based actions.

6. What happens if a commander dies to combat damage or a spell?

If a commander is killed by a spell or through combat, the creature did die, and the game recognizes that the commander died. It goes to the graveyard and then its owner may move it to the command zone if they choose during state based actions.

7. Can I discard my hand to draw in commander?

Yes. Each player may discard their hand and draw cards equal to the greatest mana value of a commander they own on the battlefield or in the command zone.

8. Can my commander be targeted even if it is in the command zone?

No, you cannot target a commander while it is in the command zone. Unless it is on the battlefield it is not a valid target. You can target the owner of a commander but this does not mean the commander can be targeted.

9. Does a clone of a commander deal commander damage?

No. “Commander-ness” is an aspect of a physical card. A clone is a separate entity and therefore cannot deal commander damage.

10. Is my commander considered a permanent?

A commander on the battlefield is considered a permanent. A commander in the command zone or graveyard is not considered a permanent.

11. If a card references my commander, is it only referencing it while it is on the battlefield?

No. If an effect refers to controlling a commander, it refers to a permanent on the battlefield that is a commander. If an effect refers to casting a commander, it refers to a spell that is a commander. If an effect refers to having a commander, it refers to having a commander in any zone.

12. Can I steal another player’s commander?

Yes you absolutely can. The owner of the commander can only move it from the graveyard to the command zone as a state-based action. And we don’t check state-based actions while spells are resolving. So it can be stolen.

13. Can I take commander damage from my own commander?

Yes, you can. The specific rule for commander damage doesn’t specify that an opponent’s commander had to deal the damage, just that a specific commander needs to deal damage. If you somehow take 21 or more damage from your own commander, you still lose the game.

14. If I mutate my commander, does the mutated pile deal commander damage?

Yes, if your commander is mutated into a pile, then the merged creature does commander damage and counts as your commander regardless of its location in the pile.

15. What happens if my commander “can’t be regenerated”?

An effect which says something “can’t be regenerated” means that the Regenerate replacement effect won’t be applied to that creature even if one is active. If something “can’t be regenerated”, you can still cast spells and activate abilities that produce a Regenerate effect, but they just won’t do anything useful.

Conclusion

Understanding the rules surrounding your commander and its interaction with spells that return cards to hand is crucial to mastering the Commander format. Commanders are at the heart of the game mode, and a thorough grasp of these nuances can significantly impact your gameplay and strategy. By understanding your options when your commander is bounced, and by choosing between the hand or the command zone, you can gain a tactical edge in any game. This detailed overview should equip you with the knowledge to make informed decisions and play confidently.