Inspired by the other recent thread about Word of Command, but the question is different enough to warrant its own thread.
Oracle text for reference, relevant piece bolded:
"Look at target opponent's hand and choose a card from it. You control that player until Word of Command finishes resolving. The player plays that card if able. While doing so, the player can activate mana abilities only if they're from lands he or she controls and only if mana they produce is spent to activate other mana abilities of lands he or she controls and/or play that card. If the chosen card is cast as a spell, you control the player while that spell is resolving."
I take this to mean that during the spell casting process, you can't make your opponent tap out their entire land base while casting a Lightning Bolt because most of the lands wouldn't have produced mana that was actually spent on the spell. But how does it work for lands that produce more than one mana? Are you obligated to produce and spend mana as efficiently as possible, or do you satisfy the condition as long as you have spent at least some of the mana produced by each land (or each activation of a mana ability)?
Example: The opponent controls four untapped Boros Garrisons as Word of Command resolves. I make them cast Warleader's Helix. Can I tap all of the Garrisons and spend one of the mana from each of them to pay for Helix? Or in a sillier example, if I've somehow caused my opponent to control an Ashnod's Altar that is also a land (method doesn't matter, we'll say that I animated it with Ensoul Artifact, equipped it with Runed Stalactite, Donated it to them, and control Life and Limb) could I have the opponent sacrifice seven creatures to produce CC seven times and spend C from each activation to cast Scour from Existence?
But how does it work for lands that produce more than one mana? Are you obligated to produce and spend mana as efficiently as possible, or do you satisfy the condition as long as you have spent at least some of the mana produced by each land (or each activation of a mana ability)?
The phrase "mana they produce" on Word of Command means "all the mana produced as a result of resolving those mana abilities this way". In this case, the mana abilities can be activated only if all the mana produced this way is also spent to play the card.
Therefore, the answer to all your examples is no, since in those scenarios, some of the mana wasn't spent to play the cards in question.
Your confusion probably arises because "mana", as used on Magic cards, has the same form in English in singular and plural and is also a collective noun. Where a number or X doesn't accompany "mana" in English, that word is a collective noun (for examples, see Altar of the Lost and Food Chain).
EDIT: See comment 7.
EDIT (May 5, 2019): Correctness edit.
The phrase "mana they produce" on Word of Command means "all the mana produced as a result of resolving those mana abilities this way". In this case, the mana abilities can be activated only if all the mana produced this way is also spent to play the card.
I come down on the opposite side here. There is no reason to think "mana" should be read as "all of the mana" rather than "any of the mana". If you tap Boros Garrison for RW and spend R of that to cast Lightning Bolt, then you have spent mana that was produced by Boros Garrison to cast Lightning Bolt, which satisfies Word of Command's requirement.
The phrase "mana they produce" on Word of Command means "all the mana produced as a result of resolving those mana abilities this way". In this case, the mana abilities can be activated only if all the mana produced this way is also spent to play the card.
I come down on the opposite side here. There is no reason to think "mana" should be read as "all of the mana" rather than "any of the mana". If you tap Boros Garrison for RW and spend R of that to cast Lightning Bolt, then you have spent mana that was produced by Boros Garrison to cast Lightning Bolt, which satisfies Word of Command's requirement.
In that case, "mana they produce" is ambiguous. I have now requested a response on this matter from Wizards of the Coast customer service, as well as from Natedogg, a NetRep.
The phrase "mana they produce" on Word of Command means "all the mana produced as a result of resolving those mana abilities this way". In this case, the mana abilities can be activated only if all the mana produced this way is also spent to play the card.
I come down on the opposite side here. There is no reason to think "mana" should be read as "all of the mana" rather than "any of the mana". If you tap Boros Garrison for RW and spend R of that to cast Lightning Bolt, then you have spent mana that was produced by Boros Garrison to cast Lightning Bolt, which satisfies Word of Command's requirement.
In that case, "mana they produce" is ambiguous.
Not according to the rules of the English language, no. "I drank juice from this bottle" without a preposition before "juice" is a true statement whether you drank all of the juice or just some of it. Word of Command's condition is satisfied even if you use only some of the mana a land produced.
I have now requested a response on this matter from Wizards of the Coast customer service.
I've been wanting to point this out to you for a while now... From experience, I can tell you that WotC customer service, unfortunately, is not a reliable reference for rules questions. You yourself are far more knowledgeable about the rules than most of the people who work in that division of the company. Answering advanced rules questions is not what they're there for. I understand you thinking that asking the company means you will get an official answer, but the reality is that outside the rules manager Eli Shiffrin himself, the company leaves rules interpretation to the community, the judge community in particular. Some judges are appointed as official representatives, though. In particular, MTGSalvation user and fellow rules guru Natedogg, who can be reached via private message here on the site, has the title of "Wizards Rules NetRep", a representative of WotC on the Internet, whose answers are considered official.
I'm a former judge (lapsed), who keeps up to date on rules and policy. Keep in mind that judges' answers aren't necessarily more valid than those of people who aren't judges; what matters is we can quote the rules to back up our answers. When in doubt, ask for such quotes.
In particular, MTGSalvation user and fellow rules guru Natedogg, who can be reached via private message here on the site, has the title of "Wizards Rules NetRep", a representative of WotC on the Internet, whose answers are considered official.
As long as, for each mana ability you activated, at least one of that mana is spent to cast the spell, that is fine. So yes, you could tap the four Garrisons to cast the Helix, as long as you're using at least one mana from each Garrison to cast it.
And remember: don't think too hard about Word of Command. It will make you a lot happier in Magic and in life (no, seriously, Word of Command is weird. Don't go trying to dive into the depths of the card and try to find deeper meaning in the card).
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Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
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Oracle text for reference, relevant piece bolded:
"Look at target opponent's hand and choose a card from it. You control that player until Word of Command finishes resolving. The player plays that card if able. While doing so, the player can activate mana abilities only if they're from lands he or she controls and only if mana they produce is spent to activate other mana abilities of lands he or she controls and/or play that card. If the chosen card is cast as a spell, you control the player while that spell is resolving."
I take this to mean that during the spell casting process, you can't make your opponent tap out their entire land base while casting a Lightning Bolt because most of the lands wouldn't have produced mana that was actually spent on the spell. But how does it work for lands that produce more than one mana? Are you obligated to produce and spend mana as efficiently as possible, or do you satisfy the condition as long as you have spent at least some of the mana produced by each land (or each activation of a mana ability)?
Example: The opponent controls four untapped Boros Garrisons as Word of Command resolves. I make them cast Warleader's Helix. Can I tap all of the Garrisons and spend one of the mana from each of them to pay for Helix? Or in a sillier example, if I've somehow caused my opponent to control an Ashnod's Altar that is also a land (method doesn't matter, we'll say that I animated it with Ensoul Artifact, equipped it with Runed Stalactite, Donated it to them, and control Life and Limb) could I have the opponent sacrifice seven creatures to produce CC seven times and spend C from each activation to cast Scour from Existence?
The phrase "mana they produce" on Word of Command means "all the mana produced as a result of resolving those mana abilities this way". In this case, the mana abilities can be activated only if all the mana produced this way is also spent to play the card.
Therefore, the answer to all your examples is no, since in those scenarios, some of the mana wasn't spent to play the cards in question.
Your confusion probably arises because "mana", as used on Magic cards, has the same form in English in singular and plural and is also a collective noun. Where a number or X doesn't accompany "mana" in English, that word is a collective noun (for examples, see Altar of the Lost and Food Chain).
EDIT: See comment 7.
EDIT (May 5, 2019): Correctness edit.
I come down on the opposite side here. There is no reason to think "mana" should be read as "all of the mana" rather than "any of the mana". If you tap Boros Garrison for RW and spend R of that to cast Lightning Bolt, then you have spent mana that was produced by Boros Garrison to cast Lightning Bolt, which satisfies Word of Command's requirement.
In that case, "mana they produce" is ambiguous. I have now requested a response on this matter from Wizards of the Coast customer service, as well as from Natedogg, a NetRep.
EDIT: Edited after comment 5 was posted.
See my edit to comment 4.
And remember: don't think too hard about Word of Command. It will make you a lot happier in Magic and in life (no, seriously, Word of Command is weird. Don't go trying to dive into the depths of the card and try to find deeper meaning in the card).
Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.