Hi!
1. Is it legal to have my commander in library? (of course not at beginning of the game, but with some effect like Chaos Warp )
2. If it's legal, what if my commander is in different sleeve?
3. If it's legal, if my opponent cast Gonti, Lord of Luxury targeting me, and my opponent exiled my commander (which is in library) with Gonti, Lord of Luxury ETB, can i move it to command zone?
1. Yes, that happens frequently. For this reason, cards like Chaos Warp are quite staple-worthy and often superior to cards which destroy or exile.
2. Your commander should always be in same type and color sleeve as the rest of the deck in preparation for such an eventuality. Similarly, if some cards are double-sleeved, all should be, and only having an oversized commander card without a regular sized copy is also insufficient.
3. No, because it's exiled face down, so you never get to know what it was in order to potentially apply the replacement effect which means you're out of luck until the card changes zones.
1. Yes, that happens frequently. For this reason, cards like Chaos Warp are quite staple-worthy and often superior to cards which destroy or exile.
Just to be clear (since I can see where this answer would be misleading) you can't "tuck" a Commander anymore unless the owner allows it. So, Chaos Warp will just result in the Commander being put back in the Command Zone in nearly every case. It is nearly identical to Exile in this case except they still get a card out of the deal. The only real way to tuck or exile a Commander is to Mindslaver the person and then choose not to invoke the replacement effect of putting the Commander back into the Command Zone.
1. Yes, that happens frequently. For this reason, cards like Chaos Warp are quite staple-worthy and often superior to cards which destroy or exile.
2. Your commander should always be in same type and color sleeve as the rest of the deck in preparation for such an eventuality. Similarly, if some cards are double-sleeved, all should be, and only having an oversized commander card without a regular sized copy is also insufficient.
3. No, because it's exiled face down, so you never get to know what it was in order to potentially apply the replacement effect which means you're out of luck until the card changes zones.
Thanks for the quick reply!
Another question
4. If my opponent cast my commander that got exiled with Gonti, Lord of Luxury , is it count as changing zone?
1. Yes, that happens frequently. For this reason, cards like Chaos Warp are quite staple-worthy and often superior to cards which destroy or exile.
2. Your commander should always be in same type and color sleeve as the rest of the deck in preparation for such an eventuality. Similarly, if some cards are double-sleeved, all should be, and only having an oversized commander card without a regular sized copy is also insufficient.
3. No, because it's exiled face down, so you never get to know what it was in order to potentially apply the replacement effect which means you're out of luck until the card changes zones.
Thanks for the quick reply!
Another question
4. If my opponent cast my commander that got exiled with Gonti, Lord of Luxury , is it count as changing zone?
It's a zone change, but not the kind that a commander's replacement effect can apply to.
903.9. If a commander would be exiled from anywhere or put into its owner’s hand, graveyard, or library from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead. This replacement effect may apply more than once to the same event. This is an exception to rule 614.5.
4. Most of the time, as soon as a spell is cast (assuming the spell is a physical card and not simply a spell copy cast via something like isochron scepter), the card is changing zones. In this case, it's going from exile to the stack. Then if it resolves, it changes zones again and goes to the battlefield. If it doesn't resolve because it's countered, it's still changing zones and going to the graveyard, hand, back to exile, or the command zone depending on the counter method used (counterspell vs remand vs dissipate) and if the replacement effect is subsequently applied by the owner.
Hi!
3. If it's legal, if my opponent cast Gonti, Lord of Luxury targeting me, and my opponent exiled my commander (which is in library) with Gonti, Lord of Luxury ETB, can i move it to command zone?
3. No, because it's exiled face down, so you never get to know what it was in order to potentially apply the replacement effect which means you're out of luck until the card changes zones.
Is this a recent change? I remember a few years back there was a specific rule that you had to announce if you were taking the opponents commander as a facedown card, giving them the chance to send it to the command zone instead. Though I can't find such a rule in the newer version of the comp rules various old threads on this forum quote such a rule. Rule 903.9. should cover exiling it face down because being your commander isn't a property that can be hidden, which is why even while morphed commanders still deal commander damage.
Rule 903.9. should cover exiling it face down because being your commander isn't a property that can be hidden, which is why even while morphed commanders still deal commander damage.
You are correct on that point. Under C.R. 406.3a, "[a] card exiled face down has no characteristics", but a card's commander quality is not a characteristic (C.R. 903.3; see also C.R. 109.3), so that quality is unaffected even if that card is face down. (Note that C.R. 707.9 applies only to face-down permanents and spells, not also to face-down cards in exile.)
EDIT (May 21, 2019): Struck out a sentence.
EDIT (Feb. 4, 2021): Edited to conform to rule update for Kaldheim.
Hi!
3. If it's legal, if my opponent cast Gonti, Lord of Luxury targeting me, and my opponent exiled my commander (which is in library) with Gonti, Lord of Luxury ETB, can i move it to command zone?
3. No, because it's exiled face down, so you never get to know what it was in order to potentially apply the replacement effect which means you're out of luck until the card changes zones.
Is this a recent change? I remember a few years back there was a specific rule that you had to announce if you were taking the opponents commander as a facedown card, giving them the chance to send it to the command zone instead. Though I can't find such a rule in the newer version of the comp rules various old threads on this forum quote such a rule. Rule 903.9. should cover exiling it face down because being your commander isn't a property that can be hidden, which is why even while morphed commanders still deal commander damage.
It was changed in August of 2016. See this thread on the main site explaining the change and the expected behavior in this instances such as this one:
1. Is it legal to have my commander in library? (of course not at beginning of the game, but with some effect like Chaos Warp )
2. If it's legal, what if my commander is in different sleeve?
3. If it's legal, if my opponent cast Gonti, Lord of Luxury targeting me, and my opponent exiled my commander (which is in library) with Gonti, Lord of Luxury ETB, can i move it to command zone?
2. Your commander should always be in same type and color sleeve as the rest of the deck in preparation for such an eventuality. Similarly, if some cards are double-sleeved, all should be, and only having an oversized commander card without a regular sized copy is also insufficient.
3. No, because it's exiled face down, so you never get to know what it was in order to potentially apply the replacement effect which means you're out of luck until the card changes zones.
I used to be a demigod, but now I'm an omnimage
Thanks for the quick reply!
Another question
4. If my opponent cast my commander that got exiled with Gonti, Lord of Luxury , is it count as changing zone?
It's a zone change, but not the kind that a commander's replacement effect can apply to.
903.9. If a commander would be exiled from anywhere or put into its owner’s hand, graveyard, or library from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead. This replacement effect may apply more than once to the same event. This is an exception to rule 614.5.
I used to be a demigod, but now I'm an omnimage
You are correct on that point.Under C.R. 406.3a, "[a] card exiled face down has no characteristics", but a card's commander quality is not a characteristic (C.R. 903.3; see also C.R. 109.3), so that quality is unaffected even if that card is face down. (Note that C.R. 707.9 applies only to face-down permanents and spells, not also to face-down cards in exile.)EDIT (May 21, 2019): Struck out a sentence.
EDIT (Feb. 4, 2021): Edited to conform to rule update for Kaldheim.
http://mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18295