Does the owner or controller get the exiled card when hostage taker leaves the battlefield?

Asked by Chomp16 3 years ago

The other night, I played Hostage Taker and stole an opponents Sol Ring, and then cast it the same turn. Then, my opponent stole Hostage Taker and blinked it with his own Conjurer's Closet targetting the sol ring that I stole, but was unable to cast it at that time. I then blinked the Hostage Taker with Aminatou, the Fateshifter. Who gains control of the sol ring? Me because I controlled it when it was exiled, or my opponent, who "owns" it?

Tylord2894 says... Accepted answer #1

The owner of the Sol Ring would get it back. When something changes zones, it has no "memory" of its previous existence.

Let's examine what would happen in a simpler example. You cast Hostage Taker and exile my Sol Ring. Hostage Taker then leaves the battlefield somehow. The Sol Ring then enters the battlefield under my control. It has no memory of its previous controller only its owner.

The same idea applies here. Even though you controlled your opponent's Sol Ring when it was exiled, the exiled Sol Ring doesn't "remember" who controlled it last. All it "knows" is who its owner is. When you blink Hostage Taker with Aminatou, they get their Sol Ring back immediately (during the resolution of the blink effect). Luckily, this means that you can target it with the Hostage Taker ETB trigger.

Hope this helps!!

July 14, 2020 10:32 a.m.