Ruling: Grasp of Fate
Asked by Tacovine 4 years ago
Ruling question... I Grasp of Fate an opponents commander, he returns it to the command zone.. if Grasp of Fate leaves the battlefield, does he get to return his Commander to the battlefield for free or does he still have to pay the cmc+ Commander tax?
Grasp of Fate can actually pull a commander back out of the Command Zone for free.
There's a couple of these types of cards that work this way (Banishing Light is another one). Since it doesn't refer to the "Exiled Card" (like say Oblivion Ring) then the card doesn't need to be in that zone in order to return.
They would not have to pay the tax since they are not casting their commander out of the command zone (you only need to pay the tax when casting your commander out of the command zone).
April 9, 2020 6:48 p.m.
mn6334, I believe you are correct, thanks.. Found this video from Jumbo where he references Banishing Light.
April 9, 2020 7:28 p.m.
Do note that if your opponent casts their commander before Grasp of Fate is removed from the battlefield, Grasp of Fate can no longer find it due to the zone change making it a new game object.
It works with the initial move to the command zone because that is the result of a replacement effect changing where the card is going.
April 10, 2020 2:21 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #6
Tacovine: Since it's clear you got a satisfactory answer to your question, I marked it as the "Accepted answer" so that this topic can move out of the list of unanswered questions. Please remember to take care of this yourself in the future.
April 10, 2020 4:29 p.m.
The relevant rule was changed in June, so the existing answers are no longer true.
If the player chooses to put the commander into the command zone, it won't be brought back when Grasp of Fate is destroyed.
hejtmane says... #1
Has to be the commander tax if he wants to avoid the commander tax he have to leave it under grasp and remove grasp once he moves it to the alternate zone commander tax applies. Same for graveyard etc
April 9, 2020 5:56 p.m. Edited.