Blinking commander, command zone or no?
Asked by smackjack 5 years ago
If i take my opponents commander with Rubinia Soulsinger and blink it with Cloudshift, can my opponent choose to send his commander to the command zone (because its being exiled)? Does the commander return to the battlefield from the command zone instead of exile, or does that part fizzle?
Awesome, thanks!
On a related note, can Venser, the Sojourner blink creatures you take control of with Rubinia? Im guessing no, since Venser says you own, not control?
November 27, 2018 9:44 a.m.
Correct. Venser, the Sojourner specifies permanents you own. So you can't blink creatures you take control of from other players, but if someone else takes a permanent you own away from you, you can blink it back with Venser (say if the Rubinia player uses her to steal your commander from you).
Kogarashi says... Accepted answer #1
Your opponent can choose to send his commander to the command zone as a replacement effect for it being exiled due to Cloudshift, yes.
However, since Cloudshift says to return "that card" and not "the exiled card" to the battlefield, it can track it and return it. This is because the card didn't change zones (which is when an ability loses track), it went to a different zone than expected.
Abilities like Oblivion Ring that specify "the exiled card" can't track through replacement effects because they're specifically looking in the exile zone.
So in short, your opponent would put Rubinia Soulsinger in the command zone, but Cloudshift would still fetch it back for you.
Rules Ref: EDH Forums, post by Sheldon of the Rules Committee
November 27, 2018 9:02 a.m.