Commander in Library
Asked by BlueMageBrandon 9 years ago
I hear everyone on the internet say that if the commander go to the library, you can't put it back in the Commander Zone. However, it says here that it can. I am incredibly confused and would love some help.
Play #11 Official Commander Rules
11 . If a Commander would be put into a library, hand, graveyard or exile from anywhere, its owner may choose to move it to the command zone instead.
Meaning: Whenever a spell or effect sends your commander to any place except your Commander zone, you have the option to send it to your command zone instead. If you choose not to put it back in your command zone and let your commander go elsewhere, then it goes there once that spell or effect resolves and you have to get it back by other 'legal' means you might have available on the battlefield or in your hand/deck.
December 26, 2015 6:29 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
This rule was only changed about a year ago; any posts or resources older than that will have been made at a time when the command zone replacement effect did not apply to commander cards moving to hands or libraries.
December 26, 2015 6:54 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #5
On that topic..
If your commander is on top of your library, and you Scry, would you have the option of moving it to your command zone if you were to put it to the bottom of your library? (As it says 'put into a library... from anywhere'). Same for other effects (eg. Sleight of Hand) which have you take cards to look at them, and then put some number of them back into your library.
December 27, 2015 1:49 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #6
You can't apply the commander replacement effect unless there's a zone change. Neither scry nor Sleight of Hand would move your commander from your library (assuming your commander is not the card you put into your hand with Sleight of Hand). Therefore, there's no zone change involving your commander, and the replacement effect isn't relevant.
December 27, 2015 2:04 a.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #7
That's what I thought, thanks. Just got a bit confused by 'from anywhere' rather than 'from any other zone'. =)
December 27, 2015 2:09 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #8
The phrases are equivalent, but "from anywhere" is actually used in card and rule text because it's implicit that putting a card somewhere from anywhere involves a zone change; otherwise, the card isn't being put anywhere.
GreenGhost says... #1
Yes they changed that recently. Before commanders could be shuffled into the library, but now it can be put back into the command zone instead.
December 26, 2015 6:24 p.m. Edited.