Fires of Invention and Commander CMC

Asked by WarpedZerghead 4 years ago

Howdy folks, got a question here... Each time a Commander is returned to the command zone, the cost to cat is increased by for each time it has been returned. Is this cost added to the CMC or is it a separate additional cost? If separate, would Fires of Invention work around having to pay the extra amount?

Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1

In the future, please use the Rules Q&A section of this site if you have questions about rules, cards, or card interactions. That section has some added functionality, including the ability to "Mark as Answer" a response to show your question has been resolved. I have gone ahead and moved this for you.

To answer your question, Fires of Invention will not allow you to offset the commander tax.

The costs for casting a spell can generally be divided into a few different categories. The relevant categories for your question are "mana costs" and "additional costs".

A spell's mana cost is the cost listed on the spell. So, let's say your commander is Neheb, the Eternal. Neheb's mana cost is .

The Commander Tax is an additional cost (Rule 903.8). Additional costs are, as their name implies, something in addition to the regular mana cost.

Take a look at Fires of Invention's wording - it says you can cast them "without paying their mana costs." So, for your Neheb, you do not have to pay , but you will have to pay any additional costs, such as the Commander Tax.

Here's the ruling from Fires of Invention's Gatherer page that is on-point:

  • If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs (such as that of Fling), you must pay those to cast the card.
April 16, 2020 4:52 p.m. Edited.

Please login to comment