Lazav, the Multifarious commander and Dimir Doppelganger

Asked by Waffleflappers 5 years ago

Alright, if I've got Lazav, the Multifarious as my commander and I copy Dimir Doppelganger out of the graveyard and then procede to use the ability of Dimir Doppelganger to copy yet another card from a graveyard, let's say Black Cat, where does that leave the card?

Is it now named Black Cat, and therefore no longer my commander? Is it still my commander as well as being a Black Cat? Can it still deal commander damage? Is my commander's color identity now only black, and affecting cards such as Commander's Sphere?

Waffleflappers says... #1

One more addition to this question. What would happen if I played a Mirror Image and had it enter as a copy of the Black Cat that was previously my commander? Is the Mirror Image simply a Black Cat with Dimir Doppelganger's ability?

October 11, 2018 1:58 a.m.

Boza says... Accepted answer #2

No, a card that begins your game as a commander will always be that, "comanderness" is bestowed upon the card itself at the start of the game and it never loses it.

The described situation does not impact your ability to deal commander damage or your ability to produce either black or blue mana with Commander's Sphere.

Yes to the additional question, Mirror Image will be a Black Cat and opponents will discard a card at random when it enters the battlefield. Additionally, it will have the ability of Dimir Doppelganger, because that is a copiable characteristic.

October 11, 2018 2:39 a.m.

Boza says... #3

Relevant rules:

903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its commander. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.

Example: A commander that’s been turned face down (due to Ixidron’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A commander that’s copying another card (due to Cytoshape’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A permanent that’s copying a commander (such as a Body Double, for example, copying a commander in a player’s graveyard) is not a commander.

903.4a Color identity is established before the game begins.

October 11, 2018 4:06 a.m.

Kogarashi says... #4

Additionally, while Lazav, the Multifarious retains its Legendary status when it copies, the Dimir Doppelganger ability doesn't specifically state that, and thus your commander will be a non-legendary copy of Black Cat, meaning Mirror Image won't invoke the "legend rule" when it enters as a copy of your Black Cat commander.

After the first round of copying, your commander will be a 0/2 blue and black Legendary Shapeshifter creature named "Lazav, the Multifarious" with the Dimir Doppelganger's copy ability and Lazav, the Multifarious's ability.

After the second round of copying, your commander will be a 1/1 black non-Legendary Zombie Cat creature named "Black Cat" with the abilities of the Black Cat and Dimir Doppelganger but not Lazav's abilities.

In both cases, it will still retain its "commanderness," and still have a color identity of blue and black because that is a property of the card and not its current state as a permanent.

October 11, 2018 9:01 a.m.

Waffleflappers says... #5

Thank you both, this was very helpful.

October 11, 2018 5:06 p.m.

Please login to comment