Oversized Cards
Asked by Colten_Lee 9 years ago
Hey guys, I'm sure it's a no go, but I'll ask anyways. So I've got an oversized Commander, (normal size in the mail) but I have a small edh event tonight at a local shop, can I legally run my edh deck tonight or no?
Rhadamanthus says... #3
Because of its unusual size and the different design on the back, the oversized card doesn't count as an actual Magic card. It can't be considered part of the deck.
October 20, 2015 3:23 p.m.
Rhadamanthus is correct. However, note that casual playgroups may be alright with you using it (especially if a real copy is in the mail). Doing so at an event is probably a no-go though, certainly if it is a sanctioned event.
October 20, 2015 8:34 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... Accepted answer #5
If you google "Commander release notes" one of the things that will come up is the website: http://community.wizards.com/forum/rules-qa/threads/4160146
One of the paragraphs within explains about the use of oversized commander cards, which I copy/pasted for you below.
Oversized Commanders
Each Magic: The Gathering-Commander (2014 Edition) deck comes with an oversized foil card that corresponds to the commander of that deck. This card is for fun only and isnt required for Commander game play.
You must have the traditional Magic card version of your commander, even if you use the oversized card.
As long as your commander is in a public zone, such as the command zone or the battlefield, you may substitute the oversized card for the traditional Magic card.
If your commander is in a hidden zone, such as your library or your hand, use the traditional Magic card.
October 20, 2015 9:24 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #6
As for legality, bring both the oversized, (and the regular) if you have it. Let the present judge decide. However, if you do not have a legal, regular sized version of the card, I would say your deck is not legal to play for the reason that if you chose for your commander to go to a hidden zone, like your hand, the oversized card would stick out like a sore thumb. And in a sanctioned event, using proxies are not allowed with the exception of cards that become damaged DURING the tournament you are in. Here are some tournament rulings for MTG for you to read regarding proxies, as this ties in with my last post. (Keep in mind, these rulings may be for more elite/formal events than the one you're participating in).
3.4 Proxy Cards
A proxy card is used during competition to represent an Authorized Game Card that has been accidentally damaged or excessively worn in the current tournament (including damaged or misprinted Limited product) as determined solely by the Head Judge. Proxies are not allowed as substitutes for cards that their owner has damaged intentionally or through negligence.
3.3 Authorized Cards
Players may use any Authorized Game Cards from Magic: The Gathering expansions, core sets, special sets, supplements, and promotional printings. Authorized Game Cards are cards that, unaltered, meet the following conditions:
The card is genuine and published by Wizards of the Coast
The card has a standard Magic back or is a double-faced card.
The card does not have squared corners.
The card has black or white borders.
The card is not a token card.
The card is not damaged or modified in a way that might make it marked.
The card is otherwise legal for the tournament as defined by the format.
The card is a proxy issued by the judge of a tournament (see section 3.4 for rules about proxies).
Any other cards that are not Authorized Game Cards are prohibited in all sanctioned tournaments.
October 20, 2015 9:35 p.m.
The sticking out part is not really here nor there for the legality since the position of the commander in the deck is always known. "Commanderness" is a quality of the card not permanent and as such you always know where the commander is. So if you can come up with a suitably random method of placing the oversized card into the deck AND there were no separate ruling that the oversized cards are not legal then I would allow that :)
October 21, 2015 2:06 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #8
@ Draugo:
I'm not sure if I'm understanding you right, so please correct me if I'm wrong.
You're saying that the location of the commander is always known, however that is not necessarily correct. It is true that the commander property is a quality of the card, but if one were to allow it be shuffled into their library (For whatever reason), it would indeed retain the "commanderness". However, it's position would no longer be known as that would be considered cheating by knowing the location of a card in your library without legal means such as scrying.
An alternative way of explaining this is at the point where the oversized card would be placed into a hidden zone (hand or library or face-down exile[see Pyxis of Pandemonium]), the oversized card would be considered a marked card due to the fact of its size, where it would be easily distinguished at a specific card in that hidden zone.
Also, the use of a proxy for times where the oversized card would go to a hidden zone is prohibited because, as I stated above, the only time a proxy is allowed in a sanctioned event is when the head judge authorizes it for a card that has been incidentally damaged, or otherwise unplayable, while the tournament is underway. Therefore, unless that player has the regulation-sized card for his commander(for hidden zone issues), I wouldn't suggest using Only the oversized in a sanctioned event. But if you have both, by all means, use the oversized as long as the commander is in a revealed zone and use the regulation-sized for hidden zones.
HOWEVER, with the recent rule that was released considering the tuck rule, whereas you may have your commander go to the revealed command zone whenever he would go anywhere else, the oversized card would be fine here because you can just send it back to the command zone every time. As always, I enjoy having discussions and seeing other people's opinions on things. This is all my opinion and interpretation on the rulings, though. So, if you wish to respond and clarify if I understood right, do so with kindness, por favor! :)
October 21, 2015 3:21 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #9
@Draugo: The position of the commander card being "always known" isn't an official part of the Commander rules. It's an opinion/house rule shared by some players, but not all.
The simple fact of the matter is that the oversized card isn't a Magic card. For deckbuilding and gameplay purposes, it might as well be a Goblin token.
October 21, 2015 4:24 p.m.
@Rhadamanthus: It was not a house rule or opinion but official stance from the person who actually wrote the rule about commanderness being a property of the card that was always known. However it seems that the Commander RC has changed their stance on that and clarified it so that it no longer applies even though face down commanders still seem to deal commander damage which you don't need to tell your opponent about until they die from it. I haven't really kept up with Commander rules since I don't really play it.
October 22, 2015 4:03 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #11
Yes, my choice of words wasn't very good. I'm really not sure why I said it that way in the first place, so sorry about that. It was a principle that had some disagreement and confusion surrounding it, and now the official stance is different.
Colten_Lee says... #1
I actually think rule 108.2 means it is legal. Could be wrong
October 20, 2015 2:25 p.m.