Shuffle permanents into library that I don't own
Asked by Quickspell 3 years ago
Can I take control of an enemy permanent (Commander excluded) and shuffle it into my library?
No. Any card that says to shuffle something into a library will say to shuffle it into it's owner's library. A good example of this is Green Sun's Zenith which has you shuffle your library twice in most cases, because it want's the controller of the spell and the owner of the spell to both shuffle, in case their different people:
Search your library for a green creature card with converted mana cost X or less, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library. Shuffle Green Sun's Zenith into its owner's library.
6/8/2016 In most cases, if you own Green Sun's Zenith and cast it, you’ll shuffle your library twice. In practice, shuffling once is sufficient, but effects that care about you shuffling your library (like Psychogenic Probe, for example) will see that you've shuffled twice.
If for some reason a card isn't this careful, it will receive errata to be, such as Elixir of Immortality:
Original printing: , : You gain 5 life. Shuffle Elixir of Immortality and your graveyard into your library.
Oracle text: , : You gain 5 life. Shuffle Elixir of Immortality and your graveyard into their owner's library.
This oracle update was not a functional update, however, as the rules even make it so the first printing functions as the oracle text, the change was just for clarity:
400.3.If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner's, it goes to its owner's corresponding zone.
January 8, 2021 11:22 a.m.
even without the specific ruling, it should be easy to come to the conclusion that this sort of thing would not be allowed if we take a moment to think of the possible consequences. what if the card doesn't leave the library before the game ends? it'd be real easy for everyone to walk away from the table and forget that someone left one of their cards in another players library.
January 8, 2021 12:10 p.m.
These rules are so that people don't accidentally steal cards. While it would be fun to do things like that sometimes (and some silver-bordered cards like Letter Bomb and X do) it's not good if you forget the card is there until everyone's gone home.
January 8, 2021 12:43 p.m.
Quickspell says... #5
Thank you everyone, very thorough explanations!
January 9, 2021 7:14 a.m. Edited.
Quickspell says... #6
By the way:
If I gain control of target creature I don't control and then use Proteus Staff to put it on the bottom of its owner's library, I still get to put a creature card from my library into play because I had control over the creature when the ability was activated, right?
January 9, 2021 12:14 p.m.
Yes, the controller of the creature gets a new one from Proteus Staff, regardless of which library the creature went into (or if it went into a library at all—for example, if it was a token).
Rhadamanthus says... #1
No, you can't shuffle things you don't own into your library. You also can't put things you don't own into your hand or graveyard.
Here's the specific rule that covers it:
400.3 If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner's, it goes to its owner's corresponding zone.
January 8, 2021 11:19 a.m.