If I allow someone to take my Commander (stupid, I know, but work with me), and then they try to alpha strike me using the general, is it still my commander that I can scoop at any time?

Same idea if it's put in my graveyard, deck, or hand.

Or is it only when the commander is under your control in your battlefield? This could actually matter in a deck I just built where I can use Reins of Power to steal their stuff.

Nothing can stop you from conceding, not even someone else controlling your turn (and, they can't make you concede). Also, conceding doesn't matter where your commander is.

So yes, if someone else controls your Commander, you can just scoop and remove all the cards you own (ie, started in your deck) from the game.

Typically though, doing such a thing is kind-of a jerk move. Especially if you're about to die -- just let the player have his glory, you just need to sit there for another 2 minutes or so. If someone is controlling your stuff and alpha-striking someone else to kill them, and you concede so that the attack will no longer kill the person -- definitely a jerk move.

Actually, the question is more like can I exile the Commander to the commander zone from any zone other than the battlefield? And part two is do I have to have control my commander to exile my commander?

Apologies for the previously badly worded question!

You can't just randomly command zone your commander. You can only apply the effect on zone changing.

Ahhh.

As Epsilon says - you can't just cause your commander to change zones. But, if it is changing zones into the exile, hand, or library zone, you can replace that zone movement with moving it to the command zone.

So you would still need to Terminate (for example) your commander to do that.

Wasn't there a work-around to stop people permanently exiling commanders when they controlled other people's turns? Or is that still a thing?

As far as I know that's still a thing.

I mean, it's easy enough to house-rule that controlling a players turn doesn't let you make the choice on to use the commander replacement effect or not, but I'm pretty sure it's only a houserule.

I think it happens rarely enough now that it may not be considered worth the 'added complexity' to cut out that loophole.

So then one more follow-up. If someone uses an instant to control my commander, it is changing from my side of the battlefield to theirs. Does that count as a instance where I can replace that movement with sending the commander back to the commander zone?

This kind of stuff has confused my group. We were under the impression that if someone didn't like what someone was targeting their commander with Pacifism, they could use the Commander function. I guess that was wrong...we thought it was kind if ridiculous, but we thought was the actual rule.

A control or state change is not a zone change. It's still on the battlefield, it's just serving someone else.

Play instant speed sacrifice outlets to prevent theft or pacifism effects being played on your commander for value.

Turns out that stealing is one of the more reliable ways of getting rid of enemy commanders. For extra fun, you can try out cards like Desertion, Gather Specimens and Commandeer, which basically steal their commander from the stack so it comes onto the battlefield already on your side and they don't even have a chance to sacrifice it

Just a head's up: Commandeer says "non-creature" So, there will be very few commanders you can use this on.


Take a look at the rules posted on this site -- they're in friendly, easy to understand terms (and not the lawyer-ese that the Comprehensive Rules are written in). Hopefully it can clear up anything -- and, if you still have questions, feel free to ask.

The rules there say this about the zone-change rule: "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."

So it's only in certain situations that you can move your commander to the command zone.

Oops, my bad. Still, technically possible (thanks, Freyalise and friends!).

I'm a little rough on this though: Are the Theros Gods always creatures on the stack?

Yes.

Cool, thanks.