Rules glossary
903.3 Each deck has a legendary card designated as its commander. That card must be either (a) a creature card, (b) a Vehicle card, or (c) a Spacecraft card with one or more power/toughness boxes. 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.
- 903.3a Some cards have an ability that states the card can be your commander. This ability modifies the rules for deck construction, and it functions before the game begins. See also rule 113.6n. (refs: 113.6n)
- 903.3b If a player’s commander is a meld card and it’s melded with the other member of its meld pair, the resulting melded permanent is that player’s commander.
- 903.3c If a player’s commander is a component of a merged permanent, the resulting merged permanent is that player’s commander.
- 903.3d If an effect refers to controlling a commander, it refers to a permanent on the battlefield that is a commander. If an effect refers to casting a commander, it refers to a spell that is a commander. If an effect refers to a commander in a specific zone, it refers to a card in that zone that is a commander.
- 903.3e If an effect refers to a characteristic of “your commander,” it can find the appropriate player’s commander and see its current characteristics, as modified by continuous effects and other rules, in all zones, including that player’s library and hand.