The Command Zone

Commander · beginner

The command zone is a special game area that exists in Commander. It is where your commander lives when it is not on the battlefield, and it is one of the things that makes the format work.

What the command zone is

• It is a public zone: cards in it are face up and visible to all players.
• At the start of the game, each player puts their commander into the command zone.
• A few other kinds of cards also use the command zone, such as dungeons and emblems, but for most games it just holds your commander.

Casting your commander from the command zone

• On your turn, when you have priority and could cast a creature, you may cast your commander straight from the command zone by paying its cost.
• This counts as casting it, so it can be countered, and "when you cast" triggers work normally.

Commander tax

Recasting your commander gets more expensive each time:

• The first time you cast it from the command zone, you pay its normal cost.
• The second time, you pay {2} extra.
• The third time, {4} extra, and so on. It is {2} more for each previous cast from the command zone.

This extra cost is called commander tax. It is generic mana, so any mana can pay it.

Returning your commander to the command zone

Whenever your commander would leave the battlefield, you get a choice:

• If it would go to the graveyard, be exiled, return to your hand, or be shuffled into your library, you may instead move it to the command zone.
• This is a replacement effect. You decide each time it happens.

Sending your commander back to the command zone keeps it safe and available to recast, at the cost of more commander tax. Leaving it in the graveyard or hand can sometimes be better, depending on your deck.

Things that are not casting

Putting your commander onto the battlefield without casting it (for example, by reanimating it or with an ability that puts it into play) does not add to commander tax, because tax only counts times it was cast from the command zone.

Source

• Official Commander rules: <https://mtgcommander.net/index.php/rules/>