It's been a long time since I faced a situation in Commander in which I wasn't sure about the correct ruling.
Well, last night, that happened not only once, but twice!
First question. If I exile a Nighthawk Scavenger with a Dino DNA, then activate it to create a copy of the nighthawk, what is the power and toughness of the dinosaur copy? Assume my opponents have four different card types in their graveyards.
Second question. My opponent cast Rise of the Dark Realms and gained control of many of my dead dinosaurs, including Gishath, Sun's Avatar. I control a Swooping Pteranodon. On my turn, I cast a Kinjalli's Sunwing, and gain control of Gishath. I then proceed to attack and kill the player that took control of my dinosaurs. I know that my dinosaurs are exiled because they entered the battlefield under the control of the dead opponent. But, what happens to Gishath? Does it too goes into exile, or is it now under my control forever?
Rules for dinosaurs
Accepted Answer
1) It will be a 6/6. Because the copy effect sets the Power and/or Toughness, the Characteristic Defining Ability of the Scavenger isn't even copied at all. See 707.9d:
2) Gishath will be exiled at the end of your turn when you would normally lose control of it. This rule covers it:
Go to full post707.9d. When applying a copy effect that doesn't copy a certain characteristic, retains one or more original values for a certain characteristic, or provides a specific set of values for a certain characteristic, any characteristic-defining ability (see rule 604.3) of the object being copied that defines that characteristic is not copied. If that characteristic is color, any color indicator (see rule 204) of that object is also not copied. This rule does not apply to copy effects with exceptions that state the object is a certain card type, supertype, and/or subtype "in addition to its other types." In those cases, any characteristic-defining ability that defines card type, supertype, and/or subtype is copied.
2) Gishath will be exiled at the end of your turn when you would normally lose control of it. This rule covers it:
800.4c. If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.
Commander decks
| Deck | Power |
|---|---|
| Inferno | 5 |
| Devoured by Dragons | 5 |
| Midnight Hunt | 6 |
| Hidden Dragon | 6 |
| Chaos Reigns | 6 |
| Draconic Onslaught | 7 |
1) It will be a 6/6. Because the copy effect sets the Power and/or Toughness, the Characteristic Defining Ability of the Scavenger isn't even copied at all. See 707.9d:
2) Gishath will be exiled at the end of your turn when you would normally lose control of it. This rule covers it:
707.9d. When applying a copy effect that doesn't copy a certain characteristic, retains one or more original values for a certain characteristic, or provides a specific set of values for a certain characteristic, any characteristic-defining ability (see rule 604.3) of the object being copied that defines that characteristic is not copied. If that characteristic is color, any color indicator (see rule 204) of that object is also not copied. This rule does not apply to copy effects with exceptions that state the object is a certain card type, supertype, and/or subtype "in addition to its other types." In those cases, any characteristic-defining ability that defines card type, supertype, and/or subtype is copied.
2) Gishath will be exiled at the end of your turn when you would normally lose control of it. This rule covers it:
800.4c. If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.
