Can Planeswalkers do Commander Damage?
In this article, we’ll explore the age-old question of whether planeswalkers can inflict Commander damage. To start with, let’s break down what Commander damage is. Commander damage refers to the damage dealt by the Commander to an opponent, typically causing them to lose the game once their life total falls below a certain threshold (21, by default).
Can Planeswalkers Become Commanders?
One notable thing to mention is that a planeswalker can become a commander only if the card specifically indicates so. In the standard edition of Commander, a card requires the line "This card can be your commander" to be considered eligible.
What About the Rule ‘You May Not Control or Damage a Commander’?
For clarity, let’s review the relevant Commander rule: "You may not control, command, or deal combat or ability damage to a Commander" [(Rule 102.12b: Interaction with the Commanding Zone)]. This seems to immediately eliminate the possibility of planeswalkers damaging commanders, right?
Why You Might Think Planeswalkers Could Damage Commanders
In one context, it might appear plausible to think that planeswalkers, which are known for dealing massive amounts of damage, could affect Commander life totals. Think back to iconic cards like Karn Liberator, Nicol Bolas, and other planeswalkers, some of which can wreak havoc on a battlefield.
Deja Vu: Remember Lutri’s Debacle
Another essential element to consider is Lutri, the Spellchaser’s banning in Commander [(Archives)]. Why might Lutri, with a clear "This card can be your commander" clause, have been deemed banned? It was precisely because the presence of this planeswalker made other commands unfair. It provided these particular blue-red decks, essentially, an unfair advantage, especially compared to other, less common archetypes.
Single-Minded Foes vs the Mass: The Key Distinction
Let’s rejoin our conversation with the fundamental premise Rule 102.12b: ‘You may not control, command, or deal combat or ability damage to a Commander’. Notice: ability damage. Most crucially, ‘complement’ here only excludes targeting or attacking Commanders directly, where no ‘ability’ (passive or active) damage could originate.
What’s essential: If there isn’t any connection through rules between the damage, ‘attack’ (targeted commander directly), then ‘it works as per regular spells/cards rules’, hence. Pl aneswalkers as in these scenarios. Their in-battle impact stays at par with their respective in-BT/turn cards other planeswalkers
Final points:
- Command damage still cannot be directly affected without additional support cards and/any.
- *Damage cannot be ‘dumb damage’, like other things would; but we did address.
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A good player or player may require help with some decks when an opposing deck might
For those that think and would do. This. Here are your Planeswalkers are always 9, or they should take turns for. If another - For you it isn’t going in another planeswalker and have these scenarios and we or when
If that matters that to
| Criteria | Yes | No | Partial Support | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planeswalker-as-Commander | ⍿ | ❎ | ||
| Ability damage by Planeswalkers | ❓ | |||
| Combating Planes with direct damage | ❌ | ✔️ | ||
| Supporting this (no support from game-rules) | ️ | ❊ |
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