Can a properly summoned monster, that was returned to the hand, be discarded to the graveyard and special summoned from there?

Question

Let's say for example I summon Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning properly, by banishing one light and one dark monster from my graveyard.

Then, my opponent uses Compulsory Evacuation Device to return Envoy of the Beginning to my hand.

Can I then send Envoy of the Beginning to the Graveyard (by discarding it) and special summon it from the graveyard? Given that I already summoned it properly before. I'm not sure if returning it to the hand would make it considered not summoned properly.

This is just an example. I would have the same question regarding a ritual monster or an extra deck monster:

If they are summoned properly and then returned to the hand or extra deck. If I send them directly from the hand or extra deck to the graveyard after summoning them properly in a previous turn, can they be special summoned from the graveyard?

Answer 1

Short answer: In this specific scenario you mention (back to hand) you can't.

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Longer answer: Lets see some of the card text of BLS:

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set.

This card cannot be normal summoned or set.

Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your Graveyard.

_{emphasis mine}

The key part here is the "first" in the text. This means that you first have to summon it in the required way but after doing that you can Special Summon it by other means. This is the case for all cards that say the "must first be...", unless otherwise indicated.

Also, as Compulsory Evacuation Device does not negate the summoning then your BLS was indeed successfully summoned by the required way; if the case where that you opponent negated the summoning by any means (like with Solemn Warning), then you will not be able to bring him from the GY.

However, this case is a bit different as per the effect of Compulsory Evacuation Device. These type of cards are referred as Special Summon-only monsters (or semi-nomi). And yes you could bring your BLS back after succesfully summoning him, but that only lasts while it's on the field (from that link):

After being properly Special Summoned, as long as that Monster Card remains on the field (even if face-down), in the Graveyard, or banished, it is considered properly Special Summoned.

So this means that you did successfully summon BLS... but it was immediately returned to your hand, where it's condition "resets"; you will now have to banish two more monsters to summon again.¹

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On the other hand, other cards like Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, are not able to do this, as they specifically restrict the summon to certain way:

Must be either Fusion Summoned, or Special Summoned by sending the above monsters you control to the Graveyard (in which case you do not use "Polymerization"), and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways.

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¹ This "resetting" thing if I am not mistaken is not rare on other card games. In Legend of the Five Rings (RIP) this was the case when cards returned to hand, and my vague MTG knowledge says that this is also true there.

Think of it this way: when that cards returns to your hand/deck, it is no longer public knowledge which specific card that copy was. There is no way to officially take track of what physical copy it was, nor tell apart from possible multiple copies in your hand, etc..

Answer 2

This is a game mechanic, the reason for this is: once a monster is returned to the hand, deck, extra-deck, the game knowledge of that card has been lost. There is no reliable way to know which particular copy of that card was first properly summoned, but cards that are special summoned and then flipped face down by a card effect (like 'Book of Moon') are still considered to have been properly summoned.

Cards like BLS are known as semi-nomi, these include cards with the text 'Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned by' (older cards may read This card can only be Special Summoned by).

Extra deck monsters which are inherently considered semi-nomi cards: Fusions, Syncros, Xyzs. These cards must first be special summoned properly, fusion summoned, synchro summoned, etc, this is true whether or not the card text contains must be specially summoned by.

Other main deck monsters include Ritual monsters which first must be ritual summoned.

Nomi which can only be special summoned according to their card text will often contain the phrase 'except by'. (Apparently, something was lost in translation. I believe most Linguist would agree that 'except by' and 'only by' have the same meaning). Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's not clear to you, it's best to look it up.