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Commander 2018 includes a cycle of cards that say:

When you cast this spell, copy it for each time you've cast your commander from the command zone this game.

How does this relate to Partner cards? Suppose I've cast one of my partner commanders 3 times, and one of them 4 times. Does that count as 7 casts—and 7 copies—for the purposes of one of these cards, or do I have to choose one of my commanders and copy it only 3 times or 4 times? The first option is like how we treat split cards, the second is like how we treat Command Beacon.

I expected a ruling on the Commander 2018 release notes to clarify this, but they didn't.

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    It might help to wait for the actual rules update, to see if they change the rules for Partner.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 15:23
  • @murgatroid99 While a rules update is always possible, the rules for Partner (and Partner with) are already established; and there's no need for an update to make these cards work.
    – GendoIkari
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 16:39
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    Linked abilities that exile cards have a similar issue, and that is solved by a part of rule 607.3 that says "f that ability asks for any information about the exiled card, such as a characteristic or converted mana cost, it gets multiple answers. If these answers are used to determine the value of a variable, the sum of the answers is used." Since this is very explicitly covered for that case, I am anticipating that a similar rule may be added for Partner.
    – murgatroid99 ♦
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 16:46

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It would count all 7 times.

702.123e If an effect refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to either one. If an effect causes you to perform an action on your commander and it could affect both, you choose which it refers to at the time the effect is applied.

"It refers to either one"... so in this case we can treat the ability as:

When you cast this spell, copy it for each time you've cast [either one of your commanders] from the command zone this game.

In other words, it is how many times have you done the act of "casting your commander from the command zone".

This has been confirmed by Gavin Verhey, a Senior Magic: The Gathering Designer at Wizards of the Coast, on Twitter:

I double checked with rules manager @EliShffrn and indeed: you get a copy for each time you have cast any of yout partners. So if you have cast Pir and Toothy each once, you will receive two copies. :)

Also, (thanks @Jorn), the "Designing Commander" article specifically backs this up:

These "commander storm" cards have quite the history. Handed off from design, the effects changed quite a bit, but the key mechanic didn't: caring about how many times you cast your commander. (Also, yes, these do work really well with partner commanders like those found in Battlebond!) This mechanic was a lot of fun!

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    This is mentioned explicitly in the design article: magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-preview/… "(Also, yes, these do work really well with partner commanders like those found in Battlebond!)"
    – Jorn
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 19:42
  • FYI in October 2018 a new Gatherer ruling was added to the Commander Storm cards: "10/5/2018 If you have multiple commanders, you’ll copy this spell for each time you’ve cast either of them. For example, if you’ve cast one commander once and one twice, you’ll copy this spell three times." See it here at the bottom.
    – doppelgreener
    Commented Feb 1, 2019 at 13:46

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