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If my commander would die and I opt to move it to the command zone instead of the graveyard, does it cause a "when a creature dies" ability trigger?
An example would be Fool's Demise. If my opponent puts that on my commander, and then does lethal damage to it, would they get my commander or could I put it in my command zone?
I'd love any answer, but my playgroup needs an actual rule. So I would love a supporting rule citation.
This new rules change was announced on June 7, 2020 and became active in the Commander rules circa the release date of Core Set 2021. I'll explain the rules basis later, but to summarise the new rules:
This means:
Note that you're only given the option to move your commander out of the graveyard/exile to the command zone once—the very next time state-based actions are checked. In simple terms, this will be immediately after the spell/ability that put them there resolves, or if they died from combat damage, immediately after things die from combat. In both cases, you'll do this before any triggered abilities go on the stack and before anyone has any opportunity to cast spells and activate abilities.
If you don't move your commander to the command zone then, they'll be stuck where they are until you find another way to move them. You won't have indefinite permission to move them out from then onwards.
The rules didn't always work this way. Prior to this date, if you wanted to send a commander to the command zone instead of graveyard or exile, it would never reach graveyard or exile first and nothing would see it die or get exiled. The rules for putting a commander into its owner's hand/library haven't changed though.
A commander being sent to your graveyard or exile is now handled by a state-based action instead of a replacement effect.
The new state-based action is as follows:
If a commander is in a graveyard or in exile and that card was put into that zone since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone.
This means if your commander dies, you put it into the graveyard as normal. The next time state-based actions are checked, you can move it to the command zone. This state-based action will take place before any triggers go on the stack as a result of your commander dying. But those triggered abilities have already been triggered, and will still go on the stack the next time they have a chance to do so.
Your commander heading to your hand or library is still handled as a replacement effect:
If a commander would be put into its owner’s hand or library from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead. This replacement effect may apply more than once to the same event.
If you cast Rescue on your commander and choose to send them to the command zone, then because this is a replacement effect, Rescue functionally reads “Put target permanent you control into the command zone” — the “return to your hand” event is replaced and never happens.
For those interested, you can view the Commander rules both before and after the change on the Wayback machine: its content before this change was archived on June 18, and its content with the change was archived on August 18.
The word dies has a very specific meaning in mtg.
Dies used to be a keyword action in Magic similar to "destroy" and was reintroduced in Magic 2012 to replace the phrase "is put into a graveyard from the battlefield". "Dies" used to be a slang term for this occurrence before and is now officially used to signify triggers. It is exclusive to creatures while other card types still use the old phrasing.
700.4. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”
Although there is quiet a bit of slang usage of the term most of the slang usage out of a rules perspective is used incorrectly. There is a host of ways a creature can leave the battlefield and not die.
Things like exile, bounce and tuck effect will all remove the creature without it "die-ing"
You would be able to put your commander back in the command zone.
This isn't because your commander didn't die, though when this question was originally asked that was how things happened. Instead what now happens is this:
Before, sending the commander back to the command zone was a replacement effect. It went to the command zone instead of going into exile or the graveyard. Now the commander does go to the graveyard or into exile, but then can be moved back to the command zone as a state based action under rule 704.6d:
704.6d In a Commander game, if a commander is in a graveyard or in exile and that object was put into that zone since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone. See rule 903, “Commander.”
Dies in magic has a specific definition in the rules too:
700.4 The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”
This means that, yes, your commander did die according to the rules, but you still have the chance to move it out of the graveyard before anything can interact with it there.
For completion's sake:
704.5m If an Aura is attached to an illegal object or player, or is not attached to an object or player, that Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard.
