Commander Change: Commanders die
During today’s CommandFest Online, the Rules Comittee had a panel during which they announced an upcoming rule change for the Commander format, planning to release with M21.
The panel didn’t read out the full comprehensive rules change, but talked about it in length, enough for players to know about exactly what it is.
In short: Commanders going to the graveyard (but not other zones) now count as “dying” for the game, even if they’re sent to the command zone. Elenda, Child of Alara, Roalesk, etc... now function like you want them to.
In details, for the rules-savvy ones: Commanders that go to the graveyard are no longer handled by the replacement effect 903.9 (that assumedly keeps handling other zones). Instead, a state-based action has been added that checks if your commander has been put into your graveyard since the last time it was checked, and gives you the OPTION to put it into the command zone from there.
Your commander sticks around in the graveyard long enough for the game to register it, but not long enough for anyone to take actions.
You commander triggers its own, and other cards’ death triggers that would register its death when it is destroyed. You don’t have the option to send it to the command zone directly and bypass death triggers.
Your commander going to the graveyard will now get affected by other replacement effects, be them Rest in Peace or Guile. However, if it would be pulled out of the graveyard that way, you have the option to send it to the command zone (maybe not if it’s pulled from the graveyard directly onto the battlefield by a replacement effect, but I don’t think there’s any of those yet.)
We don’t know yet whether this state-based action will handle commanders being put into the graveyard specifically from the battlefield or from all zones, but I’m betting on the latter.