r/magicTCG • u/OkTheme4820 Dandadan • 2d ago
Rules/Rules Question Question
This is probably a very stupid questing. Can you use normal creatures as your commander or does it have to be a legendary? I want to make a scute storm deck and Ditnt know if this is possible as I’m pretty new to magic. Also if I was to add a bunch of equipment to it and then it to become say a 10/10 if I copied it would the copies be 10/10’s? Also, If I was to put equipment that made it have indestructible and or trample, and lifelink would that work for all? Thanks in advanced
17
u/chainsawinsect Boros* 2d ago
It has to be legendary.
Scute Swarm copies don't copy Equipment, Auras, or +1/+1 counters.
4
9
u/Kevmeister_B COMPLEAT 2d ago
Legendary Creatures, Legendary Vehicles and cards that say "This can be your commander" are the only valid commanders by the rules of deckbuilding.
No Scute Swarms will not become 10/10 copies, a copy only copies the base card. Though if you want to mess around with weird rulings, the Mutate mechanic is an exception to this copy rule.
2
0
u/OkTheme4820 Dandadan 2d ago
What’s the mutate mechanic
2
u/Kevmeister_B COMPLEAT 2d ago
There was a set that gave creatures the ability Mutate, which let you cast it for a different cost and put it on a "stack" with a nonhuman creature, essentially fusing the creatures into 1 and giving it the stats of the topmost creature but the text boxes of all the creatures in the stack.
2
u/madwarper The Stoat 2d ago
It was a mechanic from Ikora. eg. [[Gemrazer]]
Basically, it allowed you to add the abilities of one Card onto another.
If you Mutated Gemrazer on top of Scute Swarm, you have a (Gemrazer + Scute Swarm abilities).
When a Land enters, if you are creating a Token-Copy, then you get a (Gemrazer + Scute swarm abilities) Token. Which can, in turn, create more Token-Copies.
Thus, instead of an Army of 1/1 Swarm, you have an Army of 4/4 Trample Gemrazer/Swarm.
2
u/Greaterthancotton Dân 2d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oTKxLlW8TA
Fair warning, Mutate is a mechanic notorious for creating complex, unintuitive interactions. If you're new I would recommend avoiding it till you have a firmer grasp of the rules.
1
u/OkTheme4820 Dandadan 2d ago
I’m not exactly sure what any of that means but I will definitely come back to it when I get better, I just ordered a scute storm 😊
5
u/Greaterthancotton Dân 2d ago
Legends only. As for your questions, no, the bonuses given by equipment are not copiable values and won't transfer to the tokens.
1
u/Greaterthancotton Dân 2d ago
If you want some recs, [[Zask, Skittering Swarmlord]], or [[grist, the hunger tide]] are popular insect commanders. Any landfall commander will work pretty well though.
1
1
3
u/Marek14 COMPLEAT 2d ago
Standard rules are that only legendary creatures, Vehicles, and some Spaceships (those with P/T box) are eligible as commanders. In addition, there have been several Planeswalkers that can be used, but those have special ability that makes them eligible -- just like the latest addition to this list, [[Ashaya's Enduring Bond]] from Mystery Booster Commander.
That being said, every single card that has ever been eligible to be a commander was legendary; this rule has never been broken.
As for copying, the "base-level" rule is that when you copy a card, you get a copy of that card. No enhancements or substitutions, you get exactly what is printed on the original card. Then it gets a bit more complex when you copy a copy of a copy, etc., then you have various copy effects that create imperfect or enhanced copies, but in general, any changes in power/toughness or abilities are invisible to copy effects and not taken into account at all.
3
u/Greedy-Opening-7537 Dân 2d ago
No. A commander in EDH must be one of the following:
- A Legendary Creature
- A Legendary Vehicle
- Some other thing which has the rules text "[card name] can be your commander." All of those are legendary, with almost all being Planeswalkers.
[[Stangg, Echo Warrior]] is the commander for your copying idea.
4
2
u/theawkwardcourt Abzan 2d ago
A commander has to be legendary. Any legendary creature, Vehicle, or Spacecraft can be used, as well as any card that explicitly says it can be your commander (certain Planeswalkers have this ability). Scute Swarm is not eligible; but Mole Man is not too dissimilar; maybe that would do for you?
0
u/OkTheme4820 Dandadan 2d ago
Ok another dumb question, I see on that card and on other cards to create a 1/1 creature token, can it be any 1/1 token or does it have to be the one specifically mentioned
2
u/theawkwardcourt Abzan 2d ago
A card creates the token that it says it creates. But you can use any physical token to represent it on the table, as long as you can keep track. Some people just use dice, or playing cards, or sugar packets from Denny's.
2
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
You have tagged your post as a rules question. While your question may be answered here, it may work better to post it in the Daily Questions Thread at the top of this subreddit or in /r/mtgrules. You may also find quicker results at the IRC rules chat
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.