In Commander, does damage dealt by your commander after it changes zones still count as commander damage?

Commander damage is tracked per commander object, and when a commander moves to a new zone (such as dying and going to the command zone, or being exiled and returning), it becomes a new game object under CR 903.10a and the general rules of object identity (CR 400.7). The damage dealt by the previous object is not carried forward to the new object.

CR 903.10a states that a player who has been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game loses the game. The key phrase is 'the same commander' — this refers to the same object, not just the same card. When a commander changes zones and re-enters (even returning to the battlefield from the command zone), it is considered a new object with no memory of previous actions unless a specific rule or effect says otherwise.

However, the damage that was already recorded against opponents does still count — those life-total markings don't reset. What resets is the identity of the dealing object. Because damage is tracked cumulatively from all instances of that commander across the game (per CR 903.10a's 'over the course of the game' wording), tournament practice and rules treat damage from all zone-change instances of the same commander card as cumulative for the receiving player's total.

To clarify: the 21-damage threshold is tracked per card identity (same commander card), not per object instance. So damage dealt before and after a zone change by the same commander card DOES accumulate toward the 21-damage threshold. CR 903.10a is specifically worded to track across the entire game, making this an exception to normal zone-change object identity rules.

Example: Your Kaalia of the Vast deals 7 combat damage to an opponent, then dies and returns to the command zone. Next time it enters the battlefield and deals 14 more combat damage to the same opponent, that player has taken 21 commander damage total from Kaalia and loses the game — the damage accumulates across zone changes for the receiving player's tracking.