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Rules AnswersCommander / EDH

What happens to a player's permanents when they lose the game in a Commander pod?

Short answer
All permanents the losing player owns or controls leave the game immediately; objects they own go to their owner's graveyard, exile, or hand per the rules.

When a player loses the game in a multiplayer game (including Commander), they leave the game immediately. Under CR 800.4a, all objects owned by that player that are in the game zone (battlefield, hand, library, graveyard, exile, command zone, etc.) are removed from the game along with them. Specifically, permanents they own leave the battlefield and effectively cease to exist in the game.

What about permanents they control but don't own? Under CR 800.4c, permanents controlled by the leaving player that are owned by other players are exiled. This prevents the losing player's control effects from stranding another player's cards in limbo.

Tokens the losing player controlled are also removed, since tokens are considered owned by the player under whose control they entered the battlefield (CR 111.2). They simply cease to exist when that player leaves.

Spells and abilities the leaving player controls on the stack are removed as well (CR 800.4a). Any spells or abilities that were targeting objects or players that no longer exist may become illegal and be countered by the rules (CR 608.2b).

Example: Alice controls a Gilded Drake she owns, plus Bob's Blightsteel Colossus she stole via Insurrection. When Alice loses, her Gilded Drake goes away with her (owned by Alice), and Bob's Blightsteel Colossus is exiled (owned by Bob but controlled by Alice at the time she lost), rather than returning to Bob's control.

HIGH confidence CR 800.4a CR 800.4c CR 111.2 CR 608.2b
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