Elbrus, the binding blade in Commander

[FustyDavorite]

This was a little issue we had in the Commander forum. Could {Elbrus, the Binding Blade} be a commander? And if so, would he be black? If not, could he be included in a colorless deck? And finally, if included in a colorless deck, what would happen when he flips?

[DylanW18]

It cannot be a Commander. Even though when it flips it's a creature, it is not a creature naturally, and therefore cannot be the commander .


Secondly, it cannot be put in a colorless deck. The black orb next to "Legendary Creature - Demon" denotes it as black. In commander, if ANY part of the card denotes a different color, it cannot be played unless the commander shares a color identity with that color.

RESOLVED

[FustyDavorite]

It cannot be a Commander. Even though when it flips it's a creature, it is not a creature naturally, and therefore cannot be the commander .


Secondly, it cannot be put in a colorless deck. The black orb next to "Legendary Creature - Demon" denotes it as black. In commander, if ANY part of the card denotes a different color, it cannot be played unless the commander shares a color identity with that color.

awesome. Thanks for the clarification!

[Mattao19]

This was a little issue we had in the Commander forum. Could {Elbrus, the Binding Blade} be a commander? And if so, would he be black? If not, could he be included in a colorless deck? And finally, if included in a colorless deck, what would happen when he flips?

1. No he can't be a commander bc it's an artifact. It's similar to how the flip cards from Kamigawa can't be commanders {Akki Lavarunner}
2. Only decks with Black in them can run it. Much like only {G}{B} decks can run {Garruk the Veil Cursed}
3. Does not apply

Then again EDH is casual so if your play group allows it to be your commander well go nuts!

[DylanW18]

No problem I may not be fancy with dem copy paste rules like Kaleo or Testset, but I know my stuff lol

[abstractApathist]

Relevant rulings:
711.2a: In every zone other than the battlefield, and also on the battlefield with its front face up, a double-faced card has only the characteristics of the front face.

202.2e: An object may have a color indicator printed to the left of the type line. That object is each color denoted by that color indicator. (See rule 204.)