Control and ownership

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This page is about the game concept. For the archetype, see control deck. For the set with the codename "Control", see Ravnica: City of Guilds.

The owner of a card is the player who brought it into the game. The owner of a token is the player who created it. The controller of a spell or permanent is the one who has control over it, which is usually the owner.

Description

Within the rules of Magic: The Gathering, you and your are words that refer to an object’s controller, its would-be controller (if a player is attempting to cast or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller).

Gaining control

The rules for how most game actions work are centered around the permanents you control or objects you own. Some effects can change who controls permanents or spells. The effects can be permanent, can last as long a certain card is tapped, as a certain card is in play, or last until end of turn. If the control last until end of turn, the permanent is sometimes destroyed. Targets may be restricted by mana value or Power/Toughness.

Gaining control is primary in red and blue, secondary in black and tertiary in white and green.

Gaining control over First appearance Set
Creature Old Man of the Sea Arabian Nights
Artifact Aladdin Arabian Nights
Attacking creature Disharmony Legends
Legendary creature Willow Satyr Legends
Creature of opponent's choice Preacher The Dark
Thrull Thrull Champion Fallen Empires
Land Orcish Squatters Ice Age
Nonartifact, nonblack creature Ritual of the Machine Alliance
A certain card by paying a cost Emberwilde Djinn Mirage
Dragon Hivis of the Scale Mirage
Regenerated creature Debt of Loyalty Weatherlight
Blocked creature Tolarian Entrancer Weatherlight
Enchanted creature Rootwater Matriarch Tempest
All permanents you own Brand Urza's Saga
All enchantments Aura Thief Urza's Destiny
Damaged creature Charisma Mercadian Masques
Legendary permanent Empress Galina Invasion
Aura Aura Graft Odyssey
Permanent Blatant Thievery Onslaught
All creatures with a certain creature type Peer Pressure Onslaught
All creatures Insurrection Onslaught
Sliver Sliver Overlord Scourge
Equipment Murderous Spoils Darksteel
Nonlegendary creature Blind with Anger Champions of Kamigawa
Donkey Assquatch Unhinged
Creature with +1/+1 counter Cytoplast Manipulato Dissension
Monocolored creature Govern the Guildless Dissension
Noncreature spell Commandeer Coldsnap
Goat Goatnapper Lorwyn
All lands Gilt-Leaf Archdruid Morningtide
All Dragons Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund Alara Reborn
Vampire Olivia Voldaren Innistrad
All artifacts Hellkite Tyrant Gatecrash
Planeswalker Dragonlord Silumgar Dragons of Tarkir
Creature targeted by a spell Willbreaker Magic Origins
Spell Aethersnatch Commander 2015
Vehicle Kari Zev's Expertise Aether Revolt
All Survivors Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor Commander 2018
Human Opportunistic Dragon Throne of Eldraine
All Commanders Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools Commander Legends
All Rat tokens Tribute to Horobi Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Noncommander creature Shield Broker New Capenna Commander
All nonland permanents Dihada, Binder of Wills Dominaria United Commander

Exchanging control

Reins of Power from Stronghold was the first card that exchanged control of all creatures between two players. Another example is Twist Allegiance from Betrayers of Kamigawa.

Prevent taking control

Guardian Beast from Arabian Nights was the first and only card that prevented players from taking control of the player's cards.

Donating

"Donate" is a keyword action used on the non-legal Heroes of the Realm card Elusen, the Giving. As the acorn judge, Mark Rosewater defined “donate” as giving control of a card you control to another player.[1]

Several eternal cards have the same effect. Either this concerns a creature with a detrimental effect or a card that can be used in multiplayer games to aid allies. Examples are:

Controlling another player

A few effects allow one player to control another player's actions for a short time.

Glossary entries

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Control, Controller
“Control” is the system that determines who gets to use an object in the game. An object’s “controller” is the player who currently controls it. See rule 108.4.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Owner
The player who (for purposes of the game) a card, permanent, token, or spell belongs to. See rules 108.3, 110.2, 111.2, and 112.2.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

You, Your
Words that refer to an object’s controller, its would-be controller (if a player is attempting to cast or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller). See rule 109.5.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 108.3. The owner of a card in the game is the player who started the game with it in their deck. If a card is brought into the game from outside the game rather than starting in a player’s deck, its owner is the player who brought it into the game. If a card starts the game in the command zone, its owner is the player who put it into the command zone to start the game. Legal ownership of a card in the game is irrelevant to the game rules except for the rules for ante. (See rule 407.)
    • 108.3a In a Planechase game using the single planar deck option, the planar controller is considered to be the owner of all cards in the planar deck. See rule 901.6.
    • 108.3b Some spells and abilities allow a player to take cards they own from outside the game and bring them into the game. (See rule 400.11b.) If a card outside that game is involved in a Magic game, its owner is determined as described in rule 108.3. If a card outside that game is in the sideboard of a Magic game (see rule 100.4), its owner is considered to be the player who started the game with it in their sideboard. In all other cases, the owner of a card outside the game is its legal owner.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 108.4. A card doesn’t have a controller unless that card represents a permanent or spell; in those cases, its controller is determined by the rules for permanents or spells. See rules 110.2 and 112.2.
    • 108.4a If anything asks for the controller of a card that doesn’t have one (because it’s not a permanent or spell), use its owner instead.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 109.5. The words “you” and “your” on an object refer to the object’s controller, its would-be controller (if a player is attempting to play, cast, or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller). For a static ability, this is the current controller of the object it’s on. For an activated ability, this is the player who activated the ability. For a triggered ability, this is the controller of the object when the ability triggered, unless it’s a delayed triggered ability. To determine the controller of a delayed triggered ability, see rules 603.7d–f.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 110.2. A permanent’s owner is the same as the owner of the card that represents it (unless it’s a token; see rule 111.2). A permanent’s controller is, by default, the player under whose control it entered the battlefield. Every permanent has a controller.
    • 110.2a If an effect instructs a player to put an object onto the battlefield, that object enters the battlefield under that player’s control unless the effect states otherwise.
    • 110.2b If an effect causes a player to gain control of another player’s permanent spell, the first player controls the permanent that spell becomes, but the permanent’s controller by default is the player who put that spell onto the stack. (This distinction is relevant in multiplayer games; see rule 800.4c.)

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 111.2. The player who creates a token is its owner. The token enters the battlefield under that player’s control.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 112.2. A spell’s owner is the same as the owner of the card that represents it, unless it’s a copy. In that case, the owner of the spell is the player under whose control it was put on the stack. A spell’s controller is, by default, the player who put it on the stack. Every spell has a controller.
    • 112.2a Some effects instruct a player to create a copy of a card and say they may cast it. In that case, the owner of that copy is the player who is instructed to create it and given permission to cast it.

References