Hostage Taker card art

Hostage Taker

Creature — Human Pirate MV 4

Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.

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What it doesCombosRulingsIn the 99Every version

What it does

When this creature enters, exile another target creature or artifact until this creature leaves the battlefield. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled, and mana of any type can be spent to cast that spell.

Combos with Hostage Taker

The lines this card is part of, what it needs alongside it, and what the cards do together. An infinite result is the one that moves a deck's bracket.

  • Angel of Glory's Rise Ashnod's Altar Infinite
    • Infinite colorless mana
    • Infinite death triggers
    • Infinite creature ETB
    • Infinite creature LTB
    • Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
    See the steps on Commander Spellbook →
  • Angel of Glory's Rise Phyrexian Altar Infinite
    • Infinite colored mana
    • Infinite death triggers
    • Infinite creature ETB
    • Infinite creature LTB
    • Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
    See the steps on Commander Spellbook →
  • Angel of Glory's Rise Altar of Dementia Infinite
    • Infinite death triggers
    • Infinite creature ETB
    • Infinite creature LTB
    • Infinite mill
    • Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
    • Infinite self-mill
    See the steps on Commander Spellbook →
  • Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward Felidar Guardian Infinite
    • Infinite creature LTB
    • Infinite creature ETB
    • Infinite creature tokens
    • Infinite blinking of nonland permanents
    See the steps on Commander Spellbook →
  • Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Ashnod's Altar Infinite
    • Infinite creature LTB
    • Infinite creature ETB
    • Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
    • Infinite death triggers
    • Infinite colorless mana
    See the steps on Commander Spellbook →
  • Radiant Solar Sefris of the Hidden Ways Barrowin of Clan Undurr Infinite
    • Near-infinite creature ETB
    • Near-infinite creature LTB
    • Near-infinite death triggers
    • Near-infinite lifeloss for all players
    • Near-infinite creature sacrifice triggers
    See the steps on Commander Spellbook →

Combo data from Commander Spellbook, the community-maintained database of Magic combos. Mirrored nightly.

Rulings

8 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.

  • 2017-09-29

    In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If you leave the game, any spell or permanent cards you control from Hostage Taker's ability are exiled.

  • 2017-09-29

    In a multiplayer game, if Hostage Taker's owner leaves the game while the card is still exiled and another player owns that card, the exiled card will return to the battlefield under its owner's control. Because the one-shot effect that returns the card isn't an ability that goes on the stack, it won't cease to exist along with the leaving player's spells and abilities on the stack.

  • 2017-09-29

    If it's still in exile, the exiled card returns to the battlefield immediately after Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield. Nothing happens between the two events, including state-based actions.

  • 2017-09-29

    If Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield before its triggered ability resolves, the target permanent won't be exiled.

  • 2017-09-29

    Hostage Taker has received errata to prevent it from targeting itself. The correct Oracle wording appears above.

  • 2017-09-29

    If a token is exiled this way, it will cease to exist and won't return to the battlefield. You can't cast it.

  • 2017-09-29

    Once you begin to cast the exiled card, it's considered a new object. You'll control that spell and the permanent that spell becomes even if Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield.

  • 2017-09-29

    Auras attached to the exiled permanent will be put into their owners' graveyards. Any Equipment will become unattached and remain on the battlefield. Any counters on the exiled permanent will cease to exist.

Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.

In the 99

Every deck whose current list includes Hostage Taker, whatever its commander.

Decks running it 2
Games played 0
Win rate — Fewer than 5 completed games, which is not enough to publish a rate yet.
Confirmed on board 0 Games where a board photo caught it actually in play.

Most played under

Commander Decks Games Win rate
Sauron, Lord of the Rings 1 0 —

Colors it shows up in

  • Grixis 1 deck

Every version of Hostage Taker

9 printings, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly. A printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall publishes none for some of them.

Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Hostage Taker. It runs a name search across every version, which covers the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.

Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only. No individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.