Rulings

• 2007-02-01
  Both instances of X in the suspend ability are the same. You determine the value of X as you suspend the card from your hand. The value you choose must be at least 1.
• 2007-02-01
  If this is suspended, then when the last time counter is removed from it, both its triggered ability and the “play this card” part of the suspend ability will trigger. They can be put on the stack in either order.
• 2013-06-07
  As the second triggered ability resolves, you must cast the card if able. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type are ignored.
• 2013-06-07
  If the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) is countered, the card can’t be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
• 2013-06-07
  When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend will trigger. It doesn’t matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
• 2013-06-07
  If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again during the card’s owner’s next upkeep.
• 2013-06-07
  If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it’s exiled.
• 2013-06-07
  Exiling a card with suspend isn’t casting that card. This action doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
• 2013-06-07
  You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effect that affects when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that could stop you from casting it (such as Meddling Mage’s effect) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether or not you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.
• 2013-06-07
  If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those if able. However, if an additional cost includes a mana payment, you are forced to pay that cost only if there’s enough mana in your mana pool at the time you cast the spell. You aren’t forced to activate any mana abilities, although you may do so if you wish.
• 2013-06-07
  A creature cast using suspend will enter the battlefield with haste. It will have haste until another player gains control of it (or, in some rare cases, gains control of the creature spell itself).
• 2013-06-07
  If you can’t cast the card, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
• 2021-03-19
  As long as Benalish Commander is on the battlefield, its first ability will count itself.
• 2021-03-19
  If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card’s owner’s next upkeep.
• 2021-03-19
  When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend triggers. It doesn’t matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
• 2021-03-19
  As the second triggered ability resolves, you must cast the card if able. You must do so even if it requires targets and the only legal targets are ones that you really don’t want to target. Timing permissions based on the card’s type are ignored.
• 2021-03-19
  If an effect refers to a “suspended card,” that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
• 2021-03-19
  The ability that defines Benalish Commander’s power and toughness applies in all zones, not just the battlefield.
• 2021-03-19
  A creature cast using suspend will enter the battlefield with haste. It will have haste until another player gains control of it. (In some rare cases, another player may gain control of the creature spell itself. If this happens, the creature won’t enter the battlefield with haste.)
• 2021-03-19
  When the last time counter is removed from a suspended Benalish Commander, both its triggered ability and the suspend “play this card” triggered ability will trigger. They can be put on the stack in either order.
• 2021-03-19
  You are never forced to activate mana abilities to pay costs, so if there is a mandatory additional mana cost (such as from Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), you can decline to activate mana abilities to pay for it and hence fail to cast the suspended card, leaving it in exile.
• 2021-03-19
  The converted mana cost of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn’t paid.
• 2021-03-19
  You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage’s ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.
• 2021-03-19
  If this is suspended, then when the last time counter is removed from it, both its triggered ability and the “cast this spell” part of the suspend ability will trigger. They can be put on the stack in either order.
• 2021-03-19
  If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” such as with suspend, you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those to cast the card.
• 2021-03-19
  Because damage remains marked on a creature until the damage is removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to Benalish Commander may become lethal if other Soldiers you control leave the battlefield during that turn.
• 2021-03-19
  Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that causes you to cast the card when the last time counter is removed. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of that creature (or, in rare cases, you lose control of the creature spell while it’s on the stack).