I need to check an interaction from a mirror match I was just playing.
I exile and cast an opponent's creature using my Hostage Taker. If they then cast their own Hostage Taker to exile the same creature I have stole, whose control does the creature return under if I kill their Hostage Taker before they get to cast the creature?
Does it return to the battlefield under my opponents control, its owner's? Or under my control, as I controlled it when it was last on the battlefield?
A card exiled with Hostage Taker, once Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield, will return to the battlefield under its owner's control, no matter who last controlled the permanent it used to be before it was exiled this way (since Hostage Taker doesn't state otherwise) (C.R. 610.3c). See also this thread.
EDIT (Jul. 2, 2020): One rule was renumbered with Core Set 2021.
610.3. Some one-shot effects cause an object to change zones “until” a specified event occurs. A second one-shot effect is created immediately after the specified event. This second one-shot effect returns the object to its previous zone.
[...] 610.3b An object returned to the battlefield this way returns under its owner’s control unless otherwise specified.
What if I turn hostage taker into a 3-3 green elk? Does hostage-takers affect stay in play. Or does the exiled creature return to its original owner?
In the future, please create a new thread for new questions rather than reviving one that's nearly two years old. Also, please name all of the cards involved in your question and use card tags. Go here to learn how.
The effect remains in place, because it was created by the Taker's enter-the-battlefield ability resolving, and it is not dependent on the Taker keeping the ability after it has resolved. The exiled creature or artifact will still return if the Taker leaves the battlefield. That remains true even if it changes name somehow. The effect only checks that the permanent that was the source of the ability remains on the battlefield, no matter what abilities it has or what it becomes.
I'm a former judge (lapsed), who keeps up to date on rules and policy. Keep in mind that judges' answers aren't necessarily more valid than those of people who aren't judges; what matters is we can quote the rules to back up our answers. When in doubt, ask for such quotes.
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I exile and cast an opponent's creature using my Hostage Taker. If they then cast their own Hostage Taker to exile the same creature I have stole, whose control does the creature return under if I kill their Hostage Taker before they get to cast the creature?
Does it return to the battlefield under my opponents control, its owner's? Or under my control, as I controlled it when it was last on the battlefield?
EDIT (Jul. 2, 2020): One rule was renumbered with Core Set 2021.
610.3. Some one-shot effects cause an object to change zones “until” a specified event occurs. A second one-shot effect is created immediately after the specified event. This second one-shot effect returns the object to its previous zone.
[...]
610.3b An object returned to the battlefield this way returns under its owner’s control unless otherwise specified.
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I'll assume you're using Oko, Thief of Crowns, but Kenrith's Transformation would yield the same results.
The effect remains in place, because it was created by the Taker's enter-the-battlefield ability resolving, and it is not dependent on the Taker keeping the ability after it has resolved. The exiled creature or artifact will still return if the Taker leaves the battlefield. That remains true even if it changes name somehow. The effect only checks that the permanent that was the source of the ability remains on the battlefield, no matter what abilities it has or what it becomes.