Extirpate vs Surgical Extraction
Modern forum
Posted on April 11, 2017, 10:09 a.m. by SlimJim83
I see a lot of decks running Surgical Extraction over Extirpate, even those with black in the mana base. I'm a little confused by this. I would think Extirpate is a better choice because of the split second mechanic. Am I missing something besides the obvious pseudo free cast for Extraction?
Gotcha. Thanks for the reply. I think I'll be okay with Extirpate for now since I use it in my 8 Rack and Mill decks (yes, I'm a self-admitted scrub). I'll be sure to upgrade when I finish my more competitive deck.
April 11, 2017 10:29 a.m.
Servo_Token says... #4
Oh yeah, in both of those decks there's not really any reason to run surgical over extripate, both of those decks are basically the exception to the general rule about the two. Surgical is still marginally better because you can cast it when you're tapped out, but when the effect is actively part of your game plan and not just an add-on to a different strategy it's fine to pay the mana for it.
April 11, 2017 10:52 a.m.
That's great news for someone who's real life Mana base is really small. I don't have an affinity for money.
April 11, 2017 11:08 a.m.
The key thing that puts Surgical Extraction over the top on Extirpate in my mind is that it doesn't interrupt your gameplan. You can basically hold it up forever, as long as you have 2 life to spare. It's also a lot better for decks with Snapcaster Mage. Surgical-Snap-Surgical basically makes decks like Dredge unable to function if you catch Bloodghast and Prized Amalgam, and you can do it as early as Turn 2.
April 11, 2017 11:11 a.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #7
Surgical Extraction also works as a silver bullet against say, a turn-1 Griselbrand combo..
Servo_Token says... #2
There's a huge difference between zero mana and one mana in modern. Most decks want to use all of their mana every turn and can't hold up one for a trick, even if it is as devastating as this effect can be.
Generally people aren't trying to counter your surgical or even play cards around it, so the split second isn't nearly as effective as it would be in say legacy where force of will is a thing.
April 11, 2017 10:20 a.m.