Path to Exile vs Swords to Plowshares..??
Deck Help forum
Posted on June 29, 2013, 2:33 p.m. by Metroid_Hybrid
...or maybe even Dispatch ?
Decisions... Decisions...
I've recently been tweaking my Legacy Knights & Equipment deck (Techno_Knights..) for sake of competitive play.. I was advised to exchange my 3xUnmake s for something more cost effective, and these seem to be my options (and their drawbacks)..
Path to Exile ; Personally I don't like the idea of giving my opponent a free land, especially early- to mid-game, but there are those that swear by this card as "the best removal spell in Modern" Though someone pointed out to me that I could use this on my own creature in the event of an opposing kill spell.. ;)
Swords to Plowshares ; Roughly the same Pros & Cons of above, except it applies to lifegain.. This I would find rather decremental in the case of removing a really big & scary creature..
and then there's this guy..
Dispatch ; Rather lackluster early-game, but considering that it hasn't been that hard to achieve 'Metalcraft' in practice, this otherwise has no potential recoil from use.. Worse case scenario; I can use it for preventing an attack, or creating an opening..
I figured ideally I would be using some combination of at least two of these.. I would really some input.. :)
If you can easily get Metalcraft online, then definitely Dispatch . Otherwise, it depends on your meta. If you're playing against decks that tend to revolve on a few smaller creatures or large abilities tacked onto small bodies, then Swords to Plowshares should do it. Against decks that might not even run basic lands or decks with big powerful threats, Path to Exile is ideal. Personally, I use Path to Exile .
June 29, 2013 2:39 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
Swords to Plowshares is the best white removal ever printed. I personally use it in my own Knight deck, and the lifegain usually isn't a problem when you can swing for 10+ per turn. It can be dangerous when you're dealing with reanimator or Sneak&Show, but there aren't many other decks that run abnormally fat creatures.
Path to Exile is certainly good, but it's dangerous to ramp your opponent in a format like Legacy. Whereas you can take back the life you give with Swords to Plowshares , you can't really take back the advantage you give with Path to Exile . Then again, the extra land isn't immediately threatening if you can kill them in the same turn.
Dispatch is only really viable in affinity, and most affinity decks don't seem to play it.
June 29, 2013 2:41 p.m.
Well let's put it this way I play 4 Swords to Plowshares and 1 Path to Exile in legacy. The life gain is usually negligeable because of the combos and easier to deal with in the end.
As you stated path is great in modern because swords isn't available.
June 29, 2013 2:42 p.m.
If you're playing them in EDH I would say use both, however Swords to Plowshares is better in my opinion. Giving your opponent a little more life is a lot less dangerous than giving them more land to work with.
June 29, 2013 2:52 p.m.
detentionsphere says... #7
Swords to Plowshares is by far the best, followed by Path to Exile , and Dispatch is just waaay worse than both of them.
June 29, 2013 6:17 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #8
If you run 4x Ancient Den 4x Memnite and 4xOrnithopter in your equipment deck, i know i do, then Dispatch kicks ass.
xzzane says... #2
Well, I only play Modern, but I can swear by Path to Exile . If you use it mid to late game, rarely will there be anything that they can really gain by getting the extra land. In addition, like you mentioned before, you can use it on yourself to potentially gain an extra land early in the game at the cost of a creature. Take my advice though with a heavy dose of salt though, because as I said, I only play Modern, not Legacy.
June 29, 2013 2:39 p.m.