Best Plains Removal?
General forum
Posted on March 5, 2012, 5:40 p.m. by liquidweapon
Hoping for some help with deciding which plains removal to add to my Modern format deck; the deck is similar to Soul Sisters. I have identified the following cards as solid removal spells, but I'm not sure which would be best to go with. These are the cards I am considering, but am certainly open to other suggestions:
Sidenote:1) I am already playing 2 Leonin Relic-Warders.
2) I am also tempted with the following:
The best "plains" removal would have to be Flashfires. They are white cards, not plains cards. The little sun symbol means "white mana," not "plains."
That aside, Path to Exile is arguably the best removal in the format, period. Condemn is also quite good. Oblivion Ring is useful to get rid of anything else. Depending on the style of your deck Wrath of God could be useful. It should definitely be in the sideboard for decks that are faster than yours. You generally want to avoid Pacifism and its variants. They are acceptable in limited, but far outclassed in constructed. Think of creatures like Lotus Cobra and Consecrated Sphinx (just examples), the threat they pose to you isn't in them attacking or blocking; which is why outright removal is always better.
March 5, 2012 6:55 p.m.
Heh, bcurran, when I saw this post title in my feed, I was like, "Well, Flashfires, of course."
March 5, 2012 7:10 p.m.
liquidweapon says... #6
"The best "plains" removal would have to be Flashfires. They are white cards, not plains cards. The little sun symbol means "white mana," not "plains.""
Wow...really?? I would have thought the examples I had provided in the post and the types of cards that were would have surely indicated that I was referring to plains (that white sun symbol) cards that could be used to remove other cards (particularly creatures, but also artifacts and enchantments).
But anyways, to clarify in detail: "Which of the cards listed above (or any that I might not be thinking of), would be recommended to play in a modern deck that is similar to Soul Sisters (not sure why you would think I would want to add Flashfires to the above list).
But the title is misleading, it should read "Best Removal In A White Deck."
March 5, 2012 7:27 p.m.
We were just joking, obviously. Stick to straight up removal like Path to Exile and Oblivion Ring. Avoid things like Pacifism (Recumbent Bliss and Prison Term in your list). Condemn is not outright removal, but it is a useful sideboard against hyper-aggressive decks.
March 5, 2012 8:02 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #9
Came here to post "Flashfires", but I see I'm painfully late to the party.
March 5, 2012 8:57 p.m.
Those are rather bad compared to Path to Exile and Condemn aren't they? The last thing I want is to leave the aggro deck with a creature, even if it is a smaller one. And I certainly don't want to pay triple white for what I could pay a single mana for instead.
March 5, 2012 8:58 p.m.
thebeardedshuffler says... #12
Well it depends. If you want removal for a mono-white deck then Unmake has very little drawback when you're already considering things like Oblivion Ring, Recumbent Bliss, Prison Term or Journey to Nowhere. Those are all also expensive and none of them are instant speed. And I don't know how many slots you have open for the removal. If you want to put in a LOT of removal then there's no harm in having many options.
As for Crib Swap, it's debatable whether giving them their choice of basic land, or a 1/1 colourless creature. Allso aside from Path to Exile all your suggestions are situational, either requiring combat to pull off or for it to be your go. Unmake and Crib Swap are both unconditional instant speed removal. After all, sometimes it's not the attacking creature that's the biggest threat.
March 5, 2012 9:05 p.m.
I'm new to magic. I've been playing for over a year now and I miss Condemn. Journey to Nowhere was really good, but I didn't understand the power of the card until after the block rotated out.
I've never seen Path to Exile until now, but the card seems amazing! If it were to return to standard I would probably play white in a lot more decks.
Currently I like Oblivion Ring, but its merits are that it can remove more than creatures.
March 5, 2012 9:11 p.m.
I never said Condemn was maindeck material. I said it was a sideboard option against hyper-aggressive decks, against which there will almost always be an attacking creature to use it on.
While it is debatable whether giving them a 1/1 or a land is better, the difference in mana costs seals the deal.
The only sorcery speed suggestion I made was Oblivion Ring, which makes up for its speed by being able to hit anything. If you read my posts, I explicitly advised the OP to stay away from Pacifism variants like Prison Term. I will repeat yet a third time: do not run those cards.
March 5, 2012 9:15 p.m.
thebeardedshuffler says... #15
It's 2AM, for some reason i thought you were the OP.
March 5, 2012 9:17 p.m.
liquidweapon says... #16
@thebeardedshuffler: Both Unmake and Crib Swap are good suggestions that I hadn't thought of before, but I think the others I have identified offer the same benefits, but at a lesser casting cost (e.g. Path to Exile). AWOL on the other hand is an excellent idea :) Think I would take a loss for playing it?
Also, Oblivion Ring and Journey to Nowhere, although a little higher in the casting cost, off removal of any permanent, so does that make it worth the wait to cast and choice over one-drops like Smite, Righteousness, and [Path to Exile]] (I say Righteousness because I would consider it 90% a successful removal)? Although, as mentioned, the downside of the former two is that they do require the opponent to attack.
So, this is the situation: I am already running 2 Leonin Relic-Warders, so I am ok in the enchantment and artifact removal department, but in an approximate 60 card deck, how many other removal-based cards should I include and which of the above would be recommended?
I will now exclude Pacifism, Recumbent Bliss, and Prison Term for the reasons mentioned by bcurran, and I am pretty set on adding 4 [Path to Exile]s, but I think I still require a little more.
metalmagic says... #2
Path to Exile
is the best white removal spell in Modern, hands down. Condemn
is good, and Oblivion Ring
never hurt anyone. I'd say go with those three above all else right now.
If you want to play Emerge Unscathed
in a white deck, how about Brave the Elements
?
March 5, 2012 6:43 p.m.