nah, for that, I have Stone Rain on turn 2 turn 3 i have fires of orthanc turn 4 i'm activating field of ruin turn 5 you're crying in the recovery position as im casting acidic slime and kill your last land.
I am a sucker for the "get frogged" cards. The enchantment auras that turn creatures into whatever. I also recently found Deglamer and unreavel the Aether, which I really like. Although that might be, because I came from yugioh and there shuffeling something into the deck is the stromgest and rarest kind of removal.
the trick with them is having a lot of instant speed cards as options on last opponents end of turn to use if you dont need your removal. It really sux to leave such open randomly.
In a Vacuum Collective Resistance is the best removal in terms of flexibility bc it artifacts or enchantments or even both and on top of that it’s protection. I really like this card.
@@AJANI97yeah its great, i also run pick your poison quite a bit since people usually dont have tons of enchantments to sac so if there is 1 problematic one its usually gone.
Winds of Abandon is essentially mass Path to Exile, it’s not a bad option since it exiles instead of destroys. I would caution about using it if your group has a lot of tokens players though
Great video! Though I will say, I actually find myself gravitating more to the mana-efficient removal spells over the more versatile ones these days, to the point where I’ve actually CUT things like Beast Within and Generous Gift in my decks. I tend to play very proactive, aggressive decks, so being able to remove things while still enacting my main offensive gameplan is a HUGE boon, and the only time I really play any sort of removal above 2 mana is when it’s layered onto something else, like a synergy piece, as you mentioned. Get Lost and Assassin’s Trophy are a nice compromise between efficiency and versatility, but another of my faves is actually Tear Asunder, which offers Artifact/Enchantment Exile at 2 mana, when most effects of that kind are either 3+ mana or only hit one or the other, but can still act as an Utter End in a pinch in the late-game. …I just wish I had more decks with Green/Black to actually be able to play it in. EDIT: Someone else mentioned Tear Asunder as well! Nice to see it catching on.
My favorite example of "specific synergy removal" is the spell Storm of Forms in my Goldberry, River-Daughter deck. Storm of Forms is a bounce spell that copies itself for each different type of Counter amongst permanents you control (i affectionately call this copying effect "Counterstorm"), and my Goldberry deck can produce 24 different types of Counters, so it's often a cheaper, instant-speed Cyclonic Rift for me. Every time I've cast it, at least one of my opponents has said "wait, WHAT?" which is a great feeling as a brewer.
In my Horde of Notions deck, I have Crib Swap instead of Path of Exile. Reason why is Horde of Notions can play Crib Swap for just wubrg, since Crib Swap has the "Changeling" keyword. The Changeling keyword makes the Crib Swap as every creature type. So I can keep reusing it with Horde of Notions ability.
One of my favorite "synergy removal" spells is Bake Into A Pie. It's fun and flavorful and provides good value in food decks even if it's a little weak and mana expensive.
Anguished Unmaking is very good, though I'd argue that it is at least roughly tied with Tear Asunder. Depends a bit on the playgroup, of course, but dangerous artifacts or enchantments are typically common enough that you can use it as a 2 mana instant speed exile removal most of the time (big step up from 3 mana) and if you need to hit something else instead (creature, planeswalker, etc.) a 4 mana exile removal is, at least for me, just (barely) within the tolerable cost range.
I put Tear Asunder in Ygra, allowing for the card's usual flexibility if Ygra isn't on the board, but when it is, it also adds creature exile at the 1G cost.
@@Vulcapyro That's actually pretty neat. Hits a really nice middle ground between "making use of that cool ability adding types to stuff" and "is still usefull even if that ability isn't present". If Ygra get's removed in response though, the target becomes illegal and the spell fizzels, right? Something to watch out for.
@@christiangreff5764 Very true! In that case they would have to either use non targeted removal or sac a food (likely creature) at least. Ygra already is a pretty big removal target but at least I try to build it in a way where Ygra isn't actually the most valuable thing while also still being dangerous
Just take a Scour from Existence, scribble a 0 where it says 7, and pretend like it's completely legitimate. I enjoyed this video a lot! Made me think a lot about what removal can even be in my decks.
Satya has so many insane removal options: Aerial Extortionist, Swooping Pteranodon, Volatile Stormdrake, Localized Destruction, Skyclave Apparition and more. Mandate of Abaddon and Chandra's Ignition are really nice in my power matters Ziatora deck (ignition also being a win con that has ended many games by killing the whole table. any wall of blooders?)
Accursed Marauder paired with Feign Death effects is super fun and synergistic in graveyard theme decks. With enough blink \ recursion effects it can become a mini board wipe that bypasses hexproof and indestructible. Similarly, using "lure" effects on big creatures or creatures with deathtouch is another fun way to create interesting mini board wipes.
As soon as I saw the question in the thumbnail, I paused and considered for a moment, before I came up with Vindicate as my answer, then quickly changing it to Anguished Unmaking. Kinda proud I hit that one right on the head
Another good example: Invasion of New Capenna, Sure, it can be 2 mana bone splinter, however in an artifact token deck. It can be great and somewhat versatile exile removal, that can buff the swarm of thopters/servo's/mites (whatever you feel like making that day) or, in a pinch, most decks turn out to be human tribal. It is especially funny with lurrus and an artifact sac outlet, play it, exile something, flip it, sac it, play it, repeat. Yooo, my Invasion got into the video, at least its backside did
It might not be the best one, but the funniest and most devastating defensive response I have in Tayam was one of my favorite cards of MH2: Out of Time. For 3 mana and 3 counters, counter a board wipe, with a board wipe. Yes, even Farewell, since it exiles creatures, then enchantments. And it scales with the board. And you suddenly have an incredibly good bargaining chip of “if you do that again, Tayam comes back”.
I feel like I had some mental rewiring when I started rocking more interaction suites in decks I make. Finding those really weird boardwipes or really weird destroy permanent cards is always fun. Recently wanted to make a Hamza counters deck and found things like Divine Verdict to be an incredibly fun type of card to run.
Perplexing Test is one of my favorite board wipes, I run a tokens strat mainly and for five mana it usually functions as a one sided wipe leaving just my tokens behind, or protects my non token important pieces from an opposing wipe in the late game.
I am borderline addicted to fleshbag marauder and the like. It doesn’t target so it can sometimes be a little awkward but getting a 3 for 1 with the added synergy from aristocrat style stuff it helps you grind out games so much.
Thank you! I've preached that the best removal are the ones that synergize with your deck's strategy for years now. You do still need a few pieces of generic removal, but most of the removal should synergize with your deck's strategy.
Having recently built a Marchesa, Dealer of Death deck, I think the best part about it is the fact that 90% of your veggies also just cantrip if you want.
Been working on Pearl-Ear recently and utilizing Aura's for "removal" has been really refreshing. It functions as ramp, draw and removal for the commander
Whirlwind Denial has been my favourite recently for stopping the storm and landfall players in my pod from getting huge game-ending turns, or even for just being a slightly worse Disallow
i really enjoy faerie fencing in my dimir faeries deck. its basically a 1-4 mana deal with any indestructible commander spell, so it being flexible and the condition being so easy to meet is wonderful
Finally got to use a boardwipe spell i was curious about since i saw it after buying my first precon Collision of Realms, its a chaos warp but for the entire board of creatures and it was really neat
My favorite removal spell in my favorite deck has to be Spine of Ish-Sah in my Megatron Tyrant deck. Being able to play spine remove a target, sacrifice it to Megatron and then turn around and play it again removing ANOTHER target is just an awesome feeling. Especially when it costs 7 mana
Funny thing about your board wipe point, in my Harbin soldiers deck, I actually prefer the symmetrical board wipes like Hour of Revelation since they're usually cheaper and/or hits nonland permanents. The secret is that I run a lot of teamwide indestructibility spells to break that symmetry, but they also protect me from other players' board wipes.
My current favorite deck is Old Stick fingers. It tries to get big scary creatures in the graveyard to reanimate them. It's full of things like Terastadon, Alpha deathclaw, and Overseer of the Damned. Does a pretty good job both clearing boards and beating face.
Winds of abandon is my personal favourite in white decks that can play such an expensive card as a wipe because it's basicly a wincon in midpower tables because it exiles each creature your opponents control and it punishes the fact that most people run fewer basics these days. I use winds in my elminster deck to have it be flippable with elminster for decent birds but also be a finisher that can clear up a board for you.
Star of Extinction is a removal piece and win condition in my dinosaur deck. It’s thematic with dinosaurs, because it harkens to their literal extinction, but also has the capability to sweep the game if Wrathful Raptors is on the field
I've been really loving excise the imperfect. It exiles, it doesn't give them a free body *right now*, it hits pretty much everything, it's just really good.
Flexible removal that hits many different permanent types is very good, but I also find that cards such as damn, winds of abandon, and MDFC’s with interaction on one side are also extremely useful.
On Unsummon type removal, Alchemist's Retrieval and of course Chain of Vapor are also excellent cards. Alchemist's retrieval has the same value as Cyclonic Rift for spot removal purposes, but one blue to bounce any of your own non-land permanents on the same card is amazing. Chain of Vapor is one of if not the most complex card in the format, but putting that aside for a moment, one blue to bounce any non-land permanent, yours or otherwise, is incredible. The best part about these cards is they are not just removal. For many decks they are the best thing you can draw into aside from your engines, and even then they can be better. They are removal, protection, they can be fuel for engines or combos, and they are instant speed and cost very little mana.
My favorite boardwipe for my Sharuum artifact deck is Soulscour. Ten mana makes it that it should be impossible to get out most of the time, but when it does, destroying all non-artifact permanents is just such a great thing to see. Sure I lose most of my lands but I'll still have a bunch of my artifacts (and artifact creatures!) on the field.
My favorite is something that removes multiple things like Decimate. Like you said you usually wont nwed removal before turn 4 and you get to remove 1 of anything!
Fun synergy removal I play in my blink deck is primaris eliminator, for one more mana than ravenous chupicabra it not only can destroy a creature but make all creatures target player controls have -2/-2 for the turn, helps deal with token decks or if I can blink it enough it can basically be a boardwipe
Couldn't agree more. First put in as much as possible removal that synergizes with the deck. For example in my Duskana deck I put in a lot of 2/2 creatures that can get rid of stuff. Then if there's still too few removal, add in some more generic ones. But the generic ones should hit a wide range of cards. I'd rather pay 2-3 mana to have a removal that actually hits the biggest problem, instead of paying 1 mana to hit only the 3rd biggest problem card. If something NEEDS to go, it should be worth the mana. If it's not worth more than 1-2 mana, it probably isn't that big of a problem!
Removal and counterspell are also known as "answers". Why? Becaus they answer a question/problem from your opp. So you want to fit your answers to the questions your opponents are likely to ask. Difficulty in casual commander is the variety/range of such question, hence why flexibility is a huuuge plus. Not only in what types of cards your answers can hit, but if it can do other stuff (think charm and double faced cards.) About sword verus anguished unmaking: keep in mind that it's not just 1 mana versus 3 mana. It's not just about the cost to cast, but the opportunity cost of holding 3 mana up at your end step, versus holding 1. It's much more painfull of your opp decide to play around your removal, and hold back his problematic. Now, you wasted 3 mana instead of 1. Personnaly, unless I play a deck that can sink mana at instant speed, I wouldnt go above 2 cost for my instant speed interaction.
I like your description of "answers." My example of this is that I run an alternate strategy in a couple of my decks. My Rick, Steadfast Leader deck is brimming with as many creatures as possible. The goal is to fill the board with tough humans fast and overpower my opponents. So, predictably, my opponents are going to be looking for a boardwipe to drop asap. That's why I include creatures like Boromir and Ranger Captain who can sacrifice to protect myself from a wipe or stop it entirely, as well as cards like Flawless Maneuver and TefPro to survive a wipe. Rather than looking to remove my opponents' cards, I expect them to try to remove mine and I have answers for that.
I always go with flexible spot removal if it's available in my colors even if it has a higher CMC. I really like 4 to 6 mana instants and sorceries that remove a permanent for each card type or each player.
Despark is very good, sure it can miss some big low mana threats but usually it hits quite nicely. Optional removals are very good too. Fiery confluence, Mythic confluence, Confounding Riddle, Spellgyre, Parting Gust. AoE artifact removal is underrated. Structural Assault & Brotherhood End in a deck with no stones is a BOMB - you remove both speed and value while losing nothing.
In my tayam lands deck i have a restriction of no care being more than 3 mana, so my removal is mostly cheap creatures that sac to kill something (they get me mlre counters from tayam, plus they are recurable), and my wraths are very interesting because i cant go over 3 mana, so i have damn, pernicious deed and meathook. Very fun deck to pilot, and the removal is a reason for that as well
YEP. Removal should be synergistic. I do add some staple removal from time-to-time but when I can make the removal fit the synergy I do so. That being said, I don't run fuel for the cause in tekuthal because its stupidly inefficient LOL..
When it comes to having your veggies suit your deck, I play Rewind in my updated Kadena list as I can use that as a counterspell and then untap the lands used to cast it to then likely activate a morph ability befofe the turn rotation gets back to me
fist thing that came in mind:Worldfire. if you can play your commander afterwards you win with the strongest removal 😉 second one: probably repeatabel removal like Aura Shards or Dictate of Erebos. cause yeah removing over and over is good. i definetly agree with the best removal is what fits your deck best. synergie is top priority today :D
Since you asked, Incinerator of the Guilty in Scion of the Ur-Dragon. Lets my commander wipe a problematic board of creatures or super friends since you can collect the binned Incinerator as evidence. Other people at the table may even help force the play through.
The biggest sleeper creature removal card has to be: *OUST* CONS: - Sorcery - Less valuable against cards with ETB effects PROS: - Cheap & common - Bypass indestructible - Commander does not return to zone - Effectively deprives the player of 1 turn's card draw - Creature must be recast - If player forgets and activates an effect that shuffles their library, the card is likely gone for the rest of the game
This used to be true, but they changed this rule a few years ago. The player can now choose to put their commander back in the command zone if it would be put into the deck from the battlefield.
We run casual constructed (60+ cards, up to 4 copies, no commanders) in my friends group, and we usually do some kind of multiplayer games, so there is a lot of similarities to commander. In that setting I usually run a BW enchantment deck, which is deliberately slow, defensive and non-threatening, partially because I have been targeted a lot previously due to an edge from experience.That deck runs 7/60 as removal, with 2 asymetric board wipes that kills non-enchantment creatures for 4BB (Extinquish All Hope), and 5 of the 2W enchantments that exile something else while in play (Banishing Light + Oblivion Ring). All of that plays together with the enchantment focus, with the former giving a close to game winning position, where I can walk in with my creatures and kill weakened opponents (though the deck is weak enough that its board state is often not all that good), and the latter plays into a bunch of constelation triggers and other such enchantment synergy. The latter isn't the strongest, but 3 mana for general removal is decent anyway, and assymetric board wipes kind of makes it all worth it. I have also been looking at constructing a vampire deck, and there are 3 fairly good high synergy remove cards there: 1) Olivias Wrath which does -X/-X assymetrically for 4B, with X scaling based on number of vampires, which is probably not strong enough without mass vampire tokens for the ramp heavy meta I play in. 2) Anowon, the Ruin Sage, for 3BB, which causes everyone to sacrifice one non-vampire creature per turn, and as such is super effective at keeping a board state locked, but takes a bit of a ramp up when they eat their low value creatures while keeping the threats there long enough to murder you or him, as he would likely get targeted with the sparse removal available at the table. 3) Patreon of the Vein, for 4BB, which on enter destorys a creature an opponent controls. Thats expensive, but it also gives all vampires a +1/+1 whenever an opponents creature dies (and exile it). Usually one of the big problems with removal is that it becomes "do I develop my own board or do I remove their threat stalling a bit for time", but with this you get both, where you develop your own side and take down a threat. Also since it is a slow meta it might be fine to have removal a bit later on, as the threats are not that bad until then. Also vampires have a bunch of other things it can combo with, specifically some sacrifice outlets, things like blood artist which causes drain on creature death and veinwitch covern for 2B which allows you to return creatures to your hand whenever you gain life for the small cost of one black mana. In other words you can sacrifice it, return it to your hand and cast it again whenever you need to. All that said, it would really want to combo with even more ways to destory your opponents creatures, and Anowon would be great for that, as with both of those in play you are likely going to get a ton of +1/+1 on all your vampires, while also keeping the board state manageable.
I like Rite of Oblivion. Getting two shots off of it (or working if it’s milled) is worth having to sacrifice something, I feel. I also think I should be using it over Invasion of New Capenna, but I like Holy Frazzle-Cannon a bit too much. I love throwing removal under facedowns, though. Unyielding Gatekeeper is so good.
I play a "the Beast" deck with a lot of "steal a creature until the end of turn" with a lot of sac outlets, the interaction is the engine and i love it
For spot removal I think I gotta agree with you, if we open it up to boardwhipes I might say Fairwell. And I agree with your point on flexibility. I semi-recently took out swords from my Eriette of the Charmed Apple deck. Since my deck is based around enchanting my opponent's stuff so they hit each other and give me value, only being able to remove a creature is not that helpful since I am already dealing with them. But it took me a while to realize since I am so conditioned to just put swords and path in my white decks.
Just build a Venser, shaper savant. Hits everything, even removes things from the stack, always available in the command zone, provides a body when the bounce is done and is easy to replicate with flickers and clones. My favorite card to play with him is probably displacer kitten. Get in a shadowspear to be able to get rid of hexproof and you're good to go. I think it's probably the most versatile removal ever, if not for shroud and hexproof there would be no blindspots. Edit: the best removal remains player removal, so in hindsight: door to nothingness.
Ive been leaning towards "removal" that don't slow down the game/ruin my opponents fun (repeated one side board wipes while efficient, they often leave me as the only person having a good time). Instead of destroying my opponents board i try to use it against them with cards like reins of power, rakdos charm or mirror strike. The otag:aikido on Scryfall shows cards like them (Effects that turn your opponent's strength against them.)
For my two cents, a fresh contender for best all-purpose removal in the colours that can run it is Tear Asunder. It's a real workhorse of a card, even if it doesn't pull the most outrageous efficiency.
Honestly, my favorite piece of removal is Decimate. I have friends who love artifact decks and it's in my Klothys deck, so I almost always have the ability to blow up some of the best stuff on the board
Yes, it's anguish unmaking. The most important criteria are met. Instant speed, target flexibility and exiling the target. The mana cost is still okay.
I like Living Death a lot because while it isn't an exile effect (wich, even though I understand the necessity of it, I'm still not a big fan of), it doesn't use ''destroy'' as a keyword either. It just puts the creatures on the board to the graveyard (and vice versa). So even though it may bite back because your opponents surely do have some creatures in their graveyard too by the time you cast it, it prevents cards like Wrap in vigor that otherwise would make your boardwipe completely backfire.
I really like Kogla and Yidaro in my Wilson + Tavern Brawler high CMC matters Voltron deck. It's far from the most efficient card, but it'll pump my commander by 6 from tavern brawler, and be an optional removal earlier in the game if I draw it instead
Stroke of Midnight I would like to add is a strictly better upgrade to Generous Gift, as it only leaves a 1/1 but is more expensive dollar wise, I would also like to add in terms of underrated removal, Song of the Dryad, which is a strictly better Imprison in the Moon, but in green, often shutting down problematic commanders permanently if they don't remove the aura. It also hits all permanent types, unlike Imprison in the Moon.
I got invited to a “casual” commander game last night with some work colleagues only to get blown out in an agonizingly long game against a zur the enchanter deck drawing tons of cards with Rhystic study and countering every removal spell I threw his way, while another guy kept board wiping every 2 turns until The Zur deck did the demonic consultation into Thassa’s oracle combo. Any advice? I was thinking about putting together a Orzhov stax deck using the same commander as the casual deck I brought last time to throw them off balance (zoraline cosmos caller). Where should I start? Should I just grab and Orzhov Stax list online and make tweaks or what would you reccomend?
I would have to say Song of the Dryad. It hits any permanent and deals really good with commanders and it becomes a land so its very hard to just sacrifice it.
What about discard effects? Especially the "choose a card" discard effects. You mentioned before, that you consider discard perhaps the best anti-counterspell effect in the game. Indeed, think, that something like shimian specter, for example, could be considered quite efficient removal, if used correctly. Of course, discard is not a substitute for your "classic" removal, but it could be quite useful nontheless
I think it’s different. If I spend 11 mana to bosh plus spine something the power is much lower than a stasis lock. And players have their mana to remove the value pieces
Would make a little honorary mention to Excise the Imperfect. Just a monowhite Anguish unmaking that most of the times doesn't bite you back with the token it makes.
In casual commander where the threats are diverse, mana can be plentiful, and time abounds, flexibility trumps efficiency (to a point). The more solved a metagame becomes the less flexibility matters when compared to efficiency. Swords is great, but I rarely run it, favoring cards that hit more permanent types or hit multiple targets at once. Sometimes you'll wish you had the 1cmc answer in hand, but considering how proactive most strategies tend to be I think creatures can be the card type you're probably least worried about. Most decks could benefit from sniping permanent types that tend to hose their gameplan, with generalist pieces doubling as creature removal. I have a budget league 5c creature toolbox/combo deck that is base selesnya and my removal is lightest around creatures, targeted primarily at specific stax pieces that could bone me. I have generalist removal that can hit creatures, but given that my goal is to beat up on slower decks and combo off against creature strats, that's a trade-off I'm aware of. When you can loop Spore Frog and Kami of False Hope you can get away with letting beaters sit around and deal with synergy pieces if they bother you. Another consideration is the volume of threats you're dealing with. Casual commander is full of big, dumb assholes with bloated textboxes. Sure, hitting them with the Swords feels real nice when you went up 6 mana against that opponent... at least until they pass turn and the 2 other goons sitting there deploy their own asshole brigade. If you're packing one-for-one removal, you need to close the game out fast or have a ton of inevitability. I don't think most decks really aim for either of those, so much as hoping their dumb assholes untap more often than their opponents'. Much prefer repeatable removal if you're looking to play the midrange value game over the hyper-efficient Swords.
It may not be permanent removal, but "Sheltered by ghosts" to both get some stats, ward AND to exile something all for 1 white 1 generic with the only other requirement being that you have a creature is quite good.
A nice card I don't see people play is Notorious Assassin, which let's you pay a black and 2 to discard a card and destroy a non-black creature. It's a tap ability so you can do it every turn cycle at least, and only wants you to be in a deck with black that also wants to put cards in their hand into the graveyard. Those are some very low synergy requirements! Also the art is ballin
I love synergistic removal. I built a deck that runs Stoke the Flames because my commander cares about being tapped and so convoke is valuable. Also Mizzium Mortars forever.
It's not the best, but I have a new bit of synergy I'm very excited for. I put chainsaw in Syrix over cathartic pyre to help scale up my end of turn bolts without shrinking my removal package.
I playing passionate Jund and Golgari Dredge in EDH and none of the examples are the kind of removals I prefer. I prefer removals that do more. I mean in EDH I play against 3 people so why going for just a 1on1 trade with a Sword for example, when I can use a removal (more or less same mana value) that hit more cards/opponents. For example Decimate: For one mana more as "Beast within" I wont give the opponent something, also I can against 4 cards. Sheoldred Edict: I go with that against the threat and punish the other opponents. Another kind of removal I prefer more, are this ones I benefit or is a remoal + value. Examples are: 5Mana Sheoldred, Blood Spatter Analysis or Deadly Brew.
I am really struggling with removal in grixis colors. There are some good removal spells in there, but enchantments are so hard to remove if you can’t use white and green
Inundate is definitely my favorite removal spell in my mono blue deck. Everyone in my playgroup hates blue so most of the time this is a one sided board wipe and it costs way less than cyclonic rift so its a win win
Looking forward to the more obscure single target removal suggestions in the comments! For board wipes I play Hostile Takeover and Gix's Command in my Zevlor deck that copies Act of Treason effects and has some goad. They both let me save my low toughness commander and get rid of smaller creatures I don't want to borrow. Maybe Sunfall is one of the better generic wipes, but that and Phyrexian Rebirth in my Kamiz deck let me come back real fast with a big creature to make unblockable.
I’ve barely changed my Selvala deck over the many years since I fell in love with Knight of the Reliquary. That said, this video is a reason why it hasn’t, it always ran spells like Slaughter the Strong for that sweet one-side board wipe. Tragic arrogance with Rebuff the Wicked in hand is also a sweet thing, no one is gonna board wipe after a “board wipe” and why would selesnya have a Counterspell?
Guess another good example would be HENZIE, as commander. Instead of running a lot of spot removal spells and board wipes.. add creatures that have similar effects stapled to them. Ravenous chupacabra Noxious gearhulk Deathbringer Regent Alpha, death claw Good examples
Going back to at least 2007, people love to say, "it is only a 1-for-q, and thus card disadvantage in multiplayer." Those same people *always* fail to realize that you don't have to answer *everything* - only what is threatening you. Removal efficiency is still king.
I play against a lot of greedy token value engines, so my latest auto-include has been Eye of Singularity. Reserved list budget banger. Combine that with Faerie Artisans, and suddenly opponents can’t get a creature to stick on the board!
the longer ive been playing the more ive grown to love imprisoned in the moon or the new unable to scream (a little less strong since creatures are easier to remove than lands most of the time). being able to remove a commander of an opponent is so game breaking that even though it can theoretically earn you alot of hate the pay off can win you the game. its not the best but i have a really hard time not including it in a blue deck. another newer favorite is Extract. this one is particularly handy for removing a coveted combo piece of your opponent before it can be used. yes im looking at you thassa's oracle. but the best spot removal IMO is something that targets all permanents which is a problem both the above cards have in not accomplishing. i cant tell you how many times ive attempted to imprison in the moon some artifact like winter orb just to realize that it cant target artifacts. but beast within, generous gift and all permanent targeting spells are the best IMO
“What about counterspell? Not only can this hit any type of card-“ MFW Trinket counters my land play for turn 🗿
Meanwhile Beast within can Deal with that 😏
Having to hold up mana every turn is kinda bad
@@alovely4478yeah, unless you run a majority of instant speed cards, or (my favorite) a flash only deck
nah, for that, I have Stone Rain on turn 2
turn 3 i have fires of orthanc
turn 4 i'm activating field of ruin
turn 5 you're crying in the recovery position as im casting acidic slime and kill your last land.
You can almost do that with stifle effects vs fetchlands
I am a sucker for the "get frogged" cards. The enchantment auras that turn creatures into whatever. I also recently found Deglamer and unreavel the Aether, which I really like. Although that might be, because I came from yugioh and there shuffeling something into the deck is the stromgest and rarest kind of removal.
You must love that Amphibian Downpour :)
Completely agree was going to comment this. The power of turning a commander into a forest or frog is just too funny 😂
I’ve come to value efficiency in commander more because I suck at leaving three mana open for a removal spell
the trick with them is having a lot of instant speed cards as options on last opponents end of turn to use if you dont need your removal. It really sux to leave such open randomly.
@@p0rc41music5 Or commander/creatures that have activated effects that cost mana so you were going to leave the mana up anyways
In a Vacuum Collective Resistance is the best removal in terms of flexibility bc it artifacts or enchantments or even both and on top of that it’s protection. I really like this card.
@@AJANI97yeah its great, i also run pick your poison quite a bit since people usually dont have tons of enchantments to sac so if there is 1 problematic one its usually gone.
My favorite generic board wipe might be "Hallowed Burial". It gets around graveyard strategies, indestructible, hexproof/shroud, & dies strategies
I was just talking to a patron about that card yesterday I’m thinking of trying it out!
@@thetrinketmage There's also Terminus, costs one more but has the insane miracle upside.
Sadly for this amount of Mana farewell just does this + more
Winds of Abandon is essentially mass Path to Exile, it’s not a bad option since it exiles instead of destroys. I would caution about using it if your group has a lot of tokens players though
I've been really excited over the 'removal' that isn't removal. Pining a commander to the board as a 1/1 legitimate business person is peak for me.
I love to do business in a legitimate fashion
Great video! Though I will say, I actually find myself gravitating more to the mana-efficient removal spells over the more versatile ones these days, to the point where I’ve actually CUT things like Beast Within and Generous Gift in my decks.
I tend to play very proactive, aggressive decks, so being able to remove things while still enacting my main offensive gameplan is a HUGE boon, and the only time I really play any sort of removal above 2 mana is when it’s layered onto something else, like a synergy piece, as you mentioned.
Get Lost and Assassin’s Trophy are a nice compromise between efficiency and versatility, but another of my faves is actually Tear Asunder, which offers Artifact/Enchantment Exile at 2 mana, when most effects of that kind are either 3+ mana or only hit one or the other, but can still act as an Utter End in a pinch in the late-game. …I just wish I had more decks with Green/Black to actually be able to play it in.
EDIT: Someone else mentioned Tear Asunder as well! Nice to see it catching on.
Tear Asunder is very playable in Standard and Pioneer. So no surprise it is actually good.
My favorite example of "specific synergy removal" is the spell Storm of Forms in my Goldberry, River-Daughter deck. Storm of Forms is a bounce spell that copies itself for each different type of Counter amongst permanents you control (i affectionately call this copying effect "Counterstorm"), and my Goldberry deck can produce 24 different types of Counters, so it's often a cheaper, instant-speed Cyclonic Rift for me. Every time I've cast it, at least one of my opponents has said "wait, WHAT?" which is a great feeling as a brewer.
Could you share your decklist? I'm interested in looking at it for inspiration. Thank you in advance.
In my Horde of Notions deck, I have Crib Swap instead of Path of Exile. Reason why is Horde of Notions can play Crib Swap for just wubrg, since Crib Swap has the "Changeling" keyword. The Changeling keyword makes the Crib Swap as every creature type. So I can keep reusing it with Horde of Notions ability.
One of my favorite "synergy removal" spells is Bake Into A Pie. It's fun and flavorful and provides good value in food decks even if it's a little weak and mana expensive.
Hehehe.. flavour
Trinket mage uploads I click 🫡
Anguished Unmaking is very good, though I'd argue that it is at least roughly tied with Tear Asunder. Depends a bit on the playgroup, of course, but dangerous artifacts or enchantments are typically common enough that you can use it as a 2 mana instant speed exile removal most of the time (big step up from 3 mana) and if you need to hit something else instead (creature, planeswalker, etc.) a 4 mana exile removal is, at least for me, just (barely) within the tolerable cost range.
Tear asunder also seems very good, honestly haven’t played the card enough to form a strong opinion but it has been decent so far
I still give the edge to AU, but Tear Asunder is way underrated.
I put Tear Asunder in Ygra, allowing for the card's usual flexibility if Ygra isn't on the board, but when it is, it also adds creature exile at the 1G cost.
@@Vulcapyro That's actually pretty neat. Hits a really nice middle ground between "making use of that cool ability adding types to stuff" and "is still usefull even if that ability isn't present". If Ygra get's removed in response though, the target becomes illegal and the spell fizzels, right? Something to watch out for.
@@christiangreff5764 Very true! In that case they would have to either use non targeted removal or sac a food (likely creature) at least. Ygra already is a pretty big removal target but at least I try to build it in a way where Ygra isn't actually the most valuable thing while also still being dangerous
Just take a Scour from Existence, scribble a 0 where it says 7, and pretend like it's completely legitimate.
I enjoyed this video a lot! Made me think a lot about what removal can even be in my decks.
As someone who plays Mizzix, it does say zero.
"I got some wacky answers" Trinket Mage calling me out directly for naming Mass Manipulation XD
Satya has so many insane removal options: Aerial Extortionist, Swooping Pteranodon, Volatile Stormdrake, Localized Destruction, Skyclave Apparition and more.
Mandate of Abaddon and Chandra's Ignition are really nice in my power matters Ziatora deck (ignition also being a win con that has ended many games by killing the whole table. any wall of blooders?)
Tear Asunder is an underappreciated powerhouse. Cheap Enchantment or Artifact Exile-based removal, or a catch-all.
Accursed Marauder paired with Feign Death effects is super fun and synergistic in graveyard theme decks. With enough blink \ recursion effects it can become a mini board wipe that bypasses hexproof and indestructible. Similarly, using "lure" effects on big creatures or creatures with deathtouch is another fun way to create interesting mini board wipes.
As soon as I saw the question in the thumbnail, I paused and considered for a moment, before I came up with Vindicate as my answer, then quickly changing it to Anguished Unmaking. Kinda proud I hit that one right on the head
Another good example: Invasion of New Capenna,
Sure, it can be 2 mana bone splinter, however in an artifact token deck. It can be great and somewhat versatile exile removal, that can buff the swarm of thopters/servo's/mites (whatever you feel like making that day) or, in a pinch, most decks turn out to be human tribal.
It is especially funny with lurrus and an artifact sac outlet, play it, exile something, flip it, sac it, play it, repeat.
Yooo, my Invasion got into the video, at least its backside did
I'm personally really partial to Oubliette.
Screw your value engine, your commander privileges have been revoked.
It might not be the best one, but the funniest and most devastating defensive response I have in Tayam was one of my favorite cards of MH2:
Out of Time.
For 3 mana and 3 counters, counter a board wipe, with a board wipe. Yes, even Farewell, since it exiles creatures, then enchantments. And it scales with the board. And you suddenly have an incredibly good bargaining chip of “if you do that again, Tayam comes back”.
I even phased my own commander with out of time - but it was worth it because ALL commanders where gone - in total 16 creatures
I feel like I had some mental rewiring when I started rocking more interaction suites in decks I make. Finding those really weird boardwipes or really weird destroy permanent cards is always fun.
Recently wanted to make a Hamza counters deck and found things like Divine Verdict to be an incredibly fun type of card to run.
Perplexing Test is one of my favorite board wipes, I run a tokens strat mainly and for five mana it usually functions as a one sided wipe leaving just my tokens behind, or protects my non token important pieces from an opposing wipe in the late game.
Reality Shift, because i can loop it and exile everybody's library 😂
I am borderline addicted to fleshbag marauder and the like. It doesn’t target so it can sometimes be a little awkward but getting a 3 for 1 with the added synergy from aristocrat style stuff it helps you grind out games so much.
Love content like this. My favorite removal is volcanic salvo in my ovika deck, cause it’s basically 2 mana make 12 goblins and kill 2 things
Thank you! I've preached that the best removal are the ones that synergize with your deck's strategy for years now. You do still need a few pieces of generic removal, but most of the removal should synergize with your deck's strategy.
Having recently built a Marchesa, Dealer of Death deck, I think the best part about it is the fact that 90% of your veggies also just cantrip if you want.
Been working on Pearl-Ear recently and utilizing Aura's for "removal" has been really refreshing. It functions as ramp, draw and removal for the commander
Whirlwind Denial has been my favourite recently for stopping the storm and landfall players in my pod from getting huge game-ending turns, or even for just being a slightly worse Disallow
5:33 i think this is actually a important piece of the puzzle, sometimes you find the synergy you want in already good cards.
i really enjoy faerie fencing in my dimir faeries deck. its basically a 1-4 mana deal with any indestructible commander spell, so it being flexible and the condition being so easy to meet is wonderful
Finally got to use a boardwipe spell i was curious about since i saw it after buying my first precon
Collision of Realms, its a chaos warp but for the entire board of creatures and it was really neat
My favorite removal spell in my favorite deck has to be Spine of Ish-Sah in my Megatron Tyrant deck. Being able to play spine remove a target, sacrifice it to Megatron and then turn around and play it again removing ANOTHER target is just an awesome feeling. Especially when it costs 7 mana
Funny thing about your board wipe point, in my Harbin soldiers deck, I actually prefer the symmetrical board wipes like Hour of Revelation since they're usually cheaper and/or hits nonland permanents. The secret is that I run a lot of teamwide indestructibility spells to break that symmetry, but they also protect me from other players' board wipes.
My current favorite deck is Old Stick fingers. It tries to get big scary creatures in the graveyard to reanimate them. It's full of things like Terastadon, Alpha deathclaw, and Overseer of the Damned. Does a pretty good job both clearing boards and beating face.
Winds of abandon is my personal favourite in white decks that can play such an expensive card as a wipe because it's basicly a wincon in midpower tables because it exiles each creature your opponents control and it punishes the fact that most people run fewer basics these days. I use winds in my elminster deck to have it be flippable with elminster for decent birds but also be a finisher that can clear up a board for you.
I love Ravenous Chupacabra in my Henzie and my Grixis Marchesa Decks. 2 Different ways to get synergies out of out him makes love him so much.
Star of Extinction is a removal piece and win condition in my dinosaur deck. It’s thematic with dinosaurs, because it harkens to their literal extinction, but also has the capability to sweep the game if Wrathful Raptors is on the field
I've been really loving excise the imperfect. It exiles, it doesn't give them a free body *right now*, it hits pretty much everything, it's just really good.
Rahhh thursday trinkey mage vid
Flexible removal that hits many different permanent types is very good, but I also find that cards such as damn, winds of abandon, and MDFC’s with interaction on one side are also extremely useful.
On Unsummon type removal, Alchemist's Retrieval and of course Chain of Vapor are also excellent cards. Alchemist's retrieval has the same value as Cyclonic Rift for spot removal purposes, but one blue to bounce any of your own non-land permanents on the same card is amazing. Chain of Vapor is one of if not the most complex card in the format, but putting that aside for a moment, one blue to bounce any non-land permanent, yours or otherwise, is incredible.
The best part about these cards is they are not just removal. For many decks they are the best thing you can draw into aside from your engines, and even then they can be better. They are removal, protection, they can be fuel for engines or combos, and they are instant speed and cost very little mana.
My favorite boardwipe for my Sharuum artifact deck is Soulscour. Ten mana makes it that it should be impossible to get out most of the time, but when it does, destroying all non-artifact permanents is just such a great thing to see. Sure I lose most of my lands but I'll still have a bunch of my artifacts (and artifact creatures!) on the field.
My favorite is something that removes multiple things like Decimate. Like you said you usually wont nwed removal before turn 4 and you get to remove 1 of anything!
Fun synergy removal I play in my blink deck is primaris eliminator, for one more mana than ravenous chupicabra it not only can destroy a creature but make all creatures target player controls have -2/-2 for the turn, helps deal with token decks or if I can blink it enough it can basically be a boardwipe
Couldn't agree more. First put in as much as possible removal that synergizes with the deck. For example in my Duskana deck I put in a lot of 2/2 creatures that can get rid of stuff. Then if there's still too few removal, add in some more generic ones. But the generic ones should hit a wide range of cards. I'd rather pay 2-3 mana to have a removal that actually hits the biggest problem, instead of paying 1 mana to hit only the 3rd biggest problem card. If something NEEDS to go, it should be worth the mana. If it's not worth more than 1-2 mana, it probably isn't that big of a problem!
Removal and counterspell are also known as "answers". Why? Becaus they answer a question/problem from your opp.
So you want to fit your answers to the questions your opponents are likely to ask. Difficulty in casual commander is the variety/range of such question, hence why flexibility is a huuuge plus.
Not only in what types of cards your answers can hit, but if it can do other stuff (think charm and double faced cards.)
About sword verus anguished unmaking: keep in mind that it's not just 1 mana versus 3 mana. It's not just about the cost to cast, but the opportunity cost of holding 3 mana up at your end step, versus holding 1. It's much more painfull of your opp decide to play around your removal, and hold back his problematic. Now, you wasted 3 mana instead of 1. Personnaly, unless I play a deck that can sink mana at instant speed, I wouldnt go above 2 cost for my instant speed interaction.
I like your description of "answers." My example of this is that I run an alternate strategy in a couple of my decks. My Rick, Steadfast Leader deck is brimming with as many creatures as possible. The goal is to fill the board with tough humans fast and overpower my opponents.
So, predictably, my opponents are going to be looking for a boardwipe to drop asap. That's why I include creatures like Boromir and Ranger Captain who can sacrifice to protect myself from a wipe or stop it entirely, as well as cards like Flawless Maneuver and TefPro to survive a wipe.
Rather than looking to remove my opponents' cards, I expect them to try to remove mine and I have answers for that.
I always go with flexible spot removal if it's available in my colors even if it has a higher CMC. I really like 4 to 6 mana instants and sorceries that remove a permanent for each card type or each player.
Despark is very good, sure it can miss some big low mana threats but usually it hits quite nicely.
Optional removals are very good too. Fiery confluence, Mythic confluence, Confounding Riddle, Spellgyre, Parting Gust.
AoE artifact removal is underrated. Structural Assault & Brotherhood End in a deck with no stones is a BOMB - you remove both speed and value while losing nothing.
In my tayam lands deck i have a restriction of no care being more than 3 mana, so my removal is mostly cheap creatures that sac to kill something (they get me mlre counters from tayam, plus they are recurable), and my wraths are very interesting because i cant go over 3 mana, so i have damn, pernicious deed and meathook. Very fun deck to pilot, and the removal is a reason for that as well
YEP. Removal should be synergistic. I do add some staple removal from time-to-time but when I can make the removal fit the synergy I do so.
That being said, I don't run fuel for the cause in tekuthal because its stupidly inefficient LOL..
Very lame where is your whimsy and joy from casting overcosted counter magic?
I love marchesa the black rose because she can turn the mana efficient but even board wipes into 1-sided board wipes
The first commander deck I built was Karador and Shriekmaw was crazy good in that deck.
When it comes to having your veggies suit your deck, I play Rewind in my updated Kadena list as I can use that as a counterspell and then untap the lands used to cast it to then likely activate a morph ability befofe the turn rotation gets back to me
fist thing that came in mind:Worldfire.
if you can play your commander afterwards you win with the strongest removal 😉
second one: probably repeatabel removal like Aura Shards or Dictate of Erebos.
cause yeah removing over and over is good.
i definetly agree with the best removal is what fits your deck best. synergie is top priority today :D
Since you asked, Incinerator of the Guilty in Scion of the Ur-Dragon. Lets my commander wipe a problematic board of creatures or super friends since you can collect the binned Incinerator as evidence. Other people at the table may even help force the play through.
The biggest sleeper creature removal card has to be:
*OUST*
CONS:
- Sorcery
- Less valuable against cards with ETB effects
PROS:
- Cheap & common
- Bypass indestructible
- Commander does not return to zone
- Effectively deprives the player of 1 turn's card draw
- Creature must be recast
- If player forgets and activates an effect that shuffles their library, the card is likely gone for the rest of the game
This used to be true, but they changed this rule a few years ago. The player can now choose to put their commander back in the command zone if it would be put into the deck from the battlefield.
We run casual constructed (60+ cards, up to 4 copies, no commanders) in my friends group, and we usually do some kind of multiplayer games, so there is a lot of similarities to commander.
In that setting I usually run a BW enchantment deck, which is deliberately slow, defensive and non-threatening, partially because I have been targeted a lot previously due to an edge from experience.That deck runs 7/60 as removal, with 2 asymetric board wipes that kills non-enchantment creatures for 4BB (Extinquish All Hope), and 5 of the 2W enchantments that exile something else while in play (Banishing Light + Oblivion Ring). All of that plays together with the enchantment focus, with the former giving a close to game winning position, where I can walk in with my creatures and kill weakened opponents (though the deck is weak enough that its board state is often not all that good), and the latter plays into a bunch of constelation triggers and other such enchantment synergy. The latter isn't the strongest, but 3 mana for general removal is decent anyway, and assymetric board wipes kind of makes it all worth it.
I have also been looking at constructing a vampire deck, and there are 3 fairly good high synergy remove cards there:
1) Olivias Wrath which does -X/-X assymetrically for 4B, with X scaling based on number of vampires, which is probably not strong enough without mass vampire tokens for the ramp heavy meta I play in.
2) Anowon, the Ruin Sage, for 3BB, which causes everyone to sacrifice one non-vampire creature per turn, and as such is super effective at keeping a board state locked, but takes a bit of a ramp up when they eat their low value creatures while keeping the threats there long enough to murder you or him, as he would likely get targeted with the sparse removal available at the table.
3) Patreon of the Vein, for 4BB, which on enter destorys a creature an opponent controls. Thats expensive, but it also gives all vampires a +1/+1 whenever an opponents creature dies (and exile it). Usually one of the big problems with removal is that it becomes "do I develop my own board or do I remove their threat stalling a bit for time", but with this you get both, where you develop your own side and take down a threat. Also since it is a slow meta it might be fine to have removal a bit later on, as the threats are not that bad until then. Also vampires have a bunch of other things it can combo with, specifically some sacrifice outlets, things like blood artist which causes drain on creature death and veinwitch covern for 2B which allows you to return creatures to your hand whenever you gain life for the small cost of one black mana. In other words you can sacrifice it, return it to your hand and cast it again whenever you need to. All that said, it would really want to combo with even more ways to destory your opponents creatures, and Anowon would be great for that, as with both of those in play you are likely going to get a ton of +1/+1 on all your vampires, while also keeping the board state manageable.
I like Rite of Oblivion. Getting two shots off of it (or working if it’s milled) is worth having to sacrifice something, I feel. I also think I should be using it over Invasion of New Capenna, but I like Holy Frazzle-Cannon a bit too much.
I love throwing removal under facedowns, though. Unyielding Gatekeeper is so good.
Player Removal Best Removal
I play a "the Beast" deck with a lot of "steal a creature until the end of turn" with a lot of sac outlets, the interaction is the engine and i love it
How do you get rid of the stun counters?
@@idjles i play the Commander like a Value engine not for the stats so
For spot removal I think I gotta agree with you, if we open it up to boardwhipes I might say Fairwell. And I agree with your point on flexibility. I semi-recently took out swords from my Eriette of the Charmed Apple deck. Since my deck is based around enchanting my opponent's stuff so they hit each other and give me value, only being able to remove a creature is not that helpful since I am already dealing with them. But it took me a while to realize since I am so conditioned to just put swords and path in my white decks.
The problem with sprinkling 1 ofs in "just in case" is that you'll never see that card when you need it.
Just build a Venser, shaper savant. Hits everything, even removes things from the stack, always available in the command zone, provides a body when the bounce is done and is easy to replicate with flickers and clones. My favorite card to play with him is probably displacer kitten. Get in a shadowspear to be able to get rid of hexproof and you're good to go.
I think it's probably the most versatile removal ever, if not for shroud and hexproof there would be no blindspots.
Edit: the best removal remains player removal, so in hindsight: door to nothingness.
I run Urza's Ruinous Blast and Invasion of Fiora in my Dihada, Binder of Wills deck. Very often 1 sided
Ive been leaning towards "removal" that don't slow down the game/ruin my opponents fun (repeated one side board wipes while efficient, they often leave me as the only person having a good time). Instead of destroying my opponents board i try to use it against them with cards like reins of power, rakdos charm or mirror strike. The otag:aikido on Scryfall shows cards like them (Effects that turn your opponent's strength against them.)
For my two cents, a fresh contender for best all-purpose removal in the colours that can run it is Tear Asunder. It's a real workhorse of a card, even if it doesn't pull the most outrageous efficiency.
Honestly, my favorite piece of removal is Decimate. I have friends who love artifact decks and it's in my Klothys deck, so I almost always have the ability to blow up some of the best stuff on the board
Yes, it's anguish unmaking.
The most important criteria are met.
Instant speed, target flexibility and exiling the target.
The mana cost is still okay.
I like Living Death a lot because while it isn't an exile effect (wich, even though I understand the necessity of it, I'm still not a big fan of), it doesn't use ''destroy'' as a keyword either. It just puts the creatures on the board to the graveyard (and vice versa). So even though it may bite back because your opponents surely do have some creatures in their graveyard too by the time you cast it, it prevents cards like Wrap in vigor that otherwise would make your boardwipe completely backfire.
My favorite one sided board wipe of late is Swarmyard massacre in squirrels
I really like Kogla and Yidaro in my Wilson + Tavern Brawler high CMC matters Voltron deck. It's far from the most efficient card, but it'll pump my commander by 6 from tavern brawler, and be an optional removal earlier in the game if I draw it instead
Stroke of Midnight I would like to add is a strictly better upgrade to Generous Gift, as it only leaves a 1/1 but is more expensive dollar wise, I would also like to add in terms of underrated removal, Song of the Dryad, which is a strictly better Imprison in the Moon, but in green, often shutting down problematic commanders permanently if they don't remove the aura. It also hits all permanent types, unlike Imprison in the Moon.
I got invited to a “casual” commander game last night with some work colleagues only to get blown out in an agonizingly long game against a zur the enchanter deck drawing tons of cards with Rhystic study and countering every removal spell I threw his way, while another guy kept board wiping every 2 turns until The Zur deck did the demonic consultation into Thassa’s oracle combo.
Any advice? I was thinking about putting together a Orzhov stax deck using the same commander as the casual deck I brought last time to throw them off balance (zoraline cosmos caller). Where should I start? Should I just grab and Orzhov Stax list online and make tweaks or what would you reccomend?
I would have to say Song of the Dryad. It hits any permanent and deals really good with commanders and it becomes a land so its very hard to just sacrifice it.
What about discard effects? Especially the "choose a card" discard effects. You mentioned before, that you consider discard perhaps the best anti-counterspell effect in the game. Indeed, think, that something like shimian specter, for example, could be considered quite efficient removal, if used correctly. Of course, discard is not a substitute for your "classic" removal, but it could be quite useful nontheless
I do agree but I find that when I have a repeatable source of removal my oppents get salty because I might as well be playing stax.
I think it’s different. If I spend 11 mana to bosh plus spine something the power is much lower than a stasis lock. And players have their mana to remove the value pieces
Would make a little honorary mention to Excise the Imperfect. Just a monowhite Anguish unmaking that most of the times doesn't bite you back with the token it makes.
In casual commander where the threats are diverse, mana can be plentiful, and time abounds, flexibility trumps efficiency (to a point). The more solved a metagame becomes the less flexibility matters when compared to efficiency. Swords is great, but I rarely run it, favoring cards that hit more permanent types or hit multiple targets at once. Sometimes you'll wish you had the 1cmc answer in hand, but considering how proactive most strategies tend to be I think creatures can be the card type you're probably least worried about. Most decks could benefit from sniping permanent types that tend to hose their gameplan, with generalist pieces doubling as creature removal.
I have a budget league 5c creature toolbox/combo deck that is base selesnya and my removal is lightest around creatures, targeted primarily at specific stax pieces that could bone me. I have generalist removal that can hit creatures, but given that my goal is to beat up on slower decks and combo off against creature strats, that's a trade-off I'm aware of. When you can loop Spore Frog and Kami of False Hope you can get away with letting beaters sit around and deal with synergy pieces if they bother you.
Another consideration is the volume of threats you're dealing with. Casual commander is full of big, dumb assholes with bloated textboxes. Sure, hitting them with the Swords feels real nice when you went up 6 mana against that opponent... at least until they pass turn and the 2 other goons sitting there deploy their own asshole brigade. If you're packing one-for-one removal, you need to close the game out fast or have a ton of inevitability. I don't think most decks really aim for either of those, so much as hoping their dumb assholes untap more often than their opponents'. Much prefer repeatable removal if you're looking to play the midrange value game over the hyper-efficient Swords.
It may not be permanent removal, but "Sheltered by ghosts" to both get some stats, ward AND to exile something all for 1 white 1 generic with the only other requirement being that you have a creature is quite good.
A nice card I don't see people play is Notorious Assassin, which let's you pay a black and 2 to discard a card and destroy a non-black creature. It's a tap ability so you can do it every turn cycle at least, and only wants you to be in a deck with black that also wants to put cards in their hand into the graveyard. Those are some very low synergy requirements! Also the art is ballin
I love synergistic removal. I built a deck that runs Stoke the Flames because my commander cares about being tapped and so convoke is valuable. Also Mizzium Mortars forever.
I love whelming wave & Cyclone summoner whenever I play Omo because it's just a cyclonic rift that's $3
It's not the best, but I have a new bit of synergy I'm very excited for. I put chainsaw in Syrix over cathartic pyre to help scale up my end of turn bolts without shrinking my removal package.
Don't forget about Olivia's Wrath for a one sided board wipes. It ends game in my vampire deck
Door to Nothingness best removal spell. Tap remove target player
I run Banishing Knack in my Grimgrin deck because saccing a token to bounce another nonland permanent is pretty insane
I playing passionate Jund and Golgari Dredge in EDH and none of the examples are the kind of removals I prefer.
I prefer removals that do more. I mean in EDH I play against 3 people so why going for just a 1on1 trade with a Sword for example, when I can use a removal (more or less same mana value) that hit more cards/opponents.
For example Decimate:
For one mana more as "Beast within" I wont give the opponent something, also I can against 4 cards.
Sheoldred Edict: I go with that against the threat and punish the other opponents.
Another kind of removal I prefer more, are this ones I benefit or is a remoal + value.
Examples are: 5Mana Sheoldred, Blood Spatter Analysis or Deadly Brew.
My favourite removal is aetherflux reservoir
man I could go for some brussels sprouts right now
I am really struggling with removal in grixis colors. There are some good removal spells in there, but enchantments are so hard to remove if you can’t use white and green
It can be tricky I think sometimes you need to bounce it back to hand and counter it in the way down! Wipe away is a good card to remove enchantments
Inundate is definitely my favorite removal spell in my mono blue deck. Everyone in my playgroup hates blue so most of the time this is a one sided board wipe and it costs way less than cyclonic rift so its a win win
Looking forward to the more obscure single target removal suggestions in the comments!
For board wipes I play Hostile Takeover and Gix's Command in my Zevlor deck that copies Act of Treason effects and has some goad. They both let me save my low toughness commander and get rid of smaller creatures I don't want to borrow.
Maybe Sunfall is one of the better generic wipes, but that and Phyrexian Rebirth in my Kamiz deck let me come back real fast with a big creature to make unblockable.
I’ve barely changed my Selvala deck over the many years since I fell in love with Knight of the Reliquary. That said, this video is a reason why it hasn’t, it always ran spells like Slaughter the Strong for that sweet one-side board wipe. Tragic arrogance with Rebuff the Wicked in hand is also a sweet thing, no one is gonna board wipe after a “board wipe” and why would selesnya have a Counterspell?
Guess another good example would be HENZIE, as commander.
Instead of running a lot of spot removal spells and board wipes.. add creatures that have similar effects stapled to them.
Ravenous chupacabra
Noxious gearhulk
Deathbringer Regent
Alpha, death claw
Good examples
Going back to at least 2007, people love to say, "it is only a 1-for-q, and thus card disadvantage in multiplayer." Those same people *always* fail to realize that you don't have to answer *everything* - only what is threatening you. Removal efficiency is still king.
I play against a lot of greedy token value engines, so my latest auto-include has been Eye of Singularity. Reserved list budget banger. Combine that with Faerie Artisans, and suddenly opponents can’t get a creature to stick on the board!
I like the faces of my pod when I cast Ruinous Ultimatum
BARRIER BREACH ITS BARRIER BREACH I FUCKING LOVE BARRIER BREACH I RUN BARRIER BREACH IN EVERY SINGLE GREEN DECK ITS SO FUCKING GOOD
That’s a cool card I’ve never seen!
the longer ive been playing the more ive grown to love imprisoned in the moon or the new unable to scream (a little less strong since creatures are easier to remove than lands most of the time). being able to remove a commander of an opponent is so game breaking that even though it can theoretically earn you alot of hate the pay off can win you the game. its not the best but i have a really hard time not including it in a blue deck. another newer favorite is Extract. this one is particularly handy for removing a coveted combo piece of your opponent before it can be used. yes im looking at you thassa's oracle. but the best spot removal IMO is something that targets all permanents which is a problem both the above cards have in not accomplishing. i cant tell you how many times ive attempted to imprison in the moon some artifact like winter orb just to realize that it cant target artifacts. but beast within, generous gift and all permanent targeting spells are the best IMO