Which Spot Removal spells are Worth Playing? | A Guide to Spot Removal in EDH
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- A video all about spot removal spells, how to use them, and what to expect from them!
Here is the complete list of cards we mention:
bit.ly/SpotRemovalSpells
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Spot removal is something every commander deck needs, but how do you evaluate spot removal? What makes a good spot removal spell? What are the best removal spells, or the worst spot removal? We’ve got your removal guide
Music:
"Digital Lemonade"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... - Ігри
Is the answer Sephara, Sky's Blade?
You got it! Comment pinned
@@NitpickingNerds Woot! In celebration, I'm going to give you my spiciest pick for removal spell: Catch // Release (I care mostly about Catch). Catch lets you gain control of target PERMANENT until end of turn. One of the best feelings in Magic is ulting with someone else's planeswalkers; no one expects it, and if they do, it prevents them from ever getting their planeswalkers into ult range out of fear that you would steal it. In a planeswalker heavy meta, this card can often win you the game (depending on the ult), and when you ult, you tick the planeswalker down to zero (and thus, it is removal). Meanwhile, you can also steal a creature, and then sac it or do a purposely bad attack against a different opponent (using politics to ensure that they block & kill it). You can also just swing the creature at a player if it would finish them off (player removal is often the best removal). The Release side is also really great, making everyone sac a ton of stuff. Depending on the board state, it can be a mini board wipe. Because it's a fuse card, you can also cast both halves of it for extra versatility.
How do you guys feel about Casualties of War? Even though it's sorcery speed and a bit pricey, I think the versatility makes it worth it.
when you guys jokingly said that you can't think of any four-mana lands that Despark could hit, I quietly feared for the life of my commander, Arixmethes
Markus Abelius that’s true also any 4CMC card enchanted by song of the dryad
Ashaya too
Came back to magic after 15years, Needed to relearn EDH, you guys have the best channel by far.
Force of Despaire is one of my favorite spot removal cards. People don't think it's good because they judge it as a board wipe, but for spot removal it can hit multiple things and it will even get around hexproof! And of course, the Mana cost of free fifty free is undeniably awesome.
I still think Winds of Abandon is a super underrated card. It's the white Cyclonic Rift!!
definitely underrated, but i don't know if I'd go THAT far 😁
@@NitpickingNerds I did say WHITE Cyclonic Rift, which means it has to be worse in every measurable way because WotC hates white.
Ha! Okay you win
Rout is better, and it is more Cyclonic than this card
I traded an Oko straight up for a Prismatic Vista around a month after Eldraine came out. Dude said I was crazy. Hahaha!
Sick deal!
Oko is still a solid card turning people’s commanders into elk is no joke
SunTitan 44 maybe he knew lol
Before I traded it, I had a number of conversations with friends at the LGS about how OP Oko was. A ban seemed imminent, so I pulled the trigger when I had the chance. I was betting that Vista would be a slow steady climb and that Oko would plummet if banned. The gamble paid off. Also, I said I traded “an” Oko, not all. I held one for commander. 😉
Kenneth Dixon III nice lol I held onto a couple myself but it feels bad playing it honestly I want my friends to have fun too
Great video guys love this cards
i like the off-the-cuff delivery you guys give!
Thanks, we are less scripted so hopefully it brings a more organic feel
In my Lazav graveyard recursion deck I've had great success with price of fame. I almost always cast it for 2 and the surveil lets me throw good stuff in my yard frequently.
Thoughts on the new oubliette? It looks like an O ring but seems more in line with Song of the Dryads now, I like it.
I've been really impressed with leadership vacuum too, narrow but reliable.
Nice job guys! Really like that you show how removal isnt just instants and sorceries that say "destroy" or "exile."
Right! Things like bounce aren't the most effective in the world, but when I bounce your dude it ain't there no more!
@@NitpickingNerds Also, on that point, I feel disclaimer guy needs to have mentioned not to bounce stuff with ETB triggers lol!
He’s certainly not the best employee we have...
"Speaking of annoying..." Perfect timing for an ad to pop up lol
You too? Hehe
Good video guys. Love your analysis, made me rethink a few staples. A couple I've come to love are the "Echoing" spells from Darksteel. Truth and Ruin are super strong in the token-heavy meta of treasure fest and commanders like Edgar. Most generic tokens all have the same names even if they are different like Edgar tokens and Bloodline Keeper; all still are named "Vampire".
Keep up the good work. Your videos are quite helpful
Thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoy the content!
The value I always saw in Krosan Grip was that it can kill an artifact or enchantment and it's controller can't sac it in response.
Combo killer
That, too.
It can kill Sensei's Divining Top!
That’s funny cause I almost put field of ruin into a deck the other day then I read it and threw it in the trash pile
We did the same move!
I wish I could like this comment multiple times.
S V wasteland, ghost quarter, tectonic edge, strip mine
S V I’ve started running beast within and generous gift in pretty much everything that can run them. The flexibility of hitting any permanent makes them some of the best single target removal you can get.
S V yup, lands and planeswalkers. They hit ANYTHING!
I run emry and gavi and for gavi, there are so many great counter and removals spells that cycle its kind of insane. That deck was pretty good out the box but now i added easy $200+ into it with crazy pack pulls like rhystic study and trading in old yugioh cards for mtg cards i need like cyclonic rift. Amonkhet and hour of devastation not only have a lot of cool egypt themed cards but most of them cycle. Forsake the wording, counterveiling winds, sweltering suns, etc and then urza saga has a bunch of good cycling cards like complicate, radiants judgement, and miscalculation
There is also the realm of auras like Lignify, Kennerith’s Transformation, Song of Dryads, and Darksteel Mutation that all effectively remove important creatures/commanders without removing them from the battlefield. Can be super useful against decks that don’t have the ability to remove their own creatures, and shut down all types of activated and static abilities
I think we mention those haha, except for Lignify
I feel like winds of abandon is incredibly underrated, its a budget cyclonic rift that's a little worse.
Yeah the next turn can be rough if you give everyone a ton of lands, but overall it's at least efficient
@@NitpickingNerds Winds of Abandon without overload ironically serves better purpose than after its overload, unlike Rift is only worth it at overload. It's still worth overloading at a pinch against multi-color decks in late game after they've fetched precisely little basic lands they have in their deck. My biggest problem with Winds is that it's sorcery speed. Could've been an instant.
It's a lot worse to be fair mainly because of the instant to sorcery restriction. The other reason is it hits far less than cyc rift.
I think the same, to me is that if the opponent ramp a lot it's because the board was big, so usually was worth, if not, well, the opponent only ramp 1-2 basic.
It's a card that my mates have played a lot agains me and usually the ramp is just have more mana to expend in anything usefull because I lost my board and now I have to start again.
Maybe in competitive is worst, but there maybe the game ended before you could play the spell XD
They both work great under a winter orb or stasis in my Derevi deck :)
I am curious about what you think of Tec Edge. Notably it doesn't need to be the player with 4 lands you target.
Subbing for not posting only budget based content. Thank you.
Acidic slime is fine in toolbox decks, especially for pod style decks
Loved the video
Thanks, we had a blast making it :D
Winds of abandon looks really good with zozu the Punisher
ravenous chup is awesome with thassa deep dwelling. bounce kill. bounce kill. bounce kill. there are other ways to bounce it but thats what I use the most.
In a nitpicking kind of way, I respectfully disagree with your contention that counterspells are not removal. Counterspells do remove a spell from the stack, and they additionally remove etb's from ever happening, hence adding versatility. Another way I'd put it is counterspells remove a threat before it becomes an imminent threat (i.e. entering/being on the battlefield). I don't recall you mentioning it, but targeted discard (e.g. Duress) is also removal, in my opinion, because it removes a card/threat from an opponent's hand. It's fine that we draw the line in different places for what qualifies as removal, but I guess my request would be for you to make a video on, "Best Prevention Spells in Magic!" There are a lot of cards to rate in this category of counter/discard spells... You may have already made a video like this, but if not, I hope you'll consider my suggestion! Great videos, fellas!
Hey Nipicking Nerds, 1st of all, I love your videos.
2nd, I have a question for you. How much spot removal you run on average in your deck? How much of it can only hit creatures? (I feel like I put way too many in decks)
Quality over Quantity 1st, modal removal should often be prioritized because the more options you have, often the better. What your decks do, and your playgroup's decks do will also be a determining factor.
Example: do you see a lot of artifacts?? Maybe add a couple more spells like Vandalblast, Bane of Progress, Knight of Autumn, Bedevil, and Rakdos Charm. Enchantments pissing you off?? Tranquil Grove, Aura Flux, Serenity, Resounding Wave, Erase, Reclamation Sage, and Cloudchaser Eagle are there. Do your decks sacrifice creatures?? Bone Splinters, Plaguecrafter, board wipes, and Necrotic Hex are cards you may look at using. Planeswalkers annoying you?? Beast Within, Generous Gift, Assassin's Trophy, Anguished Unmaking, Despark, or even counterspells are available. Are you a monored deck that's weakness are creatures larger than 5/5?? For 2RR, Aftershock has your back, gives you the option to kill an artifact or Land instead, and the 3 damage drawback is laughable in commander.
The T.L.D.R version is the 1st paragraph.
You said, "speaking of annoying..." and BOOM! Liberty Mutual commercial, LOL.
Does the black card “Hex” technically count as spot removal?
Also I run dark steel mutation in my commander decks it’s great “oh that’s a great commander centered deck you got there, would be a shame if . . . I just shut it down completely”
I know its not hper efficient, but curse of the swine is also a very effective threat remover. Just exile their biggest threats and replace them with 2/2 pigs... Its amazing
It’s like a Reality Shift, but you trade timing for scaling 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Arixmethes is a land with cmc 4 or greater, so it can be desparked
I actually had to use the life gain portion of Heliods intervention last night lol.
If u put that enchantment that makes a creature a forest and it has a mana cost of 4 can u despark it
Note: If you copy your legendary permanent enchanted with the aura removal, the legendary rule applies and you will have to bury one.
can i ask u a question, what is ur opinion about Ob Nixilis Reignited i runned in my rakdos demon commander deck and was not great, where i can run Ob Nixilis Reignited
Ehhhh he is super medium. I have him in a planeswalker superfriends deck cuz I like the card but he's pretty slow. The best case scenario is worse Phyrexian Arena but if you can reliably ultimate he gets to actually kill a player
I love Heliod's Intervention it's one card i run in all my white decks normally
It’s a staple as far as I’m concerned -Beezy
Just remember that manifested creatures don't need to have Morph - you can flip any manifested creature by simply paying its mana cost.
Indeed, I don't know if this has ever come up for us but it's certainly possible
[Sephara, Sky’s Blade] is the answer to the trivia at the end. also justice for [Deadly Rollick].
Deadly Rollick is also a great card😍
the chalupa-cabra costs four, should it be on the list after you specifically said 4 was too much? sure, you threw the rules out the window by considering winds of abandon(which i didnt know about but i have, so its going straight into my edh)....EDIT: oh, they mostly cost more than four
Desprk can work if something turns something into a land, like song of the dream on your commander 😂
Arixmethes is a land with CMC 4 that Despark can exile
How many black removals can destroy creatures and planewalkers?
17:20 "Speaking of annoying..." (Immediately chop cuts to an ad)
Really though, good shit.
That was my crowning achievement -Beezy
Btw there are nine different ways for you to pick with mystic confluence since draw draw bounce is the same as bounce draw draw. That means you have to divide by 3 which gives you 9 ways.
Sorry there's ten ways you can also just have them all be different
Also I messed up my reasoning this problem is actually a distribution between 3 picks and 3 options to choose from, but since there can be 0 slots given to any option it is 5 choose 2 possible ways to distribute it. Which is 10
Interesting math, thanks for that!
What about Noxious Gearhulk?
The transform lands from ixilon block keep their cmc when they transform so despark can hit a few of those.
Oh yeah, forgot about that super bizarre ruling
Welp that makes those unplayable... I did not know that but now feel compelled to tell my playgroup for all fairness... Ugh
That doesn’t make them unplayable it barely matters 😂
@@NitpickingNerds true however the only three that I think are actually worth playing are search for azcanta, the Cradle of the Sun, and every once in a while treasure map. Other than that the white one is niche and the others are too expensive to really get out and use. Idk ive been trying to use them more in my more friendly decks but they rarely make the cut as is.
I think the enchantment removal spells have an asterisk, Enchantress decks.
Everytime I've had Decimate in my hand on a turn i need it, I've been able to cast it.
I've conceded to a well timed Decimate. That card is a literal strafe bombing run.
Did I miss you guys talking about deadly rollick? If not then why no DR?
Just didn't happen to mention it, it's in the tcgplayer link though haha
What do you guys think of Drakuseth vs Inferno Titan?
We definitely like Inferno Titan better, Drakuseth doesn't do anything when it comes in and is more expensive and harder to cast
I think that split second makes Krosan Grip so much better than a naturalize/disenchant/return to nature. But otherwise I agree with a lot of these.
Nature's claim is the only one of those id say is an even trade. Just bc it is such a feel bad to even have to spend 2 mana on a 1 mana card or more. Its good to be uncounterable, but not a ton of people run nature's claim and they never expect that one little forest to be able to do so much.
Ricky Schaffner Nature’s Claim is cEDH good. The life gain is negligible. But yeah a lot of casual circles don’t know about it. Krosan Grip I like not for being just uncounterable but can get rid of something like aetherflux reservoir without fear of getting laser beamed if it’s not on the stack.
@@jdogbemple1 it is pretty good in cedh yeah i guess there are some niche scenarios where both can be good but like he also said ive been slotting it in before krosan grip in even my more casual decks and it just hoses unaware people most of the time.
Argentum armor is kinda ok in phenax
I have had a land that had a mana cost of six. My opponent’s Consecrated Sphinx has been Song of the Dryad...ed. Then I used Thespian Stage.
However, i guess it’s no longer a land. Hmmmmmmmm
This is the best Song of the Dryads nonbo I've ever seen
That’s neat!
All the hate for Grasp of Fate, but you were just singing the praises of Song of the Dryads. How easy is it to blow up a lousy enchantment? Also in this category but not mentioned are Imprisoned in the Moon and Oubliette.
That part struck me as very odd as well. Not sure what the thinking was there.
There is a land that cost 4+ Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle lol
love you guys
Aw, we love you too!
There's not enough cases against Cyclonic Rift, because most people play blue. ^_^ I personally don't mind seeing it banned.
I don't think it's wise to appraise Vindicate by separating its functions into two cards. While Anguished Unmaking wins out most of the time due to its instant speed and exile effect, Vindicate is NOT a glorified Stone Rain. Land killing is only one of its many functions, not the other way around.
Besides, LD in EDH has a very different meaning from 60 cards formats: You don't single target LD as a way to maintain control, you single target LD because the land is a threat, such as Gaea's Cradle, or against a multicolor deck, you can hit a land early on that produces the key mana an opponent needs. Similar to Field of Ruin, if you can stop an opponent from going berserk, everyone gets one basic land is well worth the price.
While on the topic: Utter End is not far behind Anguished Unmaking either, and redundancy is great in EDH.
Grasp of Fate (as well as other enchantment removal) can be traded away via effects such as Zedruu and Inniaz, which makes it a viable removal in any deck that can give it away.
An EDH game tends to have 3+ players, which means the chance of Decimate finding all the targets is actually quite high. Everyone plays commander (usually a creature), everyone plays land, and I'm sure at least one opponent would play mana rocks and an enchantment.
So what cards do you recommend for removal over unstable obelisk for colorless decks
Its tough without seeing a list of stuff you already play
Nitpicking Nerds currently I have duplicant, steel hellkite, meteor golem, brittle efigy, spatial contortion, warping wail, unstable obelisk, all is dust, scour from existence, blast zone, and wasteland I think that’s about all the removal but I might have missed something there are some annihilator creatures in there to but I don’t really count that as removal
SunTitan 44 spine of ish sah is basically non creature meteor golem, and perilous vault/nev’s disk are great cheap wipes
Ren D thanks for the suggestions I’ll look into these options for sure two of them were on my radar but I don’t own a copy of either
SunTitan 44 oblivion stone, ratchet bomb, nevinyrral disk, spine of ish sah, ugin the ineffable, gruesome slaughter, argentum armor, transmogrifying wand, chaos wand (can get removal from opponents decks sometimes), and erratic portal can bounce stuff.
i use curtain´s call in my ninja deck :)
Sweet! Ninjas throwing giant spiked wheels at people
You guys missed the seal cycle. They're not amazing, but you did mention caustic caterpillar.
AWWW DAMNIT... i came here looking for Tide Pens!
Welp..... this is awkward
Volcanic Offering? Or is that not considered spot removal to you?
It is we had to cut the list down to keep the video shorter.
Why no Aura Shards?
Return to Nature , believe it or not was first printed inThrone of Eldraine.
I don't, because its first printing was in War of the Spark. Though that was admittedly only five months before Throne of Eldraine.
Where'd you get the undertale sans plush?
Somewhere on the internet, I can't remember exactly but we found it pretty easily with a google search
I think you're wrong about OG O-ring. All the other ones that only have one ability are pretty bad (except MAAAYYYBE Cast Out, due to the instant speed and cycling) but you can pull off plenty of shenanigans with O-ring. It might not be QUITE as easy to break as Fiend Hunter, but it's still pretty easy in the right deck, and it's harder for them to remove if you cast it fair, to boot.
Omg winds of abandon is the PERFECT counter to omnath thats nuts wipe the board into exile AND put all their lands on the field so no more landfall etb triggers for the rest of the game lmao
Alex well that speck doesn’t play many basics and it is a may.
How did Bedevil not get a mention? Amazing removal
They mentioned it... as trap :D I guess it is like they said 3 mana for one target is just a trade off, you wanna get ahead, despite its versatility.
In my opinion, the most underrated removal in EDH is Submerge. I play it in every blue deck and it's always a zero mana Repel.
In a similar vein, snuff out is pretty rock solid but it might get overshadowed by Deadly Rollick
There is a land with mana cost 4 or greater. Arixthemes!
1-Field of ruin
2- flash in opposition agent
3- ???
4-win
Despark saves me many times!
Whats the best thing youve gotten with it?
@@NitpickingNerds Jin-Gitaxias, core augur. My commander Alela was on fire that day. We barely made it to victory.
It really is premium
Olivier Allard-Ruel jeez that’s like the biggest baddie you can hit!
The best types of removal cards are like Darksteel Mutation, turning things into something useless while making the opponent waste resources to remove the enchantment, and cards like the Vow cycle to turn a creature into a weapon against an opponent.
Enchantments have always been my favorite kinds of removal spells because I'm a graveyard manipulator and it doesn't hurt when someone kills or destroys my stuff..
but it hurts a lot when they boop my stuff into something crappy that I can't bring back from grave and that's how I learned to love this type of removal.
Also it's the best form of commander removal. Doesn't send to zone so opponent has to do something about it instead.
I think you shouldn't discount dustbowl, but I didn't check your list so maybe it is there
We have it in our “land removal” installment of “Worth It?”
What is this blasphemy about krosan grip? Do you know him many combos I’ve stopped with that card?
I'm guessing the emoji commander is Sephara Sky's Blade 😁
Nailed it!
Despark hits Arixmethes before becoming a creature
I would guess the emoji commander in question would be... Akroma?
natureboy95 wrong! 🙃
Oh man, you called that ability Disentomb? C'mon, Raise Dead was in Alpha!
Ive learn something
Why does no one talk about hull breech? Sure it's a sorcery, but for two mana blow up an artifact, enchantment or both? Yes plzzz
Winds of abandon, but no path to exile? Nope. Deadly rollick?
Trygon Predator. Enough said.
How fiend Hunter Works? O didnt get in when he said the second line.
Fiend Hunter exiles a creature when it enters and has a separate ability to return the exiled creature when Fiend Hunter leaves the battlefield
I'm gonna be so bold as to suggest it's Geist of St Traft
Well you are wrong butthole lol 😂
@@NitpickingNerds Dang
Nicolas Larranaga no worries. I’m a wrong butthole on a semi-regular basis.
Wow joe cherries throwing around some serious insults
It’s Mowend, I can insult him 😋
Krosan Grip wrecks combo pieces in Chulane since they can’t respond with their bouncy BS
They say speaking of annoying and then up comes an ad. You couldn't have done any better with the placement on this video.
I was pretty proud of that one -Beezy
Not just the timing, but the ad itself was annoying
Mathew Richards we cant control the stupid ads lol 😂
I think the answer to the emoji game is me. Usually I'm a good guy, but then I smoke Crack, and stab somebody. What do I win?
"Speaking of annoying," *ad plays*
Not having Path on this list I feel is objectively wrong. Who cares about giving someone a basic?
But Chandra, Torch of Defiance being thrown in as a “spot removal” spell lol
White has so many strong removal spells that we feel you don't need path often.
I use path to exile in certain decks because it can be cheap ramp/fixing if I use it on my own 1-drop or token in the early game. If I save it for removal in the late game, that extra land for the opponent doesn’t mean as much as it would in early or mid-game. It’s more versatile than Swords to Plowshares.
I kid y'all not, right after he said " speaking of annoying "... a add played.
Are you going to be playing blue? Your deck is now Cyclonic Rift and 99 other cards.
Path is better. It is an instant and will help you remove their combo creatures.
I feel this video contradicts your other video "unplayable cards" in a lot of ways. Your logic with mana cost and versatility dont match your points made in the other.
Oh no my commander is a land. How ever will I interact with that. I couldn't possibly get it back and value...or you know you play a bounce land.
That’s one way to get em
first?
Work UA-cam you win!
You guys used to be so awkward lmao
Ugin the virgin LOL
Commander player/edh player hmm 🤔 what's the difference why title yourselves differently lol
I will just stick to board wipes and giving my permanents indestructible. All these suggestions are meh.
Most of these.. not very good