So what will I destroy now? - Merciless Eviction

So what will I destroy now? - Merciless Eviction

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     White and Black in Magic have always been at odds with each other. These are the colors that magic attributes to religious themes , the colors of good and evil though it doesn't necessarily mean that white is good and vice versa. Of all the differences that these colors clash in there is one thing that they are traditionally good at which is mass removal. White usually has the upper hand in this department with a lot of mass removal spells ranging from 4 mana and up. Black has been catching up in that department. So what happens when you combine these two colors to form a mass removal spell? You get something like Merciless Eviction.

     It is implied in the flavor text of the card that this writhing mass of white and black mana is the work of the Obzedat , the Ghost council that has ruled the Orzhov guild for the longest time. It really is a power spell and  well  , having another mass removal in your arsenal is great and is always welcome but this one comes with several limitations that can be good or bad. At 1 Black , 1 white and 4 colorless mana cost this is the equivalent to the mana cost of a Planar cleansing. While Planar Cleansing does as it name suggests , clearing all Non-land permanents in one fell swoop by destroying them. Merciless Eviction actually seems more merciful than the former mass removal. This Black/White removal offers a more calculating version that can leave your advantages on the battlefield while removing your opponents best assets. Let us say you have tons of creatures already in play but your opponent has a Gideon , Champion of Justice that has gained a lot of loyalty counters from all your creatures. You know that your opponent can use Gideons ultimate skill soon and leave you with nothing but air on the battlefield. So in response you just cast Merciless Eviction , choosing to remove/ exile all Planeswalkers in play. Your creatures can now attack  and you have a chance to win the game.  

     This  option of removing or exiling just a type of card in play is something that Planar Cleansing does not offer. This is true for Planeswalkers , Enchantments  , Artifacts and Creatures as well. The versatility of choosing those that can still give you an advantage over those that you would rather be without. The word Exile also offers a great advantage to you since there are so many reanimator decks in standard that have enough resiliency to mount a come back and win the day. Using Merciless Eviction since it exiles rather than destroys creatures nullifies the Undying Mechanic , removes potential targets for Unburial rites because creatures go back to the void and It can also defend against Immortal Servitude , a card that can potentially bring back all the little weenies from the grave or if your opponent has enough mana , a fatty army.

    Of course if you are faced with all these things at once from your opponents side of the battlefield and feel that Merciless Eviction isn't just enought you could also add or board in a Planar Cleansing for good measure , they are both available in standard in any case and also fits quite nicely in the Orzhov scheme of things. Since Orzhov decks seem to be slow , crowd control is the order of the day. Choosing to be patient with the Extort Mechanic and then reanimating a bunch of creatures en masse later on seems to be the tactic being encouraged. White / Black will always be a strong combination because there are always methods to remove obstacles in their way. Merciless Eviction is now one of them.