Banishing Stroke MTG Card

Banishing Stroke provides instant-speed removal, disrupting opponents and tilting the battlefield balance. The miracle cost mechanic of Banishing Stroke allows for impactful plays at a lower resource cost. While powerful, the high normal mana cost and color restriction can limit the card’s utility.

Banishing Stroke - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Avacyn Restored (AVR)
2012-05-04 - Number 7

Banishing Stroke - Modern Masters 2017 (MM3)

Modern Masters 2017 (MM3)
2017-03-17 - Number 2

Commander 2018 (C18)
2018-08-09 - Number 63

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Miracle

Text of card

Put target artifact, creature, or enchantment on the bottom of its owner's library. Miracle (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

Cards like Banishing Stroke

Banishing Stroke offers a unique spot removal option for players in Magic: The Gathering. It finds a parallel with other cards like Oblivion Ring, which also exiles any nonland permanent until Oblivion Ring leaves the battlefield. However, Banishing Stroke allows for putting it on the top of your library if you have a miracle reveal, providing an unexpected defensive play with its lower cost in just the right moment.

Another comparable card is Swords to Plowshares, a single-white-manacost instant allowing you to exile a creature and grant its controller life equal to its power. While Swords to Plowshares is cheaper and more efficient at dealing specifically with creatures, Banishing Stroke’s broader target range makes it versatile in handling artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers as well. Then there’s Path to Exile, similar to Swords to Plowshares, but the controller of the exiled creature may search for a basic land to replace it, potentially setting them ahead in mana availability.

Each option carries strategic implications depending on the deck’s goal and the game state, but Banishing Stroke holds a distinct position, especially with its potential for a surprise play at a reduced cost due to the miracle mechanic.

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Banishing Stroke by color, type and mana cost

Beacon of Immortality - MTG Card versions

Pegasus Guardian // Rescue the Foal - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Banishing Stroke sets the stage for powerful plays by allowing you to put a permanent on the bottom of its owner’s library. This does not just neutralize a threat but also indirectly grants card advantage, as you effectively negate one of your opponent’s cards without losing one yourself.

Resource Acceleration: Although Banishing Stroke doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it efficiently uses the resources you have available. The miracle cost of this spell can turn a late-game topdeck into a momentous play, allowing for a large impact at a fraction of the normal casting cost.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Banishing Stroke provides flexibility and surprise, enabling you to react to the ever-changing battlefield at a moment’s notice. Casting this during an opponent’s turn can significantly disrupt their plans while maintaining the pace of your strategy.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Banishing Stroke does not mandate any discard as part of its casting cost, which might misalign with strategies that capitalize on cards being thrown away for value or reanimation tactics.

Specific Mana Cost: While the miracle cost can be a benefit, requiring white mana might be restrictive as it can only be optimally included in decks that can consistently produce white mana, making it less flexible for decks that run multiple colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The normal casting cost of six mana is notably high for a single-target removal, potentially making it a less favorable choice in scenarios where mana efficiency is key, as there are alternatives that can achieve similar outcomes at a lower cost.

Reasons to Include Banishing Stroke in Your Collection

Versatility: Banishing Stroke offers a universal removal option that can target any nonland permanent, making it a flexible choice across various deck types and strategies. It’s equally effective in disrupting opponents by removing pesky enchantments, powerful artifacts, or intimidating creatures.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with decks that manipulate the top of the library, allowing you to potentially cast Banishing Stroke for its miracle cost. As part of a controlled setup, it can be a game-changer, aiding combos that rely on a clear battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where indestructible or hexproof threats dominate, Banishing Stroke provides an answer that doesn’t target, bypassing typical defenses. Its relevance grows in metas filled with high-value permanents, offering a cost-effective solution to remove key pieces from the board.

How to Beat Banishing Stroke

Banishing Stroke may seem daunting with its potential to set your board state back significantly. This card offers a powerful utility by placing a nonland permanent on the bottom of its owner’s library. However, to mitigate the effects of Banishing Stroke, considering timing and counterplay is key. A well-timed counterspell could nip the threat in the bud, preventing its casting altogether.

Other strategies include diversifying threats on the board to reduce the impact of a single-card exile. Additionally, using cards with enter the battlefield effects can help recoup value even if the target is eventually sent to the library’s depths. Remember, Banishing Stroke’s Miracle cost offers a window of opportunity — as long as you maintain mana for a counterspell when your opponent draws their first card for the turn, you can safeguard your most valued assets.

To conclude, anticipation and strategic setup are essential in outmaneuvering Banishing Stroke. Evaluate your plays, maintain a balance of threats, and keep disruption handy to maintain control over the game’s flow and protect your key permanents from being upended by this powerful stroke.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Banishing Stroke MTG card by a specific set like Avacyn Restored and Modern Masters 2017, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Banishing Stroke and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Banishing Stroke Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2012-05-04 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Igor Kieryluk.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-05-04	Avacyn Restored	AVR	7	2003	Normal	Black	Igor Kieryluk
2	2017-03-17	Modern Masters 2017	MM3	2	2015	Normal	Black	Igor Kieryluk
3	2018-08-09	Commander 2018	C18	63	2015	Normal	Black	Igor Kieryluk

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Banishing Stroke has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Banishing Stroke card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2018-07-13	If an effect puts a card into your hand without using the word “draw,” the card wasn’t drawn.
2018-07-13	If the card with miracle leaves your hand before the triggered ability resolves, you won’t be able to cast it using its miracle ability.
2018-07-13	It’s important to reveal a card with miracle before it is mixed with the other cards in your hand.
2018-07-13	Miracle is an alternative cost to cast the spell with miracle. It can’t be combined with other alternative costs, such as casting a spell “without paying its mana cost.”
2018-07-13	Multiple card draws are always treated as a sequence of individual card draws. For example, if you haven’t drawn any cards yet during a turn and cast a spell that instructs you to draw three cards, you’ll draw them one at a time. Only the first card drawn this way may be revealed and cast using its miracle ability.
2018-07-13	To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a miracle cost) you’re paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
2018-07-13	You can cast a card for its miracle cost only as the miracle triggered ability resolves. If you don’t want to cast it at that time (or you can’t cast it, perhaps because there are no legal targets available), you won’t be able to cast it later for the miracle cost.
2018-07-13	You can reveal and cast a card with miracle on any turn, not just your own, if it’s the first card you’ve drawn that turn.
2018-07-13	You cast the card with miracle during the resolution of the triggered ability. Ignore any timing rules based on the card’s type.
2018-07-13	You don’t have to reveal a drawn card with miracle if you don’t wish to cast it at that time.
2018-07-13	You still draw the card, whether you use the miracle ability or not. Any ability that triggers whenever you draw a card, for example, will trigger. If you don’t cast the card using its miracle ability, it will remain in your hand.