Excommunicate MTG Card

Excommunicate grants decisive battlefield control by resetting opponents’ creature presence and disrupting draw sequences. Instant speed flexibility allows mid-battle responses, ideally timing adversarial progress to your strategic advantage. Shrewdly countering Excommunicate involves using shuffle effects, haste creatures, or instant-speed interventions to preserve your plays.

Shards of Alara (ALA)
2008-10-03 - Number 11

Magic 2010 (M10)
2009-07-17 - Number 10

Magic 2011 (M11)
2010-07-16 - Number 14

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery

Text of card

Put target creature on top of its owner's library.

Rebels and other malcontents forced into the ritual awake lost in Topa's vast savannahs. Those who find their way back return humble and repentant.

Cards like Excommunicate

Excommunicate is an intriguing spell in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering a strategic edge in battlefield control. This card presents a similarity to other temporary removal spells such as Unsummon or Vapor Snag. While these latter options return creatures to their owner’s hand, providing a slight tempo advantage, Excommunicate goes a step further by placing the target creature on top of its owner’s library. This strategic move not only delays the creature’s return but also disrupts your opponent’s next draw.

Comparably, Oblation is another card that shares Excommunicate’s displacement mechanic, albeit with a twist—it allows the opponent to draw two cards. While this gives your opponent more resources, it also deals with any permanent, not just creatures. Conversely, Condemn is an efficient alternative, tucking an attacking creature away into its owner’s library, but it’s positioned as a last resort since the owner gains life equal to its toughness.

Assessing the spectrum of similar cards, Excommunicate stands out distinctly within the Magic: The Gathering arsenal. Its pivotal role in controlling combat and the flow of the game makes it a valuable asset, shaping players’ strategies with its unique library-interaction capability.

Cards similar to Excommunicate by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Excommunicate, you can temporarily remove an opponent’s creature from the battlefield. This not only disrupts their strategies but can effectively negate any immediate threats, maintaining a balance in the battlefield dynamic.

Resource Acceleration: While Excommunicate doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it can indirectly impact the pace of your opponent’s resource development. By sending a key creature to the top of their deck, you force them to redraw the same card, slowing down their access to new resources and giving you an upper hand in maintaining board control.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Excommunicate at instant speed offers flexibility, allowing you to respond to threats on your opponent’s turn. This adaptability can be a vital part of controlling the game’s tempo, effectively pacing the progress of your adversaries and providing opportunities to counter their strategies during critical moments in play.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Excommunicate card does not necessarily make you discard a card, but it does require you to have a specific card type, such as a creature in play, which can be a limiting factor if your board is empty or you’re holding onto key pieces in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is purely in white, Excommunicate might not fit well into multicolor decks that require a more flexible mana base. Its commitment to white mana could restrict the range of decks it can be played in.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Excommunicate might seem reasonable at three mana, but when compared with other removal spells in the game, it may come across as costly given that it does not permanently deal with the threat, simply delaying it for a turn. Other cards at similar or lower mana costs might outright remove or neutralize a creature without allowing the opponent a chance to redraw it.

Reasons to Include Excommunicate in Your Collection

Versatility: Excommunicate offers a straightforward yet powerful effect, with the ability to reset an opponent’s board by sending their creature to the top of their library. This makes Excommunicate a useful tool in a variety of white decks, from tempo-focused builds to control strategies looking to stall out the game.

Combo Potential: This card shines in scenarios where you aim to disrupt synergies or remove key pieces of your opponent’s combo. Excommunicate can therefore be a timely answer to halt opponents in their tracks and disrupt their plan, potentially swinging the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-centric decks often dominating the playing field, having an answer like Excommunicate can be critical. It works against a multitude of threats and is particularly effective in a meta filled with reanimation strategies or bothersome creatures that demand immediate answers.

How to beat

Excommunicate is a versatile card often found in Magic: The Gathering white decks that can disrupt opponent’s strategies. The card essentially bounces an opponent’s creature to the top of their library, delaying any immediate threats that creature could pose. This effect can be particularly potent when used on creatures with beneficial enter-the-battlefield abilities, as it forces opponents to waste their next draw and replay the creature for its effect.

To effectively counteract Excommunicate, consider using cards with shuffle effects that let you rearrange or shuffle your library, minimizing the drawback of having a creature placed on top. Additionally, employing creatures with haste can quickly re-establish your board presence even after being disrupted. Instant speed spells that can respond to Excommunicate by either saving the targeted creature or countering the spell altogether can also ensure your game plan remains unaffected.

Ultimately, while Excommunicate can be a thorn in one’s side, proactive deck-building and smart in-game decisions can mitigate its impact, enabling players to maintain the upper hand against this form of temporary removal.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Excommunicate MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Magic 2010, 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 Excommunicate and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Excommunicate Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2010-07-16. Illustrated by Matt Stewart.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2008-10-03	Shards of Alara	ALA	11	2003	Normal	Black	Matt Stewart
2	2009-07-17	Magic 2010	M10	10	2003	Normal	Black	Matt Stewart
3	2010-07-16	Magic 2011	M11	14	2003	Normal	Black	Matt Stewart

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Excommunicate has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal