Path of Peace MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Path of Peace removes creatures and offers card replenishment, maintaining a robust hand for continued play options.
  2. The card’s mana specificity and discard requirement can sometimes hinder its immediate playability and overall advantage.
  3. Its unique balance of removal and life gain makes it a formidable contender when comparing similar MTG cards.

Text of card

Destroy any one creature. That creature's owner gains 4 life.

The soldier reaped the profits of peace.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Path of Peace offers the unique ability to remove a threat while also providing you with a card replenishment, ensuring your hand remains stocked with options.

Resource Acceleration: By dealing with an opponent’s creature effectively, you pave the way for your own creatures to advance unimpeded, indirectly accelerating your board presence and potential for resource domination.

Instant Speed: Although Path of Peace is a sorcery, its impact is felt immediately on the board state, setting the stage for unforeseen plays and allowing for strategic planning during your turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Path of Peace card necessitates letting go of a card from your hand, which could set you back in terms of card advantage, especially if your hand is already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana requirement includes white mana, potentially restricting its integration exclusively with decks that can generate that color consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its cost sitting at four mana, Path of Peace could be considered a hefty investment when there are alternative, more mana-efficient removal options available to control the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Path of Peace in Your Collection

Versatility: Path of Peace is a flexible removal spell that can fit into a variety of white decks. Its capacity to handle opposition creatures makes it a solid choice for both aggressive and control strategies, ensuring your path to victory remains unobstructed.

Combo Potential: By removing key creatures from your opponent’s board, Path of Peace sets the stage for combos or synergistic plays. It also pairs well with decks that capitalize on opponents’ creatures leaving the battlefield, offering strategic depth and interaction.

Meta-Relevance: In environments dominated by significant creature threats, Path of Peace’s relevance grows. It allows you to deal with menacing creatures that are otherwise difficult to handle, aligning with the fluctuating demands of the competitive scene and safeguarding the integrity of your strategy.


How to Beat Path of Peace

Path of Peace is an intriguing card that requires a good understanding of its mechanics to effectively counter in Magic: The Gathering. It allows a player to remove a creature their opponent controls from the game. While this sounds straightforward, its impact can be mitigated with careful play. A counter to Path of Peace involves using creatures that provide value upon entering or leaving the battlefield. Utilizing such creatures can ensure that you gain an advantage, even when targeted by this removal spell.

Moreover, players should capitalize on instant-speed spells and abilities that can save their creature or generate additional benefits when targeted. This can turn a potential setback into an opportunity. Deck construction is key, including creatures with indestructible or those that can regenerate, adding resilience against removal spells like Path of Peace. As a player, focusing on diversified threats that can quickly repopulate the board after a removal can dilute the impact of Path of Peace and keep your strategy on track.

In essence, beating Path of Peace revolves around anticipating the removal and having a contingency plan that leverages the situation. Whether through strategic deck building or on-the-fly countering, negating Path of Peace’s impact can be the pivot point for victory.


Cards like Path of Peace

Path of Peace is an intriguing option for players looking to control the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to remove a creature and grant life to its controller draws parallels to other removal spells like Swords to Plowshares. The latter is a classic, offering an even lower mana cost but it does not provide the life gain aspect of Path of Peace.

Another comparable card is Oblivion Ring, which allows for the temporary exile of any nonland permanent at an identical mana value. While not providing life gain, it gives players the flexibility to target not only creatures but also other threatening permanents. Then there is Condemn, which is cheaper and instant speed, but it only affects attacking creatures and also provides life to the opponent, unlike the life gain Path of Peace provides to the caster.

Looking at the broader spectrum of removal spells, Path of Peace serves a significant role for shifting the tide in a player’s favor by neatly tying together creature removal with a cushion of life. This balance of effects can be crucial for stabilizing a game, marking its importance in the pantheon of white creature removal spells.

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions
Oblivion Ring - MTG Card versions
Condemn - MTG Card versions
Swords to Plowshares - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Oblivion Ring - Lorwyn (LRW)
Condemn - Dissension (DIS)

Cards similar to Path of Peace by color, type and mana cost

Wrath of God - MTG Card versions
Armageddon - MTG Card versions
Resurrection - MTG Card versions
Cleanse - MTG Card versions
Breath of Life - MTG Card versions
Vengeance - MTG Card versions
False Defeat - MTG Card versions
Ravages of War - MTG Card versions
Replenish - MTG Card versions
Gerrard's Wisdom - MTG Card versions
Decree of Justice - MTG Card versions
Presence of the Wise - MTG Card versions
Divine Congregation - MTG Card versions
Retether - MTG Card versions
Windborne Charge - MTG Card versions
Day of Judgment - MTG Card versions
Excoriate - MTG Card versions
Battle Screech - MTG Card versions
Cataclysm - MTG Card versions
Great Teacher's Decree - MTG Card versions
Wrath of God - Commander Masters (CMM)
Armageddon - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Resurrection - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Cleanse - Legends (LEG)
Breath of Life - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Vengeance - Eighth Edition (8ED)
False Defeat - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Ravages of War - Fallout (PIP)
Replenish - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Gerrard's Wisdom - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Decree of Justice - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Presence of the Wise - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Divine Congregation - Time Spiral (TSP)
Retether - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Windborne Charge - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Day of Judgment - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Excoriate - The List (PLST)
Battle Screech - Commander Masters (CMM)
Cataclysm - From the Vault: Annihilation (V14)
Great Teacher's Decree - The List (PLST)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Path of Peace MTG card by a specific set like Portal and Portal Second Age, 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 Path of Peace and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Path of Peace Magic the Gathering card was released in 7 different sets between 1997-05-01 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-05-01PortalPOR 211997normalblackPete Venters
21998-06-24Portal Second AgeP02 181997normalblackDavid A. Cherry
31998-10-12Urza's SagaUSG 291997normalblackVal Mayerik
41999-07-01Starter 1999S99 211997normalwhiteVal Mayerik
52018-03-16Masters 25A25 292015normalblackNils Hamm
62019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 1952015normalblackNils Hamm
72020-09-26The ListPLST A25-292015normalblackNils Hamm

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Path of Peace has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-03-16 If the target creature is an illegal target by the time Path of Peace tries to resolve, the spell doesn’t resolve. No player gains life.
2018-03-16 You are a creature’s owner if the card representing it began the game in your deck, or if it’s a token that entered the battlefield under your control. If Path of Peace targets a creature that you own but an opponent controls, you’ll gain 4 life.

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