Excise MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set name	Prophecy
Set code	PCY
Number	8
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Joel Biske

Key Takeaways

Excise offers strategic instant speed removal, crucial for maintaining tempo and control in a game.
It demands careful deck inclusion, as casting requires discarding a card and specific mana.
Despite potential downsides, its flexibility in targeting makes it a valuable addition to decks.

Text of card

Remove target attacking creature from the game unless its controller pays o X.

"Creation is no great feat. Anything you make, I can unmake in a heartbeat." —Alexi, zephyr mage

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Excise is a unique tool in any player’s arsenal for achieving card advantage. By exiling target artifact or enchantment, it ensures that opponents lose valuable resources while you maintain your own battlefield presence. This can tip the scales in your favor, particularly in formats where artifacts and enchantments play a pivotal role.

Resource Acceleration: Although Excise doesn’t produce mana or tokens explicitly, the removal of a key mana-generating artifact or cost-reducing enchantment from an opponent’s side could decelerate their resource acceleration, effectively giving you a relative speed advantage on the board and disrupting their game plan.

Instant Speed: The power to use Excise at instant speed provides strategic flexibility that can be crucial in gameplay. The ability to disrupt an opponent’s strategy during their turn or in response to another spell can be game-altering. It also helps conserve mana for defensive maneuvers, making Excise a versatile tool in both offensive and reactive strategies.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Excise prompts you to part with another card from your hand in order to cast it, which can deplete your resources and be detrimental when your options are already scarce.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Excise, you need precise mana sources, including both white and another color. This can make it challenging to fit into multicolor decks that may have a more diverse and demanding mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement of four mana to activate its potential, Excise is often contrasted with other removal spells that may provide similar benefits for less. This makes it less economically viable in a game where tempo and efficiency are key.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Excise is notably flexible, easily slotting into a variety of decks that need efficient removal. Whether you’re facing creatures with protection or troubling enchantments, Excise offers a cost-effective solution.

Combo Potential: This card can work wonders in decks that manipulate graveyard contents or benefit from casting spells with flashback or other alternative casting methods, giving it a type of synergy that can empower various combo interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment dominated by decks that rely on resilient threats and pervasive enchantments, Excise proves its worth. Its potential to disrupt opponent strategies without burdensome mana costs keeps it relevant across numerous metagames.

How to beat

Excise is a unique removal spell that lurks in the corners of sideboards ready to disrupt graveyard strategies in Magic: The Gathering. Understanding how to effectively nullify this card can be crucial in securing victory. Against Excise, players should focus on diversifying their threats. Instead of relying solely on graveyard-based strategies, incorporate cards that function equally well from both the hand and the battlefield.

Using instant speed spells that can replace themselves before Excise resolves is another key tactic. Counterspells are particularly effective as they can prevent Excise from ever taking effect. Moreover, employing redundancy in your deck by having multiple copies of your key spells or creatures ensures that losing one to an Excise won’t significantly set you back.

Finally, tracking which cards have been cycled from your opponent’s hand can give you insights into when they might be holding an Excise. Playing around it by not overly committing to the graveyard or by waiting to bait it out can tilt the matchup in your favor, mitigating the impact of this potent removal card.

Cards like Excise

Excise is an intriguing card that serves as a tool for removing artifacts and enchantments in Magic: The Gathering. It challenges other cards in the same functional space, like Disenchant, which also provides a straightforward approach to removing these types of permanents. Excise sets itself apart by allowing players to exile the target, which is particularly relevant against graveyard strategies, whereas Disenchant merely destroys the target.

Naturalize stands out as another comparison point, offering the same two-mana cost for the instant destruction of artifacts and enchantments. What differentiates Excise from Naturalize is the aforementioned exile benefit, crucial when facing indestructible artifacts or recursive enchantments. Additionally, there’s Ray of Distortion, which can be costly but offers flexibility through its Flashback ability, letting players use it from the graveyard for an additional cost.

The subtle distinctions each card brings to the table are vital for deck builders and strategists. While Excise may not always be the go-to choice over its counterparts, its unique exile mechanism often makes it the preferred option in environments where permanents return from the graveyard, thereby enhancing its relevance in the MTG realm.

Cards similar to Excise by color, type and mana cost

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Excise MTG card by a specific set like Prophecy, 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 Excise and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Excise has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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