(List) The Best Creature Removal for EDH - Comments

[Morganator 2.0]

Mono white needs a lot more than just that, it really gets shafted in commander (discussion for another time). I've been meaning to give this list a good update, so I'll add the note at the same time.

[Morganator 2.0]

Massive update. Every card on this list is tried and tested. I've also added notes to help you decide if the card is right for you.

Revision 19

Added/removed cards:
-1 Abzan Charm
-1 Collective Brutality
-1 Collective Defiance
-1 Deep Freeze
-1 Desert Twister
-1 Domri Rade
-1 Dromar's Charm
-1 Dromoka's Command
-1 Fatal Push
-1 Garruk Relentless
-1 Izzet Charm
-1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
-1 Naya Charm
-1 Reckless Rage
-1 Spatial Contortion
-1 Temur Charm
-1 Ultimate Price
+1 Assassin's Trophy
+1 Chain of Vapor
+1 Divergent Transformations
+1 Victim of Night

[Nfox18]

Dismember?  Malestrom Pulse? 

[Varatius]

Have you ever made a budget deck with every card being a $1 or less except the commander? If not then you do not understand the power of utter end.  lol jk If you run anguish unmaking you really should run utter end in my opinion only cuz for 4 mana and no life lost is almost as good as 3 mana with 3 life lost.  The way is see resources is every 31/2 - 4 life is equal to 1 mana in value so in this scale they are as close to equal as possible as i honestly don't think (maybe i'm wrong) that anguish unmaking wouldn't be run over utter end (i think it'd be if you run anguish you better have utter in your deck first) if it did 4 to you unless you were playing a deck with lifegain in mind or a deck that wanted to lose a life constantly. Again the last part is an opinion i might be wrong but honestly we will never know unless they print a card that cost 3 with the same text as anguish that deals 4 instead of 3.

[Morganator 2.0]

Dismember?  Malestrom Pulse?

Damn! Another good one I've missed. Dismember kills most commanders at instant-speed, for 1 mana. I'm definitely adding it. Maelstrom Pulse will not be added, because it's a three mana sorcery, with better options in Golgari colors.

If you run anguish unmaking you really should run utter end in my opinion only cuz for 4 mana and no life lost is almost as good as 3 mana with 3 life lost.  The way is see resources is every 31/2 - 4 life is equal to 1 mana in value so in this scale they are as close to equal as possible as i honestly don't think (maybe i'm wrong) that anguish unmaking wouldn't be run over utter end (i think it'd be if you run anguish you better have utter in your deck first) if it did 4 to you unless you were playing a deck with lifegain in mind or a deck that wanted to lose a life constantly. Again the last part is an opinion i might be wrong but honestly we will never know unless they print a card that cost 3 with the same text as anguish that deals 4 instead of 3.

Utter End is nowhere near as good as Anguished Unmaking. The difference between 3 mana and 4 mana is huge difference, whereas the loss of 3 life is a miniscule downside. I've even considered removing both Utter End and Vindicate, but their wide range of targets and low price is what keeps them on the list.

[crimsonking]

Cards I'd add:
Valorous Stance - nothing too powerful, but quite useful in a voltron deck.
Innocent Blood - often a mini-wrath.
Ravenous Chupacabra - recurrable.
Maelstrom Pulse - catch-all.
Windgrace's Judgment
Duplicant - this has to be in the list.

Cards I'd remove:
Banishing Light, Journey to Nowhere - strictly worse than Oblivion Ring.
Chained to the Rocks - too conditional.
Declaration in Stone - it's a sorcery and the opponent gets to draw a card.
Oblation - now that Generous Gift exists, I think this has become much less relevant. By the way, if you opt to keep this one, you should add it to your artifact removal list too.
Winds of Abandon - terrible.
Chain of Vapor - you're very unlikely to use this on a creature.
Expel from Orazca - same as Chain of Vapor, but worse.
Attrition - good only in a handful of decks.
Cast Down - mediocre, and doesn't even kill generals.
Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Malicious Affliction, Victim of Night - mediocre.
Murder - terrible.
Fleshbag Marauder - I used to play this, but Plaguecrafter is strictly better (zombie decks apart).
Merciless Executioner - strictly worse than Plaguecrafter.
Never // Return, Price of Fame - mediocre.
Snuff Out, Vendetta - nonblack clause is quite steep.
Sudden Death - terrible.
Abrade - mediocre.
Lightning Bolt, Sudden Shock - terrible.
Fall of the Hammer, Outnumber - too conditional.
Mizzium Mortars - mediocre as targeted, too mana expensive as overloaded.
Final Payment
Mortify

[Morganator 2.0]

Some of what you said makes sense and I've adjusted the list appropriately. Some of it is... the opposite of that.


Added:
Innocent Blood
Windgrace's Judgement

Not added:
Valorous Stance: If it said 4 or less it would go on. But 4 or greater is too narrow a target.
Ravenous Chupacabra: 4 mana sorcery speed is not good for only one target. Even 3 mana sorcery is questionable.
Maestrom Pulse: oh look, 3 mana sorcery speed. While it can hit any target, there are other options in this color pair that do that. Better options. At instant-speed.
Duplicant: It makes absolutely no sense to me why this has to be on the list. 6 mana sorcery-speed is really bad. Incredibly bad. To top it off, it only hits creatures, and doesn't have built-in multiple uses (like the planeswalkers on this list). Why on Earth do you think it should go on the list?

Removed:
Banishing Light
Oblivion Ring
Chained to the Rocks
Declaration in stone
Oblation
Winds of Abandon
Attrition
Murder
Lightning Bolt
Mizzium Mortars

Not removed:
Chain of Vapor: it is still creature removal, and the best option in blue.
Expel from Orazca: see previous comment.
Cast down: While not able to kill legendaries, it still has a wide range of targets. And it's a 2 mana instant.
Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Malicious Affliction, Price of Fame, and Victim of Night are all amazing pieces of creature removal. They are all 2 mana or less, and instant-speed, with a small limitation of targets.
Snuff Out and Vendetta require special attention. These are arguably the two best creature removal cards in black, because they cost 1 mana and 0 mana. There is nothing wrong with them.
Merciless Executioner and Fleshbag Marauder: While strictly worse than Plaguecrafter, they are still good, and used as redundancy pieces in the same decks.
Sudden Death, Sudden Shock: Split Second is a combo stopper. If you don't go up against combos I can see why you might think they're bad.
Abrade: It has the duality to get rid of creatures and artifacts, at instant speed, for two mana. There is nothing mediocre about this card.
Fall of the Hammer, Outnumber: I've already give the disclaimer for these cards.
Final Payment, Mortify: I don't see the problem with these cards.

[EmmaBe]

can i use an instant how mi commander?

[Florentino]

Murderous rider?

[FatKev]

First up, thanks for the great list.

While I disagree with your comments on Maelstrom Pulse (it's invaluable on account of its flexibility, particularly great use against token generators), I'm curious why you took Abzan Charm off the list, I find it and Sultai Charm to be very high value removal in the decks that can run them. Versatility is key at instant speed. If you're keeping mana open for removal but don't find a target worthy of [insert instant speed removal spell here] and haven't played anything for the X mana you kept up, then having an alternative on the same card is extremely useful. Particularly as you can use the charms for card draw.

[archonkain]

what about devour in shadow? it is just a 2 mana vendetta without the nonblack clause

[1_Punch]

you forgot krosan grip, and maelstrom pulse.

[Morganator 2.0]

Update for anyone following this list: I've consolidated this list and the "artifact removal" list into one.

https://deckstats.net/decks/82803/3134101-the-best-targeted-removal-for-