Invasion Card Spotlight: Obliterate

David Price

Obliterate Sorcery Rare Obliterate can't be countered. Destroy all artifacts, creatures, and lands. They can't be regenerated. Illus. Kev Walker 156/350

The very first Block Constructed Pro Tour was Pro Tour - Columbus, held at Origins the same weekend as the 1996 US Nationals. The format was Ice Age/Alliances Constructed and many players and spectators were watching to see how the event would turn out. Were these two sets big enough to provide an interesting Constructed environment? Would a few overpowered cards rule the day? Would the environment seem weak, slow, or silly in comparison to Standard and Type 1? These were just some of the questions on players' minds and, as you probably know, the tournament was a success, with a variety of powerful deck archetypes doing well and Olle Rade from Sweden winning the day with a fast Red/Green creature deck. Block Constructed has since become a regular addition to the Pro Tour. There were a number of defining cards in the Ice Age/Alliances environment, but they provided enough variety to make the format interesting. Sure, Thawing Glaciers and Zuran Orb were very strong cards that almost anyone could use and have since been banned from the format. Still, there were a number of other defining cards that contributed to varying and powerful deck archetypes, like Necropotence, Kjeldoran Outpost, and Jokulhaups. Jokulhaups was the most versatile of these powerful cards, appearing in both White/Red control decks that were built around the Jokulhaups/Ivory Gargoyle combo and in almost any other deck using red, like in the Red/Green creature deck of the Pro Tour Champion Olle Rade, as a reset button in case things weren't going his way.

Obliterate, a powerful new card from Invasion, is quite similar to Jokulhaups from Ice Age. Both cards have a tremendous impact on the game, clearing the board of everything except enchantments if they resolve. Jokulhaups costs two red and four generic mana and it buries all artifacts, creatures, and lands... unless the opponent counters it. Most often, when players want to cast Jokulhaups, they aren't in the best position. The player is usually being beaten down by a horde of creatures and if that Jokulhaups doesn't resolve, he or she is going to lose the game. That's why a well-timed Counterspell can turn the Jokulhaups player's last hope into almost certain doom. Obliterate, the new powerhouse from Invasion, does not have this same weakness. It says right on the card that it can't be countered. You have to pay a price, though, for this extra strength. Obliterate costs two more mana than Jokulhaups, weighing in at two red and six generic mana, a hefty price indeed. Despite its steep mana cost, Obliterate fills the role nicely of a panic button to be used when the game is going poorly or the opponent casts something that you just can't deal with. And in the case of Obliterate, assuming you have the necessary mana, nothing can stop you from casting it.

So will Obliterate shape up to be as defining a card in the new Standard environment and in Invastion Block Constructed as Jokulhaups was in Ice Age/Alliances? It's hard to tell for sure, but Obliterate will certainly be on players' minds. Not only might it be a good addition to almost any deck with red, as a way to restart the game in case things go wrong, but it may form the core of a new control deck similar to the White/Red Ivory Gargoyle/Jokulhaups decks of Pro Tour - Columbus or perhaps more in the mold of modern day artifact-based Wildfire decks. Whatever form the decks take, however, the existence of Obliterate will force players to consider it when facing off against a red deck. Players will have to weigh the merits of casting additional threats in order to finish off an opponent quickly, so as not to overextend and be ruined by Obliterate.

Similarly, in Limited, I expect to hear many sad stories about opponents casting Obliterate. Especially in Sealed Deck or Booster Draft, closed formats in which you can't be sure what's in your opponent's decks. Since its a rare, it would seem unwise to play around the card. So when Obliterate does show up in your Sealed Deck or Booster Pack, your opponents will most likely walk right into it, playing out all of their lands and creatures from their hand trying to gain an advantage on the board, only to have that all taken away by this powerful spell. While the card is a bit expensive, it will still be a powerful addition to the Limited environment, much like Plague Wind from Prophecy. Any player with a Sealed Deck with strong red cards or any red drafter will welcome the appearance of Obliterate.

Will Invasion provide us with powerful creatures and spells to use in conjunction with Obliterate in Constructed? It's possible that Masques block or the main set has already provided us with some good combo cards, we just have to take the time to examine it in this new light. And even if Invasion or the later expansions don't provide us with our Ivory Gargoyle, I expect to see Obliterate in many red decks and sideboards as a way to clear the board and start over when things go bad or as a way to deal with unforeseen or otherwise unstoppable cards from the opponent's deck and sideboard. Many questions remain unanswered, however. How fast will Standard be? The slower it is, the better Obliterate will be. What is certain, however, is that Obliterate is a game altering card which will undoubtedly have an effect on both Constructed and Limited. And blue mages beware: all the counterspells in the world won't stop this one.

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Tomorrow: Zvi Mowshowitz goes in search of Fact or Fiction.