Pauper Commander

Top 10 Removal Spells for PDH

13 Aug 2021 - 5 min read

Pauper Commander still feels very much like the new kid on the block. With an almost limitless supply of potential commanders and much less consistency in deck construction - every little piece of tech goes a long way.

We’re here to shed some light on one of the most important aspects of deck construction: making sure your opponents don’t do some heinous stuff with their creatures. This is Top 10 Creature Removal spells in PDH.

Terminate

Terminate is a simple card: 2 mana, kill something, move on with your life. Honestly that might be enough to get an inclusion on this list but THEN we get to the clause “It can’t be regenerated”. Regenerate is an older keyword that allows creatures with the ability to basically “counter” the next time they would die. A lot of modern removal spells don’t factor regeneration into their text so your Feed the Swarm can’t actually kill a Blight Mamba if your opponent activates the regenerate ability.

Regenerate plays a huge role in protection in PDH with auras like Blessing of Leeches or Soul Channeling that can really cause problems for traditional removal spells.

But Terminate don’t care. Terminate gonna getcha anyway, boosting it from a good removal spell to a great one.

Snuff Out

Any spell that can be played for “free” (aka utilizing resources other than mana) should always be up for consideration in ANY format, much less a lower power format like PDH. The ability to fully tap out and still hold up an answer is invaluable. Snuff Out should find a home in basically any deck running swamps.

Ravenform

Just barely ahead of Resculpt , both of these cards are part of a slow push to give blue access to artifact removal in the tradition of pongify : “transforming an existing permanent into something known ahead of time” (as opposed to red which is now seen to be the home of polymorph effects where the end transformation is not known ahead of time).

Of course mechanically one card can’t “transform” into another (get outta here Jumpstart: Historic Horizons) - so that means the original has to be exiled. Yes. 1 mana (sorta) exile target creature or artifact in blue. Go buy all the copies.

Oubliette

There aren’t many ways to permanently deal with a commander, as all zone changes allow the commander’s controller to put it back into the command zone. Luckily, phasing isn’t considered a zone change. Phased permanents are still on the battlefield, just not interactable so casting an Oubliette on a rogue Dargo, the Shipwrecker does actually eliminate the threat until someone can deal with the Oubliette itself. This ability is leagues above something like Lignify or Minimus Containment that give the creature’s controller a chance to sacrifice their commander and get it back, so invest for your black decks today.

Journey to Nowhere

While I’m sure most Pauper to PDH players will recognize this pick, I’m not sure all EDH to PDH players will. A narrower Oblivion Ring will find a home in most builds, giving you access to creature removal for 2 mana in mono white. While you still have to worry about enchantment removal, there’s far less at the common level than you’d think with the only real reliable staples being Naturalize and Disenchant .

Lightning Bolt

The classics are classics for a reason. Lightning bolt has been iconic and one of the most powerful cards in the game since motherf**king Alpha and it maintains its legendary status in PDH (how was this a common? lol). One mana, check. Instant speed, check. 3 damage wherever the hell you want, check. Pauper is a format of smaller, less powerful creatures; this will kill dang near everything at a premium or can go to the dome to finish someone off. If you aren’t playing this in every deck that has red, you’re wrong.

Brainspoil

Black is dominant in PDH when it comes to removal, and already overrepresented in this list. However, we would be remiss if we did not mention Brainspoil strictly for the fact that it is serviceable enough as a removal spell but also has Transmute. Transmute is a crucial mechanic in PDH (even more so in cPDH) and the flexibility of having Brainspoil primarily as a tutor, but also a perfectly reasonable kill spell when necessary means it deserves a spot on this list.

Crib Swap

Similar to Ravenform above, Crib Swap is an excellent exile option and a necessity if you want to play white, one of the weaker colors in the format. Three mana is relatively cheap for removal, and exile is relevant enough to give it an edge. The 1/1 body is negligible enough. This card isn’t flashy or special, but if you’re running white, and especially if you aren’t running black, this is an auto-include.

Ram Through

This wouldn’t be a complete list if we didn’t at least try to represent all the colors. Green doesn’t have much removal, and especially not at common rarity. However, it does contain a few good fight or punch options that can help get blockers out of the way. In PDH, green is the color of having the biggest and baddest creatures and winning combat. Thus, your beefy creatures being able to swat an opposing utility creature or blocker off the battlefield at instant speed is crucial.

Cast Down

Black has no shortage high quality removal, even in pauper. However, few come close to as rawly efficient as Cast Down . 1B is about as cheap as you’re going to get in terms of a kill spell, and of course this is an instant, as opposed to the numerous overcosted sorcery-speed black removal spells that fill out every limited format. However, what lets Cast Down stand out is that it doesn’t have any sort of conditionality. “But wait, it says ‘non-legendary’-,” shut up, I know what the text says. But, since there aren’t any common Legends, this kills everything except commanders, which don’t always need to be removed or aren’t always on the battlefield. Cast Down will nuke basically anything at almost any time, and this is what makes it an excellent removal spell.

FINISH HIM

While we’re not saying every one of these spells should be in every deck that can run them…wait. We are saying that? Every one of these removal options should find homes in every relevant list?

PDH is a format dominated by creatures, and you can always afford a few more slots for removal. Trust us, we found out the hard way.

Think we missed any of your favorite removal options? Upset Crypt Rats or Unmake didn’t get a shout out? Let us know in the comments below!

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