Best creature removal spell ever! Need I say more.
B1indFremen
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(6 votes)
How can StP get anything less than 5 stars? Any white deck that can legally use it DOES. Enough said.
Mitch_360
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Best removal and it will never be reprinted.
GrimGorgonBC
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Path is slightly better I say, i'd rather have them get a land than gain life on an uber creature removal. but this card is awesome hands down!
ratchet1215
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Pretty fantastic.
Bauble
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(7 votes)
Path To Exile being better than this is arguable. I honestly prefer path to swords because you'd usually use path on some uber creature (like, say Darksteel Colossus) that you couldn't merely Cancel or Essence Scatter because they got him out via Master Transmuter, Elvish Piper, Mayael The Anima and so many more. If you Swords of Plowshares Darksteel, your opponent gains 11 life, by which, under normal circumstances, you'd usually swear and sometimes concede. Path To Exile merely gives them 1 basic land, which, under normal circumstances, you'd just sigh and continue. I've even played a game against a mate in which he had no basic lands to search for. So really, it's a gamble, but you don't really lose much. Your opponent gains a basic land. It's still tapped, so it isn't worse than if your opponent played Harrow.
This card is easily a 5. It was definitely more useful in the past since your opponent had more ways to get dangerous cards out on the first turn. I also think it's generally better to give your opponent a little bit of life than to give them an extra land. For bigger creatures, there are always cards like Reprisal. StP can also be used on your own creatures if you are in danger of going to 0 life. As others have mentioned, this card goes into any white deck.
nammertime
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(6 votes)
I vote for Swords over Path. I'd rather give my opponent life than more mana AND a thinner deck with less chances of drawing a land on his next draw.
Adieu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Bugger removing enemy creatures (except, MAYBE, really pesky and powerless blockers) - get something cheap that gains tremendous temporary power, waste a bunch of mana on it, and give YOURSELF a ton of life!
Gaussgoat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Incredible card, 5/5. It can either obliterate a major threat or juice your own life total for 1W! This hits every white deck I build.
sethddickess
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Neither PtE or StP is better. Path is better in eternal formats though, because a lot of the decks you play won't be running any basics.
faisjdas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This > Path in the early game, Path > This in the late game. You don't care if they get an extra mana on turn 6, but the extra land early on can really come back to bite you later on.
Wyldblayde
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Does it really matter if StP is better than Path to Exile?? Just play both!!! Problem solved.
Clanius
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i do believe that this card is better than path to exile however in path to exiles defense you can also boost your mana curve if need be.
LTJZamboni
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
Anyone who says Path to Exile is better than this doesn't understand the concept of card advantage.
mkniffen
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Maybe it's just because I play older formats, but I'd be more than happy to give my opponent 13 life to swords a dreadnought. Giving them a land however would put them in front of you in the mana race you can't afford to lose. You're giving them an extra top, or thoughtseize, or hell even mana to get a swords right back at you next turn. Life is something I know I can take, if I give them a land, I might never have a chance.
markarmor
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
A must have in a white deck. A 1 mana solution to 95% of the creatures in MtG. "Oh, is that a first turn Darksteel Colossus?" "Buh-bye".
RafiqTheMiststalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is obviously better than Path, but Path still has the versatility to improve your own mana curve. You guys seem to neglect that.
stille_nacht
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
id prefer path, because with the eldrazi expansion, youd almost always path a ridiculous 12/12 or something of the like late game, not some cheap card early game in which the extra mana actually matters so much.
Zulp
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
@Bauble: You might concede if your opponent gained 11 life? Wow. Someone's easily intimidated.
spectermonger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Path to Exile of great, but I think the fact that my opponent ramped me into a Novablast Wurm by playing two of them. He got a board advantage in the short term, but suffered in the long term by giving me 2 land drops over him.
Laguz
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Anyone that thinks PtE is better has never played with StP, 'nuff said. Life is infinitely better to give your opponent than a better mana curve and a thinned deck.
jm396
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I play pretty much only play casual games, threw a couple of these in with my B/WFalse Cure, Congregate deck. Manna intensive? Sure, loosing 30 life in a MT player game for 6, pretty sweet.
oatusmcflee
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Comparing this card to PtE is much more complicated than "both cost W, both do the same job". because they fill different roles in different archetypes.
JohnADreams
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(7 votes)
The best part about Swords to Plowshares is playing it on some creature that would obviously never be a farmer and yelling something like "Looks like your Avatar of Woe wants to be a farmer now!" ...okay, maybe the one-mana, instant speed, exiling removal is the best part about Swords to Plowshares, but making Niv-Mizzet the Firemind take up a simpler life has to be the second best part.
Temple_Garden
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
In most situations I'd rather give my opponents life from Swords than the land from Path to Exile but there are many situations where Path to Exile will be a superior card. At the end of the day most decks win by getting their opponents to 0 life. Sometimes you will win by scraping through that last 1 or 2 damage, in a situation like that you would probably not want to play this card over Path to Exile, particularly if you can win before they even get to use the land they tutored from the Path to Exile.
This card delays your opponents death (which will almost always matter), Path to Exile accelerates your opponent's win (which only matters if you can't win first). Depending on your strategy, deck and their deck, either card could be better at that time.
brian_james
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
It's more versatile, too. I've played this card a lot and there have been times when I've used it to gain a bit of life back for myself, a-la Healing Salve. I realize 95% of the time you're using it offensively, but that aspect puts it even further ahead of Path to Exile.
don_miguel
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
swords is not just "strictly" better than path. you are talking aboout card advantage and mana advantage, but let's say it is turn 12 and players have 7 and 8 lands. your opponent has 9 life and casts a baneslayer with no other cards in hand. then would be better giving him a land than 5 life.
Saxophonist
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@ Keino: If this were as flavorful as you say it is, wouldn't it do what PtE does and give the player a land instead of life?
Diachronos
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
The problem with Path is that you're letting your opponent get their expensive cards out faster. And what if the creature you just Pathed was the only one they've been able to play because they don't have the proper color or number of lands to play other cards?
Granted, Path can be good if it's late enough in the game that it won't make much of a difference (or if they use few, if any, basic lands; one of my friends has a 5-color with only non-basic lands), but I'd much rather give them life than give them land otherwise.
How many ways can you get rid of life? Too many to count. How many ways can you get rid of land? Very few, and they're practically non-existent outside of {R}.
klauth
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I really don't know how anyone could come up with PtE is better than StP.
There are alot of ways you could turn an opponent's lifegain into your advantage like say, Donate your Transcendence to them then StP their fattie or just slap in an Everlasting Torment in play and they'll learn to fear StP
ZirilanoftheClaw
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
my mono white controll deck dosnt win by reducing my opponents life to 0 in fact i never deal a point of damage to them in a game so this card has virtually no drawback :D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! heres the link to that deck by the way http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=48980
divine_exodus
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Can we not compare this to Path to Exile and just admire it for the great card it is?
GoatKnapper
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
i havent seen anyone bring this up but in an Infect deck (esp. now the White has infect) this reads {W} Exile target creature (gain the life and see if i care). 5/5 all day everyday (even not in an infect deck)
Keino
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is 10 times better than path to exile because PtE allows your opponent to get any basic land out of his or her deck which means that they are not only going to have a better mana curve than you, they will have more mana to potentially play stronger creatures. Plus, it thins out their deck so they can get those big creatures, ultimately defeating the purpose of the card. I would much rather have to beat them with fast white creatures a little longer than allow them to get that kind of advantage. Not to mention, Swords is much more flavorful...
EndlessMike
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For those times when being put in the graveyard isn't dead enough.
wholelottalove
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In Commander most of the time the life given to the opponent is a drop in the bucket so is not important.
Swords to plowshares shines in the early game. This is because it's targets will usually be utility creatures with small power, like Birds of Paradise, Delver of Secrets, Goblin Lackey, Noble Hiearch, Priest of Titania, Hypnotic Specter, ect. It's often very worth it to give an opponent 1 or 2 life to get rid of powerful utility creatures. So StP is quite powerful during the early game for that reason.
Later in the game, however when your opponent begins playing late game creatures which have a larger power, you'll be giving an opponent not just 1-2 life, but 8+. And while life can always be damaged, giving them too much life can easily give them too much time to kill you. That can be bad.
Path to Exile on the other hand, plays very differently. If you use PtE on an early game utility creature, you're giving your opponent a land, and putting them one turn ahead of you when it matters. So if you path or opponent's turn 1 creature, they'll likely have at least 3 lands available on their turn 2, which could be the death of you rather easily. Not to mention your thinning their deck of land draws.
That being said, later in the game when both players have plenty of land out already, giving your opponent an additional land will have minimal impact on the game. Which is why Path to Exileis usually better in the late game.
So in conclusion, both cards are really, really good.
Comments (39)
Swords To Plowshares is still really good, and although better is subjective, Path To Exile has my vote.
You guys seem to neglect that.
This card delays your opponents death (which will almost always matter), Path to Exile accelerates your opponent's win (which only matters if you can't win first). Depending on your strategy, deck and their deck, either card could be better at that time.
Granted, Path can be good if it's late enough in the game that it won't make much of a difference (or if they use few, if any, basic lands; one of my friends has a 5-color with only non-basic lands), but I'd much rather give them life than give them land otherwise.
How many ways can you get rid of life? Too many to count.
How many ways can you get rid of land? Very few, and they're practically non-existent outside of {R}.
There are alot of ways you could turn an opponent's lifegain into your advantage like say, Donate your Transcendence to them then StP their fattie or just slap in an Everlasting Torment in play and they'll learn to fear StP
in fact i never deal a point of damage to them in a game
so this card has virtually no drawback
:D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
heres the link to that deck by the way
http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=48980
Swords to plowshares shines in the early game. This is because it's targets will usually be utility creatures with small power, like Birds of Paradise, Delver of Secrets, Goblin Lackey, Noble Hiearch, Priest of Titania, Hypnotic Specter, ect. It's often very worth it to give an opponent 1 or 2 life to get rid of powerful utility creatures. So StP is quite powerful during the early game for that reason.
Later in the game, however when your opponent begins playing late game creatures which have a larger power, you'll be giving an opponent not just 1-2 life, but 8+. And while life can always be damaged, giving them too much life can easily give them too much time to kill you. That can be bad.
Path to Exile on the other hand, plays very differently. If you use PtE on an early game utility creature, you're giving your opponent a land, and putting them one turn ahead of you when it matters. So if you path or opponent's turn 1 creature, they'll likely have at least 3 lands available on their turn 2, which could be the death of you rather easily. Not to mention your thinning their deck of land draws.
That being said, later in the game when both players have plenty of land out already, giving your opponent an additional land will have minimal impact on the game. Which is why Path to Exileis usually better in the late game.
So in conclusion, both cards are really, really good.