Here's a smart little white card right out of
the Magic Hall of Fame! The most powerful white
instant ever created? Probably. In any format
where this card was legal, you could pretty much
count on seeing four Swords in every white deck.
Aggro decks used Swords to clear the way in the
early game.
Control decks used Swords as spot removal
throughout their games. Swords removes 90% of
all creatures ever created in the game of Magic.
For just one white mana, you can't get much more
powerful. Some control decks went creatureless
in large part to give all white decks four dead
cards in their deck. Swords is a first pick in
any limited format in which it is legal.
This is arguably the best white removal card to
date. I would recommend playing this card every
chance you get you if it's legal in your
preferred format. It's just that good. 'Nuff
said.
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 3.5 (only because many guys don't like
letting their opponent gain life)
Limited: 5
I very rarely give out 5.0 ratings, and when I
do, it must be the best of the best in a given
category. For example, as far as card draw goes,
Ancestral Recall is as good as it gets.
Therefore, it gets a 5.0. Whenever someone asks
me what the best removal spell in the game is, I
have to tell them Swords to Plowshares. The
drawback is fairly insignificant, it removes
from game (read as: not "destroy"), and it is
dirt cheap to cast.
No matter what format, if you are playing white
and have the ability to play Swords to
Plowshares, you should absolutely do so.
Quite a classic, and an amazing card. With
Swords, White gains the ability to basically
"mega destroy" a creature (by going one step
further by removing if from the game), AND you
get to gain life as a bonus. All that for only 1
mana?? It's insanely good. A mainstay in
constructed, even though it may be a sideboard
card against creature decks. In casual, where
big, ugly combo creatures can abound, definitely
worth it. In limited, Swords is a MUST play.
You'll never be sorry to see Swords in your
hand.
