Fatal Push – Top 10 MTG Cards of 2017 #1

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

This card was ranked #2 on my Top Ten list.

The next time someone tries to claim that Wizards of the Coast doesn’t put good removal spells in new sets – or good spells in general – this card should be your counterargument. Admittedly, its impact has been easier to see in larger formats like Modern and Legacy where efficiency is a prime consideration for everything. (And has anybody actually played it in Tiny Leaders yet, or are people afraid to play that format now that it exists?) In settings like Standard or more casual open formats where lots of people go big, it is less dominating but still useful against mana generators, ability-carrying creatures, and surprisingly many tribal lords, so don’t overlook it, and be prepared. It’s destined to become one of the defining cards in an awful lot of places.

Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

King Of
Hearts

This card was ranked 1st on my Top 10 list.

Hey look, Tragic Slip has grown up. A single Swamp is all you need to kill some of the most threatening creatures in Modern like Deaths Shadow or Tarmogoyf. The value this card offers for little to no drawback has made it popular in limited, standard, modern, and beyond. Activating Revolt is not that difficult especially in a format with fetch lands. Another benefit to being black is that it will not hurt you that badly if you are using a Dark Confidant esque ability. Although it is not the most exciting of cards, Fatal Push was an easy pick for Pojos Magic card of the year. 

Constructed 5
Limited 5
Casual 4
multiplayer 5
Commander  (EDH) 4

This card was ranked 1st on my Top 10 list.

Was there any doubt at all that Fatal Push wouldn’t be the Top Card of 2017? It’s easily been the most impactful card across all formats released this year, black’s most efficient and flexible removal spell. With a number of cheap creatures defining Legacy and Modern, Fatal Push allows you to dispose of many of them for but one black mana, without giving an advantage to your opponent like Path to Exile does. It keeps Tarmogoyf from being the usual menace it is in Modern, it can flip to a four-mana mode through an easily met condition, and there are ultimately very few things it fails to answer. It’s number one by a very large margin, as no card has impacted the game more than this one (besides maybe Felidar Guardian, but that one’s impact was limited to Standard for maybe a month of degeneracy).

Constructed: 5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander: 4.25