A simple removal spell. I suspect most of my
fellow reviewers will be comparing it to
Vindicate, so I'll leave them to that line of
discussion. Personally, I just appreciate the
fact that this will never fail to find a worthy
target. I like that you have your choice of
exiling the creature attacking you OR the Aura
it's wearing. If the Aura happens to be a Bestow
creature, you can decide which would be less
threatening on its own. If it's not, you can
exile the creature out from under the Aura, or
if the Aura is stopping you from doing so (by
granting the creature hexproof, for example) you
can steal the creature's protection and kill it
the old fashioned way. The fact that it exiles
is nice too-- especially since what we've seen
of the Sultai suggests that graveyard recursion
will be a factor in Tarkir Block.
Maybe there really are fewer possible names for
Magic cards than we realized. I always thought
they were just being difficult when they said
they had to "conserve" names. But . . .
well, I'll let you decide for yourself (compare
"Utter End" to "Vindicate", its famous
ancestor). Aesthetics aside, it's a very strong
card. The fact that it exiles is less relevant
in the current smaller formats than it might
have been in the past, but the fact that it does
so at instant speed is unheard of for such a
flexible card, and four mana is high for a
removal spell but not outlandish when you
consider some of the other things running around
now.
Today's card of the day is Utter End which is a
four mana White and Black instant that exiles
target nonland permanent. This is slightly
expensive in mana cost, but the versatility
along with the exile makes it a very solid
removal choice for any deck using Black and
White mana.
Aside from the mana cost there's no drawback and
it will be very popular across formats and a
staple in Commander.
In Limited this is a bomb for removal and an
easy first pick in Booster that offers a few
choices for deck design with two or three color
builds. In Sealed this is a good reason to
run one or both colors and splash if needed as
little else is as beneficial in almost every
situation.
Sometimes you just want a card that can deal
with anything. In those cases, you want Utter
End. Of course dealing with "everything" is an
exaggeration, but short of a counterspell, this
is about the most versatile answer you are going
to see. It's very relevant, also, that this
exiles the permanent since there are a lot of
cards that can still do stuff or even come back
from the graveyard.
Some might argue that 4 mana is a lot to pay for
a spot removal card, but when versatility is
more important than cost, this is the way to go.
If you are certain about what things you are
going to want to get rid of, there are cheaper
options, but how often are you completely sure
ahead of time what you are going to be facing?
At a CMC of 4, Utter End is a bit pricy, though
since it requires no more than one of each
color, its very flexible so long as you have 4
Lands in play. At 5 mana, for just one
more mana, you could have cards that have a much
greater impact on the game, but at the same
time, all parts of the mana curve have their
use, depending on the deck.
There are a lot of removal options out there for
White and especially Black that cost only 2-3
mana, however they have a limited scope.
They tend to only affect creatures or specific
kinds of creatures. Utter End can
literally stop any card whether its a hulking
creature or a really troublesome
enchantment/artifact. Also, the fact that
it exiles and not just destroys, allows it to
get rid of any kind of card instead of having
basic spot removal that does nothing against
indestructible or easily revived/recycled cards.
Every deck should have an out to tough to get
over cards, and this might be that out for you.
It gets an A+ on versatility ; B on power and C+
on cost-value, but in the end, the merits of
this card outweigh the faults.
