Mortify – MTG Throwback Thursday (2006)

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Mortify was one of the best-received cards in the original Ravnica block, despite being technically worse than Apocalypse‘s Vindicate. It was still one of the most relevant removal spells in a format that also included a surprising number of powerful enchantments – this was an era where Worship, Phyrexian Arena, and Greater Good were all in Standard together. It sounds pretty crazy when you say it like that. Nowadays, the details are a little different, but flexibility will never be a bad thing. We’re used to having cards like Vindicate in Standard, albeit in the form of things like Conclave Tribunal, but Mortify is active against most strategies and is also strong against Conclave Tribunal effects.

On a different note, does this card coming back for Ravnica Allegiance indicate that we’re not going back to Theros for at least a year? I really want to go on the Quest for Elspeth, and follow her to Holmgard and beyond . . .

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

One of the classic Orzhov removal spells, Mortify is, while maybe not the most efficient spell, an excellent way to compress roles in a deck. A healthy number of decks tend to struggle with being able to answer enchantments in their mainboard, and Mortify opens that option to them while still allowing them to use it to blow up creatures if those are more of a threat. Mortify is unlikely to ever be a format all-star, but it’s good to see it back for Ravnica Allegiance after it skipped the second Ravnica block (out of fear for it doing undue damage to the Theros enchantment themes). If you’re in Orzhov or a color combination incorporating Orzhov, there is rarely reason to not run this…at least in Standard.

Constructed: 4
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 3.75