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Draft Priority: When to Pick Cleanse in MTG
In the grand tapestry of limited play, some cards are pure meta-definers, while others loom like a well-timed hammer swing—big, decisive, and subtly rewarding those who know when to pull the trigger. Cleanse sits in that second camp: a white sorcery from Masters Edition III that costs {2}{W}{W} and wipes away all black creatures on the battlefield. It’s a spell that whispers “hate briefly, but wins the game if the stars align.” For draft players, understanding its value requires weighing its color-restricted power against the broader curve of your deck and your pod’s tendencies. 🧙♂️🔥💎
Mass removals in limited formats are precious when they hit a specific archetype hard. Cleanse doesn’t exile or bounce; it annihilates, leaving you with a clean board and a smug sense of superiority as your opponent stares across the table at their pool of black threats turned to regret. The flavor text from the set—“The clouds broke and the sun's rays burst forth; each foul beast in its turn faltered, and was gone.”—reads like a battle-cry for white’s righteous purge. It’s not a universal answer, but when the pod is heavy on black creatures, this rare from Masters Edition III can swing games in a single cast. 🎨⚔️
When Cleanse Really Shines
There are a few clear moments where this card deserves your attention in a draft pack. Think of it as part of a broader white control or white-heavy midrange strategy, rather than a generic, “throw it in because it’s removal.” Consider these scenarios:
- Black-leaning pods and decks: If you glimpse multiple black-mana creatures across early picks, Cleanse becomes a premium answer. You’re not just removing threats; you’re curbing a potential cascade of black-staple threats that would otherwise overwhelm your board state.
- White-based decks with a patient plan: In a white deck built to outlast opponents, a four-mana window to reset the battlefield is a luxury you’ll happily invest in. Cleanse buys time for your own threats to cross the finish line, especially when your side is lacking immediate, unconditional removal.
- Late-game top-deck stability: If your curve is a touch on the heavy side but your mana base is reliable, you can plan for mid- to late-game value. A single Cleanse can erase an entire black threat cluster, letting your knights, paladins, or fliers push through with fewer blockers in the way. 🧙♂️
When to Avoid Drafting It
As powerful as the effect is, it’s not for every white deck or every pod setup. The limitation is its color-only reach: if your deck doesn’t feature a solid white mana base and you’re not seeing black threats from your opponents, you’re essentially paying four mana for a swing-and-mate scenario that may never materialize. In a two-color white deck that’s light on white sources, Cleanse can become a liability in the late game. In more ambitious three-color shells, it’s even easier to get stranded if you’ve miscalculated your mana or if your spot removal suite already covers non-black threats. For most players, it’s a situational pickup rather than a guaranteed early grab. 🔎
Practical Draft Play: How to Weigh Your Picks
Here’s a pragmatic approach to evaluating Cleanse during a draft. This is the kind of decision that separates casual drafting from the snowballing masters of the table:
- Assess your mana reliability: Can you reliably cast four mana by turn four or five? If your mana base is rocky, you may want to park this card for a future pack. A white deck with solid early mana can set up a timely Cleanse as a late-game reset button.
: If your opponents show a heavy commitment to black creatures—think aggressive black creatures or black removal that rewards on the battlefield—you’ll appreciate Cleanse as a strategic closer. If black is scarce, its value drops quickly. : In a pod where players tend to stall on board presence, a single Cleanse can swing multiple turns by resetting a crowded board. In a more explosive pod, it’s a tempo tool that might come too late or be outpaced by faster plays. - Balance with other removal: If you already have a handful of white removal options (bounce, destroy-target, or small-power wipes), Cleanse becomes a strategic upgrade rather than a redundancy.
- Color balance and splash potential: If you’re leaning white for the long haul but are tempted to splash another color, ensure you still have solid white mana to support Cleanse on schedule. Splashing for a card that only hits black creatures can be risky if you misalign your mana base. 🧩
Flavor, Art, and the Collector’s Nods
Cleanse isn’t merely a functional card; it’s a snapshot of a bygone era of MTG design. Phil Foglio’s art complements the flavor text with a sense of dramatic, almost theatrical relief—a white spell executing a clean sweep against the encroaching, horned menace of black creatures. The Masters Edition III frame and the rarity stamp a sense of nostalgia for players who cut their teeth on early-era limited environments. The card also serves as a talking point for collectors: a rare Me3 print that resurfaces in drafts and casual games, often accompanied by foil variants that shimmer with the same resolve as a white-knight shield. 💎
“The clouds broke and the sun's rays burst forth; each foul beast in its turn faltered, and was gone.”
From a design perspective, Cleanse embodies white’s archetypal role: selective, massive, and decisive removal that punishes a specific opponent strategy without overreaching. It’s a primer on the value of targeted hate in Limited: not every deck needs to be universal; sometimes, the right foe-specific answer is the most efficient line to victory. The card’s measured mana cost makes it a thoughtful pick—one that rewards careful timing and keen read of the table—rather than a slam-dunk auto-include. 🧙♂️🎲
If you’re curating a MTG experience that nods to the classic masters and wants a tactile, tactile reminder of the old-school draft days, this card is a gem to keep in mind. It’s a rare, it’s white, and it’s exquisitely situational—precisely the kind of card that can turn a narrow lane into a triumph with the right read on your pod’s black-heavy threats.
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