We may have only seen a handful of cards so far, but Tarkir: Dragonstorm already looks like a flashy MTG set. Between a new Mox effect, a literal Dragon with Storm, and a series of exciting and powerful abilities, this looks like a high-power Standard-legal set.
While the new Mox is definitely the flashiest Tarkir Dragonstorm card spoiled, it might not be the best, at least for Standard. Instead, that honor may go to a removal spell. As unexciting as this may seem, this is perhaps one of the flashiest removal spells we’ve seen in some time. Inevitable Defeat is insanely powerful, and will likely create entire Standard archetypes. Here’s why.
Inevitable Defeat
Inevitable Defeat has a rather demanding mana value, but the reward is more than worth it. Four mana across three colors for a piece of omni-removal is costly, yet it’s one of the best removal spells we’ve seen in a long time. This is thanks to it being uncounterable while also offering some pretty meaty life drain. This life drain might not seem like much initially, but there’s a reason why Siege Rhino was so renowned.
The life drain offered by Inevitable Defeat allows the card to have way more presence in every type of deck. In control, for instance, Inevitable Defeat can allow the deck to stabilize from sketchier positions. Gaining three life can be the difference between life and death, giving you just enough life to turn the corner.
In aggressive decks, Inevitable Defeat is essentially a removal spell with a Lightning Helix stamped onto it. You can remove massive roadblocks that stop your offensive, while also maintaining your momentum. That said, the Mardu mana cost may be a bit more difficult for an aggressive deck to assemble. While this would be a good tool for faster strategies, it is questionable whether or not they will be able to deploy Inevitable Defeat on time.
While Midrange decks aren’t super prevalent at the moment, Inevitable Defeat is the perfect type of card for a deck that is meant to create flexible game plans. You can use it to both gain life and create opportunities to pressure the opponent into awkward spots depending on the role you’re playing in a game.
Uncounterable Cherry On Top
Honestly, having Inevitable Defeat be uncounterable seems unnecessary. This takes away one of the easiest ways to play around an incredibly powerful removal spell. Notably, this also means that Ward does not stop Inevitable Defeat, making it even better in Standard. In a format where Ward is used heavily, being able to completely invalidate protection just pushes this card even further.
Should countermagic make a big appearance in Standard, the stock of Inevitable Defeat will definitely rise. This represents an unstoppable way to remove an endgame threat that control can present. As long as that threat doesn’t refuel the player’s hand on impact, Inevitable Defeat will buy a lot of time. Alternatively, this card offers a surefire way to remove a problematic hate piece that may be slowing you down like Authority of the Consuls for faster decks.
Inevitable Defeat gives players a very strong reason to gravitate towards Mardu, but it isn’t like the card is unstoppable.
How to Stop an Inevitable Defeat
You can’t counter Inevitable Defeat, Ward doesn’t work, and the card can remove anything. So, how the heck are you supposed to beat a card like this? Aside from focusing on the one weakness this card does have (mana value), granting your cards Hexproof will stop Inevitable Defeat. Not only will this protect your nonland permanent, but Inevitable Defeat will fizzle so no life drain will occur.
Ironically, an untraditional form of protection is rather popular at the moment: just bouncing your permanent in response. Esper Pixie may not have had a fantastic Pro Tour showing, but it’s still undeniably one of the best archetypes in the Standard format. Bouncing your permanent of concern with This Town Ain’t Big Enough will stop the entire spell, as well. That said, I don’t think Inevitable Defeat is the type of card you’ll want against Esper Pixie.
Otherwise, the only real weakness of Inevitable Defeat is that it demands a lot of resources from the caster. Not every deck is going to be able to run a card like this, which should force the player to pick this card over some other strong cards in any MTG format.
In older formats where you can get away with ridiculous mana bases, cards like Blood Moon can punish a greedy player. A mana value of four is also a lot more demanding in those formats because the speed of play is much higher.
Our bet? Inevitable Defeat is going to be all the rage in Standard. Sure, the card will definitely make Commander appearances as well, but that seems obvious. Inevitable Defeat is likely strong enough to make a splash in Pioneer, but a mana value of four may keep it out of older formats.