Hero's Downfall in Modern
Modern forum
Posted on Feb. 9, 2014, 7:12 p.m. by PrimeEpoch
I'm thinking about getting some Hero's Downfall , and if they're played in modern, I will be more inclined to do it. Thanks for the help :)
Unless Jace, the Mind Sculptor gets unbanned or a different problem walker gets printed it's not worth running. Run Dreadbore if you're really worried about them.
Is your deck monoblack? If so I've actually had pretty good success with Smother . If you're in white, run Path to Exile . If you're in red run Lightning Bolt or Terminate . If you're in anything else, it depends on your deck.
February 9, 2014 8:20 p.m.
Not currently. It's sometimes discussed when a particular planeswalker becomes prevalent. But in a format with access to Lightning Bolt , its hard to justify the mana. If Jace, the Mind Sculptor ever comes back it might be useful though!
February 9, 2014 8:21 p.m.
@EvenDryke - for Mono black, would the restriction on Victim of Night be less relevant than Smother ? Or is the non-regeneration clause more important?
February 9, 2014 9 p.m.
I like Smother better because it's good even against rogue decks. They're both not ideal, but I find that Victim of Night gets worse the more casual the tournament is. People do like playing vampire/zombie tribal in Modern sometimes.
February 9, 2014 9:14 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #8
Pithing Needle is a good answer for Planeswalkers.
There's Go for the Throat , Abrupt Decay , and other awesome removal that's far better than Hero's Downfall .
February 9, 2014 9:33 p.m.
Dismember is probably the main reason Hero's Downfall isn't viable. It's just so much faster and more efficient
February 9, 2014 9:52 p.m.
There is an infinite plethora of black cards that deal with creatures, many of them infinitely better than Hero's Downfall . Dismember is my favorite creature removal in black, especially because it doesn't even have to be black. after Dismember I would suggest Go for the Throat as the next best one. it hurts when Affinity shows up, but that's what a sideboard is for. Tragic Slip is probably my number 3 seeing as it kills basically everything, but it's one mana for a reason, which is the 'morbid' factor, and not always easy to pull off.
in terms of planeswalkers, Dreadbore and Pithing Needle are great options, especially Pithing Needle because it works in any deck. Green has some awesome splashes, with Abrupt Decay , Maelstrom Pulse and even Beast Within . Red works with any burn that can be redirected via the player. White has a bit with things like Oblivion Ring , and other interesting interactions such as Suppression Field (I LOVE THIS CARD) and Soul Tithe . Blue is mainly counterspells, but you can also do things such as Boomerang , or Disperse . there are also a few artifacts that work great here. Phyrexian Revoker , Ratchet Bomb and it's slightly more expensive counterpart (which is sometimes better) Steel Hellkite . It's not as great game one if you're not ready, but hand attack such as Duress , Thoughtseize , and Despise are fantastic. There is even silly things such as Vampire Hexmage and Hex Parasite .
Tl;dr Hero's Downfall is fantastic as a universal kill for creatures and planeswalkers, but there are quite a few options that are less mana wise and (considering standard card costs) cheaper depending on what your worried about. In many ways it's generally a better game plan to run basic creature removal and maybe have Hero's Downfall or whatever you like better as a 2x in the sideboard if you really need the planeswalker removal.
xlaleclx says... #2
Nope, they're too slow for modern.
February 9, 2014 7:55 p.m.