RCotD #82

Random Card of the Day #82:

Afterlife - 2W
Instant
Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated. Its controller puts a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying onto the battlefield.

Initial thoughts:

Kind of useful. It destroys any creature (Well, not indestructibles) and let's you deal with it by putting a 1/1 White Spirit into place. I'm comparing it to Beast Within, a newer card but this time in Green. They are not exactly comparable because of the targeting restrictions from creature -> permanent, but if anything Afterlife is a white Terminate, and Terminate is considered one of the best removal--it's problem is it's color(s) and is harder to splash.

Afterlife doesn't have the splashing problem, but it's mana cost is considered high for "good" removal. Most people would rather pay less for a more situational target, such as Doom Blade or Go for the Throat, rather than pay more to kill any creature, such as Disembowel, because it can get very expensive. Or worse: make it sorcery speed and a flat 5 cmc: Spread the Sickness. Suddenly Afterlife is looks quite amazing compared to these cards.

And yes, it should. It is a good card. I know White isn't suppose to "destroy" creatures because it's out of flavor--but for some reason giant space lasers aren't. It's still a fantastic card, even if just to have a 1-of in an EDH deck. 4/5



As a sidenote: why is eridiculous space laser art a common theme on white removal? See: Harm's Way, Gaze of Justice, or even Day of Judgement. Not this card, because it has to depict a spirit being released, but space lasers. Space lasers.