You may recall that this card's art was revealed
before the card itself, and so a lot of people
thought Vindicate might be coming back. I
actually didn't find that very likely, but I was
indeed hopeful - the powergaming side of my
personality loves that sort of flexibility and
efficiency, and the rest of me loves to say the
word "Vindicate". In a lot of situations,
though, Anguished Unmaking is almost as good:
not only do white and black have ways to
mitigate the life loss, but exiling is
surprisingly relevant - strategies from Unburial
Rites to the various Gideon cards actually fear
it more than they would Vindicate. In the
current Standard environment, a lot of decks
will have a natural advantage against it because
of creature dual lands and the awaken keyword,
but I don't expect that to hold it back that
much.
Black/white multicolor cards and decks have
always been defined by the quality and variety
of their removal. This one definitely deserves a
slot in any B/W deck, as it's a potential answer
for practically any sort of threat at instant
speed. While it is competing with both Mortify
and Unmake in older formats, it's ability to hit
artifacts or planeswalkers is a major selling
point, and its drawback is pretty insubstantial
when you remember the other thing black and
white have in common: lifelink.
