Is Surgical Extraction one of the best cards in Modern and Legacy?

I think this is a little bit of a loaded question because no one card can be a powerhouse in two completely different styled formats. However, this card doesn’t just do good by itself - this card strives because of the graveyard themed decks which are incredibly popular in both of the formats. With Modern almost every Tier One deck is playing a graveyard synergy, in Legacy so many decks are currently playing Snapcaster Mage or Dreadhorde Arcanist.

I do think that this will change within the year, Modern because of how oppressive Hogaak is to the format (worse than Splinter Twin when it got banned for being a Turn Four win and taking up a large portion of the format - which is exactly what Hogaak is doing but faster), and Legacy because these cards aren’t actually as amazing as they are played up to be.

Surgical Extraction is an easy card for every single deck in Legacy and Modern to consider for the sideboard. It’s practically a colorless spell that for 2 life can just remove the big scary graveyard threat and every copy of it from the deck and hand. If you’re playing against Miracles you take their cantrips (specifically Brainstorm, don’t want them to get the Terminus out of their hand), against Phoenix we take one of their Phoenix in response to the trigger. This card is a win-win.

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What decks don’t want Surgical?

Combo decks usually don’t want a Surgical Extraction in their hand because it doesn’t remove the counterspell from their hand, only from their deck. Combo deck much more so want Thoughtseize or Xantid Swarm style effects. Some combo decks (like Storm) play Flusterstorm to protect their combo or Defense Grid to prevent counterspells. However I have played an Elves deck that ran Surgical Extraction but this is because Elves is an archetype where you’re not only a combo deck, which I think is important to realize when deciding “does this card fit into my deck?”

What are the alternatives to Surgical?

I’ve had people try to argue that Ravenous Trap, Leyline of the Void, Grafdigger’s Cage, Relic of Progenitus, and Rest in Peace are all better than Surgical. Firstly, I would like to state that none of these cards are remotely similar however if you could only pick one as a two-of in the sideboard I would snap pick the Surgical. Secondly, it all depends on what deck you’re playing you might also want one of the other cards against more specific decks. For example, if you’re a non-black deck you’re more likely to run Relic of Progenitus, Grafdigger’s Cage, or Tormod’s Crypt. But I don’t think there are any real replacements for Surgical Extraction - even Earwig Squad from Goblins doesn’t do the exact same thing, sorry had to get one of the boys in here.

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What decks is Surgical best/worst against?

I think there are few decks that this card is bad against. Obviously, this card isn’t some snakeoil that just fixes all your problems. This card is definitely not what you want to bring in against some decks while you want it against other decks. This card is amazing against Combo decks, it lets you take all their copies of one of their Rituals or an engine card. When your opponent is on Storm (literally any version, in any format) you love Surgical. Another deck you want Surgical against is a Graveyard fueled deck like Dredge, Loam, Hogaak, Phoenix, and so many other decks. The card you want to take from them changes depending on which deck it is, but you always want to take their engine card (three of which is what the name of the deck is based off of). This card is unfavorable against Control and Midrange but personally I like this against a blue Tempo deck because you can take their Force of Wills or their draw spells or against Jund because you can take their Goyfs or shrink their graveyard.

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If Hogaak gets banned, is this card still important in Modern?

I think it is. You can still take some really important cards from Thopter-Sword, Phoenix and Dredge. Some people might disagree with this, but I think in a post-Hogaak world we want less Layline of the Voids and more Surgical Extractions.

Is this card worth the price tag?

Absolutely. But I think this card could be reprinted in the future - maybe even the near future - because of how much of a staple of magic this card is. My biggest fear is that this card is going to not get reprinted for over a year and every copy will cost $100.