Decoding Detoxification: A Comprehensive Guide to Removing Poison Counters in Magic: The Gathering

Poison counters are a potent win condition in Magic: The Gathering, often catching opponents off guard with their insidious accumulation. Unlike life totals, which are readily manipulated with lifegain, poison counters are notoriously persistent. However, they aren’t entirely immune to removal. A small number of cards do exist that can remove poison counters, offering a lifeline against toxic strategies. Here’s a look at the cards and their nuances:

Leeches, from the Homelands set, is the only card that specifically allows a player to remove poison counters from themselves. Price of Betrayal and Suncleanser can remove counters from opponents, not yourself. Also, the ultimate ability of Karn Liberated essentially restarts the game, functionally removing all poison counters, though this is more of a reset than a targeted removal.

The Elusive Cure: Cards That Remove Poison Counters

While lifegain is commonplace, direct poison counter removal is a rare ability, making these cards highly valued in formats where poison is prevalent. Let’s examine the key players:

• Leeches: This sorcery, found in the Homelands set, is your primary defense against poison. It allows its controller to remove all poison counters from themselves, offering a complete reset. Note that it only affects you, and doesn’t target or impact opponents.

• Price of Betrayal: This sorcery allows you to choose an opponent, then remove all counters from that opponent. In a poison-heavy environment, this can be a key tool.

• Suncleanser: A White creature with an enter-the-battlefield ability that can remove any number of target permanent. It allows you to choose an opponent, then remove all counters from that opponent.

• Karn Liberated’s Ultimate Ability: While not direct removal, Karn’s ultimate ability exiles all permanents and then restarts the game with a few key cards returned to each player. This effectively wipes the board, including poison counters. However, relying on a planeswalker ultimate for survival isn’t the most consistent strategy.

Functionally Removing Poison Counters: An Important Distinction

It’s crucial to understand the difference between directly removing poison counters and actions that merely circumvent their effects. While the above cards can remove poison counters, some strategies might delay or minimize their impact:

• Preventing Poison Counter Placement: Cards that prevent damage, such as Fog, or grant you hexproof, can indirectly protect you from poison counters by preventing creatures with infect or toxic from dealing damage in the first place.

• Increasing Maximum Life Total: While this doesn’t remove poison counters, raising your maximum life total can give you more time to find a solution or overpower your opponent before the poison counters become lethal.

• Ending the Game Another Way: Focusing on a faster win condition, such as a combo or overwhelming board presence, can render poison counters irrelevant. If you defeat your opponent before they accumulate ten poison counters, the issue is moot.

Navigating the Nuances: Related FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions to further clarify the intricacies of poison counters and their interaction with various cards and abilities:

1. Can proliferate add poison counters?

Absolutely! Proliferate allows you to add another counter of each kind already on permanents and/or players. If you or your opponent has poison counters, you can use proliferate to increase them. This makes proliferate a key mechanic in poison-based strategies. You can learn more about game mechanics from the GamesLearningSociety.org.

2. Does hexproof stop infect or toxic?

Hexproof only prevents a player from being the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. Infect and toxic work through damage, so creatures with those abilities can damage players with hexproof, resulting in poison counters. The damage isn’t targeting the player.

3. If I have 9 poison counters, can I still gain life?

Yes, you can still gain life. Life gain and poison counters are independent. Gaining life won’t reduce your poison counter total, but it can buy you time by increasing your buffer before you lose the game at ten poison counters.

4. Does deathtouch work with infect?

Yes, deathtouch and infect combine effectively. A creature with both deathtouch and infect only needs to deal 1 damage to a creature to destroy it (by placing a -1/-1 counter on it), and any damage dealt to a player by a creature with infect gives them poison counters instead.

5. Can I remove poison counters from my opponent?

Price of Betrayal and Suncleanser can remove counters from opponents, including poison counters.

6. Does a card that says “remove all counters” affect poison counters on players?

Generally, no. Cards that remove “all counters” typically target permanents on the battlefield, not players. Aether Snap is a prime example. This card does not remove poison counters from players.

7. Can Karn Liberated remove poison counters?

Karn Liberated’s ultimate ability effectively resets the game, removing all poison counters in the process. However, this is a global effect and not a targeted removal of poison counters specifically.

8. What happens when a player reaches 10 poison counters?

When a player accumulates ten or more poison counters, that player immediately loses the game. This is a state-based action, meaning it happens automatically as soon as the condition is met.

9. Does toxic stack?

Yes, toxic is cumulative. If a creature has toxic 1 and gains toxic 2 from another source, it deals combat damage to a player that would result in that player receiving 3 poison counters.

10. Does infect give -1/-1 counters to creatures?

Yes. Damage from a source with infect is dealt to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.

11. Can I proliferate for zero?

Yes, you can choose to proliferate for zero. Proliferate lets you choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them. Since “any number” includes zero, you can choose no targets at all.

12. Is there a way to double poison counters being given?

Yes, effects that double counters can double poison counters. For example, Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider doubles the number of counters an opponent receives. Also, a card like Strionic Resonator doubles the poison trigger leading to two instances of the trigger which results in doubling the number of counters added.

13. Does exiling a permanent remove its counters?

Yes. When a permanent is exiled, it leaves the battlefield, and any counters it had are removed. Counters only exist on objects that are on the battlefield, in the command zone, or in exile (under specific circumstances).

14. What happens to poison counters if a player leaves the game?

If a player leaves the game (e.g., due to concession), all objects (including poison counters on other players) owned by that player are removed from the game.

15. Are poison counters considered a “state” in Magic?

No, poison counters are not a “state” in the same way that “tapped” or “attacking” are. They are counters placed on players that lead to a state-based action (losing the game) when a certain threshold is reached.

Conclusion: The Strategic Importance of Poison Counter Removal

While rare, the ability to remove poison counters is a valuable asset in Magic: The Gathering. Leeches, Price of Betrayal, and Suncleanser provide direct removal options, while Karn Liberated’s ultimate offers a more drastic solution. Understanding these options and the nuances of poison counters can significantly improve your chances of surviving and thriving against toxic strategies. Remember that strategy is key to any game, which you can learn from the Games Learning Society.