Removal and Interaction: How Much Is Enough?

In Commander, three opponents each have their own game plans, and some of those plans will end the game if left unchecked. A player dropping Craterhoof Behemoth on a full board, an opponent assembling an infinite combo, or someone casting an Omniscience that lets them cast their entire deck for free - these are the moments where interaction saves you.

Removal and interaction are the safety nets of Commander deckbuilding. Without them, you are playing solitaire and hoping to be faster than everyone else.

Types of Interaction

Not all interaction is equal. Understanding the categories helps you build a well-rounded removal suite.

Targeted Removal

Deals with a single specific threat. The bread and butter of interaction.

Creature removal: Swords to Plowshares, Go for the Throat, Beast Within, Chaos Warp, Generous Gift.

Artifact/Enchantment removal: Nature's Claim, Disenchant, Vandalblast, Return to Nature.

Any permanent removal: Beast Within, Generous Gift, Anguished Unmaking, Vindicate.

Pros: Precise, efficient, handles specific problems without collateral damage.

Cons: One-for-one trading. You spend one card to deal with one threat, but you have three opponents generating threats.

Board Wipes

Reset the entire board. Essential for recovering from losing positions.

Creature board wipes: Wrath of God, Blasphemous Act, Toxic Deluge, Cyclonic Rift, Farewell.

Artifact/Enchantment wipes: Vandalblast (overloaded), Bane of Progress, Austere Command.

Everything wipes: Farewell, Merciless Eviction, Cyclonic Rift (overloaded).

Pros: Deal with multiple threats at once. Excellent catch-up mechanism.

Cons: Destroy your own stuff too (usually). Timing is critical.

Counterspells

Stop threats before they resolve. Blue's unique form of interaction.

Efficient counters: Counterspell, Swan Song, Negate, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship.

Broad counters: Mana Drain, Force of Will, Pact of Negation (cEDH level).

Pros: Handle anything before it resolves. Can stop combos and game-winning spells before they affect the board.

Cons: Require you to hold up mana. Only available in blue. Miss-timing feels terrible.

Stax / Prevention

Cards that prevent opponents from doing things rather than reacting to them.

Examples: Rule of Law, Rest in Peace, Torpor Orb, Drannith Magistrate.

Pros: Proactive. Shuts down entire strategies rather than individual cards.

Cons: Affects the whole table (including you sometimes). Can create unfun games at casual tables.

How Much Removal to Run

The right amount depends on your deck's strategy and speed.

The Baseline: 10-12 Interactive Spells

For most Commander decks, the breakdown looks like this:

• 6-8 targeted removal (mix of creature removal and permanent removal)
• 3-4 board wipes (at least one creature wipe, one that hits other permanent types)
• 0-3 counterspells (if you are in blue)

Aggressive Decks: 8-10 Interaction

Aggro decks want to spend most of their mana on developing their own board. Run enough interaction to handle game-ending threats but do not over-invest in removal at the expense of your gameplan.

Midrange Decks: 10-12 Interaction

The standard amount. You have time to develop your board and still hold up answers.

Control Decks: 14-18 Interaction

Control decks win by answering everything and grinding opponents out of resources. You need more removal because your strategy is reactive.

Combo Decks: 6-10 Interaction

Combo decks focus on assembling their combo as fast as possible. Run enough interaction to protect your combo and stop opponents from winning first, but prioritize tutors and draw over removal.

Choosing the Right Removal

Criteria for Good Removal

Mana efficiency: Cheaper removal is better. A one-mana removal spell lets you interact while still developing your board. A five-mana removal spell means you are spending your entire turn on a reactive play.

Flexibility: Cards that hit multiple types of permanents are worth more than narrow answers. Beast Within (any permanent) is more valuable than Murder (creatures only) because it handles anything.

Instant speed: Removal at instant speed lets you wait to see what your opponents do before deciding what to remove. Sorcery-speed removal forces you to act on your turn, potentially before you even know what the biggest threat is.

Exile vs destroy: Indestructible creatures, recursion, and death triggers make exile-based removal (Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares) stronger than destroy-based removal (Murder, Go for the Throat) in many situations.

Color-Specific Best Options

White: Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Generous Gift, Farewell, Austere Command.

Blue: Counterspell, Swan Song, Rapid Hybridization, Pongify, Cyclonic Rift.

Black: Go for the Throat, Feed the Swarm, Toxic Deluge, Deadly Rollick. Damn is excellent if your commander also includes white (it costs {B}{B} for single-target, {2}{W}{B} for a board wipe).

Red: Chaos Warp, Blasphemous Act, Vandalblast, Red Elemental Blast (vs blue).

Green: Beast Within, Nature's Claim, Bane of Progress, Krosan Grip, Force of Vigor.

Board Wipes: When to Cast Them

Board wipes require timing. Cast one too early and you waste it. Cast one too late and you are already dead.

Cast a board wipe when:

• You are significantly behind on board and need a reset
• An opponent is about to win with an overwhelming board
• You have a way to rebuild faster than your opponents after the wipe
• You can follow up the wipe with a strong play on the same turn

Hold your board wipe when:

• You are the one with the best board position
• Only one opponent has a threatening board (use targeted removal instead)
• You expect a bigger threat later in the game
• Wiping would help one specific opponent more than it helps you

Common Mistakes

Not enough flexible removal: If all your removal hits creatures, you will lose to enchantment or artifact combos. Include at least 2-3 answers that hit non-creature permanents.

No instant-speed interaction: If all your removal is sorcery speed, opponents can combo off on their turn with no fear. At least half your interaction should be instant speed.

Removing the wrong threat: In multiplayer, removing someone's medium-threat creature while ignoring another player's combo piece is a common error. Evaluate the entire board before deciding what to remove.

Running board wipes you can't recover from: If your deck relies on creatures, think about asymmetric board wipes (like Cyclonic Rift) or ones you can rebuild from quickly (like Living Death in graveyard-based decks).

Interaction keeps Commander games fair, interactive, and fun. A deck with no removal is asking to lose to any strategy that goes unchecked. Build your deck with enough answers to stay in every game, and you will win more often by default.

For more on building a well-rounded deck, see our Rule of Eight guide and our breakdown of cards every deck should consider.