Slash the RanksHow it works & interactions with other cards

What it Does

Slash the Ranks is a five-mana white sorcery that destroys all creatures and planeswalkers on the battlefield with one major exception: commanders. This effect is mandatory for all applicable permanents, regardless of who controls them. If a permanent is a creature or a planeswalker and does not have the 'commander' designation, it is destroyed and sent to the graveyard unless it has protection like Indestructible.

How it Resolves Step by Step

First, the spell is cast and placed on the stack. Upon resolution, the game checks every permanent on the battlefield for the 'commander' property. Next, every creature and planeswalker that lacks this property is destroyed simultaneously. This does not target, so Hexproof and Shroud do not prevent the destruction. Finally, the spell is placed in the graveyard, leaving only the commanders (and non-creature, non-planeswalker permanents) behind.

Common Mistakes

A frequent error is assuming 'commander' only refers to the card in the Command Zone; however, the 'commander' status is a property of the physical card itself that persists on the battlefield. Another mistake is thinking it saves creatures that were originally commanders but have lost all abilities; even if a commander is turned into a 0/1 insect, it is still a commander and will be saved. Note that this spell does not affect artifacts, enchantments, or lands unless they are also creatures or planeswalkers.

When to Play It

This card is best utilized when your deck relies heavily on its commander for synergy or damage, and your opponents have built wide boards of tokens or multiple planeswalkers. Unlike typical board wipes, this allows you to maintain your momentum. It is particularly effective against 'Superfriends' decks or token swarms where the commander isn't the primary combat threat.

Interaction examples

Clearing the Path

If the board contains three generic Goblins, a Jace planeswalker, and your commander, playing Slash the Ranks will destroy the Goblins and Jace, leaving only your commander on the field.

Choosing Your Wipe

Austere Command

While Austere Command allows you to choose to destroy creatures based on mana value or target artifacts, it cannot specifically spare your commander if your commander fits the chosen criteria. Slash the Ranks is a more surgical strike for keeping commanders alive regardless of their mana cost.

Exile vs Destruction

Farewell

Farewell provides a more permanent solution by exiling permanents, which bypasses Indestructible and prevents graveyard recursion. However, Farewell will exile your commander along with everything else. You would use Slash the Ranks instead if you want to keep your commander in play to continue your strategy without paying the command tax again.