This question was asked a few years ago in another thread, but some of the cards mentioned in that thread are no longer legal for modern, and there's been a lot more cards since. So, in 2017 what are the best cards for stopping infect?
The only card that’s gotten banned from Modern that really did anything to infect is Punishing Fire, so any of the cards listed in that previous thread that you mentioned are probably still fair game to deal with infect.
Infect isn’t played much these days, but as stated by Melkor, Fatal Push and Path to Exile are the cleanest answers to Infect. They tend to struggle with a high density of targeted removal spells. It’s often best to cast your removal on your own turn, or on their turn, after they’ve already attacked, since it forces them to waste Vines of Vastwood and Blossoming defense purely as defensive and they lose the added damage from those spells.
Otherwise, any instant speed removal work. Abrupt Decay, Terminate, etc. Pick your poison.
Discard spells like Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek can also be particularly effective in tearing apart their hand. Chalice of the Void X=1 gives them a pretty rough time as well.
Otherwise targeted removal is the key to the matchup. They do have access to 8 cards that stop targeted removal now, but they're not always going to have them so just constantly pointing removal a them will work eventually.
The only card that’s gotten banned from Modern that really did anything to infect is Punishing Fire, so any of the cards listed in that previous thread that you mentioned are probably still fair game to deal with infect.
Infect isn’t played much these days, but as stated by Melkor, Fatal Push and Path to Exile are the cleanest answers to Infect. They tend to struggle with a high density of targeted removal spells. It’s often best to cast your removal on your own turn, or on their turn, after they’ve already attacked, since it forces them to waste Vines of Vastwood and Blossoming defense purely as defensive and they lose the added damage from those spells.
Otherwise, any instant speed removal work. Abrupt Decay, Terminate, etc. Pick your poison.
Discard spells like Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek can also be particularly effective in tearing apart their hand. Chalice of the Void X=1 gives them a pretty rough time as well.
One of the best cards was Leeches, but that is not modern legal anymore. So I'm not sure what other cards can remove infect counters. I thought there was a card that made you immune to infect.
My deck is a black/white lifelink deck. I'll just splash some green to use Melira & Chord. I already have the necessary dual lands. I have a bunch of diabolic tutors as well to really ramp up the draw power.
Hate to break it to you, but Leeches have never been legal in Modern. The best way to not die to infect is to just take care of the creature that's trying to give them to you in the first place.
Creature removal also works against a large portion of decks, so it's generally going to be a better strategy to deal with Infect that Melira or casting Chord of Calling for Melira, unless your deck is already built to make use of Chord of Calling.
A semi-competitive Infect can usually kill you in a single attack phase. Diabolic Tutor is rather slow in trying to counter that. Are you playing casually?
Hate to break it to you, but Leeches have never been legal in Modern. The best way to not die to infect is to just take care of the creature that's trying to give them to you in the first place.
Creature removal also works against a large portion of decks, so it's generally going to be a better strategy to deal with Infect that Melira or casting Chord of Calling for Melira, unless your deck is already built to make use of Chord of Calling.
A semi-competitive Infect can usually kill you in a single attack phase. Diabolic Tutor is rather slow in trying to counter that. Are you playing casually?
I'm usually playing official matches at FNM
I actually played someone else with an infect deck today, though in casual play. I kept the infect creatures mostly at bay with black cartouches. (I also put Blessed Alliances in the deck, 2 in the main deck and 2 on sideboard incase I encounter an infect deck.) I won the first game, then lost the following two games. My deck focuses on aggressively leeching life from my opponent and healing myself. I also have a few bloodbond vampires in there that get buffed rapidly due to how much life gain I get. There's also a couple Felidar Sovereigns in there to win the game when I hit 40 life. I managed to go over 40 today, but didn't draw the Sovereign.
Leeches was mentioned in the older thread I found.
Eldrazi Tron destroys Infect. Look at all these cards it plays maindeck: Ghost Quarter, Chalice of the Void, Walking Ballista, Warping Wail, Dismember.
Another option not mentioned is Lingering Souls. The card in general causes problems for aggro decks built around small creatures, like Infect and Affinity; since all of their creatures are 1/1 they generally have to trade creatures or pump spells to get through all of the tokens, netting you a ton of extra time and resources.
Otherwise, as others have said, mana-efficient removal is generically strong against infect & a lot of the format in general.
Solemnity does stop infect, but it's also a rather narrow card that's only effective against Infect, keeping a deck like Abzan company from comboing off.
It's generally a better idea to place cards in your main deck and sideboard that have the largest number of applications against the most number of decks. For example, Back to Nature stops Bogles cold, but no one runs it. Why? Because it's a less broad application than say, Destructive Revelry, Natural State or Nature's Claim, which all hit problem enchantments and artifacts, or provide an added beneficial effect. (and also because Bogles is a fringe deck that you're not likely to encounter). You're more likely to run into problem artifacts than enchantments, but having a card that takes care of both provides more flexibility.
The fact that Infect struggles with most targeting removal and it's great against a huge number of other decks, you might as well use those cards instead of Solemnity, which randomly hoses one particular deck.
Best and easiest answer is honestly use your removal on your turn instead of your opponents. It forces them to pump/hexproof the creature which slows them down usually enough to put blockers up or wear them down enough it does not matter in my experience.
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Standard: No Time
Modern: Jund Midrange BRG
Legacy: Shardless Bug BUG
The best answers are Edict effects They target the player, not the creature so their hexproof does nothing. There's a good one in white that even gets just the attacker.
Not to sneeze at are, Fog effects, which punish them for trying to go all in. Fog to stay alive, get one or two spells, and then respond on your turn with more permanent solutions.
Play an interactive deck, like Grixis Shadow, Junk, or even Jund.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
izzet staticaster is a huge pain for infect to deal with since every single activation of it bleeds out at least one card from them, either by killing their stuff or forcing them to use their pump to save it. walking ballista is good for similar reasons, even if it is a bit more limited.
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Short answer, Fatal Push, or Path. Push as the primary, but both ruin them pretty hard
Infect isn’t played much these days, but as stated by Melkor, Fatal Push and Path to Exile are the cleanest answers to Infect. They tend to struggle with a high density of targeted removal spells. It’s often best to cast your removal on your own turn, or on their turn, after they’ve already attacked, since it forces them to waste Vines of Vastwood and Blossoming defense purely as defensive and they lose the added damage from those spells.
Otherwise, any instant speed removal work. Abrupt Decay, Terminate, etc. Pick your poison.
Discard spells like Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek can also be particularly effective in tearing apart their hand. Chalice of the Void X=1 gives them a pretty rough time as well.
Otherwise targeted removal is the key to the matchup. They do have access to 8 cards that stop targeted removal now, but they're not always going to have them so just constantly pointing removal a them will work eventually.
Ghost Quarter is good at stopping Inkmoth Nexus.
Everything else has been pretty much said.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
One of the best cards was Leeches, but that is not modern legal anymore. So I'm not sure what other cards can remove infect counters. I thought there was a card that made you immune to infect.
Creature removal also works against a large portion of decks, so it's generally going to be a better strategy to deal with Infect that Melira or casting Chord of Calling for Melira, unless your deck is already built to make use of Chord of Calling.
A semi-competitive Infect can usually kill you in a single attack phase. Diabolic Tutor is rather slow in trying to counter that. Are you playing casually?
I'm usually playing official matches at FNM
I actually played someone else with an infect deck today, though in casual play. I kept the infect creatures mostly at bay with black cartouches. (I also put Blessed Alliances in the deck, 2 in the main deck and 2 on sideboard incase I encounter an infect deck.) I won the first game, then lost the following two games. My deck focuses on aggressively leeching life from my opponent and healing myself. I also have a few bloodbond vampires in there that get buffed rapidly due to how much life gain I get. There's also a couple Felidar Sovereigns in there to win the game when I hit 40 life. I managed to go over 40 today, but didn't draw the Sovereign.
Leeches was mentioned in the older thread I found.
Otherwise, as others have said, mana-efficient removal is generically strong against infect & a lot of the format in general.
Solemnity does stop infect, but it's also a rather narrow card that's only effective against Infect, keeping a deck like Abzan company from comboing off.
It's generally a better idea to place cards in your main deck and sideboard that have the largest number of applications against the most number of decks. For example, Back to Nature stops Bogles cold, but no one runs it. Why? Because it's a less broad application than say, Destructive Revelry, Natural State or Nature's Claim, which all hit problem enchantments and artifacts, or provide an added beneficial effect. (and also because Bogles is a fringe deck that you're not likely to encounter). You're more likely to run into problem artifacts than enchantments, but having a card that takes care of both provides more flexibility.
The fact that Infect struggles with most targeting removal and it's great against a huge number of other decks, you might as well use those cards instead of Solemnity, which randomly hoses one particular deck.
Modern: Jund Midrange BRG
Legacy: Shardless Bug BUG
Not to sneeze at are, Fog effects, which punish them for trying to go all in. Fog to stay alive, get one or two spells, and then respond on your turn with more permanent solutions.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)