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Moxonomy

Banishing Light

Enchantment2 generic manaWhite mana

The line of white catch-all removal runs through this card's exact frame: an enchantment that exiles any nonland permanent an opponent controls and gives it back if the enchantment dies. Oblivion Ring did it first and got tripped up by a clumsy two-trigger templating that allowed odd interactions; this version cleaned that up by binding the exile to the enchantment's own departure, so removing the enchantment is the only way the permanent returns. The result is white's most reliable color-pie answer to the threats it cannot otherwise touch: planeswalkers, problem artifacts, opposing enchantments, the resolved creature that dodged a sorcery. The cost of that breadth is the same one every Oblivion Ring descendant pays. It is not destruction; it is a holding pattern. Enchantment removal, disenchant effects, even a well-timed bounce on the Banishing Light itself hands the exiled permanent back to its owner, often at a worse moment than when it left. That return clause is the design discipline that keeps a three-mana unconditional answer from being strictly oppressive: you have removed the problem, but you are also now carrying it, and an opponent who can crack the enchantment gets a two-for-one swing. It exiles rather than destroys, which sidesteps regeneration and death triggers, but the temporary nature means it works best against permanents that do their damage on a timeline, not against engines that only need a single window to fire.

Banishing Light (tsr)
TSR · #291special
Pricing
Normal: $0.28
Foil: $3.62
Oracle Text

Rules text

When this enchantment enters, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls until this enchantment leaves the battlefield.
Legalities

Format Status

Standard
Legal
Pioneer
Legal
Modern
Legal
Legacy
Legal
Vintage
Legal
Commander
Legal
Pauper
Legal
Brawl
Legal
Historic
Legal
Alchemy
Legal
Timeless
Legal
Standard Brawl
Legal
More formats
Old School
N/A
Premodern
N/A
PreDH
N/A
Pauper Commander
Legal
Oathbreaker
Legal
Gladiator
Legal
Penny Dreadful
N/A
Duel Commander
Legal
Future Standard
Legal
COMPETITIVEBRAWL
Legal
TLR
Legal
Printings elsewhere

Other printings

17 sets
Show all 17 other printings
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