Path to Exile
Casting Cost: {W}
Card Type: Instant

Card Text:

• Exile target creature. Its controller may search their library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.

Flavour Text:
"Attacking a kami is considered bad luck, so seasoned mages have developed techniques to usher them back to the spirit realm without violence."

Artist: Ron Spears

Path to Exile is one of the most iconic and widely-played removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. It provides white decks with an efficient way to deal with virtually any creature, exiling it from the game entirely, often for just a single white mana. While this does provide the creature's controller with a basic land, the ability to remove a key threat at instant speed is often worth this downside.

The flavour text adds depth to the card by suggesting that the exiling represents a sort of spiritual transition rather than a violent banishment. In this context, the card's mechanic is framed as a mystical and respectful way of dealing with supernatural beings like kami, rather than an act of aggression.

Ron Spears' artwork likely portrays this non-violent transition, possibly showing a kami being guided or channeled back to the spiritual realm by a mage skilled in these unique techniques.

Used strategically, Path to Exile can significantly disrupt an opponent's game plan, making it a valuable inclusion in many white-based decks across various formats.