Targeting Supports and Creature Stacks

Xakarath

There is discussion about removal being too powerful, so I'm proposing that Single Target removal only targets 1 creature within the stack and not the entire stack itself. This would be true for bounce as well. The exception comes from cards like Declaration in stone which would exile an entire stack. This adds a cost premium to spells that kill entire stacks. This would not affect spells that destroyed ALL creatures.

As for Targeting supports, I believe it would be overpowered for the same reason creature removal is overpowered. Target removal has the ability to remove multiple copies of one support. So some suggestions are "remove X shields form target support", "Destroy target support with less than X shields", "Destroy target support within a stack". My leanings are on the first two and here is why. The ability to remove planeswalker ultimate support ability, shouldn't be able to be removed easily since they are supposed to be emblems. Either give them hexproof or increase their total shields so that it would take several "disenchants" to rid of such a support. All supports could be balanced via their mana cost and shield count.

Here is a card from Eldritch moon to Illustrate my point



Collected Effort - Cost 8 - Rare

Escalate - Disable target creature you control until the beginning of your next turn.

Choose one or more: --

Target creature with the most health within a stack is return to owner's library Target Support loses 3 shields. If there are no shields left, it is destroyed Each creature target player controls gets +2/+2

Ertai Planeswalker

I do not agree, it would make token strategies (Eldrazi Scions) near impossible to deal with.

Having said that, removal is too strong but it's a tempo based issue. You spend 4 turns to cast a creature, I destroy it with a card I spent one, maybe two turns on.