You CAN use this after blocks and combat damage are complete.
Creatures retain the characteristic of "attacking" until the Main Phase begins, thus you can block, kill some chumps, then dispense justice to kill the unblocked fatty after it has hit you, during the cleanup step.
Posted By:
Atali
(2/9/2011 9:49:39 AM)
I'm not sure why people are moaning about this isn't white - This is all about White's rule of law and stuff.
"How dare you attack me! Punishment for the evil-doer!"
Seems white to me.
Posted By:
Moleland
(4/16/2011 1:33:50 PM)
Need a dispenser here
Posted By:
NeedADispenserHere
(7/27/2011 12:51:32 AM)
coyotemoon, of course you wince when they've got their bases covered and this doesn't work.
When your opponent is attacking with only black creatures, do you wince at the Doom Blade in your hand?
When your opponent swings with 4-toughness creatures, do you wince at the Lightning Bolt in your hand?
When your opponent casts a bomb spell with more than 3 mana left over, do you wince at the Mana Leak in your hand?
Are any of those bad cards because the opponent is getting to play around them?
Dispense Justice is a way to eliminate creatures that are resistant to other types of removal - it circumvents shroud and prot, for instance. And 3 mana to do so isn't a terrible cost; 3 mana to get rid of two creatures is pretty dang good.
Yeah, you're going to find situations like the one you described where it doesn't help at all, and you're going to find players who know how to play around it - but that doesn't make it a bad... (see all)
Posted By:
Magnor_Criol
(12/18/2010 11:06:33 PM)
This card has actually proven a pretty effective side-board option in my Tempered Steel deck. Unlike Dispatch it gets around the pro-White of Sword of War and Peace, and I usually have Metalcraft online so even if they attack with a second bird it'll still get both. Plus, when I'm fighting B/W Control they're usually only attack with a single Titan anyway, and I don't have to pay extra for this to hit Frost Titan because it's untargeted. Certainly not main-deck material, and Dispatch is usually better, but it's definitely a viable side-board option.
Posted By:
Chosen_of_the_Dark_Sun
(5/29/2011 4:59:09 PM)
I was played this when attacking my opponent with Putrefax and Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon on MTGO. I closed the computer and had to go for a 5 minutes walk and a cigarette. :(
Posted By:
Carnophage_4ever
(11/29/2010 4:19:29 PM)
This, Dispatch, and Stoic Rebuttal should be enough to warren a 
artifact control deck.
Posted By:
TheWrathofShane
(11/8/2012 10:54:05 AM)
Normally, when white removal specifies that the creature needs to be attacking, it's a drawback.
But here, it can be a tremendous advantage. Diabolic Edict-type effects, while great at getting around toughness, shroud, indestructibility, regeneration and protection, suffer from the fact that an opponent with multiple creatures can usually choose to sacrifice something they don't really need. But Dispense Justice restricts their choice to an attacking creature, making it more likely that you'll eliminate something powerful.
My EDH meta-game is dominated by decks where the win condition is based around attacking with one ridiculously huge creature. The Mimeoplasm, Uril, Rafiq, and Cromat (I laughed too, but he can get crazy with double strike and a Civic Saber) smash face time and again. Against decks like these, Dispense Justice has countless times made the... (see all)
Posted By:
MisterAction
(11/25/2012 11:41:29 AM)
brillant in limited , the most reliable removal in the block imo
Posted By:
Mindbend
(9/25/2010 11:19:37 AM)
Splashabe Wing Shards
Posted By:
stratoscythe
(9/24/2010 1:10:43 AM)