You’re digging through a dusty box of Legends cards from 1994 and you see it. Cleanse. It’s a Rare. It costs four mana. At first glance, it looks like just another weird, slightly overpowered piece of cardboard from Magic’s "Wild West" era. But try to find it on a major marketplace today. Go ahead. You’ll find empty listings or "out of stock" banners across the board.
Cleanse Magic the Gathering isn't just a card anymore. It’s a ghost.
Back in the early nineties, Wizards of the Coast was still figuring out the color pie. White was the color of morality and protection, but it also had a mean streak. Cleanse was the ultimate expression of that. For two White and two colorless mana, you could destroy all black creatures. No regeneration. Just gone. In a game where Black was the color of demons, zombies, and general filth, White was there to sweep the floor. It was a brutal sideboard card. It was efficient. And now, it is officially banned from every sanctioned format in existence.
Not because of its power level. Not because it broke the game's mechanics like Black Lotus or Time Walk. It was purged for what it represented.
The Day the Reserved List Met the Ban Hammer
In June 2020, the Magic community woke up to a massive announcement that changed the secondary market forever. Wizards of the Coast decided to remove several cards from their database, Gatherer, and ban them in all sanctioned play. They didn't just ban them for being too good. They banned them because they were deemed "racially insensitive."
Cleanse was on that list.
The card's mechanics were the problem. "Destroy all black creatures." In the context of 1994 fantasy tropes, this was White mana fighting Black mana. It was holiness vs. corruption. But Wizards looked at the optics in a modern light and realized the phrasing, combined with the name "Cleanse," was a disaster. They weren't alone in this purge. Cards like Invoke Prejudice (which featured actual KKK-style imagery) and Pradesh Gypsies were also tossed into the bin of history.
Honestly, the reaction was split. Some collectors screamed about "political correctness" and the "slippery slope" of censoring history. Others pointed out that a game about wizards and dragons shouldn't have cards that sound like slogans for ethnic cleansing. Whatever side you land on, the result was immediate: Cleanse vanished from the official conversation.
If you own one, you have a piece of "forbidden" history. You can't play it at your local game store. You can't play it on SpellTable in a sanctioned event. It’s basically a coaster that happens to be worth a decent chunk of change because of its scarcity.
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Why Cleanse is Mechanically Weird
Let’s talk about the actual game for a second. Magic has changed.
Modern design usually avoids "color hosing" this extreme. Back then, you had cards like Boil that destroyed all Islands or Tsunami that killed all Forests. Cleanse was the creature-based version of that. It was a "harkening back" to a time when Magic was about hard counters. If your friend played a Mono-Black Necropotence deck, you put Cleanse in your sideboard and laughed.
It's a Sorcery. Simple.
The art was done by Dan Frazier. He’s a legend. He did the original Moxen (Mox Pearl, Mox Emerald, etc.). His style is iconic—painterly, slightly abstract, very "Old School." In Cleanse, you see a burst of white light literally vaporizing dark figures. It fits the 1994 vibe perfectly. But because of the card's name and the specific target (black creatures), it took on a secondary meaning that Wizards eventually decided they couldn't stand behind.
Interestingly, there are other cards that do similar things but didn't get the boot. Take "Virtue's Ruin" from Portal. It also destroys all black creatures. Why is it still legal? Most people think it’s the name. "Cleanse" carries a very specific, heavy historical weight. "Virtue's Ruin" sounds like a generic fantasy spell. Words matter.
The Market Chaos of 2020
When the ban happened, the market went nuts.
Usually, when a card is banned, the price craters. If you can’t play it, why buy it? But Cleanse Magic the Gathering followed a different path. It became a "forbidden" collectible. People rushed to buy copies before TCGplayer and eBay (temporarily) pulled the listings. It became a symbol of a specific moment in the game’s culture.
Prices for Legends Rares are already high because the print run was tiny. There are only about 19,500 copies of any given Legends Rare in existence. That sounds like a lot until you realize there are tens of millions of Magic players. When you take a card with that kind of scarcity and tell people they aren't allowed to have it anymore, the "Forbidden Fruit" effect kicks in.
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Today, if you want a copy, you're looking at private sales or specialized Facebook groups. Most major retailers won't touch it. They don't want the headache. It’s not just a card; it’s a liability for a brand trying to be inclusive.
The "Old School" Format Exception
Here is a nuance many people miss. Magic: The Gathering has many ways to play. There is "Sanctioned" play (Standard, Modern, Commander) and then there is "Kitchen Table" or "Community-Driven" play.
The "Old School 93/94" community is a group of players who only play with cards from the first two years of the game. They don't follow Wizards of the Coast’s ban lists. They have their own. In many Old School circles, Cleanse is still perfectly legal. To them, it’s just a powerful tool against Black Weenie decks or Juzám Djinns.
This creates a weird friction. You have the official corporate stance saying "this card doesn't exist," and then you have the hardcore collectors saying "this is a pillar of our format."
It’s worth noting that Dan Frazier, the artist, has continued to work with Wizards. He even did the art for some Secret Lair drops recently. This shows that the ban wasn't necessarily an indictment of the creators, but rather a corporate "housecleaning" of the early 90s' lack of editorial oversight. They were kids in a garage back then. They weren't thinking about how a card name would read 30 years later in a globalized, hyper-connected world.
Is Cleanse Actually a Good Card?
Strip away the controversy. If you were playing in 1995, was Cleanse a "must-play"?
Sorta.
White has always had Wrath of God. For the same mana cost ($$2WW$$), Wrath of God destroys all creatures, regardless of color. It’s more versatile. So why would you run Cleanse?
- One-Sidedness. If you’re playing a White/Green creature deck and your opponent is playing Black, Cleanse is a "Plague Wind." You keep your board; they lose theirs. That is a massive swing.
- The Meta. Back then, Dark Ritual into a first-turn Hypnotic Specter was the scariest thing you could face. Cleanse was a way to reset the board without losing your own momentum.
In modern Commander (EDH), if it were legal, it would probably be a niche card. There are so many better board wipes now. Farewell, Austere Command, and Vanquish the Horde are all arguably better because they handle more threats or are cheaper to cast in specific situations. Cleanse is a relic of a time when "Color Matters" was the primary way to design the game.
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The Legacy of the Purge
The removal of Cleanse Magic the Gathering marked a turning point. It was the moment Wizards of the Coast stopped being a "games company" and started being a "lifestyle brand." They realized that their back catalog was a minefield.
They didn't just stop at Cleanse. They looked at cards like:
- Stone-Throwing Devils (References to specific religious punishments)
- Imprison (Art that was a bit too "real world" uncomfortable)
- Crusade (Historical baggage)
Critics argue that this is "erasing history." But Wizards' counter-argument is simple: They don't want their game associated with those themes. They want to sell packs to as many people as possible, and having "Cleanse" in your database isn't a great look for a company that prizes diversity.
If you’re a player today, you will likely never see this card across the table from you. If you’re a collector, it represents a high-stakes gamble. Will the value stay high because it's rare? Or will it eventually hit zero because nobody is allowed to talk about it?
What to Do If You Find a Cleanse
If you happen to stumble upon a copy of Cleanse in a collection you bought at a garage sale, don't throw it away. Despite the ban, it still has financial value.
First, check the condition. Legends cards are notorious for having "white borders" (Chronicles) or being from the Italian Legends run. Italian Legends Cleanse (called "Epurazione") is worth significantly less than the English version. If it’s English and Near Mint, you’re looking at a significant piece of history.
Second, understand your selling options. You won't be able to list it on some major platforms. You’ll need to head to the "High End" Magic Facebook groups or specific Discord servers for "Old School" players.
Third, don't try to play it at a Friday Night Magic (FNM) event. The judge will pull you aside, and you'll have to swap it out for a basic land or something. It’s not worth the awkward conversation.
The story of Cleanse is basically the story of Magic growing up. It started as a gritty, weird, sometimes accidentally offensive fantasy game and turned into a global phenomenon. Some pieces of that early history just didn't make the cut for the modern era.
Actionable Steps for Collectors and Players
- Verify Your Printing: Check the bottom left of the card. If there is no date and the border is white, it’s a reprint from Chronicles and isn't worth as much as the black-bordered 1994 original.
- Check Legal Alternatives: If you need the effect for a casual "House Rules" deck, look into Virtue's Ruin or Wrath of Marit Lage (for blue) which provide similar color-specific wipes without the banned status.
- Follow the Reserved List: Remember that Cleanse is on the Reserved List, meaning Wizards will never print it again—not even a "fixed" version with different art. The supply is fixed forever.
- Store It Properly: Because you can't play it, the value is entirely in the physical condition. Get it into a PVC-free sleeve and a hard toploader immediately to prevent edge wear or humidity damage.
The "Cleanse" era of Magic is over, but the card remains one of the most discussed and controversial pieces of cardboard in the history of the hobby. It serves as a reminder that even in a world of spells and mana, real-world context eventually catches up.