Hello readers, and welcome to Containment Priest Week! This week we’ll be taking a look at a number of interactions with this little gem from Commander 2014. While not legal in Standard and Modern, it still has applications for those of you interested in older formats. So let’s get the ball rolling with one of the strongest combo decks in the recent Legacy metagame: Show and Tell!

Containment Priest is what is commonly referred to as a “hoser” card — something that has a particularly powerful effect against a few strategies, but isn’t effective against many others. In the case of Show and Tell, Containment Priest hoses it majorly. Because it has flash, you can cast it in response to Show and Tell. Rather than cast cards for free (like Omniscience), Show and Tell puts cards directly onto the battlefield from your hand, which will cause Containment Priest’s replacement effect to exile them instead. They don’t even get to hit the battlefield — so your opponent can’t draw cards with Griselbrand “in response!”

Be aware that the Priest’s effect applies to your cards, too, so given the option, it’s best for you to choose a permanent that’s not a creature. If you can’t, remember you can choose nothing.

One last thing: don’t think you can cheat the Priest’s mana cost! Putting Containment Priest onto the battlefield during the resolution of Show and Tell will result in you having a Priest… and your opponent having a big scary thing. Containment Priest’s ability only applies once it’s already on the battlefield, so it won’t affect itself or other permanents entering the battlefield at the same time.

Today’s Rules Tip written by Jen Wong