Cleanup Crew

Strategy & Gameplay

Cleanup Crew is a versatile green creature from Streets of New Capenna that offers impressive flexibility for its six mana cost. As a 6/6 body, it provides a solid threat that demands immediate attention, but its real value lies in the modal enter-the-battlefield ability that gives you four distinct options depending on your matchup and board state. This flexibility is what makes the card particularly attractive in Commander and multiplayer formats, where you'll frequently encounter diverse strategies employing artifacts, enchantments, and graveyard-based mechanics. The ability to choose between destroying target artifact, destroying target enchantment, exiling a card from a graveyard, or gaining four life means you're never dead-drawing this card—there's almost always a relevant mode available. In constructed formats like Pioneer and Modern, Cleanup Crew slots well into midrange and ramp decks that can afford the six-mana investment and benefit from having a creature that doubles as artifact or enchantment removal. Green decks that struggle with permanent-based answers will find this creature invaluable for dealing with problematic cards like Solemnity, Rhystic Study, or Leyline of the Void without needing dedicated sideboard slots. The life gain mode, while seemingly less exciting, can be crucial in grindy matchups or as a hedge against aggressive strategies. Whether you're building Commander decks, Pioneer midrange, or exploring Historic strategies, Cleanup Crew provides the kind of flexible, efficient removal package that separates good decks from great ones.