While creatures are often viewed as the cornerstone of Magic: The Gathering, one of the most vital types of card within a player's repertoire are removal spells. As the name implies, removal spells are spells that can target a problematic permanent under an opponent's control, and remove it from play. Throughout Magic's history, countless removal spells have seen print within every color. But which are the most potent, flexible, and worth a player's time?

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Today we're going to dive into the vast sea of removal spells in Magic: The Gathering and examine the best that the game has to offer!

Updated January 2, 2022 by Paul DiSalvo: Regardless of the format one may be playing, removal is an integral part of Magic. Being able to respond to various types of threats and interact with another player's board state can prevent an opponent from landing lethal combat damage or assembling the pieces of a game-winning combo. For this reason, many of the best removal spells in the game are quite flexible, and can be used to target several types of permanents. Additionally, mana-efficient removal allows a player to cast other spells in addition to their removal within a single turn, while instant-speed removal allows a player to tactically react to threats on the fly.

25 Heartless Act

Full art of Heartless Act from Magic The Gathering

The new instant Heartless Act from Ikoria is absurd for an uncommon removal spell. In Draft and Sealed, it can end up being more awkward due to the large number of +1/+1 and keyword counters on some creatures, but in most constructed formats it’ll almost always read “Destroy target creature.”

Most targets with counters will probably be eliminated by removing them from it, but very few of the most common creatures will inherently have counters, and there are constantly times you can cast Heartless Act in response to abilities or spells that would neutralize it. For such a low cost, it’s a great budget removal spell for nearly any deck or format.

24 Fall From Favor

Full art of Fall From Favor in Magic The Gathering

Another absolutely ridiculous removal spell came in Commander Legends, where several spells with the Monarch ability were reprinted and newly printed, which lets players draw a card at the end of their turn if it isn’t taken from them through combat damage. One at common, Fall From Favor, is strong enough to have been banned from the Pauper format quite hastily after its release.

This may just tap down an opponent’s creature, but having the Monarch while eliminating creatures that could take it away is incredibly efficient. Not only will their greatest threat be neutralized, but with a defensive board and more removal spells you’ll be drawing nearly twice as many cards as your opponent for potentially the entire game.

23 Spikefield Hazard

Full art for Spikefield Hazard from Magic The Gathering

Spikefield Hazard is a different type of powerful compared to the other entries in this list. It deals a quick single point of damage, and while that can’t kill every creature in the game, it can often deal with a surprising number of threats on Turn 1, making it rarely useless in many matchups against common fast aggro decks.

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The reason this is so much better than other similar cards, though, is that you can also just play it as a tapped land if you don’t have any targets worth stabbing. This versatility makes it playable in nearly any red deck in Standard currently, and outside of slower and friendlier games it’s going to likely be anything you need.

22 Murderous Rider

Full art of Murderous Rider from Magic The Gathering

Adventures were a questionable mechanic in Throne of Eldraine. On one hand, it felt great to have two spells attached to each other, especially since most were inexpensive and easy to get full value of. Unfortunately, many are currently mainstays in every standard deck, and while Murderous Rider lags behind, it’s perhaps the most efficient removal of them all.

This card’s Adventure, Swift End, will destroy any creature or planeswalker at Instant speed, an effect not commonly found at three mana anymore, and absolutely worth the two life as an additional cost. The fact that you can regain that life through blocking and attacking with the 2/3 creature afterwards is just icing on this deadly cake.

21 Skyclave Apparition

Full art of Skyclave Apparition from Magic The Gathering

Removal in White can vary massively, frequently having a wide variety of targets while having drawbacks that make things riskier. Skyclave Apparition is a prime example of this, as the permanent it exiles becomes replaced with an X/X token when it dies, but this hasn’t held it back from being a mainstay in any format where a three-mana creature isn’t too slow.

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This ability can easily be navigated around. Protecting the creature will prevent your opponent from getting a token in the first place, but it can also hit other tokens to annihilate them forever without the risk of another token coming when the Apparition dies. Even if the opponent succeeds in getting their token, a vanilla creature is rarely better than the creature or planeswalker you’ve removed, especially if your opponent had to waste a spell to destroy the Skyclave Apparition to get it.

20 Chainer’s Edict

chainers edict

Throughout Magic’s history, “edict” effects are those that force an opponent to sacrifice a creature. These effects can be quite powerful, as due to the fact they are not technically targeting or destroying a creature, they can get around both indestructible and hexproof. An all-star in Pauper, Chainer’s Edict is a black two-man sorcery with an edict effect, boasting a flashback cost of seven. This means that even after its done its job, this spell can be recast in the later stages of a game for additional value.

19 Despark

despark mtg bolas art slawomir maniak
Despark by Slawomir Maniak

A budget-friendly removal spell, Despark is an Orzhov spell first printed in War of the Spark. An instant for two mana, Despark can exile any target permanent with a mana value of four or greater.

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While this spell is rather useless in the early stages of a game, it can be used to remove many of the most impactful and game-ending cards that a deck may have to offer, whether they be artifacts, creatures, enchantments, or Planeswalkers, and can do so in a reactionary manner at instant speed.

18 Fatal Push

fatal push

Ideally, a player’s removal can be cast for a negligible investment of mana, usually only costing around one or two mana while toting as much flexibility as possible. Fatal Push is a black instant for one black mana that is capable of destroying target creature with converted mana cost two or less. However, due to having Revolt, if any permanent its caster controlled left the battlefield that turn, this spell can remove a creature with converted mana cost four or less. This makes it an ideal removal spell in the Modern format in which mana curves are quite low and fetch lands are common. A player can sacrifice their fetch land to enable Fatal Push’s revolt and taking out an opponent’s most dangerous threats.

17 Song Of The Dryads

Song of the Dryads by Lars Grant-West
Song of the Dryads by Lars Grant-West

When it comes to Green removal options, it's hard to find a card as universally useful as Song of the Dryads. An enchantment for three mana, Song of the Dryads can be attached to any permanent regardless of type, rendering it nothing more than a colorless forest. While this effect technically ramps one’s opponent, it can deal with a multitude of threats, and can be incredibly difficult to deal with, especially in colors such as red and black that have difficulty removing enchantments from play.

16 Reality Shift

reality shift mtg art howard lyon

While most blue removal comes in the form of bounce effects, Reality Shift can be used to destroy a target creature in mono-blue decks. For two mana, this instant destroys target creature at the cost of allowing that creature's controller to manifest the top card of their library.

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As the manifest mechanic puts the top card of a player's library into play face down, allowing it to be turned face up for its mana cost if it's a creature, if the manifested card isn't a creature, Reality Shift can effectively replace a major threat with a useless 2/2.

15 Assassin’s Trophy

assassins trophy

Assassin’s Trophy is a stellar piece of Golgari removal for two mana. An instant, Assassin’s trophy can destroy any target permanent. That permanent’s controller can then search their library for a basic land and put it into play. This flexibility cannot be overstated, as Assassin’s trophy can deal with potent planeswalkers, creatures, and artifacts, while even able to destroy key lands to disrupt strategies like Tron.

14 Chaos Warp

chaos warp
Chaos Warp by Trevor Claxton

Chaos Warp is one of the premier red removal spells in the Commander Format. Though it costs three mana to cast, Chaos Warp is an instant that can deal with any type of permanent, even those with indestructible. Shuffling target permanent into its owner’s library, that card’s controller reveals the top card of their library, putting it onto the battlefield if it's permanent. While Chaos Warp does have the potential to accidentally put another powerful card into play, it can do away with key combo pieces at instant speed, regardless of their card type.

13 Swords To Plowshares

Magic The Gathering Swords to Plowshares card art

An iconic removal spell that was printed in the very first Magic set, Swords to Plowshares has truly passed the test of time.

A white instant for only one mana, Swords to Plowshares can exile a target creature. This is an incredibly useful ability for an instant to have for only a single mana. While this spell does possess a downside of healing that creature's controller an amount of health equal to the targeted creature's power, this downside is most often negligible, especially when targeting a utility creature.

12 Krosan Grip

Magic The Gathering Krosan grip card art

While many players often think of spells that specifically can deal with creatures when discussing removal, there are numerous worthwhile spells that can be used to deal with other types of permanents. One such card is Krosan Grip.

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A green instant for three mana, Krosan Grip can destroy target artifact or enchantment. What's important about Krosan Grip is that is has "Split Second." This ability means that as long as this spell is on the stack, no other spells can be cast, and no abilities can be activated. This ensures that Krosan Grip will always resolve without any funny business from opponents, and that the spell will always land its mark.

11 Dreadbore And Terminate

Magic The Gathering Terminate card art

As Rakdos is perhaps one of the most aggressive color pairing in all of Magic, it's no surprise that Rakdos decks excel at destroying opponents' creatures.

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Dreadbore and Terminate are each two-man Rakdos spells that are capable of destroying any target creature. While Terminate is an instant that prevents the targeted creature from being regenerated, Dreadbore is a sorcery that comes with the added benefit of being able to target pesky Planeswalkers.

10 Go For The Throat

Magic The Gathering Go For The Throat card art

Go For the Throat is by far one of the most flexible creature removal spells at Black's disposal. An instant for two mana, go for the throat can destroy any target non-artifact creature.

Similarly to the iconic spell, Doom Blade, Go For the Throat can destroy any creature other than a specified exception. However, while Doom Blade is incapable of destroying black creatures, this spell can target any creature regardless of color as long as it isn't an artifact.

9 Pongify And Rapid Hybridization

Magic The Gathering Pongify card art

Pongify and Rapid Hybridization are two nearly identical blue instants. For a single blue mana, these spells can destroy any target creature, preventing the creature from being regenerated. That creature's controller then puts a green 3/3 token into play.

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While this spell doesn't necessarily remove an opponent's ability to block, they can deal with potent abilities and offensive monsters that may cost a player a game. While these 3/3 tokens can hypothetically be used to attack, in formats such as Commander, a vanilla 3/3 has a slim chance in making any form of meaningful impact to a game.

8 Defile

defile mtg

One of the more recently printed spells on this list, Defile is perhaps the most mana-efficient black removal spell in the game. An instant for one black mana, Defile bestows target creature with -X/-X until the end of turn where X is equal to the amount of swamps under its caster's control. This spell is quite powerful for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, due to the nature of this spell, it grows, remaining relevant even into the late game despite its low cost.

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Secondly, as this card reduces toughness rather than dealing damage, it is capable of destroying creatures with indestructible.

7 Darksteel Mutation

darksteel mutation daniel ljunggren

A white enchantment for the low cost of two mana, Darksteel Mutation provides target creature with indestructible, but with a major catch: that creature is reduced to a 0/1 insect, causing it to lose all other abilities and types. While this insect can hypothetically be used as a blocker, in the Commander format, Darksteel Mutation can be used to render another player's commander completely useless while still keeping it in play, meaning it can't just be recast from the Command Zone as is the case with most other removal.

6 Deadly Rollick

Magic The Gathering Deadly Rollic card art

Printed as part of a cycle of cards in Commander 2020 that may be cast for free if a player controls their commander, Deadly Rollick is a black instant for four mana that can be used to exile target creature. While only capable of targeting creatures, when used in Commander decks with a commander that can be readily accessed early into a game, this is often a free removal spell with no strings attached, exiling troublesome creatures.