White decks in Magic: The Gathering are often characterized by the use of numerous smaller creatures rather than smaller quantities of larger threats. White often represents the ideas of community and many serving the greater good, making these types of strategies fit into the color quite flavorfully.
As one would expect, White has access to its fair share of low-cost spells that pack quite the punch. Whether these are high value removal spells or under-costed creatures, white has a vast array of powerful one-mana spells. So today, we're going to examine the best white one-drops from across Magic's history!
Updated by Chris Stomberg on May 11th, 2023: While Magic: The Gathering consists of many different formats each with their own distinct metagames, there's also something to be said for the "metagame" of the product as a whole. Another way to think about this has been coined in gaming communities with the term power creep. Power creep is the undeniable fact that as a game evolves, players gain access to more and more powerful interactions. In the case of Magic, this means better cards. These better cards have a double effect of both providing more advantageous tools while also degrading previous ones. Consequently, it was time to go through and add in white's newest one-drops while also updating how they've impacted longtime bests.
13 Mother of Runes
First released in Urza's Legacy, the iconic Mother of Runes is a versatile creature than can be used both offensively and defensively. A 1/1 for one white mana, Mother of Runes can be tapped to provide protection from any color to a creature.
This can both protect a creature from a potential removal spell, or prevent a creature from being blocked, as a creature with protection from a color cannot be blocked by creatures of said color. The result is opponents are forced to remove Mother of Runes herself before being able to target your other creatures.
12 Sigarda's Aid
For a one-drop enchantment, Sigarda's Aid provides a massive benefit to any Voltron Commander decks with white in their color identity. Not only does Sigarda's Aid allow Aura and Equipment spells to be cast as though they had flash, but this enchantment also makes equip costs a non-issue.
Whenever an equipment card enters the battlefield under the control of this enchantment's owner, they may immediately attach that equipment to a creature. This makes numerous equipments significantly more powerful by removing hindering and over-costed equip costs! Most notably, this card is a key piece of Hammer Time decks in Modern.
11 Ephemerate
Similar to Undying Malice and Feign Death in black, Ephemerate presents an opportunity to protect your creatures while also allowing you to trigger enter the battlefield effects additional times. This card is beginning to make waves in formats like Modern, however, it has yet to become a part of a truly established metadeck.
That being said, the power of Rakdos Scam suggests that it's only a matter of time before Ephemerate becomes a part of a powerful shell full of creatures with devastating enter the battlefield effects. This is one card to keep an eye on going forward.
10 Silence
Azorius (While/Blue) decks are known for their ability to counter spells. In addition to this, white can hinder opponents with spells such a Silence that prevent spells from being cast in the first place! For one mana, Silence is an instant for a single white mana that states that this spell's caster can't cast spells until the end of turn.
This spell can ensure that its caster's plans can transpire uncontested when cast on their own turn or can cause major setbacks to your opponents when cast on their upkeep. Silence is primarily a sideboard tool that prevents combo decks from going off. This often purchases its caster a vital extra turn.
9 Surge Of Salvation
First printed in March of the Machine, Surge of Salvation is notable for its ability to save your creatures from spot removal and black/red damage-based wraths for just a single white mana. In addition, Surge also makes you hexproof until the end of the turn, preventing you from being targeted by discard spells like Thoughtseize or Invoke Despair.
This second part of Surge is often overlooked and arguably the most powerful ability it brings to bare. After all, there are nearly no other methods to prevent opponents from targeting you which is part of the reason discard spells like Thoughtseize are so powerful. The full impact of Surge has yet to make itself known, but the card is already seeing play in the sideboards of some Modern decks.
8 Champion of the Parish
An all-star of Modern Human decks once running rampant through Modern, Champion of the Parish is a 1/1 human soldier for one mana that often becomes quite powerful for a single-mana creature.
Whenever another human enters the battlefield under its owner's control, a +1/+1 counter is put on Champion of the Parish. If this creature is cast on turn one, it is not uncommon for it to become a 3/3 by the end of turn two, growing yet even larger as a game progresses.
7 Path to Exile
White is a color containing some of the best exile-based removal in Magic. Path to Exile is one-mana white instant that is capable of exiling any target creature. After this spell exiles a creature, that creature's controller can search their library for a basic land and put that card into play tapped.
In previous years, this effect wasn't too damaging thanks to many players refusing to include basic lands in their decklists. However, nowadays, the cost of ramping an opponent an additional mana is often way too high a price to pay for this card to be consistently effective. Nonetheless, it's still one of the best removal spells in the game.
6 Swords to Plowshares
Released in Magic's very first set, Swords to Plowshares is another card that can permanently remove any creature from the game for a single mana. While this ability balances itself by causing its target's owner to gain life equal to that creature's power, the finality of the effect and meager cost of the spell greatly outweigh this downside for most decks.
All that being said, Dominaria United's Leyline Binding has proven a more effective removal spell in many decks thanks to its cost being discounted by the types of basic lands you have available. Decks that run Leyline Binding often have access to all five basic land types as early as turn two. Despite this development in the Modern format, Swords is still a great spell for Commander and kitchen table Magic.
5 Enlightened Tutor
Though black is traditionally the color in Magic that has access to many of the most powerful "tutor" spells, Enlightened Tutor is a noteworthy tutor that only costs a single white mana to cast.
While other tutors may have more flexibility, Enlightened Tutor allows its caster to search their library for an artifact or enchantment card, putting it on top of their library. As there are countless incredible artifacts and enchantments within formats such as Commander and Legacy, Enlightened tutor can set up games for success or allow you to adapt to troublesome situations.
4 Angel's Grace
Angel's Grace is the perfect card if you often find yourself thinking "if only I had one more turn to win." An instant with split-second, Angel's Grace cannot be responded to by spells or abilities.
Upon being cast, this spell prevents you from losing the game on that turn, and prevents your life total from being reduced below one. Not only can Angel's Grace be used to protect you for one last turn, but it combos in terrifying fashion with the spell Ad Nauseam.
3 Serra Ascendant
Serra Ascendant is a creature that you may be familiar with thanks to the Commander format. A 1/1 with lifelink for one mana, Serra Ascendant gets +5/+5 and gains flying as long as its controller has over 30 life.
While this threshold is ten life over the starting life total in nearly every format, this is not the case with Commander. As you start with 40 life in Commander, Serra Ascendant is often a mortifying 6/6 with flying for a single mana when cast early into a game of Commander.
2 Esper Sentinel
First printed in Modern Horizons 2, Esper Sentinel quickly made its way into the Modern metagame as a star card in aggressive decks including white. Sentinel demands that opponents remove it lest they allow you to draw a card each time they cast a noncreature spell on curve for the rest of the game.
Even if opponents remove Esper Sentinel, it often results in netting you a card thanks to nearly all removal coming in the form of noncreature spells. It's also worth mentioning that Sentinel's status as both an artifact and a Human allow it to play well alongside other popular deck strategies.
1 Land Tax
Land Tax is by and large one of the strongest white cards to have been printed in Magic's history. At the beginning of your upkeep, as long as another player controls more lands than you, you may search their library for up to three basic lands, putting those cards into your hand.
Land Tax can effectively tutor you three lands every single turn, ensuring you will never miss a land drop while increasing the likelihood that you'll draw into useful non-land cards. And you thought you'd never see the day that you appreciate taxes.