Over Magic: The Gathering’s long history of competitive events, one thing has always been constant — removal spells. When creatures are the main route to victory, there has to be a way to stop them. As deckbuilding has been optimized over the years and threats got cheaper and more aggressive, the answers to these creatures have to be reliable and efficient. The cream of the crop are often one-mana, leaving players more mana to do other things in a turn than kill a creature and pass.
While some of the best removal spells have been in the game since Day 1 with the release of Alpha, others have joined the ranks throughout the years, with some coming within the past five years. We’ve got to see cards release into Standard then matriculate through older formats, eventually becoming staples in Legacy and even Vintage. As more and more sets are released, new cards oust prior staples — some of which you can see in the honorable mentions.
So, when you absolutely, positively got to kill every last creature on the battlefield, accept no substitutes. Here are the best removal spells in competitive MTG history.
Honorable Mentions
They all can’t be No. 1 or just cast one for that matter — something all of the Top 5 share, even if it requires some extra requirements. While Path to Exile does cost a single mana, this former Modern staple has been replaced as the game saw the FIRE era of Magic design along with the printings of three Modern Horizons sets. Giving an opponent an extra land is too steep a cost when you have the other options made available in the past handful of years.
Abrupt Decay is in the same boat. Not being weak to counter magic is nice, but two is twice as much as one, and the restriction of mana value three or less makes it a liability to delve creatures and typically anything that gets reanimated. Much like the flavor text of the original printing, there are no lifetime guarantees in MTG.
5. Leyline Binding
Don’t be fooled by the mana cost in the top right of this card, nobody is paying full retail for Leyline Binding. In fact, most decks that play it can cast it for one or two mana thanks to the Triomes printed in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and the Everywhere token from Overlord of the Hauntwoods. In addition to it having flash and being an enchantment for deckbuilding synergies in decks like Enigmatic Incarnation, Leyline Binding is the only spell on the list that can answer more than just creatures. While Leyline Binding is the newest card on the list, it has made waves from Standard to Legacy by paying off Up the Beanstalk or being a clean answer for any nonland permanent.
4. Dismember
Another spell that looks like it costs more than one is Dismember — the most reliable removal spell for decks not playing black, red, or white. While black decks can avoid paying life to play it, Dismember has shined in decks like Infect, Tron, and Shops by providing an efficient removal spell for disruptive cheap creatures. As one of the more balanced cards from New Phyrexia that showcases Phyrexian mana, this Cube all-star has the answer for the question, “Which member?” Dismember!
3. Lighting Bolt
Somehow the only red spell on the list, Lightning Bolt will go down in history alongside Black Lotus as one of the most iconic cards in Magic history. Printed in Alpha, Lighting Bolt has been a fixture of every format from Standard to Vintage. It’s part of the enduring phrase “Bolt the Bird” and for a long time was the answer for small creatures. It also happens to be the only card on the list with an alternate mode of sometimes winning the game by being able to be pointed at opponents to burn them out, turning it into a modal spell that can avoid being blanked even against control decks. Aggressive decks can use it to clear the way for attackers, trigger prowess, or fuel cards with spectacle. Control decks can clear creatures and planeswalkers thanks to its oracle text being shifted to “Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.”
2. Fatal Push
The new king of removal in Modern took its crown quickly following the release of Aether Revolt. Players found that Fatal Push answered nearly every relevant threat in the format while pairing better with Thoughtseize, something that also is readily apparent in Pioneer. Though Pioneer doesn’t offer fetch lands to give it reliable revolt, there are plenty of ways for it to hit above its weight class in the smaller format. Fatal Push can take down giant creatures like Tarmogoyf and Death’s Shadow effortlessly, where Lightning Bolt falls short and Path to Exile would accelerate the opponent. The card was the cheap removal spell of choice in Standard and has only gotten better in eternal formats as more efficient threats have been printed in recent years.
1. Swords to Plowshares
And No. 1 with a bullet, or a sword rather, is the most effective removal spell the game has ever seen. Swords to Plowshares, or STP, is as old as the game of Magic itself and does what it does best. It takes down almost any creature for one mana without a cost restriction or hoop to jump through. Simply give your opponent some life and exile their creature, solving recursive threats with ease and even offering players backdoor way to gain life in a pinch by targeting their own creature. Control decks have never seen a more powerful removal spell as the life gain it gives to an opposing player won’t matter when their resources are exhausted and control player is choosing how to end the game. No matter how big or problematic a creature might be, just send them to the farm for one white mana. Swords to Plowshares is so strong it can only be played in Legacy and Vintage — something only this card can boast about from this list.
What do you think about the list? What would you swap or what cards would you add. Let us know on social media!
