Phyrexia: All Will Be One, like all modern MTG sets, has a lot of removal effects. This list is designed to help you determine which of these removal effects to slot right into your limited deck and which ones to avoid like a
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Phyrexian Plaguelord
{T}, Sacrifice this creature: Target creature gets -4/-4 until end of turn.
Sacrifice a creature: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
.
For the purposes of this list, we are defining a “removal spell” as an instant, sorcery, or enchantment which gets rid of a creature in some way. This can be through dealing damage to it, forcing its controller to sacrifice it, exiling it, permanently tapping it down, or preventing it from attacking and blocking and just outright destroying it.
Removal effects that are on creatures, planeswalkers, and artifacts won’t be counted here, as well as effects that can only remove non-creature permeants. The card
Cankerbloom
Cankerbloom
{1}, Sacrifice this creature: Choose one —
• Destroy target artifact.
• Destroy target enchantment.
• Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
, for example, would be ineligible on both counts. It’s a creature and its removal effect can only destroy non-creatures.
With that said, let’s dive right in…
20. Carnivorous Canopy
Carnivorous Canopy
Carnivorous Canopy
Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or creature with flying. If that permanent's mana value was 3 or less, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
is what’s known as a sideboard card. You have no guarantee going into a game that your opponent will be making use of any powerful artifacts, enchantments, or fliers so it’s best to keep cards like this out of your deck for game one and then bring them in for game two. Swap this card in if you see your opponent playing
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
Flying
If you would proliferate, proliferate twice instead.
{1}{U/P}{U/P}, Remove three counters from among other artifacts, creatures, and planeswalkers you control: Put an indestructible counter on Tekuthal. ({U/P} can be paid with either {U} or 2 life.)
or
Ossification
Ossification
Enchant basic land you control
When this Aura enters, exile target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls until this Aura leaves the battlefield.
. We’ve come a long way since the days of
Wing Snare
Wing Snare
Destroy target creature with flying.
, but this card is still quite conditional.
19. Vraska’s Fall
Vraska’s Fall
Vraska’s Fall
Each opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker of their choice and gets a poison counter.
is a
Diabolic Edict
Diabolic Edict
Target player sacrifices a creature of their choice.
effect and demonstrates all of the faults of this type of card. The fact that your opponent gets to choose which of their creatures to lose to this effect is a major downside. There will certainly be some board states where they only have a single
Phyrexian Obliterator
Phyrexian Obliterator
Trample
Whenever a source deals damage to this creature, that source's controller sacrifices that many permanents of their choice.
in play and in that narrow context this card is amazing. Unfortunately, it’s far more likely that they will have at least a few one drops, tokens, or two drops in play that this card will end up destroying instead. Giving your opponent a poison counter is a nice bit of upside, but three mana for an effect like this puts it behind the curve.
18. Sheoldred’s Edict
Another edict effect, this card even gets bonus points for having “edict” in its name.
Sheoldred’s Edict
Sheoldred’s Edict
Choose one —
• Each opponent sacrifices a nontoken creature of their choice.
• Each opponent sacrifices a creature token of their choice.
• Each opponent sacrifices a planeswalker of their choice.
is certainly a lot better than
Vraska’s Fall
Vraska’s Fall
Each opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker of their choice and gets a poison counter.
but it still isn’t fantastic. This card is one mana cheaper and it allows you to be more specific with what you target. Hitting a Planeswalker with this will feel great, and the fact that this format contains 10 Planeswalkers means you may just have a chance. You can also ensure that your opponent doesn’t just sacrifice a Phyrexian Mite to this, as you can choose to avoid targeting tokens. Overall, a big improvement but there are much better Black removal effects in this format.
17. Charge of the Mites
Even though
Charge of the Mites
Charge of the Mites
Choose one —
• Charge of the Mites deals damage equal to the number of creatures you control to target creature or planeswalker.
• Create two 1/1 colorless Phyrexian Mite artifact creature tokens with toxic 1 and "This token can't block." (Players dealt combat damage by them also get a poison counter.)
is near the bottom of our list it actually isn’t horrible, it’s just a better token spell than it is a removal spell. This card is versatile, offering you a choice of two effects, which are probably each worth two mana, for three mana. Most of the time, you will probably use this card to create the two Mite Tokens. In the event you already have a lot of creatures in play then you can use this card to destroy a creature, or a Planeswalker, controlled by an opponent.
16. Whisper of the Dross
Reducing a creature’s stats by -1/-1 is often a bit more impactful than it sounds, but it still isn’t amazing. There are 138 creatures in Phyrexia: All Will Be One. 24 of those creatures have one toughness and so can just be killed outright by
Whisper of the Dross
Whisper of the Dross
Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
. That’s about 17% of the creatures in the set. This spell can also be used to target stronger creatures during combat and bring them down when they would otherwise survive. Destroying your opponents 3/3 with your own 2/2 for example. The fact that this proliferates is also some nice icing on top.
15. Nahiri’s Sacrifice
Nahiri’s Sacrifice
Nahiri’s Sacrifice
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact or creature with mana value X.
Nahiri's Sacrifice deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures.
is a card for Red/Black Sacrifice decks. This card is a bit peculiar. Sacrifice decks typically want to tribute weak cards like 1/1 tokens or one drops. Nahiri’s Sacrifice doesn’t, and instead rewards you for sacrificing high mana value cards. Tokens have a mana value of zero so sacrificing one to Nahiri’s Sacrifice would do nothing. You could sacrifice a card with a death trigger like
Stinging Hivemaster
Stinging Hivemaster
Toxic 1 (Players dealt combat damage by this creature also get a poison counter.)
When this creature dies, create a 1/1 colorless Phyrexian Mite artifact creature token with toxic 1 and "This token can't block."
but that still doesn’t feel great. The fact that this card lets you split your damage over multiple targets is nice, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that you need to give up a meaningful card of your own in order to do any real damage.
Side note: Isn’t it a bit odd that this card doesn’t let you sacrifice Planeswalkers? This means, there’s no way to actually sacrifice Nahiri to Nahiri’s Sacrifice.
14. Molten Rebuke
Molten Rebuke
Molten Rebuke
Choose one or both —
• Molten Rebuke deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
• Destroy target Equipment.
is an old reliable five mana, five damage Red removal spell with a slight upside. See also
Jaya’s Firenado
Jaya’s Firenado
Jaya's Firenado deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker. Scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
and
Unleash Shell
Unleash Shell
Unleash Shell deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker and 2 damage to that permanent's controller.
for some other recent examples. This card will usually do the job of getting rid of something, but it will take a lot of resources. You also won’t be able to get this card out until the game is well underway. Molten Rebuke does the job, but there are definitely cheaper and more efficient ways of blasting stuff.
13. Vanish Into Eternity
Speaking of cards that get the job done but cost too much, let’s talk about
Vanish Into Eternity
Vanish Into Eternity
This spell costs {3} more to cast if it targets a creature.
Exile target nonland permanent.
. For three mana this card exiles any non-land, non-creature card, or for six mana it exiles anything that’s not a land. Exiling something is much better than just destroying it. You can hit indestructible targets, like cards from the Dominus cycle, and they can’t be reanimated. Nevertheless, this card makes you pay a steep price for the power it provides. Don’t be afraid to use this on an artifact or enchantment if you need to. Unfortunately, because of the way this card is worded, hitting an artifact creature costs six mana and not three.
12. Ruthless Predation
We’ve already discussed Ruthless Predation in our list of the best Green commons. Like many Green removal spells, this card relies on you having a creature of your own in play. The buff it provides is more useful than it seems and can help you turn the table on something you otherwise wouldn’t be able to beat. A 2/2 can safely take down a 3/3 with this effect. As Green removal effects go, Ruthless Predation is pretty good.
11. Infectious Bite
Infectious Bite is an even better Green removal option. First of all the damage it deals is one-sided. Your opponent’s creature won’t be hitting yours back. This makes it great when used on 3/1 creatures like Branchblight Stalker. This, combined with Infectious Bite being instant speed and producing a poison counter, add up to make it a better option than Ruthless Predation, even without providing the +1/+2 buff. The downside of these cards is that they require you to have a, reasonably strong, creature of your own in play. This is drawback keeps them from climbing higher on this list.
10. Mesmerizing Dose
Mesmerizing Dose
Mesmerizing Dose
Enchant creature
When this Aura enters, tap enchanted creature, then proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
taps a creature down permanently and lets you proliferate. It’s the only Blue card on this list since we’re not counting bounce effects or counterspells as removal. If you’re in Blue in this set, you definitely need to draft a few copies of Mesmerizing Dose to deal with your opponent’s threats.
9. Volt Charge
Three damage for three mana isn’t an amazing rate, but
Volt Charge
Volt Charge
Volt Charge deals 3 damage to any target. Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
makes up for that by letting you proliferate. Give your own cards more oil counters whilst potentially further poisoning your opponent. This card is pretty great.
8. Annihilating Glare
Nahiri’s Sacrifice
Nahiri’s Sacrifice
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact or creature with mana value X.
Nahiri's Sacrifice deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures.
take some notes, Annihilating Glare is a much better sacrifice effect. You almost never want to cast this card for five mana, instead, just get rid of a 1/1 Mite or Goblin token to bring down one of your opponent’s threats for only a single Black mana. No Red/Black sacrifice deck is complete without an effect like Annihilating Glare.
7. Planar Disruption
Planar Disruption
Planar Disruption
Enchant artifact, creature, or planeswalker
Enchanted permanent can't attack or block, and its activated abilities can't be activated.
is a two-mana enchantment that effectively locks a problematic creature, artifact, or planeswalker out of the game. This card isn’t perfect, the card this seals away can be freed via enchantment destruction effects and a few other means. Nevertheless, for only two mana, Planar Disruption lives up to its name and throws a major wrench into your opponent’s plans.
6. Black Sun’s Twilight
Black Sun’s Twilight is a hard card to rank. It definitely belongs near the top of the list, but choosing just where to put it is tricky. Playing this card in the late game is absolutely game-changing. If you can sink at least six mana into Black Sun’s Twilight then destroying your opponent’s best threat, and reviving something powerful of your own, will swing things significantly in your favor. Playing it earlier on is also good, just not amazingly efficient. The card is effectively just a Death Wind until you cross that six-mana threshold. Paying one more mana than a creature’s toughness to get rid of it isn’t a great rate, but paying six mana to destroy a 5/5 and bring back a threat of your own is so fantastic that it more than balances things out.
5. Hexgold Slash
On the topic of efficiency,
Hexgold Slash
Hexgold Slash
Hexgold Slash deals 2 damage to target creature. If that creature has toxic, Hexgold Slash deals 4 damage to that creature instead.
can be absolutely remarkable when played in the right context. Paying one mana to destroy your opponent’s Tyrranax Attrocity is an absolute bargain. Even just paying one mana to destroy a 2/2 is a great deal.
Shock
Shock
Shock deals 2 damage to any target.
effects are very good in Limited and even though
Hexgold Slash
Hexgold Slash
Hexgold Slash deals 2 damage to target creature. If that creature has toxic, Hexgold Slash deals 4 damage to that creature instead.
can’t damage your opponent directly, it’s still a great weapon against poison and non-poison decks alike.
4. Anoint with Affliction
The highest-rated common card on this list.
Anoint with Affliction
Anoint with Affliction
Exile target creature if it has mana value 3 or less.
Corrupted — Exile that creature instead if its controller has three or more poison counters.
is a powerful exile effect that gets even better if you’re playing a poison deck. Exiling a three-mana value or lower creature for only two mana is a fine effect as it is. Having the additional upside of being able to exile anything if your opponent has three or more poison counters makes this card even better. Black has a huge number of poison counter generating cards, so it’s easy to get Anoint with Affliction primed and ready.
3. Ossification
Ossification
Ossification
Enchant basic land you control
When this Aura enters, exile target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls until this Aura leaves the battlefield.
is a strange little spell, but a very powerful one. You need to enchant a land you control with it, and then you get to exile a creature or planeswalker an opponent controls. The whole enchanting a land thing happens due to flavor rather than gameplay.
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Vigilance
If a permanent entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.
Permanents entering don't cause abilities of permanents your opponents control to trigger.
is building a giant throne out of her petrified subjects. Ossification represents petrifying someone, and the land it enchants represents the throne. Confusing flavor aside, a two-mana exile effect is always worth it.
2. Rebel Salvo
This card is so efficient, it’s honestly a mystery whether they put Affinity for Equipment on it by mistake. For three mana, Rebel Salvo deals five damage to target creature or planeswalker. The target also loses indestructible meaning this provides an answer if your opponent has a Dominus out. If you’re playing a “For Mirrodin!” equipment deck you can lower this card’s cost to only a single point of mana, but you absolutely don’t need to.
1. Drown in Ichor
Drown in Ichor, like Rebel Salvo is unbelievably efficient for its cost. Giving a creature -4/-4 for two mana is great. Proliferating on top of that is absurdly strong. This card is really pushed and is almost always worth taking as your pack one, pick one in a draft unless you get an insanely strong rare.
Conclusion
There we have it, all of the removal spells of Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Just remember that removal spells are a key part of gameplay in Limited. Even the lower-ranking cards on this list are usually worth including in your decks. Whether you end up getting destroying your opponent’s creatures with an Annihilating Glare or blasting them with a Rebel Salvo you’ve got to get rid of them somehow.
Read more: Best Commons of Each Color In Phyrexia: All Will Be One