Throughout Magic’s history, Auras have always had a bit of a rocky reputation due to their high potential for two-for-one blowouts. That said, the card type still has plenty to offer, from incredibly efficient ramp to widely applicable combo pieces. The following are our picks for the best MTG Auras from across the game’s 33-year history.
7 | Freed From The Real
First printed in the original Kamigawa block, Freed from the Real is one of the most well-known blue combo enablers in Commander. Letting any creature untap for a single blue mana is incredibly abusable, easily making infinite mana with cards like Bloom Tender. It also pairs wonderfully with Commanders like Kilo, Apogee Mind, for everything from infinite Proliferate to infinite turns.
Factor in some solid utility as a removal spell for pesky blockers, and it’s not surprising that Freed from the Real sees a ton of Commander play. In fact, according to EDHREC data, over 99,100 decks run the card. These range from terrifying infinite combo engines like Zaxara, the Exemplary, to decks that use the card for value like Marina Vendrell.
Outside of Commander, Freed from the Real is also a key part of the Walls Combo deck in Pauper. With Axebane Guardian and one other Defender, Freed from the Real can make infinite mana, which can then be sunk into an outlet like Valakut Invoker for an instant win. While it’s not quite one of the best decks in Pauper, this is still a solid home for this powerhouse Aura.
6 | Curiosity
Ever since this iconic Aura’s debut in 1998, effects that let you draw when your creatures deal damage have been called ‘Curiosity’ effects in its honor. The original is still the best, however, standing tall above many of its peers since it draws whenever your creature deals damage, not just combat damage.
This turns some Commanders, like Vivi Ornitier and Y’shtola, Night’s Blessed, into monstrous engines of card advantage. In fact, this interaction is the basis of the ‘Curiosity Storm’ archetype, where players rush to attach Curiosity to such a creature, then ride the sheer card advantage to victory. Such strategies are feared from bracket three all the way up to cEDH, which helps to explain the card’s massive 223,000 deck play rate.
In addition to these pseudo-combo lines, Curiosity enables some true combos as well with Commanders like Niv-Mizzet, Parun. Bring these two together, and you can draw your deck on the spot, winning through ping damage or Thassa’s Oracle. With a ton of redundancy in the 99, across cards like Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Magmakin Artillerist, Curiosity is a one-mana game-ender far more often than you’d expect.
5 | Rancor
Rancor has long been the exception that proves the rule for Auras, since its unique ability counters the card type’s innate weakness. By bouncing back to your hand when its host creature dies, Rancor dodges most two-for-ones, letting you keep your board buffed up. This makes it great for Voltron decks like Uril, the Miststalker, as well as Enchantress brews like Sythis, Harvest’s Hand.
While it’s great as a fair card, Rancor is also notable for the diverse suite of infinite combos it enables. With Phyrexian Altar and a token maker like Chishiro, the Shattered Blade, for example, you can easily net infinite Storm count and death triggers. Switch Chishiro out for One With the Kami, and you can build up an infinite token board as well.
On top of this considerable Commander fame, Rancor is also a serious player in constructed Magic. Pauper players in particular love the card, running it regularly in decks like Selesnya Bogles and Infect. It plays similarly in Premodern, where it helps decks like Zoo and Selesnya Madness push through for quick wins. A classic in every sense of the word, Rancor is undoubtedly one of the best Auras in MTG.
4 | All That Glitters
While it initially seems similar to past bangers like Ancestral Mask, All That Glitters is on another level thanks to that artifact clause. Artifacts are incredibly prevalent in modern Magic, with the rise of tokens like Food and Treasure especially, so it’s trivial for this card to provide a huge buff for two mana.
All That Glitters did its best work in Pauper, after Commander Masters downshifted it into the format in 2023. It quickly became a staple card in Affinity, ending up on Wizards’ radar by December of that year. From here, the card got out of hand, cropping up in other decks like Boros Synthesizer, and effectively warping the entire format. As a result, it was banned in Pauper in May 2024.
While this ban effectively removed All That Glitters from constructed Magic, it still sees a ton of play in Commander. By the current count, over 208,000 decks run the card, mainly Voltron decks like Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice and Enchantress lists like Eriette of the Charmed Apple. Thanks to this huge popularity, the card’s dubious legacy lives on to this day.
3 | Sheltered By Ghosts
It’s rare for an Aura to become a genuine multi-format staple in Magic, but Sheltered by Ghosts has done so and then some. Not only is this one of the most efficient Banishing Light-style removal Auras we’ve ever seen, but it also comes bundled with a phenomenal offensive boost and protection to boot.
Sheltered by Ghosts shines brightest in Standard, where it’s a staple part of Selesnya Landfall and Gearhulk decks in the format. It also has significant sidelines in older formats, however, showing up in Pioneer Orzhov Greasefang and Legacy Mono-White Initiative alike. The latter is particularly impressive, given how few cards, never mind Auras, make it in such a competitive environment.
While it’s definitely more constructed-coded, Sheltered by Ghosts is no slouch in Commander, either. Having access to removal on an Aura is fantastic for decks like Zur the Enchanter, and the Lifelink pushes the likes of Ragost, Deft Gastronaut to new heights. Appearing in over 117,000 Commander decks, it’s a potent player in the format, and a certified multi-format banger.
2 | Animate Dead
While much of 1993’s Alpha is a relic of its time, Wizards absolutely nailed reanimation on the first go with Animate Dead. To this day, this remains one of the best, most efficient cards in its category, arguably the best depending on your thoughts on Reanimate.
Animate Dead remains a major player in Legacy Reanimator decks to this day, serving as a key card for pulling Atraxa, Grand Unifier out of the graveyard stupidly early. It also shows up in a lot of Full English Breakfast lists in Premodern, letting you bring back key creatures or sort your graveyard for Volrath’s Shapeshifter shenanigans.
Another well-known facet of Animate Dead is its infinite combo potential, most notably its wacky line with Worldgorger Dragon. While this strategy was legitimately powerful in Legacy back in the day, it’s more of a rogue deck nowadays. The combo lives on in Commander, however, where it and cards like Leonin Relic-Warder enable surprise table kills out of nowhere.
Combos aside, Animate Dead is a major player in Commander in general, appearing in an impressive 436,000 decks. From Reanimator lists like Muldrotha, the Gravetide, to value decks like Kefka, Court Mage, there are few black decks that can’t find a home for this classic.
1 | Wild Growth And Utopia Sprawl
By bucking the typical trend and enchanting lands rather than creatures, Wild Growth and Utopia Sprawl are two of the best Auras in MTG. These are essentially mana dorks, but more resilient since they’re enchantments. You can also stick them on untapped lands to get the extra mana right away, making them Hasty mana dorks to boot.
As you’d expect, ramp pieces this good have found themselves a wide range of homes in constructed Magic. Both cards are, incredibly enough, Pauper-legal, and see a ton of play in Gruul Ramp and Ponza lists in that format. We also see a ton of Wild Growth in Premodern Enchantress decks, and Utopia Sprawl in Modern Eldrazi Ramp, so this duo certainly gets around.
Over in Commander, both of these cards are green super-staples, with Wild Growth appearing in 444,000 decks and Utopia Sprawl in 322,000 decks. There are few optimized decks that don’t run one or both of these Auras, with everything up to cEDH decks like Etali, Primal Conqueror slotting them in. As if that wasn’t enough, they even enable some infinite combos with untappers like Argothian Elder.
As long as green is a color in Magic, ramp will be a part of things, and as long as that’s true, Wild Growth and Utopia Sprawl will be some of the best options available. That these humble commons can surpass heavy hitters like Birds of Paradise in some respects more than earns them the joint title of the best Auras in all of MTG.
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