One of the most iconic groups of enchantments ever printed was the original collection of Leylines. Printed back in Guildpact, these sweet cards each provide potent effects while having a major trick up their sleeves. If you’re fortunate enough to start with them in your opening hand, you can put them onto the battlefield for free at the start of the game!
Since Guildpact, a handful of other Leylines have been introduced to the world of MTG. Most recently, more Leylines appeared in Duskmourn: House of Horror. While some of the Leylines are rather mediocre, others can completely take over the game without you needing to invest any mana into them.
Today, we’ve set out to rank the strongest of these Leylines. There are plenty that see play in a variety of formats, but we believe these ones pack the biggest punch. Here are the top five best Leylines in MTG.
5 | Leyline of Sanctity
- Mana Value: 2WW
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: M11, Modern Masters 2015, Core Set 2020, Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales, Mystery Booster 2
- Card Text: If Leyline of Sanctity is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. You have hexproof.(You can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.)
Kicking things off, we have Leyline of Sanctity. Leyline of Sanctity is an interesting card that has shown up in a variety of strategies over the years, especially in Modern. Most notably, Leyline of Sanctity is often utilized by combo decks to prevent discard spells such as Thoughtseize from disrupting their primary gameplan. These strategies can range from Goblin Charbelcher archetypes to basic Bogles decks. Back when Bogles was a premium choice in Modern, Leyline of Sanctity was a solid tool to help beat Liliana of the Veil.
Overall Leyline of Sanctity is a pretty narrow card. Sure, it can dunk on decks like Modern burn if that’s a concern, but there are usually better tools to fight the matchup. However, some fast combo decks that rely on a few key pieces still make use of Leyline of Sanctity today. As such, we felt it deserved a spot on the list, albeit down at number five.
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4 | Leyline of the Void
- Mana Value: 2BB
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Guildpact, M11, Core Set 2020, Time Spiral Remastered, Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales, Mystery Booster 2, Duskmourn
- Card Text: If Leyline of the Void is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. If a card would be put into an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.
Coming in at number four, we have Leyline of the Void. Leyline of the Void was reprinted in Duskmourn after initially showing up in Guildpact years ago. This card is still an elite sideboard option, especially in all-powerful formats like Legacy.
In Legacy, it can be incredibly important to have graveyard hate as early as possible. After all, Reanimator decks can bring back a huge haymaker as early as turn one. Leyline of the Void is one of the strongest pieces of graveyard hate for two reasons. First, even if you’re on the draw, you can put it into play from your hand and beat nut draws from Reanimator or Dredge. Second, you can sneak it under discard spells or Force of Will with no problem.
This incredible enchantment does see some play in Pioneer and Modern as well, depending on the metagame. The only reason we don’t have Leyline of the Void higher on this list is because it’s merely a sideboard card for specific matchups. The three remaining cards on the list are main-deck cards that are easily abusable when built around.
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3 | Leyline of Resonance
- Mana Value: 2RR
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Duskmourn
- Card Text: If Leyline of Resonance is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single creature you control, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
At number three, we have Leyline of Resonance. Leyline of Resonance certainly fits the “abusable” description, as it can lead to absurdly fast kills. The card is seeing consistent Standard and Pioneer play already and is one of the stronger cards in Duskmourn altogether.
The goal is to pair Leyline with cheap pump spells and creatures like Cacophony Scamp or Clever Lumimancer that threaten to kill the opponent in short order. The fast starts that Leyline creates have already sparked conversations about bans.
Frankly, Leyline of Resonance and the next Leyline on the list seem very close, and we wouldn’t fault anyone for thinking this one should be higher.
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2 | Leyline of Abundance
- Mana Value: 2GG
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Core Set 2020, Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales
- Card Text: If Leyline of Abundance is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. Whenever you tap a creature for mana, add an additional G. 6GG: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
The reason we gave Leyline of Abundance the edge is because this card did actually result in a ban in Pioneer. Leyline of Abundance is a messed-up card. In green Devotion shells, not only does it provide free Devotion for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, but it also makes all of your mana dorks tap for extra mana. This card led to crazy starts in Pioneer and earned the banhammer rather quickly.
That being said, Leyline of Abundance doesn’t really make a splash anywhere else besides occasionally Commander. So, despite wreaking havoc in Pioneer for some time, we gave the edge to a different Leyline to earn the top spot in our rankings.
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1 | Leyline of the Guildpact
- Mana Value: G/W, G/U, B/G, R/G
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Murders at Karlov Manor
- Card Text: If Leyline of the Guildpact is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. Each nonland permanent you control is all colors. Lands you control are every basic land type in addition to their other types.
That card is, unsurprisingly, Leyline of the Guildpact. Leyline of the Guildpact is a strange variant due to its bizarre mana cost. However, once in play, it can have a massive effect on the game. First of all, it’s a staple in Pioneer green Devotion decks just for its ability to help Nykthos generate four extra green mana on the spot for each Leyline in play.
Beyond that, it’s also a nice inclusion in Modern Domain decks. Because it gives all your lands every basic land types, Leyline enables you to cast Leyline Binding on turn one or Scion of Draco on turn two. You don’t have to worry about Fetching specific Triomes and Shocklands as long as you have access to Leyline of the Guildpact. Above all, Scion acts as a monster with Hexproof, Lifelink, and more because Leyline makes Scion all colors.
Thanks to the card’s multi-format presence, we felt Leyline of the Guildpact earned the final spot on the list. As such, Leyline of the Guildpact is crowned the MTG best Leyline.
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