The 32 Best Pump Spells in Magic Ranked

Last updated on May 19, 2026

Collision // Colossus | Illustration by Jason Rainville

Welcome, planeswalkers, to another installment of “Better Built Decks”. No, this isn’t a home improvement show, but I’ve got tricks on how to prosper with pump effects to pummel your opponent.

Pump spells are one of the most common kinds of card design, and they’re a key element of creature decks in Constructed and Limited. Token decks love mass pumps and the ultra competive decks want low-cost instants and soceries. This list is for all those in between.

Players who master the stack plus the timing and technique of using pump spells have huge advantages over their opponents.

I could write for weeks if I were to cover every pump spell in the game. Heck, Wizards might release a new set by the time such a list were published. You’d be reading it for days. So I'm only going to focus on the absolutely best of the best.

Ready? Let's get into it!

What Are Pump Spells in MTG?

Invigorate | Illustration by Mark Zug

A “pump” is a slang term for modifying a creature's power and/or toughness through spells or abilities. There are pump spells in every color, and each color has its own flavor for these effects. Green makes huge creatures, blue is defensive or evasive, white gives creatures counters, and black and red focus on power first.

That makes for lots of variety, though I've narrowed the list down quite a bit.

Honorable Mentions

Firebreathing might be the most evergreen pump ability in Magic and is associated with dragons or shades. Then there are other cards with manaless pumps such as Psychic Frog which are not to be underestimated.

Mercenary tokens are pumpers by profession. They count as outlaws, and they also can pump your creatures by tapping.

#32. Aerial Formation

A spell that pumps a creature +1/+1 and gives flying for one mana is worth consideration for attacking blue decks. Aerial Formation also gives you the option of pumping more than one creature for 3 mana per extra target.

#31. Become Immense

Delve is an unbelievably good keyword that should be used whenever possible. Become Immense can be a +6/+6 instant pump for 1 mana if you have five cards in your graveyard. That’s insane value!

This fits perfectly in decks that ramp small creatures, mill cards, or cast cheap spells often.

#30. Distortion Strike

Rebound comes back an additional time to add tremendous value. Distortion Strike can make a deadly threat unblockable for two turns!

Sorcery speed isn’t ideal, but this is an awesome 1-mana pump spell for blue decks.

#29. Mizzium Skin

Blue spells are often very good at protecting some of your big investments. Mizzium Skin allows you to pump a creature's toughness by 1 and give it hexproof for 1 mana.

The value of this card is the overload cost of only . It's a playable pump spell for many blue decks in Pioneer, Pauper, and Eternal formats.

#28. Seeds of Strength

Sometimes you just need a simple pump for several creatures to change the advantage or pull out a win. Seeds of Strength can distribute +1/+1 to one, two, or three different creatures, or you may choose the same creature as a target multiple times.

#27. Enduring Courage

Enduring Courage is a neat pump out of Duskmourn: House of Horror in that it only works the turn your creature enters. Boy does it work though: Every creature you put down gets haste, and the built-in resilience to removal works beautifully.

#26. Killian’s Confidence

Killian's Confidence offers a measly buff that gets much better in a deck built around gaming pump spells by copying them or rewarding you for casting them with repartee or magecraft triggers. Since it consistently recurs itself, it provides ample triggers for cards that care about casting it.

#25. Garruk, Unleashed

Playing a planeswalker for 3 or 4 mana is often overpowered. You can start to counter aggressive decks before they get too deadly or ramp up your own advantages.

Garruk, Unleashed’s +1 loyalty ability gives a creature +3/+3 and trample, which forces your opponent to start using unwanted blockers or removal spells early. This is a great planeswalker for the green aggressive creature decks.

#24. Invigorate

Green often gives the biggest pumps.

Invigorate is a great instant-speed pump spell that gives +4/+4. The value of this is the fact that you can cast it for free by granting an opponent some life, which is potent enough that the card is banned in Pauper.

#23. Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Elspeth, Knight-Errant is a great planeswalker that can increase your board presence or pump creatures when you need to. Its +1 loyalty ability to give a creature +3/+3 and flying is an amazing way to swing with your valuable creatures.

#22. Lunar Frenzy

Here’s an X-spell that could help you out. Lunar Frenzy pumps a creature’s power and gives them the deadly keyword combination of trample and first strike, which usually makes combat work in your favor.

#21. Fists of Flame

Maybe I’ve been burned by too many instants that grant trample, but the floor on Fists of Flame is decent, and if you’re playing wheel effects, or have an infinite draw combo, this is a win condition.

#20. Oracle’s Restoration

A 1-mana cantrip doesn’t need to do much to be strong. Oracle's Restoration wants some sort of synergy, whether that’s something that cares about lifegain or a way to copy it, but the floor of a card that cycles is so solid you can run it pretty much anywhere.

#19. Fires of Yavimaya

Fires of Yavimaya is a fantastic accelerator for your creatures. It gives them all haste, and you can sacrifice it when you need the pump the most. I don’t have a lot of complaints about this card except that there's no surprise factor.

#18. Pollen-Shield Hare

Getting a great big attack in while you maintain a wide board is what Pollen-Shield Hare does best. This hare is so aggressively costed you’re bound to have mana for another trick or creature. It's right at home with Selesnya cards that go tall and wide at the same time.

#17. Tainted Strike

Infect is a nasty way to take down your opponent or their creatures. Tainted Strike is a sneaky way to turn a smaller creature into a problem for your overly confident opponent. Doling out poison counters is also a sneaky way to snag a win.

#16. Hatred

As Emperor Palpatine once said: “Let the Hatred flow through you.” He was of course talking about this black pump spell, which eliminates a player if they don't block and have a lower life total than you. It can still wipe out an opponent in multiplayer, but it's best suited to one-on-one Magic.

#15. Practiced Offense

I really hope not to play against whatever team is represented on Practiced Offense, because they're putting on a killer performance. Literally. Tossing around two +1/+1 counters on all your creatures while also dishing out some combination of lifelink and double strike to one or more creatures is gnarly, and you can split it up into two instances of the effect as well. This is as much a game ender in Constructed or Commander as it was in Secrets of Strixhaven Limited.

#14. Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice

Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice can pump your creatures, and also mentor them! Don’t we all need a good mentor?

Aurelia pumps one of your creatures and gives them a keyword depending on the creature’s color. This is a great addition to many Boros () decks.

#13. Karai’s Technique

Karai's Technique has great modes, especially since you can choose both. Kill a creature and buffing one all but guarantees a decent attack. If you can sneak it into play, it offers a serious blowout as you remove one blocker and pump another creature into a destructive threat.

#12. Overprotect

Overprotect takes what we love about pump spells and combines it with cheap protection spells. It covers a lot of ground for a simple card.

#11. Colossification

The epitome of go big or go home, Colossification continues the meme of using oversized cats to depict massive pump effects, as seen on Enlarge. This one is mostly a one-shot meme, but if it does stick for a turn you've effectively created The Abyss out of one of your creatures, and blocking might not even stop it.

#10. Rhino’s Rampage

Rhino's Rampage slacks on the buff, but it’s an impressive removal spell with two-for-one potential at just 1 mana. Green Commander players rarely worry about having the biggest threat, so you can easily turn this into a Shatter + Doom Blade that leaves your opponent weeping.

#9. Collision // Colossus

I always like versatility and options when evaluating cards. Collision // Colossus is a great dual card to take your Gruul deck to another level. You have the great option of removing a big flying threat like Murktide Regent or a big pump spell. It's literally Colossal Might with a separate option attached to it.

#8. Tyvar's Stand

Tyvar's Stand is a flexible spell as a combination of cards we’ve seen before, and can quickly save your tail or win you the game. A good question for deck building is: Would rather have this or Heroic Intervention?

#7. Tifa’s Limit Break

Tifa's Limit Break screams Commander: It costs lots of mana and becomes quite flashy once you double or triple a creatures’ power. That works particularly well with Voltron decks because doubling a commander’s power can take out a player, especially with double strike.

#6. Angelfire Ignition

Angelfire Ignition is a great pump spell that gives a creature tons of keywords, and it has flashback for another play. This card can be a lifesaver with lifelink or a deadly swing with trample.

You need to be careful about removal spells interrupting your fun, but at least you have two chances to play this. It’s legal in almost every format, so let sparks fly!

#5. Primal Might

Primal Might is an absolute staple in mono-green decks. It was a menace in its Standard.

This gives you the ability to pump your creature by X and remove an opponent's creature. Primal Might is a perfect card if you play aggressive and can at least splash green.

#4. Wild Ride + Reckless Charge

Wild Ride sees play in aggressive decks interested in sending a massive threat like Eddymurk Crab or Tolarian Terror flying at their opponents with haste.

It mimics Reckless Charge as a card all-in aggro decks will play just to push a ton of damage, even if it means card disadvantage.

#3. Monstrous Rage

So effective it was banned in Standard, Monstrous Rage just offers so much output for 1 mana. It seems comparable to other pumps like Titan's Strength, perhaps even worse than Infuriate, but trample from the role token is immense, and +1/+1 of the stats stick around, making a threat that just crushed combat even more of a monster to deal with the following turn.

#2. Embercleave

Do you believe in the ‘cleave? Enter the combat phase and put yourself in the declare blockers step: Did you look at the attacking 4/4 and think 9 was a safe life total?

Throne of Eldraine brought us this legendary weapon, one that made its presence known throughout its entire tenure in Standard. Embercleave often ends up costing 2-3 mana, much like an Uncaged Fury or Temur Battle Rage, which are also a couple of my favorite game-winning plays.

#1. Blazing Shoal

You know a card is good when it’s banned in a format. Blazing Shoal is a fantastic red pump spell that can be free and powerful.

You can exile a big red cards from your hand (Progenitus, for example) and this could easily be the lethal damage you need at instant speed. It’s banned in Modern, and has only been reprinted on The List.

Best Pump Spell Payoffs

Some number of creatures just want to be targeted with pump spells, whether that's Ashroot Animist so it can transfer that pump to other creatures when it attacks, or The Howling Abomination, which deals massive damage when targeted.

It’s not only powerful creatures that should be targeted, but also creatures that can become powerful. Good examples are prowess creatures like Elsha of the Infinite, Monastery Mentor, and Veyran, Voice of Duality.

Beyond prowess there are a number of other abilities that pump your creature and align well with pump spells. Valiant looks for the first pump each turn and Heartfire Hero is super effective in this regard. Heroic is worth a permanent Giant Growth on Centaur Battlemaster, and the exalted Rafiq of the Many is a magnet for pumps. Repartee on cards like Lecturing Scornmage reward you for interacting, which you can do with targeted pump spells.

All these pump spells go nowhere without mana to cast them. Cards with firebending like Firebending Student make mana when they attack to cast your spells, and you can use Electro, Assaulting Battery and Storm-Kiln Artist to get a little mana back.

It also doesn’t hurt to target creatures that have some protection from removal. Some cards can be pumped with relatively safety, like Hazoret the Fervent, Seasoned Hallowblade and Slippery Bogle.

Bring a secondary punch after playing your pump spells with cards like Fiery Inscription, Archmage of Runes, and the legendary Zada, Hedron Grinder.

Why not create some more board presence when you play a pump spell? Create some creatures from your pump spells with cards like Kykar, Wind's Fury, Informed Inkwright, and Sedgemoor Witch.

Wrap Up

Tyvar's Stand | Illustrated by Kieran Yanner

So, are you pumped for pump spells? You may be wondering, “what about this colorless instant?” I didn’t want to bore you all with “All 1,000 Pump Spells in MTG” (editor’s note: Thank you), so we trimmed the list down to just the most important.

Did I miss any pump effects? Which do you use to beef up your creatures? Feel free to leave a comment below or over on the Draftsim Twitter. Check out our newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

Get out there and build those new, interesting, and dominating decks!