All 9 Escalate Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 29, 2025

Collective Effort | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

With more than 300 Magic: The Gathering mechanics, it can be challenging to keep track of them all, so you'd be forgiven if a mechanic like escalate slipped past your radar.

These modal spells have a lot of potential homes, so lets lay out exactly how this mechanic works and where these spells fit in.

Things could escalate quickly from here, best get to it!

What Are Escalate Cards in Magic?

Borrowed Malevolence | Illustration by Volkan Baga

Escalate cards are a collection of instant and sorcery spells that allow you to add on extra modes by paying an additional cost multiple times. The mechanic debuted in Eldritch Moon in July 2016, and has only appeared since on one card from Modern Horizons 3.

You can cast an escalate spell with as many modes as you'd like, but you must pay the additional escalate cost for each mode beyond the first one you select. This escalate cost could involve paying additional mana, discarding a card, or tapping down a creature. There are either two or three modes on each escalate card to choose from.

It's essentially the same mechanic as entwine, the only difference being that escalate lets you pick individual modes, whereas entwine is all-or-nothing (see Kaya's Guile as an example of an entwine spell with more than two modes).

Escalate spells are often inefficient or having weaker individual effects, but modal spells give you different types of interaction in a single deck slot, so there's some versatility there. Generally speaking, your deck should be able to make good use out of all of the modes on an escalate spell before you consider adding it to your deck.

#9. Borrowed Hostility

Borrowed Hostility has the highest escalate cost of them all, which makes it the least effective of the bunch. There are plenty of ways in red to pump your creature or grant it first strike without having to pay 3 mana for one of those additional modes. Brute Force pumps your creature by +3/+3 for only 1 mana while Ancestors' Aid provides a creature pump and first strike while also creating a Treasure token. Sure Strike is a card we've seen time and time again and that's both effects for half the cost.

The upside here is that each mode on Borrowed Hostility can target a different creature, so there's some mid-combat blowout potential, but it's hard to set that up for a full 4 mana.

#8. Borrowed Malevolence

Borrowed Malevolence can boost one of your creature’s stats while reducing the stats on an opponent’s creature. While this 1-drop spell can get you out of a pinch in some scenarios, it has the same issue as Borrowed Hostility, in that it's just a more expensive version of other cards we get for less mana. Subtle Strike and Skulduggery are generally better and cheaper, though Borrowed Malevolence has the upside of being a first-turn kill spell against a 1-toughness creature without needing another target in play. Take that Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer!

#7. Borrowed Grace

This whole “borrowed” common cycle is just overshadowed by better cards, even with their modality in consideration. Borrowed Grace essentially allows you to give your creatures +2/+2 for 5 total mana if you pay the escalate cost for the second mode, but there are tons of cards that do that for cheaper. For the Emperor! is a great example, though that comparison might not be fair given the rarity and price difference between the cards.

#6. Blessed Alliance

Blessed Alliance has some great combat trick potential, allowing you to untap a couple creatures and remove an attacker from the equation. They choose the creature that gets sacrificed, but if they only have one attacking creature, the choice is easy. Gaining 4 life is another nice mode to tack on if you have the extra mana lying around.

Pro tip: Your opponent's creatures are still considered “attacking creatures” during the end of combat phase, after damage has already been dealt. If you can whittle away their other attackers and leave them with just one creature left attacking, you can cast Blessed Alliance to take that last attacker out.

#5. Collective Resistance

Collective Resistance is a great protection card against someone attempting to target your creature. The combination of indestructible and hexproof should keep that creature safe, whether that’s from damage or outright targeted removal. You can also set your opponents back by destroying an artifact and/or removing and enchantment they control for 1 extra mana per mode.

#4. Savage Alliance

Savage Alliance can be an absolute beating in the right circumstances. Dealing 1 damage is enough to clear off a lot of bothersome 1/1s, and the 2 damage mode can be added on to take out a 3-toughness creature. You're least likely to use the trample mode, but it actually synergizes quite well with the other modes. Since your opponent's creatures will have damage marked on them from this spell already, you can assign less damage to each one that blocks and trample over for more damage to your opponent.

#3. Collective Defiance

For 5 total mana and two escalates, Collective Defiance allows you to essentially wheel a player’s hand, remove a medium-sized creature, and throw 3 damage at an opponent’s face. That can be a huge setback if you send all those modes at the same opponent. Of course, you can always stock up lands and wheel yourself, using that mode as a sort of super-rummage ability.

#2. Collective Brutality

Collective Brutality is one of the two escalate cards that don't require extra mana to satisfy their escalate costs; instead you’ll have to discard two cards to get all three modes at once. This card saw some extensive play in Modern, Legacy, and still sees play in plenty of Cubes. It's part Duress, part life drain spell, and deals with small creatures well enough, all while being a discard outlet for decks interested in that.

#1. Collective Effort

If you've only ever seen the escalate mechanic once, odds are it was on Collective Effort. It's the best escalate spell for Commander specifically, allowing you to tap a couple creatures for a sweeping +1/+1 counter effect and some removal options that includes one of the best enchantment removals in white. It's exactly the type of interaction you want to be playing in Commander, since it deals with multiple opposing threats at once while proactively helping your own board.

Best Escalate Payoffs

Escalate cards can essentially combine two to three instant or sorcery spells into one card, allowing you to free up room for other effects.

The only explicit payoff for playing escalate spells is Riku of Many Paths, who gives you extra benefits the more modes you use on your modal spells.

For spellslinger decks, escalate spells pair nicely with spell-copying effects. Double Vision can copy the first escalate card that you cast each turn, and even better, copying an escalate spell carries the additional modes over to the copy without you having to pay any additional costs for the copy!

Wrap Up

Collective Brutality | Illustration by Johann Bodin

Now you know everything you need to know about these modal escalate cards. These are great for cards for combining small amounts of utility into one deck slot, but the individual effects are mostly overshadowed by more powerful cards. But hey, if we see more modal payoffs like Riku of Many Paths, these should get their time to shine!

Are you ready to learn more Magic mechanics? I invite you to browse the Draftsim blog when you have free time to brush up on your MTG knowledge! Don’t forget to follow the Draftsim Facebook page to keep up with all our new content.

Until then, relax, and try not to escalate things too much!