The 7 Best Battle Removal Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on August 21, 2024

Ayara, Furnace Queen | Illustration by Anna Podedworna

Every permanent type needs specific removal to deal with it. We’ve got creature removal, enchantment removal, artifact removal, planeswalker removal, land destruction…. Then March of the Machine gave us the battle card type, so it follows that we need battle removal.

There’s flexible removal that nabs any permanent, like Beast Within and Generous Gift, but what if you want something that specifically calls out battles? Are they up to par? There aren’t that many options yet, but let’s see what we have to work with.

What Is Battle Removal in MTG?

Rampaging Raptor | Illustration by Denys Tsiperko

Battle removal is any spell or ability that can cause a battle to leave the battlefield.

The question you should ask before looking for battle removal is why you’re looking to remove that battle. Did you cast it yourself? Are you the controller, trying to accelerate your ability to flip it? Or are you another player at the table, looking to get rid of it so that your opponent can’t benefit from the spell on the back? Your relationship to the battle is going to affect which removal you use.

If you’re looking to defeat the battle and transform it, burn and other direct damage spells are your friend, although you’ll need ones that allow you to pick any target. If you’re looking to prevent a battle’s controller from getting to the back side, you’ll need more generic removal, like destroying, exiling, and bouncing effects. Since battles have abilities that trigger when they enter the battlefield, I wouldn’t consider bounce as the best battle removal unless you’re ending the game soon.

I’m focusing on battle-specific removal here, and I’m being incredibly generous in my definition of removal.

#7. Traumatic Revelation

The extra value from Traumatic Revelation comes from the information you gain when you look at someone’s hand. It’s only removal in the sense that you’re forcing your opponent to discard, so it relies on them having a valid card in their hand.

#6. Assimilate Essence

Assimilate Essence only counts as preemptive removal that gets rid of a battle on the stack – namely, a counterspell. Battles have ETBs rather than cast triggers, so you’re going to stop it from having any impact on the board. Thing is, your opponent can pay to negate this blue instant.

#5. Rampaging Raptor

Rampaging Raptor can become a political move if you don’t control battles, but an opponent does. Otherwise, you’re aiming at a player that’s defending a battle you control, or ignoring that part of its rules text entirely.

#4. Joyful Stormsculptor

Joyful Stormsculptor only helps you to transform battles if you’re running a deck with spells you can convoke. Convoke and battles in the same deck set off the “jank” alarm. You also can’t choose whether or not this shaman deals damage to battles, which means you might be helping opponents in multiplayer formats to transform their battles. Not ideal, unless you want to be political. Extra points for being useable in a Kasla, the Broken Halo deck.

#3. Invasion of Regatha / Disciples of the Inferno

Invasion of Regatha’s ETB deals 4 damage to a battle or opponent, which is notable because that’s enough to remove all the defense counters on 20 of the 36 battles MOM gave us. Disciples of the Inferno also gives you a payoff by adding to the damage that noncreature sources deal to creatures, battles, and opponents… but not planeswalkers, which I frankly find a little odd.

#2. Ayara, Widow of the Realm / Ayara, Furnace Queen

Ayara, Widow of the Realm / Ayara, Furnace Queen gives you a sacrifice outlet on the front side that can burn your opponents or battles while also gaining you life. This is the kind of removal that you’ll use on your battles that you want to flip. The X depends on the mana value of the permanent you sacrifice, but until we get more battles to play with Ayara, you’re probably using this to damage your opponent.

#1. Literally Anything Else

Listen, I know this is a cop-out, smart-alecky pick, but if you want a gameplan to remove battles, your best option right now is virtually anything that removes any permanent or any nonland permanent. Of the options that call out battles, notice how white and green don’t have anything? And rather than take your time and mine weaving together a list of flexible removal in each color, we can just talk a little bit about removal here overall.

For flexible removal, I’m talking Beast Within, Generous Gift, Assassin's Trophy. There’s removal for every color identity you can think of (white removal, blue removal, black removal, red removal, green removal, colorless removal, and multicolor). There’s removal that exiles, removal that destroys, removal that bounces. There’s spot removal, and there’s board wipes.

Until we get more sets that make use of battles, and therefore more cards that interact with them, the best option for removing a battle is something that’s flexible enough to remove a bunch of other things, too.

Best Battle Removal Payoffs

Battle removal payoffs are fairly limited to effects like Bloodchief Ascension that pay you off when cards go to your opponents’ graveyards, and that’s if you’re using effects that send cards there rather than their library or to exile.

If you’re looking to remove a battle for the purposes of transforming it, Rankle and Torbran has a modal combat damage trigger that can increase the amount of damage you’re dealing to that battle. Disciples of the Inferno also gives you additional damage when you set your Sauron-gaze on battles.

Wrap Up

Joyful Stormsculptor | Illustration by Christina Kraus

And that’s our survey of battle-specific removal. The options aren’t that great if you want the word “battle” in the text box, at least for now, but I’m curious to see if and when battles and battle interaction return to Magic. Fallout would have been a good spot, but Battle of Hoover Dam and Struggle for Project Purity take the Siege template from Fate Reforged rather than March of the Machine.

Which cards do you rely on to remove battles? Do you maindeck your battle removal, or do you sideboard it? Let me know in the comments below, or come join the conversation on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay Armed and Armored!