All 9 “Control Your Opponent” Mindslavers in Magic Ranked

Last updated on November 17, 2025

Mindslaver | Illustration by Volkan Baga

If you’ve never Mindslaver’d someone, you’re missing out. Nothing turns you into the archenemy of the Commander pod quicker than taking control of an opponent and using their own spells against them, or willing their creatures into bad trades with the rest of the table.

Which is the most powerful? And what are the best payoffs for slaverin’ someone? Let’s put on our thinking caps and dive right in!

What Are Mindslaver Effects in MTG?

Opposition Agent | Illustration by Scott Murphy

The cards in Magic that allow you to control another player during their turn are colloquially known as “Mindslaver” effects. While controlling another player, you make all choices and decisions the controlled player is allowed or forced to make for the duration, and all information available to them is available to you (usually the cards in their hand and any face-down cards they can see). With a few stipulations, you get complete control on what spells they cast, what lands to tap, what creatures they attack with, and when any of these actions are taken.

This effect is obviously very powerful and printed sparingly throughout Magic’s history. In fact, the powerful Mindslaver effect has only ever been replicated on less than a dozen cards, some of which don't even give you full control over a player. These typically ask for a huge investment and could end the game in favor of the controller.

I use the first opponent-controlling card, Mindslaver, as a weathervane of sorts to measure up the rest of these powerful effects.

#9. Word of Command

Don’t worry, I'd never heard of Word of Command either.

A leftover from Alpha, Word of Command’s illegible rules text effectively allows you to force an opponent to cast a spell from their hand and lets you make any decisions the spell calls for. Since that player must tap lands for mana to pay for the spell, you get to choose how they pay.

This is a wonky old card that technically gives you control of another player, but for the shortest amount of time possible.

#8. Worst Fears

Journey into Nyx’s Worst Fears is a cheaper control effect than the 10-mana Mindslaver. On the other hand, the exiling effect means it might be worse overall than Mindslaver, at least if you’re looking to take control of your opponent as much as possible.

While Worst Fears ensures you can’t cheat any shenanigans out of it with a Snapcaster Mage, Mindslaver can hang out in your graveyard until you’re ready to get it back with a Scrap Trawler.

#7. Cruel Entertainment

If you’re looking for some goofy fun at your next Commander night, I’m begging you to give Cruel Entertainment a go. Your opponents most likely won’t be suspecting to control each other during their upcoming turns, and this can really throw a game into chaos. You’ll often see this turned against you as the other players retaliate against you for turning them into your own personal puppet show.

Also, remember that Cruel Entertainment’s controller can be one of the spell's targets, even if it isn’t as funny that way. Sure, this can grant you control of an opponent for 1 less mana, but trading them for control of you during your next turn won’t be worth it unless you’re really on the back foot, in which case they’ll probably leave you worse off than you were.

#6. The Dominion Bracelet

The Dominion Bracelet has a great chance of costing far less. Let's take a realistic example, you control a 6/6, the Bracelet adds one so you're looking at control of a player for ? With the potential for less cost, this is great for Commander brackets 2 and 1.

#5. Secret of Bloodbending

Listen, I'm a big fan of Odric, Master Tactician, and heavy blue has a lot fewer interesting things to do with combat, so it can whiff, but controlling one full combat can be absolutely devastating. As for the waterbending cost, the additional artifact tokens, creatures and lands really bring the cost down to a manageable amount that is way easier than waiting for the next full moon and put the Secret of Bloodbending on this list as one of scariest things you can pull off.

#4. Sorin Markov

Sorin’s first appearance in Magic was on the eponymous Sorin Markov planeswalker from Zendikar. Sorin is a 6-mana planeswalker that enters with 4 loyalty counters, with the potential to tick up to 6 loyalty immediately.

Like many planeswalkers it requires two activations of its first ability before it can use its final, in this case a Mindslaver for -7. Of course, you could always rush there and use some proliferation effects to get to 7 loyalty a turn early.

Sorin Markov is still a pretty good planeswalker by today’s standards when combined with some synergy.

#3. Mindslaver

Ah, Mindslaver, the original Mindslaver. Originally designed as a Tempest card called “Helm of Volrath,” the Mindslaver effect would bounce around as a proto-Unglued card before finally finding a home in Mirrodin.

This artifact is a hefty 10-mana investment from cast to activation. Luckily it’s all generic mana, making this spell accessible to any deck. Dropped on-curve on turn 6, you can easily activate Mindslaver the following turn. It’s best to wait until you have all 10 mana available rather than leaving it vulnerable to the inevitable Disenchant or Naturalize.

#2. Emrakul, the Promised End

Emrakul, the Promised End got even better when the battle card type dropped in March of the Machine, and this makes it worth giving your opponent an extra turn after you’re done with them. You can cast Emrakul for just 4 mana if all nine card types are in your graveyard!

On top of controlling your opponent’s next turn, you’ll also have a 13/13 flying–trample–protection from instants creature once they’re done recovering from your mind control.

#1. Opposition Agent

Opposition Agent was one of the most exciting cards from Commander Legends. Finally, an instant-speed response to all those tutors plaguing our 100-card format.

This 3-mana rogue doesn’t give you complete control of your opponent, only while they’re tutoring their libraries. This means you get to select the cards they find, and you're the one who gets to play those cards. So not only do you interrupt their tutor, but you also basically steal it for yourself. That's especially rude against Rampant Growths and fetch lands, and also shuts down Birthing Pods and the like. Even worse, a little known fact is that you're allowed to look at a player's hand while you control them.

Opposition Agent is the cheapest access to controlling an opponent in MTG. While it isn’t complete control, it’s still one of the best ways to force bad decisions on your opponents, especially in Commander.

Best Mindslaver Payoffs and Synergies

A lot of players’ impulse is to activate their Mindslaver effect as soon as possible and then look at their opponent’s hand to try and figure a way to screw them. This usually just results in a few foolish attacks, a wasted spell or two, and some suboptimal tapping.

This shouldn’t be the plan. Instead, set up the battlefield to force them to make the worst decisions possible once you’ve taken control.

Cards that you control that opponents can activate are great ways to sink their resources into things they don’t need, or you can end them outright by activating an Aether Storm or Volrath's Dungeon over and over. Or cast Chain of Vapor from your own hand and keep choosing to sacrifice a land as your opponent.

Oona's Prowler is a card you can plant on your side of the battlefield and use to destroy their hand while you control their turn. Get maximum use out of Aetherspouts, first you attack with all their creatures, then choose to put the strongest creatures on the bottom of their library and the worst on the top. If they have any sacrifice outlet or discard outlet, let the sabotage commence, otherwise you can initiate self-destruction with an instant-speed edict like Tergrid's Shadow and sacrifice the two best creatures instead of their worst.

One of the nastiest things you can do with targeted Mindslaver effects is copy them. Zevlor, Elturel Exile lets you bounce a targeted effect from once opponent to all of them, which lets you Mindslaver or Worst Fears everyone. Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor only works with activated abilities, but that's enough to copy a Mindslaver activation onto a second opponent.

Wrap Up

Emrakul, the Promised End | Illustration by Jaime Jones

There are, of course, a few things you can’t make a Mindslaver’d player do. You can’t, for example, make them get up and buy you a drink, or take their jeans off (sorry Hurloon Wrangler). But you can make them cast their removal spells on their own creatures or force them to attack into your field of blockers or cast their own curse spells on themselves. The list goes on.

What's your favorite thing to make an opponent under the influence of your Mindslaver do? Do you want more Mindslaver effects to be printed? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Twitter.

Thank you for reading and stay sane!