The 41 Best Damage Doubler Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on August 27, 2025

Fiery Emancipation | Illustration by Alexander Forssberg

The color red in Magic is designed for one thing in particular: dealing damage. It may do a few other things, but the one thing it can do well in every format in Magic is deal a lot of damage. What if you were to modify that damage in some way and deal more of it?

I’ve identified every damage doubler in MTG, so lets explore the best ways to get extra damage from your cards.

What Are Damage Doublers in MTG?

Gratuitous Violence | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

A damage doubler in MTG is any sort of card that modifies the damage that your cards can deal, usually by doubling it. “Damage Doubler” is sort of a misnomer in this case because we’ll be looking at cards that buff damage by 1-2 extra points, and a couple that even triple your damage output.

#41. Goldnight Castigator

Technically, Goldnight Castigator does double damage for sources; the problem is that it only affects you and this creature, which is why it’s at the very bottom.

#40. Don't Try This at Home

While I included cards that add these “plus 1 damage” effects to the list, note that I’ve ranked them slightly lower than others as it really doesn’t “double” anything. Still, it’s similar enough to include them.

For the sake of having fun, Don't Try This at Home does what this list intends: It deals 1 more damage, but it's heavily restricted to the art of a given card. Of course, you can build your deck with this in mind, but I can tell you it’ll be very difficult (or not).

#39. Blind Fury

While niche, Blind Fury does in fact double damage. The problem with this red instant is that I don’t see where it’s useful unless you’re into Brash Taunter shenanigans.

#38. Desperate Gambit

While risky, for just 1 mana you get the chance to double up the damage dealt by a source of your choice. But if you’re unlucky with your coin flip, you’ll just be behind with one or more cards.

#37. Impulsive Maneuvers

Similar to Desperate Gambit, Impulsive Maneuvers lets attacking creatures gamble in exchange for dealing double the damage. This can be a fun red enchantment to run in chaos decks as it affects not only your creatures but your opponent’s as well, making it different from the rest of the cards on this list.

#36. Sulfuric Vapors

Sulfuric Vapors is a cool permanent that just gives +1 to red spells that deal damage. This doesn’t work with damage dealt by permanents, so it’s notably worse than other damage modifiers.

#35. Valley Flamecaller

Limited to just a subset of creatures, Valley Flamecaller lets those deal +1 damage to players or permanents. It’d be cool if there were a shapeshifter instant with the kindred card type that dealt damage to exploit this.

#34. Aether Revolt

Aether Revolt is an amazing card to run alongside treasure-making cards where you can sacrifice them to turn on revolt easily, enabling dealing +2 damage from sources you control. The energy effect still works completely independently from the damage amplification.

#33. Artist's Talent

Not quite double damage, but in this class enchantment‘s final form, Artist's Talent deals not 1, but 2 extra damage from sources you control.

#32. Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot

While it requires some investment to deal massive amounts of damage, Outlaws of Thunder Junction‘s Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot can do crazy amounts, similar to a Fireball effect.

#31. The Rollercrusher Ride

Introduced in Duskmourn: House of Horror, this enchantment doubles damage from sourcers you control if you meet the delirium requirement. On top of that, The Rollercrusher Ride can act as a good removal spell to get rid of pesky creatures with the necessary investment.

#30. Inquisitor's Flail

For just 2 mana to cast and 2 more to equip, Inquisitor's Flail is a solid way to let one of your creatures double the damage it deals. First strike creatures obviously benefit from this effect, bypassing the drawback this artifact also generates.

#29. Embermaw Hellion

When it comes to permanents with static effects, it's usually better to have them on creatures like Embermaw Hellion, as they also present a threat to your opponents. That said, they’re usually easier to deal with thanks to spot removal, but having the ability to deal damage is a great upside.

#28. Pyromancer's Gauntlet

This is a little on the weak side, but it’s especially effective with cards like Grapeshot or anything that can divide its damage across multiple targets. Whichever way, Pyromancer's Gauntlet is a nice fit for a lot of spell-based decks.

#27. Mechanized Warfare

Mechanized Warfare may only be adding 1 damage to each of your sources, but that trades off for costing only 3 mana. Commander decks could certainly afford more expensive options, but the cheap cost allowed this card to see a good amount of Standard play.

#26. Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer

Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer is a very solid Boros commander and creature overall that prevents damage dealt by spells. On top of that, it also gives the much needed +1 to all your spells that damage opponents or permanents.

#25. Tor Wauki the Younger

Tor Wauki the Younger is a very powerful spellslinger commander. If my math is correct, a single Lightning Bolt can deal up to 7 damage if you combine all of this Rakdos card‘s abilities. Plus, it upgrades to Lightning Helix for free.

#24. Overblaze

Overblaze is a simple and effective way to let one permanent deal double the damage at a given turn.

#23. Bitter Feud

Bitter Feud is a fun card that lets sources deal double damage to a chosen opponent. Sure, if you’re playing in a 1v1 scenario, your opponents will also deal double damage to you, but if you choose two others in a multiplayer environment, that’s when the fun starts.

#22. Charging Tuskodon

Charging Tuskodon feels like it has double strike, but in reality, it only works when it deals damage to players, so it's strictly worse.

#21. The Sound of Drums

The Sound of Drums is a very cool red aura that can be reused whenever it hits the graveyard as you can return it to your hand for a mere 3 mana.

#20. Quest for Pure Flame

While it may take a while to turn it on, Quest for Pure Flame lets you deal double the damage from a source of your choice to a creature or a player for 1 mana. That’s very good, as you’re basically copying a Lightning Bolt, or in the best of the cases, something that deals more damage.

#19. Calamity Bearer

We’re finally getting to the sweet spot of good damage doublers. While Calamity Bearer only works with giant sources, this is exactly the kind of effect I’m looking to showcase.

#18. Goblin Goliath

For 6 mana, Goblin Goliath does a lot as it can create up to three goblin tokens, similar to Siege-Gang Commander. That said, its activated ability is way better than its comrade as it lets sources you control deal double damage to your opponents.

#17. Curse of Bloodletting

Like many other curses, Curse of Bloodletting is attached to a player, and damage dealt to them is doubled. In a multiplayer environment, this is putting the target onto someone else and ceasing friendship with them at the same time.

#16. Sawhorn Nemesis

Similar to Curse of Bloodletting, Sawhorn Nemesis targets a player and potentially points attacks towards their direction.

#15. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight is basically Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer but on steroids. Sure, it doesn’t fully prevent damage, but it partially does for Gisela itself, which is very good on its own.

#14. Insult // Injury

The Insult part of this card is a very strong red sorcery as a late-game finisher when you’re trying to finish things off. It’s also very fun to pair it with a kicked Urza's Rage.

#13. Uncivil Unrest

Uncivil Unrest isn’t the easiest damage doubler to enable, but the fact that it has some great functionality beyond the damage doubling ability makes this a nice inclusion for lots of decks.

#12. Furnace of Rath

This is one of the oldest damage doublers in the game and probably one of the prime examples that many experienced Magic players immediately think of. Furnace of Rath is very simple. All damage is doubled. No matter whose damage it is.

#11. Fire Servant

If most of your damage sources that you want to double are instants and sorceries, then you could do worse than use a Fire Servant to double their damage. It’s not on the most resilient of bodies.

#10. Gratuitous Violence

Just like how Fire Servant is perfect for a deck centered around burn spells, your creature-based decks are perfectly lined up for Gratuitous Violence. The triple red casting cost is a little restrictive because this would be perfect in aggressive multicolor decks, but it’s still incredibly powerful.

#9. Rankle and Torbran

One of the newest damage doublers is a little complicated to understand. Basically, when Rankle and Torbran deal combat damage to a player or battle, you can choose to have all damage increased by 2 for the rest of the turn. Because they have first strike, this buff is applied to all your regular combat damage too. What puts this over the top is the fact that this is a powerful card even without this ability and stands up on its own.

#8. Dictate of the Twin Gods

Another Furnace of Rath but with the nice upside of having flash. Since it also doubles your opponent’s damage, you can flash it in at a more opportune moment so that you take less damage.

#7. Fiendish Duo

Fiendish Duo really stands out in multiplayer games by doubling all damage that your opponents take from any source, no matter who controls it. It’s really that simple, and not much else needs to be said.

#6. Solphim, Mayhem Dominus

Solphim, Mayhem Dominus boasts a nearly unrestricted damage doubling effect on top of an impressive Dominus creature that you can turn indestructible whenever you like. This makes Solphim a powerhouse in both Standard and Limited and a very scary burn commander.

#5. Angrath's Marauders

Angrath's Marauders’s biggest upside is its creature type. It’s clearly just a strong example of a damage doubler, but being a human has allowed it to see play in a very powerful competitive deck: Winota, Joiner of Forces. Cheating it into play lets you ignore the hefty mana cost and buffing your team’s damage output that same turn can be the difference between winning in one turn and not.

#4. Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

The key to Torbran, Thane of Red Fell is that letting your 1/1 creatures deal 2 extra damage essentially triples their damage output. Torbran was the top end of basically every mono-red aggro deck that appeared when it was in Standard, and has been one of Magic's best burn commanders ever since.

#3. City on Fire

What could be better than doubling damage? How about tripling it? City on Fire has a truly absurd effect on a game, turning nearly every source of damage you can produce into a potent threat.

#2. Fiery Emancipation

What could be better than a damage tripler? How about a damage tripler that costs 2 less mana? While convoke might make City on Fire better if you have lots of creatures in your deck, Fiery Emancipation is much more universally strong. At the end of the day, both are very powerful, and it would take a ridiculously broken mechanic to beat that.

#1. Obosh, the Preypiercer

Yeah, it’s a companion. On the one hand, Obosh, the Preypiercer is one of the more restrictive damage doublers on this list, but on the other, it’s a companion. The companion rule is one of the most insanely busted things WotC has ever come up with. Unlike every card on this list, you can essentially choose to have access to Obosh in every single game you play. That is a huge bonus that has led Obosh to being played in nearly every Magic format there is.

Best Damage Doubler Payoffs

You might think damage doubling is the payoff, but excess damage shows up on a number of cards and is a reward for keeping your foot on the gas.

One card I’m particularly interested in is Toralf, God of Fury. Toralf takes an amount of damage dealt to an opposing creature/planeswalker, having been doubled, then splits off the excess damage to deal it to something else, where it’s doubled again.

Then it happens again. And again. Imagine your opponent has 10 2/2 creatures in play and you cast a Lightning Bolt with a Furnace of Rath out. First, you point 6 damage at a creature, splitting 4 damage off to one of the others, doubled to 8, and so on. This damage then grows exponentially with each target, pointing 1,028 damage at the tenth creature and a final 2,052 damage at any other target. This is an obscene interaction that I’m very interested in building around.

Do Damage Doublers Stack?

Yes, they absolutely do. Effectively, two damage doublers in play quadruples the damage dealt. Similarly, three of them multiply the damage by eight. Most damage doublers are examples of replacement effects. When multiple replacement effects are affecting the same player or object, the affected player or controller of the affected object decides which order they apply in. If you have a bunch of damage doublers in play, your opponents have control over the damage they take.

Multiplication is cumulative, so you can multiply numbers in any order and still get the same result. It won’t matter which order your opponent applies these multipliers in. However, this rule becomes relevant when factoring in effects like Torbran, Thane of Red Fell. Your opponents are able to choose to take the least amount of damage, which happens when they apply these “addition” effects after they apply all the multiplication effects that you have in play.

Can You Choose Not to Double the Damage?

No, you can’t. Unless I’m missing a particular card, all these abilities are mandatory to apply. You’d have to see a “you may” in the card’s text if you could choose to turn them off.

Wrap Up

Angrath's Marauders | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

I had the idea to build a Commander deck with all the best damage doublers in it. I want to cast a Blasphemous Act and have that damage multiplied to about 200 per creature. I hope I can make it work and I’ll get to share the decklist with you!

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Until next time, take care of yourselves!