Last updated on March 19, 2024

Boseiju, Who Endures - Illustration by Esuthio

Boseiju, Who Endures | Illustration by Esuthio

No matter the format of Magic you play, enchantments are always a relevant card type. Whether you’re facing Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Rhystic Study, or Smothering Tithe, it’s important to know how to remove them.

Magic has a whole host of different ways to deal with pesky enchantments, but which are the best ones, and how will they fit into your decks? Let's find out!

What Is Enchantment Destruction in MTG?

Bane of Progress - Illustration by Lars Grant-West

Bane of Progress | Illustration by Lars Grant-West

Enchantment destruction is exactly what it sounds like: a way to destroy enchantments.

Since enchantments are permanents, you need ways to remove them by either destroying or exiling them. Only green and white have access to this, but a little bit has bled into other colors. Most of the cards on this list are green and white, but I’ve included other colors where they made sense.

Side note: lots of these cards can also deal with artifacts, so don’t be surprised to see these on an artifact removal list. I skip cards like Vindicate or Maelstrom Pulse that hit any permanent because those are mostly good because they can hit creatures.

#40. Dismantling Blow

Dismantling Blow

Dismantling Blow is a pet card of mine, and one that I always love to force into my Commander decks, Cubes, or whatever other casual projects I work on.

Three mana for a Disenchant isn't great, but I love drawing cards. If I can tack on some mana and gain a sweet three-for-one, I’ll do it.

#39. War Priest of Thune

War Priest of Thune

While War Priest of Thune is much cheaper than the other creature-based options, it was printed at a time when this effect wasn’t needed in any competitive sense. It saw some play but has never blown anyone away.

There’s now much stronger options that do the same thing, just like with Wickerbough Elder.

#38. Disenchant

Disenchant

You can’t beat the OG. Well, you can (it’s only number 36), but it’s still quite powerful.

Originally printed back in Alpha, Disenchant has stood the test of time and still sees reprints. It was color-shifted into green’s Naturalize in Onslaught, but there are lots of stronger green options while this is still one of the better white ones.

Ultimately this is still more than good enough if you need to kill an enchantment. If you want some options, read on!

#37. Wispmare

Wispmare

Wispmare has a lot going for it. It can be a 3-mana creature that kills an enchantment, but it’s also a 1-mana version that’s basically a sorcery. It’s also a 1-mana answer that doesn’t get countered by a Chalice of the Void on one, doesn’t get cascaded onto in decks like Living End or Crashing Footfalls, and so much more.

There’s a card that does this job a little better, but Wispmare has been a big player over the years and is still pretty useful.

#36. Abolish

Abolish

It’s possible Abolish shouldn’t be on the list to be honest. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this played much, but ultimately it’s a free spell and that deserves a second look.

This may very well be important to destroy an enchantment you're scared of quickly. Giving yourself a two-for-one to do that for free is sometimes going to be worth it.

#35. Debt to the Kami

Debt to the Kami

Having your opponent exile an enchantment of their choice is a really weak effect, but the most important thing to note about Debt to the Kami is that it’s black. Black doesn’t get enchantment removal at all, so this is a rare treat and something that Pauper decks especially are happy to have access to.

#34. Annul

Annul

Annul has only been printed a handful of times in the past, but each time it’s been a reasonable inclusion in Standard. Like black, blue has no good way of hitting enchantments apart from countering them.

You have Negate and similar counterspells to just attack all spells, but getting a specific answer for one mana is often good enough.

#33. Tribute to the Wild

Tribute to the Wild

While Tribute to the Wild has the huge downside of often not killing the thing you specifically want to answer, it hits everyone simultaneously in Commander. You don’t get to pick what gets hit, but you do get to kill three things in one go. Worth considering!

#32. Return to Dust

Return to Dust

Now come the exile options, and Return to Dust was a big hit in Commander’s early days. Not only does it exile, but you get to hit two targets at once. That can be relevant in a multiplayer game.

I’m not sure this sees as much play nowadays, but it’s still a sweet card and you could do worse.

#31. Aura Mutation

Aura Mutation

Getting some extra upside on top of your narrow removal spell is always good. Two mana to kill an enchantment and get a few Saproling tokens at same time is incredible.

Aura Mutation is only really held back by being a multicolor card, which reduces the range of decks it can be used in.

#30. Leonin Relic-Warder

Leonin Relic-Warder

Fiend Hunter is one hell of a card, and one that hits artifacts and enchantments certainly has its place. You can flicker or sacrifice Leonin Relic-Warder in response to the first trigger to exile something permanently, or you can use it normally and it’s still good.

#29. Dawnbringer Cleric

Dawnbringer Cleric

This latest upgrade to War Priest of Thune provides a few extra options in exchange for a weaker stat line. The thing is, the stats rarely matter when you want the card to destroy an enchantment but also have some extra functionality.

Dawnbringer Cleric does all of that perfectly.

#28. Fracturing Gust

Fracturing Gust

Today’s first board sweeper is one that's definitely been played, but Fracturing Gust is a little too difficult to cast these days. Blowing up all your opponent’s annoying enchantments and gaining back a chunk of about 10 life is a big swing against the right deck.

But you can usually do this for either a lot cheaper, or have a more flexible version for the same cost.

#27. Natural State

Natural State

1-mana answers to enchantments are pretty much the best you can expect. While Natural State only destroys smaller ones, you’re always getting a good deal if you’re only spending one mana. This card is a mainstay of many sideboards.

#26. Fragmentize

Fragmentize

Another 1-mana answer very similar to Natural State, Fragmentize has been a powerful Vintage card ever since it was printed. White decks needed an efficient answer for lots of cards, and this was perfect.

I might have put this a bit higher but sadly it's mostly used to destroy artifacts. Don’t sleep on this.

#25. Acidic Slime

Acidic Slime

Acidic Slime came out right as I started playing this game, and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s a little more expensive than the other options, but it gets the option to destroy a land. Having more options available typically makes a card much stronger.

I run this in my Prime Speaker Vannifar Commander deck, and it’s always fantastic.

#24. Trygon Predator

Trygon Predator

Once the scourge of Vintage decks, a turn 1 Trygon Predator was enough to bring down any of the artifact-based decks in the format. I’ve used it against annoying enchantments like Standstill, but it's mainly used as an anti-artifact card that can double up against enchantments if needed.

#23. Qasali Pridemage

Qasali Pridemage

Qasali Pridemage is another classic card that just doesn’t see play in competitive formats anymore, but it’s still unmatched in its day. A 2/2 exalted is already decent, but the ability to destroy enchantments on top is a great bonus.

Pridemage saw play in a variety of aggro decks where the exalted let you get in a chunk of damage immediately while providing a great extra advantage in the late game.

#22. Erase

Erase

Another classic removal spell, it doesn’t get much more efficient than a single mana to exile any enchantment. Erase isn't as flexible or varied as other cards on this list, but you can’t beat that efficiency.

#21. Ray of Revelation

Ray of Revelation

Getting extra value out of your removal spells is key. What easier way to get extra value is there than having one that you get to use twice? Flashback is one of the game’s most powerful mechanics, and it doesn’t get much simpler than Ray of Revelation.

This even allows you to pack some enchantment hate into a self-mill deck. You’ll naturally mill this at some point and get free value out of your graveyard.

#20. Thrashing Brontodon

Thrashing Brontodon

What gives Thrashing Brontodon an edge over other creatures that hate on enchantments is the fact that it’s a decently-sized creature even before you factor in the removal.

Decks in Limited and Constructed are usually happy with a 3-mana 3/4 that can attack and block very well. You can then cash it in to remove something if you need to, but it’s a fine card until you do.

#19. Destructive Revelry

Destructive Revelry

Two damage to the face isn’t much of an upside, but a dedicated burn deck doesn’t want to be casting spells that don’t deal damage to the opponent if it can help it. Destructive Revelry is very easy for mono red decks to splash, and it helps them keep up the tempo of dealing damage while also killing off something dangerous.

Red decks also have no ways to attack enchantments (this is the only red card on this list), so being able to easily splash for this option is something it’s very interested in doing.

#18. Seal of Primordium

Seal of Primordium

This color-shifted reprint of Seal of Cleansing has been a Modern sideboard staple for quite some time. You get lots of benefits over a simple Naturalize effect, and those benefits are enough to push it over the edge. The main thing is that you can invest the mana upfront whenever you have it to spare and then not spend mana on the turn you need to use it.

Seal of Primordium is also a permanent, so you can get it back into play with various effects like Lurrus of the Dream-Den. It’s also a card type you’re less likely to use in a deck that wants several different types for Tarmogoyf or delirium.

#17. Unravel the Aether + Deglamer

Unravel the Aether Deglamer

You could destroy or you could exile, but you could also have the card shuffled back into its owner’s library. The ability to exile an enchantment isn’t something that constructed formats have always had access to, and this option is very nearly just as good.

Unravel the Aether and Deglamer have seen a ton of sideboard play over the years for how efficiently and effectively they answer problematic enchantments.

#16. Krosan Grip

Krosan Grip

You could argue that split second was a mistake, but its role as a Disenchant that can’t be responded to has made Krosan Grip a sideboard mainstay in eternal formats ever since it was printed.

Three mana makes it one of the pricier instant/sorcery spells here, but it gets the job done. It’s especially valuable in combo decks to get rid of those pesky stax cards that stop you from winning the game.

#15. Knight of Autumn

Knight of Autumn

As soon as I saw Knight of Autumn I immediately said it would be one of the best cards in Guilds of Ravnica. Turns out I was right!

The Knight has come up time and time again in a variety of decks that can easily tutor it up. It’s primarily for the removal mode, which is why it features high on this list. The options to be a 4/3 or gain some life is what pushes the card over the top and makes it very main deckable in competitive formats.

#14. Feed the Swarm

Feed the Swarm

Feed the Swarm is a 2-mana sorcery that costs you a hefty chunk of life to use, so why does it belong so high on this list? Just like Debt to the Kami, it’s entirely because this is a black card.

Black enchantment removal doesn't exist in any meaningful way, so your choices are either expensive (Unstable Obelisk or Scour from Existence), or Feed the Swarm. It may not be as efficient as the other colors’ options, but it’s the best that the color has access to.

That will definitely do for now.

#13. Foundation Breaker

Foundation Breaker

Ingot Chewer and Wispmare have been around for quite a long time, and they’ve both seen a decent amount of play. Foundation Breaker combines them both into one card, and Living End couldn’t be happier.

It has all the same advantages as the previous two, but you can’t do much better than this when what you really need is an answer to enchantments that don’t mess up your cascade spells.

#12. Harmonic Sliver

Harmonic Sliver

You either love or hate slivers, but Harmonic Sliver is one of the best ones ever printed. It’s a Reclamation Sage that turns all your other slivers into them, too.

Better yet, if you play a second one it'll have two instances of the trigger on it and kill off two targets. This is a little too restrictive for some decks, but it really pulls its weight where it can.

#11.  Back to Nature

Back to Nature

I’ve played Back to Nature a fair bit myself. Tranquility was the cheapest way to destroy all enchantments for the longest time, but then it was beaten by this beauty.

This is one of the best and simplest ways to slow your friend with that one annoying enchantment deck down.

#10. Wear // Tear

Wear // Tear

One mana to destroy an enchantment is already good enough, but the extra value of being able to fuse this in the right matchup and take out an artifact and an enchantment is just brutal. Wear // Tear has been a sideboard staple pretty much ever since it was printed, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

#9. Farewell

Farewell

Farewell has already become one of the most complaint-generating cards that I hear about at my locals. Austere Command was a Commander staple for so long that it's seen almost a dozen reprints in the past decade, yet this card completely blows it out of the water on nearly every metric.

It’s even good enough that it’s being played in competitive control decks. Absolutely absurd.

#8. Reclamation Sage

Reclamation Sage

Reclamation Sage is still one of the best creatures that destroy an enchantment when entering the battlefield. It does the same as other versions with one big advantage: its type line.

Being an elf is a huge boon for a card like this, and it’s kept its status as a staple sideboard option even in Legacy while being a phenomenal staple card in Commander.

#7. Nature's Claim

Nature's Claim

Efficiency is the name of the game, and you can’t do better than an unconditional removal spell for one mana. Nature's Claim gives the opponent some life, but there are plenty of decks that couldn’t care less about a little life if it means destroying something like Leyline of the Void.

#6. Aura Shards

Aura Shards

First let’s get the big downside out of the way: Aura Shards doesn’t do anything when you play it. This is problematic and something that keeps it well out of the competitive sphere.

But there’s a reason this card demands a $5 to $10 price tag, and that’s just how obscene it can get in a game of Commander. Triggering a Disenchant whenever any creature enters under your control is ridiculous, especially if you happen to be making a ton of tokens.

#5. Haywire Mite

Haywire Mite

It stands to reason that there are also some good ways to attack artifacts in an artifact-themed set. Luckily this incredibly powerful option also hits enchantments, and it immediately became one of the strongest options in the game.

It may not look like it, but there’s one very simple factor that puts Haywire Mite well above everything else: it’s an artifact that costs one. That’s it.

This is a versatile tutor target for Urza's Saga, one of the best cards in both Modern and Legacy. It also gives Karn, the Great Creator yet another option to tutor for with its -2 ability.

#4. Bane of Progress

Bane of Progress

I’ve shown you a lot of creature cards that destroy an enchantment on entering, but Bane of Progress (designed specifically for Commander) is the only creature that can destroy all enchantments on entering. It can easily be tutored for and flickered over and over, and it lays a big smackdown on any player relying on enchantments every time.

#3. Loran of the Third Path

Loran of the Third Path

The printing of a card like Loran of the Third Path was quite surprising. On one hand it’s little more than a color-shifted Reclamation Sage, but that’s all it has to be. Death & Taxes is one of the best decks in Legacy, and this is something it really wanted.

Not only is it good to drop in off of Aether Vial like all the other creatures, but being a legendary creature is actually a big advantage: the deck can continually reuse it thanks to Karakas. Being a human also means this slots perfectly into the wide variety of human tribal decks that are littered across the eternal formats.

#2. Force of Vigor

Force of Vigor

While most of the new Force of Will-style cards from Modern Horizons were bad, Force of Vigor was the best by far. I’ve shown you quite a few 1-mana instants and sorceries that can destroy one enchantment. How would you like a 0-mana spell that can kill two targets?

It’s just as powerful as it sounds. This one of the most important sideboard cards in the whole of Modern and Legacy as a result.

#1. Boseiju, Who Endures

Boseiju, Who Endures

The legendary tree of Kamigawa’s Jukai forest got an enormous boost in power level with its new version in Neon Dynasty. Having a Naturalize effect on the channel ability of a land is insane. Not only Boseiju, Who Endures it uncounterable by conventional Counterspells, but the main reason this is so good is that it’s just a land with almost no downsides.

You can (and should) have one copy of this in nearly every green deck where the card is legal. When you draw it early, you can just play it as your land drop. When you draw it late and need to get something off the board, you have that option too.

Flexibility matters, and Boseiju (along with the other channel lands in the set) is a master of flexibility while not sacrificing any of the efficiency that you get with other options.

Wrap Up

Loran of the Third Path - Illustration by Steven Belledin

Loran of the Third Path | Illustration by Steven Belledin

Enchantments can be some game-altering stuff. Let an opponent keep the wrong one of the field for too long and you won’t be able to squeak out a win. Filling your deck or sideboard with options for dealing with them is an important way of covering all your bases.

Do you think I missed anything off this list? How would you move the order around? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, take care of yourselves!

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