The 21 Best Enchantment-Based Exile Cards in Magic

Last updated on March 22, 2024

Oblivion Ring (Knights s Dragons) | Illustration by Chuck Lukacs

There are tons of mechanics and keywords in Magic that we see time and time again. Oblivion Ring effects, sometimes called O-Ring effects, are one of the most prevalent ones that haven’t gotten an official keyword just yet.

Today I’ll be ranking the best O-Ring effects, answering a few questions about them, and explaining how they work. Let’s dive into it!

What Are Oblivion Ring Effects in MTG?

Ixalan's Binding | Illustration by Chase Stone

O-Rings, which get their name from the famous Oblivion Ring, are enchantments that exile or phase a creature out until they leave the battlefield. It’s a simple yet powerful effect that’s commonly included across Standard-legal sets to provide slower removal for Limited.

Each different O-Ring works off the base model of a 3-mana enchantment. Some cost more but give broader-reaching effects like Ixalan's Binding which prohibits opponents from casting cards with the same name as the exiled card, while others cost less and have more restrictive targeting or casting costs. Those that are cheaper or stick to the 3-mana cost but give extra effects are typically the best.

Honorable Mentions

Out of Time is a 3-mana enchantment that untaps and phases out every creature when it enters. It works off time counters, meaning you’re going to lose this immediately the next turn, but a total board wipe on three mana that gives you time to mess around with some other combo or strategy works for me. Crack in Time is neat in that it can target multiple creatures, but is too temporary in my book to call removal.

Foreboding Steamboat is an artifact and does an interesting job that feels a lot like Barter in Blood by getting rid of two permanents from each player. Battle at the Helvault takes creatures off the battlefield for more than a turn and sort of gives them suspend 1 or 2.

#21. Quarantine Field

Quarantine Field goes wide with a mana cost of . It comes in with X counters and hits that many nonland permanents until it leaves the battlefield itself. I like that this exists, and a great way to see just how powerful an effect can be is to give it an infinite ceiling through X costs. O-Ring effects just don’t hold up in this way overall, and I don’t think this card is all too great.

Maybe it has some potential in Commander where you’re most likely to have enough targets to get a low average cost-per-exile, but that’s it.

#20. Ixalan’s Binding

Ixalan's Binding just isn’t that great. A four mana value O-ring effect would be ideal if you knew you'd be stopping more than one card. Odds are you’re playing this with a white Commander, and that effect is just dead.

#19. Journey to Nowhere

I like Journey to Nowhere, but you need a little bit more out of this for the downside of only hitting creatures.

#18. Parallax Wave

Parallax Wave is a sticky one for the fact that it has great combo potential, but it’s pretty bad outside of that. You could hit a couple of targets for a couple of turns, or maybe you can increase the counters and make this wave last longer, so until you've got those set up, I can't justify ranking this any better.

#13. Seal Away

Seal Away is nice at two mana, but it comes with a serious drawback you’re only able to target a creature. Flash is great, believe me, but these effects aren’t permanent thanks to the nature of O-Ring effects, and the best way to balance that out is being able to target anything.

#18. Buried in the Garden

Branch into green with the O-ring effect of Buried in the Garden. Thankfully you should expect to enchant your own land like Ossification and get some extra mana out of this. It pays for itself in just a couple of turns. There are better cards ahead of this, but you could also do much worse than this ramp/removal card in your decks.

#17. In the Trenches

The anthem effect of giving your team +1/+1 is totally worth a card, so yes, the O-ring aspect of In the Trenches costs a whopping six, but oftentimes, this is the best thing you can do at the top of your mana curve, and a powerful play at that.

#16. Banishment

Banishment brings together flash and the all-targeting power you’re after, but it comes at a four-mana price. This may or may not be too much of a cost to pay depending on the power level of your playgroup.

I think it’s decent, but there are better things out there.

#15. Oblivion Ring + Banishing Light + Borrowed Time

Here’s where the namesake Oblivion Ring and other equivalent cards like Banishing Light and Borrowed Time lie. Everything before this was worse, and everything after is better.

White weenie decks that go wide but can sink some mana into this to get rid of a problem here and there cherish this flexible removal.

#14. Chains of Custody

The Chains of Custody require that you have a creature to babysit the exile target, and at least that creature gains some conditional hexproof. Overall it is an improvement on O-ring effects, and pretty good for a common.

#13. Prison Realm

Prison Realm is an Oblivion Ring that only hits creatures and planeswalkers, but it scries 1 when it enters. I’m normally not a fan of these restrictive targeting effects, but creatures and planeswalkers are going to be the most common targets for these, and I really assign a lot of value to effects like scry.

#12. Seal from Existence

The upgrade on Seal from Existence is its protection in the form of ward. A solid card, and often a sizable mana advantage since your opponent has to pay just as much as you did to account for the Seal, as well as whatever spell or ability they're using to remove it.

#11. On Thin Ice + Chained to the Rocks

Next up is both On Thin Ice and Chained to the Rocks. These are both 1-mana O-Ring effects, which is great, but they only hit creatures and you need a specific kind of land to actually chain them too.

I think these are neat, and I love the flavor on Chained to the Rocks.

#10. Cast Out

Cast Out costs one more but comes in with flash and can always be cycled for , which really carries it. I like the card draw aspect if you don’t have anything to target, but the best part is that you’ll always have something.

#9. Ossification

The cost on Ossification is amazing and you fully expect to have at least one basic land you can choose. There are consistently exile targets available, so this card usually feels great to have on hand.

#8. Oubliette

One of the only black representatives on this list is Oubliette. It phases things out, instead of exiling them, but that’s virtually the same effect. It costs three mana but only hits creatures.

This is absolutely a strict downgrade for white, but that makes it highly unique for black considering what it’s got to compete with. I still think that there are infinitely better things to play as removal in black.

#7. Temporary Lockdown

Next up is Temporary Lockdown, which hits every nonland permanent with a mana value of two or less. That’s a really, really strong effect for three mana and somewhat resembles Pyroclasm, which is never bad.

#6. Consulate Crackdown

Starting off the best of the best is Consulate Crackdown, a 5-mana enchantment that hits all artifacts your opponent’s control. It’s sort of expensive, but boy will it totally run artifact decks over and leave nothing behind.

Sure, it’s not a permanent effect and all of those artifacts will be looming over your head throughout the entire game, but this is pretty good for an O-Ring effect!

#5. Detention Sphere

This multicolored O-Ring is Detention Sphere. It’s one of the most commonly played ones out there, and for good reason. It hits just about any nonland permanent, and it hits everything with the same name. It’s a total upgrade in the right circumstances, and that’s great.

This obviously doesn’t have much additional impact in Commander, but you may just get lucky enough if you name something extremely common like Sol Ring.

#4. Banish to Another Universe

To Banish to Another Universe is a pretty serious thing and with a clean cost reduction I can build around becomes great even if we start at five. It's so important that this can nab a nonland permanent. Have we mentioned yet how not sending cards to the graveyard oftentimes cuts that card out of an opponent's strategy whether that is to collect evidence, craft, or delve?

#3. Conclave Tribunal

The next O-Ring effect is Conclave Tribunal, a 4-mana O-Ring effect with convoke.

The standard effect from Oblivion Ring is still really, really good, and this is just a strict upgrade on that original design. It doesn’t mess around with board-wide effects or smaller creatures, it’s just a straight upgrade. And that’s what you’re here for.

#2. Grasp of Fate

Grasp of Fate is where things start to get serious. This is a real step-up from the previous cards and is amazing in Commander and multiplayer games. It takes something from each of your opponents and fits in perfectly with enchantment-based decks.

I’ve played this plenty of times and have yet to be disappointed with it. I promise that you won’t be either.

#1. Leyline Binding

Leyline Binding is a complete bomb. It has warped formats since its creation and it’s not uncommon to get this effect for just one white in the right kinds of decks. Triomes make this really easy in what would otherwise be 3- or 4-color decks, and the fact that it has flash and isn’t limited to just creatures or artifacts is great.

I was surprised to see this card be made as I thought it was completely insane then, and it’s still just as amazing now as it was when it was first printed.

Best O-Ring Payoffs

O-Ring effects don’t typically have much room for payoffs through other cards, and if you're going for benefiting from enters the battlefield or leaves the battlefield effects, you should probably check out blink/flicker effects. I think that protecting your O-Rings so they just become pseudo-permanent effects is the best way to go.

Privileged Position is one of the best ones out there since all O-Rings come on enchantments and making them hexproof really, really limits your opponents’ options for removing them. Greater Auramancy is a really close neighbor and they’d need non-targeting removals like board wipes that also hit enchantments, and those are pretty hard to come by.

Can You Oblivion Ring an Oblivion Ring?

Yes, you can target an Oblivion Ring with another Oblivion Ring. It’s actually a very common interaction since O-Rings are most prevalent in Limited where people play with and against them quite often.

How Do You Permanently Exile with Oblivion Ring?

If Oblivion Ring leaves the battlefield before its first ability has resolved, its second ability will trigger and do nothing. Then its first ability will resolve and exile the targeted nonland permanent forever.

How Does Oblivion Ring Work on Commanders?

You can either leave your commander under the Oblivion Ring when it resolves or sends it right back to the command zone since you can move your commander back whenever it would change zones.

Can I Infinitely Loop Oblivion Rings?

Yes with a catch, it is possible to cast a third Oblivion Ring on your own O-ring that exiled the first of your O-rings and cause an involuntary loop in which no other actions can be made. If no one can break that loop, you end the game in a draw.

Most versions after the original Oblivion Ring require that you target an opponent's permanent to avoid this draw-inducing loop.

Wrap Up

Prayer of Binding | Illustration by Wylie Beckert

That wraps up my rankings and question-answering for O-Ring effects! They’re a super prevalent effect and knowing what makes them stronger or weaker is a great way to rate cards. There’s a lot of diversity in O-Ring effects, but they all have the same general qualities.

What do you think of my rankings? Are there any O-Ring effects I didn’t include that you think deserve recognition? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or over in the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!