The 49 Best Protection Spells in Magic Ranked

Last updated on November 5, 2025

Akroma's Will | Illustration by Antonio José Manzanedo

Have you ever sat down at a Commander pod, looking forward to an exciting game, only to find yourself in the same seat five hours later because every person at the EDH table cast two or three board wipes, constantly resetting the board?

Then you understand the need for protection spells. I want to dig much deeper than simple combat tricks like Brave the Elements that use the literal “protection” keyword—I’m looking at the best ways we have to protect ourselves from those pesky board wipes.

What Are Protection Spells in MTG?

Brokers Confluence | Illustration by Brian Valeza

I’m looking at all sorts of cards that protect your permanents from your opponents’ interactive spells. Protection spells aren’t limited to cards with the keyword “protection”, though they can use the keyword. They primarily give permanents keywords like protection, indestructible, and hexproof, though the best of them phase out your permanents. Phasing reigns supreme because it protects your cards from exile-based wraths like Farewell and Sunfall.

This list is primarily aimed at Commander players who need a hand sheltering their cards from their opponents.

#49. For the Common Good

Few spells scream synergy like For the Common Good. It multiplies your best token, scales with how much mana you put in, and then hands out indestructible to all your tokens until your next turn. On top of that, you gain life equal to your token count, turning a wide board into both a shield and a buffer. It’s one of those green spells that rewards you for going big with tokens. This works wonders alongside token doublers like Parallel Lives or Anointed Procession, which can multiply the value of your copies.

#48. Restricted Office // Lecture Hall

Restricted Office offers two sides of protection that can swing a game in your favor. On one half, it wipes out creatures with power 3 or greater, clearing away beefy threats so smaller armies like soldiers or spirits can push through. On the other half, it grants all your permanents hexproof, locking down your board from targeted removal. That mix of offense and defense makes it a flexible piece that adapts to whatever your opponents are throwing at you.

#47. Perch Protection

What a card. Bloomburrow‘s Perch Protection provides absolute protection from virtually everything but cards like Thassa's Oracle that flat-out end the game. But the cost of gifting an extra turn is absurd. It might be the biggest bargaining chip you can give in a game of Commander. Of course, you can always cast this white instant as a token generator, which white can do plenty with. I don’t think this is unplayable, but you shouldn’t throw the gift around willy-nilly.

#46. Kaya the Inexorable

Kaya the Inexorable protects one creature at a time, but few protection spells protect a creature from being exiled as well as destroyed. The protection also lasts until the creature eventually gets removed, so you don’t need to worry about tapping out to keep your precious creatures safe the way you might with some instants.

#45. Archetype of Endurance

Team-wide hexproof on this archetype creature handles any and all spot removal your opponents want to throw around. Archetype of Endurance might not be the flashiest top-end card, but it serves as a handy defensive tool should your meta not use many board wipes.

#44. Cauldron of Souls

Cauldron of Souls is a classic Commander card that lets your creatures crawl their way back from the grave, but at a price. This artifact does good work in several decks; it can be great with aristocrats to get a ton of sacrifice fodder, let you rebuy your best enters abilities, or even spread -1/-1 counters across your team for cards like Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons. We have enough good protection spells these days that I wouldn’t run it without some sort of synergy, but they’re there.

#43. Brokers Confluence

I wouldn’t consider playing Brokers Confluence in any deck that doesn’t want a triple proliferate ability. The triple phasing can be a fantastic means of protecting a handful of creatures from anything your opponents throw at them. The Stifle ability won’t be super impressive, but you can occasionally stop a combo or something.

#42. Haystack

I can see Haystack making the cut in casual white artifact decks. This mostly works as a rattlesnake; who’d point a Swords to Plowshares at Urza, Lord High Artificer with Haystack in play?

#41. Sylvan Safekeeper

You need some synergies to want Sylvan Safekeeper, but it shines in decks that want lands in the graveyard. Some notable commanders that enjoy this human wizard include Titania, Protector of Argoth and Lord Windgrace; those are the kinds of synergies you need to justify this.

#40. Robe of Stars

A fantastic protection spell for equipment decks, the biggest appeal to Robe of Stars is its ability not only to protect your equipped creature, but also all the cards attached to it. Protecting your other equipment from cards like Fiery Confluence is just as important as protecting the creature itself.

#39. Unite the Coalition

Brokers Confluence wishes it could be Unite the Coalition: a 5-color card that can protect your permanents but offers a host of other powerful abilities that don’t limit its usage. Of course, casting a 7-mana, 5-color spell isn’t for the faint of heart, but I really like modal spells.

#38. Final Showdown

At to give a single creature indestructible, Final Showdown would be an acceptable, if unexciting protection spell. The real charm is the modality of this spree card, specifically as a white wrath. Instant-speed board wipes are pretty uncommon, so this one has lots of value. Keeping your best creature post-wrath is a delicious bonus.

#37. Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard

Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard provides protection for decks that are heavy on legendary creatures. That requirement gets easier and easier to meet with each Magic set releasing bundles of legends.

#36. King of the Oathbreakers

King of the Oathbreakers provides a more proactive protection spell than many of the others on this list; rather than responding to your opponents’ interaction with a trick, this Orzhov card encourages your opponents to point their removal elsewhere.

#35. Wrap in Vigor

Regenerating your creatures is generally worse than granting indestructible, if only because a handful of wraths like Damnation ignore it. That said, Wrap in Vigor is still plenty respectable as a budget protection spell.

#34. Veil of Summer

Veil of Summer proved too strong of a color hoser for Standard, and Pioneer, and Historic… what a card! It’s a little worse in Commander since you can’t sideboard it in or play multiple copies, but protecting your team from countermagic and blue and black spells for a turn while potentially drawing a card often feels like a blowout.

One neat trick you can do is cast this green instant as your first spell in a turn, forcing your opponents to either waste countermagic on the Veil or consent to a turn where your spells can’t be countered.

#33. Lightning Greaves

One of Commander’s most prolific staples thanks to its colorless-card status, you’re hard-pressed to find a deck without Lightning Greaves. The combination of shroud, haste, and an equip cost of makes this a potent tool to protect your commander and other valuable creatures from spot removal.

#32. Mutational Advantage

You need to be in on counters for Fallout‘s Mutational Advantage to give you a leg up, but what a protective spell! Preventing damage and getting indestructible seems a little redundant, but it protects your planeswalkers. Throwing in an instance of proliferate makes this Simic card more than a trick to protect yourself, but a genuine means of advancing your board state. That kind of flexibility is sick.

#31. Make a Stand

Make a Stand is one of those cards that’s perfectly acceptable, if unexciting to have in your deck. A notably strong choice for budget decks since it costs less than a quarter, it saves your team and even adds a little damage to the board. There are a few similar cards, including Unbreakable Formation and Your Temple Is Under Attack, but I like this white instant the best.

#30. Plaza of Heroes

Adding utility lands to your mana base improves your deck’s consistency by maximizing the number of cards that affect the game you can squeeze into your deck without affecting your ability to curve out. Plaza of Heroes does this beautifully by giving you a land that protects your commander. Try to run this in decks that either use it as a 5-color land or naturally hold up enough mana that it’s not obvious.

#29. Everybody Lives!

Doctor Who‘s Everybody Lives! is an interesting protection spell as it protects, well, everybody. This could be a great way to blow out players leaning on alternate win conditions. At the very least, you might buy some friends by stopping one person from wrathing the board, then ganging up on them.

#28. Hakoda, Selfless Commander

Leading an ally deck gets much easier when Hakoda, Selfless Commander is around, since it lets you look at and cast allies directly from the top of your library. Vigilance means it can swing and still hold the line, keeping pressure on both ends. Its most dramatic use is sacrificing it to give your whole board +0/+5 and indestructible, ensuring your team survives removal and combat damage while tilting the battlefield heavily in your favor.

#27. Guardian of Faith

Guardian of Faith flashes in to save the day, though it's unlikely to survive itself. This white creature’s basically just Make a Stand that synergizes with cards that care about spirits, knights, and creatures in general.

#26. Silkguard

Silkguard combines counter synergies with hexproof. Unlike other counter-based protection spells, this one doesn’t require you to be all-in on counters; it works with any deck that modifies its creatures. This green instant can produce a surprising amount of damage when paired with counter doublers.

#25. Ultimate Magic: Holy

With Ultimate Magic: Holy, your permanents all gain indestructible for the turn, making it a clean answer to board wipes and spot removal. But it goes further—if you cast it from exile, with or without using foretell, you also prevent all damage that would hit you for the turn. That means it not only saves your board but also protects your life total in a clutch moment.

The foretell mechanic makes it especially sneaky: You can exile it early and keep just 3 mana open when you need it most. Pair it with other foretell spells like Doomskar to keep your opponents guessing, or hold it up in an aggressive deck where protecting your creatures is key. It’s a flexible shield that doubles as a surprise defensive wall.

#24. Boromir, Warden of the Tower

You need to play Boromir, Warden of the Tower at sorcery speed, but you get some value, namely with that second ability. It’s a great response to busted commanders like Maelstrom Wanderer and Etali, Primal Conqueror. It’s even a strong disruptive piece at higher-powered tables where 0-mana artifacts and free spells like Force of Will abound.

#23. Talon Gates of Madara

I’m in love with Talon Gates of Madara. You chuck it into play, ramping and phasing out a key creature all at once. This land’s also easily fetchable with cards like Crop Rotation and Urza's Cave.

#22. Lae’zel’s Acrobatics

Lae'zel's Acrobatics is nearly as good as a phasing spell. This white instant works best in decks with lots of powerful enters abilities to retrigger, which gives it utility when you don’t have to protect your creatures. The biggest issues comes from tokens: Lae'zel's Acrobatics only protects real creatures and can’t save the board in token decks.

Semester's End and Eerie Interlude can provide redundant copies if you wish.

#21. Brave the Elements

Brave the Elements can be quite situational; it won't save you from cards that say “destroy”, but it can be useful against spot removal and damage-based wraths, and in combat. Giving your team protection can even enable alpha attacks to win the game!

#20. And They Shall Know No Fear

You need to be a typal deck to utilize And They Shall Know No Fear, but it’s a worthy reward. This should be one of the first cards white-based typal decks reach for, if only for its sheer efficiency.

#19. Spectacular Spider-Man

Flash makes Spectacular Spider-Man a surprise tool for any board state, whether to block an incoming attacker or set up protection. Once in play, spending a single mana gives it flying, allowing sneaky evasive damage. The highlight, though, is sacrificing it to give all your creatures hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. That ability shuts down wipes or targeted spells, making it a true safety net for decks built around keeping creatures alive.

#18. Strength of Will

Strength of Will turns damage into a growth engine. While also making one of your creatures indestructible, every point of damage that would normally hurt it instead converts to +1/+1 counters, quickly building it into a massive threat. This works especially well with cards designed to absorb damage like Stuffy Doll or Brash Taunter. What looks like a simple protection trick often becomes a win condition, catching opponents off guard in combat exchanges.

#17. Slip Out the Back + 1-Mana Protection Spells

Slip Out the Back saves one of your creatures from removal, but this blue instant goes a little further by disrupting your opponents. Is somebody trying to slap a Curiosity on Niv-Mizzet, Parun? About to resolve Star of Extinction with Toralf, God of Fury in play? Phasing out opposing creatures heavily disrupts their game plan, even if you just remove a key attacker or blocker.

I’d group most other 1-mana instants that protect one of your creatures here; I believe Slip Out the Back to be the best of them, but cards like Loran's Escape, Blacksmith's Skill, Revitalizing Repast, etc. are all effective protection spells. A couple stand out even from these, which have appropriate spots later.

#16. Tyvar’s Stand

One mana to provide near-perfect protection for a creature is pretty reasonable; Tyvar's Stand takes this further with the ability to blow your opponents out of combat or even swipe a game if you pour enough mana into this X-spell.

#15. Ripples of Potential

Few cards both grow and protect your board as cleanly as Ripples of Potential. Proliferating first means every planeswalker, creature, or permanent with counters gets stronger, then those permanents phase out, dodging almost any removal or wipe until your next turn. It’s a perfect fit for counter-based decks, especially with commanders like Atraxa, Praetors' Voice that thrive on proliferate. This instant essentially locks in your progress and shields your biggest threats, keeping your engine humming along.

#14. Gallifrey Falls // No More

The split card frame was a beautiful way to express how Gallifrey Falls / No More happened in Doctor Who. It’s also a pretty decent protection spell or a wrath, depending on what you need.

#13. Change of Plans

Change of Plans can be rather mana intensive, but it makes up for that by having a use when you don’t need to shelter your board from the next Wrath of God. Spending a bunch of mana to make some creatures connive can tear through your deck, bulk up your team, and fill the graveyard all at once.

#12. Malakir Rebirth / Malakir Mire

Modern players likely recognize Malakir Rebirth as part of the Scam package. In Commander, it’s much more likely to be used fairly to save a creature from dying. There’s a couple of other variants on this effect like Not Dead After All and Undying Evil, but Malakir Rebirth is the best thanks to the flexibility of MDFCs.

#11. March of Swirling Mist

What if Slip Out the Back could hit multiple permanents? The answer is March of Swirling Mist, which has all the same upsides as the New Capenna instant with a much higher ceiling. This is worse when phasing out exactly one creature since it costs 2 mana, but it can be much more impactful, plus you can burn cards in your hand for extra targets.

#10. Flare of Fortitude

Free spells are always great, and that includes the MH3 Flares. Flare of Fortitude can feel a little costly since you still lose a creature, but that’s an upside in aristocrat decks! Why not trigger Midnight Reaper and protect your board at the same time?

#9. Mother of Runes + Giver of Runes

Mother of Runes has been one of the best protective spells in Magic since it was printed; if I was ranking these for Constructed or Cube instead of Commander, it’d likely take the top slot. As is, I’d still play this in most creature-centric EDH decks. It repels spot removal, messes up combat for your opponents, and generally annoys everybody while being hard to remove.

Giver of Runes is distinctly worse since it can’t protect itself, but it’s still worth playing. In some scenarios, it’s stronger as it gives protection from colorless.

#8. Selfless Spirit

Selfless Spirit provides another creature-based protection spell. I like this spirit cleric specifically when paired with cards like Lurrus of the Dream-Den and Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher that let you sacrifice it then get it right back to keep protecting the team. Even without those synergies, Selfless Spirit’s perfectly respectable.

#7. Tamiyo’s Safekeeping

Tamiyo's Safekeeping sets the standard for 1-mana protection spells that save a single permanent because it targets any permanent; most of these effects only protect creatures. But with this lovely little green card, you can save anything, even lands like Field of the Dead. That ubiquity makes it a powerful staple.

#6. Flawless Maneuver

As far as free spells go, Flawless Maneuver is relatively tame, especially when compared to other cards in its cycle like Fierce Guardianship and Deflecting Swat. But this is still incredible! Three mana is perfectly on-rate for a protective spell like this, so there’s virtually no downside to running this over Make a Stand.

#5. Heroic Intervention + Dawn’s Truce

You can’t do much better in terms of efficiency than Heroic Intervention. Sure, phasing your permanents out protects them better than indestructible does, but blanket protection for everything you control for only 2 mana is nearly unrivaled. Dawn's Truce looks slightly worse because you need to gift somebody a card for the protection, but in a political format like Commander, a gift is just the path to friendship.

#4. Galadriel’s Dismissal

One mana to protect a creature is fine; toss in a kicker cost to protect everything and you have a super impactful card. Galadriel's Dismissal functions like a split card since you get all the benefits of the hyper-efficient spell that protects a single creature without needing to worry about your protection spell failing the rest of the board.

#3. Clever Concealment

When the battlefield gets dangerous, Clever Concealment is one of the best tricks you can have. Thanks to convoke, you can cast it even when you’re tapped out, letting your creatures pay the cost. Phasing out any number of nonland permanents is a clever way to dodge board wipes, exile effects, or even pinpoint removal. Your pieces simply step aside until your next turn and come back unharmed.

This card is especially effective in token decks where you can convoke with a wide board, like Rhys the Redeemed or Adeline, Resplendent Cathar. Clever protection that scales with how many creatures you have is a perfect fit for strategies that flood the board.

#2. Teferi’s Protection

Putting Teferi's Protection second might be contentious, for it unarguably provides the most comprehensive protection for your board. The protection goes even further since it shields you with protection and an immobile life total. Unless your opponents are jamming alternate win conditions like Maze's End, you’re unlikely to lose if you can cast this card. But, for all its protective power, it only protects; there’s no proactivity.

#1. Akroma’s Will

As noted, phasing your creatures out is stronger than giving them indestructible, especially as Wizards keeps printing wraths that exile the board instead of destroying it. But I still think Akroma's Will deserves the top slot because it’s effectively a modal spell: It’s a protection card and a finisher since it effectively makes your board unblockable and gives it double strike. That duality makes it an instant slam-dunk in pretty much any white deck that focuses on creatures.

Because Akroma's Will can protect your board or flat win the game, I think it’s the better protection spell when compared with Teferi's Protection (though the real secret is to run both!).

What Is the Correct Amount of Protection for an EDH Deck?

I’d say you want at least 3-5 protection effects, but that depends on what your deck needs.

To get to the heart of the matter, you need to consider two things: What kind of protection do you need, and how critical is it? Protective spells can be lumped into two broad categories: spells that protect a single creature or permanent (Tamiyo's Safekeeping, Slip Out the Back) and cards that protect your entire board (Teferi's Protection, Heroic Intervention).

Decks that build up a single threat are more interested in the first class of protection spell; why spend 3 or 4 mana to protect everything when you only care about, say, protecting your Voltron commander or whatever creature you’re covering in equipment? But if you’re playing a deck like Jetmir, Nexus of Revels that cares about going wide, you care much more about blanket protection from board wipes.

I’d run at least five board-wide protection spells in those go-wide decks, and more if I could swing it; board wipes are the best way to beat those decks, after all. Cards like Boromir, Warden of the Tower and Selfless Spirit are incredible in these decks since they’re creatures.

When it comes to protecting a single creature, I like three or four protection spells. Cards like Tamiyo's Safekeeping and Malakir Rebirth do a great job keeping something important safe.

That said, I could see running more – for example, if your deck goes all-in on the commander, you could potentially run as many as 10 protective spells. Something like Xyris, the Writhing Storm or Nekusar, the Mindrazer needs its commanders to survive to win the game. That might sound like a lot of protection, but think of it like this: If your deck is completely shut off when the commander or a similarly critical piece isn’t in play, your opponents can beat you with a Swords to Plowshares or two. You need that level of protection to ensure you can compete.

Lastly, something players often miss is that protection shouldn’t stop at creatures. Many decks lean heavily on non-creature permanents that enable their strategy, and losing those can be just as devastating. Think about Skullclamp with a token commander deck, or an enchantment like Rhystic Study in a control shell. Cards such as Heroic Intervention can keep these crucial engines safe, ensuring your setup keeps running even through disruption.

Wrap Up

Clever Concealment | Illustration by Alexey Kruglov

Protection spells are critical in EDH to survive the onslaught of board wipes the format encourages players to use. Protection spells that phase your permanents out are the best to dodge exile-based wraths, but giving the team indestructible works in most cases. The best of these are flexible cards that work in a variety of situations.

What’s your favorite protection spell? How much protection do you generally add to your EDH decks? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!