The 10 Best Red Enchantment Removal Cards in Magic Ranked

Chaos Warp | Illustration by Phil Foglio

You’re here because you have a Commander deck that needs to break Magic's color pie. Red isn’t supposed to do enchantment destruction!

Creatures? Lands? Artifacts? Sure, we’ve had that on the menu at least since Jokulhaups. But killing enchantments is, by design, outside of red's wheelhouse.

But sometimes you're brewing with your favorite mono-red commander and you really want answers you shouldn’t have, or you’re at least curious about this forbidden knowledge, so it’s time to bend a few rules and do what your Imodane, the Pyrohammer or other mono-red EDH deck needs, which is to get a few answers to some pesky problems.

What Is Red Enchantment Removal in MTG?

Pyroblast | Illustration by Lake Hurwitz

Red enchantment removal is a rare category of cards that includes anything with a mono-red color identity that can remove an enchantment from an opponent's side of the battlefield. There are very few options among red cards that actually can destroy or exile opposing enchantments, as it’s not supposed to be a thing. What red removal cards do have are a handful of effects that can destroy permanents, which is about as close as we get in a red-only space.

In case that’s what you desperately need, here we are!

Of special note are two cards that are red but leak into other colors in their Commander color identity. First is Priest of Iroas, a terrible rate on an otherwise underwhelming card. You have better options if you have white in your deck. Something similar is true of green for overcosted monstrosity Thunderscape Battlemage if you’re in Jund () colors.

#10. Enchanter’s Bane

This is only enchantment removal if you lower your standards and squint really hard. Enchanter's Bane induces a player to sacrifice an expensive enchantment, in theory. But I’m not sacrificing Shark Typhoon or even a Banishing Light to this red enchantment unless I really have to.

Enchanter's Bane was printed in Commander 2018, so you might not be aware of it, and I can see it doing work in decks that trigger off damage. Funnily enough, it must target itself if it's the only enchantment in play.

#9. Anarchy

A feel-bad color hoser, Anarchy is sure to nab some enchantments as it cleans the table of white cards. This red sorcery feels like the sort of thing that doesn’t get you invited back next week, so be careful.

#8. Active Volcano

Active Volcano takes out a blue permanent, so Rhystic Study maybe? Or bouncing an island. I’ve had this red instant in my collection since Legends, and I still don’t quite understand how either of those things is the flavor here.

#7. Pyroblast + Red Elemental Blast

Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast can get a blue enchantment if you need to. They’re twin color hosers that are cEDH staples and likely reasonable cards with spellslinger commanders, which can counter their own stuff for triggers if they have to, although that usually feels like losing.

It’s hard to imagine packing any of these color hosers for this purpose, but I suppose they can do it if your LGS has a stale meta and you just need some breathing room.

#6. Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

Jaya Ballard, Task Mage often seems like a good, flexible idea, but it rarely is. You can nab blue enchantments or do some damage, but only at the cost of a card in addition to Jaya’s slot in the deck. Hazoret the Fervent seems like a plausible but uninspired home.

#5. Bearer of the Heavens

Most red sweepers explicitly ignore enchantments, but Bearer of the Heavens includes it all. Atlas here is likely the least efficient way imaginable to do that, but it’s here if you need it, and cheating it in a sacrifice deck might be fine.

#4. Capricious Efreet

Look at what they make you give. Capricious Efreet is kind of cool if you want sacrifice triggers anyway, and if there are two horrid enchantments out there to target, say a Rhystic Study and a Necropotence, well, you have a 67% chance of nabbing one.

Which means it has never once worked out that way for me.

#3. Chaotic Transformation

I have been reasonably obsessed with trying Standard builds of this card in Indomitable Creativity fashion. Even with artifact and enchantment tokens it doesn’t quite get there. But I’ve found that Chaotic Transformation can really answer a good enchantment. It's great if your opponent's only running one enchantment, and you can mess with their board while working your own magic with the card.

You can also turn their Mystic Remora into Omniscience.

#2. Wild Magic Surge

A sliver of the Transformation, Wild Magic Surge does feel like rolling on the Wild Magic Table in Dungeons & Dragons, and it could probably get value. But it might also just lose you the game on the spot. Sounds like red magic the way Richard Garfield intended, says this ‘90s player!

#1. Chaos Warp

I feel like this is a commercial for Commander itself, the way Viking River Cruises dominates PBS programming sponsoring in the United States.

First, I know that reference screams that I’m the Mayor of Boomertown.

But, second, it does feel like EDH is brought to you by “Chaos Warp, exploring deckbuilding in comfort!”

Chaos Warp is the classic piece of red removal in Commander for a reason. And one of those reasons has got to be answering enchantments, which this card often ends up doing for your burn-heavy red deck.

It’s chaos, and of course you can get burned for this. And of course, you sometimes just target your own stuff that’s getting removed to Press Your Luck with a topdeck. None of that is super on-rate, but sometimes you need a bit of flexibility!

Wrap Up

Bearer of the Heavens | Illustration by Ryan Alexander Lee

Certainly you already knew about Chaos Warp, but perhaps a new tool or two for your mono-red decks have revealed themselves? Mono-red has gotten a bit of an uptick in interest in EDH with commanders like Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might / Temple of Power and the rise of Magda, Brazen Outlaw, the latter of which now sees play even in cEDH.

Now, most of these cards aren’t remotely high-powered, but perhaps there are some unexpected synergies in here with your deck that work better than colorless removal like Nevinyrral's Disk or Introduction to Annihilation.

Do any of these cards besides the Warp get sleeved up in your decks? Let us know in the comments or on the Draftsim Discord!

Watch yourself around that Wild Magic, friends, and have fun!