All 5 Skullbombs in Magic Ranked

Last updated on November 29, 2023

Surgical Skullbomb | Illustration by Gaboleps

Skullbombs are a new cycle of cards included in our return to New Phyrexia for All Will Be One. A call back to an older cycle of Spellbombs, these are intended to evoke a sense of horror (the artifacts are crafted from skulls of fallen creatures on the plane) while contributing to some of the artifact themes. They go hand-in-hand with Mirrodin-based sets.

These cards are going to be a role player in the Limited format of All Will Be One, and they’re likely to crop up in Cubes and some Constructed decks if their Spellbomb predecessors are anything to go by. Let’s take a look and figure out which are going to be the ones are going to go off!

What Are Skullbombs in MTG?

Dross Skullbomb | Illustration by Gaboleps

Skullbombs are a cycle of five cards at common printed in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, with one linked to each of the colors of mana. They probably remind you of the Spellbombs originally seen all the way back in the original Mirrodin set and many times since.

The Skullbombs each cost one mana, and you can pay a single generic mana and sacrifice it to draw a card. Or you can pay a colored mana cost to draw a card and have a different effect dependent on the individual Skullbomb. Being commons from the set, they’re clearly designed for use in Limited, though there’s definitely a chance they could see some play elsewhere.

I’m mostly looking at their use in Limited for these ranking, but I'm also taking their playability elsewhere into account.

#5. Furnace Skullbomb

Coming in at the bottom is Furnace Skullbomb. This is the only one with a second ability that costs two mana rather than three, and it’s likely because that ability isn’t really doing a huge amount.

Oil counters are certainly going to play a part in the Limited format, but I’m not sure how often adding two of them to an artifact or creature is going to sway anything during games. Especially with proliferate running around, getting more counters where they matter is going to happen already.

And as we've only seen oil counters in this set so far, I can’t see it seeing much play outside of the Limited environment. While Furnace isn't unplayable, the others are just better.

#4. Dross Skullbomb

Dross Skullbomb is a pretty predictable version of a black card in a cycle, bringing a creature back from the graveyard for three mana. Just because it’s predictable doesn’t mean that it’s bad!

Not only do you get the creature back, you also draw a card. Recover is a spell that does this exact thing, and it's been playable in the past. Plus you have the option to draw with the first ability, along with the artifact synergies.

You still need to pay one mana to get this onto the battlefield in the first place, which is a definite cost. As with a lot of these it would probably be best either playing it turn 1, or alongside another spell on a later turn to double spell.

A late game effective draw two, even for four mana, isn’t the worst thing in the world. Especially if you know one of those cards is going to be the best creature in your graveyard.

#3. Maze Skullbomb

A big reason Maze Skullbomb is this high on the list is because of toxic in the format, especially on some of the bigger creatures in green like Tyrranax Atrocity. It’s less likely to see play in formats outside of Limited, but it’s pretty good in the 40-card formats.

Only being able to activate at sorcery speed is a big negative with the card, as are the times you activate it and your opponent removes the creature in response. No card draw in that case. Big sad.

Even so, green wants to smash here and this Skullbomb is built to do just that.

#2. Basilica Skullbomb

Similar to the green Skullbomb, Basilica Skullbomb is going to be great in helping get both damage and poison onto your opponent. The stats aren’t as good with this one, but giving flying is a huge upgrade compared to trample.

Flying is possibly enough to push this into seeing play outside of Limited, or at least in some Cubes. We’re still probably not seeing it. The problem remains of removing the target creature in response, and three (arguably four) mana to get the effect isn’t going to be great.

There are some aggressive white artifact decks out there, though, so you never know!

#1. Surgical Skullbomb

The best of the bunch is almost certainly going to be Surgical Skullbomb. Bouncing a creature makes this the only Skullbomb that affects the opponent’s board. Target a token with the effect to get rid of it entirely. It’s not surprising that Aether Spellbomb is the most played one of the original cycle, and this one has a very similar effect despite costing a lot more to activate.

This could see some play in some kind of Emry, Lurker of the Loch based combo deck outside of Limited, at least as an extra copy of Aether Spellbomb. It’s also very Cube-able and will no doubt see some play when someone wants some extra artifact draw there.

Best Skullbomb Payoffs

If you’re looking to build around one or more of these Skullbombs, I’d first look at a deck that cares about sacrificing artifacts. There are some Oni-Cult Anvil decks lurking in Standard, Historic, and Pioneer/Explorer that could definitely make use of something like one of these.

You could also potentially do something with Foundry Inspector or another effect which reduces the cost of artifacts. You could then chain a few of them together to cycle through your deck. If you want to go full magical Christmas land, add Zirda, the Dawnwaker to make sacrificing them free, too!

Wrap Up

Basilica Skullbomb | Illustration by Gaboleps

Skullbombs are a fantastic call back to a pretty famous cycle, but they fit the flavor of the ravaged scape of New Phyrexia. They hit the mark, and they fit the Limited format in a pretty interesting way with potential to sneak into Constructed formats.

Do you see any way to make good use of the Skullbombs outside of Limited? Eggs are nothing new in MTG, but there are fans of eggs out there who are always looking for a new one to play. Will you be including them in your 60- or 100-card decks? Let me know your thoughts on these grizzly artifacts down below or over on Draftsim's official Twitter.

I’ll see you in the next one!