The 35 Best Swords in Magic Ranked

Last updated on January 6, 2026

Sword of Dungeons & Dragons | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Magical swords are a pretty common fantasy trope, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that Magic has its fair share of them. I’m a big sucker for a cool sword that has narrative significance or a special ability, so I’m always interested when a new sword makes its way into Magic.

Embercleave and Blackblade Reforged are a few of my personal favorites, but there are plenty of great MTG swords for a variety of different strategies. Possibly the best-known swords in Magic are the Mirran swords, though I’d bet a lot of Commander players have seen Sword of the Animist quite often.

Most swords in Magic are equipment and permanents, though there are a few that predate that card type. If you look to build an equipment deck or just want something to help spice up your creatures, these are great options for you.

Let's take a look at the best swords Magic has to offer!

What are Swords in MTG?

Sword of Feast and Famine | Illustration by Chris Rahn

When I talk about swords in Magic, I refer to any card that represents the sword itself. That means cards like Swords to Plowshares don’t count, even though they have “sword” in their name. These cards prominently feature a sword in their artwork and are usually, though not always, equipment.

Honorable Mention: Sword of Dungeons & Dragons

As a fan of both Dungeons & Dragons and silver-border cards, I couldn’t leave Sword of Dungeons & Dragons off my list of best swords. I enjoy that the card steals the typical design tropes from the Mirran swords but makes it a little goofier since the “protection from” effect is so niche. 

This colorless card’s triggered ability is also a lot of fun. It has that extra element of chance that can make cards more exciting, but it has low enough odds that it doesn’t end up being broken like some coin flip effects.

I’m also a big fan of the design, with the hilt made to look like the D&D ampersand logo and a d20 die.

#35. Sword of the Chosen

Sword of the Chosen comes from a time in Magic’s history before there were equipment cards. Instead, artifacts like it could be tapped to give creatures temporary buffs. This card can be a little better than typical equipment if you want a quick buff since there’s no equip cost and it can tap immediately upon entering.

This card works well in some legends-matter decks, particularly a Jodah, the Unifier deck where you may just need a few more points of commander damage to take an opponent out. I also like using this card in Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon Commander decks to make my commander even deadlier.

#34. Heirloom Blade

Heirloom Blade is a nice tool for a typal deck, as it ensures you always have a new creature to replace one you’ve lost. It’s important to note that this also works with creature tokens. I run this card in my Krenko, Mob Boss deck to get some extra value out of my goblin tokens.

#33. Sword of the Squeak

With rats and squirrels continuing to become more viable creature types to build a deck around, Sword of the Squeak likely finds its way into more and more decks over time. Even if you aren’t using its second ability, this card isn’t half bad in any deck that makes a lot of 1/1 tokens. This sword makes me long for the days when my playgroup let me use Earl of Squirrel as my commander because there were no legendary squirrels yet.

#32. Meteor Sword

Meteor Sword is Meteor Golem turned into equipment by Sokka and Master Piandao in Book 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think the +3/+3 as equipment is more valuable than a 3/3 creature in the long term, but if your deck wants to flicker artifacts why not both?

#31. Pact Weapon

Pact Weapon can be a bit of a gamble, but there are decks where it can work well. If you’re running a lot of cards with low mana value, this black artifact becomes a card-draw engine that only costs you a bit of life for each new card. Alternatively, this can be a high-risk, high-reward card in a Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow deck where its buff could be the extra damage you need to take out a player.

This card is also the rare lich effect that doesn’t lose you the game outright when it’s removed from the battlefield. Equipping it to a creature with protective abilities like hexproof or indestructible could help keep you alive a bit longer.

#30. Worldslayer

While both the casting and equip costs are relatively high for Worldslayer, having a repeatable board wipe on hand can be very helpful. This can be helpful for spellslinger decks that don’t want to be pressured by a full board or decks that profit off death triggers. I also like to run this card in my Avacyn, Angel of Hope deck as a one-sided wipe after my commander hits the field.

#29. Vorpal Sword

Off the bat, Vorpal Sword deserves a lot of credit for being one of the best translations of a D&D item into a Magic card. In Dungeons & Dragons, the Vorpal Sword gives players a +2 to hit probability, reflected in the +2 power. It also had the ability to kill certain opponents when rolling over a required number, which is represented by deathtouch and its activated ability.

As an actual card, I wouldn’t count on Vorpal Sword for anything more than giving a creature deathtouch. Though you may occasionally be able to get off its ability for a big play, you’ll need a lot of mana on hand to do it all at once. More likely this card is removed before you’re able to finish off a player with it.

#28. Mage Slayer

Mage Slayer is the perfect tool for a stompy or aggro deck that wants a way to ignore blockers. This sword is great when you have one massive creature that could do lethal damage, but your opponents have a wall of blockers stopping you from getting through. It's also very potent when attached to a creature with trample.

#27. Blade of the Bloodchief

Blade of the Bloodchief is a great addition to and a good counter for sacrifice decks. Vampire aristocrat decks get even more out of this card thanks to its typal support. Additionally, slapping this equipment onto an indestructible creature and then wiping the board is a good way to set yourself up for a big play.

#26. Blade of Selves

Giving a creature myriad with Blade of Selves (itself one of the best myriad cards in the game), can be helpful in several ways. If the equipped creature has an ETB trigger, this card can give you several of those triggers per turn. This card can also be a great way to threaten multiple players at once, even if you have just one big threat. Throwing this sword on a Blightsteel Colossus can be a lot of fun.

#25. Sword of Once and Future

Sword of Once and Future is the most recent of the Mirran swords, and it’s also the most underwhelming. While protection is always nice, especially from black to avoid targeted removal, this sword’s combat damage trigger is a little more niche than some of its counterparts.

That isn’t to say this sword is worthless; there are certainly decks that could make good use of its surveil ability and/or would have a lot of cheap spells to cast. This just isn’t the type of generically good card you might throw in any equipment focused deck.

#24. Luxior, Giada’s Gift

For a while I discounted Luxior, Giada's Gift simply because I thought turning my planeswalkers into creatures was a bit too risky, given the abundance of creature removal relative to planeswalker removal. However, I realized that this sword actually works a lot better when not being used on a planeswalker.

Luxior, Giada's Gift can essentially double the effectiveness of your +1/+1 counters. It can also essentially negate -1/-1 counters. Any deck that places counters on creatures can make good use of this card, even if you aren’t running planeswalkers.

#23. Blackblade Reforged

Blackblade is a sword with a long history in Magic, first appearing on Dakkon Blackblade back in Legends. Blackblade Reforged keeps the lands-matter theme that Dakkon started, and it can provide a significant boost to one of your creatures. I also think it's a fun bit of flavor that Dakkon Blackblade is one of the best potential wielders of this sword, since it makes that card doubly as powerful.

#22. Halvar, God of Battle / Sword of the Realms

Sword of the Realms can be a good way to keep one of your creatures relatively safe, or it can serve as a way to bounce a creature back to your hand when it dies so you can reuse its ETB ability. You can also sacrifice a creature equipped with this white artifact to trigger the ability, giving you any beneficial death triggers and a chance to recast the creature.

Sword of the Realms is also the backside of a pretty good equipment/aura commander, Halvar, God of Battle. Halvar can move one of your equipment or auras around each turn, allowing you to be more flippant about what you attach things to, knowing you can switch it up later.

#21. Andúril, Narsil Reforged

At worst, Andúril, Narsil Reforged is a way to buff a single creature each time it attacks. At best, you’re buffing your entire board consistently. This can be very powerful in decks that go wide, as sacrificing one small creature on an attack is more than worth it to give the rest +1/+1 counters. Decks that build large board states are also more likely to ascend and get the city’s blessing, and get even more counters from this sword.

From an art standpoint, I also appreciate that Magic decided to create a unique look for the sword rather than just copy the design from the Peter Jackson movies.

#20. Excalibur, Sword of Eden

Were the cost reduction parameters more restrictive, I wouldn’t recommend Excalibur, Sword of Eden. But because historic permanents are so common, this card will likely end up being pretty cheap to play. Artifact or historic decks could likely even play this sword for free later in the game.

In Commander, you’ll usually have at least one legendary creature in the command zone, so you’ll have at least one target to equip this to. Its +10 power buff can easily help you threaten players with commander damage. The only major downside of this card is its association with Assassin’s Creed, but since the art is only focused on the sword itself, you can pretend it's not attached to a middling game series.

#19. Andúril, Flame of the West

Andúril, Flame of the West is an effective way to make more token creatures. Even if the attacking creature dies, you end up with one more creature on the board than you started with, plus two new fliers that you can attach this sword to. That makes this a good tool for both token decks and sacrifice decks which can profit off having extra bodies.

As far as flavor goes, I like that Andúril, Flame of the West’s abilities represent how Aragorn used the sword to get the Dead Men of Dunharrow to fulfill their oath. 

#18. Sword of Kaldra

Sword of Kaldra gives the attached creature essentially a more powerful version of deathtouch, since it can also take out indestructible creatures. Attaching this sword to a creature that does first strike damage can give you a very powerful blocker. Sword of Kaldra’s buff also creates a dilemma for players when it comes to blocking the attached creature because they have to choose between having one of their blockers exiled or taking a big hit.

#17. Dragonfire Blade

Dragonfire Blade is criminally underrated by many, speaking of crimes, you want to stop opponents from targeting your stuff? This conditional hexproof is really good and while I love the haste that Swiftfoot Boots offers as much as the next player, this blade is very comparable in cost for all commanders except mono-colored ones.

#16. Sword of Body and Mind

Sword of Body and Mind isn’t necessarily bad, but its triggered ability is a little too specific for this card to go in a lot of decks. Getting an extra creature is never bad, but milling an opponent for 10 cards isn’t always a good thing. Plenty of players are happy to have extra resources in their graveyard, so unless you’re running graveyard hate or you’re focusing on mill as a strategy, this sword can end up unintentionally helping your opponents more than you.

#15. Sword of the Ages

Maybe this is recency bias, having just played a game where this card would have won it for me, but Sword of the Ages can be very effective. There are plenty of times when I’ve had lethal damage on the board but couldn’t get through because of blockers or Propaganda effects. This sword allows you to ignore that and burn an opponent down by sacrificing your creatures instead. This sword can also give you a lot of death triggers all at once.

The main downside for this card is that any Stifle or fog effects can take this card from a game-winner to a one-sided board wipe against you.

#14. Ultima Weapon

The eldrazi of equipment, Ultima Weapon almost says annihliator 1, but you choose which creature to Murder. Thankfully, there are more ways than ever for equipment to get cheated into play and equip costs to be ignored.

Seven lucky bonus points for anyone able to equip this to a Sire of Seven Deaths and pull of an attack.

#13. Sword of Fire and Ice

For a while, Sword of Fire and Ice saw competitive play in several MTG formats, but it has largely fallen out of favor at this point. Its saboteur trigger is okay, since card draw is rarely bad, and dealing 2 direct damage to any target can be helpful. Still, it doesn’t have as explosive an ability as some other swords, and its protection isn’t the best. While it’s nice to avoid getting bounced by blue or burned by red, there’s still plenty of removal spells that get past this sword.

#12. Sword of Forge and Frontier

Sword of Forge and Frontier is a step up from Sword of Fire and Ice thanks to the wide application of its triggered ability. Impulsive draw can help any deck get some card advantage, and the ability to play an extra land helps make it less of a whiff if you don’t topdeck any spells. I can see this slotting nicely into red or white decks that might need more ways to draw cards, or any landfall decks looking for another way to get more triggers.

#11. Sword of Light and Shadow

Sword of Light and Shadow is another Mirran sword with a more niche triggered ability. Three extra life isn’t much, so this sword’s ability works better in a lifegain deck or one that makes use of your graveyard for resources. That said, this sword offers perhaps the best protection of any Mirran sword.

Both black removal and white removal are among the most prevalent interaction in Magic. By having protection from both, your creature is far less likely to be removed when equipped with this sword. That makes up for its somewhat less powerful triggered ability.

#10. Sword of War and Peace

Sword of War and Peace can be a good way to punish players for having powerful draw engines or to help you gain a lot of life off your own. This sword could work well in decks that already punish players for drawing, like a Nekusar, the Mindrazer deck.

Giving your creature protection from white and red also helps it to dodge a lot of removal, including staples like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile.

#9. Cori-Steel Cutter

Cori-Steel Cutter was too good for Standard, so it was banned. The prowess train of thought runs heavy through decks that dip into red, and the ability to create monster monks is a lot for the mana you put into the Cutter. The flurry ability of casting two spells in a turn is not something that just goes away from Magic, if anything it will always gain more support as new cards are released.

#8. Embercleave

Embercleave isn’t just a great piece of equipment, it’s also a great combat trick and one of Magic's best red artifacts. Thanks to flash and its ETB trigger, you can easily surprise an enemy with this sword. That makes it a great way to take out a blocker or deal extra damage directly to your opponent when they aren’t expecting it.

Though its cost may seem prohibitive, Embercleave really isn’t that hard to get onto the battlefield thanks to its cost reduction. Plus, when you consider most equipment requires both an upfront cost and an equip cost to attach it to a creature, this sword is actually quicker than many others.

#7. Sword of Sinew and Steel

Repeatable planeswalker and artifact removal alone makes Sword of Sinew and Steel a pretty powerful piece of equipment. Add to that its protection from two colors with solid removal, and it’s safe to say this is a solid Mirran sword. The one thing keeping it from being higher for me is that there are instances when its triggered ability won’t really do anything. That isn’t super likely, especially if you’re playing Commander, but there’s still a possibility this card won’t be fully effective which makes it slightly worse than some of the other Mirran swords.

#6. Buster Sword

Buster Sword is one of many busted cards from Final Fantasy. With that out of the way let's talk about why. The reward for landing damage on an opponent is worth a whole card and cheated mana. So if your creature hit for 5, you can get all of your mana investment back plus a card and threaten to do it again. Plus we all know you're not just slapping this on a 2/2, you're going to scale this way up and start stealing games with free spells.

#5. Sword of the Animist

Sword of the Animist is one of the best bits of artifact ramp and mana fixing the game has to offer. This card also slots well into landfall decks, since its attack trigger also triggers any landfall abilities on the board. For Nissa fans, Daniel Ljunggren’s art on this card is also a great action shot of the character.

#4. Sword of Hearth and Home

It was a tossup for me which was better between Sword of Hearth and Home and Sword of the Animist. While the latter’s ramp is more of a given, the added benefit of flickering a creature puts Sword of Hearth and Home slightly above it in my opinion. Additionally, the land you find with this sword comes in untapped, which can help speed up your game.

Protection from white is great for dodging removal, and protection from green can help the equipped creature get around some big creatures.

#3. Sword of Truth and Justice

As always, protection from white is a huge plus for Sword of Truth and Justice. Buffing your creatures is a nice touch, but I see the real reason to run this sword is for its proliferate ability.

Proliferate can be very powerful in a variety of decks, be that a counter deck, a superfriends deck, or an infect deck. It can also be used in certain situations to mess with your opponents’ board if they’re playing something like Chalice of the Void.

#2. Sword of Wealth and Power

Although Sword of Wealth and Power doesn’t give your equipped creature any evasion, it does offer a lot of protection from removal. Instead of dodging only two colors, this sword helps your creature to avoid most forms of targeted removal.

This card’s triggered ability is also very powerful. Not only does creating a Treasure token give you more resources, but it also makes it easier for you to cast a spell and fully benefit from this sword’s ability. Copying any instant or sorcery for free is always a good value, whether it's as simple as a cantrip or as explosive as an extra turn spell.

#1. Sword of Feast and Famine

Sword of Feast and Famine beats out the rest of the Mirran swords – and other Magic swords in general – thanks to its very powerful triggered ability. Untapping all your lands halfway through your turn gives you a lot of options, and making a player discard a card is a nice bonus on top of that.

Additionally, black and green are both solid colors for mono-color decks. That means that there’s a decent chance at least one player in a game of Commander won’t be able to block the creature this is attached to, giving you an easy route to untap your lands.

What Are Mirran Swords?

The Mirran swords are the name given to the cycle of swords that grant protection from two colors, and they have an ability that’s triggered when the creature deals combat damage to a player. The first five swords in this cycle – the ones that grant protection from enemy colors – all appeared in Magic sets taking place on Mirrodin, earning them the name “Mirran swords.”

Though the later swords seem to depict other MTG planes, with Sword of Hearth and Home very obviously showing Kaldheim, they’re still considered Mirran swords due to their design.

Although Sword of Wealth and Power shares a lot of design elements with Mirran swords, it doesn’t seem to be considered one because it doesn’t offer protection from specific colors.

Wrap Up

Sword of Fire and Ice | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Magic’s swords offer a variety of interesting and unique effects. Even the swords that are lower on this list that don’t offer generally good effects likely have a home in decks with specific strategies that synergize with their abilities. Now that the Mirran sword cycle is done, I’m very interested to see what Wizards does with future swords they decide to create.

Do you have any favorite swords that didn’t make this list? Is there an effect you would like to see on a future sword card? Let me know in the comments, on Draftsim’s Twitter, or you can join some discussions in our Discord server.

Thank you for reading and see you next time! And try not to get pwned by a bunch of pointy metal sticks. Wish me luck!