Ranking The Best Removal Spells From Phyrexia: All Will Be One

Phyrexia: All Will Be One was officially released a while back and players are now getting to play with all the new cards. There is quite a bit to excite players in the set - The reintroduction of poison counters, some powerful new commander cards, reprints of popular dual-lands, Planeswalkers, and more. The set also features some great removal spells and they are the topic of today's article.

Regardless of the format, being able to interact with your opponent's creatures, permanents, and spells with removal and counters is a must. Without removal spells, you're at the mercy of your opponent's game plan. That said, each new set brings new interaction with it. So, let's take a look at the best removal spells from Phyrexia: All Will Be One and what makes them good or bad.

White

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5. Vanish into Eternity

Paying a total of six mana to exile a creature is not a great rate. While I would say this would certainly be better than nothing in a Limited environment. However, even there, I think the cost is bad. There is, however, more text on the card. If it targets a non-creature permanent, it only costs three mana. So, the big question here is "Are there important non-creature permanents you'll need to answer?"

Overall, yes. Cards like Sword of Forge and Frontier, Ichormoon Gauntlet, and the sets Planeswalkers are all something you may want to have some answers for. That said, the main thing is the Planeswalkers and there are more cost-effective solutions to them to be found elsewhere.

I do think this is decent to have in your sideboard to slot in if your opponent has drafted lots of enchantment-based removal like Mesmerizing Dose.

Recommended Formats: Limited

4. Charge of the Mites

As a token aficionado, I naturally like this card. It's not the most reliable removal spell in the set because the damage scales with the number of creatures you have. So, if you don't have any creatures, this isn't going to be removing anything. On the other hand, if you have a ton of creatures, you could answer some large threats for pretty cheap. Plus, the fact that it hits creatures as well as Planeswalkers at instant speed is nice,

The other half of the card lets you make two 1/1 creatures. This helps ensure that the card will never be completely dead regardless of the board state or match-up. It's a card that I would draft multiple copies of in a go-wide or Toxic build. And while you can't count on this to line up, having multiple copies of this in your deck makes it better since early copies can create creatures to fuel the removal portion of later copies.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard

3. Planar Disruption

This card has flown under the radar in my opinion. I've had some great success with effects like this playing limited and those versions weren't even as versatile as this is. It can completely shut down many of the bombs in Phyrexia: All Will Be One limited. It can stop all sets Planeswalkers from being activated, any of the sets creatures from attacking, blocking, or using their abilities, and hits artifacts like Sword of Forge and Frontier too.

The sheer number of targets that this can interact with is pretty crazy. Granted, if the opponent can manage to remove your enchantment they get their threat back. But even still, having a two-mana way to nerf nearly every bomb in the set is hard to beat.

Recommended Formats: Limited

2. White Sun's Twilight

White Sun's Twilight has a lot going on aside from destroying creatures. If you can manage to cast it for at least seven mana (x being five) you'll gain five life, make five 1/1 creatures, and wipe the board of all other creatures. Considering the tokens will remain on board, this is 100% a game-winning play in a Limited.

Aside from Limited, this will see play in Commander as well. Many decks want to be producing tokens and having the effect stapled on a board wipe is quite good there too. It may be a little too slow for formats like Modern but I wouldn't be surprised to see it pop up there as well.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Commander, Pioneer

1. Ossification

It doesn't get a whole lot cleaner than this if you're looking to deal with opposing creatures and Planeswalkers. You do have to enchant a basic land you control but that shouldn't be a problem at all in the majority of circumstances in Limited. This card is very similar to Planar Disruption and there are some pros and cons to each.

Ossification hits slightly fewer targets but the ones it does hit it deals with more all-encompassingly. For example, a creature trapped under Planar Disruption still counts as a creature on board and it can still be sacrificed for value. Whereas, with Ossification, the creature or planeswalker can't be used at all. A small difference at times but we are discussing the best, so this gets the nod. It's cheap and effective removal and if you see it while drafting, pick it up.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard

Blue

4. Bring the ending

This is a pretty straightforward "permission" counterspell. If you're going to use this card effectively you'll need to do one of two things. First, wait until your opponent can't pay is tapped out, or otherwise can't pay the two mana for their spell to resolve. The second way to make the card effective is to have your opponent corrupted. If you do, you'll have a two-mana hard counter.

Recommended Formats: Anywhere you're playing Infect/Toxic and have Blue in your deck

3. Minor Misstep

I've written about Minor Misstep in Modern at length and you can find my article here if you're interested. To summarize, I think the card is at its best in a tempo strategy where it matters less what you're countering and more that you slow your opponent down a turn a higher percentage of the time.

It's similar to Mental Misstep in some ways but different as well. As a downside, it can never be cast for free. However, it has the added benefit of being able to counter zero mana spells too. If you're playing in formats that heavily feature important zero and/or one-mana spells, this will be a card to consider for sure. In Modern, this does some work against cascade targets like Crashing Footfalls and Living End and removal like Fatal Push, Path to Exile, and Lightning Bolt.

While in Pioneer you have Elvish Mystic, Llanowar Elves, Pithing Needle, and Portable Hole all amongst the most played cards in the format. As far as Limited goes - There are 36 one-mana spells in Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Some are removal spells and some, like Venerated Rotpriest are bombs. That said, I think this one might better serve the majority of Limited decks in the sideboard since it is somewhat narrow.

Recommended Formats: Standard, Pioneer, Modern

2. Mesmerizing Dose

Enchantments that lockdown a creature are pretty good ways of dealing with threats when playing Sealed and Draft. Mesmerizing Dose is particularly good because it casually has "then proliferate" stapled onto it. So, not only does it remove the biggest opposing creature from combat but also moves whatever counter-based strategy you've built toward victory.

Having some upside for your strategy on your removal makes it more versatile and helpful in a greater number of situations. If you're drafting a proliferation deck, you could pick up multiple copies of this at common. The only downside is that the creature's abilities are still able to be used. Creatures like Drivnod, Carnage Dominus, Mondrak, Glory Dominus, and Venerated Rotpriest will still be able to generate value through Mesmerizing Dose.

Recommended Formats: Limited

1. Reject Imperfection

Reject Imperfection is similar to Mesmerizing Dose. It's also a three-CMC way to deal with threats that allows you to Proliferate. However, in this case, you'll have to meet a requirement to do so. So, what are the pros and cons here? Well, Reject Imperfection can deal with more things and in a more definitive way. The downside is that you only get to proliferate when you counter a smaller spell.

Still, there are plenty of important things to remove at the three-CMC or lower range. I see this being something you would hold up and use to counter removal while applying even more pressure to your opponent. You can't pass up the value of putting an opponent a step back while you take a step forward.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard

Black

7. Whisper of the Dross

Here we have yet another removal spell that allows you to Proliferate. Granted this card only gives a -1/-1 until the end of turn but it does so at instant speed, for a single mana, and bolsters your creatures, Planeswalkers, or get's you closer to having someone corrupted. Or possibly all four. Instead of thinking of this as removal with proliferate attached, you'll likely be drafting this as proliferate with removal attached.

Even if the -1/-1 doesn't kill an opposing creature the cheap, instant speed way to increase your counters is going to be very good. And the potential boost to the casters board means this can be a combat trick to take down bigger threats. That said, this can naturally remove cards Voidwing Hybrid, Skrelv, Defector Mite, and Mercurial Spelldancer.

Overall, this is a very efficient, versatile card that I would love to pick up alongside Archfiend of the Dross.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard

6. Vraska's Fall

I love edict effects and I'm quite fond of this. Having a way to remove a creature or planeswalker is decently versatile and instant speed removal is always a plus. There is also the added upside of bestowing your opponent with a poison counter too. In the mid-game, taking out a threat and getting someone over the threshold for corrupted, all with a single card is nice.

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The only real downside here is that your opponent gets to choose what they sacrifice. Not only do they get to choose what exactly they ditch but they also get to choose between a creature or planeswalker. So, they'll always be choosing the best possible option for them and this can be a problem if they have expendable tokens. However, you'll always be getting the poison counter.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Maybe Standard

5. Sheoldred's Edict

This is the better version of the effect mentioned above. Your opponent still has some freedom to choose what happens. But you have the power to restrict their options in a way that makes it more effective at removing what you want to see gone. For example, you can choose the planeswalker mode and they have to ditch a planeswalker. Or if they have a Mondrak, Glory Dominus and a board full of tokens, you can make the tokens unable to be fodder.

Speaking of the "Dominus" line from ONE - Sheoldred's Edict and Vraska's Downfall are both great ways to circumvent the indestructible counters that can be placed on these creatures.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard, Pioneer, Modern

4. Black Sun's Twilight

 Black Sun's Twilight pays homage to Black Sun's Zenith and like its predecessor, it's a very good card. First, the -x/-x removal style means it can down indestructible threats like those mentioned above. The value of x is equal to the amount of mana you can't pump into when casting it. This allows it to be flexible and take out low-toughness threats early if need be and even the biggest of creatures later in the game. In other words, it scales with your mana.

If/when you're able to cast it for at least six mana, you have a potentially game-ending play on your hands. Not only will you be giving at least a -5/-5 to something but you'll also reanimate the biggest threat in your graveyard directly to the battlefield. Furthermore, only having a single black mana pip makes it very splashable in Limited. Taking out a creature and getting back a Tyrranax Rex or something will be very hard to deal with.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard, Pioneer, Commander

3. Annihilating Glare

Let's be clear here - You'll never be wanting to pay five mana for this card. Annihilating Glare shines in strategies where you want to be sacrificing your things. In this case not only will you have a sac outlet to help generate value but you'll also get a cheap removal spell capable of hitting creatures or Planeswalkers. This is basically a better version of Bone Splinters

Things like Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber, Blightbelly Rat, and Cacophony Scamp are all things that have upsides when they die and these certainly aren't the only ones. And if not these, a 1/1 Mite token is never a bad option either. With a few cards in your deck that are able to support it, this can be a very clean removal spell.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard, Pioneer, Commander

2. Anoint with Affliction

This is one of the best commons you could pick up in ONE Limited. It's low-CMC, it's instant speed, and it exiles the creature. The only catch is that it can only target creatures with a converted mana cost of three or fewer. Until your opponent is corrupted, that is. Then you can exile whatever you need to.

There are plenty enough threats three mana and under to make this worth playing. Especially in constructed formats. However, in a devoted infect/toxic strategy, getting up to the required three poison counters to remove the restriction won't be a problem. Anoint with Affliction is capable of performing in the early, mid, and late-game portions of a game in.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard 

1. Drown in Ichor

It doesn't get much better than Drown in Ichor. A -4/-4 takes down the majority of creatures in the set. Not only is this prime removal at a good rate, but you also get to proliferate. The fact that it reduces power is useful for a few reasons too. First, as mentioned, before you can get around the Indestructible counters on the "Dominus" creatures. Next, it allows you to finish off large creatures that were damaged.

Having a watered-down version of [[Dismember] with the added upside of proliferating is very strong. actually, I think this is strong enough to pick up in Limited even if you don't have counter synergies in your deck.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard, Pioneer 

Red

6. Molten Rebuke

Molten Rebuke isn't exactly cheap but it can do a lot under the right circumstances. If you have a creature/planeswalker and an equipment to target you can get a nice two-for-one. Given that there are 13 equipments in the set (some of them like Sword of Forge and Frontier are quite good too) both modes can certainly be relevant at times.

That said, the creature/planeswalker is the one that will be the most relevant. And five damage is enough to deal with a lot of things from ONE. Overall, this isn't a bad effect, it's just expensive.

Recommended Format: Limited

5. Red Sun's Twilight

For the Red Twilight card we have mass-artifact removal. If you remove at least five artifacts this way, you'll create a token copy of each one. Removing a bunch of artifacts is necessary at times and this is a powerful effect. However, I feel like this will only shine in Commander, where there are multiple players and powerful artifacts are very common.

Recommended Formats: Commander

4. Nahiri's Sacrifice

I mentioned above when talking about Annihilating Glare that I thought these types of cards were good and why. However, most of the good things about them is missing from Nahiri's Sacrifice unfortunately. The main difference here is that Nahiri's Sacrifice doesn't outright destroy a creature. The bigger the threat you want to remove, the bigger of a card you'll have to sacrifice. This also means that creature tokens represent no damage here.

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There are still creatures that generate some value when they die but not being able to simply sac your most expendable thing is a pretty big downside. Furthermore, while we're comparing the two cards, this one can't hit planeswalkers at all. The main redeeming quality here is that you can deal damage to multiple creatures.

Recommended Formats: Limited

3. Hexgold Slash

One mana for two damage is an ok rate, espesially in Limited. That's where Hexgold Slash starts and it only gets better from there. If the creature you're targeting has Toxic, you'll get an extra two damage. Given the number of creatures with Toxic in the set, this will have plenty of targets. And four damage is enough to bring down every Toxic creature in the set other than Tyrranax Rex and Paladin of Predation.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard

2. Volt Charge

Three mana for three damage isn't the best rate for removal but getting to proliferate sweetens the deal quite a bit. So, like all the other removal spells with proliferate mentioned so far, you're interaction is also furthering the offensive gameplan, which is great. Furthermore, being able to deal damage to a player increases the versatility of Volt Charge even more. If you happen tp pick this up, you'll likely always be happy to see it.

Recommended Formats: Limited

1. Rebel Salvo

So, we've looked at quite a few removal spells so far and none of them have been able to deal five damage for a single mana. Well, Rebel Salvo can. it does start out at three-mana but the affinity for equipments can reduce the cost down to one. Even if you take the card at its floor (the worst it can be) it's good.

The ability to strip a creature of being indestructible at instant speed is huge and five damage is enough to bring down most creatures in the set, including all of the "Dominus" creatures other than Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus. It can also hit planeswalkers, and can do it all for as little as one Red mana, if you have some equipment.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard, Pioneer

Green

2. Infectious Bite

Green's removal of choice is fight spells. Infectious Bite isn't technically a fight spell but assuming you have the bigger creature this will do the job of removing whatever creature is in your way. This part of the effect is pretty standard, but giving each opponent a pioson counter on top of it is good. Mono-Green doesn't have too many tools in Standard at the moment so I'm happy to see Green play to its strengths in Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard

1. Carnivorous Canopy

This type of spell is another classic for Green. But once again, proliferation is present and makes the card that much better. There are a total of 30 creatures with flying from the new set. So, pair that with the artifacts, enchantments, and the fact that if your target a small enough permanent you'll increase whatever counters you may have and you have a pretty solid three-mana spell.

Recommended Formats: Limited

Colorless

The Filigree Sylex

I like to think of The Filigree Sylex as a make-shift Ratchet Bomb. You can cast it and crack it to destroy all tokens on board. In a devoted oil-counter strategy or if you proliferate a bunch this can be a pretty effective board wipe. And, in the late game, dealing 10 damage to an opponent can close out some games.

Recommended Formats: Limited, Standard, Pioneer

Conclusion

I love breaking down removal and this one was a fun one to do. Phyrexia: All Will Be One has some very good interaction. Many of the spells are good removal spells with abilities like Proliferate attached to them. Hopefully, this has helped put some of the best removal spells from ONE on your radar. Until next time, get out there and build some decks with the new set.