I’m not done yet with ranking magic cards! Magic The Gathering’s absolute top 10 is coming in hot. Many of these cards will be familiar; they have been featured on my other lists. The cards on this list are the best of the best, the cream of the crop. Each is likely banned in at least one format or prevented from being printed again due to its power. They are format-defining cards that are emblematic of what starts the arms race in someone’s playgroup. Just like in my Top 10 Rares article, the Power Nine will be excluded to make it more interesting.
1. Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Some people may be surprised by this choice, but if you have read my Top 10 Rares article, you won’t be. Lurrus of the Dream-Den is the single most powerful card ever printed in Magic history. Lurrus brutalized every format in the game into Decks that Run Lurrus vs. Decks Built to Beat Lurrus. This resulted in her being banned in literally every format except for Vintage. She was the first power-level ban in Vintage in decades, and even though she has been unbanned, she is back on the watchlist.
2. Force of Will
I know I didn’t feature this in my Rares list, but I was more interested in banned cards. Force of Will is not banned or restricted in Legacy or Vintage, but this is because those formats are balanced around Force of Will. Force of Will is the single best answer in Magic: The Gathering. It is the piece that keeps combo in check in two of Magic’s most powerful formats. It is one of the most iconic spells in Magic. Its unique ability to be a card disadvantage to not lose the game is what makes it the most balanced, powerful card on this list.
3. Oko, Thief of Crowns
Yeah, I’m sorry. He’s back. Banned in every format except Vintage because he is basically unbeatable in 1v1. He is pretty obnoxious in Commander as well; turning someone’s commander into an Elk is pretty funny. Oko is the most powerful card printed directly at Mythic Rare ever. He is the best planeswalker ever printed. He is probably the best Simic card ever printed as well. It’s his ability to single-handedly completely dominate a game of magic that makes him so powerful.
4. Brainstorm
Iconic Legacy card and restricted in Vintage, Brainstorm is one of the best card selection tools in Magic. Brainstorm allows a player to completely change their gameplan for one blue. There is nothing more annoying than Thoughtseizing your opponent and then they Brainstorm and hide all of their good cards. Or if they Brainstorm after you Thoughtseize them. They could be on a completely new plan now, and you have no idea.
5. Demonic Tutor
Demonic Tutor is the best card selection spell in Magic The Gathering’s history. It is also restricted in Vintage but banned in Legacy and on Commander’s Game Changer list. One of the most terrifying cards you will ever see your opponent cast other than the combo pieces. At least when the combo pieces are cast, you know what’s coming. Demonic Tutor into Ancestral Recall is a classic Vintage game-ender. Demonic Tutor for any combo piece is also terrifying.
6. Vampiric Tutor
The second-best card selection spell in Magic’s history and the second-best tutor ever printed after Demonic. The instant speed and being one mana cheaper make it an equivalently scary card to Demonic Tutor. This card can be Mental Misstep’d though, unlike Demonic Tutor. It is only legal in Vintage and is restricted like its brother. I hate seeing this card being cast in most commander games unless it is Bracket 4 or cEDH.
7. Karn, the Great Creator
The second-best planeswalker ever printed. Banned in Pioneer and restricted in Vintage. Karn is amazing in big mana decks because it gives them access to a sideboard of answers and threats. The absurd synergy of Karn with artifacts also makes him too powerful in Vintage, where the best artifacts are. He also got Mycosynth Lattice banned in Modern because the combo between them was too hard to deal with.
8. Sol Ring
The best mana rock ever printed and the most iconic card in Commander. Sol Ring is also banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. This card completely changes the course of a game of Commander or Vintage. Suddenly, your opponent will untap two whole turns of mana ahead of you. Casting it before Turn 4 is warping. There is now a growing community of Commander players who are calling for the card to enter the Game Changer list or even receive a ban. WotC remains determined not to allow this, however.
9. Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
Banned in Commander and Vintage Shops all-star, Golos is the best commander ever printed. It is simply too good at enabling any and every strategy that is playable. It also pays for half of its own Commander Tax by entering the battlefield. It also has more card text, and it is a crazy line. Paying 7 mana to draw 3 cards and play them for free is just too powerful. For all of these reasons, Golos received the axe in Commander. I hope that it is never unbanned and does not enter the Game Changer list for a trial run because it is just too good.
10. Underworld Breach
One of the biggest design mistakes in recent memory. Breach is now banned in Pioneer, Modern, and Legacy. In Vintage it is also a powerhouse where it enables Jeskai Lurrus as a combo deck. It is, in so many ways, even more busted Yawgmoth’s Will. In Vintage you are able to chain Black Lotus and Brain Freeze in the Freeze Breach combo. It is also a playable combo in Commander with Lion’s Eye Diamond.
