Magic: The Gathering is a complex game, and building a solid deck is an art. One concept critical to successful deck building is having ways to stop what the other players are doing. To do this, you’ll need to play some type of interaction or removal, and white is one of the best colors to find such cards in. Today, I’ll be covering the best white removal in MTG.
White, as a color, cares about upholding the law and dealing justice to wrongdoers. This worldview gives the color cheap, effective removal that often exiles the target for very little mana and compensates the target’s controller with land, life, or tokens. It also specializes in removing artifacts and enchantments.
White may not take pleasure in destroying its enemies, but the law must be upheld by any means if necessary. Not only will I review my top picks for the best white removal spells but also what makes them good, their pros & cons, and what formats they’re good in. So, let’s jump right in.
Top 10 White Removal Spells
Preface: White also has some of the game’s best mass removal or
10. Kabira Takedown
Here we have what’s known as a modal dual-faced card (MDFC), which you can choose to cast either side of. In this case, one side is land, and the other is a removal spell. This MDFC is incredibly versatile because they give you options between two essential resources – Land and removal, all for a single slot in your deck.
The removal half, Kabira Takedown, deals damage to an opposing creature or planeswalker equal to the number of creatures you control. So, this will always be at its most effective in decks that can generate a ton of bodies – Anything that can make a ton of tokens will love this. However, there may be times when you don’t have enough creatures on
Related: Best Lands In MTG – A Complete Guide
The land portion taps for white mana and enters the battlefield tapped, which isn’t anything to write home about. That said, it’s still a land stapled onto a kill spell, and sometimes you need land more than removal. On the other hand, if you top deck this in the late game with plenty of mana, it’ll be much more helpful than a basic land.
| Pros | Cons |
| Instant speed | Requires you to have creatures in play to be effective |
| Damages creatures and planeswalkers | |
| Versatile – Offers removal or land |
Recommended Formats: Pioneer, Commander, Oathbreaker
9. Crib Swap
Crib Swap has a lot going for it. The only true downside is the mana cost, which is a little high. You can choose and exile a creature for three mana, and its controller will get a colorless 1/1 token with changeling. If you aim this spell at something more significant than a vanilla 1/1, this will be a good trade for you.
What makes the card unique and sometimes worth the extra mana for the creature exile effect is that it’s a “Tribal Instant,” which has changeling. This means the spell itself counts as every creature type. This gives it some significant upside in decks that care about a particular creature type.
For example, if you cast this with Rin and Seri, Inseparable in play, you’d trigger both portions and make a 1/1 cat and a 1/1 dog because Crib Swap counts as both of those creature types.
| Pros | Cons |
| Instant speed | Costs more than similar effects |
| Exiles the target | Opponent gets a 1/1 token |
| Counts as every creature type |
Recommended Formats: Commander, Oathbreaker
8. Prismatic Ending
This card may seem a little strange to those who have never seen it. The more colors of mana you spend to cast it, the bigger permanent you can remove. The x in the casting cost allows you to pump mana of different colors into as opposed to just different amounts of mana.
To elaborate, casting this for two white mana would be pointless since the converge cost checks for colors of mana, not total mana spent. In my experience, the card is most effective in three or more color decks. For example, in a three-color deck, this could be:
- One-mana – exile a one CMC permanent
- Two-mana (of different colors) – exile a two CMC permanent
- Three-mana (of different colors) – exile a three CMC permanent
If your deck plays many different colors or the average mana cost is very low in your meta, this can be a tremendous catch-all answer to several permanent types.
| Pros | Cons |
| Cost scales with the size of the target | Sorcery speed |
| Exiles the target | Requires several colors of mana to remove larger things |
| Removes multiple permanent types |
Recommended Formats: Modern, Oathbreaker, Commander
7. Grasp of Fate
Some of the best removal in white is enchantment-based, and Grasp of Fate is the first that I’d like to mention. This stands out over similar cards because it exiles a nonland permanent from each opponent! Obviously, this is huge in multiplayer formats like Commander and Oathbreaker since you’re getting (at most) a three-for-one.
If you’re playing a 1V1 format, you’ll prefer Banishing Light and Oblivion Ring. Both offer the same effect as Grasp of Fate (but for a single opponent) for a fraction of the monetary cost and one less colored mana. Furthermore, if you’re playing a strategy that cares about enchantments, you may play some combination of the three.
While they are very mana-efficient answers to various permanent types, they have one major drawback. If your opponent manages to remove your enchantment with something like Nature’s Claim, they’ll get their card back. In my experience, you’ll at least get a few turns of peace… But sometimes your stuff gets blown up as soon as you play it.
Grasp of Fate has pros and cons in this regard. First, if you exile something from multiple opponents, several players are incentivized to remove it, and everyone gets their stuff back. On the other hand, I’ve seen players work together to keep this on
| Pros | Cons |
| Exiles the target | Sorcery speed |
| Removes cards from multiple players | If it gets removed the threats come back |
| Has synergy with enchantment strategies | |
| Removes several permanent types |
Recommended Formats: Commander, Oathbreaker
6. Fateful Absence
There’s much to like about Fateful Absence and not much to dislike. Overall, it has a phenomenal mix of versatility, casting cost, and benefit to your opponent. For two mana, you get a hard answer to not only any creature in play but any planeswalker too, which is nice.
While you get a cost-effective way to answer two significant permanent types, the upside for opponents doesn’t scale. They get a clue token, an artifact that says, “Pay two mana, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.” So, while they get access to a new card, they’ll not get it for free. They must pay mana into the clue and cast whatever they draw, assuming it’s good.
| Pros | Cons |
| Instant speed | Opponent gets a clue token |
| Cheap to cast | |
| Removes creatures and planeswalkers | |
| Doesn’t give the opponent anything concrete |
Recommended Formats: Standard, Pioneer, Commander, Oathbreaker
5. Dispatch
Dispatch goes from a spell that taps a creature to a one-mana exile with no downside. The only catch is that you must have at least three artifacts in play. If your deck consistently meets that requirement, you’ll have one of the most efficient removal spells possible. Of course, that’s best case scenario.
If you fail to draw enough artifacts or can’t keep them on
But still, that’s not to dissuade you – Make sure to play this alongside cheap artifacts, artifact creatures, or even artifact lands such as Darksteel Citadel, and this card will be your friend.
| Pros | Cons |
| Exiles the target | Requires you to have three artifacts in play |
| Instant speed | |
| Very cheap to cast | |
| Doesn’t give your opponent anything |
Recommended Formats: Modern, Commander, Oathbreaker
4. Darksteel Mutation
Darksteel Mutation may be the meanest spell on the list. You’re turning an opposing card into a 0/1 creature with no abilities; that’s indestructible. Now you may think, “How is that worse than removing it?” Well, because the card is utterly trapped as a harmless bug if they can’t remove the enchantment.
Related: Best Black Removal In Magic: The Gathering
This is particularly good when you cast it on an opposing commander or oathbreaker. If the spell destroyed it, they could put it back in the command zone. With a Darksteel Mutation on it, that’s not an option. Furthermore, the indestructible adds insult to injury because they won’t even be able to destroy their creature to free it.
| Pros | Cons |
| Turns the creature to a 0/1 | Sorcery speed |
| Strips creatures of all abilities | Can be removed with enchantment removal |
| It can be removed with enchantment removal | |
| Has synergy with enchantment-based decks |
Recommended Formats: Commander, Oathbreaker
3. Generous Gift
I love everything about this card. First, from a gameplay perspective, it’s great. For three mana, you can destroy any permanent you’d like. Creature? You got it. Powerful utility land? This will do it. Game-winning artifacts and enchantments? Look no further than Generous Gift.
This wouldn’t be a “gift” if you weren’t giving your opponent something – So, you destroy their permanent, and they get a 3/3 green elephant creature token. If you aim this spell at anything remotely threatening, this trade will be worth your three-mana investment.
Secondly, the card is phenomenal from a flavor perspective. I mean, the art shows some poor soul crushed beneath an elephant. This is pretty funny when you consider the card’s ability as saying, “Here’s an elephant.” and destroying something along the way. The flavor text is a nice little nod to this situation as well.
| Pros | Cons |
| Instant speed | Opponent gets a 3/3 |
| Removes any permanent type | |
| Versatile |
Recommended Formats: Commander, Oathbreaker
2. Path To Exile
Path to Exile is a quintessential spell for white, and with good reason. It’s one of the most cost-effective removal spells in the game’s history. It can not only remove but exile any creature in play for a single mana. The card is so efficient and effective at what it does that it has to come with a tradeoff.
That tradeoff is that your opponent gets to search their library for a basic land and put it onto the battlefield tapped. This may feel like a huge cost to pay (and sometimes it is), but it’s never stopped path from seeing play in every format where it’s legal to sleeve it up. Stop and ask yourself how often you’d trade your best creature for an extra land, and the power of such a clean answer becomes apparent.
| Pros | Cons |
| Instant speed | Opponent gets a land |
| Exiles the creature | |
| Very cheap to cast |
Recommended Formats: Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Oathbreaker
1. Swords to Plowshares
Unless you’re new to the game, the selection for this number-one spot is no surprise. Swords to Plowshares is the best for removal in white. For a single mana, you can remove any creature (so long as it can be targeted) and know that it won’t be coming back to bother you later on down the road.
As with many removal spells in white, your opponent gets something in return for the spell being so efficient. In this case, the consultation is life equal to the exiled creature’s power. What makes this so much better than a creature token or a land is that life total isn’t a tangible resource to the extent the other things mentioned are.
Related: Best Blue removal In Magic: The Gathering
Lands can be tapped to deploy more threats; creature tokens can be used to attack, block, or be sacrificed for value. Most of the time, the life you give someone in return for their best creature won’t advance their game plan and won’t hinder yours, making it one of the best trades in MTG.
| Pros | Cons |
| Instant speed | Opponent gains life |
| Doesn’t give the opponent a significant resource | |
| Exiles the creature | |
| Very cheap to cast |
Recommended Formats: Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Oathbreaker
Conclusion
There you have it, my friends – The best white removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these cards with me and have come away with some new spells in your repertoire to use in your next deck, regardless of what format you play.
