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The Best Activated Abilities in Magic Ranked (Top 30)

Here’s a look at some of the coolest and most powerful activated abilities in Magic: The Gathering. I’ve focused on cards that do something unique or especially game-changing once you pay their cost. Some of these cards might be clunky, some might be broken, and some might even be banned in certain formats. But they all bring a certain charm to the table. Let’s jump in.


30. The Mirrodin Towers

(Tower of Eons, Tower of Calamities, Tower of Champions, Tower of Fortunes)
These towers look epic, have huge activation costs, and rarely see play. But I can’t help admiring them. They deliver a nice chunk of life, damage, or card advantage if you ever get around to activating them. Are they efficient? Absolutely not. But they sure are memorable.

29. Spawnsire of Ulamog

This Eldrazi beast demands 20 mana to pull an army of Eldrazi from outside the game. In most formats, that part does nothing. In casual circles, though, it’s a hilarious way to fill the board with cosmic horrors. Even if you ignore the sideboard trick, it can still pump out 0/1 tokens to chump block or feed other effects.

28. Soul Conduit

Swapping life totals for six mana is a wild trick. Soul Conduit can threaten to flip the game on its head if your opponents don’t remove it quickly. I’ll admit it’s clunky, but I also find it incredibly fun to watch players with low life totals eye it warily once it’s on the table.

27. Mossbridge Troll

It asks you to tap a bunch of creatures to give it +20/+20. That’s an absurd number. You need to have some big buddies on board for the cost, but the payoff is real. If your group is into wild one-shot kills, this troll stands out.

26. Djinn of Infinite Deceits

It only works if the creatures you’re swapping aren’t tapped, which can make it tricky. But there’s something satisfying about giving your opponent a random token and stealing their best creature in return. If you can untap it multiple times, you can wreak plenty of havoc.

25. Memory Jar

Paying one mana and tapping Memory Jar can give everyone a temporary fresh hand. It’s not exactly a “wheel,” but it’s close enough—and you can sometimes time it so only you really benefit. It’s also a combo piece in certain artifact-heavy decks.

24. Heartless Hidetsugu

This can slice everyone’s life total in half. However, you almost never see it used “fairly,” because damage doublers like Dictate of the Twin Gods or Fiery Emancipation turn “half” into “all.” And that’s just rude, though it’s also hilarious in the right group.

23. Phelddagrif

A flying, purple hippo that hands out tokens, life, and card draw to your opponents. It’s more of a comedic political tool in Commander than anything else. But it’s also a beloved group-hug general that’s weirdly effective at stalling games.

22. Goblin Welder

A classic in artifact-centric strategies. The ability to swap an artifact on the field with one in the graveyard can do disgusting things. You might trade a token artifact for Portal to Phyrexia on turn three. That’s a game-changer.

21. Captain Sisay

She’s all about searching up legendary cards, and that activated ability is a toolbox dream. Sisay also scales with Magic’s ongoing obsession with legendary creatures, planeswalkers, legendary artifacts, and so on. If you want consistent tutoring, this is your hero.

20. The One Ring

The One Ring – Drawing extra cards each turn is usually worth the risk of gaining burden counters. The fact that it grants you protection for a round means you’re almost always safe to get a few draws in before your opponents can break it. It quickly becomes a lightning rod for removal.

19. Aetherflux Reservoir

We all know the “pay 50 life: deal 50 damage” line. It’s a dramatic payoff for decks that build up a huge life total. Sure, you might explode if someone counters your activation, but that’s part of the fun. Get Aetherflux Reservoir.

18. Shaman of Forgotten Ways

No, not the mana ability. The real star is that “Biorhythm on a stick.” It can reduce everyone’s life to the number of creatures they control. That either ends the game quickly or flops when you don’t have enough presence on the board. It’s terrifying in the right deck.

17. Devoted Druid

It’s seemingly harmless, but it’s part of many infinite mana combos. You can untap it by putting a -1/-1 counter on it, so pair it with something that offsets the counters or turns it into a non-creature, and you’ve got infinite green mana.

16. Hermit Druid

This guy can literally dump your entire library into your graveyard if you have no basic lands. That sets up reanimation combos, dredge shenanigans, and so many ways to steal a quick win. Just keep in mind it’s going to draw a lot of hate.

15. Planar Bridge

It costs eight mana to activate, but it can fetch any permanent directly onto the battlefield. This scales with your mana production, so if you’re generating enough, you can just keep bridging your biggest haymakers into play. It’s slow, sure, but it’s unstoppable once you’re set up.

14. Food Chain

You can sacrifice creatures to generate extra mana, and that’s pretty nuts. Combine Food Chain with creatures you can cast from exile—Misthollow Griffin, Eternal Scourge, etc.—and you’ve got an infinite mana loop that fuels all kinds of nonsense.

13. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Kiki-Jiki Mirror Breaker taps to copy a nonlegendary creature, which is a standard combo piece in multiple formats. Pair him with a creature that untaps him or creates infinite tokens with haste, and you suddenly end the game. It’s a classic, and for good reason.

12. Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

Card draw, removal, and proliferation all wrapped into one. For the cost of a creature and a little bit of life, you can plow through boards and fill your hand. It’s as if Yawgmoth, Thran Physician showed up to let black decks do everything at once.

11. Necropotence

Yes, it’s a bit weird to call it an “activated ability,” but effectively you’re paying life to fill your hand. It costs no mana once it’s in play and can dominate games. It’s also famous for teaching players that paying life can be just as good as paying mana if the payoff is high enough.

10. Mindslaver

Taking control of someone’s turn is a unique effect that has existed since Magic’s earliest days. Mindslaver does it all at once. If you have a way to loop it (like Crucible of Worlds plus Academy Ruins), you can lock someone out of the game indefinitely.

9. Time Vault

“Tap: Take an extra turn.” That’s basically what it says, once you figure out how to untap it effectively. It’s so broken that it’s restricted in Vintage and banned everywhere else. If you manage to set it up, you chain infinite turns. Get Time Vault.

8. Razaketh, the Foulblooded

A free Demonic Tutor at the cost of a creature’s life. If you have enough tokens or expendable creatures, you can chain tutors until you’ve got your entire combo lined up. This demon is terrifying in graveyard decks and sacrifice decks alike.

7. Urza, Lord High Artificer

Urza Lord High Artificer provides mana by tapping artifacts, which fuels the second ability to cast spells from the top of your library. This synergy makes him an insane commander for artifact-based combos, especially if you also happen to have an infinite mana engine.

6. Sneak Attack

One red mana to toss a giant creature onto the battlefield with haste. Even if it goes away at end of turn, who cares when it’s something like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Eldrazi Titans? Opponents typically don’t survive the initial swing. Sneak Attack is solid.

5. Golos, Tireless Pilgrim

He’s banned in Commander for a reason. Paying seven mana to flip the top three cards of your library and cast them for free is huge. Golos also fetches a land on ETB, so he smooths out your mana while threatening a massive payoff every turn.

4. Birthing Pod

Birthing Pod is a creature-based tutor on a repeatable stick. Birthing Pod can climb the mana curve to grab exactly the creature you need next. It’s flexible and can be built into a synergy or combo deck, which is why it’s so iconic.

3. Griselbrand

Pay seven life, draw seven cards. Repeat as needed. It’s an absurd effect that’s banned in Commander because it can win games too easily. If you manage to cheat it into play, your opponents might not see the next turn. Yep, Griselbrand is broken.

2. The World Tree

The activated ability grabs every God card in your deck and dumps them into play. You also get perfect color fixing from it if you have six or more lands. Gods are typically strong, so this can instantly turn the board state in your favor.

1. Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree

Its Praetor-fetching ability is both flashy and devastating. For a hefty mana cost, you can pull all your Phyrexian Praetors right onto the battlefield. The flavor is incredible, and if you pull this off, you’re basically summoning an unstoppable legion of epic threats.


Final Thoughts

These are just my picks for the most outrageous or potent activated abilities in Magic. Some of them are game-defining combos, others are bizarre jank, and a few straddle the line between the two. If you’re looking for ways to amplify your deck’s activated abilities, check out cards that reduce activation costs, untap your permanents, or copy the effect for even more value. Ultimately, it’s your call—pick the ones you love, and maybe you’ll stumble across a hidden gem no one sees coming. Have fun!

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