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20 best board wipes in Magic: The Gathering
Polygon has published a listicle ranking 20 of the best "board wipes" (also called sweepers) in Magic: The Gathering, spells that clear multiple permanents from the battlefield at once. The piece traces the mechanic back to Wrath of God in the game's 1993 Alpha set and explains how modern design has diversified sweepers beyond simple destruction, incorporating exile effects, toughness penalties, cost reduction and asymmetrical or selective destruction to give control and midrange decks powerful tools for resetting a game.
The article highlights several standout examples from its ranking, spanning both competitive and Commander formats:
– Boompile: a four-mana artifact that flips a coin to destroy all nonland permanents the turn it enters play.– Scourglass: a slower, asymmetrical artifact-based wipe that spares artifacts and lands.– Organic Extinction: a 10-mana Improvise spell that destroys all non-artifact creatures, ideal for artifact-heavy decks.– In Garruk's Wake: a nine-mana sorcery that destroys opponents' creatures and planeswalkers while leaving the caster's board untouched.– Ezuri's Predation: introduced as a rare green option for mass creature removal (description cut short in the source text).
In short
- Polygon ranks 20 top Magic: The Gathering board wipe cards.
- Sweepers have evolved from simple destruction to varied, selective effects.
- Featured cards include Boompile, Scourglass, Organic Extinction and In Garruk's Wake.
Explained simply
Magic: The Gathering is a card game in which players use spells and creatures to compete. “Permanents” are cards that stay on the battlefield, such as creatures and artefacts; a board wipe is a spell that removes several of them at once, changing the state of the game.
The mechanic dates back to Wrath of God, a card in the game’s first 1993 set. Since then, sweepers have taken different forms: some destroy broadly, while others exile cards or spare certain types of permanents.
Board wipes can help control or midrange decks recover when an opponent has built up a strong battlefield. Their effects vary: In Garruk’s Wake targets opponents’ creatures and planeswalkers, while Scourglass leaves artefacts and lands untouched.