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).