DisenchantDisenchant | Art by Victor Adame Minguez

Disenchant? No, Dat Enchant!

Hi, I'm Michael Celani, and since I once created a disenchantress deck (that is, an enchantress deck without any enchantments), I hold myself uniquely qualified to talk about the card that gave the strategy its namethe card that gave the strategy its name.

Most players focus on creature removal in their decks, and with good reason: you need to keep enemy commanders, beaters, and synergy pieces out of the game if you want a shot at winning.

But did you know that, of the top one hundred cards played in Commander, the majority are artifacts and enchantments?

These aren't just mana rocks, either. Well-known spells like Rhystic StudyRhystic Study, PropagandaPropaganda, and Doubling SeasonDoubling Season can easily dominate a game if left unchecked, and some (like Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir) are win conditions in themselves.

Answering artifacts and enchantments is often as important, if not more, than answering creatures, so it deserves the same scrutiny during deckbuilding that your board wipes and kill spells receive. Here's some tips and tricks that'll help you get the most out of your limited deck space.

Sensible Defaults

Let's start with a simple question. Which DisenchantDisenchant is the best in a vacuum?

Many decks aren't interested in wringing any additional synergy from their kill spells, and instead opt to spend their removal slots on simple tools that cleanly handle emergencies.

If you've ever seen a generic removal suite consisting of Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares, Beast WithinBeast Within, and Chaos WarpChaos Warp, you've seen this type of list — and that's totally fine! It's okay to fall back on solid strategies that are applicable in a variety of situations.

So let's look for the best generic DisenchantDisenchant. Most playable removal spells in the game cost two mana and can be cast at instant speed. Artifact and enchantment removal is no different; absent any other synergies, you shouldn't spend more than two mana to destroy one.

A lot has changed since the '90s, though; actual DisenchantDisenchant has been thoroughly power crept, and I'm not just talking about the one-mana version in Nature's ClaimNature's Claim. Spells do much more than they used to.

So below are my recommendations for best generic artifact and enchantment removal. You can't go wrong including any of these in your deck.

Collective ResistanceCollective Resistance

In addition to destroying an artifact or enchantment, many modern versions of DisenchantDisenchant sport a third mode that's useful at instant speed. Collective ResistanceCollective Resistance's third mode is a protection spell that leaves a creature hexproof and indestructible until the end of the turn. The ability to save your commander from a kill spell or board wipe is so unbelievably useful that you should consider it as a more-or-less default include in green decks.

As if that weren't enough, Collective ResistanceCollective Resistance also has escalate, so you can destroy both an artifact and an enchantment for an additional . You could also escalate to destroy a permanent in addition to protecting a creature, but those two use cases don't often overlap unless you correctly predict an opponent wants to remove a creature of yours and you hold up the mana as a gotcha.

Heritage ReclamationHeritage Reclamation

Heritage ReclamationHeritage Reclamation isn't quite as applicable as Collective ResistanceCollective Resistance — after all, far more decks remove creatures than play in the graveyard. But its third mode cantrips, so it's not dead even if the board is free from threats.

It's also not like exiling a card from a graveyard is never useful, it's just often not worth the tempo loss unless something egregious is happening.

Boseiju, Who EnduresBoseiju, Who Endures

You don't even have to dip into your spell slots to include a DisenchantDisenchant, because Boseiju, Who EnduresBoseiju, Who Endures is a land that you can discard to destroy an artifact or enchantment.

Even more amazingly, it's an untapped land. And since it's implemented as an activated ability rather than a spell, it's exceedingly difficult to counter.

The only downside is that your opponent gets to ramp and fix their mana as a consolation prize, but that's a small price to pay for the absurd flexibility this card brings to your deck.

Tear AsunderTear Asunder

The last useful generic DisenchantDisenchant is Tear AsunderTear Asunder. Although the color identity is more restrictive, Tear AsunderTear Asunder, at its baseline, exiles instead of destroys, and you can kick it to target any nonland permanent instead of just artifacts and enchantments.

This is an excellent tool for any given Golgari deck, and the additional flexibility makes me want to slot it in over similar cards like PutrefyPutrefy.

Going Deeper

There's tons of design space in artifact and enchantment removal, though, and you can easily find examples of cards that trade in raw efficiency for unique effects that your deck can take advantage of. I've listed a few categories below, which you should keep in mind when you construct decks.

Note that, although these synergistic spells may work better in the context of their specific decks, it's still a good idea to back them up with one or two of the above generic removal spells.

You may find yourself in a position where you have to deal with a threat from the back foot, and if you don't have the game state to take advantage of your specific synergies, it'll be wasted.

Enters Creatures

Many creatures up and down the mana value scale destroy artifacts and enchantments when they enter. If your commander cares about casting or playing many small creatures, like Karametra, God of HarvestsKarametra, God of Harvests or Chulane, Teller of TalesChulane, Teller of Tales, shifting your artifact and enchantment removal to bodies like Reclamation SageReclamation Sage can keep your deck running while dealing with threats.

Speaking of Chulane, these creatures are also particularly effective in bounce and blink decks, since it becomes much easier to reuse their effects. You don't even have to seek out creatures that destroy the artifacts and enchantments themselves; consider Silverback ElderSilverback Elder and Aura ShardsAura Shards if you really want to keep the field clean.

Stompy decks can also take advantage of creatures that destroy artifacts and enchantments when they enter, with spells like Titan of IndustryTitan of Industry or Hivespine WolverineHivespine Wolverine.

They're not the flashiest beasts to take the stage, but stompy decks tend to cheat out large creatures, so the opportunity cost is lower. A simple 5/5 that destroys The Great HengeThe Great Henge to then trade favorably in combat is well worth the card.

Sacrifice Creatures

On the other hand, if your deck is interested in aristocrats triggers or reanimation, take a look at creatures you can sacrifice to destroy artifacts and enchantments.

Playing one of these early may also discourage your opponents from casting their threats in the first place; nobody wants to play a Rhystic StudyRhystic Study only for it to be immediately destroyed.

Landfall

There's a surprising overlap between Disenchant effects and landfall. Both Broken BondBroken Bond and Seedship ImpactSeedship Impact can put more land onto the battlefield, provided you play your cards right, and Insidious FungusInsidious Fungus can be cashed in for a copy of ExploreExplore instead of a Disenchant.

Of course, you can also include actual lands which double as Disenchants, such as Boseiju, Who EnduresBoseiju, Who Endures and Witch EnchanterWitch Enchanter, which is especially useful if you're in a deck that likes to play lands from the graveyard.

Enchantress

Some Disenchant effects are implemented on enchantments that you play early and sacrifice later. Not only do these cards have the same deterrent effect as the sacrificial creatures, they also trigger your enchantresses when you cast them.

Aura of SilenceAura of Silence is a particularly ridiculous Magic card, since it triggers your enchantresses, taxes your opponents, and wards off removal. The fact you can sacrifice it to destroy an artifact or enchantment means no opponent can realistically remove it profitably — you'd just sacrifice it in response.

+1/+1 Counters

If you're willing to step down to sorcery speed or pay a couple extra mana, then there's +1/+1 counters in it for you.

Ruinous IntrusionRuinous Intrusion is particularly dastardly, since you can use it like a combat trick to fast-track even more cards to your enemy's graveyard.

With Set Mechanic

Even if you're in a unique deck, chances are that Wizards printed something that works well with your plan anyway.

Disenchant is one of those stock effects that the game designers like to reuse in new contexts, so you'll find lots of "destroy artifact or enchantment with set mechanic" if you go looking deep enough. Nothing is too weird, be it mutate, gifting a card, or even morph.

Enchanted

That's all I have on what single-target Disenchants you should include. Ideally, you'll want to add at least two or three if you're in the proper color identity; holding one of these is a godsend when Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia hits the field.

Let me know in the comments below what your favorite Disenchants are, and what decks they work best in, and I'll see you next time!

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