One of blue’s biggest weakness in MTG is removal, and more specifically, blue enchantment removal. Sometimes, you just need to think outside of the box and re-imagine what ‘removal’ actually is, especially in the case of blue enchantment removal. Removal doesn’t have to mean destroy or exile, something blue has very little of.
In order to execute a solid blue enchantment removal plan is to lean into blue’s strengths. Essentially, your best sources of blue enchantment removal are going to be straight up counter spells and bounce spells. With that being said, there are also ways to steal you opponents’ enchantments. And despite it not being in blue’s wheelhouse, there are even a couple of blue enchantment removal ‘destroy’ spells.
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Blue Enchantment Removal
As mentioned above, a solid blue enchantment removal plan is going to take a bit of creativity. The most effective and efficient ways to stop an opponent’s enchantment is going to be either bouncing it once it has entered the battlefield. Or alternatively, countering the enchantment spell before it can resolve. While those two methods are going to be your ‘bread and butter’, there are a few other blue enchantment removal effects.
Another excellent strategy to run in your blue enchantment removal package is going to steal effects. What is better than destroying a pesky enchantment? Let’s see, flat out stealing it so you control it! Luckily this is pretty easy to achieve in blue. Another way to get rid of problematic enchantments in blue is to ‘destroy’ them… you’ll see what I mean.
Destroying Enchantments
If we are being totally honest here, blue really doesn’t have any destroy effects for enchantments. Destroying in general is not within blue’s color pie, especially destroying enchantments. In order to ‘destroy’ enchantments in blue, you need to get a bit creative. While there are not a whole bunch of these types of spells, here are the few that I know of that can somewhat destroy (or rather make an opponent sacrifice) an enchantment:
- Aura Flux
- All other enchantments besides this one have a cost of 2 generic each upkeep
- If the 2 generic is not paid for an enchantment, it gets sacrificed (this also happens to your other enchantments too)
- Reality Acid
- An aura to place on a permanent
- Starts with 3 time counters it and one gets removed each upkeep
- Once all 3 are removed, the enchantment gets sacrificed
Stealing Enchantments
Truth be told, stealing an enchantment may be even better than destroying an enchantment. Not only does it get removed from the opponent’s board, but you end up with it! Now your opponent will feel the pain you felt prior to swipin’ that bad boy.
The last few cards on this list cost a ton of mana to cast, but they give you the ability to steal any permanent, not just enchantments. Any blue enchantment removal plan should include a healthy amount of these in their decks.
- Steal Enchantment
- An aura to place on an enchantment
- You gain control of enchanted enchantment
- Aura Thief
- When it dies, you gain control of all enchantments (auras stay attached to whatever they are already attached to, but you control them)
- Kefnet’s Last Word
- Gain control of creature, artifact or enchantment, but your lands don’t untap for a full turn afterwards
- Aura Graft
- Allows you to gain control of an aura and choose a new target to attach the aura to
- Archmage’s Charm
- Can gain control of any nonland permanent with mana value 1 or less
- Blatant Thievery
- Gain control of any permanent from each opponent, including lands
- Agent of Treachery
- Gain control of any permanent upon entering the battlefield, including a land
- Kiora Bests the Sea God
- A saga who’s Chapter 3 lets you gain control of any permanent, including a land
Countering Enchantments
There are heaps of cheap costed (2 mana value or less) counter spells you can cast that can counter any noncreature spell, or even any spell period. Cards such as Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Negate, etc. This list is going to focus on 1 mana counters that can hit any noncreature spell, or enchantments specifically.
- Pact of Negation
- Counter any spell
- Pay 3 generic and 2 blue at the beginning of your next upkeep or you lose the game
- Swan Song
- Counter instant, sorcery or enchantment
- Its controller gets a 2/2 bird token
- Annul
- Counter artifact or enchantment
- An Offer You Can’t Refuse
- Counter noncreature spell
- Its controller creates two treasure tokens
- Spell Peirce
- Counter noncreature spell unless its controller pays 2 generic
- Force Spike
- Counter any spell unless its controller pays 1 generic
- Stubborn Denial
- Counter noncreature spell unless its controller pays 1 generic
- Counter it instead if you control a creature with power 4 or more
- Concerted Defense
- Counter noncreature spell unless its controller pays 1 generic
- Its controller must also pay 1 generic for each creature in your party (Wizard, Warrior, Rogue, Cleric)
Bouncing Enchantments
Bounce spells are going to be a strong source of blue enchantment removal. This is what blue excels at and there are quite a few spells that can hit enchantments. While this is just temporary removal, hopefully you can bounce the problematic enchantment, and when the opponent goes to replay it, counter it.
There are plenty of other bounce spells besides the ones listed, but these are some of the best ones. In fact, a lot of these spells listed below can hit multiple types of permanents an opponent controls, not just enchantments. This gives you even more flexibility to taking care of a threat.
- Cyclonic Rift – This is one of blue’s best spells
- Return any nonland permanent you don’t control to its owner’s hand
- Or even better, pay the Overload cost and return all nonland permanents you don’t control to their owners’ hands. All at instant speed
- Filter Out
- Returns all nonland, noncreature permanents to their owner’s hands (this does hit your permanents as well)
- Otawara, Soaring City – This land is an auto-include in any deck with blue, if you have it
- Enters untapped
- The channel ability allows you to return an artifact, enchantment, creature or Planeswalker to its owner’s hand
- Stern Dismissal
- Returns an enchantment or creature you don’t control to its owner’s hand
- Kiora’s Dismissal
- Return any number of enchantments to their owners’ hands
- Must pay an additional blue mana for each target beyond the first
- Chain of Vapor
- Return any nonland permanent to its owner’s hand
- Its controller can copy Chain of Vapor by sacrificing a land and chose any target for the copy
- This spell can continue to be copied so long as the conditions are met, potentially creating a chain of spells. Hence the name
- Winds of Rebuke
- Return any nonland permanent to its owner’s hand
- Each player, including you, mills two cards
- Capsize
- Return any permanent to its owner’s hand.
- This card is good because it has a buy back of 3 generic meaning you pay the additional 3 generic mana and then put Capsize back into your hand to cast later
- If you have infinite blue mana, you can return all permanents, including lands, to your opponents’ hands
- Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft
- The adventure is an instant that returns nonland permanent opponent owns to their hand
- Then you have a 3/1 flyer you cast at instant speed due to it having flash
- Aether Channeler
- A creature that when it enters the battlefield, you can choose one:
- Create a 1/1 bird token
- Return any other nonland permanent to its owner’s hand
- Draw a card
- This is an excellent flicker/blink target
- A creature that when it enters the battlefield, you can choose one:
- Into the Roil / Blink of an Eye – These both are the exact same cards with different names.
- Return target nonland permanent to its owner’s hand
- If the kicker was paid, you get to draw a card
- Press the Enemy
- Return target spell or nonland permanent to its owner’s hand
- You may cast an instant or sorcery spell with equal or lesser mana value from your hand without paying its mana cost
Bonus Blue Enchantment Removal: Red Hate
I’m pretty sure there is some unwritten rule that any and all blue players are required to hate red. And visa-versa, but let’s be real, any non-blue player hates blue, am I right? Anecdotally, every blue player I know loathes red. I think Wizards of the Coast knew about this hatred and leaned into it.
Similar to the Blue Hate section in the Best Enchantment Removals in Red article, here are the few blue spells I know of that can not only destroy a red enchantment, but really any red permanent. Make those red players suffer… unless it is me (jk – kind of).
- Blue Elemental Blast
- Destroys a red permanent or counters a red spell
- Hydroblast
- Destroys a red permanent or counters a red spell
- Flash Flood
- Destroys a red permanent or returns a mountain to chosen player’s hand
- Essence Leak
- Enchant a green or red permanent and the permanent’s controller must pay the mana cost every upkeep or sacrifice the permanent
Final Thoughts
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With that being said, while blue enchantment removal can be a little tough, there are still ways you can overcome this limitation. The best combo for blue enchantment removal, or most other blue removal, is to bounce it and then counter it. Alternatively, stealing a pesky enchantment will also suffice, while also giving you the benefits of said enchantment.
While the options are extremely limited at this time, it is possible to have a couple destroy effects in your blue enchantment removal arsenal. Albeit forcing the opponent to sacrifice, rather than outirght destroying it. Hopefully this will help you with your blue enchantment removal woes and make your blue decks better prepared to handle enchantments. Thanks for reading and happy deck building!
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