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Main » Articles » The Top 10 Angels in the History of Magic: The Gathering

The Top 10 Angels in the History of Magic: The Gathering

Michael Flores
Posted on January 8, 2024
 Reddit

Angels are an iconic tribe; storied in the lore of Magic: The Gathering since the very first set, Alpha, and contributing to every kind of deck as long as there have been decks.

For my part, the two worst trades I've ever been a part of, the first in the summer of 1994 and the next about twenty years later, involved Angels (or at least the Angelic).

I really wanted a Serra Angel. Decades later my friend, the Old School podcaster Bryan Manolakos, assuaged my regret at the terrible-ness of the trade. I knew Serra Angel was only an uncommon; and what I was trading for her was a rare. "It's not that bad," he told me. "You had good instincts. To this day Serra Angel is just about the best creature in Old School; whereas Savannah sucks."

The 2013 trade was embarrassingly similar. I had been borrowing a friend's set of Geist of Saint Traft for big tournament after big tournament and he was giving me a hard time about it. "You aren't doing anything with that fifth Tundra," he pointed out. To be fair, I did have five. "To even it out, I'll throw in a Noble Hierarch."

Geist of Saint Traft is not itself an Angel, though he does make Angels. And the Noble Hierarch did even it out, on book value. So, you know, the ur-emblem of White mana: Adherence to the letter of the law. Each trade - Savannah for Serra and Tundra for a stack of random Bant creatures - were absolutely positively fair and square at the time.

Hopefully this list of The Top 10 Angels in the History of Magic: The Gathering will help you put your opponents in some similarly just spots.

10. Voice of All

Voice of All

Tsuyoshi Fujita's plot armor did not hold.

The eventual Pro Tour Hall of Famer battled to the finals of Tokyo 2001 a heavy local favorite. A master of the color Red and maybe the best beatdown player of the era, Fujita would eventually ascend to, as we said, a Hall of Fame-worthy career as well as a long stint as the best deck designer in the world.

He was, unfortunately, up against the best deck designer of all time with a deck poised as, ahem, a "solution" to the Invasion Block's pesky attackers.

The Solution | Invasion Block Constructed | Zvi Mowshowitz, 1st Place Pro Tour Tokyo 2001

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Voice of All, the four-mana 2/2 Angel of this list is kind of a sentimental pick. It is not, in fact, better than any number of four-mana Angels on efficiency. I mean just compare Voice of All to:

Restoration Angel

Now factor in that Restoration Angel was not only a surprising Simian Grunts during the opponent's combat phase, but typically paired with Kitchen Finks or Thragtusk. Resto is greater than Voice.

... Except not in our hearts.

This is an Angel that reminds us of two of the all-time best, where one of them would hoist the giant trophy. Top 10 if there ever was one.

9. Archangel of Wrath

Archangel of Wrath

This 4-drop that is sometimes a six-drop is one of the most important and flexible threats (or answers) in today's Standard.

Archangel of Wrath is a beatdown deterrent for "merely" four mana... But an absolute game changer at full cost, capable of turning around a battlefield 99% pointed the wrong way.

Though it started out as a tool for midrange White control decks trying to get an edge against other midrange White control decks (where the Archangel could prey upon slower Planeswalkers) its Wrath has of late been aimed toward Domain Control decks better able to Ramp it out quickly and help access Black and Red.

To wit:

Domain Ramp | MOM Standard| David Olsen, Pro Tour March of the Machine

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8. Firemane Angel

Firemane Angel

While Firemane Angel is most often associated with then-Standard contemporary Lightning Angel (and even Time Spiral micro-Angel Serra Avenger) I gave the six mana version the nod for one simple reason:

Combo decks.

Firemane Angel was widely played in Control decks. A resilient threat that is difficult to remove permanently, the 4/3 would not just keep coming back after trading with the opponent's resources, it could gain life along the way... That resource Control decks so often covet (especially when they're not paying any mana for it).

Midrange, too, is a strategy that Firemane Angel often shared with Lightning Angel. So why not Lightning Angel?

Did Lightning Angel ever make Golgari Grave-Troll better?

Dredge | 2006 Extended | Ryo Ogura, Worlds 2006

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How cool is this? Really?

Ogura scored a perfect Extended record at Worlds 2006 with Firemane Angels that he could neither cast nor reanimate. Instead, Ryo just kind of got them into the graveyard with Zombie Infestation, Wild Mongrel, or some random blessing of the Dredge mechanic.

... Then he went about the business of 3/1 beatdown or an unblockable Psychatog.

The Dredge deck of that era was an absolute terror... But it was somewhat vulnerable to beatdown decks as, outside of Psychatog, it really wasn't very good at blocking. Putrid Imp, the deck's best one-mana play couldn't block - not even in fail state - once the deck's engine was going!

So Firemane Angel was a useful sideboard addition that, for no mana once it was in the graveyard, could assist in the race.

7. Exalted Angel

Exalted Angel

Well, that was a failure.

The Morph mechanic's original conception was to bring the concept of "bluffing" to Magic. The only problem was, you generally knew what the opponent's face down creature was.

Astral Slide | Onslaught Block Constructed | Osyp Lebedowicz, 1st Place Pro Tour Venice 2003

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Well yes... I suppose it really could have been a Daru Sanctifier.

Decks with multiple types of Morph creatures would sometimes relish in getting an opponent to burn a burn spell on a Dwarven Blastminer so that the Exalted Angel could live! Because if it did?

Osyp's deck is probably the preeminent Exalted Angel deck, ever. It's important to note that this deck had a backdoor flip option. Most Exalted Angel decks could play her 2/2 face down on turn three; then, hoping to untap, pay four mana the next turn to flip her up for action. Osyp could lead on an Astral Slide, then play the Angel face down. A one-mana cycler could protect the soon-to-be-4/5 from removal (or just flip her up to full power and toughness at a discount).

6. Desolation Angel

Desolation Angel

A 5/4 flying (for five) was so enticing that at least one Grand Prix Top 8 competitor I know tried to play Desolation Angel in Mono-Black.

Think about that for a second.

But not so Pro Tour Hall of Famer David Humpherys:

[deck from https://decks.tcgplayer.com/magic/freeform/david-humpherys/u-w-b-control/156]

UWB Control | Invasion Block Contructed | Dave Humphreys, 1st Place Pro Tour Minneapolis 2001

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The Hump won Grand Prix Minneapolis with one of the most dominant archetypes of its era. The Desolation Angel deck, or just "Angel" was an extremely high skill weapon that had all the weapons to slow down the faster tempo decks of the era... Or go long with either Control decks or Domain.

Recoil and Vindicate all their lands leading up to lands mana... And then blow up whatever was left over.

The deck - from Gerrard's Verdict to Fact or Fiction - was positively lousy with card advantage, so Angel's Plan B would at the very least give the deck a huge lead going into Yawgmoth's Agenda for even more card advantage.

Pro Tip: Sometimes it's right to blow up your own Yawgmoth's Agenda; just like it was often right to blow up your own lands with this deck's signature finisher.

5. Karmic Guide

Karmic Guide

On the subject of Grand Prix winners, Karmic Guide was a key cog in what is widely considered the best deck ever to win a Grand Prix:

Hulk Flash | Legacy | Steve Sadin, 1st Place Grand Prix Columbus 2007

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Karmic Guide has been featured in any number of combo decks, from Cephalid Breakfast to Full English Breakfast, so it's no one-trick pony. And don't worry, you're unlikely to ever be in a position to have to pay for Echo.

Sadin's deck could win on turn one, and did so routinely on the way to the title.

Want to know how you become the #5 best Angel of all time? How about...

See where this is going?

We "only" gave Karmic Guide position #5, but surely you can see that there will be 10 or more of her in play, and hasty, before attacks are declared.

BTW, the opponent hasn't played a land yet.

4. Akroma, Angel of Wrath

Akroma, Angel of Wrath

The icon.

What is there to say?

Akroma, Angel of Wrath is the most iconic...

Excuse me?

3. Serra Angel

Serra Angel

The ICON.

Akroma is good, and has contributed to everything from Oath to True Control to Reanimator strategies... Prison and sideboard swaps and combo all. Not to mention midrange decks like Osyp's (above) or Green-based Ramp decks from Temple of the False God to Explosive Vegetation.

She's good!

But "the most" iconic Angel of all time?

Serra Angel is not only the best Magic creature of the first era, she was the chosen finisher in the single most important and influential deck of Magic's early deck-building scene:

The Deck | Brian Weissman

  • Enchantments (2)
  • 2 Moat
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Much has been written about The Deck. In The Deck's era, Serra Angel herself was kind of up for debate. Might not The Abyss have been better than Moat? No. Because then how am I going to play Serra Angel?

The point was to empty the opponent's hand with Mind Twist and Disrupting Scepter, and only then, to deploy Serra Angel. She had a unique job at that point: To play both offense and defense.

Because Serra Angel had vigilance, she could protect Weissman, should the opponent topdeck something relevant while locked under Scepter. A 4/4 flyer, she would close out games quickly once actually in play.

2. Baneslayer Angel

Baneslayer Angel

When Brian Kibler won Pro Tour Austin in 2009 he declared Baneslayer Angel "the best large creature of all time". So, of course, she gets only #2 in our tour of all Angels.

Grove Zoo| Extended 2009 | Brian Kibler, 1st Place Pro Tour Austin 2009

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In Kibler's defense, most of the powerhouse "unfair" creatures we think of hadn't been printed yet. Heck, Primeval Titan hadn't been printed yet.

But Baneslayer Angel, in addition to winning the World Championships in the hands of Andre Coimbra (utilizing the design of a VERY handsome strategist) did more in 2009 than just win every tournament: She gave rise to an important theoretical dichotomy: Literally Baneslayers versus Mulldrifters.

1. Atraxa, Grand Unifier

Atraxa, Grand Unifier

Baneslayer Angel might have been the best large creature of all time, kind of; but I don't think Kibler was thinking of unfair creatures at all when he made that claim.

What is wowing to me is that we have any creature scratching the top of the unfair pile, let alone one that is legal to play in Standard right now, at the time of this writing. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn only barely ever gets cast. Ditto on Griselbrand, which not only eight... But four of that eight is in bbbb pips.

But leave it to the nice people in Renton, WA to make an unfair creature that can refill your hand, keep you alive better than Serra Angel ever could back in the day, plays nice with reanimator enchantments... But, oh, actually gets hard-cast more than half the time. Because, you know, she's only seven.

LOVE

MIKE

TAGS articles, list, history, constructed, ranking, top ten, decklist, magic history, michael flores, angels, tier list, 01082024

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