Angels have been one of the most successful Creature types in the world of Magic: The Gathering. Usually airborne and powered by White mana, these divine beings are a force to be reckoned with once you get them on the table.

Known for having high power and toughness, Angels often have impactful abilities like Vigilance, life gain, or even copying spells to other targets.

The best Angel cards are typically featured in Typal decks, especially in Commander, but there are a lot of places these heavy-hitters fit right in.

Top Angel Cards for Competition

Despite having more entries than any of the lists I've written for this series, I had to trim this down from an even bigger list. Angels have an iconic history in Magic, hailing from well-known planes like Innistrad and Dominaria, and potentially filling out more brews than even Dragons, or Hydras.

Even with their high mana costs, Angels have really earned their keep in competitive Magic. Let's look at some of the best Angels for Magic.

Iona, Shield of Emeria

Too expensive for Standard at a time when Reanimator wasn't really a thing, Iona, Shield of Emeria was a staple in older formats for quite a while, serving as a silver bullet answer to almost anything.

With a hefty cost of , she is well worth it. Iona is a 7/7 Legendary Creature with Flying, and when she enters the battlefield, you choose a color, preventing your opponents from casting any permanent spells of that color. This paralytic nature got her banned in Commander.

According to official rulings, this "ability includes permanent spells (Artifacts, Creatures, Enchantments, and Planeswalkers), not just Instant and Sorcery spells." Against a mono-color deck, Iona offers a devastating blow.

Currently Legal In: Legacy, Modern, and Vintage

Linvala, The Preserver

Linvala, The Preserver is a versatile top-end threat and stabilizer that showed up in a variety of decks across its time in Standard. Lukas Blohon's winning deck at Pro Tour Eldritch Moon, a control deck, featured her as the most expensive card.

Linvala also helped Riku Kumagai win Grand Prix Tokyo - an aggro deck this time around. As a 5/5 with Flying and two Enter the Battlefield (ETB) abilities that are not mutually exclusive, she's an easy inclusion for .

When Linvala, The Preserver enters the battlefield, you gain five life if your opponent has more than you, offering an instant lifeline. If your opponent has more creatures, she throws out a 3/3 White Angel Token with Flying, too.

Despite her age, she's still a solid pull from Oath of the Gatewatch.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, and Vintage.

Angel of Despair

Angel of Despair was once a premier Reanimation Target in Magic: The Gathering. Its impact was felt in Standard as it was included in Solar Flare decks, and in Legacy, it was a strong choice for Dredge/Reanimator strategies.

Angel of Despair isn't as big of a deal anymore, long-since crushed with power creep due to a massive cost. Its only a 5/5 and takes to get it out. However, in its heyday, just the ETB ability was a big deal, destroying a target permanent just for showing up.

Along with its Dredge perks, it's a solid synergistic choice for graveyard-focused decks. Flying isn't nothing, either.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, and Vintage.

Baneslayer Angel

When Baneslayer Angel was released, Mythic Rares were a new concept in Magic; quickly, this card earned the nickname of Walletslayer Angel thanks to the price tag that came with this new rarity. Even still, it had its run in Standard, for sure.

Baneslayer is full of crazy abilities, including Flying, First Strike, and Lifelink. It also comes with protection from both Demons and Dragons. The versatility of the card was really a highlight of the 2009 Extended Pro Tour when it was a cornerstone of the winning deck for the year.

A 5/5 for {,} it's a solid attacker and lifegain engine, because the Lifelink ability allows you to gain life equal to the damage you do. All its abilities make it strong in a variety of Standard deck archetypes for the time.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Historic, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Timeless, and Vintage.

Linvala, Keeper of Silence

Before Birthing Pod was banned in Modern, Linvala, Keeper of Silence was one of the most important silver bullet cards in the game. Often included as a singleton or in the sideboard, Linvala could shut down an opponents activated abilities, making her a crucial tool in a variety of midrange and control strategies.

This Angel is a 3/4 Legendary Creature with Flying, and players could get her on the board for just . As long as she's in play, activated abilities of creatures your opponent controls can't trigger; that ability is why she was a staple.

The way Linvala, Keeper of Silence can shut down a problematic strategy made her popular for tournament play. Her inclusion in decks helped players win multiple Grand Prix events and even secure a second-place finish at Pro Tour Born of the Gods.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Historic, Legacy, Modern, Timeless, and Vintage.

Archangel of Thune

Archangel of Thune was another powerful inclusion in Birthing Pod decks during Modern's early years, though it didn't reach the same level of prominence as Linvala. Still, it offered a potent combo finish and a strong standalone threat that demanded an answer.

With a mana cost of , she's a 3/4 with Flying and Lifelink. What bumps her up even more is the card's other ability: Whenever you gain life, you get a +1/+1 Counter on each of your Creatures.

When paired with Spike Feeder, this Archangel's abilities created an infinite combo. By repeatedly removing +1/+1 counters from Spike Feeder to gain life, Archangel's ability would replace those counters. With life totals and creatures set to spiral out of control, getting this combo out was generally the end of the game.

She was bigger in Modern than she was in Standard, but still saw plenty of play.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, and Vintage.

Serra Avenger

Even though she's pretty innocuous by today's standards, Serra Avenger used to be quite a big deal in Legacy. Her synergy with cards like Aether Vial made it easy to get on the board as early as the second turn, even though she says you can't cast her until after your fourth turn.

In the earlier years of the game, a 3/3 with Flying and Vigilance was an offensive and defensive powerhouse. She even made it to the winner's circle, playing a role in a Grand Prix victory in 2017.

Even though power creep has long since pushed the first Angel in Magic: The Gathering out of the way, Serra Avenger remains an iconic card for its presence in powerhouse decks over the years.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, and Vintage.

Angel of Serenity

Angel of Serenity was a three-time Grand Prix champion and a genuine Standard superstar during its time. Like many of these expensive Angels, this one was usually being Reanimated rather than cast, but it did sometimes show up as the finisher in a control deck. What makes her stand out is her ETB ability.

For you get a 5/6 with Flying on the board, which is great as it is. But, when she comes in, you may exile up to three target creatures from the battlefield or the graveyard. When she leaves, the cards go back to their respective players' hand. Looping creatures like Thragtusk or Sin Collector was a gamechanger for the time.

In a Reanimator strategy, Angel of Serenity is a solid play. Even when she leaves the battlefield, there's something for you to gain.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, and Vintage

Archangel of Wrath

Archangel of Wrath is a bit of a weird one. It had its heyday in Standard, but players saw mixed success with it. It was a perfect card for the Domain archetype and ended up having a breakout moment winning a Pro Tour in a finely tuned Domain Control deck.

Like many other Angels in the roundup, it's a 3/4 with Flying and Lifelink. You can play it for to get it out there and you can add a or along with it, known as Kicking. If you Kick Archangel when you play it, you trigger its Enter the Battlefield Ability, dealing two damage to any target.

In a Domain build, it's easy to trigger its ability, so this card is solid for picking off small creatures or helping stabilize your life points. The wins Archangel of Wrath saw cemented its place in competitive MTG history, but it was a meta call at the time. For us mere mortals, Domain was just one good deck among many.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Timeless, and Vintage

Atraxa, Grand Unifier

If there's a "most played card" title to award in this list, it would have to go to Atraxa, Grand Unifier. This card shows up everywhere, from being cast the old-fashioned way in Standard before rotation to being unfairly played in Legacy and Vintage. This one is even a great pull in Cube.

The mana cost on Atraxa is a bit intimidating at , but you get a formidable 7/7 for your opponents to contend with. It has Flying, Vigilance, Deathtouch, and Lifelink. Deathtouch means that Atraxa can one-hit kill any creature regardless of its toughness, unless your opponent has a way to stop it.

Those stats alone already propel it up to being one of the best Angels in Magic of all time. The ETB ability pushes it even further, allowing you to reveal the top 10 cards of your library, and put one of each type into your hand.

In practice, that means you can often add a lot more cards to your arsenal immediately, burying your opponent in card advantage. Many Angels with such a high casting cost have been a flash in the pan, but the power that Atraxa, Grand Unifier has for diverse strategies has kept it in tons of decklists even still.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Historic, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Timeless, and Vintage

Archangel Avacyn

If any Angel on this list could give Atraxa a run for her money, it's Archangel Avacyn. This five-mana powerhouse racked up more Grand Prix wins than I can reasonably list here and won two Pro Tours. It showed up in just about every archetype you can think of, from aggro to control, but especially in midrange.

Avacyn got some play in Modern but did its best work in Standard. She's a 4/4, and like her fellow angels, comes with Flying and Vigilance. Flash makes it so you can cast her like an Instant, and her ETB Ability makes all creatures you control indestructible until the end of your turn.

In Standard, she provided a finishing blow many times. Midrange builds appreciated the Archangel more for the protection she offered. Either strategy, though, her raw power shines through.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Timeless, and Vintage

Restoration Angel

Restoration Angel is one of Magic: The Gathering's most versatile Angels and has shown its face in nearly every format. Resto did a stint in Legacy and carried decks to multiple tournament wins in both Standard and Modern. Wherever good ETB abilities exist, Restoration Angel is a good card to have in your hand.

She is a 3/4 with Flash and Flying and comes at a relatively low cost of , but like I said, that Enter the Battlefield Ability is why she can carry multiple deck archetypes on her back. When she's cast, Restoration Angel allows you to exile any non-Angel creature you control and cast it out again.

Because of that, this is basically two cards for the price of one. What happens to your opponent after that? That's up to you. She has been priced out of Modern by Ephemerate now but was a staple for years.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Historic, Legacy, Modern, Timeless, Vintage

Angel of Invention

Angel of Invention may only be a 2/1 but it won the 2017 World Magic Cup, and later, a 2018 Grand Prix in Singapore. It made a few decent showings during its run, but only ever in one deck: God-Pharaoh's Gift.

What it lacks in flexibility, it makes up for it in its strength as part of this deck's strategy; it was one of the best in Standard for the time. For , you get another Angel with Flying, Vigilance, and Lifelink.

The real impact comes from Angel of Invention's ability to Fabricate 2. This is an Enter-the-Battlefield ability that puts two 1/1 Servo tokens on the board or throws a +1/+1 counter on every Creature you control.

Lifelink made it a perfect stabilizer, and God-Pharaoh's Gift would Reanimate it as a 4/4 while re-triggering that ETB ability. This one was an easy call for my list.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Historic, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Timeless, and Vintage

Emeria Angel

Emeria Angel is an icon because it snuck into one of the best Standard decks of all time. When Jace got banned in the format, Caw-Blade players scrambled to find a solid new four-drop.

Yuuya Watanabe settled on Emeria Angel for GP Pittsburgh 2011 and went on to win the whole tournament. Even though most players typically would only run two in their deck, it was a key part.

For , you get a 3/3 flyer with Landfall. This ability made Emeria a perfect token engine. Every time a land enters under your control, you get a 1/1 white Bird with Flying.

Currently Legal In: Commander, Legacy, Modern, and Vintage

Honorable Mentions

My honorable mentions are still among the ranks of the best Angels in Magic: The Gathering, but not in the same way. Legion Angel was an Arena hero, rather than seeing play at in-person events and Pioneer doesn't really have a standout Angel, but more of a squad.

Legion Angel

Legion is like a postcard from a very weird era in competitive Magic. Its main success came in the MPL and Rivals events - online tournaments during COVID that were cancelled pretty much as soon as the lockdowns ended.

Pioneer Angels

This is an awkward entry. There's a group of Angels that show up in Pioneer a lot, always together, but with extremely limited success. We're talking about the likes of Giada, Font of Hope and Righteous Valkyrie. The deck has some top 8s and top 16s here and there but hasn't had a breakthrough showing just yet.

Conclusion

Throughout Magic's competitive history, Angels have proven that they're more than just flashy, high-cost creatures. They've anchored control decks and powered combo strategies since the creature type debuted.

Many of the best Angels in the competitive MTG sphere are Creatures that immediately impact the battlefield when they resolve, shutting down your opponents or swinging the game in your favor.

Even as power creep shifts the meta of different formats, Angels remain some of the most powerful tools competitive Magic has to offer.