All 37 Escape Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 29, 2025

Voracious Typhon | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

The graveyard is one of the most important zones in Magic. There are plenty of MTG mechanics that interact with it, whether exiling cards from it, bringing cards back from it, or, like the one we’re covering today, allowing you to cast spells from it. 

Using your graveyard as a resource can be incredibly powerful – it turns discard and mill into upside, and gives you more to do with your mana without spending cards from your hand. If the sound of your creatures crawling up out of the underworld appeals to you, then Magic's escape mechanic might be right up your alley.

What Are Escape Cards in Magic?

Sleep of the Dead | Illustration by Käri Christensen

Escape cards have the escape ability, which allows you to pay an alternate cost to cast a card from the graveyard. Escape costs usually involve some amount of mana and exiling a number of cards from your graveyard.

Escape originated in Theros Beyond Death, where it represented the flavor of creatures literally escaping the Greek-mythology-inspired underworld of the Theros plane. This mirrors how Elspeth escaped the underworld in the story of that very set, reflected through Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis.

#37. Underworld Charger

Underworld Charger is a 3-mana creature that can’t block. In the most aggressive of Theros Beyond Death Draft or Sealed decks, this might’ve been playable. Otherwise, though, I expect it to stay in the underworld and out of most lists.

#36. Satyr’s Cunning

A 1-mana creature that can’t block is a bit better. Being able to get another one later by escaping Satyr's Cunning is pretty cool, too, if you’re running out of things to do with your mana or just need one more creature to sacrifice.

#35. Loathsome Chimera

Loathsome Chimera is very middling. A 1-toughness 3-drop creature is a difficult ask, and a 2-toughness 5-drop is even less workable. I expect this green creature to do a lot of trading and not much else.

#34. Voracious Typhon

A 4-mana 4/4 or a 7-mana 7/7, how exciting! Voracious Typhon is simple, functional, and was probably completely acceptable for the Limited environment of its time. There’s not much to talk about, since it ultimately ends up a vanilla creature on the battlefield.

#33. Underworld Rage-Hound

I like Underworld Rage-Hound in Limited. It can keep coming back from the graveyard, too, which is a nice feature for an aggressive creature. It’s a worse rate when you escape it, but hopefully the 2-mana version can get some damage in or force a bad trade from the opponent.

#32. Tizerus Charger

Tizerus Charger is so much better than Underworld Charger. A 3-mana 3/2 is fine, since unlike the previous escaping horse, this one can trade with your opponent’s creatures. Coming back with flying is pretty huge, too – flying creatures can end Limited games ahead of schedule. Outside of Limited, though, this black creature shares the same fate as the one before.

#31. Chainweb Aracnir

I like escape creatures whose up-front cost is cheap. Chainweb Aracnir comes down for 1 mana, and has the potential to snipe down a flying creature with 1 toughness. This is pretty narrow, but the escaped version can shoot down a flier with up to 4 toughness. Its stats are solid for a reach blocker, too. Plenty of utility for a Limited creature, I’d say.

#30. Pharika’s Spawn

A 3-mana 3/4 isn’t anything special, but making your opponent sacrifice a creature when you escape it is a nice tempo swing with your 5/6. I’d definitely play Pharika's Spawn in a Limited deck.

#29: Mogis’s Favor

Being able to kill a 1-toughness creature is the main reason Mogis's Favor would make any of my decklists. If you’re tired of a pesky Orcish Bowmasters player at your tables, this incredibly narrow answer could solve that problem. I’d definitely rather be playing Fatal Push or Cut Down, though, even though they’re not repeatable.

#28. Sweet Oblivion

Decks with mill as win condition have much better things to be playing than Sweet Oblivion. If your plan involves milling yourself, though, I can see it being useful, since it can be cast if you mill it over yourself.

#27. Glimpse of Freedom

If your deck is obsessed with casting spells from your graveyard or reducing spell costs, Glimpse of Freedom could fit. Otherwise, though, both modes are definitely overcosted for what it offers. 

#26. Sleep of the Dead

Similarly to Glimpse of Freedom, Sleep of the Dead is something I can only really recommend if your deck really wants as many graveyard-castable spells as it can have. If you’ve got a lot of mana and a lot of cards in your graveyard, you can keep a creature locked down turn after turn, so this blue sorcery’s not completely useless.

#25. Lunar Hatchling

The idea with Lunar Hatchling is that you use its basic landcycling ability early, and then cast it for its escape cost later from the graveyard and probably exile that basic land you searched for, once your mana is better. I’m not sure if Wizards of the Coast thought that this alien beast from Doctor Who was close to being too strong since it both discards and reanimates itself, but this Simic card just doesn’t really do anything, and its escape cost is steep. 

#24. Fruit of Tizerus

A repeatable life-loss spell seems pretty good in a deck all about that kind of thing. Fruit of Tizerus can fit right into a deck that wants to jam Exquisite Blood and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose.

#23. Desdemona, Freedom's Edge

Repeatable escape and a reasonable cost of two other cards are the best points for Desdemona, Freedom's Edge. But you must be firmly in a low mana curve with artifact creatures that you want to reanimate in order to really enjoy Desdemona.

#22. Sentinel’s Eyes

Sentinel's Eyes is a solid little aura. It’s cheap, vigilance is a nice keyword during the combat phase, and if your creature dies, you can cast this white enchantment from the graveyard again later. This is a great piece for a strategy revolving around enchantments. An aura-focused deck with Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice would likely feature Sentinel's Eyes.

#21. Cling to Dust

A cantrip that exiles a card from the graveyard is pretty solid. The escape isn’t always that relevant, but Cling to Dust can draw you an extra card or be graveyard hate when you’re desperate.

#20. Confession Dial

The colorless nature of Confession Dial is a big one because the cost of just to get escape started is substantial. The flipside of giving legendaries the power to escape turns another creature into a commander of sorts, and a decent way to bypass commander tax if you can fuel your graveyard.

#19. Phoenix of Ash

A phoenix with escape is pretty flavorful. Unfortunately, that flavor doesn’t translate to power, as Phoenix of Ash is definitely far too slow for any of the Magic formats it’s legal in. I’d only really be considering this red creature if you’ve got phoenix typal on the menu with a commander like Syrix, Carrier of the Flame.

#18. Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis

The only planeswalker with escape, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis is unfortunately pretty middling. I am definitely a fan of generating tokens, though, and if the “human” creature type is relevant to you, this white planeswalker can create tons of them over the course of a game. Kyler, Sigardian Emissary might like this.

#17. Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity is a two-time use haste enabler. If you play a deck that gets a lot better if you can give important creatures haste, this card is a role-player. Try using it on Kaalia of the Vast! 

#16. Charred Graverobber

Charred Graverobber doesn’t excite me all that much, but you can get a lot of value out of this black skeleton mercenary if it brings multiple outlaw creatures back throughout a game.

#15. Run for Your Life

Making two creatures hasty and nearly unblockable can be quite valuable for 2 mana. Take that Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Fear of Missing Out, tell them “Run for Your Life” and make it rain with combat value. The escape cost on this Izzet card is just a bonus, but can definitely be helpful if you’re desperate to get hits in.

#14. From the Catacombs

A plain Reanimate effect for 5 mana is totally acceptable when you can repeat it frequently. Escaped instants and sorceries don’t get exiled when they resolve, unlike flashback cards. From the Catacombs resolves and heads straight to the graveyard, where you’ll be able to cast it again as soon as you have the mana and the additional cards in the bin. Your opponents will have to find a way to exile this black sorcery if they want to be completely free of it.

#13. The Grim Captain’s Locker

This is a pretty interesting legendary artifact. The Grim Captain's Locker can let you cheat the mana cost on creature cards in your graveyard, casting something absurd like Atraxa, Grand Unifier from your graveyard for only 4 mana. If you’ve got the mana, you can do this multiple times on the same turn, which can be game-ending.

#12. Ox of Agonas

Ox of Agonas is for the player that both empties their hand and fills their graveyard, like with looting effects or burn spells. Discard this while emptying your hand early, and get a bit more gas alongside your 5/3 from the graveyard.

#11. Woe Strider

Woe Strider does a lot of things at once. This black horror comes with a free body, it’s an instant-speed free sacrifice outlet, and it comes back from your graveyard even bigger. There’s a lot of value here, and makes itself a home in tons of decks simply by being both an outlet and enabler for sacrifice strategies like aristocrats.

#10. Polukranos, Unchained

A 6/6 for 4 mana is nothing to scoff at, and neither is that instant-speed fight ability. Consider how it escapes twice as large and it’s not hard to imagine Polukranos, Unchained dominating a battlefield. Play it alongside some +1/+1 counter synergy like Innkeeper's Talent or Hardened Scales to maximize its value.

#9. Skyway Robber

The severe limiting factor of escape as a mechanic is the cards you have to exile to make it happen. Not only does your graveyard need to be pretty full, but you also have to be okay with permanently losing all of those cards you exiled. Skyway Robber takes that limitation and turns it into an upside of its own. Get a hit in and cast Portal to Phyrexia for free! Even if it’s something less extravagant, like a removal spell, casting it for free is an undeniable upside. You probably don’t want to cast it from your hand that often, though.

#8. Bloodbraid Challenger

Bloodbraid Challenger is meant to call back to Bloodbraid Elf. Cascade is a powerful effect for sure – every time you cast this elf berserker, it brings an extra card with it. I think that’s pretty good value, especially if you’re able to escape this multiple times throughout the game.

#7. Welcome to . . . / Jurassic Park

This card was made with the payoff of using escape to show how dinosaurs broke out of confinement in the Jurassic movies. Bonus points if you dropped a Colossal Dreadmaw in your graveyard in time for the final stage. Welcome to . . .Jurassic Park

#6. Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger

This escaping elder giant is a daunting Rakdos card. It can steal a lot of cards from your opponent over numerous turns, and it’s likely to deal some damage while it’s at it. Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger sees play in Pioneer’s Rakdos midrange decks that aim to wrangle as much value as possible out of all of its cards while depriving the opponent of theirs.

#5. The Master of Keys

I expect Duskmourn: House of Horror‘s The Master of Keys to be a very powerful Esper commander. With every enchantment in your graveyard having escape, there’s bound to be tons of crazy things this Esper card can pull off. In a deck that continues to mill itself and boasts a high density of enchantments, this commander is pure card advantage. Mill over that Rhystic Study and get the cards flowing, or find Sheltered by Ghosts and remove a problem permanent while protecting your own.

#4. Nethergoyf

This spin on Tarmogoyf has been packing a punch in Modern, with its hyper-efficient stats and mana cost. Nethergoyf is difficult to escape without completely destroying its stats, so you’ll want to be playing a deck that really fills its graveyard with all sorts of baubles, trinkets, and fetch lands. 

#3. Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury

It didn’t take long at all for Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury to find a home in Modern after its printing in Modern Horizons 3. Lightning Helix on a battlecruiser is incredibly powerful, this makes for an excellent finisher that can handle threats and stabilize your life total.

#2. Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath

One of Magic's best creatures, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath was strong enough to warrant bans in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern. It gives you so much value for its cost, capable of accelerating you into the late game very fast, and gaining enough life to survive most aggro that tried to go under it.

#1. Underworld Breach

One of the most powerful combo enablers in Magic and arguably the best red wincon, Underworld Breach gives escape to every single card in your graveyard. Escaped instants and sorceries don’t exile, so they can be cast over and over. This red enchantment‘s most common application is to use Lion's Eye Diamond to pay to escape Brain Freeze, which targets you. Use the cards you milled to escape the Diamond, which you use to cast Brain Freeze again, and so on and so forth, until there's enough storm copies of Brain Freeze to mill your opponent.

Best Escape Payoffs

Escape cards can play a pretty important role in a multitude of strategies. Creatures with escape like Woe Strider can play an integral part in an aristocrats deck, since they can keep coming back from the graveyard after you sacrifice them. Ygra, Eater of All from Bloomburrow comes to mind, and Korvold, Fae-Cursed King is a Commander classic that can eke a lot of value out of your escape cards.

Insidious Roots, Syr Konrad, the Grim, and Teval's Judgment love escape creatures and can make excellent use of them, too.

Strategies that simply want to play a lot of creatures can also make good use of escape cards. Terror of the Peaks can deal a lot of damage when you escape that Ox of Agonas, and triggering your Chulane, Teller of Tales twice with Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath feels disgusting.

Instants and sorceries with escape can work pretty well in decks that involve storm or similar effects, where casting your spells an extra time or two could make a huge difference by the end of a long combo turn. Even getting a couple of extra triggers out of Archmage Emeritus or Talrand, Sky Summoner could make it worth including a couple of the escape spells that seem underwhelming.

Can Escape be Used at Instant Speed?

Escape can only be used at instant speed if the card being escaped is an instant. Escape is an alternate casting cost, so all of the regular timing restrictions for the cards apply. Cling to Dust can be escaped at instant speed, but Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath can’t.

Do Escaped Creatures Have Summoning Sickness?

Yes, escaped creatures have summoning sickness. When escaped, creatures go through all of the regular steps to cast a creature spell, and it enters the battlefield normally, just as it would’ve if you had cast it from your hand. Likewise, a creature with haste can attack and tap on the turn it escaped.

Is Escape an Activated Ability?

No, escape is not an activated ability. Escape is a static ability that allows you to cast the card from your graveyard by paying its escape cost. 

Does Escape Count as Casting a Spell?

Yes, escape counts as casting a spell. It’s an alternate casting cost for cards in your graveyard. When you escape a spell, you’re casting it from your graveyard; you pay the costs and put the spell on the stack like normal.

Do Cost Reduction Abilities Reduce Escape Costs?

Yes, cost-reduction abilities reduce escape costs. Since escape is an alternate cost to cast spells, cost-reducers work as they normally would. Goblin Electromancer makes Glimpse of Freedom cost less to escape.

Can You Respond to Escape?

Yes, you can respond to a spell being escaped. Escaped spells go on the stack like normal, and every player gets priority before they resolve.

You cannot, however, exile the escape spell or the cards exiled to pay the cost after it's been moved to the stack. By that point, the escape card is no longer in the graveyard, and the other exiled cards are exiled as part of the cost.

What If You Counter an Escape Spell?

If you counter an escaped spell, it goes back to the graveyard. Once the escaped spell is on the stack, it’s a regular spell that can be interacted with as such. A counterspell sends it right back to the graveyard unless you’ve got something like No More Lies. Even when they’re countered they just go right back to your graveyard, ready to be cast again.

Wrap Up

Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath | Illustration by Vincent Proce

Escape has become a pretty iconic Magic mechanic. From the release of Theros Beyond Death all the way to Modern Horizons 3, players have been breaching the underworld and casting terrifying titans from the graveyard.

What are your favorite escape cards in MTG? Do you want to see more cards with the mechanic? Is Nethergoyf the best ‘goyf? Let us know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Thanks for reading, stay safe, and make a great escape!