Top 10 Most Popular Leylines in Magic: The Gathering (and their stories!)

Before we begin, I must warn you that I have a Leyline in my hand right now. If you have ever heard this sentence before a match, you've probably faced an opponent that had a Leyline on their board.

In this article, we'll explore what Leylines are, see some trivia about them, show you the 10 most popular Leylines around, and check out a few lists that use them to inspire you to build your own decks with them.

Let's go!

“If _________________ is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield.”

All planes have an extensive Leyline network that spreads throughout their entire territory. Because of them, mana can travel vast distances, and the way a few characters have used them in the past has impacted the history of some planes.

For instance, ex-planeswalker Nahiri, who knew Eldrazi followed Leylines closely, created cryptoliths in Innistrad to double them at will, and summon Emrakul into that plane.

Apart from the very first Leyline, that is, Ley line, all other Leylines start the game on the board if they are in your opening hand. They were designed to give you answers to possible early game threats, but can adapt to many situations as the match goes on.

So far, there have been four complete Leyline cycles with this "opening hand" condition, and Leyline of the Void was reprinted in all of them. So far, this is the only Leyline that represents black mana .

The First Leylines

The first Leyline cycle came out in the Guilpact set, in 2006. Back then, we were introduced to:

- A player's opening hand includes the cards the player kept after everyone mulliganed (which is when you discard part of your hand, return a few cards to your deck, shuffle it, and then draw new cards to play).

- Even if your opponent is the first to play, a Leyline in your opening hand will let you start before them, so you can start the game with this enchantment in play. That's how the first turn will begin.

- Leyline Axe was the first "Leyline" that wasn't an enchantment, even thought it has the same text as the other ones. It was also the first Leyline artifact, and also the first colorless Leyline.

- Leyline of the Guildpact was the first multicolored Leyline.

- In Ravnica, Leylines formed the Implicit Maze, a magical network that goes through each of the ten guildgates in Ravnica and ends at the Forum of Azor. Niv-Mizzet and Ral "invited" all guilds to join forces and explore this maze in an official video:

- Some cards reference Leylines despite not being part of their cycles, such as:

Below, we listed the top 10 most popular Leylines according to EDHRec!

1. Leyline of Anticipation

Leyline of Anticipation is many players' best friend.

Cards with flash, like Archivist of Oghma are often very popular, and, with this blue enchantment, all your spells will have this ability.

So, with this Leyline, you can just wait until your opponents play something to decide if you want to cast an artifact, enchantment, planeswalker, creature, or something similar on that person's turn.

Imagine how nice it would be to cast a Reflector Mage to get rid of a creature before it can attack you?

2. Leyline of Abundance

Leyline of Abundance is so strong it was banned from many formats, such as Pioneer and Explorer!

With this enchantment, your creatures with mana abilities create one extra green mana when you tap them, which can accelerate the game and buff cards like Elvish Mystic.

3. Leyline of the Guildpact

Leyline of the Guildpact is a welcome option for five-color decks, which are very popular in Commanders with commanders like The Ur-Dragon and Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact. Its land effect is efficient, and having it in your opening hand will definitely put a smile on your face.

4. Leyline of the Void

While the Leylines above all benefit you, this one disrupts your opponent instead.

Leyline of the Void frustrates players who focus on Reanimate and Aristocrat strategies in a very simple way: if a card would be put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, you'll exile it instead.

This works with cards you destroy on the board or mill from the top of their decks.

5. Leyline of Sanctity

Having permanents with hexproof is nice, but what about you, yourself, having hexproof?

Leyline of Sanctity is an option to disable cards that force a target player to sacrifice a creature, discard their hand, or lose resources from their deck.

6. Leyline of Combustion

With Leyline of Combustion in play, your opponents will have to think twice before targeting you or your permanents.

Everything that goes around, comes around. This Leyline will make sure your opponents will truly get what's coming for them, as it deals 2 damage to them whenever they target you, your creatures, artifacts, planeswalkers, enchantments, battles, and lands.

7. Leyline of Punishment

Leyline of Punishment is simple and does what every burn deck loves. It makes all damage unpreventable, and disables lifegain.

With this enchantment in play, your opponents will suffer as they watch their lifelink creatures and cards like Fog become completely useless.

8. Leyline of Singularity

A less keen eye might think Leyline of Singularity only benefits its controller, but don't be mistaken: if you cast it against an opponent that plays a token deck, for instance, something very fun will happen. For you, of course.

If you turn all nonland permanents into legendary cards, this card will become a nightmare for decks that focus on treasures, tokens, and clues, for instance. The reason is that the legendary rule will apply, and your opponents will have to sacrifice their resources.

9. Leyline of Vitality

Giving your creatures +0/+1 is nice, but what makes Leyline of Vitality interesting is its lifegain effect, which activates whenever you put a creature in play. However, when we compare it to cards with similar effects, like Guide of Souls and Suture Priest, this Leyline is slightly weaker.

10. Leyline of Lightning

Regardless of which type of spell you play, when Leyline of Lightning is on your board, you can pay one mana to deal 1 damage to a target player. With this Leyline in your deck, all your spells are burn, and for just one extra mana.

Let's see how we can use Leylines in different decks and formats!

Legacy

Click here to learn how to play this list!

Pioneer

Click here to learn how to play this list!

Commander

Click here to learn how to play this list!

Leylines don't really increase a deck's power level, but they all can, potentially, give you a head start in your matches.

The fact you'll also be able to start a match with a permanent in play is quite tempting.

Tell us in our comment section below what is your favorite Leyline and why.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!