The bread and butter ofMagic: The Gatheringaggro players are cheap, powerful creatures and efficient, impactful pump spells. A pump spell in MTG refers to a combat trick that can boost the power and/or toughness of your creatures to your benefit – either defeating a foe’s blocker or dealing huge chunks of damage to the opponent’s life total.
While green mages are often the best slingers of pump spells, red also boasts an impressive roster of such spells. If you’re looking to win in combat, these spells will help you get the job done with ease. Fire up the Swiftspear, and let’s explore the list.
While cards like Temur Battle Rage are certainly impactful red combat tricks, the only cards featured here will be ones that actually give a boost to power and/or toughness. Rule of thumb: pump spells boost power and/or toughness, whereas combat tricks simply provide an ability, with or without a power/toughness boost.
10Fatal Frenzy
Like Berserk, But Not
One of the best pump spells of all time – across the entire MTG color wheel – is Berserk, which debuted back in Magic’s first set, Alpha, in 1993. That card doubles a creature’s power and gives it trample for one green mana at the cost of having to sacrifice it at the end of the turn.
In 2007’s Planar Chaos set, red got a version of that card that cost two colorless and one red mana for the same effect. While three mana for this effect is nowhere near as strong, the ability to double a creature’s power and tacking on trample is still a powerhouse maneuver. Also, this card’s name is a perfect summation of its effect – always a nice touch for MTG cards.
9Fists of Flame
Cantrip Pump Spells Are Great
One thing that several red pump spells provide – especially when contrasted with green pump spells – is an additional card draw tacked onto a small boost to power and/or toughness.
This card, which was first released in the original Modern Horizons set in 2019, draws you a card and then pumps a creature’s power equal to the number of cards you’ve drawn this turn. If you play this during your turn, it will always be at least two, but usually, decks with this card are designed to abuse it, so it can sometimes give a boost of three, four, five, or more.
8Turn Inside Out
Huge Power Boost + Death Benefits
Released in 2024’s well-received Dusmourn: House of Horror set, Turn Inside Out has immediately made Monored Prowess a far more consistent – and terrifying – deck to face off against on the MTG Arena Best-of-One ladder.
A plus-three boost to one of your creature’s powers is a massive boon, especially if you’re able to tack it onto a creature like Cacophony Scamp, which can sacrifice itself to deal damage to any target, which allows you to manifest dread due to the casting of this powerhouse pump spell.
7Brute Force
A Red Giant Growth
One of the original pump spells released in MTG’s first set Alpha was Giant Growth, a one-mana green instant that gives a creature +3/+3. The card was part of the “three” series that included Healing Salve, Lightning Bolt, Dark Ritual, and Ancestral Recall.
In 2007, red received a “timeshifted” version of this card via the Planar Chaos set with the same ability (a +3/+3 boost to a single creature for one red mana). While it might not be the most exciting card here, it is still brutally efficient over 30 years after the original version of this card was released.
6Uncaged Fury
You Can’t Cage This Fury
While Temur Battle Rage might cost one less and also give the ever-important trample keyword, it isn’t technically a “pump spell,” so its slot instead goes to this three-mana pump spell that was originally released in 2016’s Shadows over Innistrad set.
Originally a common, this card’s impactful abilities of adding a +1/+1 boost to power and toughness and the always-powerful double strike keyword meant it was upshifted to an uncommon for Core Set 2020.
5Ancestral Anger
Once Again: Cantrip Pump Spells Are Great
Released in 2021’s Innistrad: Crimson Vow set, this one-mana pump spell provides an extra card upon casting and also gives your creature trample and a power boost based on the number of cards named Ancestral Anger in your graveyard.
This effect has been featured sparingly over the years in Magic, with cards such as Aether Burst, Accumulated Knowledge, Kindle, and Slime Against Humanity all featuring an effect based on the number of cards with the same name in your graveyard.
4Reckless Charge
Haste And Power Boost With Flashback
This Odyssey one-mana pump spell (which didn’t make the list ofmost valuable cards from that set) would’ve likely been higher had it been an instant, which is the case for a number of these cards. Instant-speed pump spells are almost always the better option, as you can surprise your opponent during combat if they decide to declare blockers.
A plus-three boost to power is always an impressive boon and when combined with giving haste, this red pump spell is clearly among the best of all time. Tack on the fact that this card also has a flashback and you’re looking at one of the most efficient sorcery-speed red pump spells ever.
3Blazing Shoal
A Free Pump Spell? Yes, Please
The only card on this list that’s banned in Modern, one of the more powerful MTG formats, this red pump spell hails from 2005’s Betrayers of Kamigawa set and allows you to cast it for free (much like thebest free counterspells ever) by exiling a red card in your hand.
Then, your creature gets +X/+0, where X is the exiled card’s mana value. This can be a huge swing, as the defending player will rarely expect any spell to be played when you’re fully tapped out.
2Monstrous Rage
Dominant In Standard After Release
This Wilds of Eldraine uncommon pump spell immediately vaulted into the top echelon of pump spells of all time when it was released in 2023. Why is this spell so effective? For one thing, it provides an immediate +2/+0 boost during combat.
However, the real kicker on this one-mana combat trick is that it also adds a permanent to your creature – a “role” aura that gives +1/+1 and trample to your creature. This is a stupendous rate, as on the turn it hits play your creature immediately gets +3/+1 and trample and it retains that +1/+1 boost and trample for the rest of the game. Pairs well with prowess or valiant creatures.
1Embercleave
Still One Of The Best Equipments Ever
The best red pump spell of all time happens to be an artifact equipment with a mana value of six (four colorless and two red), making it a rather expensive card on a list that’s littered with one- and two-mana pump spells predominantly.
Of course, as with any top-tier MTG threat, there’s a caveat: this card gets cheaper based on the amount of attacking creatures you have. If you have four creatures attacking, for instance, this card only costs two red mana. And what do you get for that price? A permanent boon of +1/+1, trample, and (the real star) double strike. This card was nearly unbeatable in Monored or Boros Aggro decks when it was released in 2019, and it still holds up as the best red pump spell ever.
