Annul – Urza’s Saga +
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.88
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 4.00
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 3.88
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
I always think it’s funny how many of the narrow, sideboard-intended counterspells cost one mana. That makes it almost impossible for them to be more of a tempo blowout, no matter what they’re countering. They are, in theory, only such in certain matchups, but there are invariably classes of cards where some will find their way into decks that don’t focus solely on that particular class. When you look at it on paper, it can feel excessive, and like the designers are ambivalent about having people play with the block themes they made.
But on the other hand, Annul’s first release was in Urza’s Saga. The block was known for such eyebrow-raising cards as Grim Monolith, Worship, and Masticore, and that list is far from comprehensive. It returned in Mirrodin, where it was going up against the likes of Arcbound Ravager, Krark-Clan Ironworks, and Sword of Fire and Ice, and once again that list is comically not comprehensive. And then Theros brought gods who use the enchantment card type, and who a lot of decks cannot deal with in any other way. As fun as all those cards I listed can be to play with – and as unfun as it can feel when someone counters them for one mana – the point of a game is for everyone to have fun. And sometimes that means you’ll have to harshly shut off the card that can harshly shut off the rest of the game.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5 (whenever it’s reprinted, it tells you as much about a set’s theme as a multicolor uncommon signpost does)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
It may be narrow, but Annul does one (well, two) things, and it does them very well. One mana hard countermagic is usually with some kind of downside, but Annul often finds itself not really wanting for targets in formats like Commander, and it’s a very efficient way for a blue-anchored deck to say “no” to one particular thing they want to say it to. It’s hardly flashy, and it won’t ever be the star of the show, but Annul is a very efficient way to check specific decks and has been a solid sideboard option in plenty of formats.
Constructed: 3.75 (rarely worth mainboarding, but definitely can pull its weight coming out of the sideboard)
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5 (format-dependent, but can be a pretty solid bit of tech in the right one)
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Thijs
Very few cards are so effective against affinity-related decks as Annul.
Besides that, it also counters The One Ring. That should be enough.
There have been a massive number of reprints of Annul over the years, showing its versatility and its usefulness. We saw the overwhelming amount of artifacts in Edge of Eternities, where this card can truly shine.
You’d almost forget, after all the artifact-talk I just blurted out, that it also counters enchantments. And that makes this card not only good, it makes it very good. Wizards has been trying for years to put Sagas firmly on the map and recently they’ve been doing a rather good job, think of the Saga creatures from Final Fantasy. Annul just says ‘no’ to these attempts at an upper hand and I think it’s safe to say that this card will have a long and prosperous life ahead of it.
Constructed: 4,5
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4,5
Commander [EDH]: 4,5
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