Every CCG has those cards. You know, the cards that everybody loves to hate. The broken ones. Transformative cards that dominate, restrict, or dictate play style in the most over-powered ways. Every game has them, and ESL is no exception.

But cards are only OP in the right hands, which means knowing why or how cards are OP is just as important as knowing their names. So get ready to take notes, because I’ve searched Skyrim and beyond to find the fifteen most insanely OP cards in the game, and how you can use them to dominate your games.

15. Ungolim the Listener

A turn 1 creature that shuffles 3 cost 1 3/3s with lethal into your deck when you summon him. Wow.. Even after the developers nerfed him down from a 2/1, this guy is still insanely OP.

What's good about it?

• Did I forget to mention that the 3 1cost 3/3 lethals you get also have “summon: draw a card”? Oh, yeah… they do.
• There’s really nothing to overthink here. He’s unique, which means you can’t have multiple, but the additions he makes to your deck are insane.
• If you can run a combo to recur him and multiply the summoning effect, you can theoretically create an army of 1 cost brotherhood assassins for midrange and late game.
• Ungolim is inarguably the best 1 cost creature in the game and a “must-have” for any Assassin or Scout deck. In fact, over 65% of all green decks in arena play contain Ungolim.

14. Leaflurker

A cost 5 4/3 with a built in removal effect. Huh? This is one of the best green cards in the game and certainly qualifies for “OP” status, especially if paired with cheap debuffs like Curse.

What's good about it?

• One of the pillars of any good Scout deck, Leaflurker is like a piercing javelin with legs. 
• Any good Scout deck should have no problem wounding creature, so Leaflurker should be able to remove just about anything on the board.
• You can run this guy instead of Finish Off and get the same effect as long as you have a steady stream of curses or small creature to sacrifice (which you really should).

13. Nix-Ox

Since the release of Houses of Morrowind, Nix-Ox has been one of the most controversial OP cards in the game, and it’s for good reason. When played straight curve, it allows you to summon two beefy creatures in one turn. But when combo’d correctly, it can be an OP game-ender.

What’s good about it?

• The summon effect of instantly adding 5 Magicka to your pool allows you to piggyback Doppelganger onto Nix-Ox, thus creating a chain reaction of Nix-Oxes and tripling your Magicka in the process.
• If played correctly with other combo pieces (Ulfric’s Uprising, Giant Bat, etc.) it is possible to gain infinite draw, infinite Magicka, and therefore lethal damage in one turn.
• Because the entry points for the combo are so flexible, many people who run this deck instantly shoot up to Legend status. Now that’s OP.

12. Odahviing

The first dragon on our list, Odaviing is the most expensive creature in the game, but it also brings with it the biggest impact.

What’s good about it?

• A 10/10 that will nuke just about any creature on the board with the power to stop it, it can really only be killed by removals like Javelin or Finish Off.
• If recurred with cards like Dark Sacrifice or A Night to Remember, you can deal 4 damage to all enemy creatures multiple times a turn.
• Most of the time, summoning Odahviing signals the end of the game in your favor. There’s just no defense against that summon ability, let alone a 10/10 dragon.

11. Blood Dragon

Insanely overpowered for its cost, Blood Dragon is a turn 5 5/7 that can ignore guards and attack any creature in any lane. Don’t overthink this. It’s OP. Put three in your deck.

What’s good about it?

• Compared to any other turn 5 legendary, the stats here aren’t even close. On face value this card should be a 5/5, let alone a 5/7 with such amazing abilities.
• It can take out troublesome cards that are hiding behind guards or in the shadow lane.
• Detractors might say that to be OP it must have immediate impact on the game, but Blood Dragon makes up for no instant impact with its strength and how it makes your game more flexible by tearing down the boundary between lanes.

10.  Sower of Revenge

Perhaps the most powerful 5 cost creature in the game, it’s a perfectly balanced 5/5 with an insane last gasp effect. When paired or combo’d correctly it can be a game-ender.

What’s good about it?

• First of all, the balance here is only on face value. This card wants you to think it’s balanced, but it’s not. It’s an unholy death machine that your opponent will fear from the moment it’s played. If you can get multiple on the board at the same time, game over. Literally.
• An easy and obvious combo here is Dark Rebirth/A Night to Remember. You will deal 5 damage to you opponent in an instant.
• It creates a primary win condition for your opponent of NOT letting your 5/5 creature die. Now that is some meta-bending OP stuff right there.

9. Ordirnian Necromancer

A cost 6 3/3 with an insane summon ability that essentially gives you two creatures. When it was released it was actually responsible for creating a new archetype and making Graveyard Scout decks OP.

What’s good about it?

• It can be paired with removal creatures such as Territorial Viper and Sanctuary Pet.
• You can also use it to recur powerful control or draw abilities from cards like Merchant’s camel or Indoril Mastermind.
• On top of an awesome baseline effect, possible synergy can be created with cards like Thorn Histmage, Orc Clan Captain or Fifth Legion Trainer, making it even more powerful.
• Recurring this card with things like Doppelganger can create an unending chain of necromancers that are pulling creatures out of your discard pile.

8. Garnag, Dark Adherent.

A must have feature of aggro decks; this card single-handedly makes them a viable if not an OP play style.  It effectively shortens games and closes them out for aggro/midrange decks to dominate.

What’s good about it?

• Prevents your opponent from playing deadly cards later in the game and forces them out of their game plan.
• Like many cards on this list, it instantly becomes the centerpiece of the match when played, and all action suddenly begins to revolve around it, allowing you to take advantage of your opponent’s focus. 
• At 4/5 for 4, it’s a solid card on the Magicka curve.

7. Withered Hand Cultist

This is a totally bonkers card, especially in the hands of an aggro deck. It makes all the most common removal and damage actions cost more. Imagine a world where firebolts cost 3 and lightning bolts cost 6… that's what you’re facing when this card is on the board.

What’s good about it?

• Combined with Garnag, it can make any action that costs 6 or more literally unplayable. If you’re talking about cards that warp the meta-game, this card has got to be high on the list.
• If you play a deck that has no actions, you can essentially dominate any deck that does.
• Many times, when this card is played, 100% of your opponents focus will go towards it and you will see them sacrifice creatures and give up tempo just to get it off the board.

6. Haunting Spirit

Haunting spirit is one of the most OP cards in the game because of how it mutates the meta-game and makes everything revolve around it. Its last gasp ability is so good that it forces you to either silence it or clear the board of all other creatures before taking it out. This kind of focus demands your opponent’s attention and allows you to dominate the midrange while your opponent is focused on the Spirit.

What’s good about it?

• It has arguably the best last gasp ability in ESL and is nearly impossible to play around.
• At only 3 Magicka to cast, it has an incredibly high stat/effect to cost ratio even though it’s slightly behind T1 Magicka Curve.
• Its last gasp ability is so OP that it essentially acts as a second card that would normally cost 2 Magicka. So basically you’re getting two cards for the price of one, and both of them are insanely good.

5. Thadon, Duke of Mania

The great Duke of Mania had to make our list; if nothing else for the simple fact that he is a transformative presence in any game he is played because he’s one of the few cards that actually changes the rules.

What’s good about it?

• The game is about board position, lane placement, and the interplay between the lanes. Thadon is OP because he changes the lane effects in a way that can completely alter the game in your favor.
• He is one of the few cards that can instantly shatter your opponent’s game plan and force him/her to play outside of his/her comfort zone.
• A 6/7 for 6 Magicka is almost dead on the Magicka curve for its cost. It’s not like you’re overpaying for a weak creature with a crazy effect. You’re getting a strong creature for the cost.
• If you can control the mania lane, you will draw two cards every turn as long as Thadon is alive. No other card can have this effect.

4. Ash Berserker

Ash Berserker is by far the best card to come out of Houses of Morrowind. It is the essence of any good aggro or midrange deck, and is crucial for them to maintain threats beyond their initial aggro rush.

What’s good about it?

• Fuels aggro and midrange decks and allows them to draw cards at a critical time in the game when, theoretically, their runes are not being destroyed.
• The draw condition is really not difficult to achieve, with the amount of 5-power creatures that most decks use regularly, plus cheap items like daggers and sword to get you over the threshold.
• When you are keeping pressure on your opponent with aggro and they can’t run you out of resources, there is essentially no way to stop you.
• When on the board at the same time as Withered Hand Cultist, your opponent will have a difficult time with removal, which will allow you to continuously rush them while outdrawing them at the same time. Now that’s domination.

3. Ice Storm

One of the best kill cards in the game and by far the best AOE removal; Ice Storm has become a ubiquitous part of intelligence decks (played in 33% of them) and a familiar thorn in the side of many players.

What’s good about it?

• For six Magicka it can effectively clear the board of small or wounded creatures, as well as destroy wards.
• Can save your neck once you’ve lost board control and has the ability to trigger multiple last gasp effects simultaneously, instantly giving you the advantage.
• You can totally destroy your opponent with one card after they’ve spent the entire game gaining control of the board. If that’s not OP, I don’t know what is.

2. Unstoppable Rage

Simply put, there is no other card in the game that can swing momentum like unstoppable rage.  Despite its high cost, the card has the ability to nuke your opponent’s board, and, when paired with lethal or drain creatures, the effects can be far more devastating.

What’s good about it?

• By playing this on a high-power creature you can clear an entire lane in the blink of an eye without using an attack.
• When played on a creature with drain, you can essentially drain twice in the same turn.
• When played on a creature with lethal, you can wipe out an entire lane of creature with little more than a 1/1.
• It can also be used to trigger slay abilities.
• There is no practical defense against it. In fact, the best advice from hardcore players is to simply “play cards to both lanes”. That’s like saying the only way to defend against a robbery is to “spread out your stuff”.

1. Tullius’ Conscription

No matter what website, forum, or game chat you go to, one thing is the same everywhere: everybody knows about Tullius’ Conscription, and most agree that it is the most OP card in the game.

What’s good about it?

• It is the crown jewel of control decks. When played deep into games, it is as close to an “instant win” as you will find.
• In decks with high numbers of charge or summon ability creatures, the game essentially ends once Conscription is played. You get a board full of creatures all triggers abilities at the same time. There is no defense against it.
• It is part of the most lethal combo in ESL, and if played after Journey to Sovngarde, you will instantly summon a board full of insanely powerful creatures. No deck has enough removals to defend against this combo. You will instantly win.

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