Ranking ALL of Sanderson’s Cosmere Magic Systems

In this episode of Next Chapter, we take on the ambitious task of ranking all of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere magic systems. From Allomancy in the Mistborn series to AonDor in Elantris, we break down the strengths, weaknesses, and unique aspects of each magical framework.
Join us as we discuss the creativity and intricacy behind Sanderson's world-building, comparing how these magic systems influence the stories and characters we love. Whether you're a die-hard Cosmere fan or new to Sanderson's works, this ranking will give you a deeper appreciation for the diverse and imaginative magic that defines his universe.
Subscribe to Next Chapter for more book rankings, reviews, and in-depth discussions on your favorite fantasy series. How would you rank Sanderson's magic systems? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
#BrandonSanderson #Cosmere #MagicSystems #FantasyBooks #BookRanking #NextChapter

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

There is only 1 magic system, it just has many many many forms

[@NextChapterYT]

Fair enough ;) I like to think of them as separate since investiture is so different in each!

[@macmay3042]

You're thinking of Sel.

[@Micquelle]

My list is pretty similar, just personal preference on a few of them. Great vid guys!! 1. Stormlight 2. Feruchemy 3. Allomancy 4. Breaths 5. AonDor 6. Soul stamps 7. Aethers/spores 8. Painting 9. Shades 10. Hemalurgy 11. Aviar 12. Voidlight 13. Cinder hearts 14. Sand mastery

[@MAXhall-gg5yf]

Hey I think something that you could do that would make it a little better is you guys do separate ranking systems so you both have one because I feel like you guys both have different opinions on each of them and it would make it a lot more interesting at the end. But I love the content and keep up the good work, 1k subscribers that’s great!!!

[@NextChapterYT]

Thanks for the feedback!! That’s a great idea. Part of the fun of this one was trying to figure out how to agree on which are best, but I like that idea too!

[@aldan7812]

You lads hit 1k!! Congrats!! Also Allomancy is the best it just shades surgebinding.... but it does shade it. Planets of flying Magnetos punching on is insanely cool.

[@NextChapterYT]

I see your point for sure.., but I can’t put it above Stormlight in my mind… :P

[@aldan7812]

@@NextChapterYT haha fair enough :-)

[@brendon.official]

Great video. You guys should do top 10 favorite cosmere characters (or something in that vein), especially after Wind and Trurh.

[@NextChapterYT]

Ohhh great idea!!

[@TheMoneyRaider]

One small note: Voidbinding hasn't actually been seen in the Cosmere yet. So far on Roshar, we've only seen Surgebinding. There's still 2 other systems on Roshar to explore. What the Fused use isn't Voidbinding.

[@NextChapterYT]

We can see the future… ;) yeah the void stuff is wild

[@spencerd6126]

My list of magic systems is a bit different because I’m combining all surgebinding together, leaving out void binding, and adding a couple you didn’t mention 1. Surgebinding- it’s cool to see how Brandon is able to tie character progression into gaining more power in a really natural way and we can see how radiants and fused use the same powers in different ways 2. Hemalurgy- the creepiness factor and the fact that it’s probably the most flexible magic system in the cosmere. If you can master it you can do almost anything 3. Soul stamping- being able to understand the soul of an object and change things about its past is cool. Lots of great potential 4. Feruchemy- The fact that you have to plan ahead and store up your attributes make this rank high to me, and the flexibility and choices in how you spend your reserves 5. Shades- good amount of creepiness and intrigue, fun world building. Given a new and different layer by Sunlit Man 6. Awakening- it’s neat to see the scientific approach here from Vasher, we’re told there are tips and tricks to it, good potential but a bit not super relevant aside from nightblood, so lack of use knocks it down a few spots 7. AonDor- I like the flexibility in the “programming” aspect and the Elantrians are cool, but it feels like other magic systems, especially hemalurgy, have the things I like about it done better 8. Painting- cool concept for world building, won’t say much because of spoilers for Yumi 9. Allomancy- pretty middle of the road, there’s not much interesting about it unless you start combining it with other magic systems. Some interesting powers but it’s not that special to me 10. Aethers- I’m interested to see what they can do. Tress experimenting with them is a fun element, and TwinSoul also provides some interest in them during the Lost Metal. Has a lot of potential to go higher but for now there’s not quite enough there. 11. Yokihijo- some interesting stuff about this in Yumi, could maybe have been explored a bit more, it felt like it was missing something compared to painting 12. Old magic- neat twist on asking a genie for a wish, but the most interesting things about it are when cultivation directly intervenes instead of letting the night watcher do the boon and curse. The fact that the “standard” old magic isn’t super relevant makes it pretty low on the list 13. Aviar- one of my top stories in the cosmere but a forgettable magic system. The only thing I find interesting about this is hearing how Dusk did some experiments with a bird from the mainland 14. Charred+cinderhearts- useful for the story, a bit of mystery, not much to grab me 15. Sand mastery- the sand itself is more interesting than the sand masters powers. Doesn’t even come up a ton in the story. Pretty forgettable Honorable mention: dawn shards. I have no clue what to do with this one, but it’s obviously big. Also by including it I have 16 systems!

[@NextChapterYT]

Sweet list!! And completely agreed on sand mastery ;) and including dawnshards to get to 16 was a solid move!

[@di3s3l44]

**Spoiler Warning** Hemalurgy is so cool! When the source of your power comes from driving a metal spike through a misting killing them and then obtaining their powers is unreal. A great villain magic system

[@NextChapterYT]

Crazy. And all the ‘beings’ created from it!!

[@Wordhopper1990]

Have you guys considered the Old Magic that Cultivation uses?

[@NextChapterYT]

😳😳

[@macmay3042]

First, I am one of the crazy fans who has a PhD in realmatics. I would say call them arcana, rather than magic systems. That's how they're referred to in-universe. And it obviates people saying things like "there's only 1 magic system with many forms". Or things which you don't mean to count, like Edgli picking Returned or the Old Magic or Dawnshards.

[@NextChapterYT]

Makes a lot of sense to me!! Thanks! Also makes sense why they call it arcanum unbounded ;)

[@Ms.Pronounced_Name]

My notes: Emperor's Soul and Elantris are the same power, the Dor. As for which is better? Extremely different use cases. Do you want to do weeks/months of research and have something that lasts year? Or do you want to write out a segment of computer code in the air and have it last for seconds to hours? The 2 combined warrant at least a +1 placement Hemalurgy should include Atium as it is Ruin's power. Not sure if that should change the placing, but felt the need to add it. Voidlight is single-surge Stormlight, but no Connection powers at all. The forms do boost the utility a bit, but the fact you even had the debate bugged me

[@NextChapterYT]

Wow we have a lot to learn!! Thanks for helping clarify!!

[@Haxerous]

6:57 voidlight isn't a magic system. I guess you are confusing it with voidbinding. However we know nothing about voidbinding. The fused/singers still use surgebinding same as the radiants. It is simply powered by voidlight/Odium. Right now we only have a hunch that may be some singers Forms of Power might be related to it and perhaps Renarin's visions

[@unclearmirror6013]

3:19 pretty sure we’ve only seen a tiny part of the magic system in Tress

[@NextChapterYT]

It only gets more exciting from here!

[@Xob_Driesestig]

Forgery is a magic system you could do so much more with and explore so many more themes with than was done in the novella (and its brief cameo in 2022). I almost wish someone else had thought of it so they could base a whole book series on it and give it the exploration it deserves. The core concept behind feruchemy could also be used in more ways, but we do get quite a bit of it, and it's not thematically rich like forgery is, so I don't mind as much. Allomancy ranges from great to meh. I love lurcher and coinshot, which is why it broke my heart when Sanderson broke the physics of it in the third book. AonDor has the same problem many of the runic magic systems have. So cool in theory, but if you don't give me the primitives and the syntax rules, it basically becomes a "trust me, bro" magic system. How did he blow up the wall? He had the correct combinations of runes, trust me. I just want a series where they take this magical programming seriously. "Ra" explicitly started out that way and then totally didn't deliver on its premise. At least the book Elantris didn't promise it would.

[@NextChapterYT]

I would definitely love more explanation of the AonDor system too… needs some rules and they need to be clear, but if anyone can do it Brandon can!

[@ClimbingThing33]

I haven’t read Mistborn in a while. What do you mean he broke the physics?

[@Xob_Driesestig]

@@ClimbingThing33 In the beginning the metal pulling and pushing followed normal newtonian mechanics regarding weight and force. So if you pushed against the earth, you flew upwards because you're lighter than the earth, if you have more investiture (which is like power/mana in case you haven't read the other cosmere books) you fly higher. If you pushed against a coin, it flew backwards because you're heavier than a coin. If you have more investiture it flew away further. And if you push against something that is slightly heavier than you, both you and the object fly backwards, but you slightly more than the object. With more investiture both you and the object would fly back further. However at the end of book 2 (Big spoilers ahead) Elend becomes a mistborn with a lot of investiture. However, when both he and Vin are pushing against a very heavy door, he is not going backwards, he simply pushes the door further. Which makes zero sense given the mechanics he established, and makes it more like a generic telekenisis power where the more magic you have the stronger you are instead of the much more intersting dynamic of the more magic you have the more you have to deal with the (literal) blowback. (Also I think he made a mistake about the conservation of momentum somewhere, but I think he has corrected it)

[@ClimbingThing33]

@@Xob_Driesestig Thanks, that makes sense. I never care that much about realism in books as long as the story’s good, but that’s odd coming from Sanderson

[@Haxerous]

9:16 well he haven't really explored the full potential of hemalurgy. We will pobably get they era 3. But even just the ability to create creatures like kandra and inquisitors is kinda cracked

[@NextChapterYT]

I knew I was forgetting something! Yeah hemalurgy has some very interesting potential

[@connorslocum9327]

Kings

[@NextChapterYT]

Thanks!

[@dylanhalifaux]

Dont forget, Hemalurgy made Koloss and Kandra.

[@NextChapterYT]

True true… some powerful results!

[@PokeJoshNY]

The disrespect to Sand Mastery smh

[@NextChapterYT]

😬

[@rosssims7224]

Sounds like yall needed separate rankings 😂

[@NextChapterYT]

Hahaha the beauty of cohosting!

[@jeremy169]

Elantris magic is easily 14

[@NextChapterYT]

I am personally offended 🤣