History Main / MageKiller

** The ordinary Monk, with his high saving throws, focus on dodging over armor (in a game where spells ignore armor), and Stunning abilities that require physical toughness to resist, is something of a StoneWall variant of this, if not in intention or spirit. The Arcanopath Monk prestige class, on the other hand, is this in effect AND intention, recieving a host of abilities allowing them to deflect and reflect spells, as well as punching the mage in question so hard they forget how to cast spells at all.

** ''TabletopGame/TheDelversGuideToBeastWorld'', a UsefulNotes/{{furry|Fandom}} variant of ''D&D'', introduces [[KillerRabbit the Celerine race]], most notably the Vinyot subrace. Its special ability is Burst of Silence, which can invoke a field that blots out all sound within five feet of the user for the next minute; any spell or ability with a vocal or auditory component is completely jammed within this field, and all within are completely immune to sound-based effects. The only downsides to this field are that it requires a long rest to recharge its single use, and the field silences and deafens indiscriminately, but a Vinyot Monk (a class already known for this trope) is commonly seen by enemy magi as one of the biggest lapine terrors this side of [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Caerbannog]].

* In SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' the Equalists emply a number of Mage Killer tactics in their crusade against benders. These include Chi-Blockers using the same techniques as Ty Lee, [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAmon Amon]], a leader who can [[spoiler:remove a bender's powers permanently]], and [[spoiler:MiniMecha constructed from metals [[NoSell too pure to be affected by Metalbending]]]].

** ''The Delver's Guide to Beast World'', a UsefulNotes/{{furry|Fandom}} variant of ''D&D'', introduces [[KillerRabbit the Celerine race]], most notably the Vinyot subrace. Its special ability is Burst of Silence, which can invoke a field that blots out all sound within five feet of the user for the next minute; any spell or ability with a vocal or auditory component is completely jammed within this field, and all within are completely immune to sound-based effects. The only downsides to this field are that it requires a long rest to recharge its single use, and the field silences and deafens indiscriminately, but a Vinyot Monk (a class already known for this trope) is commonly seen by enemy magi as one of the biggest lapine terrors this side of [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Caerbannog]].

* In SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' the Equalists emply a number of Mage Killer tactics in their crusade against benders. These include Chi-Blockers using the same techniques as Ty Lee, a leader who can [[spoiler:remove a bender's powers permanently]], and [[spoiler:MiniMecha constructed from metals [[NoSell too pure to be affected by Metalbending]]]].

** The Terran Ghosts's tool kit in Starcraft II is focused upon eliminating priority support targets from battle with their EMP Shot and Steady Targeting ability being well suited to this task. They can also cloak to avoid counter-attack from their targets, assuming a lack of TrueSight. What makes Ghosts stand out is that in lore, Ghosts have psionic powers of their own that can be developed to let them be "mages" as well.

** The Sisters of Silence are an ancient, [[AmazonBrigade all female]] order of Blanks whose role is to eliminate the greatest psychic threats that the Imperium faces. The Null-Maidens of the Silent Sisterhood are highly trained in the elimination of those who use PsychicPowers and are equipped with special anti-psyker weaponry. The 8th Edition rules represent this specialisation by giving every Sister of Silence psyk-out grenades (which have a chance of dealing [[UnblockableAttack mortal wounds]] against psykers and Daemons) and the 'Witch Hunters' special rule (allowing them to re-roll wound rolls against psykers they are fighting). The rank and file Prosecutor Sisters are also able to ignore the usual targeting restrictions when firing at psychic characters.

* Asta of ''Manga/BlackClover'' is literally the only person the setting has ever seen with ''no'' magical ability whatsoever. It's otherwise so common that even the peasants are using magic for mundane stuff like laundry or sweeping up. This left Asta to get things done physically, and training to do so, leaving him in good enough physical shape to impress a physical Goliath of a Captain with his strength. Once Asta got a grimoire, which is what everyone else uses to catalogue their various spells, the only thing he could "cast" with it was to pull a sword of [[ColdIron black iron]] out of it, the sword, like Asta, having no detectable magical power. It turns out that sword ''dispels'' any magic it comes into contact with. While Asta's far from invincible after this (he can't sense magic, leaving him wide open to traps and ambushes, and he has to actually hit magic with the sword to dispel it, meaning he can be overwhelmed by enough firepower), this, combined with his tremendous physical aptitude, and the reliance of ''every'' other character in the show on magic, makes him a surprisingly effective Magic Knight, particularly if enemies underestimate him because they sense no magic power from him.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': [[spoiler:Jeremiah Gottwald]] is rebuilt into one of these. The local mages use a power called 'Geass' and part of this mage killer's upgrade is a Geass ''Canceller''. It can be activated manually to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin cancel a Geass]] active on anyone else as well as activate automatically if someone tries to Geass him, blocking the effect. The second part of his upgrade is a cyborg body with a BladeBelowTheShoulder and [[ImmuneToBullets bullet immunity]].
* Every character in ''Anime/WitchHunterRobin'', with a couple of caveats. Only [[MageSpecies witches]] can naturally resist each other's powers; blocking attacks and GeoEffects are perhaps the only abilities shared by all witches other than having a special ability. This is how Robin and Karasuma [[HunterOfHisOwnKind fight other witches]]. The rest of the human cast has to make do with wearing vials of Orbo and using [[WeaponizedWeakness bullets filled with the stuff]], which naturally cancels witch powers and weakens them on contact.
** In season 2, when the enhanced Orbo suit witch hunters hit the scene we find out that [[spoiler:using living witches as HumanResources to make the stuff]] has very detrimental effects on the humans using the stuff.

* Asuna Kagurazaka of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is one due to her [[AntiMagic magic cancelling abilities]]. This makes her Negi's most valuable ally because she can negate the power of his enemies.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'', the eponymous Unicorn Gundam is fitted with a "Newtype Destroyer" system - a SuperMode that activates in the presence of enemy [[PsychicPowers Newtypes]], dramatically boosting the Unicorn's specs and allowing it to hijack psychically-controlled weapons. Ironically, this system [[DeadlyUpgrade causes so much strain on the pilot]] that only Newtypes are capable of using it.
* ''Literature/FateZero'': Although Kiritsugu Emiya is a mage himself, he has all the characteristics of a traditional Mage Killer (he's even known in-universe as "The Magus Killer"). Because his magical abilities are limited, he usually makes use of technology instead, generally opting for massive overkill to ensure success. Case in point: One of his targets has fortified the top several floors of a building with every conceivable magical defense. Kiritsugu's solution? [[DungeonBypass Blow up the building.]] A story is also told of him doing the same thing to a passenger jet. This usually works because magi tend to be traditionalists who are ignorant of the full potential of modern technology, so they aren't generally very good at defending against it.
* ''Manga/{{Dorohedoro}}'': A side-effect of the magic [[ArtificialHybrid that gave him a lizard head]] has rendered [[TheHero Caiman]] immune to all magic, which alongside his physical bulk and his skill with combat knives is all he needs to make most any mage's life hell. Mages who can use magic to alter the environment or who are skilled physical combatants on top of their magic, meanwhile, tend to give him a lot more trouble.

** Addendum: [[RoboticPsychopath HK-47]] was well versed in the assasination of Jedi, [[CatchPhrase meatbags.]] If you have sufficient [[RelationshipValues Influence]] with him, he can teach you how to kill Jedi.

* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, true magic was almost completely forgotten in Valdemar for generations until an enemy country began fielding mages against them. Because it's such an OutsideContextProblem, they struggle to defend themselves against magic, and the average Valdemaran citizen views magic and mages as a terrifying and nigh-unbeatable threat. Enter Kerowyn and her mercenary company, the Skybolts, who are well-versed in dealing with magic - Kero herself is the granddaughter of a powerful mage - and astonish the Valdemarans with how casual they are about the prospect of fighting and killing mages. It also helps that Kero is a fighter carrying [[AntiMagic the magic sword Need]], who completely neutralizes any hostile magic thrown at her ''or'' her Skybolts, so fighting mages is much easier for them.

** Any warrior [[GenderRestrictedGear woman]] carrying Need becomes this, not just Kero. In the ''Oathbound'' books, the few times Tarma takes Need up, even the most powerful mages have no defense or recourse against her. Then in the ''Mage Winds'' books Need wakes up and reveals that she's an ancient mage of unusual skill, who can take attacks from the BigBad and transmute their energy to use for her own purposes. Paired with a bearer to be her body, she makes an excellent assassin for mages.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' basically revolves around this trope: Touma has the "Imagine Breaker", a PowerNullifier and AntiMagic ability contained in his right hand, which he uses in one way: [[FightsLikeANormal fist to face]]. The magicians of the story consider him to be TheDreaded, though in later installments they start to wise up and use more conventional weaponry against him (like guns), which he has no defense against.

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'': Although Kiritsugu Emiya is a mage himself, he has all the characteristics of a traditional Mage Killer (he's even known in-universe as "The Magus Killer"). Because his magical abilities are limited, he usually makes use of technology instead, generally opting for massive overkill to ensure success. Case in point: One of his targets has fortified the top several floors of a building with every conceivable magical defense. Kiritsugu's solution? [[DungeonBypass Blow up the building.]] A story is also told of him doing the same thing to a passenger jet. This usually works because magi tend to be traditionalists who are ignorant of the full potential of modern technology, so they aren't generally very good at defending against it.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', the prequel novels to ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Kiritsugu Emiya is a low-level Mage who specializes in killing other magi (well, heretical magi, at least, and anyone else he's been hired to kill). He does this by [[{{Magitek}} combining magic with technology]] in ways which most old-fashioned magi would never imagine (such as [[CrazyPrepared equipping his familiars with miniature cameras to negate the effects of illusion on their senses]]) and by having "[[DepletedPhlebotinumShells Origin Bullets]]" which ''make the magic in a person's body explode'', then fuse the remains back together into an unusable knot.

See also CapeBusters, for the anti-superpower (rather than anti-magic) version, DemonSlaying for someone who hunts demons instead of mages, and MugglesDoItBetter, which is about technology beating out magic. Compare and contrast ColdIron. Contast WeakToMagic.

** Ares has the same high RES growth as Seliph, and his Legendary Weapon, the Demon Sword Mystletainn, grants him a + 10 boost in RES (along with the Critical Skill and a + 20 boost in Skill, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill meaning its tears into those mages even harder than Seliph]]). He's THE character of choice for killing mages until Seliph gets his Tyrfing, which only happens late in the game.

Sometimes this is a part of a normal arms race or a niche--if there's a threat, everyone wants to get countermeasures, and if there's something, some critter sooner or later will eat it. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Sometimes]] this is added as an element of FakeBalance (situational advantage): instead of {{nerf}}ing down superpowered entities in question, make up a selectively fearsome enemy for them, so they would not look best in ''all'' situations.

** The voxyn were made by Yuuzhan Vong to hunt Force users. They could blanket their presence in the Force, but otherwise had no AntiMagic powers. They compensated for it by the ability to track Force-sensitives and some other useful abilities like having a neurotoxin for blood, acid breath, etc.
** The terentatek is similar in concept, only created by the Sith instead, and specifically meant to hunt lightsiders. Aside from being strong in the Dark Side and possessing deadly venom, their outer hide is also immune to the effects of the Force, and they themselves feed off the blood of Force-sensitive beings. The damn things are so nasty that the Jedi Order routinely held galaxy-wide "Great Hunts" aimed at exterminating them.

** ''[[Franchise/StarWarsTheHighRepublic The High Republic]]'' has the Great Leveler, an [[EldritchAbomination enigmatic creature]] weaponized by the Nihil that can [[MindRape psychically assault]] a Jedi through the Force and severing their connection to it, either [[DespairEventHorizon traumatizing them]] at best or reducing them to a [[TakenForGranite brittle petrified husk]] at worst. [[spoiler:The Leveler is one of several creatures known commonly as "The Nameless", but another name they have is "Shrii-ka-rai", which translates to "Eater of the Force" from an old alien language. The last few stories of Phase I reveal that the Nihil have an unknown number of the Nameless at their disposable, and Marchion Ro knows where to get more if any of them die. Phase II (a prequel set 150 years before Phase 1) reveals that the Nameless were once weaponized by the Path of the Open Hand, [[AntiMagicalFaction a religious cult against Force users]] that Marchion's ancestors were once part of.]]

* In ''LightNovel/RokkaNoYuusha'', Fremy is the Hero Killer. Since Heroes most often end up being Saints and Saints have powers, in the instances she kills Saints she is this. (She's the Saint of gunpowder, but since she sticks that gunpowder into a gun or uses it in explosives, she qualifies.) For Heroes which aren't Saints, however, she subverts this.

* Glenn in ''LightNovel/AkashicRecordsOfBastardMagicInstructor'' used to have this role when he was in the Imperial Court Magic Corps. His original magic Fool's World allowed him to prevent the casting of magic in an area centered on himself, and his skills in martial arts and various weapons allowed him to kill the now-helpless mages. However, the job traumatized him, resulting in the present-day Glenn being lazy and disdainful of magic.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' :

* Mishis in ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'' specialises in fighting other Drag-Knights and is known as the Anti Drag-Knight for this reason. She herself is a skilled Drag-Knight whose [[MiniMecha Drag-Ride]] can steal the powers of other Drag-Rides on contact and drain their energy at short distances (the latter being fast enough to completely deplete her opponent's reserves in a few seconds). She also has detailed knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of all Drag-Rides, which allows her to formulate countermeasures for all of them.

** In the Alloy of Law era, [[WrenchWench Ranette]] has developed DepletedPhlebotinumRounds specifically designed to exploit weaknesses of known Mistings: Anti-[[MindOverMatter Coinshot]] rounds are designed to detach a metal section when the Misting in question pushes on it (but leave the rest of the bullet unaffected), Anti-[[MagnetismManipulation Lurcher]] Rounds are designed to explode when they Pull on it, Anti-[[SuperSenses Tineye]] rounds are designed to be [[SensoryOverload extra noisy and flashy]], Anti-[[SuperStrength Pewter]][[ImplacableMan arm]] rounds are [[YourHeadASplode hollow point rounds]] designed for stopping power.

** ''[[Franchise/StarWarsTheHighRepublic The High Republic]]'' has the Great Leveler, an [[EldritchAbomination enigmatic creature]] weaponized by the Nihil that can [[MindRape psychically assault]] a Jedi through the Force and severing their connection to it, either [[DespairEventHorizon traumatizing them]] at best or reducing them to a [[TakenForGranite brittle petrified husk]] at worst. [[spoiler:The Leveler is one of several creatures known commonly as "The Nameless", but another name they have is "Shrii-ka-rai", which translates to "Eater of the Force" from an old alien language. The last few stories of Phase I reveal that the Nihil have an unknown number of the Nameless at their disposable, and Marchion Ro knows where to get more if any of them die.]]

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':