Harry Potter universe. Unlike that popular fandom, The Magicians is aimed squarely at adults and features some of the most powerful magic s throughout all of fiction.
While there are plenty of gods, goddesses, and otherworldly creatures in the world of The Magicians, this list will focus solely on human magic s. These are the humans who use magic a bit better than everyone else, ranked from least to most powerful as they exist throughout the television series.
Last updated: December 30th, 2019 to include more of The Magicians' most powerful characters.
Henry Fogg
As the Dean of Brakebills, some fans might expect Henry Fogg to be a little higher in the list. The truth of the matter is, however, that most of his students outpaced him fairly quickly.
Dean Fogg is very skilled, but most of his power comes from his magical knowledge that he imparts to others. Most of his big moments involving magic in the series have featured magical items given to him by other people, not his own spells.
Pete
Though Pete only pops up when a character needs someone who knows their way around the seedy underbelly of magic, he’s certainly got his uses. A Hedge Witch who used to work for Marina, Pete found his place in acquiring magical objects for black market dealers.
Among his many demonstrated talents in the series are a fondness for telekinesis and animating corpses to talk to people from a distance.
Harriet Schiff
Harriet is one of the most fascinating characters that The Magicians doesn’t feature very often. The daughter of a Librarian and a powerful Magician in her own right, Harriet believes magic, and all of the knowledge associated with it, should be free to everyone.
As a result, when the show first introduced the character, Harriet had found a way to marry her magical knowledge with modern technology. Code on her news site actually featured spells for magicians looking for them.
Stephanie Quinn
Like the entire Quinn family, Stephanie is incredibly skilled at magic. Not nearly as powerful as her daughter, Stephanie still likes to believe she is, which is what often gets in her way.
Stephanie is arrogant and stubborn. She frequently believes her way of doing a spell is the only way it will work, which is what can get her into trouble, and why she doesn’t rank higher on the list. Stephanie allows her emotions, despite her often cold demeanor, to interfere with her spell casting.
Zelda Schiff
As a member of the Governing Council of Magicians, it’s evident that Zelda has to have immense power. Her high placement in the Library - where all magical knowledge is stored - also speaks to her abilities.
Interestingly, though it’s clear that Zelda is powerful, she doesn’t use her own magic much within the series. She spends most of her time in the show as someone who adheres precisely to the rules. When she’s forced to use her magic, it doesn’t take much effort from her, like when shielding herself from Harriet’s magical attacks.
JOSH HOBERMAN
Josh was once trapped in the World In Between Worlds after a class trip to Fillory left him stranded. He kept himself alive by growing and cooking the various foods he had available to him, which ended up making him into a rather skilled magician in the kitchen.
Josh isn't left just making food, though, he also used magic to create powerful psychedelic magically enhanced foods for fun and profit. He is also a werewolf thanks to some sexually-transmitted lycanthropy, but it hasn't been too much of a hindrance seeing as it was the impetus for his hooking up with Margo.
KADY ORLOFF-DIAZ
Kady's story is a tragic one, seeing as her mother was under the thumb of a Hedge Witch. This left Kady having to steal items from Brakebills to give to the underground coven, which has the effect of separating her from her group. After her mother was killed trying to steal some spells, Kady fell more in line with the rest of the students.
She has been a major player throughout the group's adventures and even helped to bring Julia into the fold. She is a gifted magician and is capable of performing Battle Magic to a greater degree of skill than most of her peers.
MARINA ANDRIESKI
Marina started off in the series as an antagonist who took in Julia, but ultimately turned on her. She had a wrathful rage against others and was the Hedge Witch responsible for killing Kady's mother. She was killed by an evil trickster god, but thanks to some alternate reality shenanigans, she came back.
Marina is one of the most powerful magical s seen on the series, but she often uses magic to suit her own purposes. This has landed her on the wrong side of the group on numerous occasions, and the few times she has assisted them, she had a reason all her own. She's powerful, but can't be trusted.
ELLIOT WAUGH & MARGO HANSON
Initially, we were going to split these two up, but they are so intertwined, it didn't seem right. Elliot and Margo are both talented in the use of magic, but they are so close to one another, they are more of a team. When they work together, they get things done, which is why they managed to rule Fillory side-by-side.
That is, until Elliot imprisoned Margo, but that was just a small misstep in their otherwise perfect relationship. In every other instance, they rely on one another to accomplish amazing feats — even if they are incredible magicians on their own.
QUENTIN COLDWATER
Quentin may be the main character of the series with most events revolving around him, but that doesn't mean he's the most powerful magician on the show. That being said, he is a very skilled magic and has demonstrated an ability to adapt to any situation and cast whatever spell necessary.
Quentin became instrumental in taking out The Beast, but he also killed a god, got magic shut off, and helped to turn it back on. It was Quentin's insistence that Fillory existed that helped the group find it and travel there, but at the end of the day, he's only about a mid-range level magician with several characters topping him in of skill.