Creature Types and Prevalence

a fun card in any tribal deck

I've previously blogged about creature types and tribes in Magic. Today I look at the prevalence of types.

From the most recent (4/29/2022) comprehensive rules, the current creature types are:

205.3m Creatures and tribals share their lists of subtypes; these subtypes are called creature types. The creature types are Advisor, Aetherborn, Ally, Angel, Antelope, Ape, Archer, Archon, Army, Artificer, Assassin, Assembly-Worker, Atog, Aurochs, Avatar, Azra, Badger, Barbarian, Bard, Basilisk, Bat, Bear, Beast, Beeble, Beholder, Berserker, Bird, Blinkmoth, Boar, Bringer, Brushwagg, Camarid, Camel, Caribou, Carrier, Cat, Centaur, Cephalid, Chimera, Citizen, Cleric, Cockatrice, Construct, Coward, Crab, Crocodile, Cyclops, Dauthi, Demigod, Demon, Deserter, Devil, Dinosaur, Djinn, Dog, Dragon, Drake, Dreadnought, Drone, Druid, Dryad, Dwarf, Efreet, Egg, Elder, Eldrazi, Elemental, Elephant, Elf, Elk, Eye, Faerie, Ferret, Fish, Flagbearer, Fox, Fractal, Frog, Fungus, Gargoyle, Germ, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Goat, Goblin, God, Golem, Gorgon, Graveborn, Gremlin, Griffin, Hag, Halfling, Hamster, Harpy, Hellion, Hippo, Hippogriff, Homarid, Homunculus, Horror, Horse, Human, Hydra, Hyena, Illusion, Imp, Incarnation, Inkling, Insect, Jackal, Jellyfish, Juggernaut, Kavu, Kirin, Kithkin, Knight, Kobold, Kor, Kraken, Lamia, Lammasu, Leech, Leviathan, Lhurgoyf, Licid, Lizard, Manticore, Masticore, Mercenary, Merfolk, Metathran, Minion, Minotaur, Mole, Monger, Mongoose, Monk, Monkey, Moonfolk, Mouse, Mutant, Myr, Mystic, Naga, Nautilus, Nephilim, Nightmare, Nightstalker, Ninja, Noble, Noggle, Nomad, Nymph, Octopus, Ogre, Ooze, Orb, Orc, Orgg, Otter, Ouphe, Ox, Oyster, Pangolin, Peasant, Pegasus, Pentavite, Pest, Phelddagrif, Phoenix, Phyrexian, Pilot, Pincher, Pirate, Plant, Praetor, Prism, Processor, Rabbit, Raccoon, Ranger, Rat, Rebel, Reflection, Rhino, Rigger, Rogue, Sable, Salamander, Samurai, Sand, Saproling, Satyr, Scarecrow, Scion, Scorpion, Scout, Sculpture, Serf, Serpent, Servo, Shade, Shaman, Shapeshifter, Shark, Sheep, Siren, Skeleton, Slith, Sliver, Slug, Snake, Soldier, Soltari, Spawn, Specter, Spellshaper, Sphinx, Spider, Spike, Spirit, Splinter, Sponge, Squid, Squirrel, Starfish, Surrakar, Survivor, Tentacle, Tetravite, Thalakos, Thopter, Thrull, Tiefling, Treefolk, Trilobite, Triskelavite, Troll, Turtle, Unicorn, Vampire, Vedalken, Viashino, Volver, Wall, Warlock, Warrior, Weird, Werewolf, Whale, Wizard, Wolf, Wolverine, Wombat, Worm, Wraith, Wurm, Yeti, Zombie, and Zubera.

According to MTG Wiki, this adds up to 262 types of creatures. Whoa. But it's not as crazy as it sounds.

First, a creature can have more than one type. A Human Wizard is both Human and Wizard. 

Second, as you'd expect, some tribes are far more prevalent (meaning far more creature cards of that type have been printed over the years). And many types (97, to be exact) are rarely seen, with 10 or fewer different ones of that type printed. In fact, 24 of that 97 had 0 cards printed- these are creature types that are tokens created by other creature types (example: see Nadir Kraken below. Its ability can create Tentacle creatures- a creature type that has yet to be printed as a stand-alone card).

Here are the top 20 creature types, also showing number printed and primary color (found using Scryfall "type:___" searches):

The top ten for each color:

For a person like me who loves tribal decks, this data gives some insight into the sheer amount of options you have when constructing a deck with a particular tribe in mind.