Elementals

Molimo, Maro Sorcerer card art

Continuing 'tribal month' (see this post), today I look at Elementals.

Introduction
Elementals first appeared in Alpha (1993); 559 unique ones have been printed to date. Color-wise, they are all over the map:

- multi-colored (92 cards)

- mono-white (25 cards)

- mono-blue (94 cards)

- mono-black (31 cards)

- mono-red (192 cards)

- mono-green (125 cards)

- colorless (2 cards)

This doesn't add up to 559 . . . I think because double-sided cards count as one card but can have two distinct color identities.

I don't know how viable Elemental tribal was as a deck archetype a few years ago, but I started paying attention to them in Magic 2020 (released in 2019), as the set featured 31 Elemental cards, and I built a fun Elemental deck that I still enjoy (see below). Elementals were also featured a good deal in the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor blocks (102 cards).

Elementals, due to their definition as embodying some abstract quality, can certainly look bizarre. You'll see that in the sample card art below.

Staple/Sample Cards
This is hard. Elementals are so varied it is difficult to focus on a theme. Draftsim has a nice article on elementals, featuring their 40+ favorites. I will focus on ones I know, and those trend towards 'enter the battlefield' effects. Elementals can feature heavily in 'blink' decks as a result.

But Elementals can have many other abilities. Four examples follow.

Deck Ideas
For Commander, there are a number of nice options. The four below are common multi-colored Elemental Commander choices.

For casual play, the below deck remains my favorite. This was standard-legal at one time. Risen Reef and Omnath, Locus of the Roil (both shown above) are key. Creeping Trailblazer (below) and Scampering Scorcher (shown above) are also essential.

It is Elemental

4 Healer of the Glade (M20) 176

2 Leafkin Druid (M20) 178

3 Lightning Stormkin (M20) 213

4 Creeping Trailblazer (M20) 207

4 Risen Reef (M20) 217

2 Omnath, Locus of the Roil (M20) 216

2 Scampering Scorcher (M20) 158

3 Cloudkin Seer (M20) 54

4 Scorch Spitter (M20) 159

1 Overgrowth Elemental (M20) 187

2 Icon of Ancestry (M20) 229

2 Lava Coil (GRN) 108

2 Shock (M20) 160

2 Negate (M20) 69

4 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244

4 Mountain (ANA) 8

3 Rugged Highlands (M20) 250

3 Island (ANA) 4

1 Breeding Pool (RNA) 246

2 Temple of Mystery (M20) 255

2 Temple of Epiphany (M20) 253

3 Forest (ANA) 10

1 Steam Vents (GRN) 257

I'm having trouble thinking of a pun to end this post. Odd . . . doing so is fundelemental. (Yes, that was bad.)