Scarecrows

Fresh off an updated look at creature types, I will look at 4-5 specific ones this month. In prior years, I covered soldiers, merfolk, zombies, goblins, elves, skeletons, treefolk, angels, elementals, and sphinxes. Today: scarecrows.

Introduction

The first scarecrow was called as such and appeared in The Dark set (from 1994; see above graphic). We got the second, Straw Soldiers, in 1999's Portal: Three Kingdoms set. But in my mind, this creature type really started with 2008's Shadowmoor/Eventide sets—20 of the 49 scarecrows printed to date come from that era.

Scarecrows are nearly always (48/49) artifacts, and 40 are colorless; the 8 that aren't are mostly black and green.

Sample/Staple Cards

In the Shadowmoor era, scarecrows were focused on the wither mechanic or buffed when in play with certain colored creatures:

The two most expensive Scarecrows, Painter's Servant and Scarecrone, are powerful for their abilities, but are not related to kindred type per se.

Later releases focused the kindred on mana-producing abilities:

And a recent release, Duskmourn, gave them a 'delirium' focus.

Deck Ideas

I have a Commander deck centered on scarecrow kindred. And for that, there is really only one choice: Reaper King. 

Reaper King's ability is impressive: "whenever another Scarecrow enters under your control, destroy target permanent." Making each of your creatures double as a removal spell is impressive indeed. Throw in some of the themes on cards shown above for additional synergies, and add a dash of board wipes and creature type buffs, and you may be in business.

With so few cards to choose from, Scarecrow is not (currently) a viable tribe in other formats, but keep an eye out . . . you never know what the future holds.

Creature Types (2025)

Three years ago, I looked at creature types and prevalence. But Magic is a living game, so the numbers keep changing. This post looks at that.

The most recent comprehensive rules (from November 2024) indicates that there are exactly 300 creature types in the game:

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

Aside: in 2022 (see provided link above), there were 262 types. In 2020, there were 249. Quite a jump! I suspect the increase is due to the Universes Beyond sets.

Second aside: the above list (or whatever is the most recent, as the rules are updated often) reflects the official list, and sometimes types are 'subsumed' into others. For example, 'Hound' appears on some older cards, but now is considered 'Dog.' 

Decks where creature types matter used to be called 'tribal.' That term was discarded a few years ago (due to the political happenings) in favor of 'typal,' which was then changed to 'kindred.' Whatever you call it, decks of this nature are a lot of fun, and I dedicate February to looking at a few creature types and the decks they encourage.

Card Draw

Continuing my look at card types when building a Commander deck, today I look at card draw.

In Magic, 'card draw' is just that—something that accelerates your access to cards. (I did a previous post on card advantage; the concept is similar.) In a given Commander game, you may only see 20-25 of the 100 cards in your deck, so any spell or ability that allows you to draw more cards heightens your chance of accessing what you need.

At its most basic, card draw can be creatures with abilities like Baleful Strix, shown above. When it enters, you draw a card, meaning it 'replaces itself' (you end up with the same number of cards in your hand after you play it). 

Card draw is so important that every color features it in some way. There are a ton of options—literally thousands.

In White, there are cards like Exemplar of Light or Mentor of the Meek, shown below, with conditional triggers that enable you to draw one or more cards when a condition is met (and it may require you to pay mana to do so).

Blue has a lot of card draw. Note cards like Mystic Archaeologist can be extremely helpful in long games, as its ability can be activated as many times as you can pay for it.

In keeping with its theme, Black card draw often involves losing life or sacrificing a creature.

Red card draw might involve damage or discarding a card before (or after) you draw more.

Green has some nice card draw options, especially based on playing creatures (sometimes of a certain power).

And there are tons of options in multi-colored; the below examples don't even scratch the surface.

Card draw is an important aspect of the game, especially towards the end of a contest. Drawing only one card per turn can leave you with very few options and chance of success; include cards like those shown above to increase your chances.

Ramp

Continuing my look at card types when building a Commander deck, today I look at ramp.

In Magic, 'ramp' is something that accelerates your access to mana. This could be:

- a creature that taps to generate mana

- a spell that lets you play more than one land on a given turn

- a spell or effect that results in mana generation (which includes creating treasure tokens)

MTGWiki has more information.

In Magic, green is the color that specializes in ramp, but it is not the only one. Below are some example cards, separated into four categories.

1) There are a bunch of cards that allow you to add mana, either directly (tap to add) or indirectly (enabling other creatures to tap for mana or conditional triggers).

2) Some cards allow you to search your library for a land (also called 'fetching a land') and put it into play tapped. (Note: some cards returned in this search aren't technically ramp, if the land you fetch goes into your hand and not onto the battlefield.)

3) Some cards allow you to play an additional land, either on one turn or any:

4) Some cards allow you to create one or more treasure tokens:

Ramp not only allows you to get out land faster, it can let you to find specific lands. This is especially powerful and important when you play multi-colored decks; having the right kind of mana is as important as having the right amount.

Don't overlook ramp when building a deck.