If you were ranking colors in Magic: the Gathering, green would surely be near the tops of a lot of lists. This color is fantastic when it comes to ramp and generating strong creatures – both of which can often turn the tide in an uphill battle.
The creatures you can find in green truly are legendary. If you’re building a deck with green in it, there will be literally thousands of options for you to consider.
We’ll be highlighting some of the best options out there in this guide. We’ve pulled together ten of the best MTG green creatures that display green’s prowess.
What are Green Creatures Like in Magic: the Gathering?
In our guide to the names for the color combinations in MTG, we discussed the different things each color is best known for. Since this article is all about green, however, let’s take a moment to take a slightly deeper look at the color green specifically.
Each color has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, which are often represented in that color’s creatures. Green is famous for being able to produce consistently large creatures that have both a higher power and toughness.
Another thing green creatures excel at is ramping. Green has plenty of creatures that can be tapped to add to your mana pool, allowing you to build up a mana base much more quickly.
There are also a few keywords that green creatures are known for. Many green creatures have trample, for instance, which makes it possible for damage to carry through to an opponent even when they block one of your attackers.
Counters are another thing you’ll see frequently in green creatures. There are quite a few that either apply +1/+1 counters to themselves or to your other creatures, making your army even stronger.
Best MTG Green Creatures
Allosaurus Shepherd
You probably never thought elf dinosaurs could be a thing, but with Allosaurus Shepherd, they’re a very real possibility. For just a single green mana, you can cast this creature without any fear of it being countered.
Once he’s out, he makes it so none of your green spells can be countered by opponents. That in and of itself is amazingly powerful, since counterspells are the most effective way to dispel threats when they appear.
But then, on top of that, Allosaurus Shepherd can boost all your elf creatures, turning them in to 5/5’s with an additional dinosaur subtype. Honestly, if you can afford him, he should go in any elf tribal deck.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
There is a praetor card for every individual color in the game, and Vorinclex is the praetor for green. They are all powerful cards, but not all of them distinguish themselves within their respective colors like Vorinclex does. He displays everything that a good green creature should be.
For one thing, he’s a massive 7/6 with trample. You can easily put pressure on your opponents just by using him as an aggressive attacker.
Beyond that, he essentially doubles your mana pool by adding one extra mana to your pool every time you tap a land for mana. As if that weren’t enough, when opponents tap their lands for mana, those lands won’t untap on their next untap step. He is extremely oppressive, aggressive, and you’ll probably want to be prepared to protect him from kill spells if you ever use him.
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
When a card is banned in Commander, it’s usually because it’s capable of breaking the format with its immense power. This is certainly true for Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, which is currently banned in Commander.
The reasoning behind its power (and consequent banning) is simple: for just two mana, you get a creature that will basically double the amount of green mana you can generate. He’s affordable to cast and will put you way ahead of the curve in terms of mana production.
Seedborn Muse
Seedborn Muse is unbelievably strong. It doesn’t need a high power and toughness or the ability to jack up your mana production in order to deserve a place in green decks.
What it does is untap all your permanents on your opponents’ untap steps. The uses for this are many. You can untap your creatures to ensure you have blockers to protect you. You can untap artifacts with abilities activated through tapping. You can untap lands, so you have mana open for casting instants.
In a nutshell, Seedborn Muse makes it so you’re never left wide open and totally vulnerable.
Craterhoof Behemoth
This is undoubtedly one of the most infamous green creature cards in the game. Craterhoof Behemoth is a win condition in any green creature-based deck even though it doesn’t specifically say anything about making you win the game.
That’s because it gives all your creatures trample and then a boost to their power and toughness that is equal to the number of creatures you control. If you have a battlefield loaded with creatures, regardless of their size, Craterhoof Behemoth is at its most effective. You’d better hope someone doesn’t have a board wipe in their hand if you use this card!
Oracle of Mul Daya
One of the greatest limitations to ramping is that you can usually only play one land on your turn. The key word in that sentence is “usually,” because cards like Oracle of Mul Daya remove that limitation.
It is the epitome of ramp. You’ll be able to play an extra land each turn, quickly outpacing your opponents so you can cast more expensive spells more rapidly. Plus, because she lets you play with the top card of your library revealed, it’s like getting to have an eight-card hand.
Nyxbloom Ancient
Want to really ramp into your most powerful spells? Take a look at Nyxbloom Ancient, then – it will triple the amount of mana your permanents generate when tapped.
This doesn’t just apply to lands. It applies to any permanent that can be tapped for mana, including creatures and artifacts. Combined with other cards that let you play more lands or increase your mana pool, Nyxbloom Ancient is a strong ramp card that belongs in any green deck where it’s legal.
Fauna Shaman
Fauna Shama is easily one of the strongest elf cards in the game. Tutoring (getting to search for a specific card in your library) is an extremely useful effect, and she’s like a recyclable tutor card. You can pay one green mana to tap her, discard a creature from your hand, and search for a specific one in your library.
She’s ideal when you’re backed into a corner and there’s a creature in your deck that would be the perfect solution to your problem. If you’ve got a lot of other creatures on the battlefield, for example, you could use her to find a Craterhoof Behemoth, then cast it and attack for the victory.
Read Also: Best MTG Elf Commanders
Tarmagoyf
If you asked the most knowledgeable Magic players to list some of the most feared green creatures, we have no doubt the dreaded Tarmogoyf would be one of the first ones to come to mind. Don’t let the creature’s silly-sounding name and creature type deter you. It’s ridiculously powerful.
To begin with, it only costs two mana to cast it. When it’s out, its power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards – not just your own. Its toughness, on the other hand, is simply one more than its power.
By “card type,” it means the spell type, whether it’s an instant, sorcery, creature, or anything else. This means there can really only be several card types in each players’ graveyard at maximum, but that’s still overwhelming. If you were playing with three other people and you all had three types of cards in your graveyards, Tamagoyf would be an impressive 12/13 creature.
Azusa, Lost but Seeking
With Oracle of Mul Daya, you’ve seen one green card that allows you to play one extra land each turn. But what if you could play even more than that?
That question is answered by Azusa, Lost but Seeking. She makes it possible for you to play two more lands on each of your turns.
Imagine how effective she would be in a deck in which there are creatures that increase the amount of mana your permanents tap for. You could reach exponential amounts of mana, and never find yourself struggling to afford a spell.
Common Questions about Green Creatures in MTG
What is a ramp creature?
To answer this question, we’ll start by defining ramp. Ramping means that you are rapidly building up your mana pool with cards that do things such as allowing you to play extra lands or tap for extra mana.
That means that a ramp creature is a creature that in some way gets you more mana sources that you can use now – not just mana sources in your hand. These creatures can do it in various ways, like increasing the number of lands you can play each turn or increasing the amount of mana permanents tap for. An example would be Azusa, Lost but Seeking, since she lets you play two additional lands on your turn.
Is Primeval Titan banned in Commander?
Yes, at this point in time, Primeval Titan is banned in Commander. We’ve included a picture of it above for your reference.
Cards are often banned in Commander for many reasons, such as being overly powerful, interfering with the stability of the format, or having key words that aren’t compatible with the format.
In the case of Primeval Titan, it could have been banned for a few of those reasons. It’s a 6/6 with trample, and beyond that, it allows you to search for two lands of any type – not just basic – and put them onto the battlefield. It’s simply too easy to make broken combinations with it, and if it’s legal in Commander, there’s literally no reason not to have it in a green deck. This would keep players from getting creative, since all green decks would be running Primeval Titan, which would also jack up its cost to crazy heights.
That being said, the rules change with time. You may want to check back on the official Commander ban list to be sure.
Wrap Up
If you want to build an effective creature-heavy deck, you can’t go wrong with choosing green as at least one of your colors. Green is well-known for its abundance of strong, earth-shattering creatures and its ability to ramp into the mana necessary to cast them.
Need some suggestions for potential Commanders to helm your EDH? Check out our list of the best MTG green-black Commanders for a few of our favorite recommendations.