Bottom of the Bottom Tier
When Oko began running over literally every format imaginable (seeing mainboard play in Standard, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and being banned in Brawl), I decided to look at all the Elk in the game. And, surprisingly, I found quite a good bevvy of creatures. So, from bottom to top, here’s a ranked list of all the Elk that came before Oko.
A vanilla creature is the worst thing to be, generally. A vanilla 2 mana 2/1 is… really bad. Just, really, really bad. It can trade up, but not likely. Congratulations on being the worst Elk!
While not vanilla, 2/1 is still pretty mediocre on stats. The death trigger makes this useful as anti-aggro in draft, but you’ll not find this in a serious constructed deck.
A bear (in Magic terms, anyway) with upside is alright. This upside is pretty darn niche, but it doesn’t die to literally everything.
Another of the vanilla Elks, this one is good at getting out to be an impediment to aggro in draft.
Vanilla is still bad, but at least this one is big! It’s okay as a curve-topper in draft, which is something nice.
A 2 mana dork is alright. A 2/1 dork can also brawl in the right draft circumstances, which is nice.
The Still Bottom, But Alright Tier
While a 5 mana 3/3 isn’t great on rate, it does at least get an alright value engine, either by tutoring or Raise Dead-ing. If you drop Vivien, Nature’s Avenger the next turn, it can even turn into a 6/6, which is nice.
Know what’s better than one Elk? A pack of them! People tend to underestimate how bad Rampage can make combat for an opponent, especially if you ever find a way to give it Trample.
This bad boy does a great job at being super flexible in the right environment. Another bear, this one can do a bad impression of Search for Tomorrow. However, in Dark Ascension draft, in turns on the Morbid mechanic cheaply and at any time, which allows for a lot of shenanigans.
A 5 mana 4/3 isn’t impressive, but a 5 mana green removal spell is okay. While this is somewhat limited in its scope, it does occasionally get to brawl then stick around.
The Actual Alright Tier
A card that gets very scary with token makers, this guy quickly becomes a pain in the side of decks. While 2 toughness is low, and while some effects in-set to give -X/-X, this isn’t the card opponents want to use it on. Quite a beater in MH1 draft.
Do you know how annoying it is to have your best defensive creature effectively nullified, turn after turn after turn? This beasty has okay stats, but an amazing ability that will quickly force a trade from the opponent while punching through extra damage.
Now hold on a second, isn’t this cheating? This is technically an Elk, but it’s an everything! Sure, but it’s also an Elk in its art, so I put it on here. A tribal-synergy card that also has a good body, this guy was a pretty decent card in green Lorwyn drafts.
Know what’s better than one Elk? Telling the same joke twice! With any other 3-powered creature, you give your board the ability to swing over the chump-blocker heavy meta of Fate Reforged. In EDH, it could still be serviceable on a budget.
The Good Ones
You may look at this and see just a bear, but it is so much more. The ability is ridiculously easy to turn on in green, and suddenly your opponent is facing down a 2 mana 4/4 for the low price of you expanding onto board in a set with few wraths, and the notable one (Dead of Winter) missing it entirely.
This is Star-Crowned Stag with upside. It turns on Constellation synergies in draft, can make another non-prime creature be the target of trading or removal before falling off into itself, while also being a fine turn 4 play on its own.
Flickering is great, and flickering literally anything with a Vigilance 3/3 attached is pure goodness. While not flashy, this card has a ton of play with it.
This EDH staple ramps in nongreen decks for 6, which is a fine way to spend turns 3 and 4 in more casual metas.
The Great Ones
A uncounterable, pro-blue, pro-black card is hard for many of the Grixis shells in Legacy to deal with, while also being a good card in Limited. This card still sees a small amount of sideboard play to this day because of its ability to walk by Baleful Strixen and True-Name Nemesises (Nemeses?).
Now wait, you’re just out of purely Elk creatures on this list, you might say. That’s true, but I can make the rules, since I’m the writer. Changeling Outcast is a nightmare of a turn 1 play in MH1 draft, enabling both Ninjas and Slivers from the start in a hard-to-interact-with way. Both strategies were aggressive by nature, so neither cared as much about blocking.
Another Elk-by-art, Morophon enables literally any tribal deck you want and any color combination you want. Given the close release time between this and Oko, Thief of Crowns I think Wizards was seeding everything transforming into an Elk way ahead of time.
What’s better than one Elk? The same joke three times in one article after you activate Mirror Entity! With cards like Training Grounds, this card has seen play in Legacy Rebels as a fringe deck. Mostly it sees play as a game ending threat in EDH, where it pumps entire boards of creatures up to empressive base stats (usually with some +1/+1 counters on top) to swing in for lethal.
The Legendary
This dyslexic Elk is a quintessential turn 1 mana dork. It taps for green with no restriction, which can help cast a turn 2 Oko, Thief of Crowns. Oko then helps the Elks in combat by turning them into their true 3/3 form.
Chalice of the Void is a defining card of Legacy, shutting down cantrips for a turn or so before being transformed into an Elk by an opposing Oko, Thief of Crowns. As both a lock piece, and an unlocked beater, Chalice is a great card.
What’s better than one Elk? One Elk with a bunch of heads! What, you didn’t think I’d go for that joke again, did you? This Elk gets to draw a bunch of cards and gain a bunch of life before entering the battlefield. Then Oko, Thief of Crowns gives it a boost by increasing its base power and toughness from 0/0 to 3/3. This Elk sees play wide play in Standard decks like UG Food, UG Oko, UG Ramp, Bant Oko, Bant Food, and Bant Ramp, as well as Legacy Food Chain.
The best pure Elk in the game by a mile, these bad boys are what gives Oko, Thief of Crowns his 1-2 punch of ticking up every turn for some reason. Why did they do this again?
And our #1 spot goes to….
After seeing an Alpha Lotus smack in for lethal due to its owner’s own Oko, Thief of Crowns, there can be no debate. It comes out for 100% free, can help cast an Oko, Thief of Crowns on turn 1, can Storm off, or can beat an opponent’s face to the ground with the help of Oko, Thief of Crowns, a card that’s perfectly fair and reasonable in every format.
I hope you have enjoyed this completely serious and comprehensive rundown of all the Elks in Magic the Gathering. If you want to see more content like this, keep your eyes peeled for an article in late November. If you just like my writing, consider reading another piece, tweeting @clear_ninja, or leaving a comment about your best Elk story.
