The 30 Best Elephants in Magic Ranked

Call of the Herd | Illustration by Carl Critchlow

Out of all the creature types in Magic: The Gathering, elephants are definitely one of the most overlooked. They don’t get the flashy tribal support other tribes like elves or goblins enjoy, and you rarely see them leading top-tier decks. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to offer.

Elephants are known for being big, tough, and hard to remove—perfect for players who like durable, mid-to-late game creatures. This article ranks the best elephant creatures in Magic based on how likely they are to actually make it into a deck.

Let’s dive in and see which ones stand tall above the rest.

What Are Elephants in MTG?

Terastodon | Illustration by Lars Grant-West

Elephants in Magic: The Gathering are big, tough creatures that usually show up in green and white decks. They tend to shine in the mid to late game and often come with useful abilities like trample, lifegain, or +1/+1 counter effects. Even though they don’t have much tribal support, most elephants are strong on their own and can hit hard while staying on the battlefield longer than a lot of other creatures.

While there are plenty of cards that create Elephant tokens—like Call of the Herd or Bestial Menace—I’m focusing on actual elephant creatures. Specifically, the ones that are more likely to show up in formats like Commander. That means I’m skipping the more basic or filler cards like Bastion Mastodon and Dusyut Earthcarver, since they don’t really bring much to the table.

Honorable Mention – Hamza, Might of the Yathan

Even though Hamza, Might of the Yathan is Arena-only, it’s too fun not to mention. This 5/6 elephant warrior brings serious value to morph and landfall decks. Every land you play lets you seek a creature card and manifest it, giving you a face-down 2/2 that might flip into something huge later. And whenever a creature you control is turned face up, it endures equal to its toughness—so think huge numbers of +1/+1 counters.

It pairs perfectly with Threats Around Every Corner, which not only manifests dread when it enters but also ramps you with a land every time another face-down permanent enters. Together, they create a steady stream of face-down creatures and bonus lands, making Hamza a great pick for Brawl decks full of tricks and tokens.

#30. Greenbelt Rampager

At just 1 green mana, Greenbelt Rampager is a 3/4 that plays a little energy minigame. You can’t keep it on the battlefield unless you have two energy counters, but that lets you build up energy quickly for other cards. Toss it into an energy-focused shell with Aether Hub and Longtusk Cub for a smooth curve and value.

#29. Loxodon Peacekeeper

A 4/4 for just 2 mana sounds amazing… until you read that Loxodon Peacekeeper keeps changing hands to the player with the lowest life total. It’s a risky play, but it fits well in group hug or politics-heavy Commander decks.

#28. Ivorytusk Fortress

Ivorytusk Fortress is a solid pick for any +1/+1 counter deck, letting your beefed-up creatures untap during each other player's untap step. It has a hefty 5/7 body and makes your threats even harder to deal with. Combine it with cards like Fathom Mage or Juniper Order Ranger for bonus value.

#27. Rampart Architect

Rampart Architect brings an unexpected defender twist to elephant tribal. Every time it enters or attacks, it creates a 1/3 Wall token with defender, which isn’t just for blocking—when one of those defenders dies, you get to fetch a basic land straight onto the battlefield. That makes it a sneaky ramp tool in green-white value decks. Try it with Arcades, the Strategist if you're into wall-based shenanigans.

#26. Unyielding Gatekeeper

Unyielding Gatekeeper uses the new-ish disguise mechanic to sneak onto the board as a 2/2 with ward, then flips up to exile a nonland permanent. If you own the permanent, it comes back tapped; if it’s your opponent’s, they get a token. This makes it great in blink decks where you can repeatedly exile your own things for enter-the-battlefield value.

#25. Peema Trailblazer

Peema Trailblazer gives you energy when it hits a player, then lets you spend six energy to grow bigger and draw cards based on the biggest creature you control. That’s a serious payoff in energy builds or decks that want to go tall. Combine it with Aetherworks Marvel or Bristling Hydra for a high-energy, card-drawing machine.

#24. Losheel, Clockwork Scholar

If you're playing an artifact-heavy deck, especially one that likes to go wide with creatures, Losheel, Clockwork Scholar fits right in. It keeps your artifact creatures safe during combat by preventing all damage they’d take while attacking, and it rewards you with card draw each turn when an artifact creature enters. Decks running cards like Myr Battlesphere, Servo Exhibition, or Foundry Inspector get a ton of value from this clever little elephant artificer.

#23. Loxodon Lifechanter

Loxodon Lifechanter turns your beefy creatures into a win condition. When it enters the battlefield, you can reset your life total to the total toughness of your creatures—perfect if you have a lot of high-toughness blockers or walls. Plus, for 6 mana, it pumps itself based on your life total, turning it into a massive attacker. It pairs well with cards like High Alert for surprisingly huge swings.

#22. Malcator, Purity Overseer

Malcator, Purity Overseer might not look like much with only 1 power, but don’t be fooled—it’s a token machine. It makes a 3/3 artifact Golem when it enters and creates more Golems at the end of your turn if three or more artifacts entered under your control. That makes Malcator amazing in artifact-heavy decks, especially alongside Sai, Master Thopterist or Etherium Sculptor.

#21. Quintorius, Loremaster

With Quintorius, Loremaster, you get to make spirit tokens just by exiling non-creature, non-land cards from your graveyard—and then later, you can cast one of those exiled cards for free by sacrificing a spirit. That’s a lot of value packed into a single card! It shines in spell-heavy decks with lots of instants or sorceries. Look for synergy with Anointed Procession or Sevinne's Reclamation for extra spirit action and graveyard recursion.

#20. Rampaging War Mammoth

Rampaging War Mammoth is a hulking 9/7 trampler you can cycle away if it’s too clunky early on. Even better, when you cycle it, you destroy up to X artifacts, which is great against decks that rely on mana rocks or equipment.

Pair it with Drake Haven for bonus value when you cycle, or toss it into a red ramp deck with Seething Song and Koth of the Hammer to cast it outright.

#19. Spelltithe Enforcer

Casting spells becomes a tax nightmare when Spelltithe Enforcer is on the field. If your opponents don’t want to pay an extra for every spell, they have to sacrifice a permanent instead. It’s a brutal inclusion in white stax-style decks. It combos beautifully with Thalia, Heretic Cathar or Ethersworn Canonist to shut down fast decks and greedy mana bases.

#18. Sandsteppe Mastodon

Sandsteppe Mastodon comes with reach to block pesky fliers and brings along bolster 5, which means one of your weakest creatures suddenly gets five +1/+1 counters. It’s fantastic for going tall and creating massive threats out of nowhere. It works great in decks running Hardened Scales or Daghatar the Adamant, especially if you want to spread counters around strategically.

#17. Avalanche Tusker

Avalanche Tusker forces one of your opponent’s creatures to block it each time it attacks, making it great for clearing out key blockers. Sitting at 6/4, it hits hard and works well in Temur () midrange builds.

#16. Quintorius, Field Historian

Quintorius, Field Historian pumps your spirit tokens and generates new ones anytime a card leaves your graveyard. That makes it a strong pick for decks that exile cards from the graveyard as part of their game plan—like flashback, escape, or delve. It fits nicely alongside cards like Faithless Looting, Sevinne's Reclamation, or Relic of Progenitus for added synergy.

#15. Aggressive Mammoth

If you're running a big creature strategy, Aggressive Mammoth is your dream come true. It’s an 8/8 trampler for 6 mana that gives all your other creatures trample. That means your army of elephants (or anything else really) suddenly becomes a lot scarier. Toss it into a stompy green deck next to Avenger of Zendikar for some real Overrun vibes.

#14. Conclave Evangelist

Conclave Evangelist brings a wild combo of myriad and cloning itself when it hits a player. That means each turn you’re swinging at multiple opponents and getting extra copies of this 4/4 elephant cleric. It’s a fantastic card in token or blink decks—pair it with Panharmonicon or Cathars' Crusade for explosive turns.

#13. Conclave Sledge-Captain

Triple backup triggers? Yes, please. Conclave Sledge-Captain not only boosts your team with +1/+1 counters but also shares its trample and growth ability temporarily. They get even bigger each time it hits a player, so it's great in +1/+1 counter decks. You’ll want to team it up with Winding Constrictor or The Ozolith for serious synergy.

#12. Loxodon Hierarch

Loxodon Hierarch is both a solid beater and a great team player. You gain 4 life when it enters, and you can sacrifice it to regenerate all your creatures—basically a free board wipe insurance policy.

#11. Loxodon Punisher

If your deck is loaded with equipment, Loxodon Punisher becomes an absolute beast. It starts as a modest 2/2 but gets +2/+2 for every equipment on it—so it gets huge fast. Stick on some cheap gear like Bonesplitter or Sword of the Animist, and suddenly your unassuming elephant turns into a battlefield bully.

#10. Battle Mammoth

Battle Mammoth is a beefy 6/5 trampler that lets you draw cards anytime an opponent targets one of your permanents. What’s cool is that it comes with foretell, so you can cast it later at a discount. It’s great in green decks that want to protect their board while still building card advantage.

#9. Loxodon Smiter

Loxodon Smiter is a no-nonsense 4/4 for 3 mana that can’t be countered. Even better, if an opponent makes you discard it, it jumps straight onto the battlefield instead of hitting the graveyard. It’s a nightmare for discard-heavy decks running the likes of Liliana of the Veil, and an excellent fit in midrange strategies.

#8. Kazandu Mammoth / Kazandu Valley

Pulling double-duty as a land and a creature, Kazandu Mammoth fits beautifully in landfall decks. It becomes a 5/5 on landfall triggers, making it a powerhouse for just 3 mana. Since it's a land on the backside, it helps smooth your early turns. Run it with Lotus Cobra or Scute Swarm for maximum landfall fun.

#7. Loxodon Gatekeeper

This 2/3 elephant soldier slows your opponents down in a big way. Loxodon Gatekeeper makes all their artifacts, creatures, and lands enter the battlefield tapped. It’s incredibly annoying for combo decks or tempo strategies. Try it in a hatebears build with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Blind Obedience to lock the board down.

#6. Thorn Mammoth

If you love fight mechanics, Thorn Mammoth is your jam. This 6/6 trampler fights an opponent’s creature every time it or another creature enters your battlefield. That means you can keep clearing the board just by playing creatures. It’s absolutely vicious in blink decks or token strategies. Pair it with Avenger of Zendikar or Guardian Project for serious value and control. Just remember, this elephant can only fight so many creatures before dying, so I highly encourage you to pair it with the likes of Shield of the Oversoul to make it last.

#5. Venerated Loxodon

Venerated Loxodon is an amazing convoke card for white weenie or token builds. It not only lets your creatures pay its mana cost, but it rewards those same creatures by giving them each a +1/+1 counter. That’s a big swing in board presence. It's especially scary when paired with Raise the Alarm or token makers like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, turning a go-wide board into a go-wide and go-big threat.

#4. Hamza, Guardian of Arashin

Big creatures get cheaper fast with Hamza, Guardian of Arashin. For each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter, Hamza costs less, and all your other creature spells do too. That makes it perfect for +1/+1 counter decks that want to swarm the board with big, efficient threats. Combine it with Cathars' Crusade or Good-Fortune Unicorn to reduce costs while building a massive army.

#3. Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant

Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant is a small flying elephant angel with a big support role. At the end of your turn, if something you controlled left the battlefield, it puts a +1/+1 counter on each tapped creature you control, then untaps them—perfect for decks that like to attack or sacrifice creatures.

Now, if you give Lulu the Cultist of the Absolute background, things get wild. Lulu becomes a 6/5 with flying and deathtouch, ward—pay 3 life, and a powerful +3/+3 boost. Sure, you have to sacrifice a creature every upkeep, but that works great with Lulu’s untap ability and token strategies. This combo turns a support commander into a deadly aerial threat while still helping your whole board grow stronger.

#2. Oliphaunt

At first glance, Oliphaunt looks like a solid midrange beater—a 6/4 trampler that gives another attacker +2/+0 and trample whenever it swings. But what really pushes it over the top is its mountaincycling ability. For just 1 mana, you can toss it into the graveyard and grab a mountain, setting up one of the most busted early-game plays in formats like Pauper or even Legacy: Cast Reanimate or Exhume and bring it back on turn 1 when paired with Dark Ritual. That kind of fast pressure is exactly why cards like Troll of Khazad-dûm ended up banned in Legacy—it’s just too efficient. If you’re looking to cheat big creatures into play early, Oliphaunt is a perfect mix of consistency and raw power.

#1. Terastodon

Terastodon is the ultimate “destroy and gift” creature. When it enters the battlefield, you can blow up up three non-creature permanents and give your opponents 3/3 Elephant tokens in return. It’s great for getting rid of problematic enchantments, planeswalkers, or lands. Pair it with Momentary Blink or Flickerwisp to keep removing threats. In a pinch, you can even destroy your own lands to maximize pressure.

Best Elephant Payoffs

If you're hoping for a full-blown elephant tribal deck with a bunch of cards that directly support elephants, like what goblins or elves get, I have bad news: Magic hasn’t gone that deep on elephants. There aren’t any true elephant “payoff” cards—nothing that says “elephants you control get +1/+1” or “Whenever an elephant enters the battlefield, do X.” So if you're dreaming of a deck where elephants get stronger just for being elephants, you need to get a little creative.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t build a strong and fun elephant-themed deck. You just have to work with the patterns that already exist across most elephant creatures. Many elephants share common themes, and those can act like your “payoffs” once you recognize them.

One of the biggest archetypes you’ll notice is +1/+1 counters. Cards like Hamza, Guardian of Arashin, Conclave Sledge-Captain, and Venerated Loxodon all care about counters, either by putting them on other creatures or reducing casting costs based on them. These kinds of synergies make elephants a natural fit in +1/+1 counter decks, especially in green-white builds where those effects are common.

Another common trait is high toughness and defensive strength. Many elephants—like Ivorytusk Fortress, Sandsteppe Mastodon, and Loxodon Lifechanter—have big bodies that are great at blocking or stalling the board. Some even give you life or let you reset your life total based on toughness, making them great in decks that want to go long and stabilize.

You’ll also see quite a few elephants that fit into midrange and value decks. Cards like Terastodon and Thorn Mammoth don’t care about other elephants, but they offer strong enter-the-battlefield effects, removal, or massive bodies that can take over the game.

So while there aren’t any direct “play more elephants” rewards, the tribe naturally leans into themes like big creatures, +1/+1 counters, and board control.

Are There Any Elephant Commanders?

Yes, there are a handful of legendary elephant creatures that you can use as commanders. While none of them focus directly on elephant tribal synergies, they each offer their own unique playstyle.

Some examples include Hamza, Guardian of Arashin, Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant, Quintorius, Loremaster, Quintorius, Field Historian, Malcator, Purity Overseer, and Losheel, Clockwork Scholar. Each of these can be a fun starting point if you're looking to build an elephant-themed deck or just want to run a unique and flavorful commander.

Are Elephants Good in MTG?

As individual cards, yes—elephants can absolutely hold their own in Magic. Many of them are solid midrange creatures with big stats, useful abilities, and strong battlefield presence. Cards like Terastodon, Thorn Mammoth, and Loxodon Smiter have seen real play across formats thanks to their efficiency or powerful effects.

But as a tribe? Not so much. It’s more of a flavor win than a competitive tribe, but if you love big, stompy creatures with cool abilities, elephants still deliver.

Wrap Up

Ivorytusk Fortress | Illustration by Jasper Sandner

As you can see, elephants in Magic come in all different shapes and styles—from huge beaters to clever support creatures.

Which one was your favorite? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to subscribe and follow us on social media for more Magic content.

Thanks for reading, take care, and we’ll see you again in the next article!