Welcome to my countdown of the five greatest multiplayer creatures (and the decks they go best in)! These creatures walk to the beat of a different drum, and are sure to raise some eyebrows, but if you give them a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. In fact, the top creature acts like a Moat, a Wrath of God deterrent, and lets you…

Wait, wait, wait. I’m getting ahead of myself! The good stuff comes later.

Before I get into the meat of my list, I want to address something that I feel makes judging the power level of a creature in multiplayer particularly challenging: It’s what I like to call the Congregate Effect. See, Congregate just doesn’t do all that much in a two-player game. Sure, it might you a handful of life for four mana, but it rarely gets out-and-out stupid. Now think about that same 3W spell in 2-2-3 Emperor, or 5-Point Star. Even in Two-Headed Giant, there’s likely to be between ten and thirty creatures. So…twenty to sixty life for 3W? Okay, I’ll take that. Beacon of Immortality and Blessed Wind have nothing on this spell.

So many of the “really good” multiplayer creatures are simply those whose natural limitations are no longer as well-defined once you add other players to the mix. This includes creatures such as Kokusho (don’t worry, he’s not on the list), the various Lhurgoyfu, Beast of Burden, Seedborn Muse, Verdant Force, and so forth.

Critters that simply improve numerically tend to be a tad boring — and while they may be among the better choices for multiplayer, I will be eschewing them whenever possible. (There is one exception to this, but it’s in last place because it really is rather mundane.) The majority of my list involves creatures who now have a whole lot more to do, but tend to change the game in your favor in a subtler way.

As for the decks themselves, when possible, I do my best to use the most recently-printed cards. This is because I understand that lots of people play the majority of their multiplayer in MODO using the Online Extended card pool. That’s the pool I’m drawing on for the creatures on my list that appear in those sets.

Finally, these are not budget decks. I like to build on the cheap, but whenever possible, I include quality cards that might cost a bit more to acquire. This is not too bad, though, since many of the cards I include are sub-optimal for tournament-level Constructed play and are therefore relatively inexpensive.

That said, let’s get on with the show!

5. Mortivore
This is the one I said that’s a little humdrum. What makes it stand apart from Beast of Burden and the other Lhurgoyfu are a) it’s black and b) it regenerates. This thing is so much harder to put down, it’s ridiculous. Wrath of God effects and white remove-from-the-game or Pacifism effects are darn near the only way to handle this guy. And it costs 2BB – that’s a pretty good price for something so hard to remove.

Better yet, it’s in the color best suited to make sure it sticks around and gets really huge. Between cards like Festering Goblin with graveyard triggers and sacrifice-creatures like Nantuko Husk and Fallen Angel, this guy can get out of hand in a hurry.

One of the best ways to abuse him is with Grave Pact. That way, at least two creatures are going to the graveyard with each sacrifice your men make for the team, making Morty all the more dangerous. He’s also nice when paired with effects that let you discard. This should come as little surprise, considering the expansion symbol appearing on our little friend here.

For multiplayer, it’s especially good with filter cards that let you draw and then discard. Thought Courier/Merfolk Looter, Soratami Cloudskater, Jalum Tome, Mulch, Predict, Thirst for Knowledge, and Careful Study are some of the more interesting examples. I particularly like him in blue, since that color offers Wonder, as well as a plethora of card-drawing capabilities.

So we have Blue card drawing and Black creatures…I feel a deck coming on!

Undertaker’s Dream
4 Mortivore
2 Avatar of Woe (MODO: Phyrexian Plaguelord)
4 Nantuko Husk
3 Wonder
4 Krovikan Sorcerer (MODO: Jushi Apprentice or Shadowmage Infiltrator)
4 Thought Courier
1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls

3 Careful Study
3 Echoing Truth
3 Barter in Blood
3 Talisman of Dominance
3 Grave Pact

4 Underground River
10 Swamp
9 Island

The goal here is pretty much to abuse both Mortivore and Avatar of Woe by getting as many creatures into the grave as you can. There’s not a lot for you to do to other players, short of forcing them to sacrifice creatures — but oftentimes, that should be enough.

Grave Pact and Barter in Blood are especially insidious in multiplayer, and criminal when played together. As should be rather obvious, this deck does best when the majority of people of the table are playing creature-based strategies with a somewhat normal mana curve. If you have lots of Goblin or Elf players at your table, substitute Hideous Laughter, Mutilate, or Infest for the Barters or Truths.

4. Scandalmonger
This might seem like an odd choice, but when you build a deck around him you'll see why he makes the list.

There are several cards in Magic that punish your opponents for forcing you to discard: Psychic Purge, Guerilla Tactics, Spiritual Focus, Dodecapod, and others. It doesn’t matter that you control the Monger, only that an opponent played the ability. Scandalmonger is great fun, because you come prepared for him while your opponents do not.

Often when you put out a creature that messes with every player (Fatespinner, for example), you acquire a huge bull's-eye, and everyone tries to take you (or at least your permanent) out A.S.A.P. In most groups, people will typically leave you alone with Scandalmonger for one of two reasons: they want to keep the 'Monger around to use on their other opponents, or they don’t want you to make them discard their entire hand. The insanity and back-stabbing that ensue because of this card is simply hilarious, and definitely should not be missed.

Scandalous
4 Scandalmonger
4 Dodecapod
4 Weathered Wayfarer
4 Nezumi Shortfang

3 Spiritual Focus
3 Metrognome
4 Vindicate
4 The Rack
4 Zombify
2 Mindslaver

4 Caves of Koilos
9 Swamp
7 Plains
4 Cloudpost

This deck is a bit of an odd bird, mostly because once people figure it out, they are less likely to be letting you put Dodecapod into play as a free 5/5 and other such things. The Zombifies are in to both let you recur the Scandalmonger and snag any tasty creatures that your opponents have dropped into the grave. The Wayfarers help fetch Cloudposts, which in turn let you power out more than one Gnome a turn with Metrognomes or throw out a Mindslaver. Forcing an opponent to Scandalmonger you while you load up on free cards, life, and creatures is a wonderful feeling.

Remember, too that while The Rack must select which opponent gets strapped to it, Stabwhiskers the Odious hits each player on his or her turn.

One final important caveat: if this deck does its thing in a free-for-all, you are in serious trouble of getting ganged up on. Best to save it for a team game or three-player Cutthroat variants. Either way, it is ridiculously fun to see in action.

3. Preacher
There are plenty of cards that let you grab your opponent’s guys… And as should be apparent to anyone who’s been playing for a while, “Gain control of target creature” doesn’t show up as a creature ability without being some kind of restriction. Old Man of the Sea has to be stronger than whatever he’s grabbing. Callous Oppressor can’t kidnap creatures of a particular creature type. Merieke Ri Berit and Rubinia Soulsinger are tri-colored legendary creatures.

Preacher, however, is perhaps the simplest and least restricted of these. Sure, your opponent chooses — but at the end of the day, you’ll still have a nice, shiny new creature joining your team.

The best part is, Preacher costs 1WW for a 1/1. While this might not seem like it should be impressive, think about your reaction when someone plays a Bringer of the Red Dawn in multiplayer. Panic! That guy just became the world’s biggest Terror target. The Preacher is much more innocuous, which is one of the things that makes great multiplayer cards, well, great.

Have you seen the developing theme here? While it’s tempting to say Legendary Dragon X, Bringer of the X Dawn, Verdant Force, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, and so forth are the best creatures in multiplayer, they all have one fatal flaw – they are too big and splashy, thus drawing too much attention. Playing with creatures that are either tough to remove or seemingly innocuous do the trick much better in the long run than single bigger creatures, especially since multiplayer groups have a tendency to allow larger card pools. Spot removal is much more common and efficient in these cases, with Swords to Plowshares, Lightning Bolts, and Terminates being slung with abandon.

Preacher is the embodiment of this philosophy. Many people disregard his power, but they will think twice after seeing what he can do. The best reason to go with the Preacher for multiplayer is that there are at least twice as many targets. You still don’t get to pick exactly which man you steal, but you do get to pick which player, which grants you more options at least. Another rather obvious tactic is to sacrifice his new converts as soon as you get them, freeing the Preacher to look for more targets.

But often, just the threat of having him on the table will force opponents to look elsewhere. If I have Preacher and nothing else, and you have three 2/2 creatures and no removal available, will you attack me, or will you look elsewhere? Attacking me will cost two creatures, and net two damage. That’s not a very good deal. Preacher’s best asset is not taking creatures, it’s the threat of taking creatures.

That said, let’s take a look at a deck that hopes to make good use of our evangelizing little friend.

Gimme That!
4 Mother of Runes
4 Goblin Legionnaire
4 Leonin Shikari
4 Preacher
2 Daru Warchief
1 Bloodshot Cyclops

3 Lightning Greaves
2 Breath of Life
3 Fling
2 Goblin Bombardment
2 Mobilization
3 Phyrexian Vault
2 Spawning Pit

1 High Market
1 Keldon Necropolis
2 Kjeldoran Outpost
4 Battlefield Forge
10 Plains
6 Mountain

There’s not much to this deck other than building a bit of defense while snagging people’s creatures whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Don’t be afraid to sacrifice some creatures to a Vault to look for a Preacher, since the deck only plays like a bad soldier deck until he comes online. Once you get him, you have the Shikari-Greaves combo and Mother of Runes to protect him. Spawning Pit offers a little bit of insurance against board sweeping, though that’s still one of the key weak spots of the deck… Hence the inclusion of two Breath of Life for returning Preacher or other dead guys to play.

As a corollary to this, it’s rarely advantageous to put more than one Preacher into play at a time. Also, keep in mind that Preacher can cause trouble by interfering with combat between two other players. It’s great for forming alliances, like getting the guy with his lone Akroma to attack someone else for a few turns while you help remove blockers. Politicking is an essential skill for multiplayer, and those who do it well will reap the rewards of playing this deck.

2. Uyo, Silent Prophet
Uyo is one of the most interesting multiplayer creatures to see print in a long time, and certainly the best out of Champions (aside from a certain unmentionable Dragon Spirit). Her ability presents itself with many more opportunities for mischief than Keiga ever could, at least in the realm of multiplayer. She has the ability to copy any instant or sorcery, making her a hybrid of Willbender and Mirari. You can pick new targets, but the original still resolves. This means if someone goes to Terror Uyo, unless you have something else that can stop it, she’s going to the graveyard. Why not copy the spell and give her some company?

Again, like Preacher, the threat of activation is often enough to keep people away. Most players wouldn’t want to risk the ire of Uyo when there are other targets on the board. Uyo also makes people hold on to things like Kodama's Reach, Opportunity, and other board- and hand-developing spells, creating a sort of virtual card advantage.

The best place for Uyo is in a two-player team game like Two-Headed Giant. This way, she can take advantage of your teammate’s spell when needed, and you don’t have to keep as much mana open during the opposing player’s turn. Once again, here’s a deck that showcases a lot of Uyo’s power.

Blue Garden
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Budoka Gardener
2 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Eternal Witness
1 Dosan, the Falling Leaf
2 Uyo, Silent Prophet

2 Kodama’s Reach
2 Time of Need
4 Counterspell
4 Hinder
3 Concentrate
2 Fireball
2 Rude Awakening

4 Yavimaya Coast
10 Forest
8 Island
2 Mountain

The central goal of the deck is to ramp up to eight mana, allowing you to play Uyo with mana for her ability (and possibly Counterspell support as well). Then just counter things and defend her until you can cast a game-winning Rude Awakening or copying a huge Fireball.

As I hinted above, this deck works especially well in games where your opponents will all die together, like Two-Headed Giant. With help from your teammate, you should be able to either kill with Rude Awakening or with one to two copies of Fireball. Remember that Rude Awakening can let you just untap lands; you don’t always have to cast it with Entwine paid. With ten lands, Uyo, and Azusa, you can tap out, cast Rude Awakening (in untap mode), and copy the spell twice. If you tap out for mana in response to each Awakening, you’ll get twenty-three mana (five left over from the first Awakening, then six times three). Now play the three lands for the turn, and tap those, too. That’s twenty-six mana so far. Cast Fireball for seventeen points of damage, copying it eight times. That’s one hundred and thirty-six damage, divided up pretty much any way you choose. It’s a fair deal to say that that’s game over, just about any way you slice it.

1. Summoner’s Egg
Yup. I know what you’re thinking: this guy is nuts! Hear me out.

Summoner’s Egg is a whole bunch of amazing effects wrapped up in one efficient little 4 colorless mana package. It’s 0/4, meaning it can hold back a decent-sized blocker indefinitely. It blocks things with fear, which can be nice at times. But the imprint ability is obviously what makes this Egg special. It’s like a Cadbury’s Cream Egg, only you get to choose the exact filling you want.

Once again, the true power of this creature is in the potential of what it can do…. but what makes it truly sick is that it doesn’t do the same thing. The creatures in the first four decks are always going to be played out the same way. Mortivore will always show up to beat face, Preacher always steals creatures… but with the Egg, anything could be hiding inside it. It’s a lot like having every creature in your deck gain a morph cost of four.

One of the things that hinders Morph is the ability to deduce what the creature is based on available mana, past experience with the deck, colors, and other such factors. Summoner’s Egg can have literally any creature in it, regardless of color, size, or mana cost.

There are two other great things about the Egg: First, people will rarely attack into it. If they have two attackers of three power or less, they might attack for a few damage. But once the big guns come out to play, it acts like a Moat, keeping large non-flyers away from you. It also is not the most attractive creature for spot removal, and it really discourages board clearing. Who wants to Wrath away everyone’s creatures just to leave a big fatty in the wake?

So now that you know the power of the Egg, here is a deck to try it out in. Remember that this card is massively more flexible than most of the others, which is why Summoner’s Egg is the greatest multiplayer creature of all time.

Egg Whites
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Summoner’s Egg
4 Eternal Dragon
1 Akroma, Angel of Vengeance
1 Silver Seraph
1 Bringer of the White Dawn
1 Reya, Dawnbringer
1 Genesis

3 Spawning Pit
3 Jalum Tome
3 Kodama’s Reach
4 Cage of Hands
2 Wrath of God

2 Elfhame Palace
13 Forest
9 Plains

This deck seeks to gather resources while setting up the best situation for the Egg. Don’t be afraid to just throw one out there without actually Imprinting a creature on it if you really need a blocker. There are lots of choices for critters to hide in the Egg, though I would advise using one of the big White creatures.

Genesis works quite well in conjunction with the Jalum Tome, helping you find the cards you need while ensuring you’ll be able to bring back the fatties later on. This also helps get to Threshold for Silver Seraph.

Remember that you can Imprint an Egg on an Egg, which then in turn can Imprint something big when it comes into play. The same trick works for a Bringer-returned Egg. If no one is taking the bait, just sack the Egg to a Spawning Pit to get your creature out on the table. Spawn tokens are great with the Seraph, too.

Finally, use Cage of Hands to deal with tough creatures, then return them to your hand the turn before you Wrath the board clear (preferably leaving yourself a fatty in the process).

This deck has a lot of rares, but it’s really meant as more of a “look-what-you-can-do” example than anything else. Most of all, just have fun with it, and enjoy smashing face with the hug creatures. Just remember, the MVP is a quiet little four-drop that is subtly and surprisingly the most powerful creature for multiplayer play. Thanks you all for reading; until next time, go get Egg on your opponent’s face!

Matt Hoffmann