There are a lot of creatures in Magic: the Gathering. More than 13,000 creatures, as it turns out. You can find all sorts of fun fantasy creatures like Dragons, Vampires, Slivers, and more. With all these creatures in Magic, it begs the question, which creature type has had the most cards printed?
There are some obvious creature types you would expect. Elves are very popular among players and have had tons of cards printed. The same with Zombies, a classic black creature, while the blue creature Wizard is often found paired with other creature types. But which creature type has seen the most printings? Which one will rise to the top to be the most popular creature type in Magic?
10 Shaman - 473
First up are Shamans. These creatures are primarily red and green, with a splash of black for good measure. Many Shamans are very synergistic, building off of one another to perform a wide range of abilities. Some of the most popular Shaman cards are Harmonic Prodigy, which doubles triggers of other Wizards and Shamans you control, and Meren of Clan Nel Toth, a high-power Commander with tons of graveyard synergy.
9 Elemental - 528
Primal forces of nature, Elementals have been in Magic since the game's early days. Most Elementals find themselves aligned with green and red mana but have a good number of cards that are blue and black mana too. Iconic Elemental cards come in the form of Omnath, who has four versions to pick from, and Yarok, the Desecrated, who doubles up your enter the battlefield triggers.
8 Elf - 539
Elves are a classic fantasy creature, and in Magic, they find themselves among the most powerful creature tribes. An overwhelmingly green tribe with some notable exceptions, Elves excel at generating tons of mana, amassing a huge army, and then overwhelming your enemies with powerful pump effects. If you're looking for some of the Elves in the game, look no further than Rhys the Redeemed to build an army and then use the power of Ezuri, Renegade Leader to boost their power.
7 Cleric - 546
Moving away from green, Clerics come in mainly white and black identities. Many Cleric creatures have abilities that trigger when other creatures enter or leave the battlefield and will often have some form of lifegain attached to their abilities.
Clerics have seen many powerful creatures with recent sets, especially from Voice of the Blessed, which gains +1/+1 counters and gains other keyword abilities the more life you gain. Orah, Skyclave Hierophant is a popular Commander Cleric that brings back cheaper Clerics from the graveyard to the battlefield whenever it or another Cleric dies.
6 Zombie - 558
When you think of Zombie cards, you'll likely think of a mainly black creature type, but you may be surprised that many of the most powerful cards fall into the blue and black color identities. Like their movie counterparts, Zombies in Magic rarely stay dead, returning to the battlefield over and over again to haunt the living. Gravecrawler is the perfect example of a Zombie that never stays die, being able to return to the battlefield so long as you control a Zombie creature. The Zombie Commander Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, builds your battlefield, creating tokens whenever a Zombie without decayed dies.
5 Spirit - 607
Spirits are primarily found on blue and white cards but a not insignificant number of Spirit creatures can be found in red and green as well. This creature type doesn't have a main trait of ability, instead offering a wide range of powers for you to play with. The most common ability that Spirit creatures share is flying, making them much more difficult to block. Geist of Saint Traft saw tons of play back in its heyday, creating a 4/4 Angel token when it attacks. If you're looking for a Commander to lead your deck, Millicent, Restless Revenant might be just the card you need.
4 Soldier - 809
Getting up in the card count are Soldiers. This creature type is extremely synergistic, building off one another until you have an army. Token-based strategies are very common with Soldier cards, along with Soldier creatures that give anthem effects to your other Soldiers.
Mentor of the Meek is an extremely popular Soldier, allowing you to draw cards whenever a creature with power two or less enters the battlefield for the low cost of one generic mana.
3 Warrior - 961
Warriors can be found across all colors of Magic but often are found in red and white. Warriors are all about fighting, with many of their abilities triggering when they attack or grant additional benefits to attacking Warriors. One of the most powerful Warriors ever printed is Najeela, the Blade-Blossom. In Commander, it has a color identity of all five colors of Magic, allowing you to capitalize on the wide range of Warrior creatures.
2 Wizard - 969
Wizards are often shoe-horned into a mono-blue archetype, but many powerful Wizard creatures exist in red and black as well. Being Wizards, these creatures often have abilities that relate to instant or sorcery spells. Sometimes your Wizards will copy spells for you, while other times, they might return those spells from your graveyard back to your hand. Inalla, Archmage Ritualist, is one of the best Commanders for Wizards, duplicating all your Wizard creatures and providing a powerful ability all in one card.
1 Human - 3,165
Coming in at a whopping 3,165 creatures at the time of this writing are Humans. More than three times more creature cards than even Wizards, Humans are the most plentiful creature type in Magic. Humans are featured in all colors of Magic, though many of the best feature white somewhere in their color identity. Kyler, Sigardian Emissary, ranks among the most popular Commanders for players looking to play a versatile human deck with tons of options. Other really strong human cards include Snapcaster Mage, Dark Confidant, and Esper Sentinel.