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Welcome back!
In honor of our return to Tarkir, today we're going to be taking a look at the other highly represented creature type in the set: Monks! There were a lot more Monks than I expected in the game. Not including tokens or digital-only cards, there have been 132 different Monks printed.
Just like Ninjas, a lot of Monks were printing into the original Kamigawa block: 16 to be exact! But the set (or block) (plane?) where the most Monks reside is definitely Tarkir. In Khans of Tarkir we had 13, in Fate Reforged we had 13, and in Dragons of Tarkir we had nine, so 35 total Monks in the block. Tarkir: Dragonstorm keeps that trend going with another 16 Monks, plus one in the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander set.
Those numbers only account for 68 Monks, or a little over half of the total Monks, and honestly, the rest are kind of scattered across every other set. There has been a monk or two in nearly every set since Champions of Kamigawa, and six creatures that were printed before Champions were only errata'd to be Monks. Can you believe Venerable Monk, Soltari Monk, and Monk Realist weren't actually Monks at one point? Thankfully, justice prevailed.
Let's begin!
Abbot of Keral Keep
Abbot of Keral Keep saw its best times during Standard in 2015 and 2016. Sure, it saw a bit of play in Modern and Pioneer in recent years, but nothing super consistent, and nowadays, it might be a little outclassed. Still, in its day it was one of the most solid tempo cards, helping you hit a free land in the early turns or hitting a valuable spell in the later turns. All for the low cost of two mana. And like many other Monks, it had prowess as well!
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Not much to say about Avacyn's Pilgrim. It's a one-mana mana dork, and those will absolutely always see play. Sometimes making an off-color of mana is better if you specifically want that color, but usually making Green is preferred because a deck running a Green mana dork will likely always need Green mana. That being said, the Pilgrim is and has always been great.
Azusa, Lost but Seeking
If you're playing Commander or Modern, you've definitely heard of Azusa. Another of the Champions of Kamigawa monks, she's been seeing playing in Modern Amulet decks since Amulet decks have been a thing...which is a long time. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to see much play outside of the Amulet archetype, but even being a kind of one trick pony, that's more than enough of a pedigree when you consider how consistent and powerful the deck is.
Dosan the Falling Leaf
I wasn't going to include Dosan on the list, but then I realized it was a $30+ card that literally hasn't been reprinted since Champions of Kamigawa! If you combine that with the fact that he turns off all counterspells and combat tricks and removal spells on your turn, all for three mana, the price tag begins to make a little sense. And think of the value you get in Commander!
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
Erayo is an interesting one. It saw some competitive Standard play in Ninja and Sea Stompy decks back in 2005 and 2006, then it saw a ton of Vintage play, then it saw some Modern and Legacy play. It has really run the gamut of formats.
There was a time when it was included in Affinity decks since it was so easy to play four spells in a turn, then you get an enchantment that counters your opponent's first spell every turn. It's a great effect if you can get it going. Fun to see that in 2025 a few Modern Affinity decks have included Erayo once again.
Iwamori of the Open Fist
There was a time when Juzam Djinn was the most impressive 5/5 creature you could think of; with a mere cost of four mana that was basically unheard of. It was so iconic that Balduvian Horde in Alliances was meant to mimic the power of Juzam Djinn, and that was the primary reason for it initially being one of the chase cards in the set.
Iwamori of the Open Fist was another attempt in a long line of 5/5 creatures for four mana that had a drawback, this time hoping your opponent didn't have a great creature to put into play for free. Iwamori hasn't seen much play in about 20 years, but he was an iconic 5/5 back in the 2005 and 2006 Standard format when being a 5/5 for four mana was still a gold standard.
Mantis Rider
This guy was awesome in Khans of Tarkir Standard decks. Khans was both weird and amazing in that every deck was or could be four colors. You had things like Abzan Red, or Dark Jeskai, or Moist Mardu. Weird combinations and names like that, and just like every Abzan deck had Siege Rhino, tons of the aggressive Jeskai decks made sure to include Rider in them.
However, I will say one thing that has always bothered me is that the mantis is nowhere reflected on the card's typeline. While you can find the Rider in a Pioneer deck here or there, its home is mostly in Commander these days.
Monastery Mentor
When you think of armies in a can, you should easily think of Monastery Mentor. Another Monk released in the Khans of Tarkir block, this one has seen play over and over and over. Monastery Mentor can be found for about $3 currently, which is due in part to the fact that it was reprinted as recently as March of the Machine, and had a generous four versions in the set. That also contributes to why it's able to see play in Standard currently, in addition to Commander, Pioneer, Vintage, and Cubes!
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
