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While we've previously been over the best Werewolves and the best Dogs, today we're completing the trifecta and going over some of the best Wolves!
While there's still an abundance in the Innistrad sets, unlike Werewolves, Wolves are much less focused into a particular set or block. There are 84 total Wolves in the game, and that includes a few in the Final Fantasy set as well. 59 of those 84 Wolves are green, which is a huge percentage. 22 of the 84 are red, and these numbers do include the multicolor cards, so there is some overlap there. There is only a single purely white Wolf and three purely black Wolves.
Interestingly enough there is only one Blue Wolf, and it's the Blue/Black Ukkima, Stalking Shadow, which is in fact a very odd Whale Wolf. I'm not sure if this is a play on words or not...
With the weird Wolf stats out of the way, let's begin!
Cemetery Prowler
Prowler comes from a cycle of "Cemetery" cards that all came out of Innistrad: Crimson Vow. They would all exile a card from the graveyard at different points (enters, attacks, dies, etc.), then they would have a second ability that related to the exiled card. For the Prowler that meant lowering the cost of cards that shared a type with any cards that had been exiled. Any card that reduces the cost of your other cards is often worth a second look, and that's the primary reason that the Prowler is the most pricey creature in the cycle by a good margin.
Immerwolf
Immerwolf is a simple guy, but an efficient lord that actually does a good number of things. As a 2/2 for two mana, it's not winning any awards, but it's the other stats that really push this guy ahead.
He doesn't just give your Wolves +1/+1, he also gives your Werewolves +1/+1, which includes all the non-transformed Humans you might have on board. Regardless of which side they're on, all your Werewolves will get a buff. In addition to that, once your Werewolves are transformed, they're going to stay that way, regardless of how many spells are cast or not cast on a given turn. This is a pretty great perk. All of this and intimidate for three mana makes Immerwolf one of the most beneficial uncommon lords you can ask for.
Nightpack Ambusher
The Ambusher is one of my absolute favorite control finishers in the obscure Blue/Green control decks that pop up from time to time. I'm a big fan of "army in a can" cards that produce their own creature tokens: something that Wolves and Werewolves tend to do frequently. Again, this is another lord that pumps both your Wolves and your Werewolves. I find this interesting, because this really broadens the pool of affected cards, essentially doubling it, and there aren't many other creatures that just lump a second creature type into their lord buffs.
Sarulf, Realm Eater
Coming as recent as Kaldheim, Sarulf is one of the newer Wolves on the list. He also has the perfect casting cost, echoing Pernicious Deed, the enchantment he seems to be modeled after. Being able to exile all nonland permanents that have mana costs less than or equal to the counters you remove is a powerful ability. Being able to repeat it whenever you have counters is even better.
Unfortunately, it's a bit hard to set up, which is my assumption as to why Sarulf didn't end up seeing too much play. This is especially true since you get counters when the opponent's permanents are put into the graveyard, but his ability exiles permanents, so you're busy finding other ways to fill the graveyard.
Still, if two permanents go to the graveyard at any time, you've got a 5/5 for three mana out of it, with the ability to sweep away some smaller things. And it can only go up from there...
Watchwolf
Poor Watchwolf. At the time of his release, a 3/3 for two mana was unheard of. Since then, however? It's pretty commonplace, if not a little underpowered. Especially since the Watchwolf was just a vanilla creature otherwise. That didn't stop him from coming in second at Pro Tour Honolulu back in 2006 though. In fact Watchwolf was a staple of the 2006/2007 metagame in various Zoo and Ghazi Glare decks. Just goes to show how much the game has changed in the past 18 years.
Wicked Wolf
The Wicked Wolf always surprised me at how popular it was for such a format-dependent ability. What I mean is that this card was in nearly every Standard deck that was running Green (and during Throne of Eldraine days, that was literally all of them), but for his second ability to be relevant you needed some number of food...but the Wolf has no way to make food. It's so dependent on the Throne of Eldraine microcosm that it's kind of funny that it was as powerful as it was during that time.
Wolfir Silverheart
During Avacyn Restored Standard, Wolfir Silverheart was an absolute house. This guy was basically adding 12 power to the board for five mana, so long as you had another creature to soulbond him with. Of course, soulbond was a fairly fragile mechanic in that, if you killed one of the two creatures, the buff would dissipate. While powerful, this made the Silverheart a bit easier to manage.
Young Wolf
Aw, what a lil cutie! Young Wolf was just fine when it was first released in Dark Ascension, but it really hit its stride in Modern, when Yawgmoth, Thran Physician needed a friend. Then the Young Wolf was one man's best friend. Being able to sacrifice the pup ad nauseam thanks to being able to negate the +1/+1 undying counter with Yawgmoth's -1/-1 counter meant that you could form an infinite loop with a small amount of help.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
