Monsters in The Dark

Lurkers of the shadows, Beasts have populated Magic: The Gathering since the beginning in Alpha, and like Clockwork (Beast) they keep coming back for more year after year. As of this article, we have close to 500 options in every flavor of the color pie. There's a Beast, if not a Beast Within, for every Commander deck. Here are 10 to consider for future builds - or to target for future removal.

10. Craterhoof Behemoth - The Original Brute to Cute

Beasts leave their mark on Magic, and on life totals. But one leaves behind footsteps that change the terrain. The Hoof. A popular closer for decks running Green, and if your board is already heavily-populated it will get +X/+X for where X is equal to the number of creatures you control on top of the 5/5 base. Somehow this Beast is still pretty HASTY despite its size. With Green in your identity, there should be no issue ramping to the cost. Craterhoof Behemoth is also one of the original Cute or Brute cards with the Secret Lair for Extra Life showcasing art by Kira, age 5 1/2.

9. Felidar Soveregin - Long May It Reign

A solid selection for Commander, Felidar Sovereign embodies the adage that "life begins at 40." Maybe on the pricier side at you get a 4/6 vigilant Cat Beast with lifelink that can pay-off with victory. Keep that total high, and if you have 40 or more at the beginning of your upkeep you win the game. The flavor text is on point for this card, "It surveys the withering landscape, waiting for a victory only it can see." Try to cheat this out on an end step to catch opponents off-guard, or leverage a card with hideaway at just the right moment.

8. Displacer Kitten - It's Casual

Sometimes the smaller Beasts can be the scariest - despite an overload in cuteness. Why would anyone feat a Displacer Kitten? 2/2 for , and like any cat you bring home - it will likely avoid you. Except this little one likes to take your toys with it. Whenever you cast a non-creature spell, you get to blink a non-land permanent you control. Blink your commander for additional ETBs, for circumventing the "once during a turn" text (looking at you, Neera), or for just protecting a pet card from removal.

7. Ravenous Chupacabra - Hungry Like The...

Be mindful wandering about Orazca, those growls represent a ravenous hunger capable of destroying target creature an opponent controls - including several Beasts Within this list. Costing , Ravenous Chupacabra is a straightforward 2/2 with ETB removal. Nothing flashy, but reliable with fantastic art by Daarken.

6. Trygon Predator - It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's ... A Beast

Need more removal? Trygon Predator takes to the skies to destroy pesky artifacts and enchantments whenever you deal combat damage to a player. At this is a steal for a 2/3 flyer - leave it to the Simic Conclave to create a flavor-equivalence of a flying garbage disposal based on the flavor text. Declutter those board states, one quarter-turn of a card at a time.

5. Bloated Contaminator - Toxic Traits

The Phyrexian Invasion saw some wild Beasts striking out to contaminate the planes with glistening oil. Trampling over the defenses, Bloated Contaminator hits with Toxic 1, Proliferating when dealing combat damage to a player. Pump up those beasts with counters, add some more, repeat. And don't forget to add a poison counter. At for a 4/4, this is a... Beast.

4. Glissa's Retriever - Variations On A Theme

A good amount of the Beasts Within this list seem to follow a pattern, as if the forests were stacked with them. In fact, over 200 of the known Beasts in Magic are mono-Green. It makes sense given the big, stompy nature of the color. This next Beast focuses on the variation of Phyrexia however by adding elements of light reanimation - or would this be photosynthesis?

Glissa's Retriever hits the board at a 6/6 for with Haste and Toxic 3. Cannot be blocked by created with power two or less, and when it dies you can return cards from your graveyard to hand based on number of opponents with three or more poison counters. This card plants the seeds of your next play with swift force and value.

3. Questing Beast - That Card Says WHAT!?

With all the delicious card eye-candy, it bears quoting Willy Wonka: Hold your breath, count to 3, make a wish, now recite Questing Beast's box text from memory.

*INHALE* The One Beast That Does It All. for a 4/4 that stirs this challenge reminiscent of middle-school public speaking. Vigilance, deathtouch, haste; cannot be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less; damage cannot be prevented; and upon dealing damage to a player, deal that much to a Planewalker they control. It's basic, but it gets the job done. Even as the insta-kill target of most pods, at a 4-drop this might be an inexpensive Beast to weed out any removal in prep for a bigger closeout.

2. Beasts, and Beasts, and Beasts, Oh My!

What do all of these have in common? Not a rhetorical question. These are all Beasts. And with all the options to fill your favorite kindred deck, what if there was a way to just bring out any of the above for free? Find the proverbial Gatekeeper and Key Master Pairing, and tap open a Cryptic Gateway. For , this artifact lets you tap two untapped creatures you control to put a creature card from your hand that shares a creature type with each tapped in that manner. Tap two small beasts and just drop the hoof. A must-have in kindred decks, it's a Beast's best friend. Now we just need a Ghostbusters Secret Lair with this that summons Zuul. It may not technically be a Beast, but it is a beast of a card that will put in the work.

1. The Only Beast That Matters

This article started with a bold proclamation, that inside of you are 10 beasts. But to be honest there is only one Beast Within. For destroy target permanent, and its controller creates a 3/3 Green Beast creature token. Need to take out something scary, and don't mind it becoming a 3/3? Have something small you need to buff? Or need just one more beast on the board to activate the Cryptic Gateway? Beast Within offers an impactful, timeless spell that will continue to see play for years to come. In fact, while not Beasts, you can find the equivalent in several flavors of to fit any deck you dream of building.

Honorable Mention: Lukka, Bound to Ruin - Beastly Oathbreaker

Looking for a card to really leverage cards such as Cryptic Gateway right out of the, well, gate? Consider running Luka, Bound to Ruin. Five mana for one of the more maligned Planeswalkers out there. +1 for to cast creatures / activate creature abilities, or -1 to create a 3/3 green Phyrexian Beast with Toxic 1. Nothing scary there. Two of those, and you can drop a Glissa's Retriever, that small Craterhoof, maybe just a small Bloated Contaminator, that hasty Glissa's Retriever, or just a Spinebiter. Lean into the lore of the Phyrexian Invasion and infect the board as well as your opponents.