All 10 Gearhulks in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 27, 2026

Verdurous Gearhulk | Illustration by Jaime Jones

Many sets have tried to mimic the success of the Magic 2011 Titan cycle. Many have failed to capture the gravitas of Sun Titan, Inferno Titan, and the rest, while others have made a big enough impact on their own to stand out as the big, splashy mythic cycle from some new set.

The Gearhulks were one such “Titan rip-off” cycle originating from Kaladesh, but they were distinct enough and competitive enough to feel like an overall success. With Aetherdrift adding a cycle of Gearhulks to the mix, these artifact creatures entered super-cycle territory, with just enough entries to pit them against each other.

Let’s see which ones kick it up into high gear and hulk above rest.

What Are Gearhulks in MTG?

Noxious Gearhulk | Illustration by Lius Lasahido

The Gearhulks are a cycle of mythic rare artifact creatures with powerful enters-the-battlefield effects. So far there are two distinct Gearhulk cycles:

• The Kaladesh Gearhulks are all mono-colored, with double-pipped casting costs.
• The Aetherdrift Gearhulks are ally-colored gold cards, each with CCDD colors in their mana costs.

While the Gearhulks are mostly designed with Constructed in mind, it’s not really fair to compare the two cycles to one another, since half of them are Standard legal and printed in the 2020s, and the other half are pre-FIRE design cards that see basically no tournament play anymore since they’re only legal in Modern and Eternal formats. Because of this, I use Commander as the baseline to compare all 10 to one another, especially since the original cycle is still quite relevant in 100-card formats.

#10. Oildeep Gearhulk

People soured at the reveal of Oildeep Gearhulk in Aetherdrift. It’s clearly aimed at Standard, and the designers have even gone on record to say it’s a card they had high hopes for in Constructed. In Commander? These cards don’t make the cut. Everyone’s deck is full of powerhouse cards, so pitching someone’s best card once you’ve looked at their hand and replacing it with something else rarely does anything meaningful. You can target yourself, but I’m not jumping out of my seat for a rummage, either. Lifelink’s nice enough, but ward 1 is more of a nuisance than true protection.

#9. Cataclysmic Gearhulk

Cataclysm this is not, and I’m thankful for that. Cataclysmic Gearhulk does a good job at eradicating boards and prolonging games, and that’s not exactly my way of praising the card. Unlike Tragic Arrogance, players pick all permanents for themselves, so the most problematic stuff still sits in play and the game continues. It’s also hard to warp a deck around this card, since it’ll wipe away extra artifacts, enchantments, and most other clutter sitting on board. It’s not a bad card, but it rarely puts you in an advantageous spot like you’d hope it would.

#8. Coalstoke Gearhulk

Coalstoke Gearhulk is the textbook definition of “fine.” Strong enough if you want to play it, not unique or powerful enough to reach staple status outside of maybe Standard. A finality counter and end step exile clause make it very hard to cheat on the creature you reanimate, but all it takes is bringing back some value creature to make it worth the 5 mana. Menace and deathtouch is also a gnarly combination of aggressive keywords. Even so, I’d probably reserve this for decks with artifact synergies (Imskir Iron-Eater, maybe?), or decks with good ETB creatures.

Notably, you can also snipe a creature from an opponent's graveyard if you just want it exiled for good.

#7. Verdurous Gearhulk

Verdurous Gearhulk looked massive when first printed, and it still is. But we live in a world full of 5-mana 8/8s (see: Agonasaur Rex from Aetherdrift). The green Gearhulk’s advantage is being able to spread out counters, which was phenomenal with Standard all-stars like Walking Ballista and Winding Constrictor. Nowadays you might see this in +1/+1 counter Commander decks, but it’s merely an option rather than a true staple.

#6. Torrential Gearhulk

Torrential Gearhulk would be much higher up if I only considered Constructed impact, but it’s just not a heavily-played card in Commander. There are homes for it; I personally play this in my Nymris, Oona's Trickster deck, but there aren’t too many spellslinger decks looking for a big, expensive play like this. That said, it’s incredible with instant-speed copy spells like See Double and Sublime Epiphany, since each of those gives you another free Gearhulk plus other added benefits.

#5. Pyrewood Gearhulk

Pyrewood Gearhulk reads like it’s impressive, but Overruns are everywhere in Commander, so it’s not exactly unique at what it does. Vigilance and menace are nice, but trample’s usually what you’re looking for on effects like this. I don’t want to sell short the size of this creature, since it’s a strong attacker on a follow-up turn, but the initial boost to your board is maybe less impactful than similar cards. For example, Great Oak Guardian might be better in many spots, and a simple Overwhelming Stampede still does the trick for less mana.

#4. Brightglass Gearhulk

This is what Ranger of Eos would look like in the 21^st century. Brightglass Gearhulk is hard to cast, but it dominates the board in the mid-game, and it’s a built-in 3-for-1 on ETB. You can fetch 1-drop creatures, but artifacts and enchantments are also on the table, giving this a lot of versatility with its tutor ability. Being in Selesnya colors () makes this the rare artifact creature you’re happy to play in enchantress decks, since you can get double 1-drop enchantments on ETB.

#3. Combustible Gearhulk

Combustible Gearhulk still creeps its way into plenty of decks, giving red big-mana Commander decks a giant creature that’s just plain fun to play. You’ll often draw three from the ETB, and if not, you threaten to chunk someone for a huge burst of damage. Once you get to copying or recycling the Gearhulk, opponents will have no choice but to let you draw, making this a great addition to decks capable of copying creatures, like Delina, Wild Mage, Feldon of the Third Path, and Jaxis, the Troublemaker.

#2. Noxious Gearhulk

More like Ob-Noxious Gearhulk, am I right? This is just a big dumb Ravenous Chupacabra in every sense. Big stats, evasion, lifegain, and artifact synergies all come together for a 2-for-1 that sees plenty of action. It’s strange to think of Gearhulks as victims of power creep, but more recent prints like Dalek Drone and Necron Deathmark have the “artifact Nekrataal” space covered at a cheaper cost. More mana gives you more output on the Gearhulk, and for this one I'm lovin it.

#1. Riptide Gearhulk

If they really wanted Oildeep Gearhulk to see extensive Standard play, they should’ve pushed it the way they did Riptide Gearhulk. This is Noxious Gearhulk for 1 mana cheaper and hits any nonland permanent from each opponent. Double strike and prowess means it can also just crush people with the right noncreature support. This is already a top-tier Gearhulk for 1v1 formats, but the easy best Gearhulk in Commander.

Best Gearhulk Payoffs

The gearhulks are notorious for their devastating ETB effects. Pull them off and you'll find that ability doublers like Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, Roaming Throne, and Panharmonicon, accelerate you far ahead of the competition.

You can also take the angle of your artifact creatures and both support and benefit from an excellent artifact commander in Urza, Chief Artificer.

Can Verdurous Gearhulk Target Itself?

Yup, since Verdurous Gearhulk is already on the battlefield when its ability triggers, you can target it with its own ability. It can pick up anywhere from 1-4 +1/+1 counters, and you’ll announce the distribution of counters across your creatures when the ability goes on the stack.

Wrap Up

Brightglass Gearhulk | Illustration by José Parodi

That’s it for Gearhulks, at least until we get another expansion set on Avishkar. This is just a fun cycle of mythic creatures, even if they Shatter like glass. Sure, the original cycle’s fading into obscurity a little bit, but I still find plenty of homes for these things, which makes me excited for the prospects of the newer 2-color cycle.

How about you? Have you Gearhulk’d anyone lately, and do you anticipate a cycle of enemy-colored ‘hulks in the future? Let me know in the comments below, or on the Draftsim Discord/Twitter!

As always, thanks for making Draftsim your #1 stop for all things Magic!