The 26 Best Minotaurs in Magic

Last updated on January 21, 2024

Neheb, the Eternal | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Imagine navigating an impossibly complex place. Perhaps it’s a labyrinth on some Mediterranean island. Maybe, like Dante, you’re winding through some boulders, six or seven rings into your descent. Or worse, you’re diving into the underworld prison of Tartarus. Around every corner lurks a foul creature, a cursed Titan, a mythic monster, or a dreadful demon waiting for some poor soul like you.

If I were so unlucky, one of the last things I’d want to run into is a minotaur! These half-bovine and half-man monsters have terrorized mankind for centuries, so it’s fitting that the minotaur creature type should bring some interesting and terrorizing values into the world of Magic.

It’s always fun to talk creatures because they let us mix the mythical wonder of these creatures with the strategy that MTG players love. Are minotaurs a good tribal deck? What kind of non-tribal decks benefit from minotaur cards? Let's dive in and find out!

What Are Minotaurs in MTG?

Ragemonger | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Minotaur is a creature type in MTG that represents the half-bull and half-man creature of Greek mythology. They mainly inhabit the mountainous and cavernous regions of their planes and are heavily represented in the Rakdos () colors.

The first minotaur was Hurloon Minotaur in the Alpha set. Minotaurs have since evolved into powerful bulls, zombies, and even antelope- or moose-man hybrids. Minotaurs are a strong tribe, but they can also be used for their menace and aggressive abilities.

Best Black Minotaurs

#3. Pitiless Vizier

An interesting strategy to pair with minotaurs is discarding cards. Many of them benefit, like Pitiless Vizier. The four mana isn’t very efficient for the payoffs, but there’s value in getting the double benefit of an indestructible creature and drawing a card from cycling.

#2. Felhide Petrifier

Tribal decks can always benefit from cards that give all your tribal creatures a keyword. Felhide Petrifier gives your minotaurs deathtouch, which you can pair with the menace ability to make your creatures very aggressive and deadly.

The Petrifier is a nice addition to a minotaur tribal deck, but it doesn’t have much value outside of that.

#1. Grisly Survivor

I believe Grisly Survivor is more valuable than Pitiless Vizier, with similar play styles. In a cycling deck you can draw the cards you need by cycling cards like Ash Barren while pumping Grisly Survivor.

This card is legal in Pioneer, Modern, Pauper, and eternal formats

Best Red Minotaurs

#15. Smelt-Ward Minotaur

Smelt-Ward Minotaur is a decent uncommon card that fits into aggressive storm and noncreature decks. This card can stand next to Abbot of Keral Keep or Electrostatic Infantry and help clear your path of blockers.

#14. Lightning Visionary

A 2-mana red creature with prowess is a great addition to many storm and aggressive decks. Lightning Visionary is a small creature that you know you just need to get some cheap spells to turn into a lot of damage.

#13. Ardent Dustspeaker

I'm going to include Ardent Dustspeaker’s Alchemy reprint. The regular print is just too expensive to be effective, but the reprint reduces the mana value to three and makes Ardent Dustspeaker a nice accelerator for noncreature decks by giving you more spells to possibly cast.

#12. Ahn-Crop Crasher

You need to remove pesky blockers out of your way if you want to free up your aggressive decks. Ahn-Crop Crasher is a decent way to pressure your opponent by reducing their blockers or doing a ton of damage.

Free up your attackers with Ahn-Crop Crasher and other cards like Arena Athlete or Radha's Firebrand.

#11. Kazuul Warlord

Ally is sometimes an overlooked creature type and tribal build. Kazuul Warlord gives all your allies a +1/+1 counter whenever it or another ally enter. Go build your ally tribal deck with cards like Kabira Evangel, Hada Freeblade, and Firemantle Mage.

#10. Glint-Horn Buccaneer

Glint-Horn Buccaneer is one of the best minotaurs that benefit when you discard a card. You can deal damage every time you cycle or discard a card for other effects. It's legal in most non-Standard formats, so load up your self-discard effects around it.

#9. Fanatic of Mogis

I’m always a fan of cards that deal damage equal to the number of lands or devotion to a color you control. Fanatic of Mogis does damage equal to your devotion to red on entering the ‘field. This is a straightforward card for mono-red decks that want to finish the game by turn 4 or 5.

#8. Oracle of Bones

I love cards that force my opponent to make decisions, and Oracle of Bones does just that. Your opponent has to decide if you get a 5/3 creature with haste or the potential to play any instant or sorcery for free.

The fear of some cards like Cruel Ultimatum or Mana Geyser should force your opponent to give you a big creature.

#7. Sethron, Hurloon General

Here’s our minotaur tribal general! Sethron, Hurloon General creates Minotaur tokens whenever you play a minotaur and can then mass pump your minotaurs and give them menace.

These abilities widen your board presence and make your minotaurs much harder to block. Sethron is the minotaur tribal card to build around in the eternal and Historic formats.

#6. Felhide Spiritbinder

Sometimes you just need creatures that can do a lot of damage in a single turn. Felhide Spiritbinder can give you a single-turn token of any creature that has haste whenever it becomes untapped. This ability fits perfectly into aggressive and midrange red decks that want to swing hard.

Can you imagine creating an extra Thundering Raiju every time Felhide Spiritbinder untaps?

#5. Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion

All iterations of Neheb can pack a punch in your matches. Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion is a reasonably-priced big creature that benefits from trample. This card is great at helping support your strategy with a draw and mana trigger.

#4. Moraug, Fury of Akoum

I've always thought that landfall can be a game-changing ability, and Moraug, Fury of Akoum is a massive landfall creature. You have a chance to attack an opponent three times with certain fetch lands! That puts so much pressure on your opponent to have the right defenses.

Six mana is a heavy price for many aggressive red decks, but hopefully you have all the lands you need in a landfall deck.

#3. Rageblood Shaman

Rageblood Shaman is an absolute must in a minotaur tribal creature. It gives power and toughness buffs to all your minotaurs, plus trample!

This pairs well with other tribal minotaurs like Kragma Warcaller and Ragemonger.

#2. Bloodrage Brawler

Bloodrage Brawler is a great cheap aggressive creature for red minotaur decks. The discard casting cost isn’t so bad because it can help with mana flooding or some of the other minotaur discard effects.

This is great for mono-red aggressive decks and is a must-have for minotaur tribal decks.

#1. Neheb, the Eternal

Neheb, the Eternal is possibly a huge mana producer and a creature your opponent won’t want to block. It fits perfectly into a red deck that wants to attack fast and use the second main phase to make your opponent pay for their decisions.

Best Multicolored Minotaurs

#8. Zedruu the Greathearted

Zedruu the Greathearted is an interesting card in the eternal formats. For three Jeskai () mana you can give an opponent one of your permanents. This little sacrifice gains you life and draws you cards, which may give you the advantage you need without giving up anything too important.

You can give your opponent lands or, more importantly, negative permanents like Bronze Bombshell or Jinxed Idol.

#7. Firesong and Sunspeaker

Firesong and Sunspeaker is an expensive Boros () minotaur that can boost your instants and sorceries. Red ones gain lifelink, while white ones that gain you life also deal three damage to your opponent. Play Boros spells to double dip!

The mana value might keep it out of many decks, but Firesong and Sunspeaker has great value for Boros burn decks.

#6. Deadshot Minotaur

Deadshot Minotaur is a possible flying removal creature that also gives you the option of cycling. This card can be an important strategic point in your matches as a card draw, a discard effect trigger, or removal for a pesky flier.

#5. Etherium-Horn Sorcerer

Cascade is a great ability for more expensive cards, and the more you can trigger it the better. Etherium-Horn Sorcerer can do all of this in one card.

You have the chance to bring in a big spell with cascade, and you can return this to your hand after blocking, or for protection. This is a great Izzet () cascade card in the eternal formats.

#4. Kragma Warcaller

I’m running out of things to say about Rakdos minotaur tribal decks. It’s all about playing fast and pumping your minotaurs.

Kragma Warcaller is a crucial key to this aggressive play style by giving all your minotaurs haste and a power pump when they attack. Your minotaur tribal decks should be rolling with Kragma Warcaller in the Pioneer, Modern, and eternal formats.

#3. Ragemonger

Ragemonger is another minotaur tribal essential. It can reduce the cost of your minotaurs by . Its cost-reduction can’t be used on colorless mana, unfortunately.

Ragemonger is more effective the more multicolored minotaurs you play, so load up on horns!

#2. Boros Reckoner

Boros Reckoner is a fantastic Boros card. The cost is cheap and flexible. For one mana it can gain first strike, and it deals damage to a player when damage is dealt to it.

There are so many possibilities with this minotaur that it should be considered in any Boros deck in Pioneer, Modern, and eternal formats.

#1. Neheb, the Worthy

Rakdos are the colors you want to play with minotaurs. Neheb, the Worthy might just be the best iteration of Neheb, and the best minotaur for your tribal deck.

This card gives all your minotaurs first strike, a power pump if you have one or fewer cards in your hand, and can force players to discard when it deals combat damage. I’m not sure what else you need for your minotaur tribal deck.

Best Minotaur Payoffs

Minotaurs often work well with discard effects, so pair them with cards like Bone Miser, Waste Not, and Anger.

Rakdos creatures and spells like Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Bedevil and Kolaghan's Command are also good minotaur support. Don’t forget planeswalkers like Ob Nixilis, the Adversary!

Be aggressive with your minotaurs and surround them with cards like Dauthi Voidwalker, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, and Ferocity of the Wilds.

Some of the minotaurs can really benefit from good instants and sorceries around them like Lightning Bolt and Flurry of Horns.

Let’s not forget the minotaur god Mogis, Mogis, God of Slaughter.

Angrath is the minotaur planeswalker, and my personal favorite version of him is Angrath, the Flame-Chained.

Wrap Up

Neheb, the Worthy | Illustration by Chris Rahn

With that you should be ready to take the bull by the horns in your own minotaur decks. Minotaurs are a beloved creature type and tribal deck in MTG. They’re fun creatures to play with and get out your aggression on your opponent.

Minotaurs aren’t just a one-trick pony and can fit into many builds in Rakdos, red, and black builds. Some of the better minotaurs should always be worth consideration.

Which minotaur is your favorite? What would you like to see from the tribe going forward? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Twitter.

Stay safe, and keep grinding!