All 20 Sharks in Magic Ranked

Shabraz, the Skyshark | Illustration by Paul Scott Canavan

I’m a staunch defender of creatures that get a bad rap. Maybe it’s just my affection for the broken and the unloved. Some call rats disease-riddled vermin, but they’re remarkably intelligent and affectionate lil stinkers. We also slap the pest label on pigeons, but for a long time we used them as a key piece of our communication networks. Exploit ‘em, then toss ‘em aside and leave ‘em to fend for themselves, huh?

One of these less-loved creatures has had a bit of a rehabilitation, the powerful yet elegant shark. While Jaws and Shark Week programming have contributed to negative and fearful perceptions, fewer than 1% of shark species are actually dangerous to us.

And honestly? Many sharks in Magic aren’t terribly dangerous if you know how to approach them. Some of them just don’t hold up in 2020s MTG. But the best sharks? They form a blueprint for an archetype that Magic’s designers can develop in future sets.

So… are you bold enough to swim with sharks?

What Are Sharks in MTG?

Chrome Host Seedshark | Illustration by Donato Giancola

Sharks in Magic are creature cards that represent large fish that resemble the sharks of our own world, that are hybrids of sharks with other creatures, or that are humanoid sharkfolk.

Sharks were introduced to Magic in The Dark with Giant Shark, but they were merged with fish during The Grand Creature Type Update. Sharks returned as a unique creature type in Ikoria and the Commander 2020 precons, and they’ve appeared sporadically over the years since. Aetherdrift is another notable shark set because it contains three sharks; sharks usually appear as one-off creatures, which plays into their cultural perception as lone hunters.

Honorable Mention: Half-Shark, Half-

Half-Shark, Half- is an augment from Unstable that turns the one-time enters trigger on a creature like Shaggy Camel into a repeatable upkeep trigger. But since it isn’t legal for sanctioned play, I’m going to move on.

Honorable Mention: Arius, Flyby Trawler

Introduced to Arena through Alchemy: Aetherdrift, Arius, Flyby Trawler is similar to Marauding Mako as a discard payoff that grows with counters, though Arius only gains them one at a time. The attack trigger is where it’s at, since it seeks a card. You have until the end of your turn to cast it, or else you discard it. The ability has weird timing; Arius has to survive ‘til the end of your turn to gain its counter when you discard the card you sought.

#20. Giant Shark

I want a copy of this, but for my “pet cards” binder, not an actual deck. Giant Shark sports a lot of text that you don’t even need to bother to read because it has all been updated in the Oracle text, which you can find on Gatherer, Scryfall, and some online collection trackers.

It’s interesting that it tramples over creatures that have been dealt damage previously in the turn. Very much a “blood in the water” kind of ability. But it also feels like a color pie break to me, something that feels more black-centric.

#19. Hammerhead Shark

Cheaper, and with less confusing text than Giant Shark. But that doesn’t mean Hammerhead Shark is much better. The pun in the flavor text is worthwhile, though.

#18. Shambleshark

Return to Ravnica block featured Simic () sharks that used that block’s mechanics centered around +1/+1 counters. Shambleshark has evolve and a starting toughness of 1, which should make it easy to stack counters onto it. But at the end of the day, it’s a 2-mana 2/1 that needs other creatures to function. In the early game, there’s plenty of time to kill it before it becomes anything serious.

#17. Battering Krasis

Battering Krasis has all the same issues as Shambleshark, but on a 3-mana trampler. At least the keyword helps it to get around chump blockers.

#16. Unruly Krasis

Clue: Ravnica Edition is a weird product for new-to-Magic cards. Borderless Clue characters, an insect lord like Amzu, Swarm's Hunger, and… cards like Unruly Krasis. It has the same ability as Ashroot Animist, but in a color combination that isn’t as aggressive but that also encompasses plenty of other ways to clone your creatures or spread one creature’s stats around, like Golden-Tail Trainer or Dragon Throne of Tarkir.

#15. Spined Megalodon

Spined Megalodon is a Limited card that you can run if you need extra scry triggers or want to go all-in on sharks. Marvo, Deep Operative can use its mana value to win some clashes and dip into an underwater theme, but anything else feels like a reach.

#14. Loan Shark

Loan Shark is a situational cantrip with cast-from-exile synergies thanks to its plot ability. I love how the artwork uses scale and framing to create an intimidating presence. Look at how big the shark is compared not only to its presumed debtors, but also to the itsy, bitsy coin that it reaches out to grab with that greedy lil hand.

#13. Thunderhead Gunner

A free, yet restricted discard outlet has its uses, but I only expect to see Thunderhead Gunner as a budget slot filler or another shark for a typal build.

#12. Sharktocrab

The best of the Simic sharks has to be Sharktocrab, with its trigger that fires when anyone places +1/+1 counters on it. Each trigger stuns an opposing creature, so it’s a good proliferate target ahead of an alpha strike. In 1v1 matches, the fact that you only have one opponent helps you to focus what you tap down, and the stun helps you to set up your attack over multiple turns.

#11. Bigfin Bouncer

Another good shark card name, this time one that plays on two meanings of the word “bounce”, but Bigfin Bouncer is still a primarily Limited card that you can slot into decks if you have nothing better to take its place or just really like the card. As a blue card with an enters trigger, you could use it in a blink combo to clear away blockers.

#10. Daggermaw Megalodon

Daggermaw Megalodon may be designed with Limited in mind, but if you can reanimate it or otherwise take advantage of its presence in your graveyard, it becomes surprisingly playable. For example, if you cycle this shark early, Ellie and Alan, Paleontologists can exile it to discover 6 and bring out a bring threat ahead of schedule.

#9. Armaggon, Future Shark

Flash is such a fitting ability for sharks. It captures the ambush predator shark archetype (sharketype?), and it lets designers tie in some removal abilities to make a flavorful package. The ability to remove three threats for the price of one card is good, though that cost may give you pause.

In EDH, Armaggon, Future Shark suffers from being silly expensive and too obvious when it’s in the command zone; your opponents will almost always hold up countermagic for it if they know it’s coming.

All is not lost, though. Satoru Umezawa can give it cost reduction in the form of a ninjutsu ability, and ninjutsu timing lets Armaggon become an infiltration specialist that incapacitates key blockers. It has 9 power to draw a bunch of cards in a Jenova, Ancient Calamity deck, and its ceiling could go higher if we get mutant payoffs in future Marvel sets.

#8. Voracious Greatshark

A 5-mana 5/4 that’s also a counterspell has some utility, but you might also keep it in your hand, waiting for the right moment to cast it. And sometimes, that moment won’t come.

Decks that care about flash creatures or casting spells on your opponents’ turns might consider Voracious Greatshark, or you could play it in a budget Helga, Skittish Seer deck.

#7. Pouncing Shoreshark

Mutate decks since the beginning have used Pouncing Shoreshark for some potentially repeatable bounce, if you manage to play it early enough. Until we revisit the mechanic, it’ll always have a home as a role-player.

#6. Shark Shredder, Killer Clone

Shark Shredder, Killer Clone mixes a sneak ability with a saboteur ability that steals stuff, so of course it fits in with ninja decks helmed by TMNT commanders and Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow. If you’re building around Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima, you can use the samurai’s trigger to make Shredder unblockable.

#5. Jaws, Relentless Predator

I bought my roommate Jaws socks as a stocking stuffer last year, and that sparked a conversation about our conflicted feelings on Jaws. On the one hand, it’s a piece of media that has contributed to shark panic and misinformation (relatable). But on the other hand… shark!

My primary problems with Jaws, Relentless Predator are that it’s mild head trip that this is a mono-red card given the art, and also the distribution method.

But enough of my grousing. Is it a good card? I mean… it pings your opponents whenever you sac noncreature artifacts. Which means utility tokens like Treasure, Clues, and the Blood it makes are all on the menu. But it also triggers when your opponents sacrifice artifacts, and any artifact destruction at all. If this were a mythic rare creature in an in-universe set, it would be one of that set’s chase cards and most popular commanders.

#4. Marauding Mako

A Monastery Swiftspear for discard decks, Marauding Mako can also cycle itself to fuel your other payoffs. The true power comes from the fact that it works best with wheels, since it counts each card you discard (unlike Arius, Flyby Trawler). The lack of keywords keeps it tame, but I imagine we’ll see reprints of this shark in discard precons down the line.

#3. Shabraz, the Skyshark

Shabraz, the Skyshark partners with Brallin, Skyshark Rider for a Jeskai () draw/discard hybrid, and many sharks printed since these two also happen to dabble in discard. Together, they rival Captain Howler for the best typal commander options.

As for Shabraz itself, it can hold down a supporting role in decks that draw cards or care about the amount of life you’ve gained in a turn, like Hope Estheim or Will, Scion of Peace. If your commander or an important creature is a human, it can also grant flying for cheap evasion or to change your blocking math.

#2. Chrome Host Seedshark

Finding a foil of this back when March of the Machine was a fresh set made me very happy. What seems like a mediocre payoff when you look at it purely through a stormy spellslinger lens becomes much better when the noncreature spells you cast are artifacts or enchantments. Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer cares about creature tokens, and there’s artifact creature synergies with many Urza cards and Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy.

A downside comes with the need to transform your Incubator tokens into Phyrexians, but some decks can work around it or don’t care at all. It matters less if you already run Training Grounds for other reasons, and decks like Brudiclad just want the permanent to turn into a clone of something else anyway.

#1. Captain Howler, Sea Scourge

Captain Howler, Sea Scourge is one of the breakout commanders from Aetherdrift, a set that has its flaws but also contains a lot of stellar cards and fun commanders. Howler itself is a discard payoff that turns each instance of discard into a firebreathing ability of sorts. The delayed trigger that draws you a card also stacks, so two discards before you attack allows you to give your best attacker a +4/+0 buff and draw two cards if it does any face damage. Izzet () discard commanders have been around for a while, but this shark pirate gave us a good card with art and creature typing that scratches the right itch.

Other Shark-Related Cards

• Astroquarium
• Brallin, Skyshark Rider
• Fisher's Talent
• Restless Reef
• Shark Typhoon

Are There Any Shark Commanders?

• Armaggon, Future Shark
• Captain Howler, Sea Scourge
• Jaws, Relentless Predator
• Shabraz, the Skyshark (+ Brallin, Skyshark Rider)
• Shark Shredder, Killer Clone

There are five legendary sharks that can be your commander as of Secrets of Strixhaven, but none of them have abilities that care about other sharks.

That doesn’t mean you can’t do sharks as a typal subtheme in your deck. Shabraz, the Skyshark’s partner Brallin, Skyshark Rider has abilities that care about both sharks and discard, and Jeskai lets you play the Aetherdrift sharks that have discard synergies. Daggermaw Megalodon has islandcycling, so it fits in here, and even Jaws can slot in since Blood tokens both discard and draw cards.

Wrap Up

Half-Shark, Half- | Illustration by Brynn Metheney

Sharks don’t have the deepest pool to draw from, and there’s been a few false starts to the way that Magic builds shark cards. There have been a lot of positive developments over the last few years that are making sharks fun to play in casual games, and they improve the shark flavor you can build into your Shabraz and Brallin deck.

Which is your favorite shark in Magic? What do you want from the next sharks we get? Do you want to see a fully underwater plane where sharks might be a typal focus for a color pair or shard/wedge? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord. If you want to sink your teeth into more Magic, subscribe to our newsletter and our YouTube channel, both called The Daily Upkeep.

Until next time, remember: Cards are friends. Not food.

(I made it to the end without mentioning either Baby Shark or blåhaj. Please clap.)