The 47 Best Temur Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on January 13, 2026

Temur Ascendancy | Illustration by Jaime Jones

Every year, Wizards of the Coast prints support for multiple archetypes and tribes, and recently, Temur () received a very strong boost with one clear theme in mind: dragons.

That said, dragons are far from the only thing this color combination has to offer. Today, we’re looking at the best Temur cards ever printed to give you a better sense of the different archetypes Temur supports.

Intrigued? Let’s dive into it.

What Are Temur Cards in MTG?

Vodalian Mindsinger | Illustration by Steve Prescott

Temur is made up of blue, red, and green, and it’s generally seen as natural and wild, but it can also be based in science, too. Each color grouping in Magic has its own personality, made up of the individual colors included in it. Clearly, there’s a lot of scope in these three colors, and there are plenty of cards that can do most of what you want in Magic, particularly in Commander.

For this ranking, we'll look at cards with a Temur color identity. There are of course tons of great Izzet cards, Simic cards, and Gruul cards you could include in a Temur deck, along with mono-color staples.

We also have a comprehensive breakdown of all Temur lands in Magic, if you're working on your mana base.

#47. Yasova Dragonclaw

We’re starting off on the Tarkir plane, with Yasova Dragonclaw. At the time it was one of the few Temur commanders available, but it just looks a bit… sub-mid using modern eyes. It’s got a cool effect, though. A threaten effect every turn isn’t something I remember seeing a lot of, so you could probably build a pretty unique deck around it. Paying that mana to do it each turn is a bit of a tough sell for me, however.

#46. Hustle // Bustle

Split cards are a bit of a cheat include on this list, but I think they’re very valid Temur cards. Hustle / Bustle is one of those split cards where one side is much better than the other, but it’s nice having the option of the weaker side if you need it. I like Bustle as an Overrun in a deck that cares about face-down creatures. Here you’re essentially getting the turn-up for free, and if you have enough creatures, it can steal a game. It’s just unfortunate that it’s a sorcery!

#45. Research // Development

Research / Development is another Temur split card, and one that’s a bit weird on both ends. While bringing cards in from outside the game isn’t something you can do without the pod’s approval in Commander, it’s always exciting to see it on a card. Development is a bit underwhelming for a card today, though. Still, it’s a pair of unique effects and I really wanted to talk about it!

#44. Temur Charm

It’s a classic, and Temur Charm needed to be included somewhere. All three options on this instant are solid, which isn’t something I’d say about all charms. Of course, none of them are busted, but if you want something to hold up in a deck that likes casting things at instant speed, I could think of worse options.

#43. Rattleclaw Mystic

While it’s technically a green card, Rattleclaw Mystic does have a Temur color identity, so you can only play it in EDH decks with these colors. This human shaman’s a pretty cool mana dork, if a bit underpowered for a rare these days (I wouldn’t be surprised to see it at uncommon in a modern set). You might want to include it if you’re playing a face-down deck, and turning it face up but getting 3 mana in exchange is a nice addition.

#42. Avalanche Tusker

Avalanche Tusker is simply a big honker that’s a pain to have to deal with in 1v1 combat. Another of the rares from Khans of Tarkir that’s showing its age, but it provides good memories to those who were there to see it the first time around.

#41. Vodalian Mindsinger

Vodalian Mindsinger is a cool version of a Control Magic on a stick. Kicker here is an interesting addition, and a way to scale the Mindsinger as the game goes on. It’s still a decent deal to grab your opponent’s 1-power utility creature for 3 mana, but you do generally want to kick this merfolk wizard at least once.

#40. Savage Knuckleblade

Ah, Savage Knuckleblade, otherwise known as Big Knucks! Three mana for a 4/4 with upside is sweet, even across three colors, although it hasn’t seen huge amounts of play. It’s a favorite in mid-powered cubes, though, or just for people who get nostalgic for this era of Magic.

#39. Eshki, Temur's Roar

Built for stompy Temur decks, Eshki, Temur's Roar rewards you for playing bigger and bigger creatures. It grows with +1/+1 counters, draws cards when you cast 4-power threats, and eventually turns that board presence into direct damage to opponents. The card works best alongside efficient beaters like Questing Beast or Glorybringer, giving you a game plan that snowballs naturally without relying on combos.

#38. Ureni, the Song Unending

Ureni, the Song Unending turns a high land count into immediate board control. While it’s expected to clean up opposing creatures or planeswalkers when it enters, the built-in protection from white and black makes it much harder to answer afterward. Ramp-heavy Temur decks make the best use of it, especially with cards like Cultivate or Encroaching Dragonstorm, ensuring it comes down early enough to reset the board and stick around as a real threat.

#37. Shaman of the Great Hunt

Shaman of the Great Hunt has a couple of nice lines of text on it that get value in different ways, both of which are very Temur things. Putting +1/+1 counters on your stuff when dealing combat damage to a player is something I’m not surprised to see on Temur cards, and the card draw activated ability is also linked with this color trio, as well as working well with the first triggered ability. Sweet card that’s still very playable.

#36. Me, the Immortal

I’m going to be honest, I don’t know a huge amount about Doctor Who, and know nothing about Me, the Immortal and whether the Temur colors fit here.

The ability counter thing is pretty unique, especially as they stay on Me, and it’s tough to say whether it feels very Temur. Growing is green, I guess, and doing strange things with game zones could be seen as either blue or red? I like the design, regardless, although I imagine it’s difficult to track in paper. Imagine running a playset of this!

#35. Dragonback Assault

Acting as a soft board wipe that helps you rebuild immediately, Dragonback Assault is a strong payoff for landfall-focused decks. The initial damage clears out smaller creatures and planeswalkers, and every land you play after that replaces your board with flying 4/4 dragons, making fetch lands and extra land drop effects extremely efficient, quickly turning a reset into overwhelming pressure that many decks struggle to answer turn after turn.

#34. Loot, the Pathfinder

Flexible and explosive, Loot, the Pathfinder can act as a toolbox commander or a high-value engine depending on the game state. The real trick is blinking it with cards like Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, letting you reuse its strongest exhaust ability to draw three cards, which plays very much like an Ancestral Recall. Between access to mana, cards, and direct damage, it adapts easily to what you need most, while untap effects and protection help you squeeze maximum value out of every activation.

#33. Riku of Many Paths

Modal cards aren’t just limited to the Temur colors, but doing strange things with them does feel pretty Temur to me. It appeals to the mad science aspects you get from the Izzet () and Simic () guilds, even if Riku of Many Paths isn’t from either of them. Each of the abilities on here is pretty cool, and getting all three modes is great value.

#32. Borborygmos and Fblthp

Borborygmos and Fblthp is quite a rate for a card, which I guess is to be expected for a Temur card made up of two creatures! It’s not super-great in multiplayer Magic, but it makes good use of “spare” lands later in the game to take care of a lot of relevant targets. Doing it on each of your combats makes this Temur creature a huge threat that you need to deal with, and even at its base it draws an extra card each turn. Drawing cards on a big body? Sounds like Temur to me!

#31. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

There’s probably an argument to put Lara Croft, Tomb Raider into pretty much any color combination, but Temur seems like a good one: Impulsiveness, knowledge, and strength are all characteristics I’d probably associate with her. Outside of the colors, Lara makes treasures and “draws” cards (although they’re from your graveyard). The body here isn’t bad for 3 mana either. I like it!

#30. Trap Essence

Counterspell with upside is always worth looking at, especially counterspells that cost 3 mana or less. Trap Essence is this, at least for creatures, and although it’s in three colors it’s still a nice rate. You probably want to be able to make good use of the counters to make this worth it these days, but it’s a nice include in a deck where that matters. It’s not going to be a Temur staple, but it’s nice to have an interaction piece like this when it matters.

#29. Beluna Grandsquall

Although adventure cards are found in all colors, they’re predominantly found in Temur, so it makes sense for a legendary creature designed to head up an adventure Commander deck to be in these colors, too. Both sides of Beluna Grandsquall clearly care about having adventures, and it does work quite well, even if it’s not busted. The front half being expensive is a little unusual, but if this is designed to be played again and again from the command zone, it doesn’t really matter.

#28. Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy

About five years ago, Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy probably wouldn’t have been super exciting, but now, with Treasure tokens, Blood tokens, Clue tokens, and more, it’s pretty easy to get a big ol’ token from this clever little gremlin artificer. It’s still not going to break anything by itself, though, and creating a creature on the end step means you won’t be able to get a surprise attack in. It’s a cool design, though, and it feels like a very Temur way to do an artifact commander.

#27. Loot, the Key to Everything

Loot, the Key to Everything is everyone’s newest cute mascot just waiting to be made into a plushy. Or not, if that’s not your thing, of course! The ability this little fluffball has, though, is pure card advantage. Impulse drawing 3+ cards a turn is great, even if you need to wait until your next turn to get them. Another downside here is the stat line. It’s pretty much non-existent! Loot has potential, though, and ward always helps!

#26. The Swarmlord

Tyranids are Temur, and although I found this unusual when I first heard it, I can kinda see it now. Tyranids are masters of their own evolution, and the ingenuity coming from this feels like a natural fit for them. The Swarmlord, an excellent +1/+1 counter commander, was the head of the Tyranid Commander precon from Warhammer 40K, and it shows that Tyranids learn from their mistakes and keep coming back stronger. You just can’t get rid of all the bugs.

#25. Guided Passage

A quick break from some of the legendary creatures, Guided Passage is a way to draw three cards for only 3 mana. Sure, they’re the worst three cards in your deck, but it’s still three cards! Of course, in Commander it can act as a tutor if there’s a problem at the table that needs dealing with, and this Temur sorcery can lead to some interesting politicking if you offer to deal with the issue in exchange for something else from your deck. This certainly appeals to a certain type of player!

#24. Riku of Two Reflections

Riku of Two Reflections was one of the early big Temur commanders, and it still holds up today. Copying cards is always a good time, and Riku can copy basically anything. Obviously, paying mana is a bit of a bummer here, but it’s probably needed for balance. Riku is still very playable, despite being popular for years.

#23. Kalamax, the Stormsire

It’s taken quite a while to find a true storm commander in this Temur list, but Kalamax, the Stormsire is definitely that. Or, at least, a commander that cares about copying instants and sorceries, which is basically the same thing. There are certainly better storm commanders, but this elemental dinosaur puts a unique spin on things that’s worth looking at if you don’t want a deck that’s automatically seen as a threat. If you like this side of Temur, give Kalamax a go!

#22. The First Tyrannic War

The First Tyrannic War is another Temur Tyranid card, but it’s also one that fits with another trope of Magic often associated with Temur, X-spells and counters. It almost feels like a hydra card, which does seem kinda Tyranid-y, I guess. It’s a sweet design, and anything based around X-spells gets a tick in my book!

#21. Intet, the Dreamer

Intet, the Dreamer is a pretty beefy Temur dragon that lets you cheat on mana. I like that the red in the cost acts as a kind of impulse draw, but Intet has a nice ability that kinda scales with the strength of the rest of your deck. It’s never going to be broken, and a lot needs to be done to get the payoff. Still, it’s big and splashy, and that’s still what Commander is about in my eyes.

#20. Song of Creation

Song of Creation is a very Temur-aligned combo card that’s a buildaround in itself. Ideally you’ll combo off on the turn you play this Temur enchantment, although you always have a risk that your combo will run out of steam. You want plenty of 0-cost or free spells, then find a finisher like Thassa's Oracle, but there’s plenty of options that all end up with the same finish.

#19. Illuna, Apex of Wishes

Illuna, Apex of Wishes is a very spicy mutate card that can be built around in a number of ways. You don’t need to go all-in on mutate, although I wouldn’t blame you if that’s the way you went. You could just go for a bunch of big stuff, and I wouldn’t blame you for that either. If we ever see more mutate in a Magic set, keep your eyes on this one.

#18. Rashmi and Ragavan

Ragavan is associated with some pretty broken cards, and Rashmi is all about value, so Rashmi and Ragavan teaming up in this Temur card provides so much value. Being able to cast the spell you exile for free as well as getting a Treasure is Value with a capital V. This is another good spell to scale with the pod, as you play with your opponents’ decks as much as your own. Of course, not everyone likes that, which is more of a reason to play it for me!

#17. Averna, the Chaos Bloom

Cascade is already great value, but what if I told you there was a way to get even more value from it? Averna, the Chaos Bloom does that and allows you to make use of the “useless” lands that you cascade through on the hunt for a spell. It’s a good option for a deck that often wants to ramp into big stuff, and one I’m happy to include in that deck.

#16. Sarkhan Unbroken

In many ways, Sarkhan Unbroken is a fairly mediocre planeswalker. People do love that ultimate, though. Grabbing all the dragons out of your deck is often just a straight win in plenty of different ways, and your opponents will need to do something special to prevent you from winning this way. You don’t even need to attack if you’re able to grab something like Terror of the Peaks.

Of course, you need to get Sarkhan up to 8 loyalty. If only there were a way to double the loyalty counters Sarkhan entered with….

#15. Magus Lucea Kane

A 4-mana 1/1 is going to need something special to put it this high, and Magus Lucea Kane indeed does something special. Using this card to tap for mana for your X-spells allows you to copy them for free. Less than free, in fact, as you get 2 mana to use on them. Lots of value available here, and Lucea is one of the best X-spell commanders. All you really need to do is untap with it!

#14. Songcrafter Mage

Songcrafter Mage fills a role similar to Snapcaster Mage in spells-matter decks, but it can be even stronger in the right setup. Flash still lets it act as interaction or setup, while harmonize gives you another way to reuse key instants or sorceries from the graveyard. Where it really shines is by letting you pay less mana by tapping creatures, including itself, making expensive spells much easier to cast. It works especially well with high-impact cards like Time Warp or Treasure Cruise that are pricey to cast and are now suddenly cheaper.

#13. Iroh, Grand Lotus

Iroh, Grand Lotus has steadily risen in popularity among Temur Commander players for its ability to turn the graveyard into a source of card advantage. Recasting instants and sorceries during your turn gives spell-heavy decks a lot of flexibility, especially as more maindeckable lessons become available. Cards like Seismic Sense and Redirect Lightning make the lesson package much easier to justify, giving Iroh consistent value without forcing awkward deckbuilding concessions.

#12. Omnath, Locus of the Roil

Omnath, Locus of the Roil is Omnath’s third incarnation, and probably my favorite. It caused quite a stir when it first came out, and a lot of people raced to build it. It’s very Temur-value, and making use of lands to do silly things is all some players want to do. While it’s had versions with more colors printed since, one of which had to be banned in multiple formats, it’s this one that I think has the most interesting builds.

#11. Xyris, the Writhing Storm

Magic players love drawing cards, so it’s always nice to see a bit of a reason to make this a downside. Making 1/1 tokens isn’t the biggest downside for your opponents, but Xyris, the Writhing Storm is still something. The best thing to do here is fill your deck with more card draw hate, then smash into them with Xyris. They won’t be so keen to get that value then, will they?

#10. Genesis Ultimatum

The Ultimatums were a very popular cycle, and Genesis Ultimatum was one of the more popular ones from the Ikoria half. It’s right at home in a deck that naturally allows you to ramp into a big, greedy spell, and one that’s happy playing a lot of big, splashy permanents. Sure, there are ways this can auto-win if you get lucky, but just playing out some super-expensive permanents can give you a remarkable leg-up. One for the Timmy/Johnnys, I think!

#9. Surrak Dragonclaw

Sick of your beefers getting countered? Well, Surrak Dragonclaw is the uncounterable commander for you: Now all your creature spells are uncounterable! Having flash is just funny here, as it gets to ambush something that’s heading your way, too. It feels almost like Surrak has become everything they hate… instant speed interaction!

#8. Ureni of the Unwritten

Ureni of the Unwritten is one of the better dragon commanders because it cheats dragons into play instead of paying full mana for them. Looking eight cards deep whenever it enters or attacks makes it easy to maintain pressure without running out of threats, and pairs especially well with haste enablers like Dragonlord Kolaghan or Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund, letting you attack right away and get immediate full value.

#7. Storm, Force of Nature

Storm, Force of Nature is designed for spellslinger decks that want one massive turn instead of slow, incremental value. Connecting in combat turns your next instant or sorcery into a storm spell, setting up game-ending sequences. It becomes especially potent alongside magecraft payoffs like Archmage Emeritus or Storm-Kiln Artist, which let you fully exploit the copied spells before finishing the turn with Grapeshot or a similar payoff.

#6. Animar, Soul of Elements

Animar, Soul of Elements is a Temur card that can get out of hand quickly while being pretty tricky to deal with due to protection. Get this out with mana to spare and Animar's cost reduction ability will soon get you a big board, assuming you’ve built your deck correctly. Creature-storm is pretty appealing here, and it feels incredibly Temur in design. Makes sense, as Animar, Soul of Elements was one of the original Temur legendaries.

#5. Temur Battlecrier

In creature-heavy builds, Temur Battlecrier enables explosive turns by making your spells cheaper as your board of large creatures grows. It showed up in Standard combo decks that cheat out big creatures for little to no mana, especially alongside Outcaster Trailblazer, which lets you chain multiple 4-power creatures while drawing cards.

#4. Flubs, the Fool

Flubs, the Fool is most often played as a semi-combo build that focuses on ramping hard and utilizing land-based payoffs. Extra land drops keep mana flowing, while the draw-or-discard trigger fuels constant resource cycling. The main plan is to overwhelm opponents with land-based strategies using finishers like Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, backed up by enablers such as Prismatic Omen and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove.

#3. Maelstrom Wanderer

Cascade has shown up a few times, but it shows up on Maelstrom Wanderer twice! A favorite for many players, it’s sometimes easy to forget that this amazing cascade commander is legendary. We’ve seen multiple cascade triggers on cards since, so it’s lost its shine a little, but this Temur battlecruiser‘s the original double-cascade card, so it stays special.

#2. Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is a very strong card and would likely top this list if it weren’t built for a specific type of deck. Of course, in a Dungeons & Dragons set it makes sense to have some powerful cards that care about dragons! Doubling your dragons is pretty awesome, and Miirym’s ward 2 is pretty nice to keep it around. Sweet Temur card, if dragons are your thing. If they aren’t your thing, then why not?

#1. Temur Ascendancy

We’ve seen a lot of cards, including plenty that fit into decks built around specific aspects of the Temur wedge, which makes it difficult to choose a number 1 card. I’ve gone for Temur Ascendancy, though, as it does quite a lot for any Temur deck. It draws a bunch, and it gives your stuff haste. This doesn’t just let you attack quickly, but it allows you to use tap abilities when your creatures enter, which is pretty awesome for a lot of the legendaries in Temur colors.

It may not be everyone’s top Temur pic, but I think there are plenty of arguments to have Temur Ascendancy here!

Best Temur Payoffs

Temur has always been closely tied to big creatures, and many of its best payoffs simply reward you for having power on the board. Cards that care about creatures with power 4 or greater fit naturally here, since green and red already push you in that direction. Effects like Garruk's Uprising, Elemental Bond, and Rhythm of the Wild turn large creatures into card draw or extra pressure.

That same foundation is why Temur dragons remains the most popular archetype in the color combination. Dragons already check every box Temur wants, offering size, evasion, and immediate impact. Payoffs such as Scourge of Valkas, Terror of the Peaks, and Dragonlord Atarka turn each dragon into removal or direct damage, while support cards like Sarkhan Unbroken or Marang River Regent reward you for staying fully committed to the tribe.

Temur can also branch into spellslinger strategies, but even there the goal is still to scale hard rather than grind slowly. Cards like Thousand-Year Storm and Bonus Round turn routine spells into explosive turns, backed up by steady draw engines like Mystic Remora or Rhystic Study.

What Is Temur Good at in MTG?

Temur is pretty good at value!

Blue obviously gets card draw, but these are the three colors that most care about lands, which can be huge.

You can generate a bunch of mana with green, draw a bunch of cards with blue, then deal a bunch of direct damage with red, with some nice crossover between all three in the middle. Who needs black and white when you have all this value in these three colors alone?

Wrap Up

Ureni, the Song Unending | Illustration by Alexander Ostrowski

Temur () cards support many different strategies beyond just playing big creatures. There are plenty of fun support pieces that fit into multiple archetypes and give the color combination a lot more flexibility. That said, I still tend to associate Temur with dragons, as you’ve probably noticed.

What about you? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Temur, and which card do you think we left out that deserves a spot on the list? Let us know in the comments.

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