The 36 Best Treasure Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 28, 2023

Treasured Find | Illustration by Jason Chan

Hello Planeswalkers! I want you to know that I treasure each and every one of you. So let's talk about treasure cards today. Together we can explore the best cards that create treasure tokens.

I’m sure you have had some matches against or using treasure tokens. They are widely popular and provide much-needed mana support and ramp to builds. They’ve become so popular and useful that some leaks have shown many treasure-creating cards possibly getting banned soon. I’m looking at you Fable of the Mirror-Breaker.

What Are Treasure Cards in MTG?

Goldspan Dragon | Illustration by Andrew Mar

Treasure tokens are colorless artifact tokens that can be tapped and sacrificed to produce 1 mana of any color. For this article, I’m focusing on cards that can produce treasure tokens. These tokens can come from activated or triggered abilities.

#36. Black Market Tycoon

Black Market Tycoon is a great treasure creator that also has a downside. You can reliably create a treasure token each turn, but make sure to use the token or you’ll be paying in life points. Unless you have a card like Axis of Mortality to hurt your opponent, of course.

#35. Storm-Kiln Artist

Treasure tokens fit well into artifact decks, and Storm-Kiln Artist is a good example. It can help you make treasure tokens, and its power grows with every artifact you control. The four MV and low toughness are what reduces the value of this card significantly.

#34. Deadeye Plunderers

Deadeye Plunderers is a wonderful pirate to take advantage of creating many treasure tokens. It can become massive and also create treasure tokens for future use. This card has its place and value in pirate and treasure decks.

#33. Treasure Map

With Treasure Map, you have a slow play counter that gives you a scry. If you have the spare mana and can get to the three landmark counters, this is where the value lies. You create three treasure tokens that can help you curve out or draw cards. This is a decent late-game push kind of artifact.

#32. Brass’s Bounty

Brass's Bounty is only for those of you who need a ton of mana or artifacts. You can essentially double your mana pool or create a massive number of useful artifacts. Cards like Crackle with Power or Dragonspark Reactor could greatly benefit from creating a massive amount of treasure tokens.

#31. Shambling Ghast

Shambling Ghast is an unassuming great start for many decks. You can have a slight deterrent for your opponent’s aggression and have the chance to get ahead of the curve with a treasure token. This card is a solid one-drop that fits well into aristocrat and zombie decks.

#30. Kalain, Reclusive Painter

Kalain, Reclusive Painter gives some pump for using your treasure tokens. When you cast a creature, it ETBs with a +1/+1 counter for each treasure used to cast it. The treasure tokens are wonderful for being ahead of the curve, and with this card, you can now have even more powerful creatures earlier.

#29. Prosperous Innkeeper

Prosperous Innkeeper is a nice ramp card for green and multicolored decks. The treasure token is a nice curve helper in the early game and the life gain has many advantages. Especially with cards like Voice of the Blessed.

#28. The Reaver Cleaver

The Reaver Cleaver is an equipment made for Commander equipment decks. The three MV and equip cost is steep, but the fact that you can make as many treasure tokens as damage done to a player by the equipped creature is worth it. With some luck, you can make enough treasure tokens to carry out the rest of your strategy seamlessly.

#27. Captain Lannery Storm

Pirates and treasure go together like peanut butter and jelly. Captain Lannery Storm is a fun pirate that creates a treasure token whenever it attacks. This card doesn’t have great stats, but at least you can sacrifice the treasure token for mana and still get the pump instead of directly sacrificing it.

#26. Tireless Provisioner

Landfall is always a wonderful ability to take advantage of. With Tireless Provisioner you can turn land plays into food or treasure tokens. I prefer treasure tokens for the mana-producing abilities, but this card gives you options and can fit in several different styles of builds.

#25. Old Rutstein

Old Rutstein is an interesting card to incorporate in graveyard decks. You can get the cards you need in your graveyard while building up treasure, blood, or insect tokens. I like this card for filling the graveyard for cards like Urborg Lhurgoyf while creating protections for yourself.

#24. Prismari Command

Prismari Command is the exact kind of card you want in a noncreature control deck. The instant speed and three MV make it easy to cast, and you have many options depending on your needs. Prismari Command can do two options of doing damage, drawing cards, making a treasure token, or removing artifacts.

#23. Mahadi, Emporium Master

Spells that can create treasure tokens over multiple turns have high value. Mahadi, Emporium Master can create a treasure token on each of your end steps when a creature has died that turn. This trigger fits incredibly well into aristocrat, Grixis, and Rakdos decks.

#22. Galazeth Prismari

Galazeth Prismari is an interesting card to use with other treasure token creators. It allows you to avoid sacrificing your treasure tokens to get their mana. This allows you to build on your treasure hoard and you can quickly get a ton of mana. Have fun!

#21. Atsushi, the Blazing Sky

Atsushi, the Blazing Sky is an affordable dragon spirit that can apply pressure on your opponent. Except for exiling, if this dragon spirit is removed you can either get a mana or hand advantage over your opponent.

#20. Storm the Vault

Storm the Vault may seem like a slow way to develop a big mana pool. I’m here to tell you that the value of this card is high. You don’t need five treasures to transform, but rather five artifacts. However, this card helps that process by creating treasures if at least one of your creatures deals damage to an opponent. Transforming into Vault of Catlacan is worth the investment in artifact-heavy decks.

#19. Ancient Copper Dragon

Can you imagine what kind of deck or cards you could use if you had twenty treasure tokens? With Ancient Copper Dragon, I hope the dice are in your favor. If you deal combat damage with this creature, you have a chance to get a massive hoard of treasure tokens. All the Ancient Dragons are good, but I love the upside of never having to worry about mana again.

#18. Revel in Riches

Revel in Riches is a win-con option for treasure token decks. The goal is to get ten treasure tokens to win. The death trigger for your opponent’s creatures creates a treasure token, which can speed up your treasure hoarding. Cards like Grim Bounty and Blood Money should help you achieve your goal.

#17. Prosper, Tome-Bound

Many of the abilities from the Forgotten Realms block give you choices between two different effects. Prosper, Tome-Bound’s abilities actually work together for a greater effect. You can play with more cards from the top of your deck and create treasure tokens to help cast these cards even faster.

#16. Hullbreacher

Unfortunately, Hullbreacher isn’t widely available in many formats and is banned in Commander. The reason is Hullbreacher’s wonderful ability to turn a draw effect for an opponent into a treasure token for you. The flash ability took this card over the top and made it too powerful for many to handle. Play it with glee in any non-cEDH matches if you’re that kind of friend.

#15. Professional Face-Breaker

Professional Face-Breaker is a nice turn-three card that helps you with your curve. Creating treasure tokens to use as mana or to top deck is a wonderful value. Another intricacy of this card is you can create two treasure tokens for two combat phases with first strike and normal damage.

#14. Magda, Brazen Outlaw

Dwarves are a good tribal build that work well together. Magda, Brazen Outlaw is a wonderful addition to dwarf decks. It helps pump your dwarves and can create a ton of treasure tokens. You can now also mix your dwarf typal deck with a few powerful dragons, which are fetchable with Magda, Brazen Outlaw and your treasure tokens.

#13. Grim Hireling

I love a card that can create more than one treasure token and can create them over many turns. Grim Hireling is a nice way to turn your aggressive attacking into mana production for game-finishing moves. If you don’t need the mana, your treasures can also be used as removal with Grim Hireling.

#12. Urabrask / The Great Work

From the March of the Machine set comes Urabrask. This is a storm deck addition that can benefit from a big mana pool with treasure tokens and produce treasure tokens with the transformation into The Great Work. This Praetor can ramp up your storm ability and provide the mana and treasures you need to satisfy the strategy.

#11. Spell Swindle

Five mana for a counterspell isn’t curve-friendly. That’s unless it can turn your opponent’s spell into a mana advantage. Spell Swindle is a staple for many treasure decks and has a ton of value in changing the fortunes of a game in your favor.

#10. Rashmi and Ragavan

Rashmi and Ragavan is a fun way to steal your opponent’s favorite cards. The four MV is cheap for the upside you can get from this card. You have the chance to cast cards for free while getting treasure tokens for your spells. This card can be a decent Commander with an artifact theme.

#9. Gala Greeters

Gala Greeters is a wonderful turn-two play to try and ramp up your strategy. You get many options for every creature that ETB, including making tapped treasure for later mana use. The fact that it's an ETB trigger and not a casting trigger gives this card huge value with creature tokens and other creature decks.

#8. Big Score + Unexpected Windfall

Big Score and Unexpected Windfall both work in the same way. Discard a card to draw two cards and create two treasure tokens. This is a wonderful way to out-draw your opponent and gain the curve advantage. At instant speed, they have much more value than the similar Pirate's Pillage.

#7. Deadly Dispute

Deadly Dispute is a personal favorite of mine. I’m a fan of using a doomed or useless creature to draw cards and ramp mana. This card fits well into aristocrat decks and graveyard decks, as well as general ramp for black.

#6. Dockside Extortionist

The number of artifacts and enchantments players are using seems to keep rising. Why not benefit from this trend with Dockside Extortionist? Depending on the beginning of a match, you could have a chance to gain a big mana advantage over your opponent.

#5. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is a wonderful first mate for ramping up your builds. At an MV of one, you may get a free swing and treasure token before your opponent has any removal spells or defenders. If you’re worried about removal then skip turn one and pay the dash cost to return Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer safely to your hand. The value is great, but this card has been banned from Historic and Legacy formats.

#4. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker / Reflection of Kiki-Jiki

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is a staple in many new competitive deck builds. The goblin token it creates is a problem for your opponent. They either need to use a removal spell or you can get treasure tokens each turn. This card has a ton of value before you even get to the fact that it can copy powerful or useful non-legendary creatures.

#3. Reckoner Bankbuster

Oh boy. What can I say about Reckoner Bankbuster that you probably don’t already know? This card is a quick turn-two play with many interactions from drawing cards, becoming a decent-sized creature, and creating a treasure and pilot creature token. If you ask me, this card will be banned from some formats real soon. Until then, use the many interactions to your advantage. Too late!

#2. Goldspan Dragon

I have to tell you that I was a happy man when Goldspan Dragon rotated out of Standard. Goldspan Dragon is just so good! It doubles your treasure mana production, it has haste and flying so it can be effective immediately, and it still benefits you slightly when your opponents remove it with spells. I think most everyone has seen this card and for good reason.

#1. Smothering Tithe

Smothering Tithe is probably the most famous instance of a taxing card. When your opponent draws a card, they must pay mana or you can get a treasure token. You’ll most likely be ahead of the curve against your opponent no matter what they choose.

Best Treasure Payoffs

Treasures have a ton of value for decks, especially for creating more mana, having more artifacts, and sacrificing permanents.

Treasures are made to produce mana. This helps you stay ahead of the curve for cards like Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Creakwood Liege, and Cavalier of Gales.

More mana means you can play bigger spells like Etali, Primal Conqueror or have a bigger value for X like with Zoanthrope.

Treasures can also be wonderful mana fixers. You don’t need to draw the specific mana for cards like Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Scion of the Ur-Dragon.

Since treasure tokens are artifacts, they can be a wonderful support for cards like Akiri, Line-Slinger, Bronze Guardian, and Fathom Fleet Swordjack. They can even be weapons with cards like The Antiquities War

Treasure tokens can especially help you cast cards with improvise or affinity for artifacts like Battle at the Bridge or with Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge.

Sacrificing treasure tokens for mana can also benefit your aristocratic builds. Sacrifice treasures with cards like Disciple of the Vault, Mayhem Devil, and Oni-Cult Anvil to maximize their effectiveness.

Don’t forget to get even more treasure tokens with cards like Anointed Procession or Mondrak, Glory Dominus.

If you like alternate win-cons like Revel in Riches, you may like Hellkite Tyrant or Mechanized Production.

I’d be remiss not to include Xorn to help you create more treasure tokens. I also want to include Vraska, Betrayal's Sting as a great removal ability, but you give your opponent a treasure token.

Is a Treasure Token a Permanent?

Yes, tokens are permanents. They are permanents with no regular card representation or casting costs. Treasure tokens remain on the board until removed by some action, effect, or spell.

Do Treasure Tokens Have Mana Value?

Yes, they technically have a mana value of zero. Since they’re created tokens and not replicas, they have a mana value of zero and can be removed immediately by cards like Ratchet Bomb.

Can Treasures Tap for Colorless?

No, they can’t. They can tap for any color and pay for generic mana costs, but they can’t directly tap for a colorless mana.

What’s the Difference Between Gold and Treasure?

The main difference between gold and treasure tokens is gold tokens don’t have to be tapped to sacrifice them for mana. Gold tokens came first and were replaced by treasure tokens because of the huge advantages of not having to tap to sacrifice. This was especially apparent with the improvise mechanic.

Are Treasure Tokens Sent to the Graveyard?

Yes, they are. All tokens that are destroyed enter the graveyard and then kind of disappear. Treasure tokens count towards “enter the graveyard” triggers, but not “cards in graveyards” effects.

Can You Proliferate Treasure Tokens?

No, you can’t. Proliferate only works on counters. Since treasure tokens are tokens with no counters on them, they can’t be proliferated. Tokens aren’t counters.

Why Do Treasure Tokens Tap?

Treasure tokens tap to reduce the overpower of improvise and affinity for artifacts. Gold tokens could be used to improvise and sacrifice for mana, which gave them double the mana value. Treasure tokens tap so this can’t happen.

Do Treasure Tokens Enter the Battlefield?

Yes, they do. Tokens enter the battlefield and trigger ETB effects.

Can You Tap a Treasure without Sacrificing?

Yes, you can. You can’t tap them and not sacrifice them on their own, but other effects and abilities like Galazeth Prismari or improvise can tap treasure tokens without sacrificing them.

How Do You Deal with or Stop Treasures in MTG?

There are a few ways to stop or lessen treasure tokens’ abilities. You can have some artifact hate like Brotherhood's End to remove them or use activated ability stoppers like Karn, the Great Creator or Yasharn, Implacable Earth. Some other ways to neutralize treasure tokens are Kill Switch and Energy Flux.

Wrap Up

Smothering Tithe | Illustration by Mark Behm

I hope you treasured every moment of reading. Treasure tokens are essential parts of competitive play, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Use the rankings above to make smart decisions with your builds and stay ahead of the curve with treasure tokens.

Which are your favorite treasure generators? Do you focus on them or use them as part of other strategies? Leave a comment below and don’t forget to join our Discord.

Always remember that the greatest treasure is sharing quality time with loved ones.