The 32 Best Vehicles in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 21, 2024

Smuggler's Copter | Illustration by Florian de Gesincourt

Vehicles are a commonplace sight in sets these days, and most releases will have at least one included in them. After their introduction in Kaladesh, vehicles went on to become a “deciduous” mechanic, one that can appear in small numbers in any set if they met the requirements of the set.

There have been some unbelievably powerful vehicles printed over the years, though, and in this article we’re going to take a look at the best of the best.

What Are Vehicles in MTG?

Renegade Freighter | Illustration by Izzy

Vehicles are an artifact type first introduced in Kaladesh and seen regularly since. Generally, they’re artifacts that don’t do very much by themselves, but if you tap creatures with total power equal to or greater than their crew cost, they become artifact creatures with the power and toughness displayed in the bottom right of the card. Designs go much wider than this, though, and there are sometimes other ways to turn them into creatures.

They are both an interesting gameplay piece and a great way to add flavour to card designs. They go from absolute dross that you wouldn’t even think of including in the worst sealed deck, to super powerful threats that can take over the game. What are the best ones we have so far, though? Let’s dive in and find out!

#32. Renegade Freighter

We’re starting off our list with a vehicle that might not seem like much. However, Renegade Freighter was an absolute unit in Kaladesh Draft, especially as a common. I have some fond memories of Limited from that time, and couldn’t put this list together without a nod to this problematic train. I don’t think it’s even seen play in Pauper since, but there’s a reason why it was omitted from Kaladesh Remastered on Arena!

#31. Untethered Express

If Renegade Freighter wasn’t bad enough, Aether Revolt brought Untethered Express for another beater of a train. At least this one showed up at uncommon!

Crew 1 was super important here. I think it would even be a powerful card if it showed up in a modern Draft set, potentially even in a Masters set. Again, it hasn’t seen much Constructed play, and it’s unlikely it ever will. These Draft monsters have left some of us scarred, though.

#30. Consulate Dreadnought

Consulate Dreadnought is a little different to the Limited cards we’ve seen so far. This is the Colossus Hammer of vehicles: big stats, low casting cost, but a high crew cost. It hasn’t seen much play in Constructed yet, despite Siege Modification being a thing. A 1-mana 7/11 is something you can’t just write off, though, and you should keep this in your mind if the right card’s ever printed.

#29. _____ _____ Rocketship

I’ll be honest. I don’t really know how to evaluate sticker cards. I’d guess you could give _____ _____ Rocketship +2/+2 when it attacks, but maybe you can give it +5/+5, or even more with the right stickers. It’s the only Un-card included on the list (it’s legal in Eternal formats, as it’s not an acorn card), so I thought it deserved a place down here, at least.

#28. High-Speed Hoverbike

One of the more recent vehicles that was significant in its Limited format, High-Speed Hoverbike is a fantastic tempo play, and has a pretty good rate on face value. In Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty it has the added benefit of helping to get your ninjas in unblocked, and you can also return it to your hand pretty easily, which is a great bonus for that deck.

#27. Kylox’s Voltstrider

Next up is Kylox's Voltstrider, one of the newer vehicles on this list. It’s always interesting to see an alternate way to crew a vehicle, and this gets a bit of card advantage to go with it. I don’t think it’ll be breaking through any meta in particular, but it’s certainly not weak.

26. Magmatic Galleon

Magmatic Galleon is a removal spell on the heads up, with a good body left behind. It reminds me a lot of Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, and may even be better. It just shows you how far card strength has come over the years.

#25. Bessie, the Doctor’s Roadster

The first Universes Beyond card on the list, Bessie, the Doctor's Roadster has some good stats on it, and can help your creatures that matter get through. If you have a commander that you want to deal combat damage with, Bessie can help you get that out of nowhere.

#24. Getaway Car

Crew costs are really important when it comes to vehicles, and Getaway Car only having Crew 1 makes it worth a second look alone. It gets even better if you have some cheap creatures you want to cast over and over again. Imagine using a Thraben Inspector to crew this. All of the Clue tokens!

#23. RMS Titanic

Ball Lightning effects are pretty iconic to a certain subset of players, and RMS Titanic is a cool one. I don’t think the stats are quite there for a one-shot effect like this, but I love the flavor, and there are worse ways to create a bunch of Treasure.

#22. Mysterious Limousine

Mysterious Limousine is an interesting take on an Oblivion Ring on a stick. The nice thing is you can swap out the exiled creature with something else if need be, perfect for taking out tokens. It may only really be balanced for 1v1 formats, but it’s an interesting take from a period where designers started experimenting with the card type a little more.

#21. Smuggler’s Buggy

Hideaway is a cool mechanic that lots of players were happy to see return in Streets of New Capenna. Smuggler's Buggy was especially cool as a repeatable way to cast hideaway spells. It does require you to get into combat, which is a big restriction. Cards that promote combat are good in my book, though.

#20. Ghost Ark

Coming from the grim darkness of the far future, Ghost Ark is a way to get a bunch of utility from artifacts in your graveyard, which is perfect for a Necron-themed deck. Exiling the artifacts at end of turn with unearth is a downside, but probably needed to keep this balanced.

Note: You only need to crew Ghost Ark, which means you can use this effect the turn it comes down and don’t need to risk it in combat!

19. Sky Skiff

We’ve seen a lot of the more modern vehicles have the now typical wall of text to go alongside them. Sky Skiff has a much more classic design and a super efficient rate.

Occasionally seeing play in Pauper aggro decks, cards like Night Market Lookout can get some extra mileage out of crewing Sky Skiff, providing an efficient way to get your opponent to zero.

#18. TARDIS

The most iconic visual from Doctor Who, TARDIS clearly needed to be included in that set. You probably don’t want to play it outside of a Doctor Who deck, but then again, the TARDIS doesn’t work as well for anyone other than The Doctor!

#17. Fleetwheel Cruiser

Part of the downside/balancing of vehicles is the need to crew them, so vehicles that can crew in different ways are often useful. Fleetwheel Cruiser does a very good impression of a 5/3 trample haste creature that only costs 4. The main problem we have here is that this creature just doesn’t really do it in modern Magic (I could see this being an uncommon these days!), and the rate wasn’t even really good enough when it was first printed, either.

#16. Mindlink Mech

Mindlink Mech is a card that’s itching to be broken. It’s already seeing some fun play with Bloodletter of Aclazotz, and it just needs the right creature to be printed to make its ‘clone’ ability something ridiculous. It may never get the right card to go with it, but I say it’s just a matter of time.

#15. Aethersphere Harvester

Aethersphere Harvester saw quite a bit of play in Standard decks, and not just in Mardu Vehicles. It was a good sideboard card against aggro decks, and the Crew 1 was incredibly easy to meet, meaning the Harvester could help you close out the game in time. There’s clearly a lot of stats, and I still think the right deck could make use of it in Pioneer.

#14. Colossal Plow

Ok. Maybe Colossal Plow doesn’t deserve to be this high in the list. If you think that, though, you clearly never played Kaldheim Limited. Pair this bad boy with Giant Ox and you were off to the races.

Crew 6 is a high number, but if you can find a way to meet it cheaply, this card could see some good play!

#13. The Belligerent

In the right deck, getting in with The Belligerent can give you a huge amount of card advantage. Allowing you to play lands and cast spells off the top of your deck is powerful, and getting a Treasure to help you on your way is a great addition. There are more powerful ways to try and play your entire deck, but this is a pretty nice one for a lower powered table.

#12. Mechtitan Core

Mechtitan Core has a lot of potential. In a deck with a bunch of artifact creatures and/or vehicles it’s a 7-mana 10/10 flying, vigilance, trample, lifelink, haste. What’s more, if the artifacts that you used to assemble the “Megazord” have ETB abilities,  you get bonus value from them when (if?) your opponent deals with it. Go go Mechtitan Core!

#11. Heart of Kiran

Heart of Kiran saw quite a bit of play when it was in Standard, and I could see it coming back again in the right deck. A lot of the time it was a 4/4 flying vigilance, which is a good body for 2 mana no matter which format you’re playing. It does require planeswalkers to be particularly useful, though, which is a drawback, especially as we’re going to see fewer planeswalkers printed going forward.

#10. Unlicensed Hearse

Unlicensed Hearse is a great sideboard card that can hate out your opponent’s graveyard whilst turning into a game-ending threat. In a couple of turns this can become a 6/6, and blocking with it, then tapping before damage is also something you can do. One for the 1v1 tables, for sure, this is quietly sitting in a lot of Standard and Pioneer sideboards.

#9. Nautiloid Ship

Nautiloid Ship is a vehicle that can let you do some crazy things, repeatedly getting your opponents’ best stuff (in their graveyard) onto your side of the field.

Not only that, but it also allows you to take out a problematic graveyard. Did I mention that it has flying, making it hard to block? Value when it comes down, then more value if it goes unanswered. This is strong, and may be worth a higher slot.

#8. Esika’s Chariot

Esika's Chariot was a huge midrange threat that warped Standard around it. It still sees a good amount of play in Pioneer, although this is usually in Greasefang, Okiba Boss decks. There are just so many words on it, and they’re all so good! Spreading the value over three bodies is a huge benefit here, and there are so many ways to get value from this vehicle.

#7. Reckoner Bankbuster

Currently banned in Standard, Reckoner Bankbuster is a colorless value engine that can go in any deck that’s not just flat-out aggro. Probably a bit slow for some older formats, it was just played in way too many decks in Standard.

#6. Skysovereign, Consul Flagship

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship occasionally shows up in Vintage Cubes, and although this is hardly a high pick, those Cubes have some really strong artifacts in them. The bonus here is that it turns the tide against many decks that rely on smaller creatures, as well as being a pretty good clock on top.

#5. Subterranean Schooner

Subterranean Schooner is turning heads in Constructed formats, and it’s not hard to see why. Crew 1 is always a good line to see on a vehicle, and Schooner has the bonus of potentially buffing whatever crews it. There’s a lot of 1-power things out there that would love to have 2 power instead!

#4. Parhelion II

Parhelion II has a lot of words on it, as well as a lot of big numbers. Unfortunately, some of those big numbers are the crew cost and the casting cost. Crew 4 isn’t insurmountable, and you get a LOT if you manage to swing with it, which is where Greasefang, Okiba Boss comes in. Play Greasefang on turn 3 with this in the graveyard and your opponent doesn’t have much choice but to lose.

#3. Imposter Mech

Clones are usually either incredibly strong, or completely unplayable. Only being 2 mana helps out Imposter Mech though. Whilst being a vehicle version of the cloned creature might seem like a downside, that stops it from being removed by board wipes, or other sorcery-speed effects. Don’t overlook this one.

#2. Shorikai, Genesis Engine

Shorikai, Genesis Engine was clearly meant to be a vehicles-matter commander. I guess the last line of text gives that away, though….

Still, it’s very good at what it does, and the Pilot tokens Shorikai creates help crew all your other vehicles. If you can make do with Azorious colours, here’s what you want!

#1. Smuggler’s Copter

It might not look much now, but Smuggler's Copter provides a great rate. Only just out of the sin bin in Pioneer, this provides card selection, an evasive body, and cheap casting and crew costs all rolled into one. I can see this being usurped from the top spot at some point (MH3 is just around the corner, after all), but for now this reigns supreme!

Best Vehicle Payoffs

Whilst we’ve had a lot of new space explored in vehicles since they were first introduced, we’ve seen less development in payoffs for them. Of course, we’ve had enablers like Greasefang, Okiba Boss, but true payoffs like Start Your Engines have been a bit less visible. Armed and Armored was printed in Kaldheim, but we’ve never really seen the focus on vehicles since that initial introduction. Wizards, print more stuff that cares about vehicles!

Driving it Home

Esika's Chariot | Illustration by Raoul Vitale

Vehicles have been around for a few years now, and we’ve seen a lot of recent innovation in their design space. Still, some of the strongest were in that original batch, which just shows how powerful they were when they were first introduced.

Do you like vehicles? Is there any design space that you want to see Wizards explore? Or have I missed something off this list of top crewable artifacts? Let me know in the comments down below or the official Draftsim Discord, and until next time, may you always have alternate crew costs!