The 37 Best Reach Creatures in Magic

Last updated on April 10, 2024

Endurance (Modern Horizons II) | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

Reach is one of MTG’s evergreen mechanics. Ever since Giant Spider, the flavor identity of reach has been associated with spiders because they catch birds or flying insects in their webs.

Almost all MTG decks have a flying creature, so reach plays its part in both Limited and Constructed. But which are the best among them? Let's find out!

What Are Reach Creatures in MTG?

Annoyed Altisaur (Commander Legends) | Illustration by Lars Grant-West

Reach is a mechanic that allows a creature to block flying creatures. Lots of creatures have reach, so each set usually has a common reach creature in green and sometimes in red.

You can give a creature reach with enchantments (especially auras), instants, and sorceries. Reach is mainly found on green creatures, and it's also on some red creatures, and a few white and black ones. There are no blue creatures with reach, fascinating, right?

On with the list!

#37. Qasali Slingers

Cat tribal got a new toy. Qasali Slingers is a 3/5 with reach that makes every cat a Naturalize effect, which is always welcome in Commander.

#36. Ohabi Caleria

Oh look, archer tribal! Ohabi Caleria is one of the few reasons aside form Greatbow Doyen to make an archer themed deck, and you can abuse archer tapped abilities with it. The rate's also okay.

#35. Catti-brie of Mithral Hall

Catti-brie of Mithral Hall ranks here because it’s exclusive to Alchemy and Historic on MTG Arena. The stats are solid because a 2/2 with first strike and reach is usually good for Constructed.

Catti-brie also has synergies with equipment and can be a fine commander in Historic Brawl.

#34. Sweet-Gum Recluse

Sweet-Gum Recluse is a “sweet” card for a tokens deck. When it enters you put three +1/+1 counters on creatures that also entered the battlefield this turn.

Step 1: Token generation. Step 2: Sweet-Gum Recluse. Step 3: Profit.

It also has cascade, so it can cascade into other creature that get the counters.

#33. Multani, Yavimaya’s Avatar

Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar is a bomb in Limited and playable in formats like Cube. It's just plain big and comes back from the graveyard. You can even replay lands this way.

#32. Doom Weaver

The stats are odd at 1/8 with reach, and it would be bad if there weren't cards like Doran, the Siege Tower. Its soulbond ability is nice because you can buy tons of cards.

Soulbonding Doom Weaver with a 4/4 already produces a card-building engine, plus it’s got spider tribal synergies.

#31. Weathered Sentinels

Weathered Sentinels is a weird card, and one I’d like to play in a mutate deck, or a deck that cares about defenders like Arcades, the Strategist. It's a 2/5 with all those abilities, and you can counterattack with a 5/8 indestructible (with all the abilities).

#30. Thantis, the Warweaver

Thantis, the Warweaver is a unique Commander. Its ability to make all creatures attack is good with vigilance, reach, and trample, and it favors combat tricks and the goad mechanic.

Opponents will think twice about attacking you lest they fall into Thantis’ web. It gives you three colors to play spider tribal, if that’s your jam.

#29. Dhalsim, Pliable Pacifist / Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant

A card from the Secret Lair Street Fighter edition, Dhalsim, Pliable Pacifist brings reach tribal to the game (and yes, Dhalsim has the most reach from any SF character). This card adds the “deal combat to a player; draw a card,” which is available on cards like Edric, Spymaster of Trest.

Most creatures with reach are defensive in nature, like 1/2 or 2/4, so Dhalsim’s ability to make creatures unblockable based on their power makes sense in a reach deck. Or a deck featuring Spider Spawning and lots of 1/2 reach tokens. Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant is the Universes Within equivalent, and you just gotta appreciate the better-than-vigilance aspect of its first triggered ability.

#28. Arasta of the Endless Web

Arasta of the Endless Web has some things going for it. It’s a spider with reach that produces tokens whenever an opponent casts instants or sorceries, and it’s also an enchantment.

Arasta has an excellent rate and sees play in Commander decks that care about spiders along with enchantress-style decks.

#27. Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

Ruric Thar, the Unbowed saw some play out of the sideboard while in Standard. Vigilance and reach are a good combination for offense and defense, and they’re a massive inconvenience for your opponents.

It’s easy to set your deck to play Ruric Thar with lots of creatures and artifacts and punish opponents that cast instants and sorceries for six damage.

#26. Colfenor, the Last Yew

Colfenor, the Last Yew is one of the most interesting Abzan () commanders. Whenever a creature dies, you return a creature with less toughness than the creature that died.

Colfenor itself can bring a 6/6 from the graveyard to the battlefield, so you’re not even sad that it’s gone.

#25. Gemrazer

Gemrazer is an okay card on rate, but it’s best when it mutates. You add 4/4 with reach and trample for only three mana added to a Disenchant effect. It can be a solid green creature, and it’s a staple in mutate decks.

#24. Arboreal Grazer

This 1-drop is surprisingly powerful in a deck full of lands and has seen play in Standard and other formats. You want 0/3 reach in ramp decks to survive the early game and ramp.

Arboreal Grazer isn’t a good draw in the middle and late game.

#23. Nemata, Primeval Warden

Nemata, Primeval Warden is permanent graveyard exile for your opponents and gives you something to do with your Saprolings: draw cards! It has a good rate and can be played in Saproling EDH decks like Slimefoot, the Stowaway as well as some Golgari () Jund () decks in Standard.

#22. Toxicrene

As with all symmetric effects, the key is to benefit the most. You have 5-color lands, which is nice for commanders that are four or five colors and have trouble with mana fixing. You also hit lands from your opponents (like mana and utility lands).

Toxicrene adds all these features in a nice reach and deathtouch body.

#21. Ulvenwald Hydra

Ulvenwald Hydra is at least a 5/5 with reach for six mana that fetches any land. It grows later in the game, fetches a good utility land at any time, and blocks fliers well with its reach.

#20. Titania, Voice of Gaea + Argoth, Sanctum of Nature = Titania, Gaea Incarnate

Like a Yu-Gi-Oh fusion monster, Titania, Voice of Gaea requires another creature to become super powerful. Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse and any fetch lands are so good when they can be brought back and used again. Each part of this meld benefits the other and keeps fliers at bay for a reasonable cost.

#19. Sylvan Primordial

Sylvan Primordial is banned in Commander for being very warping. You cast it, destroy up to three nonland permanents, and fetch up to three lands. It’s a big ramp effect and a destruction spell. It’s a six-for-one in most cases.

You can destroy your opponents’ lands to “color hose” them and can clone Sylvan Primordial to flicker it for maximum value. This ban has effectively hampered its playability because it isn’t good enough to see play in other formats.

#18. World Breaker

World Breaker is expensive, but it’s very powerful if you cast it. You get to exile an artifact, enchantment, or land, and it can keep returning from your graveyard.

In time your opponents won’t have lands to fight back.

#17. Hierophant Bio-Titan

A 12/12 reach creature that can’t be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less is no joke. The catch is that Hierophant Bio-Titan costs 12 mana!

It comes with a cost reduction mechanic that requires you to take off +1/+1 counters from creatures you control. It’s early to say, but this card could become a staple in +1/+1 counter decks by stats and synergies.

#16. Polukranos Reborn

Finally, a hydra that makes your whole hydra commander deck feel like a Wurmcoil Engine, and gets close to a true mythical monster that requires a demigod to defeat. Lifelink is a rare punishment for anyone thinking they can sneak in a flying attack. Plus, a very high perk for decks, Polukranos Reborn gives you quick recovery from board wipes.

#15. Ancient Greenwarden

Ancient Greenwarden is a massive 5/7 reach that has synergies with lands. While it’s in play you get a free Crucible of Worlds effect, so you can use lands from the graveyard.

It also has synergies with cycling and commanders that care about lands like Tatyova, Benthic Druid and Omnath, Locus of the Roil.

#14. Ishkanah, Grafwidow

One of the good spider commanders is also very good card in spider tribal. Ishkanah, Grafwidow has seen heavy play in Standard delirium decks as a midrange threat that’s almost never alone.

It’s easy to set up delirium in decks that want to, and you can have a win condition based on the number of spiders you have.

#13. Avatar of the Resolute

Avatar of the Resolute is solid by itself and adds two green devotion if needed. It’s best in decks full of +1/+1 counter synergies, like Hardened Scale decks where it’s a mighty 2-drop.

#12. Zacama, Primal Calamity

I wanted to rank Zacama, Primal Calamity higher because it’s so powerful and one of the best dinosaur commanders. It’s huge and generates a lot of value, but the steep cost of nine mana is heavy.

This is a powerful dinosaur and mana sink, and you want all the cost reductions and dino synergies alongside this card.

#11. Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus

Reach creatures are often ones that play defense better than offense, what launches Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus to this ranking is the sheer amount of stats you’ll get with every combat. Tack on a no-mana option to protect this hungry horror commander and any attack and blocks by your opponent are going to be horrible.

#10. Annoyed Altisaur

Annoyed Altisaur sees play in Pauper ramp decks as one of the best things you can do in the format. A huge creature with reach, trample, and cascade is certainly worth paying seven mana even if it’s countered.

Pauper is a format that lacks top end, and Annoyed Altisaur certainly helps.

#9. Shifting Ceratops

Shifting Ceratops is a nightmare for blue control players because it can’t be countered or answered by blue. It mostly shines in dinosaur decks and out of the sideboard against blue decks. Reach prevents your pesky blue opponents from flying above it and racing.

#8. Silklash Spider

Let’s be real, reach is not the reason a card gets added to your deck (unless you're building Dhalsim, Pliable Pacifist). The real reason you’ve searched up the best reach creatures is that you want an answer to annoying fliers. Silklash Spider is one of the best answers you can have without playing the flying game yourself. This smooth spider has a great board wipe as an activated ability which should never be underestimated. You can finally answer “No” to those blue players with birds, drakes and spirits.

#7. Halana and Alena, Partners

Halana and Alena, Partners generates lots of value while on the battlefield and must be answered almost immediately. Putting (at least) two counters on a creature each turn is strong, doubly so if the creature has a relevant ability like lifelink or trample.

Halana and Alena sees play in decks like Gruul () and Naya () midrange. It’s also a nice addition to EDH +1/+1 counters-based decks.

#6. Stonecoil Serpent

Stonecoil Serpent is a pushed card, and it’s so flexible with lots of applications. It blocks multicolored creatures and commanders all day, dodges multicolor removal, can be a 0-mana spell if needed, and even triggers its death for combos.

This is a good threat to defend when needed and finish the game if you have four or more mana.

#5. Titan of Industry

Titan of Industry is already showing its face in Standard and Explorer/Pioneer as a good ramp and reanimator target. It’s too much value and flexibility as a massive 7/7 reach with a 4/4 trample buddy, but you can choose between other modes.

This is also a good target to cheat with Fight Rigging.

#4. Elder Gargaroth

The only downside to Elder Gargaroth is that “it dies to Doom Blade.” It needs to attack or block once to provide card advantage, but it’s a nightmare against aggro and midrange decks because it’s massive and lets you choose between life, a creature, or a card.

#3. Cavalier of Thorns

Cavalier of Thorns is a threat that's hard to answer, gives you a land, and adds three devotion to green in a mono-green deck. Its body is huge to defend planeswalkers. You can’t even fly past it!

Ramping into Cavalier of Thorns is usually a good plan.

#2. Robber of the Rich

It’s often forgotten that Robber of the Rich has reach because it’s too busy attacking to block fliers. This card is one of the best 2-drops for aggressive red decks, and it’s bound to see play in Explorer, Pioneer, Cube, and others.

It can also give you card advantage while attacking. This is one of those creatures that snowballs the game if left unanswered.

#1. Endurance

As all cards from the Modern Horizons II elemental cycle, Endurance sees heavy play. A 3/4 with flash and reach is good already, and this gives you graveyard hate to curb others decks in Modern that abuse it, from Arclight Phoenix to Living End and dredge.

Is Reach the Same as Flying?

No, reach isn’t the same as flying. Reach applies only in the blocking phase to allow a non-flying creature to block a flying creature. A creature must have reach before blockers are assigned.

You can give your creature reach at instant speed after attackers are declared so that your opponent walks into your trap with their flying creature.

Can You Block a Creature with Reach?

Yes, you can block a creature with reach using all types of creatures. Reach doesn’t make a creature unblockable or only blockable by creatures with flying. There’s a mechanic in MTG called “high flying” on cards like Welkin Tern, which is a flier that only blocks fliers.

Wrap Up

Titan of Industry | Illustration by Lucas Staniec

Reach is evergreen in MTG, so players will always get new reach cards. Most of them are common for Limited play, but reach is an easy way to juice up a rare or mythic meant for Constructed.

Which are your favorite reach cards? Do you play reach matters and spiders in your EDH decks? Let me know in the comments below or join the discussion in the Draftsim Discord.

I hope you enjoyed this. To quote a certain wooden sheriff, “reach for the sky!”