All 34 Turtles in Magic Ranked

Last updated on October 24, 2025

Kappa Cannoneer | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

For those keeping score, turtles quadrupled the number of rabbits in Magic as of March of the Machine. But with Bloomburrow, rabbit cards and turtle cards are about even, and that’s without counting the Rabbit token generators. So much for my old quip about MTG’s rabbits not knowing how to multiply!

Turtles may play a mostly supporting role in Magic sets, thus limiting how quickly their ranks grow, but there’s a lot of fun to be had when you look at turtles on their own. But which are Magic’s best turtles, and how can they contribute to a winning strategy?

Most importantly: Do the kids still say “Cowabunga”? And is “Durdle with your turtles” a thing?

What Are Turtles in MTG?

Silburlind Snapper | Illustration by Tomasz Jedruszek

Turtles in Magic are creature cards with the turtle subtype, and they reflect the shelly reptiles of our out-of-game world. They’re mostly in blue and green, though they dip into black and red.

The first turtle in Magic was Giant Turtle from Legends, but Arabian Nights’s Giant Tortoise was errata'd to have the turtle creature type, too. Turtles sometimes come with evasion and protection like hexproof, ward, and shroud to fit that “hide in your shell” flavor.

Turtle creatures are characterized by high toughness, though their power can vary. There don’t tend to be more than one or two turtles per MTG set; Wilds of Eldraine, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and Bloomburrow each have one rare or mythic rare turtle, for example.

I’m weighing this list toward Commander, but I’ll spare a thought to other formats when I have them.

Non-Legal Turtles

Alphonse and Gaston’s favorite turtle is unquestionably Patient Turtle.

Arguments over whether Shellephant is or isn’t a turtle could stretch into doctorate theses. Silver-bordered, but I’d entertain a Rule 0 conversation about it at a casual table.

Honorary Turtles

I’m filing Chimeric Idol here because this artifact’s oracle text has it turn into a turtle as part of its activated ability. Note that your lands are tapped as part of the ability’s effect, not as part of its cost (colons!).

While any shapeshifter with changeling could be included, I’m taking a moment to mention Turtleshell Changeling because of its flavor. Its base power and toughness resemble turtles, but its activated ability is a blueprint for a turtle-based victory.

#34. Wormfang Turtle

I wouldn’t even use Wormfang Turtle in a combination landfall/blink deck.

#33. Giant Turtle

Slow and steady can also mean “incredibly power crept.” There’s not much room for a creature that only has negative abilities, like how Giant Turtle can only attack every other turn.

#32. Silburlind Snapper

Silburlind Snapper is just a run-of-the-mill, restricted big creature. It only makes sense because Shadows over Innistrad has werewolves, which means that you need to track day/night cycles.

#31. Vintara Snapper

My head-canon is that Vintara Snapper + Vintara Elephant = Shellephant. The Snapper’s ability would be more interesting on a big creature with the potential to be an attack-based win condition. Here? Yawn, and move on.

#30. Daring Thunder-Thief

Daring Thunder-Thief is built like that to fit into the Azorius () archetype in Outlaws of Thunder Junction Limited that wanted to use flash and avoid casting spells from your hand during your turn. Archelos or The Pride of Hull Clade can each make use of it in a pinch.

#29. Giant Tortoise

Bit of flavor here with a turtle that becomes vulnerable if you turn it sideways to attack. Otherwise, Giant Tortoise ain’t much to write home about.

#28. Calcite Snapper

I like the design at its core, but Calcite Snapper doesn’t seem the most efficient for what it does. Its landfall ability lets you switch its power and toughness. Shroud is protective, but you also can’t enchant or equip it with anything. In a Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive style deck, that means you’re only swinging for 4 damage with it. If I can’t stack poison or saboteur effects on it, what’s the point?

#27. Cold-Water Snapper

This is fine, but I’d generally want more than a 5/6 with hexproof by the time I’m reaching 6 mana. If I’m running a deck with a few of this and some Angler Turtles, then maybe, but I want more out of that mana value in my formats of choice.

#26. Hexbane Tortoise

One of the few turtles with higher power than toughness, Hexbane Tortoise sure is a turtle. Its enlist ability is a way that you can tap a creature like Archelos, Lagoon Mystic without making it vulnerable to combat, which is one of the few reasons I can think about running it besides overcommitting to the bit.

#25. Tidepool Turtle

With any activated ability like this, I always want to consider how much you have to put into a card before you start seeing value. Sure, Tidepool Turtle plays the same damage-soaker role that many turtles play. But as a scrier? Seven mana before you get to scry 1? Call me McKayla Maroney, because I’m not impressed.

#24. Scuttlegator

Scuttlegator isn’t the only croco-turtle, but it sure is the least impressive. I know that it’s a bit oxymoronic to call a turtle “too slow for my liking,” but here we are.

#23. Thriving Turtle

Thriving Turtle’s energy text makes it far more limited, since most decks that use turtles don’t use energy. A 1-mana 0/3 isn’t the worst thing in the world, but I can’t think of a deck that needs this card. Even Rex, Cyber-Hound would turn its snout up considering this turtle has no activated abilities to copy.

#22. Mistford River Turtle

The toughness-matters decks that use turtles need ways to help your turtles connect, especially those like The Pride of Hull Clade. Mistford River Turtle’s attack trigger is a flavorful if inefficient way to do that. I do enjoy the design implications of this turtle carrying a more important attacker on its back.

#21. Meandering Towershell

One of my pet cards from Khans of Tarkir, Meandering Towershell asks you to plan ahead if you want to attack with it. It can work with some toughness matters payoffs, and it’s a slow way to ramp with Fecund Greenshell or take advantage of other “whenever a creature enters” effects.

#20. Angler Turtle

Angler Turtle lives up to its name by forcing your opponents’ creatures to attack each turn. While this turtle fits into goad decks, it doesn’t specifically goad them, since it wants those creatures to attack you so you can soak up their damage or stomp on them with your 5/7. It’s one of those parallel synergies that you’d maybe add, maybe leave aside.

#19. Sailors’ Bane

You can tell this isn’t the best dragon when the only dragon decks that consistently run this are Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy and Korlessa, Scale Singer. Sailors' Bane can be as cheap as later in the game, but let’s be real: Even adventure commanders like Beluna Grandsquall and Gorion, Wise Mentor don’t quite call this “essential.” The cost reduction needs a critical mass of cards in exile and in your graveyard, but the ubiquity of Bojuka Bog and the increased graveyard hate we’re getting are making this dragon turtle both more situational and less efficient.

#18. Vanilla Turtles

Rather than have you scroll by multiple entries with mono-colored turtles that have no abilities, I’m going to lump them all in here. The slot truly belongs to Aegis Turtle, the 1-mana 0/5, as the cheapest option. Its main role comes during early turns to soak up damage that your opponents might send your way with their own early creatures.

Horned Turtle comes in distant second since it can at least take out a X/1 creature when blocking. Armored Whirl Turtle only helps if you specifically need a 3-drop or a differently-named turtle. (Awe, big stretch.) Wandering Tombshell is worst of all considering it’s 4 mana for a vanilla 1/6 in mono-black, so it doesn’t fit with most other turtles either.

#17. Gorex, the Tombshell

I don’t really think Gorex, the Tombshell does much as a commander, though a Pauper Commander deck around it could be fun. Not the worst card to have in your top end, but this is one of the obvious cuts from your Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver Midnight Hunt precon.

#16. Thunderous Snapper

This hydra is a mid-curve, big mana payoff. Thunderous Snapper gives you card draw in your cascade and other big mana decks, and I’m sure they appreciate the added consistency.

#15. Dragon Turtle

Two of the best creature types on one creature. Don’t @ me.

Dragon Turtle has some interesting interactions depending on whether your target for its drag below ability remains legal by the time it resolves. Ideally, you want to use this to temporarily subdue an enemy threat. Daring Thunder-Thief is incredibly jealous.

#14. Kappa Tech-Wrecker

Kappa Tech-Wrecker’s primary home is in the 99 of a Fynn, the Fangbearer deck, since you can use its ninjutsu ability as artifact removal or enchantment removal. You can hard cast it and proliferate the deathtouch keyword counter, I guess, but that just feels inefficient.

#13. Quandrix Cultivator

Quandrix Cultivator is a Quandrix / Simic () druid that gives you a ramping enters ability. You’re paying for access to two land types, but the Cultivator is a good target creature to copy, especially if you have Esix, Fractal Bloom or Adrix and Nev, Twincasters going.

#12. Fecund Greenshell

Bloomburrow’s Fecund Greenshell is both a land and a turtle payoff. Having a huge number of lands gives your entire creature base a +2/+2 buff, while its creature-fall ability ramps you for playing other turtles, treefolk, and other high-toughness creatures. Reach gives it a keyword that turtles don’t often have, which I’m sure the dedicated turtle decks appreciate.

#11. Riptide Turtle

This guy want’s to be your left-hand turtle. Riptide Turtle’s cheap and has flash, which is perfect for baiting your opponent to attack into a board they think is tapped out or empty. Great in the early game, and still useful during a later turn. Gotta love simple, effective cards.

Cheap, mono-blue turtles like this are useful for Geralf, Visionary Stitcher since you can sacrifice a 0/5 turtle to make a 5/5 zombie token.

#10. Bedrock Tortoise

Depending on what you’re running, Bedrock Tortoise is as close to a turtle-specific win condition that we have. It’ll let your creatures assign combat damage based on their toughness. All you need is an unblockable The Pride of Hull Clade, and you’re only a Tower Defense and a point of damage away from swinging at an opponent for lethal commander damage.

#9. Snapping Voidcraw

Modern Horizons 3 gave us this devoid Eldrazi turtle. Snapping Voidcraw is a mana dork that adds 2 colorless mana, and it’s useful both to multicolor Eldrazi commanders and to decks that need ramp in Simic+, including cascade commanders like Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty.

#8. Yidaro, Wandering Monster

While it costs 7 mana on paper, Yidaro, Wandering Monster doesn’t really want you to hard cast it. Cycling it a few times lets you put it onto the battlefield rather than paying its mana value all at once. Would you rather pay 2 mana every few turns, or 7 upfront? In a cycling deck like Gavi, Nest Warden, that may not matter. It’s also a big creature for decks that let you put cards into play without paying their mana costs, like Djeru and Hazoret.

#7. The Pride of Hull Clade

The pet card alarm has gone off again. I just love creature combinations like this. Turtle, crocodile, and elk? Absolutely silly. J’adore.

The Pride of Hull Clade works well as the leader of a toughness matters deck. If you use its activated ability to target itself, a single attack can be brutal. You can add in other creatures with defender, but you don’t have to. Otherwise, Arcades, the Strategist accelerates your ability to attack with this high-toughness commander, and its big mana value can let you cascade into almost any card.

#6. Archelos, Lagoon Mystic

Archelos, Lagoon Mystic can either be your Sultai () lands commander or serve in the 99 of another deck. It can play a role in lands-focused decks, but it can also help your 3-, 4-, and 5-color decks to improve the efficiency of a budget base or to play a group slug game.

#5. Blossoming Tortoise

Blossoming Tortoise is a standout Wilds of Eldraine card because of all the value it gives to a land deck. Its enters and attack triggers give you some self-milling that can bring a land from your graveyard to the battlefield and enable landfall triggers. Your lands that have activated abilities have some cost reduction on them, and land creatures get a +1/+1 buff, whether you’re using creature lands or animating them with other effects.

Blossoming Tortoise can enable a lot of infinite combos because its cost reduction is unconditional, though usually those combos need three cards and some set up.

#4. Colossal Skyturtle

One word comes to mind: versatile. Ignoring channel for a moment, Colossal Skyturtle is a chonky, ward-protected flier for your big-mana Simic+ decks, including cascade. Then the channel abilities are some extra utility, letting you bounce anyone’s creature or recur something from your graveyard. Works well in multiples, since you can use one to bring another back to your hand.

#3. Steelbane Hydra

X-spell commanders and hydra commanders love having a Steelbane Hydra at their disposal. The “Steelbane” comes from this hydra’s ability to trade +1/+1 counters for artifact or enchantment removal. And if you’re an X spell deck, you probably have the type of ramp that’ll let you use this ability multiple times.

#2. Kogla and Yidaro

If you’re keeping up to date, you know the deal with these MOM mashups: Take two characters and smash their cards together. Kogla and Yidaro takes the removal and the fight effect you get from Kogla, the Titan Ape and mixes it with Yidaro, Wandering Monster’s cycling ability and keywords. It’s more expensive to discard, but it also draws you a card as part of that ability. Costs as much as a Decimate, but sometimes you’d rather a precision strike and card draw over raw destruction, and shuffling it into your deck means it’s reusable.

#1. Kappa Cannoneer

Kappa Cannoneer really needed those Modern Horizons 3 reprints. Improvise is like a convoke-shifted version of affinity, which you can argue makes it fair. It fits with general artifact commanders, but you can use it with vehicle commanders, clue commanders, and more.

And I will continue affectionately calling this card “Blastoise,” no apologies.

Best Turtle Payoffs

Turtles benefit from general typal payoffs like Patchwork Banner. Choose your typal payoff wisely though, since turtles don’t usually look to go particularly wide. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of specific typal support aside from shapeshifters and Wild Shape’s ability to turn another creature into a turtle temporarily.

A few turtles have abilities that trigger immediately when they enter the battlefield. Virtue of Knowledge and other ability doublers can allow you to double up on those. Yarok, the Desecrated is an especially strong option since it’ll let you play almost any turtle you want, it’ll double their enters triggers, and it’ll double any landfall triggers you’ve included.

Aside from that, you’re mainly looking at your turtle’s specific advantages, which are usually its toughness or land-based abilities.

What Are Ways to Win with Turtles?

For my money, turtles fit into two main strategies: lands and toughness. There are a few turtles in Sultai colors that can support a land-based strategy, like if you’re aiming to animate your lands and use Blossoming Tortoise. Bedrock Tortoise plays into the toughness side by allowing your creatures to aside combat damage based on toughness rather than power. Fecund Greenshell also plays into lands by giving your board a land-based buff, and it can pull lands onto the battlefield and cards into your hand when creatures with higher toughness than power enter.

Arcades, the Strategist and The Pride of Hull Clade are the toughness-matters commanders for a turtle-centric strategy. Arcades can allow big-toughness and defender creatures to attack and deal damage based on their toughness, and turtles can do their part here.

Blossoming Tortoise Combos

Blossoming Tortoise can combo off because the cost reduction it gives to land creatures doesn’t have the restriction you see on Zirda, the Dawnwaker and other ability cost reducers. As a result, you can do some truly silly things with this Wilds of Eldraine mythic.

Let’s start by looking at Blossoming Tortoise alongside Ashaya, Soul of the Wild and Hope Tender, all on the battlefield, and Bloom Tender doesn’t have summoning sickness. Ashaya makes Hope Tender (and the Tortoise) into land creatures. The Tortoise reduces the cost of Hope Tender’s abilities to . You can tap Hope Tender and exert it to untap two lands, and Ashaya means that Hope Tender can also untap itself as part of that ability. With that, your lands can produce infinite mana, and they can untap infinitely.

Blossoming Tortoise has a neat interaction when paired with Draconic Destiny and animated lands or creature lands. Draconic Destiny gives its enchanted creature 1-mana firebreathing ability, in generic rather than red, no less. Blossoming Tortoise reduces the cost of your lands' activated abilities by generic mana, including abilities they gain from equipment and auras. Put that all together and you can make an infinitely tall creature land.

Another Blossoming Tortoise combo pairs it with Crackdown Construct and Blinkmoth Nexus. The Nexus’s second ability to animate itself costs thanks to the Tortoise. The first time you activate the ability, the Nexus is animated, but nothing’s stopping you from activating that ability an infinite number of times. Because the Nexus is an animated artifact creature, Crackdown Construct gains +1/+1 each subsequent time you activate that ability.

There are lots of other combos that Blossoming Tortoise can enable, and different permutations that use these or similar cards. Let me know your favorite Blossoming Tortoise combo in the comments below!

Wrap Up

Archelos, Lagoon Mystic | Illustration by Dan Scott

I just irrationally love turtles. I was never someone who watched much TMNT, but I’m still stumping for a Universes Beyond tie-in (Editor's note: You got it!). A Secret Lair with Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo, maybe with Master Splinter and some Food tokens that depict pizza is the obvious route, but Mutant Mayhem and its sequel series could lead to something more substantial.

Which turtles do you run in your MTG decks, and in which formats? Do you like the supporting role they play in most Limited environments, or are you hoping to see a turtle archetype in a future set? Let me know in the comments below, or make your way over to the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, go out there and give ‘em shell!