The 47 Best Faeries in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 29, 2024

Alela, Artful Provocateur | Illustration by Grzegorz Rutkowski

From the mysterious dark woods, there's a name for the culprits of mischief in fantasy: faeries. In many stories, they are the agents of mysticism and not to be trifled with. In other stories, they provide fantastic and magical help to those in need. However they’re viewed, they’re essential to folklore and fantasy genres.

Magic is no exception to this influence. Faeries in the MTG universe were popularized in Lorwyn, as well as the Throne of Eldraine and Wilds of Eldraine sets with their parallels to many fairy tales. Faeries are becoming quite a popular creature type, with over 100 examples of faerie cards since the release of Homelands in October of 1995.

So which faeries can help you in your deckbuilding and general gameplay? Let’s talk about some of these magical flying beings.

What Are Faeries in MTG?

Nymris, Oona's Trickster | Illustration by Johannes Voss

Faeries are a creature type often paired with another subtype to describe the kind of faerie they are (faerie knight or faerie rogue). Almost all have flying and many have flash so they can be cast at instant speed. Faeries often deal with buffing creatures or creating interactions with your opponent’s strategy.

Best White Faeries

#3. Lady of Laughter

Lady of Laughter is a slightly high MV creature that could gain you several extra draws. This flying angel provides you with a good creature and the chance to draw cards if two of more permanents enter on the same turn. The upside is the draw, and I see relatively low downside, so this is a solid creature.

#2. Faerie Guidemother

Faerie Guidemother seems unassuming at first glance, but it might be good if you want a very aggressive and low-curve deck. Play its adventure spell with cheap aggressive creatures like Clever Lumimancer. This faerie can fit into some very specific white aggro and cheap instant/sorcery decks.

#1. Hushbringer

I’m a big fan of making my opponent’s strategy useless, or at the very least difficult to execute. Look at most competitive or even just well-developed decks and you can probably find some ETB or dying triggers.

You can take care of those nuisances with Hushbringer. Keep in mind that Hushbringer‘s effect affects you too, so make sure to build around that as needed.

Best Blue Faeries

#21. Talion's Messenger

Talion's Messenger is a great turn 3 ramp card for your faerie-typal deck. With some of your smaller faeries on the board, you can play Talion's Messenger to draw a card and pump up some of your faeries. There’s a lot to love here, but keep it specifically to your faerie builds.

#20. Knacksaw Clique

The symbol on Knacksaw Clique represents an untap action, meaning you can untap this card once it's tapped and get a chance to steal a card from your opponent. At the very least you’re removing the chance for your opponent to use the card.

But this card does need a little bit of mana and time to truly get some bigger payoffs. I wouldn’t play four copies in a deck, but it can be a nice addition to a larger strategy.

#19. Sprite Noble

Flying is a staple for most creature-centric decks with blue. You’ll have relatively easy paths to deal damage if your opponent doesn’t have a flying blocker or the removal they need. And you can tap Sprite Noble to pump all your fliers and hopefully land that lethal blow when the moment is right. This faerie doesn’t provide many other benefits outside of this strategy.

#18. Faerie Swarm

Creatures with */* as their power and toughness can be very interesting. It all depends on how you build around them and use them.

Faerie Swarm could be a huge creature for only 4 mana if you can manage to get a lot of small blue faeries or other blue permanents onto the board. A decent card if you can go wide with your first several turns.

#17. Latchkey Faerie

With Latchkey Faerie, the prowl alternate casting cost not only gives you a decent flying attacker but draws you a card. The prowl keyword on this card works with faeries and rogues which will give you plenty of options to get this faerie out ahead of schedule.

#16. Faerie Seer

Faerie Seer is a no-fuss flying creature for builds that want board presence early. The scry 2 is a wonderful play for turn 1 to make sure your game can play out the way you want it to. It’s also nice to have a 1-drop flying creature for attacking effects like combat damage to a player or ninjutsu.

#15. Fae of Wishes

Fae of Wishes can go on an adventure to get you the cards you need from your sideboard. The ability to grab some much-needed situational help from the sideboard when you need it is extremely powerful.

Your sideboard can now include absolute bombs like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, or a much-needed Farewell to ensure your victory. Not so much a Commander card though.

#14. Faerie Harbinger

Developing a faerie deck? Faerie Harbinger allows you to find the exact faerie you need. Tutors have high potential payoffs if you can slow down your opponents, and you can play your new faerie on your next turn without missing a beat since this card can be played during your opponent’s end step.

Bring Oona, Queen of the Fae, Brazen Borrower, or Rankle, Master of Pranks to help you swing the tides of war.

#13. Archmage of Echoes

For the faerie commanders out there, might I suggest Archmage of Echoes? This 5 MV creature copies all your faerie or wizard spells you play. This is a wonderful effect for ETB triggers, board presence, and typal-pump. With a commander like Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor and creatures like Glen Elendra Archmage and Archmage of Echoes, you should be set!

#12. Malleable Impostor

A clone with flash sounds like a wonderful combat trick to me. Malleable Impostor can become a copy of an opponent’s creature at instant speed. This can make a huge impact if you can copy a creature with a deadly ETB effect or just copy something massive. There are quite a few wonderful interactions to be had by this card in the Eternal formats.

#11. Faerie Formation

You can widen your board presence and develop card advantage in one fell swoop with Faerie Formation. This faerie allows you to create some more chump blockers and increase the options in your hand with card draw if it isn’t removed quickly.

I also really like the fact that you can activate its ability at instant speed. This fits into a lot of blue decks by letting your opponent make the first move and coming back with a nice retort.

#10. Faerie Vandal

Faerie Vandal is a great addition to any blue draw or flash decks. The sheer amount of draw possibilities in blue means you could be creating a bigger creature each turn. A solid card for defending against flying creatures with great upside depending on the build.

#9. Cloud of Faeries

A problem a lot of players have in the early game is not having enough mana. If you have two mana and play a creature, they’re susceptible to removal with your lands tapped.

Cloud of Faeries allows you to build some board presence with a flying creature and untap the two lands you just used. This can free you up to counter an opponent’s spell with Jwari Disruption, or filter your draws with Brainstorm. If you draw this card in the mid- to late-game, it has cycling to give you a draw for a better card.

#8. Vendilion Clique

3 mana for a 3/1 flier with flash is a cost-effective move with high potential. The ETB effect is what makes Vendilion Clique a bomb in a lot of Constructed builds. You can choose a nonland card from your opponent’s hand and they put it on the bottom of their library. You can get a decently powered flying creature and remove an opponent’s best card at instant speed.

Vendilion Clique is a great addition to aggro and control decks in Commander and Modern.

#7. Sower of Temptation

Capturing creatures isn’t often used in many decks but could have some serious game-winning upsides. For four mana you get a 2/2 flier and have the opportunity to take your opponent’s best creature until Sower of Temptation is removed.

This is a nice board changer at a very acceptable price. Of course, the downside here is how susceptible the card is to removal.

#6. Faerie Artisans

To mirror an opponent's moves while making some of your own seems like an advantage in almost any circumstance. You can sit back and enjoy the benefits of your opponent’s hard work with Faerie Artisans.

The entering of an artifact token can help a lot of combos paired with cards like Kappa Cannoneer. I'd recommend this card for Commander decks that have a focus on artifacts.

#5. Scion of Oona

I’ll be the first person to tell you that I want to know what kind of flash cards I can use when I’m thinking of building a blue deck. Instant-speed creatures open up the ability to wait and allow your opponent to over-extend. If you decide to swing wide or your opponent believes they can run over your little faeries, flash in Scion of Oona and watch the board dynamic change rapidly.

This card will also give your faeries shroud, which is different from hexproof in that even you can’t target your creatures.

#4. Spellstutter Sprite

Spellstutter Sprite is a perfect addition to Dimir () control decks in Modern or Commander. The instant-speed creature and ability to counter a spell gives you a 2-for-1 punch.

Brazen Borrower and Spellstutter Sprite are great and cheap faeries that also give you options to mess with your opponent’s strategy.

#3. Glen Elendra Archmage

Here’s a flying creature that can counter any noncreature spell. With the extra benefit of persist, Glen Elendra Archmage can come back to take care of another noncreature spell or be a chump blocker.

#2. Brazen Borrower

From personal experience, Brazen Borrower is both a lifesaver and a nuisance. Many cards from Throne of Eldraine are absolute staples in any deck they can fit in. Having been rotated out of Standard now, these adventure cards can still wreak havoc in Modern and Commander.

The fact that you get an instant-speed bounce card and then you can have an instant speed creature in a single card is truly amazing. Sit and wait for some sort of interaction from an opponent and their creature, bounce the sucker, and drop a 3-power flier on the board on your opponent’s next turn. Good night!

#1. Faerie Mastermind

Faerie Mastermind doesn’t fall short of its name. This wonderful faerie becomes a great roster for many different blue decks when trying to keep up with draw advantages. The flash play can gain you a draw with no response, and the activated ability can ensure you always have the hand advantage. This is a wonderful card to back up with counterspells and other instants. It’s available in every format except for Pauper and Penny, so have fun!

Best Black Faeries

#10. Thieving Sprite

Discard can be a real strategy buster, and Thieving Sprite can add this aspect to your faerie builds. I do like that Thieving Sprite doesn’t specify nonland cards, because some of those channel lands can be very annoying.

#9. Nettling Nuisance

With Nettling Nuisance on board, whenever at least one faerie deals combat damage to a player, that player makes a 4/2 goaded pirate. With multiple opponents, goad forces the pirate to attack a different player than you. Goad your opponents and have them destroy each other!

#8. Marsh Flitter

Goblins and faeries aren’t a combination of creatures that I think about often. But they’re both usually small creatures that rely on going wide and having some extra benefits to overwhelm your opponent.

The 4 MV of Marsh Flitter is rather rough for a 1/1 creature, but you do get the added benefit of creating two 1/1 Goblins. I think this card is very limited with its strengths and would only belong in a deck with goblins to maximize the payoffs.

#7. Faerie Tauntings

Faerie Tauntings fits perfectly into any instant or flash decks that use or splash black. Instant speed gives you such an advantage over so many strategies. Aggro, control, and ramp should all fear instant-speed decks.

Get this faerie out on turn 3 then let your opponent decide how they want to face your instants and flash creatures. Every instant-speed interaction you have after playing this card will gnaw away at your opponent’s life total as you set up your other deadly strategies.

#6. Faerie Bladecrafter

Faerie Bladecrafter is a nice addition to the aggressive faerie decks. It can gain counters each turn at least one faerie deals combat damage, and that can be an easy thing with all your flying faeries. The cherry on top is if it’s killed, it can siphon life based on its power. Pump it up by attacking often and put your opponent's removal in a difficult spot!

#5. Blightwing Bandit

Faeries and instant speed spells just go together so well! Blightwing Bandit triggers after you play your first spell on each opponent’s turn and takes their top card for you to play at any legal time. The interactions with your instant speed spells and this card can lead to wild advantage shifts. Imagine countering an expensive bomb of your opponent’s and then using their top deck card against them on the following turn. Very nice!

#4. Puppeteer Clique

5 mana may seem like a steep price, but you may be able to steal a bomb card from your opponent if Puppeteer Clique is paired with some early removal in a deck. Taking a creature from your opponent’s graveyard pairs well with aggressive decks and as a defense against some deck strategies.

This faerie might just be your answer to reanimator decks. You also get a bonus of bringing this creature back with persist and stealing another card again.

#3. Oona’s Blackguard

A nice characteristic of faerie cards is the fact that they usually share a creature type with more popular tribal themes. Rogue decks are a staple in many formats because of their tribal synergies and flexibility. Faeries and rogues are great when you can swing wide and hard with smaller creatures.

Oona's Blackguard‘s benefits are twofold. Building your board presence by having each of your rogues enter with a +1/+1 counter is a very nice way to add some pressure to your opponent. Now your opponent has to discard a card whenever a creature (not just a rogue) deals combat damage. A decent card for emptying your opponent’s options while growing your own.

#2. Rankle, Master of Pranks

There are so many decks out there that will have no defense to a flying creature with haste. So the fun begins once combat damage is done. I love the versatility that Rankle, Master of Pranks gives in controlling the tempo of the game.

You can choose one, two, or all three of the options depending on the situation. This card is an amazing addition to any black deck that wants to blow up your opponent's strategy. But you also have to suffer the consequences, so plan your decisions carefully.

#1. Bitterblossom

Enchantments that can create creatures are a premium for deckbuilding. Passively creating a flying creature every turn is a fantastic way to beat board wipes and put some pressure on planeswalkers.

Enchantments aren’t always easily removed, and Bitterblossom can help you develop the board presence you need. It fits well into a faerie, rogue, and enchantment decks.

Best Multicolored Faeries

#13. Rubina Soulsinger

Sick of your opponent’s pesky creatures? Well, why not take one and use it against them?

You can tap Rubinia Soulsinger to gain control of a creature as long as the faerie is tapped. You also have the option to not untap it, which lets you keep control of the creature. An interesting interaction is taking a creature and untapping Rubinia to take a better creature your opponent plays later.

This might be a strong card if you can keep turning your opponent’s creatures into cannon fodder.

#12. Wee Dragonauts

Wee Dragonauts was a nice card for Limited play in Guilds of Ravnica. It gets a single-turn pump for every instant or sorcery you play.

Where this card can get interesting is putting your opponent in a guessing game when dealing with your instants. Fun interactions can be had with this, and I hope you consider it for any storm or instant/sorcery decks.

#11. Likeness Looter

I believe that a shapeshifter mirroring creature always has value somewhere. Likeness Looter is a tiny 2-drop faerie that can help you draw, fill your graveyard, and then become a copy of a creature in your graveyard. There’s a lot to love here if you can muster the mana and ensure a decent creature card in your graveyard. Be aware that the low toughness and amount of mana required can make it difficult for this card to reach its potential.

#10. Alela, Cunning Conqueror

Alela is a great faerie character, with multiple cards that make this list. Alela, Cunning Conqueror is a new rendition of the character and a wonderful way to build your faerie army. It builds your faerie board presence when you cast your instant and flash spells on your opponents’ turns. This card also likes to goad your opponents’ creatures like Nettling Nuisance, so make sure to gather all your friends.

#9. Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor

Faeries are becoming a strong typal build again, and nothing shows this more than Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor. With this card, you can pump your faeries and benefit whenever they die. Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor can work as your commander or as a support card, but whatever you do, surround it with your best faeries.

#8. Talion, the Kindly Lord

Talion, the Kindly Lord is just a fun card to play in your faerie or Dimir () decks. You can choose a common number for MV, power, or toughness and whenever an opponent plays a card with that number they take damage and you draw a card. The upside could be massive when a number like two, three, or four is chosen.

#7. Halo Forager

Halo Forager is a solid Dimir creature card to squeeze value out of your instants and sorceries. When you cast this card, you can pay X to cast an instant or sorcery from your graveyard with MV X. The sky’s the limit as long as you have mana to use.

#6. Nymris, Oona’s Trickster

Nymris, Oona's Trickster is a great flash card that can help you weed through the unnecessary cards in your deck. Grabbing a card out of two and tossing the unwanted one is a very good way to get to the cards you truly need to dominate. It would be nice to have a little more power, but flashing in a flying blocker with six toughness can stop a lot of threats.

But playing this card during an opponent’s turn doesn't trigger its ability. If your opponent is tapped out, though, then you'll be able to reap the benefits on the following turn with any instants or creatures with flash.

#5. Glen Elendra Liege

Giving benefits to a color instead of a creature type can really open up the potential of a card. Glen Elendra Liege is great for increasing the size of creatures in Dimir () decks. It benefits both blue and black creatures and you can double dip if you have a blue- and black-colored card.

This faerie doesn't have to be in a faerie deck to be strong, so consider it whenever developing an attacking creature-centric deck in blue and black.

#4. Sprite Dragon

Sprite Dragon should be on every Izzet () player’s mind. You may not always put it in every Izzet deck, but at least give it the consideration it deserves. If Sprite Dragon resolves through a turn or two, it can be pumped up with multiple cheap spells.

#3. Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief

I think a new trend in Simic () and Bant () is little creatures that can use many 1-drop instants and sorceries to punish their opponents. Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief can take this strategy to a new level. You can copy spells that target your creatures, which essentially doubles your individual protection and pump spells.

#2. Alela, Artful Provocateur

Alela, Artful Provocateur is solid as a commander or as part of the 99. You have lifelink, deathtouch, a pump for flying creatures (that aren’t easily blocked), and a way to create more flying creatures.

I like the idea of pairing flying creatures with tempo enchantments or artifacts. I don’t believe there’s much to complain about this card since it can be used in so many ways.

#1. Oona, Queen of the Fae

The queen of your next faerie typal deck has arrived, and its name is Oona, Queen of the Fae. Oona is very curve-friendly with the option of using blue or black mana to pay its cost.

I envision this card as the focus and bomb card of a deck. Build in some ways to increase your mana pool, remove early threats, and play some early creature cards to force your opponent to use up their removal spells.

If you don’t see this as the centerpiece, then the fact that its cost is very flexible should still make Oona a very desirable card for some control and mill decks.

Best Faerie Payoffs

So what can we do with all these faeries now? Well, let’s talk about some of the big payoffs. Here are some of the cards to pair with the faerie cards and what deck strategies they best fit into.

Take any of your faerie decks to a higher level with staples like Fatal Push, Kaito Shizuki, and Make Disappear.

Make sure to include noncreature cards like Notorious Throng, Stolen by the Fae, or Improbable Alliance that can boost your faerie army ranks.

The flash keyword many faeries have can give you more payoffs with cards like Slitherwisp.

Bitterblossom is a great card to use in control decks. You can take care of aggro threats with board wipes like Crippling Fear, or counter early- and late-game spells with cards like Counterspell.

With the Dimir colors you can also focus on controlling the board with cards like Drown in the Loch, Fatal Push, and March of Wretched Sorrow.

If you enjoy being on the attack, then ninjutsu is perfect for you. Fallen Shinobi and Biting-Palm Ninja can use their ninjutsu abilities easily with cheap flying faeries.

The Wilds of Eldraine set has spells like Faerie Fencing and Spell Stutter that can benefit from the number of faeries you control.

Wrap Up

Rubinia Soulsinger | Illustration by Cynthia Sheppard

Faeries are enjoyable characters in any fantasy story, and I believe Magic has taken an interesting approach with them. Blue faeries dominate the creature type and pair well with aggro and control decks alike. The black faeries play tricks on your opponents and can be used to gain leverage in a game. The multicolored faeries are the real bombs of the creature type and can be the focal point of a deck or support to plenty of flying or control decks.

So go to your local game store or hop on Arena and design some new and interesting decks using these tricky little creatures. What did you think of these rankings? Are some of these impish little fliers ranked too high, or maybe too low? Let me know in the comments below, or you can share your thoughts over on Twitter.

In the meantime, watch out for all those pesky faeries. I’ll see you all next time!