Since Magic: The Gathering began way back in 1993, Wizards of the Coast has created 314 distinct creature types. While this is a very impressive list, Wizards hasn’t treated all of these unique types fairly. Over the years, many creature types have been forgotten and left unsupported, as new types came along.
While changing tastes have pushed out some creature types, even leading to errata, power creep has also played a significant role. Types like Atog, for instance, haven’t been around in MTG for decades, thanks to their intrinsic downside. Thanks to formats like Premodern, however, this long-lost type is finally getting some attention once again.
MTG Atog
First seen in Antiquities with the namesake Atog, this creature type has some serious pedigree in MTG. More than just being old, cards like Atog are actually insanely powerful, with enough support. In fact, Atog, in particular, is so strong that it’s banned in Pauper, due to Affinity shenanigans.
Miraculously, despite there only being 12 unique Atogs in MTG, Atog isn’t the only powerful one in the bunch. Chronatog, for instance, is capable of dishing out lethal damage for the low, low cost of all of your turns. This might sound very meme-y, but if you can ensure this Atog gets through, it’s a genuine threat.
On top of this, Psychotog is currently a powerful threat in Premodern. While this has recently led to a price spike, Psychotog used to be a competitive staple way back in the day. This even led Wizards to pay homage to the card with Psychic Frog in Modern Horizons 3.
Clearly, the Atog type holds a special place within the hearts of Wizards and many MTG players. Despite this, we’ve not had a new Atog card in well over 20 years. The last new printing was Megatog back in Mirrodin, which was 22 years ago. Sadly, this card wasn’t even good, as five mana is far too expensive for an Atog.
Thankfully, the rest of the Atogs in MTG don’t really have this problem. Outside of Megatog and Atogatog, the most an Atog costs is three mana, which is pretty compelling. Even then, however, the requirement to sacrifice something to get additional value makes this entire creature type somewhat tainted. That, however, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to build around this unique creature type.
Making Atogs Work
While there’s no denying that Atog is a weird creature type in MTG, it’s still possible to make them work in Commander. This is largely thanks to Atogatog, the only legendary Atog in MTG. Unfortunately, while this five-color legend does provide the perfect base for an Atog Typal deck, this deck is seriously lacking support.
Since there are only 12 Atogs to choose from, you’re left relying on Changelings to fill out the deck. Usually, when you have to do this, it’s pretty clear that a typal deck is scraping the bottom of the barrel and is largely unplayable. While the former may be true for Atogs, the latter surprisingly isn’t, thanks to their clear identity.
Because Atogs are so focused on sacrificing things in MTG, you can pivot into a sacrifice-themed deck relatively easily. Using cards like Juri, Master of the Revue, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, and Mayhem Devil makes Atog Typal surprisingly scary. Cards like Faith’s Reward and Second Sunrise are also fantastic auto-includes within this archetype.
Admittedly, forcing an Atog theme does diminish the effectiveness of a more typal sacrifice-themed Commander deck. As fun as Atogatog is, for instance, they’re no Korvold, Fae-Cursed King. Saying that, however, the access to white and blue does give Atog typal some more options for shenanigans.
To sweeten the deal even further, Atog Typal is a rather cheap MTG deck. At the moment, Chronatog is the most expensive card, costing a smidgen under $10. In total, you can pick up all of the Atogs in MTG for a hair over $20, which isn’t bad at all.
Done and Dusted?
In theory, there’s nothing stopping Wizards of the Coast from bringing Atogs back with a vengeance. Outside of Chronatog, no Atogs are on the Reserved List, so Wizards could easily reprint them in the future. That said, given it’s been over two decades, it doesn’t seem like Wizards is too fond of this creature type.
Currently, according to Mark Rosewater’s Beeble Scale, which is the Storm Scale but for creatures, Atogs sit at a seven. As if this wasn’t already damning enough for their future, Wizards basically reprinted Atog a while back, but erased this creature type. In Aether Revolt, Ravenous Intruder was a Gremlin, despite being a functionally identical reprint of Atog, albeit at uncommon.
Unfortunately, much like Kavu, Baloths, and many of Magic’s homegrown creature types, Atogs are incredibly specific. They’re not the type of creature that could pop up randomly, outside of a Horizons-style set. For better or worse, these sets currently aren’t on the cards, so the future of Atogs doesn’t look too bright.
As a slight silver lining, even if we don’t get any more Atogs, this typal archetype does still get new support. Cards that care about premenants being sacrificed, for instance, help boost this archetype’s power. Similarly, new Changelings, like those coming in Lorwyn Eclipsed, help technically, giving this deck more Atogs.
All in all, even if Atog isn’t the most popular or prevalent creature type in MTG, it’s nonetheless beloved. If you want to wow your table with a blast from Magic’s past, Atog might just be the typal deck for you.
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