A Brief History of Foxes In Magic the Gathering
Magic the Gathering is home to a myriad of creature types from fantastical species such as dragons and elves, to real life animals like cats and dogs. Many fan favorite creature types have gotten more support in the past decade as well, such as bears, phoenixes, and phyrexians.
However, not among those creature types are foxes. Despite this, foxes still have gotten a decent number of cards to their name in this time frame as well. Some are even quite well-known now thanks to their power! Yet, what does this humble creature type do best and how has it changed over Magic's long history? Let's take a look!
Foxes were first introduced to the game in Ice Age with the card Arctic Foxes. This humble 2 mana 1/1 did what many cards in Ice Age did best... do something if a player had snow lands. In this case, it could only be blocked by 1 power creatures when attacking if the defending player controlled a snow land. From then on, we wouldn't see foxes for another 9 years! Importantly though, Arctic Foxes firmly placed a flag in White as the primary color for foxes. This would be expanded on in...
Kamigawa
Releasing in 2004, Kamigawa block is known primarily for its parasitic mechanics such as Soulshift, misses like Epic, and a weaker card pool compared to previous block, Mirridon. However, it also began the process of fleshing out some creature types. Primarily foxes, rats, samurai, and spirits.
Kamigawa block's foxes also are notable for their distinctive appearance of flat narrow faces with eyes that lacked pupils. This gave them an otherworldly look playing off their inspiration and namesake, the kitsune, a type of fox spirit from Japanese myth.
Pretty much all of the foxes in Kamigawa had the class type of either cleric or samurai, with only a few exceptions, and their identity was focused mostly on the classic White mechanic of damage prevention.
Whether it be through straight up damage prevention, protection, or tapping creatures down, foxes in Kamigawa excelled in keeping you and your creatures alive. A simple White mechanics and a fairly weak one as the game's creatures grew stronger. Additionally, we also received our first legendary foxes.
Although we received five, Golden-Tail and Opal-Eye are both less notable than Eight-and-a-Half-Tails and Rune-Tail in the grand scheme of fox history. However, as a personal anecdote, Golden-Tail was my go to Tiny Leaders commander when that format was still popular.
Eight, the advisor to the daimyo of Kamigawa, Konda, would set a precedent for kitsune being trusted advisors to the royal family and played an important role in the Kamigawa novels. Born Wise-Muzzle, Eight was unique in that he had a black streak in his tail, which set him as someone destined for great things. By continuing to make major spiritual achievements in his life, he eventually had nine tails. However, after helping Konda begin the Kami War unknowingly, he cut off half of one of his tails as penance.
With Eight we get the first major focus for a fox in a Magic story. Eight's importance in the story and very unique ability to color change spells and permanents repeatedly earned him several reprints over the years that no other legendary fox from this era has yet managed. He even got an avatar for Vanguard! The only fox to do so.
Foxes also received their first and only typal synergy card in Patron of the Kitsune. Part of a cycle of Spirits that acted as patrons to the main creature types in each color, the Offering mechanic allowed a player to sacrifice a creature corresponding to the Offering type (Fox Offering in this case) to reduce its CMC by that creature's CMC and cast it as if it had flash. Outside of this... it didn't do anything for foxes. However, you sure could feed them to it!
Rune-Tail is important for another reason. Though not notable yet, by 2010 when the burgeoning EDH format was getting popular, Rune-Tail was a powerful option for White decks. Flipping immediately in EDH due to the 40 life starting total, it broke the actual expectation for the card when WotC still focused on Standard. By turn 3, a player could have protection from some of biggest beaters in the format at the time unless an opponent had enchantment removal. Similar to Felidar Sovereign, this caused chatter, but Rune-Tail is far from being a popular commander now... even further from being the most popular legendary fox in EDH. That's for later though.
The last fox I want to focus on from this era is one of Magic's early attempts at flip cards, Kitsune Mystic // Autumn-Tail, Kitsune Sage. Focusing on auras, Kitsune Mystic was different from the other foxes in Kamigawa. However, this focus on enchantments would be key to their identity in the future. This was just the first, but it wouldn't be the last.
Post Kamigawa
We wouldn't see foxes again until 2011 with Silverchase Fox in Innistrad. This continued the connection to enchantments foxes had from Kitsune Mystic, being enchantment hate this time, however. A useful card and playing well with mechanics like Morbid from Innistrad due to sacrificing itself to activate its effect. In this era we'd also get Vulpine Goliath in 2013 with Theros. This was the first time foxes left White and it'd take all the way until 2023 for foxes to be found in every color.
For 3 more years we waited and in 2016 we got our reward with the release of Shadows Over Innistrad and Kaladesh. Devilthorn Fox is a simple vanilla creature with flavor text telling us how foxes are used to counteract devils in Innistrad. Filigree Familiar is a bit more special, the first artifact creature fox! It was also a big hit with the community who absolutely adored it. Why it even got a giant version displayed at a fair to advertise Kaladesh. It'd later get a call back in Etched Familiar in March of the Machine 7 years later, the first Black fox. Another interesting addition in this time was Nine-Tail White Fox, a common from the Global Series starter decks meant for Chinese markets, it was in Mu Yanling's deck... which meant it was the first Blue fox in the game! Blue would continue to be a color foxes showed up in more and more come the 2020s, but until then, it remained the only one.
Foxes truly wouldn't start being seen more until 2019 - 2021. Flutterfox from Throne of Eldraine added another fox that cared about enchantments (and artifacts), while Ikoria gave us a couple of foxes in Farfinder, Flourishing Fox, Vulpikeet, and Zirda, the Dawnwaker. Zirda was a part of the cycle of Companions, each allowed to act as an additional commander-like card if you built you deck a specific way. Zirda asked you to build your deck with only permanents that had activated abilities. Compared to some of the other Companions, Zirda was on the fairer end, but gets credit for being the first fox with Red in its color identity and the first multicolor fox! When March of the Machine came out, it'd also get the privilege of being the only fox to have a limited print run of numbered promos with the rest of the Companion cycle. This version of Zirda is the most expensive fox creature in the game, but still relatively cheap compared to most cards with this treatment.
With the release of Strixhaven, another fox with Red in its color identity would also release, but in a roundabout way. The planeswalker Lukka was a bonder from Ikoria, allowing him to form powerful connections with animals and monsters (even if he kind of hates them). When he arrived on Arcavios, he bonded with a fox he named Mila. Mila would get a card with Lukka, the two fitting into the double-sided cards mechanic Strixhaven was making use of, which made Mila the first (and only) double-sided fox printed thus far! Although Mila is White like most foxes are, her backside, Lukka, is Red, making her identity Red / White for purposes of some game mechanics. Quite a strange way to add more foxes to Boros, but a fun one!
Kamigawa (Again) Neon Dynasty
In 2022, Wizards of the Coast decided to take another chance on Kamigawa, this time letting us see it in the current timeline in Neon Dynasty. A major focus of this was on the clash between the material and spirit, with kitsune finding themselves on both sides, but their most powerful cards featuring on the spirit side caring about enchantments. Foxes would also get a redesign... making them look more like anthropomorphic foxes.
Foxes in this set would also see themselves to fill a myriad amount of roles, whether it was as pilots to mechs, stealthy ninja, or moth riding warriors. Continuing the tradition from Old Kamigawa, a fox also proved important to story in Light-Paws.
Light-Paws took on the role as mentor and advisor to the emperor of Kamigawa, the planeswalker known as the Wanderer. The Wanderer unfortunately had a faulty planeswalker spark and would randomly planeswalk to different planes. When she was gone, Light-Paws took on the role of emperor in her stead. Light-Paws also took on the role of one of the top 3 most popular commanders for White decks in EDH and also proved an enormous menace in Brawl. Able to tutor up auras and attach them to herself whenever you cast an aura made for a fast game ending machine if not dealt with immediately. Only topped by Giada, Light-Paws was an immediate hit and cemented herself as what mono White decks in MtG were capable of now.
Outside of Light-Paws, no other legendary foxes were printed in Neon Dynasty. This doesn't mean we wouldn't see more named foxes from Kamigawa, no March of the Machine gave us Bright-Palm, our first 3-color fox and a bit of a callback all the way back to Arctic Foxes. Allowing you to double the number of +1/+1 counters on a creature and prevent them from being blocked by a creature with power 2 or greater whenever she attacked, she could even share this ability with the Backup keyword introduced in this set. As well, we'd get to see Pearl-Ear, the tutor to Michiko Konda, daughter of Lord Konda from original Kamigawa. She too focused on auras like Light-Paws, allowing you to draw cards whenever you enchanted a Modified permanent and making your enchantments cost less for every aura you had! Lastly, we'd get to see our first fox token who was the planeswalker Tamiyo's adopted child with her partner, Genku who got his own card as well in Modern Horizons 3.
With Neon Dynasty's success, we'd start seeing foxes more and more. Whether they were from Kamigawa or not, foxes were now here to stay with strength that made them actually playable.
Post Neon Dynasty
Foxes have since appeared on three planes, Eldraine, Bloomburrow, and Duskmourn.
With our return to Eldraine, we saw foxed through the Redtooth elves, who were werefoxes. Situated in Green and White, the Redtooth elves turned into ferocious vulpine beasts every night after being cursed by a witch for turning her away. The only way to break the curse was with a rose guarded by an archon. A knight named Syr Armont fell for their plight and sought to break their curse with help from their leader, Yenna. On their quest, the two women fell in love and successfully freed the elves from the Curse of the Werefox. Both characters got cards, Yenna as the commander for the enchantment based precon in Wilds of Eldraine. Although not a fox anymore, she carried on the tradition of 2020s foxes often caring for enchantments. Quite a few other Redtooth elves also care for enchantments in some way, either creating them or rewarding you for playing them. However, the only elf foxes we received were Ferocious Werefox // Guard Change and Werefox Bodyguard. The latter of which has anti-synergy with foxes! The first of its kind and necessary to prevent blink loops.
Bloomburrow is a plane of anthropomorphic animals and although foxes weren't among the 10 types focused on, they nevertheless were a part of the plane and squirmed their way in. Their major representative was Mr. Foxglove, the backup commander in Ms. Bumbleflower's precon. A dapper fellow in love with Bumbleflower, Foxglove is a beloved swashbuckler in the Valley that rewards you with card draw and cheating permanents into play when you've got more than your opponents. Just as the werefoxes play on the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, Foxglove is reminiscent of the French stories of Reynard the Fox and his tricksy triggered ability doesn't shy away from that. Additionally, we got our first fox planeswalker on Bloomburrow with caveats of course. Bloomburrown transforms any planar visitors into animal-like versions of themselves and Jace who'd visited the plane was turned into a fox. In a promotional version of Jace, the Mind Sculptor part of the Imagine: Critters booster fun cards, we get to see Jace as a fox. Fox Jace would also be the first fox to receive an anime art treatment, but not the first fox to have a booster fun card, that distinction going to Mila, while Light-Paws would be the first fox to receive a Secret Lair version.
A minor fox in the form Inquisitive Glimmer also appears in Duskmourn. Our first real Blue / White fox and our second enchantment fox (the first being callback to Sensei Golden-Tail, Golden-Tail Disciple). Another fox that cared for enchantments, Inquisitive Glimmer also loves the new enchantment subtype of rooms, making it cheaper to unlock their doors.
With our most recent in-universe fox being Eiganjo Dynastorian, a Kamigawan fox teaching on Arcavios, who knows how foxes will be shown in and beyond Kamigawa? However, it seems WotC continues to push foxes towards an enchantment focus, with Dynastorian allowing one to cast Replenish via the new Prepared mechanic. A historically powerful enchantment synergy spell all wrapped in one fluffy package! Yet, what lies beyond the Multiverse for foxes?
Foxes Beyond
Universes Beyond didn't give us many foxes to start out with, but has slowly been fleshing out Blue's side of the fox pie.
We wouldn't see any foxes in Universes Beyond until 2025 with our visit to Avatar's world. Here we meet Dutiful Knowledge Seeker and Knowledge Seeker, two Blue spirit foxes that work for the xenophobic librarian owl, Wan Shi Tong, and his Spirit Library. As one would expect for foxes working for a librarian, they care about the library. Whether it's drawing cards or putting cards back into it.
It wouldn't be until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that we'd get our first Universes Beyond legendary fox in none other than Kitsune, Dragon's Daughter, consort of iconic villain Shredder and master of trickery, well-represented in her ability to swap creatures on player's board with each other. She's also the one responsible for brainwashing the fox mutant, Alopex who makes a cameo in Turncoat Kunoichi and the TMNT version of Vanquish the Horde. A beloved character from the TMNT IDW comics, there was some surprise Alopex didn't get a legendary card, though I'm glad she got to appear on a few cards in general!
That's a Wrap
With that, I hope you've enjoyed a brief overview of the many fox cards in MtG and how they've evolved over the years. Interested in playing with some of the legendary foxes talked about here? I got a Light-Paws and Mila deck just for you!
