Creature class

Creature class, often shortened to just Class, is an R&D term for a subset of the characteristic "creature type". 
==Description==
Most humanoid creatures have at least two creature types: a race and a class. Whereas race (such as Human, Elf, or Goblin) is a matter of the creature's origin, their class (such as Soldier, Wizard, or Rogue) represents their function, occupation, career or calling in life.
There is no distinction in the Comprehensive Rules between race and class. All creature types are treated equally within the game rules. The use of the race/class model is to allow for more consistent, flavorful worldbuilding and more design space among creatures.
Some cards, including a few tokens, can have a class without a race.
As of Jumpstart 2022 the most common class is Wizard, followed by Warrior and then Soldier.
Not all non-race creature types have to be occupations. Types as Child, Coward, Elder, Guest and Peasant are categories you can apply to creatures.
==History==
Creature classes like Cleric, Knight and Wizard have been a part of Magic's creature types since Limited Edition Alpha. During the early years of the game, creature types were considered to be an extension of the flavor and world-building, rather than as mechanically important. This had two consequences creatures had only a single creature type and that creature type was the most flavourfully relevant one.
Creature classes were a major part of R&D's shift away from creature-types-as-flavour to creature-types-as-mechanics. This philosophy change arose from development of the tribal-themed Onslaught block, when three major issues with the current design scheme were identified:
*Creatures having only one type meant someone had to choose which type was more important when a creature, like <c>Goblin Wizard</c>, wanted to be multiple types.
*With only one creature type, card names were being used to tell the whole story about a card. This limited the name space for creatures.
*Creatures with only one type would only work in one type of tribal deck. This limited flexability and interactivity for players.
In response to the success of Onslaught block, the race/class model was adopted for creatures from Mirrodin onwards. The Grand Creature Type Update consolidated the race/class model by reducing the number of creature types and issuing errata to older cards to bring them in line with the new philosophy.
In 2022 Wizards of the Coast retired the silver border, replacing it with the acorn stamp. This allowed Un-sets to contain both acorn cards and eternal legal cards. The release of Unfinity saw Child and Gamer become eternal legal creature classes.
==List of creature classes==
The following table lists all eternal legal creature classes.
Class 	Description 	Scryfall
Advisor 	Tacticians, courtiers, ministers, and others who are known for their wisdom. 	
Ally 	Creatures that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose. 	
Archer 	Combatants who specialize in fighting with bow and arrows. 	
Army 	A unit that is part of some military service 	
Artificer 	Those who specialize in working with artifacts. 	
Assassin 	Specialists in targeted killing. 	
Barbarian 	Unorganized fighters, usually from primitive and/or uncivilized cultures. 	
Bard 	Entertainers who improve the qualities of creatures through music. 	
Berserker 	Combatants who enter a frenzy in battle, gaining great speed and battle prowess. 	
Child 	A young version of a creature which has yet to assume another role in society 	
Citizen 	Inhabitants of a city or town, usually in a non-fighting capacity. 	
Cleric 	Spellcasters who channel the power of their faith in a cause or higher being into potent magic. 	
Clown 	Comic entertainers who wear traditionally comical costumes and exaggerated make-up. 	
Coward 	Creatures who lack courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition or pain. 	
Deserter 	Creatures who have left, or run away from, their service or duty with the intention of never returning. 	
Detective 	A creature that specializes in acquiring information to be put toward solving a crime or mystery. 	
Doctor 	A creature trained in the use of medicine.(Doctor Who) An incarnation of the most notable member of the Time Lord species. 	
Drone 	Simple, immature, or artificial lifeforms that perform tedious and menial work. 	
Druid 	Masters of magic powered by faith, and strongly tied to plants, animals, fertility, the element of earth, and the land about them. 	
Egg 	Used for the incubation stage of a creature. 	
Elder 	Used on venerable creatures to denote their importance. 	
Employee 	Creatures employed for wages or salary, especially at a non-executive level. 	
Flagbearer 	Soldiers or civilians who bear a standard or flag, which is used as a formal, visual symbol of a military unit on the battlefield. 	
Gamer 	Individuals who play games casually or professionally. 	
Guest 	A creature who is invited to visit someone's home, business or attend a particular social occasion. 	
Hero 	An individual with special abilities which seeks to make society better through extra-ordinary action. 	
Inquisitor 	A creature who inquires or investigates professionaly, especially one seen to be excessively harsh or using extereme methods. 	
Knight 	Highly-trained combatants who are usually part of a formal army or cavalry, usually specializing in fighting on horseback with a sword or lance. 	
Mercenary 	Individuals who sell their services in combat for money. 	
Minion 	Those who work the will of overtly evil forces or organizations. 	
Monger 	Dealers in commodities who sell their wares and services to all comers. 	
Monk 	Individuals who have devoted their lives to quiet introspection and meditation, though many monks are skilled at magic, martial arts, or both. 	
Mystic 	Creatures adept at channeling mana with their faith, learned through careful meditation. 	
Ninja 	Masters of both stealth and armed combat who may find employment as spies, warriors, mercenaries, and assassins. 	
Noble 	Members of aristocracy. 	
Nomad 	Members from uncivilized tribes who wander open spaces in closely-knit groups. 	
Peasant 	Humble creatures from the countryside. 	
Performer 	Entertainers who put on shows for the enjoyment and fun of others. 	
Pilot 	Persons who fly a skyship, air balloon, or other vehicle. 	
Pirate 	Motley fighters and scoundrels who sail the sea and skies to loot and plunder the unexpecting. 	
Praetor 	Leaders of dark forces. 	
Processor 	Eldritch spellcasters that pull things from the void back into the world. 	
Ranger 	Warriors who are in tune with nature. 	
Rebel 	Individuals who fight against an established authority. 	
Rigger 	Creatures that specialize in the lifting and moving of extremely large or heavy objects. 	
Rogue 	Those who live by their wits, using stealth and cunning to make their way in life. 	
Samurai 	Warriors who have sworn their service and their lives to a single authority figure, usually a feudal lord. 	
Scion 	Descendant of a force or being that aim to help their originator. 	
Scientist 	Scholars dedicated to pursuing empirical knowledge through controlled experimentation. 	
Scout 	Individuals who are adept at getting along in the wild, often sharing the benefits of their prowess with others. 	
Serf 	Creatures of a peasant status in feudalistic systems. 	
Shaman 	Often spiritual leaders and protectors. These born magic users use tradition, ritual, and years of practice to focus their inate mana outward and reshape the natural world around them.	
Soldier 	Trained combatants who are part of a formal army. They are adept at fighting in concert and overwhelming the enemy. 	
Spawn 	The offspring of an entity, being, stock, idea or place. 	
Spellshaper	Spellcasters who devote themselves to perfecting a single spell or selection of spells. 	
Survivor 	Creatures who remained alive after a chatastrophic event in which others perished. 	
Tentacle 	Flexible, semi-intelligent limbs or appendages of large creatures or entities. 	
Warlock 	Spellcasters who derive their powers from evil forces. 	
Warrior 	Combatants who fight alone or in loose hordes. 	
Wizard 	Masters of channeling external mana into powerful spells. 	
;Notes
: This type can be considered a creature "status type" that can be used as either a race or a class, depending on the context.
===Acorn classes===
Acorn sets use creature types which are not included in Magic's comprehensive rules, but are part of acorn games. Because these creature types are not compiled into an authoritative list by Wizards of the Coast, the following table may be incomplete. Which of the acorn creature types are considered classes is based on intuition rather than official comment.
Class 	Description 	Scryfall
Attendee 	Convention go-ers at MagicCons. 	<c>Svega, the Unconventional</c>
Bureaucrat 	Members of an organization tasked with ensuring regulations are followed and paperwork is filed. 	
Designer 	Individuals well suited for the task of creating or maintaining complicated systems. 	
Elves 	Elves that impersonate Elvis. 	
Fighter 	Adventurers that are masters of combat. 	<c>Dungeon Master</c>
Grandchild 	Similar to Child, a young version of a creature which has yet to assume another role in society; but it is noted as the second generation decendant. 	
Hatificer 	A specialist in making, mending, destroying, or otherwise manipulating hats. 	
Head 	The head of a creature acting independently from its other heads or its body. 	
Lady of Proper Etiquette	A woman who has learned and adheres to the rules of her society's upper gentry. 	
Lord 	Creatures with an occupation of high class or power within a structure or organization. 	
Mime 	A type of entertainer, similar to a Clown, except their acts tend to be silent. 	
Paratrooper 	Creatures that are trained to attack or land in combat areas by parachuting from great heights. 	
Reveler 	Creatures who are partying or celebrating. 	
Spy 	Similar to Rogues, spies live and die by their wits and eclectic skill set; unlike rogues, spies always act as part of a larger organization. 	
Townsfolk 	Members of a sapient race without a specific occupation who live in towns. 	
Villain 	An individual with special abilities which seeks to make society worse overall through extra-ordinary action, often for their direct or indirect benefit.	
Waiter 	An employee at a restaurant, typically tasked with taking customer orders and serving customers their food and drink. 	
Wrestler 	A type of entertainer which create narratives for their audience through simulated contests of strength. 	
===Test card classes===
Test cards use creature types which are not included in Magic's comprehensive rules, but are part of Chaos Draft, Unknown Event, or other casual games. Because these creature types are not compiled into an authoritative list by Wizards of the Coast, the following table may be incomplete. Which of the test card creature types are considered classes is based on intuition rather than official comment.
Class 	Description 	Scryfall
Armored 	Creatures who are covered with a special material that protects against weapons in some form.	
Artist 	Creatures who create art. 	2024 Amsterdam Unknown Event
Athlete 	Creatures who compete in athletic sports. 	
Boxer 	Creatures who participate in the sport or fighting style of boxing. 	2024 Amsterdam Unknown Event
Champion	Creatures who fight for a cause or on behalf of someone else. 	
Chef 	Creatures who work as a professional cook. 	2024 Amsterdam Unknown Event
Judge 	Creatures who hear, determine, and/or preside over legal matters. 	2024 Amsterdam Unknown Event
===Retired classes===
During the Grand Creature Type Update, a number of classes were 'retired'. They were removed from the comprehensive rules list of types and the cards that previously bore them were issued with errata that replaced those types.
Since the update, some of the classes that were originally retired have be brought back into use. This table only lists creature types that have been retired and not brought back.
Class 	Description 	Replaced by
Alchemist 	Creatures who practice alchemy, a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy. 	Cleric
Bodyguard 	Creatures employed to guard an individual, often a high official or VIP, from bodily harm. 	None. Creatures with the Bodyguard class were given a race instead.
Bureaucrat 	Creatures who run a government and do everything according to the rules. 	Advisor
El-Hajjâj 	A powerful wizard from Rabiah. 	Wizard
Enchantress	A person, often an attractive women, who is skilled at magic and able to easily charm others. 	Druid
Flying Men 	Creatures mounted on flying carpets who wield scimitars to battle. 	None. Creatures with the Flying Men class were primarily given a race instead.
Guardian 	Creatures which guard, protect, or preserve. 	None. Creatures with the Guardian class were primarily given a race instead.
Hero 	Characters who, in the face of danger, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice for some greater good.The class returned to eternal Magic in 2024 as part of Universes Beyond.	Soldier and Warrior
Legend 	Legendary characters. 	None. Creatures with the Legend type were given the Legendary supertype instead.
Lord 	Creatures with an occupation of high class or power within a structure or organization. 	None. Later replaced by Noble.
Mage 	A magician or learned person. 	Wizard
Rag Man 	A minion created during The Dark Age on Dominaria. 	Minion
Sage 	Creatures who have, shown, or indicated profound wisdom regarding magic or some other subject of knowledge. 	Artificer
Smith 	Craftspeople who fashion useful items (for example, tools, jewelry, armor, and weapons) out of various metals. 	Artificer
Stangg Twin	A double of the warrior Stangg. 	Warrior
Tactician 	Creatures who are good at making plans in order to achieve particular goals. 	Advisor
Townsfolk 	Humans without a specific occupation. 	None. Later replaced by Peasant.
Witch 	Creatures proficient in curses. 	Wizard, later Warlock
==References==