Elf is a creature type.
Details[]
They are humanoid bipeds appearing in most sets. Elves were almost always green creatures, but were featured in the artwork of some other cards. They are often described as a human with pointed ears and the magic that comes to them naturally. Elves often work best when working with others, though they do not necessarily need to work with other elves to be at their peak. Their zealous protection of the forests they live in is widely known as one of the most fundamentally natural concepts, and invading their forests could be the last thing that should be done.
- The elves of Lorwyn are somewhat different as a race than the elves of other planes. Physically, they more closely resemble satyrs with hoofed feet and thick horns on their heads. They prize beauty above all else to the point that if one is anything less than Faultless, it is considered an Eyeblight (something so ugly it deserves to die).
Elves primarily reside in green, although there is precedent to involving them in white or black, depending on the theme of the block. Ravnica: City of Guilds saw both happen within the same set, with Selesnya taking a heavy-population angle and Golgari working with reanimation. Lorwyn block has elves primarily in green with black as a supporting color, while Shadowmoor block has elves primarily with green still, but with white as a supporting color in the Lorwyn block.
When working as a tribe, they work best in great numbers. They are the only tribe to have kept this trait in both Onslaught block and Lorwyn block. Elves will have great effects for the number of elves you have and having many elves will make it even easier for you to acquire more elves. The key weakness there, however, is that they have much difficulty recovering from mass removal such as Wrath of God.
Elves are one of the most popular creature types to play in tribal decks. They are so popular, in fact, that in 2007, Wizards of the Coast released a special Duel Decks set of two preconstructed decks together: Elves Vs. Goblins.
In other languages[]
| Language or script | Title | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
French
|
Elfe | |
German
|
Elf | |
Italian
|
Elfo | |
Portuguese 
|
Elfo | |
Spanish
|
Elfo | |
Russian
|
Эльф | E’l’f (GOST 2002) |
Japanese
|
エルフ | Erufu (Hepburn) |
Korean
|
엘프 | Elpeu (Revised romanization) |
Simplified Chinese
|
妖精 | Yāojing (Pinyin) |
Traditional Chinese
|
妖精 | Yāojing (Pinyin) Jiu1 zing1 (Jyutping) |