TLDR
The best MTG Cat, Dog and animal token ideas are clear, readable and fun at the table.
Start with the tokens your deck actually makes. Then choose a theme: pet portraits, fantasy companions, woodland animals, food-themed critters, battle cats, loyal dogs, rabbits, squirrels, birds, wolves or beasts.
For Commander, the best custom tokens usually include the token name, color, creature type, power/toughness and any important abilities like lifelink, vigilance, haste or flying.
Best MTG Cat, Dog and animal token ideas usually come from one simple question: what should your board look like when your deck is doing its thing?
A Rin and Seri deck should feel like a pack and a pride are taking over the table. A Jinnie Fay deck should make every random Food, Treasure or Clue feel like it just turned into a very serious pet army. A Cadira deck wants rabbits. A Chatterfang deck wants squirrels, probably too many squirrels. And a big green token deck may want beasts, wolves, birds, insects or dinosaurs that all look like they came from the same world.
Custom animal tokens are one of the easiest ways to make a Commander deck feel personal. They do not need to be complicated. They need to be readable, cute or cool, and clear enough that nobody has to ask, “Wait, what is that supposed to be?”
What Makes A Good MTG Animal Token?
A good MTG token does two jobs at once.
It looks good, and it communicates the game information clearly.
That second part matters more than people think. Tokens are not just decorations. They represent permanents on the battlefield. If your token is a 1/1 white Dog creature, the card should make that obvious. If it has vigilance, flying, lifelink or haste, that should be easy to spot too.
A strong custom animal token usually includes:
- token name
- creature type
- color
- power and toughness
- key abilities
- clean art
- readable text
- enough contrast to see across the table
You can still have fun with the design. The dog can be wearing armor. The cat can be a tiny warlord. The squirrel can look like it knows exactly what it did. But the token should still work as a game piece.
That is the main difference between a funny art card and a useful token.
Best MTG Cat, Dog And Animal Token Ideas By Theme
Animal tokens work best when they match the deck’s personality. Here are some theme ideas that fit common Commander decks.
| Token Theme | Best For | Design Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Pet portrait tokens | Cat and Dog Commander decks | Use real pets or custom pet-style art |
| Fantasy companion tokens | Rin and Seri, Arahbo, Jinnie Fay | Armored cats, loyal hounds, magical familiars |
| Woodland tokens | Squirrels, Rabbits, Foxes, Birds | Cozy forest art, storybook details |
| Battle animal tokens | Aggro and go-wide decks | War paint, armor, banners, action poses |
| Cute chaos tokens | Casual Commander tables | Funny expressions, snack themes, tiny weapons |
| Nature documentary tokens | Green token decks | Realistic animals, clean background, natural colors |
| Food-themed animal tokens | Food decks, Jinnie Fay, kitchen-table decks | Cats with fish, dogs with treats, squirrels with snacks |
| Adventure party tokens | Dungeons, equipment, party decks | Animals as rogues, knights, mages or scouts |
| Dark forest tokens | Golgari, sacrifice, graveyard decks | Creepy wolves, rats, insects, ravens and fungi |
| Seasonal tokens | Gifts, events, holiday decks | Halloween cats, winter wolves, spring rabbits |
The safest direction is a matching token set. One custom Cat token is nice. A Cat, Dog, Food, Treasure and Clue token set with the same art style feels much better in actual play.
That is especially true for Commander. You may see your tokens every game. Make them easy to recognize and pleasant to look at after the fifth board wipe. There will be a fifth board wipe.
Cat Token Ideas For MTG Decks
Cat tokens are great because they can go in several directions. They can be noble, sneaky, cute, terrifying or all of the above. Magic has a long history of Cat creatures, and Cat tokens show up in plenty of white, green and Selesnya-style strategies.
Good Cat token ideas include:
- Royal pride cats with gold trim, banners and palace backgrounds
- Jungle hunter cats with vines, ruins and ambush poses
- House cat tokens based on real pets
- Battle kitten tokens with tiny helmets or shields
- Astral cats for enchantment or celestial decks
- Cat Warrior tokens with armor and weapon details
- Cat familiar tokens for witchy, spell-based or enchantment decks
- Lifelink cat tokens with soft white magic effects
For Arahbo-style decks, use pride imagery. Cubs, lions, leopards and panthers all work. If your deck is aggressive, make the cats look like they are moving forward. If your deck is more enchantment-based, lean into glowing runes, moonlight, auras and familiar-style art.
For Rin and Seri, make sure your Cat and Dog tokens look connected. They do not need to be identical, but they should feel like they belong to the same deck. Matching borders help. So does a shared background, like a farm, city street, forest path or battlefield.
Dog Token Ideas For MTG Decks
Dog tokens should feel loyal, active and easy to read. They are great for go-wide decks, pet-themed Commander builds and Naya decks that want to flood the board with small creatures.
Good Dog token ideas include:
- Loyal guard dogs with shields, armor or watch posts
- Adventure dogs with packs, scarves or trail gear
- War hound tokens for aggressive decks
- Rescue dog tokens for softer, friendlier builds
- Cyber dog tokens for sci-fi or artifact decks
- Farm dog tokens for cozy or food-themed decks
- Legendary pet-inspired tokens for casual groups
- Dog Soldier tokens if your table likes a little extra drama
Jinnie Fay makes Dog tokens with vigilance, so that token should show the ability clearly. A dog standing guard is an easy visual cue. If you use Cat tokens with haste and Dog tokens with vigilance in the same deck, make them visually different enough that players can tell them apart quickly.
That can be as simple as:
- Cat tokens using warmer action art
- Dog tokens using watchful defensive art
- different border colors
- different icons for haste and vigilance
- large power/toughness boxes
Clear beats clever here.
Pet Portrait Tokens
Pet portrait tokens are probably the most personal MTG animal token idea.
You can turn your real cat, dog, rabbit or other pet into a custom Magic token. This works especially well as a gift for a Commander player, a pet-themed deck, a cube token package or a casual playgroup joke that actually looks good.
A few good pet token concepts:
| Real Pet | MTG Token Idea |
|---|---|
| Orange cat | 1/1 white Cat, suspiciously powerful |
| Black cat | Cat Familiar with lifelink |
| Golden retriever | 1/1 white Dog with vigilance |
| Tiny dog | 3/1 Dog with vigilance, because Magic is funny |
| Rabbit | 1/1 white Rabbit token |
| Parrot | 1/1 Bird with flying |
| Snake | 1/1 Snake with deathtouch |
| Lizard | 3/3 Dinosaur or Lizard token |
The trick is not to overdo the card text. If the token is mostly for Commander play, it should still match the actual token your deck creates. You can make the art personal while keeping the rules text clean.
If you want to build your own token layout, the PrintMTG Card Maker is a useful place to create custom MTG tokens with readable names, stats and frames.
Squirrel, Rabbit And Small Animal Token Ideas
Small animal tokens are funny because they look harmless right up until they are attacking for 47 damage.
Squirrels are the classic example. A Chatterfang deck can make the battlefield look ridiculous in the best way. For custom Squirrel tokens, you can go cute, feral or villainous.
Squirrel token ideas:
- acorn knight
- forest bandit
- tiny general
- angry squirrel swarm
- squirrel with a dagger
- glowing Golgari squirrel
- picnic raider
- aristocrat squirrel with a tiny cape
Rabbit tokens can go softer or more heroic. Cadira-style Rabbit tokens usually want to look like a growing crowd. You may want a few different rabbit designs if your deck creates a lot of them.
Rabbit token ideas:
- meadow rabbits
- armored rabbit scouts
- spring festival rabbits
- rabbit soldiers
- storybook rabbits
- carrot-themed tokens
- moonlit rabbits
- tiny Selesnya recruits
Other small animals can work well too. Frogs, mice, foxes, raccoons, bats and otters can all become custom tokens for casual decks, especially when the table knows the theme. Bloomburrow-style animal fantasy made this kind of token idea feel even more natural for Magic.
Bird, Beast, Wolf And Big Animal Token Ideas
Not every animal token needs to be cute. Some should look like they are about to ruin combat math.
Bird tokens need to show flying clearly. Wings spread, sky backgrounds and cloud effects help players understand the token fast. If your deck makes several Bird tokens, use a clean blue or white frame and keep the power/toughness visible.
Bird token ideas:
- hawks
- ravens
- owls
- songbirds
- spirit birds
- storm birds
- messenger birds
- mechanical birds for artifact decks
Wolf tokens are great for Gruul, Selesnya and Werewolf-adjacent decks. They work best with pack imagery. One wolf looks good. Three matching wolves look like a problem.
Wolf token ideas:
- moonlit wolf pack
- snow wolves
- forest wolves
- ember wolves
- spirit wolves
- young wolf pups
- hunting pack tokens
Beast tokens are broader. They can be anything from a bear-like monster to a huge fantasy creature. The important part is size. Beast tokens should look bigger and heavier than Cats, Dogs or Squirrels.
Beast token ideas:
- forest guardian
- rhino beast
- bear beast
- antlered monster
- moss-covered creature
- dinosaur-like beast
- elemental animal
- charging stampede token
For big green Commander decks, a matching Beast, Wolf and Bird token package can make the deck feel like a full ecosystem instead of a random pile of animals.
Animal Token Ideas By Commander
Some commanders practically beg for custom animal tokens.
| Commander Or Deck | Token Ideas |
|---|---|
| Rin and Seri, Inseparable | Matching 1/1 Cat and 1/1 Dog tokens |
| Jinnie Fay, Jetmir’s Second | 2/2 Cat tokens with haste and 3/1 Dog tokens with vigilance |
| Arahbo, the First Fang | 1/1 Cat tokens, Cat Warrior tokens, pride-themed tokens |
| Cadira, Caller of the Small | 1/1 white Rabbit tokens |
| Chatterfang, Squirrel General | 1/1 green Squirrel tokens, darker sacrifice-themed squirrels |
| Dogmeat, Ever Loyal | Dog companion tokens, Junk tokens, wasteland pet gear |
| Trostani-style token decks | Beasts, Birds, Rhinos and other wide board tokens |
| Populate decks | Multiple versions of the same animal token |
| Food token decks | Animal snack tokens, cats with fish, dogs with bones, squirrels with acorns |
| Casual pet decks | Real pet portrait tokens |
If the deck creates one type of token over and over, make that token special. If the deck creates many types of tokens, make a full set with shared borders and matching art direction.
Food, Treasure, Clue And Accessory Tokens For Animal Decks
Animal decks often make noncreature tokens too. These are easy to theme.
A Food token does not have to be a generic pie. It can be a dog treat, fish bowl, saucer of milk, acorn stash, rabbit carrot pile or picnic basket.
A Treasure token can be a shiny collar, buried bone, golden bell, jeweled acorn, cat toy or magical tag.
A Clue token can be paw prints, scratch marks, a feather, a chewed note or a suspiciously broken vase. Cat players understand.
Accessory tokens help the deck feel cohesive. In a pet-themed Rin and Seri deck, your Food, Treasure and Clue tokens should look like they belong to the same animal world. In a dark Chatterfang deck, Food can look like foraged mushrooms and Treasure can look like stolen trinkets.
This is where custom token design gets fun without hurting clarity. The token still says Food, Treasure or Clue. It just looks like your deck.
How To Design Animal Tokens That Play Well
The best custom tokens are designed for a real game table, not just a close-up image online.
Use large type for the token name. Put power and toughness in a clear corner. Do not hide important abilities in tiny decorative text. If a token has flying, vigilance, lifelink, haste, deathtouch or trample, make that visible.
A simple layout works best:
- art in the center
- token name at the top
- type line under the art or name
- ability text in a clean box
- power/toughness in the bottom corner
For full-art tokens, you can still keep the text readable. Use a soft text box, high contrast and enough spacing. A beautiful token that nobody can read is not doing its job.
If you are making several animal tokens, keep the layout consistent. Your Cat, Dog, Rabbit and Squirrel tokens can have different art, but the name box, type line and stats should feel related. That makes your board easier to understand.
Printing Custom MTG Animal Tokens
Once the token design is ready, the next step is printing it in a way that feels good at the table.
Paper tokens work for quick testing, but printed custom tokens feel better for a deck you play often. This is especially true for Commander decks that create the same tokens every game.
You can use PrintMTG for custom MTG-style printing, proxy-friendly casual cards and token projects. If you want to make the design yourself first, start with the PrintMTG Card Maker. If you are planning a larger casual deck package with proxies, tokens and custom pieces, the MTG proxies guide is also useful.
For animal tokens, consider ordering:
- 5 to 10 copies of your most common token
- 2 to 4 copies of less common tokens
- one full accessory token set
- matching Food, Treasure and Clue tokens
- a few alternate art versions for big token decks
If your deck can make a huge number of Squirrels, Rabbits or Cats, you do not need 80 individual tokens. You can use dice for quantity. But having at least a handful of real tokens makes the board easier to follow.
Common Animal Token Mistakes To Avoid
The first mistake is making the token too cute to read. Cute is good. Illegible is not.
The second mistake is leaving off important abilities. A 1/1 Bird with flying and a 1/1 Cat without flying should not look like the same kind of game piece.
The third mistake is using one token for multiple different creatures. A Cat token, a Dog token and a Beast token should be visually distinct, especially if they have different stats.
The fourth mistake is making the card look too much like a real deck card. Tokens should be clear as tokens. That helps everyone understand the board state and avoids confusion.
The fifth mistake is forgetting how many tokens the deck actually makes. Check your decklist first. If your commander makes Dogs and Cats every game, order those first. If your deck only makes one Beast token sometimes, that can wait.
Conclusion
The best MTG Cat, Dog and animal token ideas are the ones that make your deck easier to play and more fun to look at.
Start with the actual tokens your deck creates. Then choose a theme that fits the commander. Rin and Seri wants matching Cats and Dogs. Jinnie Fay wants bold Cat and Dog options. Arahbo wants a pride. Cadira wants a rabbit crowd. Chatterfang wants squirrels with problems. Green token decks want Birds, Beasts, Wolves and other animals that feel like one board state.
Custom animal tokens do not need to be overdesigned. Make the name clear. Make the stats clear. Match the art to the deck. Then print enough copies that your board looks intentional when the engine starts running.
Because when a deck makes twelve Rabbits, eight Dogs or a suspicious number of Squirrels, the least you can do is make them look good.
FAQs
What Are The Best MTG Cat, Dog And Animal Token Ideas?
The best MTG Cat, Dog and animal token ideas include pet portrait tokens, matching Cat and Dog token sets, squirrel swarm tokens, rabbit army tokens, fantasy companion tokens, Food-themed animal tokens and full animal token packs for Commander decks.
What Should A Custom MTG Token Include?
A custom MTG token should include the token name, color, creature type, power/toughness and any important abilities. For animal tokens, the art should be fun, but the card still needs to be readable.
What Tokens Do Rin And Seri Decks Need?
Rin and Seri decks usually want 1/1 Cat tokens and 1/1 Dog tokens. Matching Cat and Dog token art works especially well because the deck creates both types during normal play.
What Tokens Work Best For Jinnie Fay?
Jinnie Fay decks usually want 2/2 green Cat creature tokens with haste and 3/1 green Dog creature tokens with vigilance. Because Jinnie Fay can replace many token types, clear Cat and Dog designs are important.
Can I Use My Real Pet As An MTG Token?
Yes, for casual play, pet portrait tokens are a great idea. Keep the card information accurate and readable, then use your pet photo or custom art as the token image.
Where Can I Print Custom MTG Animal Tokens?
You can design and print custom MTG-style animal tokens through PrintMTG. Start with the card maker for custom token layouts, then print the tokens for casual Commander, Cube or kitchen-table play.
References
Wizards of the Coast: Magic Comprehensive Rules, Token Rules
Wizards of the Coast: The History of Tokens
Scryfall: Rin and Seri, Inseparable
Scryfall: Jinnie Fay, Jetmir’s Second
Scryfall: Arahbo, the First Fang
Scryfall: Cadira, Caller of the Small
Scryfall: Chatterfang, Squirrel General
PrintMTG: MTG Card Maker
PrintMTG: MTG Proxies Guide + Printing
Intent Sentence
This post helps Commander players choose MTG Cat, Dog and animal token ideas by explaining practical themes, commander pairings and design choices, so they can create readable custom tokens that make their decks more fun to play.
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Best MTG Cat, Dog And Animal Token Ideas
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Best MTG Cat, Dog And Animal Token Ideas for Commander, from pet portrait tokens to squirrels, rabbits, birds, beasts and Food.
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Explore the best MTG Cat, Dog and animal token ideas for Commander, including pet portraits, Rin and Seri tokens, Jinnie Fay tokens, squirrels, rabbits, birds and Food-themed designs.
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