Food in MTG: Rules, History, and FAQ

Last updated on December 26, 2024

Food (Commander 2021) | Illustration by Steve Prescott

“Resource tokens” are a frequent item that shows up on Magic tabletops, and Food was one of the first. Food and other resources like powerstones, clues, and treasures are used as mechanical game pieces and as a method to enhance the flavor (no pun intended) and cool factor on some cards. Food has proven popular, and it's shown up in a number of sets over the last few years.

There are some quirks with how Food tokens work, so let’s take a bite (pun intended) into their history and rules!

What Is a Food Token in MTG?

Savvy Hunter | Illustration Dan Dos Santos

Food tokens are artifact tokens with the “food” subtype in MTG. They have the ability, “pay mana, and sacrifice. Gain 3 life.” It’s probably worth noting that although most of the time you see Food, it’s not just restricted to the tokens!

How Do Food Tokens Work?

Food tokens allow you to pay two and sacrifice it to gain three life. They can be created by a variety of cards, and they can be used as resources for other cards and effects like sacrificing to Cauldron Familiar to bring it back from the graveyard.

“Food” is an artifact subtype and isn’t just limited to tokens, but this is where you’ll find it most often. If a permanent is an artifact then there’s no reason why it can’t also be food. There are very rare exceptions to food's cost of and life gain of three like in Vegetation Abomination from Unfinity and Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender from Wilds of Eldraine.

The History of Food in MTG

Food first appeared in Throne of Eldraine in 2019 on 27 cards in that set. While it's not evergreen, MaRo noted in a 2022 article that it’s considered “deciduous,” so it can occasionally appear in sets without being a large feature of the set.

Since then we’ve seen food in Modern Horizons 2, Unfinity, in a big way in Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (including some of the best Food commanders), then in Wilds of Eldraine, and as part of the forage mechanic in Bloomburrow. Reprints of some key Food cards have also come in the usual places for occasional reprints, like Secret Lairs, The List, and Commander decks.

When Can You Sacrifice a Food Token?

There are no time restrictions on when you can sacrifice a Food token. Unless something else says otherwise, you can sacrifice a token at any time you could cast an instant.

Are Food Tokens Permanents?

Yes, Food tokens are artifact permanents.

Is Food an Artifact?

Yes. So far all instances of food in MTG have been artifacts. “Food” is an artifact subtype, so it can only appear on artifacts.

Can Food Be a Creature Type?

No, food can only be a subtype of artifacts. Sometimes creatures can have the subtype of food, like Gingerbrute, but they’re also artifacts. The subtype applies to the artifact part of its typing, not the creature part, so food isn’t a creature type.

It’s a similar situation that applies to the shrine subtype for enchantments that exists for the Neon Dynasty shrines, like Go-Shintai of Life's Origin.

What Are the Ways to Generate Food Tokens?

A lot of cards can create Food tokens. Some of the best Food cards are Oko, Thief of Crowns, Witch's Cauldron, and Gilded Goose. Some cards, like Gingerbrute and Golden Egg, are food themselves, which can be useful in some instances.

There are plenty of ways to generate tokens that are Food, and more are printed in pretty much every set!

When You Sacrifice a Food Token Does it Go to the Graveyard?

Yes, though once Food hits the bin, it's gone forever. So when you crack a Food it triggers effects that watch for artifacts going to the graveyard like Disciple of the Vault, but you will not have a chance to target the artifact with Argivian Find.

Can You Tap Food Tokens for Mana?

No, only certain cards allow Food to tap for mana like improvise, Golden Egg, Galazeth Prismari.

Can I Forage and Sacrifice Food at the Same Time?

No, a Food token can only be sacrificed for one effect at a time. If you have two Food, and Camellia, the Seedmiser you could use one to gain life, and one to forage and provide a mass pump to your squirrels.

Decklist: Esper Food in Modern

Ovalchase Daredevil | Illustration by Winona Nelson

This deck by Aspiring Spike was particularly popular when Yorion, Sky Nomad was legal in Modern. Despite the ban in Modern, it’s still a popular and powerful deck that allows you to go infinite without much difficulty.

Make five or more tokens in one turn with some combination of The Underworld Cookbook and Academy Manufactor, and you can use Time Sieve to take infinite turns!

Final Bite

Turn into a Pumpkin | Illustration by Vincent Proce

These extra resource tokens like Food, Blood, and Treasure are proving popular in both Limited and Constructed formats, so I definitely expect to see Food pop up again fairly regularly. It seems like there’s still plenty of design space available with Food, and it’s a handy resource that can be used for anything.

What do you think? Do you enjoy Food’s flavor? What are your best food recommendations? Do you think it’s already overused? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, or over in the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, may your Food be the tastiest!