The artwork for the Mutant Ape Yacht Club is my favorite of any NFT collection. I’m blown away by the amount of originality, creativity, and detail that went into creating each Mutant. While all of MAYC is special, I wanted to put together a list of my 13 favorite Mutants. Obviously this is just my opinion, and I’d like share the 3 criteria I followed in coming up with this list: only M1 Mutants, only Mutants in the first 10k, and no “melty mouths.”
1) Only M1 Mutants
Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I prefer M1 Mutants.
2) Only Mutants in the first 10k
3) No Mutants with “melty mouths”
While all Mutants are wonderful, I personally prefer Mutants that don’t have “melty mouths.” Therefore out of the 33 possible M1 mouth traits, 19 of them were eliminated from the outset. Only Mutants that had one of the following 14 mouths were chosen:
With all this in mind, let’s get to the list!
13) The Mutant Sailor
Mutant Apes are all part of the “Yacht Club,” but if you were to look for a Mutant decked out in a full sailor outfit — ie M1 Sailor Shirt & M1 Fisherman’s Hat — you wouldn’t find many. In fact, only 6 Sailor Mutants exist in the entire 10k collection and #8320 is the only one with a non-melty face.
12) The Businessman
“Everyone’s crazy ‘bout a sharp-dressed… Ape?” Yessir fam! This snazzy Mutant is sporting the rare M1 Black Suit. What’s most interesting about this Mutant is when said Black Suit is paired with M1 Black fur (of which only 2 exist). This Black Suit/ Black fur combo gives off the cool aesthetic of the Mutant’s suit being on fire as a result of its smoldering fur.
11) The Treasure Chest/ Engagement Ring Mutant
Mazel Tov on finding the treasure! Mutant #3514 is unbelievably rare — in fact it’s so rare, that it’s the ONLY ONE in the entire collection that has both M1 Solid Gold Fur and M1 Grin Diamond Grill.
10) The “Junior” Mega DMT
All Eyez on… this Mutant. Mutant #5988 looks very similar to another member of MAYC, namely @TaylorGerring’s Mega DMT Mutant:
Thanks to the combination of M1 DMT fur + M1 Hypnotized + M1 Vietnam Era Hat (the only Mutant that has all of these traits) #5988 is also mostly comprised of eyeballs and feels as if it could be Mega DMT’s younger brother.
9) The Phish Mutant #weareeverywhere
As a longtime Phish fan having been to over 120 shows, I obviously had to find the “Phishiest” Mutant. Well look no further! Thanks to a Tie Die shirt and Trippy fur, things were already looking great for Mutant #5145 (only 3 other Mutants have both traits). But throw in 3D glasses AND a fish mouth taboot (taboot)? This easily makes #5145 the Phishiest Mutant in MAYC.
8) The Double Cheetah
A very original Mutant. #8450’s Cavemen Pelt transforms into a living cheetah on its shoulder, and coupled with the Cheetah fur trait — makes for a fascinating mutant (of which only 2 exist).
7) The Living Zombie
Mutant #1268 is a literal Zombie. The M1 Fez and M1 Bone Tee — which are portrayed as an exposed brain and rib cage — complement the existing M1 Zombie fur and transform #1268 into a living zombie (only 2 exist).
6) The Devil
The most devil-like Mutant. In addition to the devil popping out of #5149’s head, this Mutant’s complexion is completely red thanks to the M1 combo of: Red fur + BAYC T Red + Rage mouth (ie the only Mutant that has all these). As an added bonus, the M1 Coins eyes are held in place by what looks like “tiny devil hands.”
5) The Colorful Mutant
The most colorful Mutant is also one of the rarest: MAYC #4065 is the only Mutant that has the M1 Grin Multicolored + M1 Trippy Fur combination.
4) The Impostor Mutant
“Wait, hold on a second… are you sure that you’re a Mutant?” This beautiful 4 trait Mutant is so clean that it seems like an anomaly that it’s part of MAYC — it looks like it belongs in BAYC! In fact, the the only mutant-like feature it has are sharp teeth of its M1 Grin. Straddling the BAYC/ MAYC line, Mutant #9028 is truly special.
3) The Mouth
Who needs 1 mouth when you can have 4! The 4 mouths of MAYC #345 are the most of any M1 Mutant:
- M1 Rage — 2 mouths
- M1 WW2 Pilot Helm — another mouth
- M1 Tuxedo Tee — yet another mouth
This distinctive and iconic Mutant is obviously a 1/1.
2) The King Midas
“Un. Real.” There’s no other way to describe #4578 — it’s absolutely astonishing. No other M1 Grin Gold Grill + M1 Solid Gold Fur combo exists in MAYC except for this one… and that doesn’t even take into account the “bonus” gold coins of the M1 Eyes! Truly one-of-a-kind.
1) The MAYC Mascot
The perfect MAYC mutant. Mutant #65 should be MAYC’s poster boy and mascot, and is unquestionably my favorite Mutant. Besides the literal Mutant itself, Mutant #65 sports 3 insignia that reference MAYC:
- M1 BAYC T Black — a colorful Mutant Ape on its shoulder
- M1 BAYC Flipped Brim — a green Mutant Ape rising from its head
- M1 Gold Stud — the MAYC earring
Having one of these traits is special. Getting two of them is epic. But having all three?? (only 2 exist — the other has the melty face)
Absolutely legendary 🙌
