Counts as

"Counts as" was a phrase printed on old Legendary cards that gave them creature types. It appeared only on cards in Tempest block, the last block to use the "Summon [type]" formatting. Previous sets disregarded creature types for Legends altogether, before being assigned types during the Great Creature Type Update. Later sets used the "Creature - Legend [type]" format before Champions of Kamigawa made it a supertype.

Modern design avoids using this by limiting the amount of types a creature can be to what fits on the type line, but two successors to this phrase exist: the Changeling mechanic as a whole, and the Party-centric vertical cycle of Stonework Packbeast, Veteran Adventurer, and Tajuru Paragon alongside the later-printed Burakos, Party Leader. Each of them carry the phrase "is also a Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard", allowing them to be Party wild cards.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Counts As (Obsolete)

Some older cards were printed with text stating that the card “counts as” something. Cards printed with this text have received errata in the Oracle card reference to state that the card actually is that thing.