Kaolinite- and halloysite-rich slurries were optimized to manufacture porous ceramics shaped by freeze tape casting (FTC). For kaolinite slurries,  two kaolins were used as raw materials, a commercial one provided by Imerys named KCR and the other one originating from Cameroon named KMY. For halloysite slurries, a halloysite-rich clay was collected in the West region of Cameroon and labeled HCR. The obtained freeze tape casting samples were freeze-dried prior to their sintering at 1200, 1300 and 1400°C. Microstructural and mineralogical characterizations were performed to understand the effective changes in main phases, structure in relation with the mechanical resistance and thermal conductivity. The total porosity of dried samples was very similar. The stress to rupture values for KCR and KMY (7 MPa) were greater than for HCR (3 MPa).  The thermal conductivity values were close to 0.2 ± 0.05 W.m-1.K-1, due to the high porosity combined with the presence of organic surfactants within dry tapes. The sintering of all samples at 1200°C lead to an increase in porosity values (close to 70%). In general, kaolinite-based samples exhibited significantly improved stress to rupture values (up to 70 MPa) in comparison to HCR samples (4 MPa). The latter trend resulted from the pore size distribution and, to the type and amount of mullite within these samples. Despite the high porosity of sintered samples, their mechanical resistance was less affected, while the thermal conductivity increased towards 0.3 ± 0.05 W.m-1.K-1. In the case of HCR samples, a sintering at 1300°C allowed improving their stress to rupture values (27 MPa). This behavior suggested a profitable effect of the porosity architecture, thanks to FTC, combined to an increase of the mullite content.