Simic Mechanic - Adapt

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We now have our third Magic: the Gathering mechanic for the new set, Ravnica Allegiance.  Here they are so far with the very handy Wizards of the Coast video links :

• Cult of Rakdos - Spectacle

• Orzhov Syndicate - Afterlife

• Simic Combine - Adapt

Adapt is a keyword action introduced in Ravnica Allegiance for the Simic Combine.  Adapt is 'adapted' version of Monstrous (Monstrosity), from Theros. It always appears as Adapt N. If a creature has no +1/+1 counters on it, you may pay the adapt cost to put N +1/+1 counters on that creature. In contrast to Monstrous, if a creature somehow loses its +1/+1 counters, it can adapt again and pick up more.

• Zegana, Utopian Speaker, 2GU. Legendary Creature - Merfolk Wizard, illustrated by Slawomir Maniak

• Aeromunculus, 1GU. Crreature - Homunculus Mutant, illustrated by Simon Dominic
"The absense of binocular vision imposes certain challenges for a flying creature, which are overcome via echolocation." - Simic research notes

Personally, we did very much enjoy the previous Simic mechanic 'Evolve' which was introducted in Gatecrash.  In this particular mechanic, a creature 'evolved' by gaining an additional +1/+1 counter whenever a larger creature (with greater power or toughness) entered the battlefield under your control.  Not only did this provide some Simic-accurate flavour to the card, we thought it played quite well in standard as you cast your creatures 'on-curve' thus beefing out your previously cast critters.  Adapt looks interesting but we are not completely sold until we start gaming with this.

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Commander Videos 6

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We are back again and on track with the final installment of our wildly popular video series on Commander 2015 with our good buddy Jon at CommandTower.tk.  Today we are looking at the blue / green Simic-coloured pre-constructed decklist called 'Swell the Host'.  MTG Realm playgroup member 'R-Stomp' has already sleeved up with the matching Ultra PRO sleeves and has kicked butt / taken names with this decklist.  

Righto, here are our videos to date -
(1) Commander 2015 Intro
(2) Call the Spirits (Black / White)
(3) Seize Control (Red / Blue)
(4) Plunder the Graves (Black / Green)
(5) Wade into Battle (Red / White)
(6) Swell the Host (Blue / Green)

- and here we present our video review -

Swell the Host
Ezuri, Claw of Progress once led a resistance against the Phyrexians—but now he seeks to extend their gift of “perfection” to his former allies. As more creatures join his mighty host, he infuses them with ever-greater power.

The primary theme of the deck is +1/+1 counters, and the secondary theme is Snakes on a Plane. The primary new commander is Ezuri, Claw of Progress, the secondary new commander is Kaseto, Orochi Archmage, and the reprint commander is Prime Speaker Zegana.

New cards for Commander 2015
• Arachnogenesis
• Broodbirth Viper
• Command Beacon
• Ezuri, Claw of Progress
• Ezuri's Predation
• Gigantoplasm
• Great Oak Guardian
• Illusory Ambusher
• Kaseto, Orochi Archmage
• Mirrormatch
• Scytheclaw
• Skullwinder
• Synthetic Destiny
• Thought Vessel
• Verdant Confluence

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Simic Then and Now

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We want to have a quick looky-loo at one of our fav colour combinations in Magic: the Gathering today - green / blue and more specifically represented by the themes in Ravnica's Simic Combine . . . Let's explore!

Card of the Day - Monday, February 18, 2013
Prime Speaker Zegana – Gatecrash mythic rare. Zegana is the speaker for Zonot One, and she delivered the Fathom Edict that declared a new beginning for the Simic Combine. She claims that the Speakers' Chamber can replace her as guildmaster at any time, although not everyone believes this.

Card of the Day - Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary – Dissension rare. Momir Vig was the leader of the Simic Combine in the original Ravnica block. As an elvish bionmancer, he oversaw all the work done and determined the general direction Simic scientists took. But he also has his own work: a savage, instinct-driven being, based on cytoplastic technology.
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Here are two 60-card piles representative of how these two legendary guild leaders may operate.  Quite decidedly, Momir shines in a creature-centric EDH / Commander format, but  we'll cover that latter.
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Simic Aggro by ChaosfissionLand (23)
    2x Alchemist's Refuge
    4x Breeding Pool
    8x Forest
    4x Hinterland Harbor
    5x Island
Creature (27)
    4x Cloudfin Raptor
    4x Elusive Krasis
    4x Experiment One
    3x Master Biomancer
    2x Prime Speaker Zegana
    4x Strangleroot Geist
    2x Wolfir Silverheart
    4x Zameck Guildmage
Instant (6)
    3x Rapid Hybridization
    3x Simic Charm
Enchantment (4)
    4x Rancor
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Simic creatures by dimirshadowLand (24)
    2x Breeding Pool
    8x Forest
    11x Island
    3x Llanowar Reborn
Creature (25)
    4x Coiling Oracle
    3x Cytoplast Root-Kin
    2x Experiment Kraj
    2x Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
    1x Novijen Sages
    3x Plaxcaster Frogling
    1x Simic Basilisk
    3x Trygon Predator
    3x Vigean Graftmage
    3x Vigean Hydropon
Artifact (6)
    4x Ashnod's Transmogrant
    2x Evolution Vat
Instant (3)
    3x Cytoshape
Enchantment (2)
    2x Utopia Sprawl
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For some reason, we've overlooked a few of the cards in the Momir build and will want to drop by MTG Mint Card to pick up a few MTG singles for our Momir EDH deck.
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Simic Sampler

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,
With each new Magic: the Gathering set, we here at MTG Realm love to work out a few casual (sixty-card standard constructed) builds to explore the new mechanics and some key cards.  Too often we gather a collection of new cards which simply just hits our shelf not to get gamed with again.  The greatest compliment we can get from another player at a Friday Night Magic event is a comment along the lines of 'wow, what's that card - that's actually pretty good' or some such thing.  With more tournament-worthy 'net decks' becoming prevalent / popular at local gaming stores, we're seeing less and less cards from any new set with only a dozen or so 'good' cards seeing prevalent play.  That's just one reason we like to toy with our new 'sampler' builds to showcase more of the new cards with our group at our kitchen table.

Anywhoos - here's one of those 'sampler' builds featuring Gatecrash's Simic Combine and their new mechanic 'evolve'.  We particularly love the mana acceleration possible here with Gyre Sage and Somberwald Sage to drop increasingly larger threats onto the battlefield.

23 Lands : 10 x Forest, 6 x Island, 4 x Hinterland Harbor, 2 x Breeding Pool, 1 x Alchemist's Refuge

30 Creatures : 4 x Arbor Elf, 3 x Experiment One, 3 x Cloudfin Raptor, 3 x Gyre Sage, 2 x Elusive Krasis, 3 x Somberwald Sage, 2 x Drakewing Krasis, 2 x Nimbus Swimmer, 2 x Fathom Mage, 2 x Maste Biomancer, 2 x Prime Speaker Zegana, 1 x Soul of the Harvest, 1 x Worldspine Wurm

7 Other Spells : 3 x Simic Charm, 2 x Simic Keyrune, 2 x Increasing Savagery
 
 
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If, over the next few weeks, we like the 'feel' of this deck, we will likely drop a few cards, pick up a few additional copies at MTG Mint Card to give it a more competitive profile and take it for a spin at our local gaming store, OMG! Games here in Canada-Land just north of Toronto. 

Our buddy Marvel Sutantio in Jakarta, Indonesia had some very excellent points regarding strategy and the new Simic 'evolve' mechanic.  Here's his solid points . . .

• Having Ajani, Caller of the Pride giving +1/+1 counters to Fathom Mage (and for Zameck Guildmage) can consistently give you a free card draw every turn. Ajani curves extremely well with Fathom Mage too.

• A good evolve deck IMHO doesn't rely on accumulating +1/+1 counters on a specific key creature. Those counters are just tools, a win more card. So cards such as Ooze Flux, Simic Manipulator, Simic Fluxmage aren't useful. I think the deck best work using both green & white's "standard" powerful creatures while giving them those +1/+1 as a win more mechanism.

• Sooo in conclusion, I think the deck should use creatures like Centaur Healer, Loxodon Smiter, Thragtusk, Armada Wurm, to evolve Elusive Krasis (Unblockable finisher), Gyre Sage (Mana booster to cast the bigger guns) & Fathom Mage (card drawer). Plus having Master Biomancer active to boost the big guns to be even bigger. Prime Speaker Zegana is sweet as another card drawer in the deck.

• IMO Simic Charm is probably the only charm worth playing in this kind of deck

• Another thing I've been thinking about is Unleash. Making a UGR deck using Unleash as an initial source of +1/+1 counters then spreading them out can be quite interesting....

• Though it probably won't be as versatile as Scavenge. Filtering / drawing cards using Grisly Salvage then Scavenging Dreg Mangler & Deadbridge Goliath can be quite interesting. Especially with Gyre Sage giving the much needed mana boost to pay for the Scavenge costs. Lotleth Troll can give extra +1/+1 counters too. But the sickest combo in this UBG deck would be Corpsejack Menace + Master Biomancer.
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