Ezuri 2.0

Commander / EDH Casual Counters FNM GU (Simic)

BlueMageBrandon

Creature (41)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Beast Whisperer
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Bloodspore Thrinax
• 1x Boreal Druid
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Chasm Skulker
• 1x Cold-Eyed Selkie
• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fathom Mage
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1x Gyre Sage
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Herald of Secret Streams
• 1x Heronblade Elite
• 1x Hooded Hydra
• 1x Invisible Stalker
• 1x Iridescent Hornbeetle
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Marwyn, the Nurturer
• 1x Master Biomancer
• 1x Pathbreaker Ibex
• 1x Plaxcaster Frogling
• 1x Priest of Titania
• 1x Prime Speaker Zegana
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Sage of Fables
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Scurry Oak
• 1x Simic Manipulator
• 1x Spike Weaver
• 1x Thassa, God of the Sea
• 1x Toothy, Imaginary Friend
• 1x Trygon Predator
• 1x Whirler Rogue
• 1x Zameck Guildmage

Land (37)

• 1x Blinkmoth Nexus
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Faerie Conclave
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 14x Forest
• 1x Inkmoth Nexus
• 10x Island
• 1x Lumbering Falls
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Curse of the Swine
• 1x Give / Take
• 1x Oversimplify
• 1x Rishkar's Expertise
• 1x Triumph of the Hordes

Artifact (4)

• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Commander (1)

Instant (11)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Blossoming Defense
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Inspiring Call
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Rapid Hybridization
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Snakeskin Veil
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Withstand Death

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Rhystic Study

---

Maybeboard

Creature (3)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Bane of Progress
• 1x Spellskite

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Ravenform

---

Hello!

My new take on my old Ezuri, Claw of Progress deck! I used to run a lot more token generators and overall subpar cards, but I decided to try and focus the deck a little more. Now, the deck is running more synergistic cards that will both incrementally add experience counters with Ezuri, Claw of Progress but also be a much better place to put his +1/+1 counters than a random 1/1 token.

Ramp (14)

I want to get Ezuri, Claw of Progress out on turn 3 as much as possible, and so I've decided to include a lot of ramp cards that cost 2 mana or less. I'm obviously favoring mana dorks here, since once Ezuri, Claw of Progress is in play, they will trigger him, adding an experience counter, and also be a body for him to put counters on if needed. These cards are: Birds of Paradise, Elvish Mystic, Fyndhorn Elves, Llanowar Elves, Devoted Druid, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Arbor Elf, Priest of Titania, Boreal Druid, and Sol Ring (10).

While the emphasis of my ramp package is to be able to play Ezuri, Claw of Progress on turn 2 as frequently as possible, the cards in this category are still included because of how well they synergize with him. These cards are: Fertilid, Gyre Sage, Heronblade Elite, and Marwyn, the Nurturer (4).

Card Draw (12)

Repeatable card draw is, of course, preferred over single-use card draw. My repeatable effects come in a few different flavors Zameck Guildmage and Sage of Fables are mana sinks that let me take advantage of all the counters Ezuri, Claw of Progress is putting on my creatures; Cold-Eyed Selkie and Fathom Mage are creatures that are asking for +1/+1 counters to be put on them; and Rhystic Study, Thassa, God of the Sea, and Beast Whisperer are just great cards, with the former drawing me a bunch of cards, the middle letting me scry each turn while also letting me make my creatures unblockable, and the latter being great in a deck running 40+ creatures (7).

My one-time card draw effects are still exciting. Inspiring Call saves my team while also drawing me 2 to 4 cards. Toothy, Imaginary Friend is another creature that is asking to have +1/+1 counters put on it, and note how he triggers upon leaving the battlefield, not just dying. And Give / Take, Rishkar's Expertise, and Prime Speaker Zegana should all draw me 6+ cards (5).

Removal (14)

I feel my removal strikes a healthy balance between creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and the graveyard, as well as being single-target, repeatable, and board wipes.

Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, and Reality Shift all hit a creature at instant speed for one or two mana. Reclamation Sage will trigger Ezuri, Claw of Progress while also hitting the a problematic artifact or enchantment. Beast Within's flexibility to hit any permanent makes it worth its higher mana cost. And Swan Song is a versatile counter spell that can be used aggressively to counter a spell that would benefit an opponent or defensively to protect my creatures (6).

Glen Elendra Archmage, Scavenging Ooze, Simic Manipulator, and Trygon Predator are all repeatable removal spells. Glen Elendra Archmage synergizes great with Ezuri, Claw of Progress's +1/+1 counters, taking care of noncreature spells that could benefit my opponents or hurt my creatures. Scavenging Ooze repeatably removes potentially troublesome cards from my opponents' graveyards that they might be hoping to reanimate, while also just being a good mana sink that will become a big threat, itself. Simic Maniipulator will love Ezuri, Claw of Progress's +1/+1 counters, taking care of any threatening creature my opponents' control by moving it to my control. And Trygon Predator can swing in the air every turn, destroying the best artifact or enchantment on the board (4).

Straddling the line between single-target and board wipe, Curse of the Swine can hit quite a few of the problematic creatures on the board, and Scavenger Grounds will nuke all graveyards once when the moment is right (2).

The board wipes I am running are Cyclonic Rift, bouncing all non-land permanents I don't control, and Oversimplify, exiling all creatures (2).

Core Creatures (11)

11 core creatures may sound a little low, but remember that I have many creatures in the other categories, and they can all grow to be sizable threats with Ezuri, Claw of Progress's help. This category starts with Master Biomancer and Bloodspore Thrinax, with each helping my other creatures get even more +1/+1 counters on them, and Pathbreaker Ibex, who will buff my board without even having to place counters on him (3).

Then, there is Invisible Stalker, Champion of Lambholt, and Herald of Secret Streams. These creatures are all unblockable, and the latter two make all of my other creatures unblockable, too. Invisible Stalker also has hexproof (3).

To end this category, I have my token producers. As I said at the beginning, my previous take on an Ezuri, Claw of Progress deck had many more of these, but I felt it was sub-optimal, and so I've shaved these cards down to only those that I feel are significant. These cards are: Chasm Skulker, Hangarback Walker, Hooded Hydra, Iridescent Hornbeetle, and Scurry Oak (5).

Utility Cards (16)

The cards in this category mostly fall into two sections: spells that make my creatures unblockable and spells that protect my creatures. The unblockable spells are Whirler Rogue, Whispersilk Cloak, and the previously mentioned Thassa, God of the Sea (3). The protection spells are Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves for equipment, Snakeskin Veil, Blossoming Defense, Withstand Death, and Heroic Intervention for spells, Plaxcaster Frogling for creatures, and the previously mentioned Inspiring Call, Glen Elendra Archmage, and Swan Song (10).

The three spells that doesn't fit into either of those two groupings are Spike Weaver, which is a Fog-effect that I can activate every turn with help from Ezuri, Claw of Progress, Triumph of the Hordes, a great win-con for this deck in terms of performance and flavor, and Eternal Witness (3). (Note: don't ask me why Champion of Lambholt and Herald of Secret Streams aren't included under the Utility category, I'm not sure either...)

Lands (37)

This brings me to my land base. I am running 14 Forests and 11 Islands (including Faerie Conclave as one). There are also 7 dual lands. The more interesting lands, however, are Rogue's Passage, which is another card to make my creatures unblockable, Command Beacon to retrieve Ezuri, Claw of Progress if he ever gets prohibitively expensive, the aforementioned Scavenger Grounds, and then 4 man-lands for Ezuri, Claw of Progress to put +1/+1 counters on which will evade sorcery speed removal, Faerie Conclave, Lumbering Falls, Blinkmoth Nexus, and Inkmoth Nexus.

A Quick Note on Budget and Power Level

I, like many of you, have been building my collection for many years. This means that I have some relatively expensive (for cardboard) cards in here. However, I am not actively looking to pour money in here. So, while you can suggest them on the off-chance I have them, I will not be buying any cards that cost more than $5; an exception being if they are instrumental or massively impactful, and then the absolute cap is $20.

For power level, I'm not really sure what to put here. If I had to give it a number, I would say between a 5 and 7 (with 10 being high--I believe that is the convention, at least). I want my decks to do fun things and use the combat step while talking with my opponents and having a good time. That being said, the last time I had a playgroup was years ago, and they were a bunch of filthy casuals. Now, I am heading to my LGS to play, and so as I get a better understanding about how they play, I will either adjust and update this section, or find a new LGS.

For what it is worth, last time I went, I played against a few decks I'll list here. I wish I could give more information about what they run and their power level, but I can't quite remember, and I don't feel comfortable judging how powerful they were without more experience. The decks:

• Nekusar, the Mindrazer, unoptimized
• 90-land Child of Alara
• Goblins, the most competitive deck at my table
• Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh  
• A red/green deck
• A green deck

Questions

Now, my questions for you, dear reader:

• Am I running too much ramp? If so, should I cut the 2- ramp, or the 3+ ramp?
• How is the balance in my removal section?
• And of course any other feedback you would like to give, I would appreciate it.

Thank you!

And so I end this description with a "Thank you for reading" and a "Please comment with advice".

BlueMageBrandon

Top Ranked	Achieved #119 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #102 position in Commander / EDH 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH GU (Simic) 2 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 25 - 0 Uncommons 11 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.70
Tokens	Ape 3/3 G, Beast 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, Boar 2/2 G, Experience Token, Fractal 0/0 GU, Frog Lizard 3/3 G, Insect 1/1 G, Manifest 2/2 C, Morph 2/2 C, Snake 1/1 G, Squid 1/1 U, Squirrel 1/1 G, Thopter 1/1 C