Deck Rating: 6 out of 10
Deck Strategy: Goodstuff, Combo
This one is where EDH deckbuilding started to click for me. It did help that I had quite of bunch of proliferate cards lying around unused... As for the commander, it was a toss-up between Vorel of the Hull Clade and Roalesk, Apex Hybrid, with the latter winning out. The main factors in this decision were the power of Simic/ to ramp consistently, and the fact that Ro-Ro provides value both coming in and going out.
This deck can win quite a number of ways; it's versatile and powerful. However, proliferating is an overt way to build your power; there is no hiding from your opponents. Don't be surprised if you end up Archenemy more often than not. Despite this, the deck still wins quite often, by:
- Alternate Wincons. The fast way is Simic Ascendancy...though it dies to removal. The sure way is Darksteel Reactor...if you can survive the pile-on. Helix Pinnacle would also work great in this deck...but I don't own it. Well shucks.
- Commander Damage. Even though Roalesk cannot give himself +1/+1 counters when he comes in, the deck still has Courage in Crisis and other such goodies to get him pumped up. As a flying trampler, he then gets that damage through more often than not. Aggressive use of Roalesk is key to the deck; you'll have the mana to keep casting him while he proliferates the hell out of your board.
- Infinite Turns. This is a funky one, but it works just fine. As long as you can reliably proliferate 3 times every turn (easily possible) and you have the Magistrate's Scepter out, you can just keep taking turns forever. Of course, that relies on your opponents having no mana or cards to stop it. Still, it's a fun out-of-the-blue win.
So now that we know how it wins, how is the deck fun? Glad you asked!
Here's my personal top 5 proliferate interactions:
- Replicating Ring. Normally, this artifact offers a lengthy, circumspect way of ramping. In this deck, it goes like a freaking bullet train and doesn't even stop going when it pops off. Madness.
- Ring of Three Wishes. A cool little tutoring artifact, though with only 3 uses. Oh, wait. Never mind. Tutor as much as you please.
- Lux Cannon. What if the Death Star was ready to fire immediately? Terrifying.
- Midsummer Revel. Instant Army, Just Add ! Beware of Boardwipes.
- Fertilid. Never miss a land drop again. Play all your lands. Draw only gas for the rest of the game. Awesomeness.
Combos
How about a turn 2 Gyre Engineer with a turn 3 Freed from the Real? Barring removal, you now have infinite mana. Have fun.
Pet Cards
To me, Commander is a format where fun is first, and competition second. As such, almost every deck I make will have some cards that are probably not the best choice for inclusion. They're there to stay, though, for no other reason that I like their art/flavor/design.
- Unexpected Results
- Sun Droplet
- Sphinx of Foresight
- Realmwright
An Aside: On the topic of Infect
To me, the most interesting thing about the proliferate mechanic is the fact that it is very open-ended. Combo-ing it with infect/poison counters is all well and legal, but it's frankly a little boring. In the same vein, the fact that poison counters are nigh-impossible to remove makes for dull games, in my mind. I've therefore decided to not use infect cards in the deck. The singular exception is Core Prowler, which is included simply for the proliferate trigger. Whenever I run this deck, I never include poison counters when proliferating, and I'd suggest the same to anyone else playing it. It simply makes for more interactive, less fatalistic gameplay.
If you liked this deck, please leave an Upvote, or write a comment below! If you want to see more mechanically interesting decks with detailed write-ups, head to my user page. Here you can easily find all of my decks, listed by color combination, commander and mechanics!
