Vicious Evolution

Commander / EDH* Casual Combo Counters Four Color GWUB Multiplayer

Kinkybobo

Creature (34)

• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Chasm Skulker
• 1x Clever Impersonator
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Cytoplast Manipulator
• 1x Cytoplast Root-Kin
• 1x Deepglow Skate
• 1x Desecration Demon
• 1x Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1x Engulfing Slagwurm
• 1x Ethersworn Adjudicator
• 1x Fathom Mage
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Gyre Sage
• 1x Horizon Chimera
• 1x Kalonian Hydra
• 1x Kruphix, God of Horizons
• 1x Master Biomancer
• 1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1x Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
• 1x Plaxcaster Frogling
• 1x Predator Ooze
• 1x Primordial Hydra
• 1x Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x The Mimeoplasm
• 1x Vigor
• 1x Vizier of the Menagerie
• 1x Vorel of the Hull Clade
• 1x Willbreaker
• 1x Zameck Guildmage

Land (40)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Ancient Ziggurat
• 1x Arcane Sanctum
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 5x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 5x Island
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 1x New Benalia
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Opulent Palace
• 5x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Seaside Citadel
• 1x Simic Growth Chamber
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of Mystery
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Transguild Promenade

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Genesis Wave
• 1x Give / Take
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Tezzeret's Gambit

Commander (1)

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Asceticism
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Lurking Predators
• 1x Retribution of the Ancients
• 1x Sylvan Library

Planeswalker (5)

• 1x Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
• 1x Ajani Steadfast
• 1x Garruk, Apex Predator
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Nissa, Steward of Elements

Artifact (5)

• 1x Bow of Nylea
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Quicksilver Amulet
• 1x Ring of Kalonia
• 1x Vedalken Orrery

Instant (4)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift

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Maybeboard

Creature (9)

• 1x Damia, Sage of Stone
• 1x Edric, Spymaster of Trest
• 1x Elderscale Wurm
• 1x Experiment Kraj
• 1x Overbeing of Myth
• 1x Prime Speaker Zegana
• 1x Reyhan, Last of the Abzan *f-etch*
• 1x Sage of Hours
• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Curse of Predation
• 1x Forced Adaptation
• 1x Inexorable Tide
• 1x Primeval Bounty
• 1x Privileged Position

Land (1)

• 1x Riptide Laboratory

Instant (1)

• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Praetor's Counsel

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This deck's strategy is based around generating a ridiculous amount of +1/+1 counters to overwhelm any and all opponents with an ever evolving stock of creatures bred to absolute perfection.

TLDR

A straightforward and tactical approach utilizing +1/+1 counters that adheres to that system while forgoing less reliable strategies like generating -1/-1 and poison counters to eek out a cheap win, or implementing obscenely complicated or gimmicky win combos that only work after questionable shuffling and numerous mulligans.

Backstory

This is the current iteration of the first deck I ever built by myself when I originally started playing MTG a few years ago. When I began actively looking for a set of cards to start playing with, which was sometime during the "Gatecrash" block after a co-worker convinced me and a friend to check MTG out, I happened upon a deck called "Simic Synthesis" that featured a gorgeous creature card called Fathom Mage on the front of the box. I thought it looked pretty neat so I snatched it off the shelf and used it to go head to head with my friend who was also just then getting into the game. Our first few matches swept us into a world we never could have believed was so expansive and rich with adventure. The Creatures were meticulously designed and beautifully depicted, the rules were challenging and intuitive, but most importantly... the possibilities... were endless. Ever since then I've been in love with Magic, and the +1/+1 counter mechanic in particular, and have strived to continually improve upon the set of cards that got me hooked on this game from the very beginning.

Combos//Interactions

It's a little crazy how well the deck synergizes with itself and there are nearly too many interactions to list, so I figured the best way to explain some of the combos would be to highlight some very key cards and explain the best way to utilize them:

• Sylvan Library paired with:
1. Chasm Skulker
Playable within the first few turns, these two cards present a serious problem to opponents. Sylvan Library allows you to draw three cards at the beginning of your draw step, and no matter whether you choose to keep the extra two or not, Chasm Skulker gets a +1/+1 counter for each one of them... and it happens every draw step. If left unattended for even a turn or two, you have a massive creature on the field that even if killed will generate islandwalking squids for each counter! God forbid you also had Hardened Scales out on turn one as that's an absolute nightmare for whoever you're playing against. Your opponent's only option is to either exile this thing soon, or counter it / bounce it back to your hand. Essentially making them waste valuable removal before the game has really even begun.
2. Horizon Chimera
Playable by turn four or five, these two cards can provide steady life gain if draw support isn't an issue, but more importantly Horizon Chimera almost completely offsets the cost of keeping the first extra card drawn via Sylvan Library, by reducing the amount of life lost by only one point! Effectively creating a pseudo Underworld Connections.
3. Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, Nissa, Steward of Elements and Lurking Predators
Listed together because they all have a similar interaction with Sylvan Library. The ability to constantly be in control of what's coming next is somewhat central to playing this deck efficiently, and these three cards epitomize just how valuable that control is. With Rashmi, Eternities Crafter you can instantly cast nonland cards from the top of your deck for free by casting things you already planned to play and with Nissa, Steward of Elements you can set yourself up to get land and creatures from your deck straight onto the field. Finally with Lurking Predators you can set up horrifying traps for your enemies. Imagine someone playing a spell and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger ends up on the field for free. Sylvan Library is an absolute monster of a card in this respect, allowing you to plan these encounters rather than leave them up to chance. I feel it's also important to note here that this last interaction is why there is so much "Scry" throughout this deck which features eight lands such as Temple of Mystery and two planeswalkers with the ability.

• Archangel of Thune paired with:
1. Fathom Mage , and Horizon Chimera
form an infinite life gain + draw card + counter generation combo.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	7 years
Exclude colors	R
Splash colors	B
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	21 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.92
Tokens	Beast 3/3 B, Beast 3/3 G, Emblem Ajani Steadfast, Emblem Garruk, Apex Predator, Squid 1/1 U
Folders	commander deck ideas