You have joined us at a good time. The plans of the “Visionary” were flawed and caused his demise. We are now the ones who are charged with continuing the grand work. Our creations prove that we can improve and adapt to any challenge and situation. With the strength of Mind and Body we have mutated some of the most deadly and resilient creatures Ravnica has seen! Now that you have seen what we can do, won’t you lay down here in this vat and enjoy your new life as one of the simic.
Prime Speaker Zegana.
The regal and reticent merfolk called Zegana is the current guildmaster of the Simic Combine. She is the Speaker for Zonot One, the first of the mysterious sinkholes to emerge on Ravnica, and she delivered the Fathom Edict that declared a new beginning for the Combine. Zegana is quick to point out, however, that she speaks at the discretion of the Speakers’ Chamber, a secretive body of all nine of the zonots’ speakers. She claims that the Chamber can revoke that status, at which time another Speaker would replace her as the guildmaster. Many outside the Simic believe this is false modesty, however, and that Zegana controls the Chamber—if it actually meets at all
Zameck.
The Simic guildhall is not a particularly ceremonial or celebratory place. In Zonot Seven, within the Tenth District, a huge chamber just below the surface has been cleared of debris and serves as the gathering place for all the Speakers, as well as a place where non-Simic visitors can meet with Zegana or other Combine emissaries. The roof of Zameck contains many openings to the sky, covered over with an Æther-infused organic material known as plax to create opalescent skylights, which makes the chamber seem almost as though it’s underwater. Thick cords of kelp buttress the walls of the huge chamber, and algae cakes the corners and edges of walls and floors. The main chamber floor is clear with the exception of a large table in the shape of a loose spiral, with a slightly elevated podium at its center.
About Me.
My name is Togepi and I've been playing magic for a long time. I'll spare you this part where I talk myself up with how long I've played and how many tournaments I won before going casual and entering EDH. Instead I will tell you that after playing all of the Simic commanders extensively I feel that only Zegana has really competitive EDH potential in a multiplayer setting. (don't get upset Edric fan boys I know hes a beast in 1v1 insomuch that he was banned by the French!)
You Might like this deck if you....
Like playing control
Like playing on your opponents turns
Like large creatures You Might NOT like this deck if you...
Like countering every spell your opponents play (we only counter what affects our board position!)
Like to over extend
Have and extreme hatred of large wizard fish.
Like playing combo
So in playing this deck the advantage we have is our low cost on our creatures. As most of our creatures grow they have lower CMC than other decks. This allows us to start with threats fast. I can’t stress enough how important having a counterspell in your first few turns is. This will allow you to play two or three creatures and not have to fear a board wipe. After you play Zegana you (depending) will be okay with them board wiping as it will reset your general to the command zone and you should have a full hand again. Make sure to keep pressure on the decks you feel are most threatening to your game plan. Discard cards in black are very bad for us and disrupt our strategies.
Cliffnotes version
1. Try to always keep a hand with a counterspell
2. Play Zegana when you can draw at least five cards
3. Don’t be afraid to let them kill Zegana this is a good thing.
4. Keep pressure on most threating targets
5. Play carefully around black decks you know that are running cards like Mind sludge
Card Choices
Coming Soon
Cards not in this deck but should be considered for alternate strategies.
Master Biomancer – Haven’t got to test him but I he would be good trust me! Acidic slime – A staple for a reason and especially good with deadeye navigator. Eternal witness – A staple for a reason, I should be running this just can’t find room. BioShift – allows for you to make an unblocked creature huge or throw more counters onto Fathom Mage. Forgotten Ancient – Grows fast but moving counters is slow still over all good card. Quest for Renewal – Untap theme works better when played with flash enablers Seedborn Muse - Untap theme works better when played with flash enablers Murkfiend Liege - Untap theme works better when played with flash enablers Phantom Nantuko – hard to kill combat wise and can grow himself with ease. Scute Mob – Small and easy to grow, only drawback is hes pretty useless until five lands are out and he doesn’t evolve any other creatures.
Game 1 - Aurellia starts off fast and heavy dropping a turn oneLegion Loyalist following it up with a blind obedience turn two all whilst I am trying to ramp. The game ends pretty quickly for me as I cant stop a turn 5 Aurellia and on turn six she equips a sword of war and peace to finish the game off.
Game 2 - I have a hand with no green mana sources but after two mulligans decide to keep with three islands, Sensei's divining top, and a hinder being the most important things in hand. She is much slower this game and my early top finds me a flooded grove for a turn three drop. I just keep mana open and on turn six she tries to play aurellia but its hindered into the deck. She at this point has a Frontline Medic attached with a moonsilver spear thats making angel tokens. I land a Psychosis Crawler and then play Zegana drawing 5 one of which is Time Spiral a few turns later I am over running with a very large Crawler for the win.
Game 3 - This game was much closer but it was late at night so I dont remember exact details. I know she got a very fast start again but I was able to ramp up then drop an Edric, Spymaster of Trest then a Wolfir Silverheart binding them together which slowed down her beats on me. I was then able to land a Progenitor Mimic copying the Wolfir and started making very large tokens. We both got down to about 8 life before she won with a Double Cleave casted on an angel token I didn't block.
Over all I felt that the deck ran fine but I did notice I wasnt drawing very much green mana. I may have to look into that after a few more games, could just be the shuffling.
6-28-13
Zedruu vs Drana vs Zegana
This game was a fast one. First couple turns where uneventful but I stuck a turn 4 Overbeing of Myth but then turn 5 for drana hit me with a Mindsludge which put me out of the game as he played some big dude and killed me. Zeddruu didnt really do anything that game he just durdled around.
Maelstrom Wanderer vs Jarad vs Zegana
This game was long but here is the highlights. Progenitor mimic as a copy of Fathom Mage
drawing me lots of cards jarad spewing a bunch of large dudes onto the field including a large sewer nemisis. I end up bouncing my own P-mimic with riptide labortory and re-casting it as a copy of Sewer Nemisis but the turn after I cast Zegana for 34 card draw and play Tooth and nail for Palinchron and Deadeye Navigator so with infinite mana I am also able to cast crater hoof several times with Dead eye and kill both players on the same turn.
Urban Evolution - For the mana I think there is better draw and the ramp is kinda irrelvant. Thragtusk - I really wanted to add this card but then Kalonian Hydra got spoiled so I think I have to fit it in. Avenger of Zendikar - Used to be a bomb but I've lost favor with this card. The more I think on it I like it! acidic slime- I have been getting some grief in my play group for not running this card though I'm not sure what to take out for him.
Your list is definitely a control build and I plan on adding a section on control builds to the OP.
Also I really need a Master Biomancer in my deck to help the "grow" Theme.
As for Zegana drawing less cards I've found if you can draw at least 4 cards your getting the "Wizards" standard for mana to card draw ratio and it looks like that's probably what you get on avg.
One question I have is my cmc is still high and your looks higher with less ramp how have your games been land drop wise?
I am thinking of retooling this deck to have Momir Vig, Simic Visionary at the helm and droping the "grow" theme.
It will make the deck more goodstuff.deck but with so many flash enablers and things like Seedborn Muse, Prophet of Kruphix,Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, and murkfiend liege I want to be able to tutor up and play things on my opponents turn. I'll be updating first post when I can come up with a list that I like.
This deck has gone through some revisions its currently an Animar deck but besides Animar I'm not really running red. Ill have to rethink how im running the deck. I would like to come back to Zeganna but she is large counter spell bait. And my meta is fairly competitive.
You have joined us at a good time. The plans of the “Visionary” were flawed and caused his demise. We are now the ones who are charged with continuing the grand work. Our creations prove that we can improve and adapt to any challenge and situation. With the strength of Mind and Body we have mutated some of the most deadly and resilient creatures Ravnica has seen! Now that you have seen what we can do, won’t you lay down here in this vat and enjoy your new life as one of the simic.
Prime Speaker Zegana.
The regal and reticent merfolk called Zegana is the current guildmaster of the Simic Combine. She is the Speaker for Zonot One, the first of the mysterious sinkholes to emerge on Ravnica, and she delivered the Fathom Edict that declared a new beginning for the Combine. Zegana is quick to point out, however, that she speaks at the discretion of the Speakers’ Chamber, a secretive body of all nine of the zonots’ speakers. She claims that the Chamber can revoke that status, at which time another Speaker would replace her as the guildmaster. Many outside the Simic believe this is false modesty, however, and that Zegana controls the Chamber—if it actually meets at all
The Simic guildhall is not a particularly ceremonial or celebratory place. In Zonot Seven, within the Tenth District, a huge chamber just below the surface has been cleared of debris and serves as the gathering place for all the Speakers, as well as a place where non-Simic visitors can meet with Zegana or other Combine emissaries. The roof of Zameck contains many openings to the sky, covered over with an Æther-infused organic material known as plax to create opalescent skylights, which makes the chamber seem almost as though it’s underwater. Thick cords of kelp buttress the walls of the huge chamber, and algae cakes the corners and edges of walls and floors. The main chamber floor is clear with the exception of a large table in the shape of a loose spiral, with a slightly elevated podium at its center.
About Me.
My name is Togepi and I've been playing magic for a long time. I'll spare you this part where I talk myself up with how long I've played and how many tournaments I won before going casual and entering EDH. Instead I will tell you that after playing all of the Simic commanders extensively I feel that only Zegana has really competitive EDH potential in a multiplayer setting. (don't get upset Edric fan boys I know hes a beast in 1v1 insomuch that he was banned by the French!)
You Might like this deck if you....
Like playing control
Like playing on your opponents turns
Like large creatures
You Might NOT like this deck if you...
Like countering every spell your opponents play (we only counter what affects our board position!)
Like to over extend
Have and extreme hatred of large wizard fish.
Like playing combo
Deck: Better living through Evolution!
Display deck statistics
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
Lands
13 Forest
8 Island
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 City of Brass
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1 Flooded Grove
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Academy Ruins
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Tropical Island
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Command Tower
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Breeding Pool
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Riptide Laboratory
Creatures
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Lorescale Coatl
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 Vigor
1 Wood Elves
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Champion of Lambholt
1 Psychosis Crawler
1 Overbeing of Myth
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Palinchron
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Progenitor Mimic
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
1 Mystic Snake
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Ætherling
1 Fathom Mage
1 Renegade Krasis
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Silklash Spider
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Draining Whelk
1 Primordial Hydra
1 Predator Ooze
1 Doubling Season
1 Rhystic Study
1 Exploration
1 Asceticism
Artifacts
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Crystal Shard
1 Sol Ring
1 Ring of Kalonia
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
Instants
1 Krosan Grip
1 Evacuation
1 Beast Within
1 Spell Crumple
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Hinder
1 Force of Will
1 Plasm Capture
1 Pact of Negation
Sorceries
1 Primal Command
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Praetor's Counsel
1 Nature's Lore
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Bribery
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
Playing the deck
So in playing this deck the advantage we have is our low cost on our creatures. As most of our creatures grow they have lower CMC than other decks. This allows us to start with threats fast. I can’t stress enough how important having a counterspell in your first few turns is. This will allow you to play two or three creatures and not have to fear a board wipe. After you play Zegana you (depending) will be okay with them board wiping as it will reset your general to the command zone and you should have a full hand again. Make sure to keep pressure on the decks you feel are most threatening to your game plan. Discard cards in black are very bad for us and disrupt our strategies.
Cliffnotes version
1. Try to always keep a hand with a counterspell
2. Play Zegana when you can draw at least five cards
3. Don’t be afraid to let them kill Zegana this is a good thing.
4. Keep pressure on most threating targets
5. Play carefully around black decks you know that are running cards like Mind sludge
Card Choices
Coming Soon
Cards not in this deck but should be considered for alternate strategies.
Master Biomancer – Haven’t got to test him but I he would be good trust me!
Acidic slime – A staple for a reason and especially good with deadeye navigator.
Eternal witness – A staple for a reason, I should be running this just can’t find room.
BioShift – allows for you to make an unblocked creature huge or throw more counters onto Fathom Mage.
Forgotten Ancient – Grows fast but moving counters is slow still over all good card.
Quest for Renewal – Untap theme works better when played with flash enablers
Seedborn Muse - Untap theme works better when played with flash enablers
Murkfiend Liege - Untap theme works better when played with flash enablers
Phantom Nantuko – hard to kill combat wise and can grow himself with ease.
Scute Mob – Small and easy to grow, only drawback is hes pretty useless until five lands are out and he doesn’t evolve any other creatures.
Changelog
- Coiling orcale + Exploration speeds the deck up
- Time Spiral + Fathom Mage testing for card draw consistency
- Overwhelming Stampede + Scavenging Ooze Too many push through cards not enough creatures.
- Sakashima the imposter + Primordial Hydra Fits the grows on its own for minimal input.
- Murkfiend liege + Sword of Fire and Ice Coming to realize the untap theme is sub optimal and I'm dropping it.
-Rite of Replication + Tooth and Nail This one was hard but same mana cost when entwined/kicked but T&N just better.
- Nullmage Shepard +Renegade Krasis Grows its self and with the uptap theme gone nullmage gets much weaker.
URThe Joy of Painting with Nin, the Pain Artist!UR
6-24-13
Aurellia Vs Zegana
Game 1 - Aurellia starts off fast and heavy dropping a turn oneLegion Loyalist following it up with a blind obedience turn two all whilst I am trying to ramp. The game ends pretty quickly for me as I cant stop a turn 5 Aurellia and on turn six she equips a sword of war and peace to finish the game off.
Game 2 - I have a hand with no green mana sources but after two mulligans decide to keep with three islands, Sensei's divining top, and a hinder being the most important things in hand. She is much slower this game and my early top finds me a flooded grove for a turn three drop. I just keep mana open and on turn six she tries to play aurellia but its hindered into the deck. She at this point has a Frontline Medic attached with a moonsilver spear thats making angel tokens. I land a Psychosis Crawler and then play Zegana drawing 5 one of which is Time Spiral a few turns later I am over running with a very large Crawler for the win.
Game 3 - This game was much closer but it was late at night so I dont remember exact details. I know she got a very fast start again but I was able to ramp up then drop an Edric, Spymaster of Trest then a Wolfir Silverheart binding them together which slowed down her beats on me. I was then able to land a Progenitor Mimic copying the Wolfir and started making very large tokens. We both got down to about 8 life before she won with a Double Cleave casted on an angel token I didn't block.
Over all I felt that the deck ran fine but I did notice I wasnt drawing very much green mana. I may have to look into that after a few more games, could just be the shuffling.
6-28-13
Zedruu vs Drana vs Zegana
This game was a fast one. First couple turns where uneventful but I stuck a turn 4 Overbeing of Myth but then turn 5 for drana hit me with a Mindsludge which put me out of the game as he played some big dude and killed me. Zeddruu didnt really do anything that game he just durdled around.
This game was long but here is the highlights.
Progenitor mimic as a copy of Fathom Mage
drawing me lots of cards jarad spewing a bunch of large dudes onto the field including a large sewer nemisis. I end up bouncing my own P-mimic with riptide labortory and re-casting it as a copy of Sewer Nemisis but the turn after I cast Zegana for 34 card draw and play Tooth and nail for Palinchron and Deadeye Navigator so with infinite mana I am also able to cast crater hoof several times with Dead eye and kill both players on the same turn.
URThe Joy of Painting with Nin, the Pain Artist!UR
URThe Joy of Painting with Nin, the Pain Artist!UR
Urban Evolution - For the mana I think there is better draw and the ramp is kinda irrelvant.
Thragtusk - I really wanted to add this card but then Kalonian Hydra got spoiled so I think I have to fit it in.
Avenger of Zendikar - Used to be a bomb but I've lost favor with this card. The more I think on it I like it!
acidic slime- I have been getting some grief in my play group for not running this card though I'm not sure what to take out for him.
Your list is definitely a control build and I plan on adding a section on control builds to the OP.
Also I really need a Master Biomancer in my deck to help the "grow" Theme.
As for Zegana drawing less cards I've found if you can draw at least 4 cards your getting the "Wizards" standard for mana to card draw ratio and it looks like that's probably what you get on avg.
One question I have is my cmc is still high and your looks higher with less ramp how have your games been land drop wise?
Thanks again!
URThe Joy of Painting with Nin, the Pain Artist!UR
It will make the deck more goodstuff.deck but with so many flash enablers and things like Seedborn Muse, Prophet of Kruphix,Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, and murkfiend liege I want to be able to tutor up and play things on my opponents turn. I'll be updating first post when I can come up with a list that I like.
URThe Joy of Painting with Nin, the Pain Artist!UR
URThe Joy of Painting with Nin, the Pain Artist!UR