{"ops":[{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Simic Counters — Green-Blue"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Nothing here is large when you cast it. Everything here is large four turns later."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"This is one of five two-colour 60-card decks built for a fixed pod, one deck per enemy colour pair, so every colour appears exactly twice."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Maindeck:"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" creatures that grow every time another creature arrives, a small amount of card draw, and just enough interaction to survive."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Maybeboard:"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" [[Hardened Scales]], [[Master Biomancer]] and [[Evolution Witness]] multiply every counter you place, and [[Simic Ascendancy]] adds a second way to win outright."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Game plan"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Turn 1 — lead with something that wants to grow."},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" [[Experiment One]] and [[Cloudfin Raptor]] both start tiny and both get a counter every time you play something bigger. [[Benthic Biomancer]] turns each counter into a fresh card."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Turns 2–3 — play creatures in ascending order."},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" Evolve checks power "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"or"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" toughness, so a 2/1 after a 1/1 triggers it. [[Growth-Chamber Guardian]] fetches another copy of itself the moment it adapts, and [[Shambleshark]] can be held up and flashed in at end of turn."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Turns 3–4 — put counters on everything at once."},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" [[Rishkar, Peema Renegade]] hands out two counters immediately and turns every counter-bearing creature into a mana source. [[Renegade Krasis]] spreads a counter to the whole team each time it evolves."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Turns 4+ — attack in the air and push through."},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" [[Aeromunculus]] and [[Cloudfin Raptor]] fly over a stalled board, [[Elusive Krasis]] simply cannot be blocked, and [[Zameck Guildmage]] converts spare counters into cards."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Opening hands"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Keep two or three lands with at least one one-drop creature. This deck is built to curve out in order, and a hand that starts on turn three has already given up most of its counters. [[Frilled Mystic]] costs {G}{G}{U}{U} and [[Renegade Krasis]] costs {1}{G}{G}, so a hand with only one green source is a slow one."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"The manabase"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Fourteen basics and ten duals, built around one problem: [[Frilled Mystic]] costs {G}{G}{U}{U} and [[Renegade Krasis]] costs {1}{G}{G}. [[Flooded Grove]] is the answer. By itself it makes only colourless mana, but with any other source it converts one mana into {G}{G} or {U}{U}, which no other land in this price range does. [[Hinterland Harbor]] enters untapped whenever you already control a basic; [[Vineglimmer Snarl]] enters untapped if you can reveal a Forest or Island card from hand, which is nearly always true in a deck that curves out from turn one. [[Yavimaya Coast]] costs 1 life for coloured mana. Only [[Lumbering Falls]] always enters tapped, and a hexproof 3/3 for {2}{G}{U} is the mana sink this deck otherwise does not have."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Important interactions"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Evolve triggers on power "},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"or"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":" toughness being greater"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", not both, and it checks the creature as it enters. A 0/4 will evolve your 2/2."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Adapt does nothing if the creature already has a +1/+1 counter."},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" Evolving a creature first turns off its own adapt ability, so adapt early or not at all."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Growth-Chamber Guardian]] fetches a copy whenever counters are put on it "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"by any source"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", not only by its own adapt. [[Rishkar, Peema Renegade]] and [[Zameck Guildmage]] both trigger it."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Benthic Biomancer]] makes you "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"draw then discard"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":". It is card selection, not card advantage, and it is not optional."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Rishkar, Peema Renegade]] grants \"{T}: Add {G}\" to each creature you control "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"with a counter on it"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" — any counter, not only +1/+1. Those creatures still have summoning sickness."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Mutant's Prey]] requires "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"your"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" creature to have a +1/+1 counter, and it is a fight: your creature takes damage back. It is your only removal that costs one mana, so hold it until the counter is there."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Rapid Hybridization]] gives its controller a "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"3/3 Frog Lizard"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":". Against a small creature that is a downgrade for you — aim it at their biggest threat, not their cheapest."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Elusive Krasis]] enters as a "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"0/4"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", so it deals no damage until it evolves. Evolve checks power "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"or"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" toughness, and every creature in this deck has at least 1 power, so almost anything you play afterwards grows it. Because it cannot be blocked, it is the one threat that does not care how big the board in front of it is."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Frilled Mystic]] has flash and its counter is a "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"may"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" on entry — it is a creature first and a counterspell second, so casting it on your own turn as a 3/2 is fine."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Experiment One]] regenerates by removing "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"two"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" counters, which also turns its adapt back on if it drops to zero."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Against the other four decks"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/25657650/boros_aggro","color":"#48a0c7","bold":true},"insert":"Boros Aggro"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" — your worst matchup and the reason to keep [[Mutant's Prey]]. They are faster, and evolve is slow. Block early, trade where you can, and remember [[Shambleshark]]'s flash lets you ambush an attacker."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/25657487/orzhov_drain","color":"#48a0c7","bold":true},"insert":"Orzhov Drain"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" — their deathtouch blockers ignore your size entirely, so growing a single huge creature does nothing. Go wide and attack in the air with [[Aeromunculus]] and [[Cloudfin Raptor]] instead, or straight past them with [[Elusive Krasis]], which a deathtouch blocker cannot block at all."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/25657533/golgari_graveyard","color":"#48a0c7","bold":true},"insert":"Golgari Graveyard"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" — they have far more removal than you. Do not overcommit counters to one body; [[Growth-Chamber Guardian]] replacing itself is what keeps you in the game. [[Nyx Weaver]] has reach, so your fliers are not safe."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/25657614/izzet_spellslinger","color":"#48a0c7","bold":true},"insert":"Izzet Spellslinger"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" — the best matchup. Their creatures are small and their burn scales badly against creatures that grow. [[Frilled Mystic]] on [[Crackling Drake]] or [[Expressive Iteration]] is a clean two-for-one."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Upgrade notes"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"[[Hardened Scales]] adds one to every counter placement, which compounds absurdly with [[Renegade Krasis]] and [[Zameck Guildmage]] — but it does nothing on its own and it is a dead draw when you are behind. [[Master Biomancer]] makes every later creature enter enormous; it is the single biggest power increase in the package and also the card most punished by removal. [[Evolution Witness]] rebuys a permanent every time it takes counters, which is the closest this deck gets to card advantage. [[Simic Ascendancy]] counts "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"every"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" counter you place across the whole game, so it often wins games you were losing on board — it also gives an opponent twenty turns of warning. [[Pteramander]] is the cheap flier this deck lacks, though its adapt cost is realistically unreachable here."},{"insert":"\n"}]}