Ezuri, Claw of Progress - Simic +1/+1 Counter Aggro
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Table of Contents
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A Short Introduction
Back in 2015 I finally got into commander and after borrowing decks from people for a few nights I decided to buy my first precon. The guy running the store asked me what kind of gameplay I enjoy and I answered: "I enjoy playing creatures, especially big ones!". He told me that the "Swell the Host" precon was creature-centered and that I might enjoy it. The precon is centered around Simic Phyrexian commander Ezuri, Claw of Progress. The goal of the deck is to play small creatures for which Ezuri rewards you with experience counters - experience is the overarching theme of the C15 precons. This experience is then used by Ezuri to turn your small harmless critters into big beatsticks by placing +1/+1 counters on them. Maybe not the strongest gameplan, but I think Ezuri, Claw of Progress is fun to play and the deck can be very toolboxy if you choose to build it that way. I was a reasonably skilled Standard player back in 2015, but my commander deckbuilding skills weren't quite up to standards yet. My first few decks, including the modified Ezuri precon, were not a great succes. The decks were either too slow or just too finnicky. I traded a lot of cards from the precon away and Ezuri himself was put into a binder for a while. When I got better at deckbuilding I really wanted to make Ezuri work.
The list below is something I play in my LGS every now and then - it is a decklist that I update every so often. I sometimes take the deck apart and then put it back together when I am in the mood again for some aggressive Simic gameplay. I decided to design a budget list of the deck as well - I want to include another budget deck in my roster, so that I have something I can pull out when facing upgraded precons and decks on a budget. The budget list is also great for lending out to new players - it is intuitive and holds up pretty well even against more modern commanders. The biggest changes I made in the budget list compared to the 'normal' variant are the exclusion of Sage of Hours (deemed it too cheesy) and cutting back on tutors (to decrease the cost of the deck and make it new-player friendly).
The list below is something I play in my LGS every now and then - it is a decklist that I update every so often. I sometimes take the deck apart and then put it back together when I am in the mood again for some aggressive Simic gameplay. I decided to design a budget list of the deck as well - I want to include another budget deck in my roster, so that I have something I can pull out when facing upgraded precons and decks on a budget. The budget list is also great for lending out to new players - it is intuitive and holds up pretty well even against more modern commanders. The biggest changes I made in the budget list compared to the 'normal' variant are the exclusion of Sage of Hours (deemed it too cheesy) and cutting back on tutors (to decrease the cost of the deck and make it new-player friendly).
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Decklist & Budget Variant
Ezuri, Claw of Progress - Simic +1/+1 Counter Aggro
Approximate Total Cost:
Ezuri, Claw of Progress - <€100 Budget Decklist
Approximate Total Cost:
*****Credit for this Primer Template belongs to all members of the Primer Committee*****
. Somehow I always come back to Newzuri. He was my first, after all.
. Never ever have I seen this card before. Evolutionary Escalation seems pretty solid at first glance. Has good synergy with the creatures that really like their +1/+1 counters, comes down for just two mana and my creatures will probably be bigger than anything anything my opponents have (so I sort of break parity on it?). If only it was a creature though. Might give it a try in the budget version of the deck, thanks for the suggestion!
