“Life can be started from nothing but a spark”
Art:Esix, Fractal Bloom
by Chase Stone
Note: Deck Pricing courtesy of Moxfield
Table of Contents
Todays Featured Commander Is:
Esix is a really awesome Simic commander that cares a ton about tokens, Esix is very interesting compared to most Simic token commanders, since it doesn’t just double or buff the tokens, it allows us to change those tokens into a copy of a creature we control. This can be used very heavily in the deck to make an absolute ton of “tokens” of our creatures, with creatures with etb triggers we can easily abuse this and do a ton of damage and populate the board very quickly! Without further adieu lets get it!
The Deck:
Esix Tokens!
Why Esix, Fractal Bloom?
The main reason we chose Esix is how well they interact with the Simic gameplan, not only can we produce a ton of tokens naturally through the deck, but Esix allows us to copy creatures we control so we can use cards like Trygon Predator
not only to build a massive army of flyers but to get their damage trigger as well. We have a ton of ways to produce tokens in the deck and since we have Esix we can turn those 1/1 tokens into big creatures. Esix also has a very fair mana cost so we can cast them pretty early and start getting the gameplan going ASAP!
5 Upgrades:
Below are 5 upgrades that are pretty expensive but will make the deck a lot better, considering upgrading to these if you’re looking to spice up the deck!
- Doubling Season
- Parallel Lives
- Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
- Craterhoof Behemoth
- Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
All of these cards while make the deck significantly better but were cut to adhere to the budget restrictions, any one of these cards is really good for the deck and strong and there is no real order to pick these up in, additionally the deck functions perfectly well without these but they will certainly help.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! For explanations of the combos please refer to the “Main Win Conditions” section below!
Creatures:
Our creature package starts off like many green decks with a little bit of ramp in the form of Elvish Mystic
and Llanowar Elves
pretty standard stuff for really any green deck, these cards are pretty much never bad and can also be really good to target for Esix copies since more mana is always welcome.
We also have a lot of creatures that are token generators like Kazandu Tuskcaller
this card is a great way to produce some tokens whether we use them for Esix or for blockers / attackers really depends on the situation we are in! Two of the best token generators in our deck is Avenger of Zendikar
and Hornet Queen
both of these cards are great on their own but with Esix and copying pretty much any creature this can get out of hand really quickly! Another sweet creature is End-Raze Forerunners
since we are on a budget and don’t run Craterhoof Behemoth
, this is pretty much our craterhoof and is a great way to end games!
Planeswalkers:
We only have one planeswalker in Garruk, Primal Hunter
but he is a great walker for the deck, not only can we create a token and trigger Esix but drawing cards is a real win for us as well, we do have blue but don’t draw a ton of cards on our own. If Garruk can survive long enough to get his ult off we can make a bunch of tokens and either leave them as-is or use Esix trigger for it to get really out of hand!
Instants:
Our instant package has many ways to interact like Beast Within
and Pongify
which are both great ways to interact with our opponents and take out a pesky permanent! We are blue so we of course have the classic Counterspell
and Curse of the Swine
which are both also great ways to deal with opponents shenanigans!
We also have some instants that care about tokens like Perplexing Test
which is a great way to remove all the nontokens or tokens from the board, its pretty much a cyclonic rift in our deck and can open our opponents for a big attack. Theoretical Duplication
is basically an additional copy of Esix for a turn and is just super strong in the right situation.
Sorceries:
One of the coolest sorceries that can trigger Esix a ton is Wild Endeavor
which is a token generator on top of a ramp spell, with some good luck this card can be an absolute house! Ezuri's Predation
can really be a game ending sorcery depending on what our opponents have, combine this with Esix and our opponents are in trouble! We also have the format staple ramp spells in Kodama's Reach
and Cultivate
just great ways to get ahead on mana!
One of the best draw spells in the deck is Shamanic Revelation
and we can also get some life out of the deal depending on what creatures we have out there this card is pretty much always good and lets us draw an absolute ton! One Dozen Eyes
which can be a great mass token generator and just a really good way to trigger Esix.
Artifacts:
Most of our artifacts consist of our mana ramp like Sol Ring
, Arcane Signet
, Talisman of Curiosity
and Simic Signet
all of these are really good ways to get some extra mana and we can cast them pretty early!
Our other two artifacts are Combine Chrysalis
which is a great way to make our large amount of tokens more evasive and let us take down our opponents much quicker! Sequence Engine
is a great way for us to remove opponents threats from their graveyards and get a free token out of the deal, just a great card for the deck!
Land Base:
Some of the coolest nonbasics in our deck are Llanowar Reborn
which can give a creature a counter which can be great especially if we are copying it! Lonely Sandbar
and Tranquil Thicket
are both just on-color cycling lands that allow us to draw some cards in the event that we flood out! Besides that are land base mostly consists of some Simic duals and basics
Strengths of the Deck:
- Easy to overwhelm opponents with creature production
- Many different ways to combo
- Nice combo of interaction / ramp
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Weak to creature hate
- Deck is much slower without Esix on the field
- Weak to bounce effects since our tokens will die
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
Even though this deck is still budget! If we cant establish these combos we can easily end the game, but in the event that we cant, we also have the normal win which is typically through outcreaturing our opponents and swinging for the fences. Below is all of the combos in the deck explained:
Esix, Fractal Bloom + Biovisionary
+ Avenger of Zendikar
Requires:
Avenger of Zendikar in hand. All other permanents on the battlefield. You have not created any tokens this turn. You control at least three lands. 5GG available.
Steps:
- Cast Avenger of Zendikar by paying 5GG.
- Avenger of Zendikar enters the battlefield, creating at least three token copies of Biovisionary due to Esix.
- At the beginning of your end step, each Biovisionary triggers.
- Resolve the first Biovisionary trigger, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Esix, Fractal Bloom + Biovisionary + Hornet Queen
Requires:
Hornet Queen in hand. All other permanents on the battlefield. You have not created any tokens this turn. 4GGG available.
Steps:
- Cast Hornet Queen by paying 4GGG.
- Hornet Queen enters the battlefield, creating four token copies of Biovisionary due to Esix.
- At the beginning of your end step, each Biovisionary triggers.
- Resolve the first Biovisionary trigger, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Esix, Fractal Bloom + Biovisionary + Deep Forest Hermit
Requires:
Deep Forest Hermit in hand. All other permanents on the battlefield. You have not created any tokens this turn. 3GG available.
Steps:
- Cast Deep Forest Hermit by paying 3GG.
- Deep Forest Hermit enters the battlefield, creating four token copies of Biovisionary due to Esix.
- At the beginning of your end step, each Biovisionary triggers.
- Resolve the first Biovisionary trigger, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Biovisionary + Rite of Replication
Requires:
Biovisionary on the battlefield. Rite of Replication in hand. 7UU available.
Steps:
- Cast Rite of Replication with kicker by paying 7UU, creating five token copies of Biovisionary.
- At the beginning of your end step, each Biovisionary triggers.
- Resolve the first Biovisionary trigger, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Esix, Fractal Bloom + Biovisionary + Myr Battlesphere
Requires:
Myr Battlesphere in hand. All other permanents on the battlefield. You have not created any tokens this turn. 7 available.
Steps:
- Cast Myr Battlesphere by paying 7.
- Myr Battlesphere enters the battlefield, creating four token copies of Biovisionary due to Esix.
- At the beginning of your end step, each Biovisionary triggers.
- Resolve the first Biovisionary trigger, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Esix, Fractal Bloom + Biovisionary + Master of Waves
Requires:
Master of Waves in hand. All other permanents on the battlefield. You have not created any tokens this turn. 3U available.
Steps:
- Cast Master of Waves by paying 3U.
- Master of Waves enters the battlefield, creating at least three token copies of Biovisionary due to Esix.
- At the beginning of your end step, each Biovisionary triggers.
- Resolve the first Biovisionary trigger, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, whether in a budget deck or not a budget deck this deck is extremely powerful and can hang with some of the best decks in EDH, it is a ton of fun to pilot and overall just a really good deck. With upgrades this deck can be enhanced but it still plays super well for a budget deck and in testing I really didn’t feel like I was held back at all by the budget, this deck is really great for any Simic mage who loves tokens and mass creature production!
Thanks for reading to the end!