Legality
| Format | Legality |
| Tiny Leaders | Legal |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Magic Duels | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Pauper EDH | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Unformat | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
Printings View all
| Set | Rarity |
| Magic 2013 (M13) | Common |
Combos Browse all
Bond Beetle
Creature — Insect
When Bond Beetle enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
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Bond Beetle Discussion
SaberTech on
Ancestral Animar
3 weeks ago
Yeah, that one mana makes a big difference. I get why they would choose to go with Ironshell Beetle though, a bear that can boost something else later in the game is a bit more useful overall than the Bond Beetle version.
SynergyBuild on
Ancestral Animar
3 months ago
I play with more stax/control then combo, so I may have a scewed veiw on this, but I only mentioned cards you sounded like you wanted, not ones I specifically thought were strictly better than ones in the deck.
To be entirely honest, If they do print a few more cards like Mulldrifter, Bond Beetle, and Birds of Paradise. You know, like 2-3 of each, then this deck could be a sweet storm build, going off faster than many Grixis Storm lists.
SaberTech on
Ancestral Animar
3 months ago
@JMCraig When you say that the Oracle nets you 3-4 cards the turn it enters, is that just cards being filtered off the top of your library or is that the count of cards that you are also casting from exile that turn?
@SynergyBuild I think that, for me, it's a tough call between a new Bond Beetle or a new Mulldrifter (assuming the new Mulldrifter could also be cast for 3-4 mana without Animar's reduction). But considering that we have just been given Dark-Dweller Oracle for more draw power, I think that I lean more towards another Bond Beetle to help increase the chances of more explosive turn 3 plays.
SynergyBuild on
Ancestral Animar
3 months ago
Clamp is better on the field, Oracle in the deck, the fact I can't easily tutor Skullclamp (You have to go through Trinket Mage) and I think that it why I like Oracle more.
Unrelated question, would you rather a good colorless card, something like a new Spellskite or Phyrexian Revoker, a new Bond Beetle, a new Birds of Paradise, or a new Mulldrifter type card?
SaberTech on
Ancestral Animar
3 months ago
Well, Hardened Scales gives you the effect for just 1 mana right off the bat. Pir, Imaginative Rascal requires you to jump a couple hoops to get the same effect for the same cost, but comes with the benefits for being a creature you can tutor up and putting a counter on Animar when you cast it.
I guess a big question to address is if the effect is one worth using a tutor on to begin with? Pir doesn't have the early game speed and mana efficiency that Hardened Scales does, but I think that it might be a little better later in the game if the board has been wiped and you are in recovery mode.
That being said, I personally don't run Hardened Scales. It has its moments where it shines, but in the early game I find it doesn't offer that much more speed for its mana invenstment than if it had just been a 1 CMC creature, particularly a mana dork, instead. If WotC would print another 1 CMC version of Bond Beetle I would take that over a Hardened Scales type effect any day.
galaxyman7 on
Rainbow Roids (5 color +1/+1 counters)
3 months ago
Lessons learned:
There were a few games where we had just a few too many 2 and 3 drops, and not enough 1 drops to fill in. As a result, we lost some games by being a little bit too slow. I have a few options to fix this:
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Ramp - noble hierarch or avacyn's pilgrim for the budget - advantage is that we can do bigger stuff fast, but it also isn't a threat itself.
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More servant of the scales - a more resilient threat, but doesn't do much against an empty board
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Animation Module - has some sweet synergy with Nissa, walking ballista, etc, and gets us extra guys. Works well on turn 1, but probably won't do much until mid-game. It also doesn't do much by itself.
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Skarrgan Pit-Skulk - A possibly evasive threat that can be pretty quick and is a good target for anafenza. Not great on turn 1, but if it gets buffed later it could be sweet. Might be too swingy.
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Bond Beetle - combos nicely with ballista and hangarback, and still comes in as a 2/3 with a hardened scales. Still not great on turn 1.
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Cenn's Tactician - not super fast, but it fits our theme of being a standalone threat with hardened scales. Plus it combos with anafenza and servant of the scale, and makes combat harder for aggressive decks.
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Simic Initiate - Gets lots of value with hardened scales, providing 4 +1/+1 counters for 1 mana. Works very well with ballista, hangarback, and anafenza, and is another target for mirrorweave. However, its not a great without the hardened scales or snake.
If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them! Otherwise I am leaning towards cenn's tactician or simic initiate
We also had a few games where mirrorweave was a dead card on game 1, for instance against control or burn. So I decided to move it to the sideboard, and get rid of stubborn denial, which was iffy anyways because our creatures need time to heat up. It's disappointing because mirrorweave can be such a huge blowout against a lot of decks, but I want game 1 to be the most aggressive deck possible.
TheHex2020 on
Garruk Beast
4 months ago
If i go the +1/+1 counter theme that means i could use Primeval Bounty. Some cards I found are Bond Beetle, Dragonscale Boon, Travel Preparations, and Timberland Guide
AMJacker on
Casual Simic (budget)
6 months ago
8 Burst of Strength? maybe replace 4 of them with Bond Beetle ? or another +1/+1 like Battlegrowth, it is an instant.