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| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Zaxara, the Exemplary
Legendary Creature — Nightmare Hydra
Deathtouch
: Add two mana of any one colour.
Whenever you cast a spell with in its mana cost, create a 0/0 green Hydra creature token, then put X +1/+1 counters on it.
MTGBurgeoning on
Zax On. Zax Off. Zax On. Zax Off. Zax On. Zax Off.
6 months ago
Your assessment is valid. Zaxara, the Exemplary is a definite luxury in a deck that focuses on throwing around +1 +1 counters like nobody's business. Aside for the potential to create infinite mana with Pemmin's Aura, Zaxara's presence is tied to the high number of X spells inundating the 99 of this build (over two dozen). With an admittedly diverse and robust amount of ramp spells (more than a dozen), the X-theme of this deck can function independent of Zaxara. For the purposes of clarity, Asceticism's inclusion in the deck is more for blanketed protection than providing Zaxara with individualized protection. We have the aforementioned Pemmin's Aura and Lightning Greaves for that. Protecting our Hydra creatures from spot-removal is the top priority for Asceticism. Investing high amounts of mana into a Hydra and then watching it get plucked from the battlefield with a spot-removal spell or ability is quite deflating. However, in order to diversify our layers of protection, perhaps some instant-speed protection would also be beneficial. There is definitely space in the 99 to accommodate some counter-magic and Heroic Intervention-like spells. Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate them. Happy brewing!
mr_chazy on
11 months ago
Recommended Removals: Nissa's Renewal Treacherous Terrain Verdant Mastery Violent Ultimatum Omnath, Locus of Mana Omnath, Locus of Rage Omnath, Locus of the Roil Begin the Invasion Endless Detour Titans' Nest Wayfarer's Bauble
Recommended Additions: Muldrotha, the Gravetide Bloom Tender Chromatic Lantern Maelstrom Archangel Surrak Dragonclaw Zaxara, the Exemplary Chulane, Teller of Tales Animar, Soul of Elements The World Tree Genesis Wave Tempt with Discovery Maelstrom Nexus Cascading Cataracts Urza's Filter Esika, God of the Tree  Flip Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
MusicGoat18 on
Progenitus EDH
1 year ago
Thanks again TheoryCrafter! I made cuts and changes based on your suggestion. I did my best to keep a balance while adding more cards for Zaxara, the Exemplary and Unbound Flourishing.
Cuts made:
Forgotten Ancient, Jodah, Archmage Eternal, Fist of Suns, Bootleggers' Stash, and swapped a few lands.
Cards added:
Shivan Devastator, Steelbane Hydra, Unbound Flourishing, and Bonfire of the Damned.
I still want to implement Progenitus' commander damage strategy on top of the hydra tribal idea, so I kept many of the exalt cards and mana fix/ramp. Another reason is that the ramp cards assist with values too.
Suspence89 on
Winter's Cold
1 year ago
Marit Lage's Slumber is fun Dead of Winter Is kinda busted for its cost and sometimes your big dudes will outsize the negative Kruphix, God of Horizons and Horizon Stone Doubling Cube to help bank your excess mana you'll be making Cultivate and Kodama's Reach because there isn't a better ramp spell Heroic Intervention Big Bois Hydra Broodmaster Neverwinter Hydra Corpsejack Menace to enable Zaxara, the Exemplary Polukranos, World Eater Primordial Hydra Altered Ego Tervigon Termagant Swarm Drawing Cards Blue Sun's Zenith Pull from Tomorrow Inspiring Call also doubles as a board protector Stroke of Genius Return of the Wildspeaker Rishkar's Expertise Soul's Majesty Momentous Fall Cut of the Profits Life's Legacy
PolarisFluff on
Pact weapon
1 year ago
Pact weapon would go pretty well with Greven, Predator Captain.
For all of them, maybe Dina, Soul Steeper? Golgari lifegain so you can offset the life costs, and a built in sac outlet for Junji.
There's also Lathril, Blade of the Elves who is a classic, built in evasion and makes lots of tokens you can equip.
Zaxara, the Exemplary makes pre-modified creatures
Finally, another card you might like here is Unspeakable Symbol
Rhadamanthus on Zaraxa + Sproutback Trudge ruling
2 years ago
A card's "mana cost" is specifically the symbols printed in the upper-right corner of a standard Magic frame. Sproutback Trudge doesn't have in its mana cost, so it doesn't interact with Zaxara, the Exemplary.
As written, Zaxara only triggers when you cast a spell, not when you activate an ability. It doesn't interact with Polukranos, World Eater.
Commander tax applies every time the commander is cast from the command zone. Zahid, Djinn of the Lamp has an option for an alternate casting cost. If you use the alternate cost to cast Zahid from the command zone then the commander tax will apply, as will any other casting cost increasing/reducing effects.
The commander ninjutsu on Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow is an activated ability (you can see in the reminder text it's written out as "[Cost] : [Effect]", the standard formatting for activated abilities). If you use it, you're not casting the spell, so commander tax and any other casting cost increasing/reducing effects won't apply.
enpc on Zaraxa + Sproutback Trudge ruling
2 years ago
The relevant ruling from gatherer on the card is as follows:
"To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions (such as that of Sproutback Trudge's first ability). Sproutback Trudge's mana value is always 9, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was."
It is very clear here - the X referred to is a cost reduction. There is no X in the the spell's mana cost, unlike something like Green Sun's Zenith. Additionally, the previous gatherer ruling states:
"Sproutback Trudge's ability counts the total amount of life gained without considering any life you lost during that turn. For example, if you lost 3 life and gained 4 life earlier in the turn, Sproutback Trudge will cost "
This states that the card has a cost reduction ability, not that the card has a variable CMC as with X spells.
While you can argue that this is "kind of like" the card having an X in it's cost (in reality it's more like a Y-X as it's a cost reduction), unfortunately this is not how MtG rules work. These kind of things are very clear cut.
Also, on your comment around Zaxara, the Exemplary and Polukranos, World Eater, Zaraxa's ability specifically says "when you cast a spell with in its mana cost". Cast here is the operative word - Polukranos's ability is just that, an ability so it will not trigger Zaraxa's triggered ability. The same is true for copying X spells - copies are simply put on the stack, not cast so they will also not trigger Zaraxa's abiliy unless the spell copying explcitly says "cast the copy".
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