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Budget Simic Evolve

Standard GU (Simic)

TMSArmstrong


We were trying to think of more good themes for budget decks, and Evolve leapt to mind as a mechanic with a lot of potential power behind it, and one where most of the cards that support the mechanic directly are inexpensive. And that thought led to the deck before you now!

The creature curve is crucial to the deck. That's why we didn't include Simic Guildgate--you want to hit an on-curve drop every turn, or at least be able to make up for curve with volume. An ideal curve goes something like this:
1: Cloudfin Raptor/Experiment One
2: Gyre Sage
3: Renegade Krasis
4: Crowned Ceratok
5: Arbor Colossus

By that point, your 1 drop is either a 6/7 Raptor or a 7/7 Experiment, Gyre Sage is a 6/7 that can tap for GGGGG, Renegade Krasis is a 5/4 that's pumped all your other evolve targets twice, and next turn you can make the Arbor Colossus monstrous so it gets the benefit of trample from the Ceratok. That's a small secondary theme of the deck--Arbor Colossus and Mistcutter Hydra, two of only three non-evolving creatures in the deck, also use +1/+1 counters, giving them helpful interactions with Renegade Krasis, Crowned Ceratok, and (sometimes) Give//Take. Mistcutter Hydra is also good because it can pinch-hit for an evolve enabler at pretty much any point in the curve 4 or higher. Alternatively, late game you can just dump all your mana into it for a big hasty body.

The "also-run" creatures on the curve are rarely what you want to be dropping right away, but if you're stuck without an on-curve drop, they can still get the job done. Shambleshark keeps you on curve while evolving anything you played on turn 1. Elusive Krasis wears big enough pants to get a first or second evolution out of anything else in the deck, and once it's out, it starts collecting counters to speed up the clock--or at least make a big lightning rod for removal spells.

The sole noncreature spell, Give // Take , is for reloading later in the game if your early game curve isn't enough. You can draw three off of a monstrous Arbor Colossus, or reset a Gyre Sage if you have plenty of mana already. A particularly fun interaction here is Take targeting a Renegade Krasis--you get to draw some cards and reset the Krasis to make it easier to evolve it more, which puts more counters on the rest of the team.

As mentioned above, we included only basic lands because the curve is important in this deck, especially at its earlier points. It's also mostly driven by green mana, so as long as you hit Forests you should be in decent shape most of the time. There are 25 lands because you usually can't afford to start missing drops before turn 4 or 5 at worst--though Gyre Sage can relieve some pressure here once it starts building up counters.

One last thing: A bit of a rules tip for getting the most out of Renegade Krasis. Make sure that, whenever the Krasis and other creatures would evolve simultaneously, you put the Krasis's trigger on the stack first, followed by the others. That way, the other creatures all evolve before Krasis does. This does two things. First, it makes sure they all have counters, so Renegade Krasis can give them more counters. Second, it makes sure they all get to evolve uninterrupted, since the ability is worded as an intervening if clause.

Say, for instance, you have an Experiment One with two counters and a Renegade Krasis with none, and you drop an Elusive Krasis. If Renegade Krasis evolves first, its other ability then triggers and gives Experiment One a third counter. Now it's a 4/4, and when its evolve ability goes to resolve, it sees that the creature that entered the battlefield, the 0/4 Elusive Krasis, doesn't have greater toughness than it does. As a result, its evolve trigger doesn't resolve. If you do it the other way around, Experiment One becomes a 4/4 from its own evolve trigger first. Then Renegade Krasis evolves, and its trigger gives Experiment One an additional counter regardless of its power/toughness, making it a 5/5.

Built by Armstrong of The Mana Source--for more info and strategy ideas, check out the video deck tech here!

Like what you see? Check out our channel here!

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Date added 10 years
Last updated 8 years
Legality

This deck is not Standard legal.

Rarity (main - side)

13 - 0 Rares

11 - 0 Uncommons

11 - 0 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.66
Folders simic, Decks, Favorites, I like it, Cool, MTG B, Decks I might need to come back to, Interesting Decks, Cool decks, To be built
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