Ezuri, Heart of the Swarm

Commander / EDH* Combo GU (Simic) Tokens

xSindrix

Land (37)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Blighted Woodland
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Botanical Sanctum
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Tower
• 7x Forest
• 1x High Market
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 6x Island
• 1x Lumbering Falls *f-pre*
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Simic Growth Chamber
• 1x Simic Guildgate
• 1x Temple of Mystery
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Thornwood Falls
• 1x Tolaria West
• 1x Waterlogged Grove
• 1x Woodland Stream
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Creature (9)

• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Chasm Skulker
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Deep Forest Hermit
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fathom Mage
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Hooded Hydra
• 1x Spike Breeder

Instant (16)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 1x Dizzy Spell
• 1x Evacuation
• 1x Growth Spiral
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystic Confluence
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Plasm Capture
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Rewind
• 1x Unwind

Artifact (13)

• 1x Altar of the Brood
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Eldrazi Monument
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Simic Keyrune
• 1x Simic Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Worn Powerstone

Commander (1)

Sorcery (13)

• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Curse of the Swine
• 1x Devastation Tide
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Harmonize
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Plea for Power
• 1x Rite of Replication
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Sylvan Scrying
• 1x Sylvan Tutor
• 1x Urban Evolution
• 1x Verdant Confluence

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Concordant Crossroads
• 1x Cryptolith Rite
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Earthcraft
• 1x Feed the Pack
• 1x Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip
• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Primal Vigor
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Simic Ascendancy
• 1x Squirrel Nest

---

Maybeboard

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Temporal Mastery
• 1x Treasure Cruise
• 1x Triumph of the Hordes

Land (1)

• 1x Flooded Grove

Artifact (2)

• 1x Akroma's Memorial
• 1x Talisman of Curiosity

Creature (2)

• 1x Crashing Drawbridge
• 1x Yavimaya Elder

---

Ezuri has been my favorite commander for EDH since I built his first iteration. I've built several since then, including tokens, weenies, elf and merfolk tribal, and even a myr tribal deck. The token deck has proven to be the most fun, and has had the most time and money invested in it. While weenies tend to be faster, the exponential growth between tokens and experience counters makes a token-based Ezuri a late game terror.

Early Game

Ezuri's early game is relatively weak. He relies on limited removal and ramp to get into the game. Counterspells should be saved to protect mana rocks or essential combo pieces. Never have multiple token generators in play simultaneously, or risk getting wiped with no rebuild available.

Tutoring

This deck is very heavily reliant upon its tutors and knowing what card you need. Chained correctly, Dizzy Spell can find High Market via Mystical Tutor and Sylvan Scrying; or Mystical Tutor can be used to find Hangarback Walker via Sylvan Scrying and Tolaria West. Knowing what you need to find and when you need to find it will be the key to making this deck work.

Starting the Cycle

Ezuri has to get the ball rolling early with a big chunk of tokens.

• Hangarback Walker, Chasm Skulker, and Hooded Hydra are the biggest early game bombs available. Even if you're playing a non-token variant of Ezuri, they're simply too good to not run. Try for 7-12 counters before you kill one off, but always favor sacrificing them before Ezuri can die over greeding for more counters.
• Use your tutors to find one of these to start the game off. Ezuri has multiple tutoring chains that can and should be burnt to find one of these as quickly as possible. Your late game will build itself off the exponential experience counter growth.

• Beast Within or High Market should be saved to pop one of these bombs early if at all possible. Expending tutors to find one of these is as essential as finding one of the early token producers.

Win Conditions

Ezuri has several possible win conditions available, aside from simply overwhelming your opponents with tokens.

Craterhoof Behemoth on top of your token army is always the simplest solution. An early glob of tokens with a Craterhoof on them can end the game quickly.

Altar of the Brood is always a gamble, but can pay off if you play for it carefully. Never drop it early, as it will draw far too much aggression your way.

Squirrel Nest/Earthcraft the only infinite combo in the deck, combined with Concordant Crossroads it can end the game without Ezuri and with very little setup. It can also be used to fuel Altar of the Brood or, with Primal Vigor or Doubling Season, produce infinite mana.

I hope you all enjoy this deck as much as I have! Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Notable Exclusions

Sage of Hours: While this deck does have an infinite combo, it exists coincidentally, as both cards are excellent in this deck. I don't typically run infinite combos as I and my playgroup don't find them a fun way to win. Sage is a nutty card in Ezuri, and if your group doesn't mind such shenanigans, it should be in any Ezuri deck. Parallel Lives: I have found that Doubling Season and Primal Vigor are sufficient for token production in Ezuri. Running a third doubling effect seems overkill, and Parallel Lives does not affect +1/+1 counters, making it the weakest of the three. Gaea's Cradle, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault: Budget reasons.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	4 years
Exclude colors	WBR
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 43 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.17
Tokens	1/1 G Creature Spike, Beast 3/3 G, Boar 2/2 G, Copy Clone, Experience Token, Manifest 2/2 C, Morph 2/2 C, Plant 0/1 G, Snake 1/1 G, Squid 1/1 U, Squirrel 1/1 G, Thopter 1/1 C, Wolf 2/2 G
Folders	EDH decks