Zaxara, the Exemplary: Hydra Infestation

Commander / EDH BUG (Sultai) Combo Infinite Combo

Forkbeard

Land (35)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Cavern of Souls P
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Flooded Grove
• 3x Forest
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 1x Homeward Path
• 3x Island
• 1x Misty Rainforest P
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold P
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Woodland Cemetery
• 1x Yavimaya Hollow P
• 1x Zagoth Triome

Removal (5)

• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Curse of the Swine
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Toxic Deluge

Hydras (12)

• 1x Gargos, Vicious Watcher
• 1x Genesis Hydra
• 1x Hungering Hydra
• 1x Hydroid Krasis
• 1x Kalonian Hydra
• 1x Lifeblood Hydra
• 1x Mistcutter Hydra
• 1x Primordial Hydra
• 1x Protean Hydra
• 1x Steelbane Hydra
• 1x Vastwood Hydra
• 1x Voracious Hydra

Ramp (9)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Nylea's Intervention
• 1x Pir's Whim
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Three Visits

Card Draw (6)

• 1x Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1x Braingeyser
• 1x Damnable Pact
• 1x Finale of Revelation
• 1x Kindred Discovery
• 1x Stroke of Genius

No (5)

• 1x Condescend
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Negate
• 1x Power Sink
• 1x Spell Burst

Tutor (3)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Commander (1)

Overwhelming Advantage (9)

• 1x Akroma's Memorial
• 1x Icy Blast
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Open Into Wonder
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Simic Ascendancy
• 1x The Ozolith
• 1x Triumph of the Hordes
• 1x Wildest Dreams

Big Mana (6)

• 1x Bloom Tender
• 1x Freed from the Real
• 1x Mana Reflection
• 1x Nyxbloom Ancient
• 1x Pemmin's Aura
• 1x Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

Enter the Void (5)

• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Profane Command
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Villainous Wealth
• 1x Walking Ballista

Double Down (4)

• 1x Branching Evolution
• 1x Doubling Season P
• 1x Primal Vigor
• 1x Unbound Flourishing

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Please note that I've decided to retire this deck - I'm going to keep the deck here for posterity but won't be updating this list.

Quickly slapped together a deck around the freshly spoiled Zaxara, the Exemplary. The main name of the game is to take advantage of Zaxara's token engine ability via {X} mana cost hydras + spells (current number of {X} mana cost cards in this brew = 28). Toss in a heap of Sultai cruelty into the mix and we've got ourselves a formidable kitchen table threat.

On top of the hefty hydra tribal flavour, there's a few other tricks in here to steer you to victory. You'll want as much mana as possible to funnel into all of those {X} spells and there's a couple of cards that generate infinite mana when paired with Zaxara's mana tap ability (likewise with Bloom Tender and/or Selvala, Heart of the Wilds if the conditions are met): Freed from the Real & Pemmin's Aura. If you're able to pull that combo off, here's a few of the non-hydra beat-down ways to win:

Infinite direct damage via Exsanguinate, Profane Command, Torment of Hailfire or Walking Ballista

Mill an opponent out with Blue Sun's Zenith, Braingeyser, Damnable Pact, Stroke of Genius or Villainous Wealth

On top of those instant kill combos, if you've got infinite mana to play with you'll have the means to throw down an {X} mana cost hydra with infinite power/toughness. Ideally you'll have Akroma's Memorial on the table for the haste/trample/evasion kill, but we've also got Icy Blast, Open Into Wonder & Rogue's Passage just in case you need to clear the path for those giant hasty hydras.

As a final alternative win condition we've got Simic Ascendancy which will stack up to 20 counters in no time. Doubling Season might have a little role to play in all of this too.

And there you have it. BUG is evil at the best of times, but I like the mix of big janky tribal tokens fun that Zaxara also lends itself to. Always welcome feedback and suggestions so if you have some ideas, go ahead and chime in.

Top Ranked	Achieved #3 position overall 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH BUG (Sultai) 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Combo 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Infinite Combo 4 years ago
Date added	4 years
Last updated	9 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.55
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Boar 2/2 G, Hydra 0/0 G
Folders	Commander / EDH, Zaxara, Order Decks, To Try, EDH, MTG Tabletop, Ideas, Sultai EDH, Decks, Favorites