Branching Evolution
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Historic Brawl Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Branching Evolution

Enchantment

If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put a on a creature you control, twice that many +1/+1 counters are put on that creature instead.

JaysinDub on Kudero Bear Boy

1 week ago

Protection Steely Resolve Asceticism Privileged Position Shield of the Oversoul Additional +1/+1 counters Branching Evolution Bioengineered Future Conclave Mentor More Tokens (anything with populate) Growing Ranks Ayula's Influence Card Draw Shamanic Revelation Symmetry Matrix Old Stuff Meekstone Humility Hunting Grounds Natural Affinity Glare of Subdual Tutor Altar of Bone Eladamri's Call Color Hate for our playgroup Reclamation Anthem/Lord effects Anthem of Champions Interaction Generous Gift

Mortlocke on Atraxa, infectious scream (Need help)

1 month ago

I do have some ideas in mind when it comes to closing out a game with Poison counters. But you don't have to make it through a couple times - all it takes is once and it's the beginning of the end. Some traditional combo pieces would be:

And other spells of that ilk. Another synergy are +1/+1 counters. Forgotten Ancient, Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Ozolith, the Shattered Spire and The Ozolith are real powerhouses if you wish to go that route. This synergy does telegraph your moves more and you'd be less explosive.

But what to do when the table goes against you? I recommend stax. Tying up the resources of the table, forcing slower and less impactful turns on your opponents while the clock continues ticking. Cards like Astral Cornucopia and Everflowing Chalice help break parity as you will likely have access to more mana than your opponents while they're being held back. Some oldies but goldies would be:

  • Winter Orb
  • Static Orb
  • Ensnaring Bridge (This has good synergy well with the aforementioned pump spells as you can still attack with low power infect creatures)
  • Tangle Wire (A personal Fave as you can proliferate these counters)
  • Parallax Wave (A personal Fave as you can proliferate these counters)
  • Parallax Tide (A personal Fave as you can proliferate these counters)

Playing pretty much any of these cards will likely earn you some ire - but the idea is to only play these when you have poison counters on your opponents and you can reliably proliferate them at least once or twice a turn. The idea is that you've already got your opponents where you want them, all you'd need to do is simply wait while the Poison counters end them.

legendofa on To What Mechanic is Mark …

2 months ago

I'm going to take a guess and say that someone on the design team doesn't really like moving counters around. The Spikes don't specifically use the word "move", but it's functionally the same most of the time. If you treat the Spikes as moving counters, they make up almost a quarter of all counter-moving cards. No other set has more than two (although Ikoria + Commander 2020 has three, and those introduced keyword counters). I can find only two other cards with an ability similar to the Spikes, in Benevolent Hydra and Salt Road Quartermasters.

While it's not a bad mechanic, and it's simple enough in a vacuum, it gets more complicated with Hardened Scales/Branching Evolution/whatever, and those kind of effects have been on the rise. So my guess is that's the source of the tension with Spikes.

hyalopterouslemur on Beta Brackets Update Today

3 months ago

DemonDragonJ: Yeah, my loathing of five-color goodstuff mostly comes from how this is supposed to be the color-restricted format: I have a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck, but if I want to make a Rith, the Awakener or Marath, Will of the Wild *f-etch* deck, I have to lose the black cards (and probably the entire Aristocrats theme). So, no more Grave Pact or Dictate of Erebos. No more Pitiless Plunderer. No more Diabolic Intent. No more Blood Artist or Bastion of Remembrance. I do gain red, though, so say hello to Purphoros, God of the Forge. Rhys the Redeemed or Nemata, Primeval Warden would be even more restricted, as token decks go.

My removal also suffers, since red removal is surprisingly bad in this format. (Seriously, I'd argue white has the best removal, followed closely by black. Green's a distant third, and red and blue are tied for fourth: Red has more removal, blue has better removal.)

And it happens between Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Betor, Ancestor's Voice, Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, Beledros Witherbloom, and Licia, Sanguine Tribunefoil too. All are lifegain, but only Oloro can use Absorb and Drogskol Reaver. Only Licia can use Lightning Helix and Searing Meditation. Only Betor can use Beledros Witherbloom. Ayli and Witherbloom are even more restricted, especially since Witherbloom can't use the color that's best at lifegain.

But that's the whole point. When I choose a Commander, I make a lot of choices regarding deck construction. I can't say "Cathars' Crusade would be good in my Animar, Soul of Elements deck." because, well, it wouldn't; it would be illegal. That forces me to pick, I don't know, Ivy Lane Denizen or Forgotten Ancient instead. Corpsejack Menace? You mean Branching Evolution? (Aside from the name, why is Corpsejack Menace anyway? I actually wouldn't mind if it were just because that's Simic's thing.) And so on down the line.

Five-color goodstuff opts to ignore all of this. And right now, there are more five-color decks in EDH than in Legacy.

Eh, I can always just hate them out with Primal Order.

That's my rant about how too much five-color goodstuff is bad for the game.

Anyway, I play Aura Shards and Seedborn Muse in a lot of decks too. Aura Shards is really oppressive in a token build, or even a reanimator build. Seedborn Muse is interesting because she's either overpowered (anything , token builds, Yeva, Nature's Herald) or just a fancy Village Bell-Ringer without the Splinter Twin combo. I have to go through my decks now and see which ones have four or more game changers.

TheMadRocketeer on Who's Counting?

11 months ago

Craeter, Great suggestions! Thanks.

I do already have Hardened Scales and Primal Vigor in the deck.

I have Fertilid and considered it for this deck but didn't put it in the Maybe list. I'll add it now and may swap it in. Very useful.

Ozolith, the Shattered Spire and Branching Evolution are exactly the kind of cards I'd like to have more of in the deck.

Heroic Intervention is terrific protection, and I have my eye out for some.

Doubling Season is nutso good and, as you say, super expensive. I've not done proxying and mainly just play kitchen table games, but . . . Yeah. Wow.

Hooded Hydra is great. I don't think I have any, but I'm going to go digging to make sure.

Tribute to the World Tree, Forgotten Ancient, Devoted Druid - You've given me a lot to think about and look for. :-)

Craeter on Who's Counting?

11 months ago

This is pretty good for cards you just happen to have! If you're looking to upgrade in the future here are some suggestions: Tribute to the World Tree, Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Heroic Intervention, Hooded Hydra, Forgotten Ancient, Fertilid, Devoted Druid, Ozolith, the Shattered Spire, Primal Vigor, then there's the staple stupid expensive Doubling Season - I'd recommend just proxying it for a few bucks.

Caerwyn on interaction question

1 year ago

In the future, please use the Rules Q&A section of the site if you have questions about rules, cards, or card interactions. That part of the site has some additional functionality, such as the ability to mark an answer to indicate your question was resolved. I have gone ahead and moved the thread for you.

Additionally, please be sure to turn the caps lock key off when you post.

Here is how this plays out:

  1. You put Windswift Slice on the Stack. There are no responses so the card resolves.

  2. When the spell resolves, your 12/12 deals 12 damage to the 6/6. The excess damage in this hypothetical is 6. You create six 1/1 green Elf Warrior creatures.

  3. The Elf Warrior creatures enter the battlefield as 1/1s. This triggers Tribute to the World Tree and the triggered ability goes on the stack.

  4. No one responds to Tribute. It resolves. The creatures are 1/1s, so each creature would normally get two +1/+1 counters. They are not big enough for the draw a card portion of Tribute (even though they will be after the ability resolves).

  5. However, you have two replacement effects which modify how +1/+1 counters are put on the creature. Since you control both effects, you get to determine the order the replacement effects are applied. You will want to apply Hardened Scales first, as that changes the two +1/+1 counters to three. Then you apply Branching Evolution second to double those counters. That gives you a total of six +1/+1 counters. (If you do it the other way, with Branching Evolution second, you will double 2 to 4, then add 1, ending up with only 5 counters).

Goober12 on interaction question

1 year ago

I HAVE A QUESTION ON INTERACTIONS WITH CARDS ON MY BATTLEFIELD. I HAD Branching Evolution , Tribute to the World Tree , Hardened Scales OUT FOR MY ENCHANTMENTS. I HAD A 12/12 CREATURE ON THE BOARD. I PLAYED Windswift Slice USING MY 12/12 CREATURE AS MY TARGET CREATURE AND I USED THE SPELL ON OPPONENTS 6/6 CREATURE. MY QUESTION IS HOW WOULD ALL THAT INTERACT WHEN THE TOKEN CREATURES COME OUT INTO PLAY?

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