Hardened Scales

Enchantment

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

Discussion (51)

jconeil1988 on The Strong Get Stronger

1 day ago

check out

Primeval Bounty,Boon Satyr,Bow of Nylea, Cream of the Crop,Elemental Bond,Hardened Scales,Song of the Dryads,Destiny Spinner, Courser of Kruphix,Nylea, Keen-Eyed.

rdean14 on Card creation challenge

2 days ago

It wouldn't be an instant infinite combo, but so many cards would make it infinite: Hardened Scales, Mowu, Loyal Companion, Primal Vigor, Doubling Season, Conclave Mentor, or Branching Evolution. I'm sure more cards would be instant infinite combos.

Very broken with Dark Depths, synergy with Chandra, Fire Artisan, sagas, and any other cards where you want a specific number of counters on them.

seshiro_of_the_orochi on Quest for weirdness

2 weeks ago

I imagine a Yarok, the Desecrated deck with some counter- and lifegain synergies. Gaining 4 life from three mana is terrible. Gaining 8 life is something very different. Add in Panharmonicon, Hardened Scales and some proliferate cards and you can max out on both sides of Trufflesnout.

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How about Stormwild Capridor in edh?

Kyle_Winter on Hallar Commander

2 weeks ago

I think there should be less concern about what one person can afford vs yourself, WolfWitcher518.

Hardened Scales is also a great card for this deck in my opinion. It's cheap and it doubles your combo.

Phostration on That one deck that makes everyone hate you

2 weeks ago

How could I forget to mention Hardened Scales. One drop and you instantly gain an addition +1/+1 counter for each instance of getting one.

Last_Laugh on Reyshai +1/+1 counters

3 weeks ago

I'm just posting 2 cards for suggestions but could list waaay more. Instead I'm posting links to 3 decks you need to check out including my own.

Blade of Selves and Rite of Replication do amazing things here.

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Reyhan+Blade of Selves Math

Mathing is Hard! All math based on 4 players and for the Blade of Selves combo found in the next section, plus the cards listed in each section below. Special thanks to Gidgetimer for help with the math!

Note: Master Biomancer and Bramblewood Paragon need to be figured separately as they only add counters when Reyhans enter, not when she moves counters. Good-Fortune Unicorn doesn't work with the below combos.

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Blade of Selves on Reyhan, Last of the Abzan - Two tokens are created with counters. They leave the battlefield and six instances of placing counters are created.

6x3=18 counters in 6 increments of 3 counters.

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Hardened Scales, Winding Constrictor, AND/OR Pir, Imaginative Rascal - Two tokens are created with counters. They leave the battlefield and six instances of placing counters are created. One, Two, or Three counters are added (or more, respectively) both on creation and on trigger resolution.

With 1 = 30 counters in 6 increments of 5 counters.

With 2 = 42 counters in 6 increments of 7 counters.

With 3 = 54 counters in 6 increments of 9 counters.

+12 Counters for each additional counter.

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Corpsejack Menace Only - Two tokens are created with counters. They leave the battlefield and six instances of placing counters are created. Counters are doubled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

6(2(2(3)))=72 counters in 6 increments of 12 counters.

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Doubling Season Only - Four tokens are created with counters. They leave the battlefield and twenty instances of placing counters are created. Counters are doubled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

20(2(2(3)))=240 counters in 20 increments of 12 counters.

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Corpsejack Menace AND Doubling Season - Four tokens are created with counters. They leave the battlefield and twenty instances of placing counters are created. Counters are quadrupled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

20(4(4(3)))=960 counters in 20 increments of 48 counters.

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Corpsejack Menace AND Doubling Season AND Pir, Imaginative Rascal, Hardened Scales, AND/OR Winding Constrictor (aka Magical Christmas Land) - Four tokens are created with counters. They leave the battlefield and twenty instances of placing counters are created. One, Two, or Three counters (or more, respectively) are added and then counters are quadrupled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

With 1 - 20(4(4(3+1)+1))=1360 counters in 20 increments of 68 counters.

With 2 - 20(4(4(3+2)+2))=1760 counters in 20 increments of 88 counters.

With 3 - 20(4(4(3+3)+3))=2160 counters in 20 increments of 108 counters.

+400 counters for each additional counter.

Reyhan+Rite of Replication Math

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Hardened Scales, Winding Constrictor, AND/OR Pir, Imaginative Rascal - Rite makes 5 tokens with counters. Them dying creates 30 triggers. 30((3+X)+X)

With 1 - 150 in 30 increments of 5 counters.

With 2 - 210 in 30 increments of 7.

With 3 - 270 in 30 increments of 9.

+60 counters for each additional counter.

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Corpsejack Menace only - 5 tokens with counters are created. They leave the battlefield and thirty instances of placing counters are created. Counters are doubled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

30(2(2(3)))=360 in 30 increments of 12 counters.

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Doubling Season - 10 tokens with counters are created. They leave the battlefield and 110 instances of placing counters are created. Counters are doubled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

110(2(2(3)))=1320 in 110 increments of 12 counters.

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Doubling Season AND Corpsejack Menace - 10 tokens with counters. They leave the battlefield and 110 instances of placing counters are created. Counters are quadrupled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

110(4(4(3)))=5,280 in 110 increments of 48 counters.

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Doubling Season AND Corpsejack Menace AND Pir, Imaginative Rascal, Hardened Scales, AND/OR Winding Constrictor (aka 'Shoulda spent that luck on the lotto') - 10 tokens with counters are created. They leave the battlefield and 110 instances of placing counters are created. One, Two, or Three counters (or more, respectively) are added and then counters are quadrupled both on creation and on trigger resolution.

110(4(4(3+X)+X))=

With 1 - 7,480 counters in 110 increments of 108.

With 2 - 9,680 counters in 110 increments of 108.

With 3 - 11,880 counters in 110 increments of 108.

+2200 counters for each additional counter.

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Little Rey of Ishine (Reyhan/Ishai 2.73 cmc) Mine (Upvotes are appreciated!)

Reyhan and Ishai's Counterattack KibaAlpha's list

Reyhan&Ishai | Where Unstoppable Meets Immovable! AkaAkuma's list

Kudzuu on Don't be a Menace Jack

3 weeks ago

Thank you for telling me about Apostle's Blessing. I did not know about that card. I will add x 4 to sideboard for sure. What do you think about running 3 copies of Etched Oracle? I feel I need to cut it to 1 copy because this is only a two color deck and I feel it would balance the mana curve. Maybe two copies of Hardened Scales?

TheGodofNight on Modern Affinity

4 weeks ago

@mrbaldwin89

Yes,I am on MTGO, now moreso because of the pandemic. Username name is: Nightspawn Sorry for the super long delay in responding, I must have missed this when you initially asked.

@TacoMan14

So both Hangarback Walker and Walking Ballista are great cards, and do have homes in the Affinity/Robots builds that are running copies of Hardened Scales. So the reason these two don't typically make the cut in more conventional builds, is because they require mana dumps. While Walking Ballista is more flexible than Hangarback Walker, the issue is the amount of resources you need to put into both. Since a round in Modern is usually decided or over by turn 4, these two don't make the cut. Having to dump 4 mana into Ballista to add counters isn't effective, but 4 mana for 2 counters (Hardened Scales) is better,and 4 mana for 3 counters (2 copies of hardened scales) is even better; it is more flexible in a lot of respects. However, in traditional builds, most decks aren't running a lot of lands, so 4 mana is a premium in decks like these. As for Hangarback, 1 mana for 1 counter is good, and 1 mana for 2 counters (hardened scales) is great, either way, you need to tap the creature which limits the number of counters you can put on, so you are spending a far more previous resource in this case, time/turns. Each turn you tap Hangarback down to add a counter, you are not attacking or blocking with it. Sure, it makes 1/1s, but at the cost of sacrificing it. It's all about making the most of all of your resources: mana, creatures, artifacts, time. Of course, having fun is the most important. So feel free to try both out and see what you like and what works for your meta. I hope that this information helps.