Mutagenic Growth

Instant

( can be paid with either or 2 life.)

Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.

Discussion (50)

TheVectornaut on Searing Infection

3 days ago

Most of my experience with infect comes from playing simic, but I have played the mechanic in all 5 colors. In terms of power, green is the most effective color to play by a very VERY large margin. You get access to the best infect creature in Glistener Elf (along with the slower and safer option of Blight Mamba), you get trample sources to push through damage with Ichorclaw Myr such as Rancor, Predator's Strike, and Larger Than Life, you get protection bundled with buffs in the form of Vines of Vastwood, Ranger's Guile, and Blossoming Defense, and you get the largest pool of very strong power boosts in the form of Mutagenic Growth, Invigorate, Scale Up, Might of Old Krosa, Berserk, Become Immense, Groundswell, Phytoburst, Noble Hierarch, and Pendelhaven. Since infect is an all-or-nothing sort of archetype, even when running the less aggressive versions, the most important characteristics that you need are speed, protection, and evasion. Green offers two of those things in spades but can struggle with evasion. This is why blue is generally considered the next best color to run. You get the insane threat of Blighted Agent, unblockable buffs with Distortion Strike and Aqueous Form, and protection from spells via Spell Pierce, Dispel, Turn Aside, and the odd Spellskite. Black is the next best. Plague Stinger's flying isn't as good as the unblockable on a Blighted Agent but it's still very powerful evasion as illustrated by the ubiquity of Inkmoth Nexus in every non-budget infect list ever made. Black also nets useful control tools like Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, Fatal Push, Dismember, and Assassin's Trophy. White was considered the worst infect color for a very long time since its best option (Apostle's Blessing) can be used in any deck, but the recent introduction of Giver of Runes has breathed some life back into the color. Additionally, I've seen a lot of equipment lists popping up that use Colossus Hammer, Kor Duelist, Sigarda's Aid, and Kor Outfitter to see some success. Unfortunately, that leaves red as the current worst color to run in infect. It has some decent buffs but they pale in comparison to green's offerings. The result is that most red infect decks rely on gimmicks like using Razor Swine's first strike to wither enemy creatures, generating infinite mana to pump into an unblocked Ogre Menial, or putting Phyresis on something like a Spikeshot Elder to bypass combat altogether. Your instant tricks definitely fall in this category. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. If your meta is casual enough, red should still work and it will be much more interesting to play with / fun to play against than a more traditional deck. How competitive you want to be is always up to you.

To answer your specific questions, I would probably start by cutting a few creatures. Most lists run about 12 infect sources (and that's including a playset of Inkmoth Nexus). With Hand of the Praetors on your top end, running 16-20 isn't that unreasonable, at least as long as all of them are good. Infect creatures usually become "bad" when they cost more than 2. That's why I wouldn't usually recommend running Ichor Rats or Septic Rats. Both Necropede and Plague Myr are perfectly acceptable inclusions with very similar power levels. They'll rarely be better than Plague Stinger or Ichorclaw Myr but that's okay if you just want more guys to play. As for Vector Asp, it's honestly a pretty bad choice in most circumstances. While you usually won't need to activate it more than 2 or 3 times to win the game, that mana would be better spent elsewhere, and it doesn't even trigger the Hand. However, given the choice of it and a 3-drop, I'd probably take the snake, especially since it would be your only proactive play on turn 1 (barring the inclusion of Glistener Elf or Inkmoths). Better though would just be to run neither and invest in more buff spells to assist in combat and trigger Livewire Lash. I do like the idea of those spells having cycling in theory, but in practice, the mana needed to cycle can short you of the resources needed to close out the game. Plus, cycling spells tend to cost more to account for the added ability. Cycling lands on the other hand should be fine as long as they come in untapped, although it looks like that only describes Ash Barrens and Blasted Landscape. Just like with creatures, I wouldn't run any spells that cost more than 2 unless they can win you the game like Soul's Fire can. This will also allow you to run 20 lands or fewer, opening up even more slots for gas. I apologize if I'm repeating myself about the low-cost-high-speed thing but that is basically the reason the infect mechanic exists. If you prefer a slow and more controlling style, Rakdos wither built around Necroskitter is a fun option that has some overlap with infect.

Lezen on I'm sorry, did that go too fast for you?

1 week ago

Check my Copy and Prowess deck, maybe you get some ideas, I rather use Assault Strobe than Temur Battle Rage , Use 4 Lightning Bolt and get rid of the Shock, then Opt for Preordain since it's not Modern legal, and Slip Through Space it's better than Distortion Strike.

You also need more Mutagenic Growth and Manamorphose to draw cards and Prowess your creatures.

And about Sprite Dragon, hes fast af, and uses counters not prowess, so basically you can bust him up 2 turns until you have enough mana to make him 10 with double strike unblockable.

Spell_Slam on Kiln Fiend!

1 week ago

I just want to make sure you're aware that Gitaxian Probe is currently banned in the Pauper format. If you don't follow the ban list, then you might be interested in Daze and Gush as well.

Otherwise, I think you're playing too many protection spells. I would not play Dive down. Maybe think about replacing it maindeck Mutagenic Growth. It can still protect your creatures from burn spells but it also has better offensive ability and is free to cast. Other cheap/free spells you could play are Gut Shot and Lava Dart, which can either ping the opponent or potential blockers.

I don't think you need 10 ways to give double strike. Raking Claws doesn't seem necessary. I could see more card draw like extra Ponders instead.

DemMeowsephs on Thriss your ass goodbye

4 weeks ago

Groundswell, Berserk,]maybe card draw spells like Hunter's Insight and Hunter's Prowess, maybe some free mana ones like Invigorate or Mutagenic Growth, Phytoburst is good but its a sorcery.

Selvala, Heart of the Wilds would work wonders in your deck. Pump, the for one mana add like a billion mana, it's super helpful in my decks.

And have you considered cards that will untap your commander? Unatp him, then use his pump ability again and again, which is super helpful. Seeker of Skybreak, etc.

Nice deck! +1

Destroyerbirb on Beamsplitter Blitz (UR Prowess)

1 month ago

NoopyNolife Very interesting build. I would just add 2x Blistercoil Weirds and definitely a playset of Soul-Scar Mages and take out the 2x Ghitu Lavarunner and the 2x Stormchaser Mages, and also take out one copy of both Titan's Strength and Mutagenic Growth.

+1 from me!

qwertyking on How to lose friends in 3 turns

2 months ago

Spell_Slam- I think you're right about the Mutagenic Growth. I just don't know what to cut. I also think Lava Dart could be very interesting, especially with the Faithless Looting in the deck. I would implore you to try this deck out with the cards you suggested- and if it works let me know and I'll change it accordingly. I really appreciate you checking out my deck man, and it is a damn shame they have banned some of the better pieces for this deck.

Spell_Slam on How to lose friends in 3 turns

2 months ago

This deck got hit with so many bans through the years (despite it never being the problem). I've been trying to recoup my paper deck into something playable. This seems like a great start.

At this point, I would think about running all 4 Mutagenic Growths. Free spells are the bread and butter of the deck.

In the same vein, I was considering playing a playset of Gut Shot. It's basically a free 4 damage spell with Kiln Fiend.

I was also thinking about adding Lava Dart, which is an additional 7 damage for 1 mana and 1 mountain.

What do you think of these cards? Anything worth running?

GoblinElectromancer on How cheap can burn be without being bad?

2 months ago

Drengoa

Thanks for the suggestion! I will try out Mutagenic Growth. I'm not sure that it fits the burn theme enough and will make enough impact but I will try it out. Thanks!