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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Planar Constructed | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Zaxara, the Exemplary
Legendary Creature — Nightmare Hydra
Deathtouch
: Add two mana of any one colour.
Whenever you cast a spell with in its mana cost, create a 0/0 green Hydra creature token, then put X +1/+1 counters on it.
artcwolf22 on Best Mana Dork In the …
6 months ago
Best mana dork, Bloom Tender. I've searched for two drop since Mh2 in 2022 only to be stuck with Sanctum Weaver and Incubation Druid. While the Latter two can fit in some decks, Bloom Tender is just insane in commanders with at least 3 colors and is a target on sight. Getting it out with a 5 color commander just goes crazy.
The first two regularly see play in high power levels, and I think more would be unbalanced. A 3 drop is balanced, and perhaps the game is better that way.
A legendary Mana Dork may regularly incites issues. Zaxara, the Exemplary already exist, but once you have a dork in the command zone it's just ever tempting to add Freed from the Real and Pemmin's Aura to get infinite mana, after which the deck's strategy just becomes do infinite things.
It would be nice to have a balanced version with drawbacks, like Garth One-Eye or ways to stop riders or activate once a turn, now that they're adding this regularly now.
MTGBurgeoning on
Zax On. Zax Off. Zax On. Zax Off. Zax On. Zax Off.
1 year ago
Your assessment is valid. Zaxara, the Exemplary is a definite luxury in a deck that focuses on throwing around +1 +1 counters like nobody's business. Aside for the potential to create infinite mana with Pemmin's Aura, Zaxara's presence is tied to the high number of X spells inundating the 99 of this build (over two dozen). With an admittedly diverse and robust amount of ramp spells (more than a dozen), the X-theme of this deck can function independent of Zaxara. For the purposes of clarity, Asceticism's inclusion in the deck is more for blanketed protection than providing Zaxara with individualized protection. We have the aforementioned Pemmin's Aura and Lightning Greaves for that. Protecting our Hydra creatures from spot-removal is the top priority for Asceticism. Investing high amounts of mana into a Hydra and then watching it get plucked from the battlefield with a spot-removal spell or ability is quite deflating. However, in order to diversify our layers of protection, perhaps some instant-speed protection would also be beneficial. There is definitely space in the 99 to accommodate some counter-magic and Heroic Intervention-like spells. Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate them. Happy brewing!
mr_chazy on
2 years ago
Recommended Removals: Nissa's Renewal Treacherous Terrain Verdant Mastery Violent Ultimatum Omnath, Locus of Mana Omnath, Locus of Rage Omnath, Locus of the Roil Begin the Invasion Endless Detour Titans' Nest Wayfarer's Bauble
Recommended Additions: Muldrotha, the Gravetide Bloom Tender Chromatic Lantern Maelstrom Archangel Surrak Dragonclaw Zaxara, the Exemplary Chulane, Teller of Tales Animar, Soul of Elements The World Tree Genesis Wave Tempt with Discovery Maelstrom Nexus Cascading Cataracts Urza's Filter Esika, God of the Tree Flip Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
MusicGoat18 on
2 years ago
Thanks again TheoryCrafter! I made cuts and changes based on your suggestion. I did my best to keep a balance while adding more cards for Zaxara, the Exemplary and Unbound Flourishing.
Cuts made:
Forgotten Ancient, Jodah, Archmage Eternal, Fist of Suns, Bootleggers' Stash, and swapped a few lands.
Cards added:
Shivan Devastator, Steelbane Hydra, Unbound Flourishing, and Bonfire of the Damned.
I still want to implement Progenitus' commander damage strategy on top of the hydra tribal idea, so I kept many of the exalt cards and mana fix/ramp. Another reason is that the ramp cards assist with values too.
Suspence89 on
Winter's Cold
2 years ago
Marit Lage's Slumber is fun Dead of Winter Is kinda busted for its cost and sometimes your big dudes will outsize the negative Kruphix, God of Horizons and Horizon Stone Doubling Cube to help bank your excess mana you'll be making Cultivate and Kodama's Reach because there isn't a better ramp spell Heroic Intervention Big Bois Hydra Broodmaster Neverwinter Hydra Corpsejack Menace to enable Zaxara, the Exemplary Polukranos, World Eater Primordial Hydra Altered Ego Tervigon Termagant Swarm Drawing Cards Blue Sun's Zenith Pull from Tomorrow Inspiring Call also doubles as a board protector Stroke of Genius Return of the Wildspeaker Rishkar's Expertise Soul's Majesty Momentous Fall Cut of the Profits Life's Legacy
PolarisFluff on
Pact weapon
2 years ago
Pact weapon would go pretty well with Greven, Predator Captain.
For all of them, maybe Dina, Soul Steeper? Golgari lifegain so you can offset the life costs, and a built in sac outlet for Junji.
There's also Lathril, Blade of the Elves who is a classic, built in evasion and makes lots of tokens you can equip.
Zaxara, the Exemplary makes pre-modified creatures
Finally, another card you might like here is Unspeakable Symbol
Rhadamanthus on Zaraxa + Sproutback Trudge ruling
3 years ago
A card's "mana cost" is specifically the symbols printed in the upper-right corner of a standard Magic frame. Sproutback Trudge doesn't have in its mana cost, so it doesn't interact with Zaxara, the Exemplary.
As written, Zaxara only triggers when you cast a spell, not when you activate an ability. It doesn't interact with Polukranos, World Eater.
Commander tax applies every time the commander is cast from the command zone. Zahid, Djinn of the Lamp has an option for an alternate casting cost. If you use the alternate cost to cast Zahid from the command zone then the commander tax will apply, as will any other casting cost increasing/reducing effects.
The commander ninjutsu on Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow is an activated ability (you can see in the reminder text it's written out as "[Cost] : [Effect]", the standard formatting for activated abilities). If you use it, you're not casting the spell, so commander tax and any other casting cost increasing/reducing effects won't apply.
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