Creatures that ETB with counters that want to be removed
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on May 15, 2021, 10:35 a.m. by kapalappa
I am looking into an EDH deck idea to see if it will work. I am trying to find creatures that enter with counters that are 'negative' or that want to be removed. Examples include Thing in the Ice Flip and Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle . I am looking to pair these up with effects that remove all counters or prevents counters such as Solemnity , Vampire Hexmage , and AEther Snap in order to get the most bang for my buck. I do not have a commander yet so all colors are welcome.
I ran a quick Gatherer search for ["enters the battlefield" + "counter" + "NOT +1/+1" + "NOT Energy" + "Creature"] and skimmed through it. The search was a bit over-inclusive, but was short enough to quickly read.
You can run that search to get more options, but I pulled out some notable choices--the below creatures have abilities above and beyond simply being "Vanilla/French vanilla with an ETB downside" (no other abilities, or just an evergreen ability).
- Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
- Chronozoa - used with Solemnity and a sacrifice engine, you can build an infinite army of these guys (or just win outright if your sacrifice engine hurts opponents).
- Look into creatures with Persist, such as Kitchen Finks or Murderous Redcap . Combined with a sacrifice engine and Solemnity/ Melira, Sylvok Outcast , you'll be able to go infinite.
- Lost Auramancers can find you Solemnity, so you can get extra bang for your Vampire Hexmage buck if you target Auramancers.
Otherwise, you're mostly looking at creatures that enter the battlefield smaller and grow bigger.
May 15, 2021 11:04 a.m.
Hardhitta7 says... #4
Not a creature but Dark Depths is pretty good.
And you probably know this already but even if you remove all the counters from Thing in the Ice Flip or it enters with none you still need to cast a instant/sorcery to flip it.
May 15, 2021 11:23 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #5
Soul Diviner works for removing counters too, to draw cards
May 15, 2021 11:46 a.m.
How about Woolly Razorback , or anything with cumulative upkeep?
May 15, 2021 12:20 p.m.
I think you might be better off going Torpor Orb and just never get the counters in the first place
May 16, 2021 9:50 a.m.
shadow63 torpor orb typically doesnt prevent counters. Its almost always if not always that entering with counters is a replacement effect, not an etb. I did look at similar creatures when I was brewing similar idea around Torpor Orb like cards like Phyrexian Dreadnought
Caerwyn says... #2
This thread was moved to a more appropriate forum (auto-generated comment)
May 15, 2021 10:38 a.m.