<p style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://boros-szikszai.com/landing_2/boros/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zoltan Boros</a></span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The new set may be about <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/tmt" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles </em></a>(TMNT), but today we’re only focusing on one of those words. Many of the cards were printed in the last few years, so they’re not teenage; we’ve already <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-ninja-typal-with-taeko-the-patient-avalanche" target="_blank" rel="noopener">talked about Ninjas</a>; and Turtles will get their own day in the sun (before they return to the ocean); so today we’re going to look at Mutants.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Genghis Frog"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander deck tech will attempt to combine the various incarnations of the <em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</em> with existing <em>Magic</em> mechanics to create an amalgam worthy of being called a Mutant Commander deck.</span></p>
<h2>Mutant History</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While individual Mutants existed early in<em> Magic</em>’s design, they didn’t really hit their stride until the introduction of the <a href="https://mtg.wiki/page/Simic_Combine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simic Combine</a> in <em>Dissension</em>. The various incarnations of Simic (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) have always explored controversial experiments in Biology. These experiments have been shown in the form of +1/+1 counters, both reshaping the power and toughness of creatures as well as sharing abilities like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Experiment Kraj" href="#" target="_blank">Experiment Kraj</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One would think that <em>Ikoria</em> would have brought back the Mutant creature type, given that the set saw the introduction of the controversial and complicated <a href="https://mtg.wiki/page/Mutate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mutate mechanic</a>. Ironically, however, mutate has little to do with Mutants. Instead, we’re going to focus on a different ability, which combines the Simic Combine’s abilities with the new Mutagen tokens: <a href="https://mtg.wiki/page/Modified" target="_blank" rel="noopener">modified</a>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biomancer&#039;s Familiar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Illuna, Apex of Wishes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Akki Battle Squad"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Modified became a named mechanic in <em>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</em>, although it functionally already existed. Cards are considered modifed if they are equipped, enchanted, or adorned with counters, the latter of which we are going to focus on. We’re going to use these different modifications to turn our Mutants into gigantic threats.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how do we make this feel like a Mutant deck instead of a generic counters deck? And how do we turn playing around with dice into a winning position?</span></p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of my favorite types of commanders: a two-drop creature that makes the other cards in the deck better. It is aggressively costed as a 1/3 for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, and trample makes it a good subject for modification. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Genghis Frog"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mutagen"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s a deceptively strong commander, as it facilitates the counters strategy with its triggered ability and can win the game by ingesting more and more of that delicious Mutagen.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And that triggered ability is what makes the whole deck work.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whenever <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or another Mutant enters, we create a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mutagen" href="#" target="_blank">Mutagen</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> token, which can be sacrificed to put a +1/+1 counter on a target creature, which we do not have to control (but likely will). This means that it's essentially a three-mana 2/4 trampler which only grows as we make more Mutants. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like a point guard in basketball, Genghis is capable of scoring wins on its own, but is also capable of distributing the counters and dishing out assists to our other creatures, which makes it a great, if initially tiny, leader.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But what do our other Mutants look like? And how does Genghis get them to work together?</span></p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many Mutants care about modifying creatures by adding counters to them that alter their power and toughness. This began with the <a href="https://mtg.wiki/page/Graft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">graft</a> mechanic in <em>Dissension</em>, where creatures enter with counters and can give them to new creatures when they come out. It continued in <em>Fallout</em>, with nuclear radiation accounting for the modifications, and comes to a head in TMNT with Mutagen tokens.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Donatello, Way with Machines"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mikey and Donnie are the two Ninja Turtles we have access to, and several of their incarnations work with what we do. In particular, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11" href="#" target="_blank">Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes another Mutagen when it enters and adds a counter each time we put one on a creature. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Donatello, Way with Machines" href="#" target="_blank">Donatello, Way with Machines</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gets a counter whenever an artifact enters, which includes all of our Mutagen tokens. He’s also a flying threat, giving us much-needed evasion.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Benthic Biomancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merfolk Skydiver"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Benthic Biomancer" href="#" target="_blank">Benthic Biomancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> draws us a card whenever it gets a counter, working well with all of the counters our Mutagens spread. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merfolk Skydiver" href="#" target="_blank">Merfolk Skydiver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, on the other hand, is another flying threat that also proliferates our counters, making our board modified to truly radical levels.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But what are we doing with all these counters?</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skatewing Spy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ray Fillet, Man Ray"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skatewing Spy" href="#" target="_blank">Skatewing Spy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives all of our modified creatures flying, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ray Fillet, Man Ray" href="#" target="_blank">Ray Fillet, Man Ray</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turns our extra counters into card draw, while also making Mutagens. And did I mention that both of them are Mutants?</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hardened Scales"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doubling Season"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allow our humble Mutagens to add extra layers of modifications, building our board to humongous levels. These abilities stack and work with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11" href="#" target="_blank">Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to juice our creatures to levels beyond even Spinal Tap’s amps (which also go to 11).</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rapid Hybridization"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pongify"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While it doesn’t work with the modification theme, our removal does still fit the Mutant concept. The removal we’re packing is all designed to turn opposing creatures into other creatures, kind of like the negative effects of genetic splicing. Many of these cards are good anyways, but they have a more playful role here than just being stock removal spells with a solid rate. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turns a creature into a Frog Lizard, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turns it into an Ape instead, both funny mental images.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Karn&#039;s Bastion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Novijen, Heart of Progress"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our lands are discreet sources of advantage, playing along with the counters theme. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> proliferates our counters, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Novijen, Heart of Progress" href="#" target="_blank">Novijen, Heart of Progress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> puts a counter on each creature that entered on a given turn. The Bastion gives our whole board a boost, while Novijen gives us something to do with our excess mana.</span></p>
<h2>How Does This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genghis Frog" href="#" target="_blank">Genghis Frog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander Deck Win?</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The main route to victory is to load up counters on our board, especially on evasive threats. Our commander has trample, and we have a few ways to grant evasion. The neat thing about our strategy, however, is that there’s no limit to how huge our creatures can get. </span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Branching Evolution"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Ozolith"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With counter additions and multipliers, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Branching Evolution" href="#" target="_blank">Branching Evolution</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we can threaten huge swings quickly. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ozolith" href="#" target="_blank">The Ozolith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us resiliency, making it so that our board-building isn’t undone by an unfortunate removal spell.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking of removal spells, our deck is a bit susceptible to them. Because we build our threats up over several turns, games without <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ozolith" href="#" target="_blank">The Ozolith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can devolve into grinds, especially if our few removable threats are offline. This is where the <em>Dissension</em> Mutants come back in; many of them grant abilities to all creatures with counters, which allows us to make our whole board evasive for big turns.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cytospawn Shambler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sphere Grid"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cytospawn Shambler" href="#" target="_blank">Cytospawn Shambler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a grafting creature from the Simic Combine that lets us grant trample to any creature with a counter on it that we control for the price of a green mana apiece. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphere Grid" href="#" target="_blank">Sphere Grid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an enchantment from <em>Final Fantasy</em> that gives our creatures counters for connecting in combat, and then grants creatures with counters both reach and trample. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both of these cards help make sure that our modified creatures don’t just get chump blocked (blocked by smaller creatures to avoid the player taking damage) ad infinitum.</span></p>
<h2>Genghis Frog Commander Deck List</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Genghis Frog Commander Deck Tech" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="&nbsp;
[Commander]
*1 Genghis Frog
[/Commander]
&nbsp;
[Creatures]
*1 Aberrant
*1 Aquastrand Spider
*1 Benthic Biomancer
*1 Biomancer&#039;s Familiar
*1 Cloudfin Raptor
*1 Cytoplast Manipulator
*1 Cytoplast Root-Kin
*1 Cytospawn Shambler
*1 Donatello, Gadget Master
*1 Donatello, Mutant Mechanic
*1 Donatello, Way with Machines
*1 Evolution Witness
*1 Experiment Kraj
*1 Helium Squirter
*1 Jason Bright, Glowing Prophet
*1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
*1 Lily Bowen, Raging Grandma
*1 Lumbering Megasloth
*1 Marcus, Mutant Mayor
*1 Merfolk Skydiver
*1 Michelangelo, Game Master
*1 Michelangelo, Mutant BFF
*1 Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11
*1 Mikey &amp; Don, Party Planners
*1 Mirelurk Queen
*1 Mondo Gecko
*1 Mutagen Man, Living Ooze
*1 Novijen Sages
*1 Plaxcaster Frogling
*1 Rampaging Yao Guai
*1 Ray Fillet, Man Ray
*1 Renegade Krasis
*1 Roalesk, Apex Hybrid
*1 Simic Basilisk
*1 Simic Initiate
*1 Simic Manipulator
*1 Skatewing Spy
*1 Slithering Cryptid
*1 Sporeback Troll
*1 Strong, the Brutish Thespian
*1 Venus, Torn Between Worlds
*1 Vigean Graftmage
*1 Vigean Hydropon
*1 Watchful Radstag
[/Creatures]
&nbsp;
[Enchantments]
*1 Branching Evolution
*1 Doubling Season
*1 Hardened Scales
*1 Innkeeper&#039;s Talent
*1 Primal Vigor
*1 Solid Ground
*1 Sphere Grid
[/Enchantments]
&nbsp;
[Artifacts]
*1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
*1 The Earth Crystal
*1 The Ozolith
[/Artifacts]
&nbsp;
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Pongify
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
[/Instants]
&nbsp;
[Sorceries]
*1 Ravenform
[/Sorceries]
&nbsp;
[Lands]
*1 Alchemist&#039;s Refuge
*1 Cavern of Souls
*1 Command Tower
*15 Forest
*15 Island
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Mistrise Village
*1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
*1 Opal Palace
*1 Path of Ancestry
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Zanarkand, Ancient Metropolis // Lasting Fayth
[/Lands]
&nbsp;"></span></div></span></p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mutants have been around for a while, focusing on modifications more so than the eponymous mutate mechanic. The different incarnations work together to make a synergistic deck designed around counters and sharing abilities by embracing their shared mutations and modifications. Magneto would be proud.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In fact, Magneto might be part of this strategy sooner than later, with a <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/msh" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Marvel Super Heroes</em></a> set coming up later this year!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how would you build Mutants? And what do you think the Marvel set will bring to the strategy?</span></p>


mutant typal

Building Mutant Typal With Genghis Frog