Might make Simic ramp a thing. Thragtusk followed by this sounds pretty good
mpitcock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
O.K. Rather disappointing, should be more complex. I personally can't stand her. She isn't powerful enough.
3/5
Yozuk
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Extremely elegant design. She always enters larger then your biggest creature. Which means she will always trigger your evolve creatures. She then draws you tones of cards for you to do with them what you want. And she is a huge beater. At her worst she is a 1/1 that draws you a card.
5/5
marmaris74
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
One of the few legends that I'll happily cast even if I already have one on the 'field. Six mana for a huge body and loads of card advantage is not to be underestimated.
lorendorky
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Clearly an awesome card for all of us fatty lovers out there. This also has some subtle synergy with Imperial Recruiter.
RealOG47
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
not only does she work well with imperial recruiter, she can also be abused with Revelark. Such an abusable creature without being overpowered. Great Design.
I lament the fact that she isn't as complex as I was expecting, but still, that is a heck of a lot of card advantage, and you get one big fatty to boot. A merfolk fatty.... is that even a thing?
Mowagh
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
The card I'm most excited for in GTC.
SRSFACE
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Hand advantage that comes in the form of giving you (probably) the biggest creature on the field. For 6. That triggers evolve on all your creatures guaranteed.
I like the idea of a guild leader that remains a sleek Merfolk, only with a surprising amount of power the moment any grunts try to harm the Simic. Also, her draw ability makes it feel like she comes in to check on the battle and brings some ideas to the table, as any general should.
drpvfx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can't die happy until I ramp into this t5 following a t4 Obzedat, Ghost Council at FNM.
Thragtusk is undoubtedly better for this, but I really want the challenge. Then I'll take that janky deck apart and try something a little less flashy.
LordOfTheFlies87
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
More UG legends please.
Flyheight
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'm struggling to find the words to describe the lunacy her abilities are perpetuating inside my head. She's fantastic! 5/5
Cyberium
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Oh yes, Graft...
Gcrudaplaneswalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Unless countered (which should not be a problem for Simic), this card can win you the game with the sheer card advantage it brings.
Vakyoom
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
More complex?? I'm not sure what could be "more complex" unless you add in hexproof or some random 1 line ability... But the possibilities with this card are ridiculous.
Say you have a Shambleshark and it's beefed up to a 5/4 by turn 5-6, then you play this card. Prime speaker enters with 5 +1/+1 counters(as a 6/6), it evolves the Crab fish and you draw 6 cards... If you Ghostly Flicker or use Zameck Guildmage then it only gets better, giving you a huge pool to choose from. Simic Charm to protect it from removal. Use Bioshift in response to its draw card ability going on the stack and you can move counters from something onto her, to draw more cards(even better, use it to move those fresh new counters from the Prime Speaker on to your shark or Elusive Krasis to finish the game quickly.)
Great art, i really dig the helmet. She's powerful, unique and gives even more Simic card advantage, something all green decks can enjoy. 5/5
rollinsclone
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
New blink target? Oh yeah. Coming in on curve right after Thragtusk is sweet too.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With the amount of card advantage she generates alongside another blink-loving target (Thragtusk, of course), I'd be quite surprised if she doesn't see some sort of play - probably in a bant mid range deck. Just getting her out is enough, but if she sticks for more than that turn, your Cloudshift/Ghostly Flicker/Restoration Angel is going to have a field day. "Yo dawg, I heard you like card advantage".
Purplerooster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you don't have any other creatures in play.....she's basically an Elvish Visionary.
PonchoGrande
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Guys, guys guys, don't think Thragtusk, think of Wolfir Silverheart. Just stack the triggers, it's a minimum 10/10 draw 10. Oh, do have fun.
.Blaze.
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
A perfect marriage of green and blue.
blindthrall
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ok, so she's a lionfish, but she doesn't have deathtouch? Boo. Anyway, every Jonnie's dream girl.
pedrodyl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She seems kind of generic to me. All she does is +1/+1 counters and draw a lot of cards. Could have been a lot more unique for the guildleader of one of the more Johnny-ish guilds.
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
The last time I was excited to have a new commander option, the dude got banhammered before I'd even finished hammering out my deck design.
Still, I'm really excited to have a powerful, iconic commander with an entirely novel synergy strategy. Hopefully Zegana doesn't turn out to be as degenerate as Edric or Griselbrand.
Alfen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wouldn't this be awesome with Corpsejack Menace if you just splashed some black in your Simic deck?!
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Song-Comboes with Obzedat
Anyone ever wonder what the Merfolk were doing for 10,000 years before they decided to become the new Simic Combine? :)
Then Sea Weed Is Always Greener! In Somebody Else's Lake! You Dream About Going Up There :D But That Is A Big Mistake! :O Just Look At The World Around You! :D Right Here On The Ocean Floor! :D Such Wonderful Things Surround You! O.O What More Is You Lookin' For? ( See Beyond Sea Beyond?! ;D :P lame pun. -_-)
UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA! DARLING IT'S BETTER DOWN WHERE IT'S WETTER TAKE IT FROM ME!
Up On The Shore They Work All Day! Out In The Sun They Slave Away! (wish I knew how to nickname autocards. Think Orzhov, Azorius, and Boros civilization;boringness :) While We Devotin' Full Time To Floatin' UNDER THE SEA! (High Tide!)
*Down Here All The Fish is Happy! As Off Through The Waves They Roll!* The Fish On The Land Ain't Happy! They Sad 'Cause They In Their Bowl! (Rain of Tears?) But Fish In The Bowl Is Lucky! o.O They In For A Worser Fate! :O One Day When The Boss (Kozilek!) Get Hungry! (Merciless Eviction XD) Guess Who's Gon' Be On The Plate?
UNDER THE SEA! :D UNDER THE SEA! NOBODY BEAT US, FRY US AND EAT US IN FRACASSEE! :D :D :D
We What The Land Folks Loves To Cook! Under The Sea We Off The Hook! We Got No Troubles, Life Is The Bubbles UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA! SINCE LIFE IS SWEET HERE, WE GOT THE BEAT HERE! NATURALLY!
Even The Sturgeon An' The Ray! They Get The Urge 'n' Start To Play! ;O WE GOT THE SPIRIT! YOU GOT TO HEAR IT! UNDER THE SEA! :D
The Newt play the Flute, :D The Carp play the Harp, The Plaice play the Bass! ^_^ And they Soundin' Sharp >.< :3 The Bass play the Brass! The Chub play the Tub! The Fluke is the DUKE OF SOUL!(Yeah) The Ray he can Play! The lings on the strings! The Trout Rockin' out! The Blackfish she sings The Smelt and the Sprat! They KNOW where it's AT! AN' OH THAT BLOWFISH BLOW!
UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA! When the sardine Begin the beguine It's music to me! What do they got? A lot of SAND! ;O We got a RED-HOT CRUSTACEAN BAND! 3:D Each Little Clam here! KNOW HOW to JAM here! UNDER THE SEA! Each Little Slug Here! Cuttin' a Rug here! UNDER THE SEA! Each Little SNAIL here ^_^ KNOW HOW to WAIL here :O THAT'S WHY IT'S HOTTER UNDER THE WATER YA WE LUCK HERE DOWN THE MUCK HERE UNDER THE SEA!!!!!!!!!!!
A perfect representative of . You get a big creature () and oodles of card draw (). If she had flash or hexproof or drew cards every time she dealt combat damage, she's have the intersection of the colors too (although arguably card draw applies to both as well). And unlike the other Simic-colored legendaries, she plays very well without support in a goodstuff deck. Who doesn't want to draw cards? Try copying her with The Mimeoplasm for laughs.
Besides, that's a fantastic design. She looks appropriately regal with those lionfish elements. One of my favorite cards from Gatecrash.
wholelottalove
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great commander.
Amurica
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When i first looked at this card i was like meh. When i got one in a pre-release i was like dammit. But when i used it after dropping down a rubblehulk t6 i was like DAMN THAT'S GOOD AS HELL. In other words shes seems lame until you actually use her.
WhiteWizard42
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
mdakw576: "One of the saddest things about Zegana is that she can get removed in response to the draw trigger, so you won't draw those cards."
Nope, if she's killed in response the ability uses the last known information, so you still get the card draw. The only way you wouldn't draw from the ability is if it's countered (with Stifle, Trickbind, Voidslime), prevented (Torpor Orb, Humility), or she's put down to 0 power before it resolves (Guul Draz Assassin or similar). Killing her doesn't stop it.
Avs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The mechanic, the art - the reason why I chose to play Simic.
Truly powerful card, even for constructed. Should fit right in with any deck running thragtusk and Deadeye Navigator.. Card advantage on a scale I've ever seen on a creature before. Also, in a blink deck, possibly even in standard, she might draw you enough to get another blink spell/creature.
Spectis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just traded for one in a draft. Now I just need a couple Zameck Guildmages and a Master Biomancer . :3
steellord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
it'can be target of reveilark, loyal retainer horrible
p0ptarts
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Does this creature make me look fat? Zegana
TheJord01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@mdakw576 you made a huge misplay and probably cost your opponent the game. Only by reducing her power to 0 before her trigger starts to resolve can you deny the card draw.
Also, I think someone is downvoting the whole set... Merciless Eviction is a utility Final Judgement and its rated below 4? Zegana should be 4.5
Gamma_Guy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
As a card, obviously this is powerful, but I think it's badly designed. Unlike every other guild leader, she does nothing while she's on the battlefield, which seems like a very bad decision. On top of that, standard definitely does NOT need more broken etb effects. This is going to lead to Bant decks being even more degenerate and overpowered. Bad flavor, bad for standard, bad for the game.
If you wanted to draw x+1 (for the normal one power zegana has) + whatever the highest power on your side of the field is.
Make that fatty a corpsejack menace and... Oh my that's a lotta draw and a big fatty. Just throw a rancor on and you are good. Edh fun.
kaneofchaos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So deadly and so dangerous. With Primordial Hydra and Corpsejack Menace you can draw 18 on turn 5 with just one ramp/mana dork. Not to mention she is an 19/19.
I'd throw Berserk into that in non-Standard formats, but at that point you're practically just decking yourself now aren't you?
SirLibraryEater
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@marmaris74 & lorendorky: Is that a fat joke? Zegana is very sensitive about her weight.
-IN OTHER NEWS- This is a great card. You can get her out with like a bajillion and a half power/toughness. Just add Rubblehulk!
Osprey_93
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
People who are underwhelmed by her need to consider the fact they have no idea what they are talking about.
I mean personally, I find this to be one of the most playable Guild Leaders printed. The sheer amount of synergy she generates upon ETB is ludicrous. She will refill your hand as soon as she's hits the field, and that's immediate value. once in play her P/T will automatically be higher than all your dudes triggering evolve among all your creatures. Even after all that she's a massive beatstick which you can then manipulate her counters however you want or just enchant her with Rancor and go to town. If you run out of Spell Ruptures and she eats a kill spell it doesn't even really slow you down as you have a whole hand full of answers.
Evolve ALL THE THINGS
isospeedrix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Will give it a shot in my bant exalted deck, should work well since there will be 1 very large creature.
Discoduck
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Well she's not the most combo-rific creature (aside from the fact that she combos with big creatures, duh), but I like the fact that she's in the EDH general roster. Before now there were only two combo generals and a subtle political one, but none that bring such straightforward power all by themselves. She certainly spices things up.
Zegana probably has to be my favorite guild leader Next to Niv-Mizzet because of what she can do. Most of the time i can bring her out with 10+ +1/+1 counters, making her the most powerful creature on my side of the field, and giving me a bunch of cards... :D
It's obviously bad to draw a crud ton of cards at the risk of having to discard them, but if you have a Reliquary Tower out, Hakuna Matata.
Having said that, for any fellow Simic members out there, I'd run at least 2 Reliq. Towers in your deck if you also have Zegana in it.
Gloom_Sturgeon
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I saw an awesome EDH deck online based on this commander. The synergy is commendable and it looks extremely fun to play as it's loaded with Maros and a ton of card's in hand, give the guy some support!
The most fun and most useful guild leader imo and a great example of what every mythic should be like - powerful, game-changing but still has to be used cleverly and built around.
talcumpowder0046
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Timmy and kind of Spike! That's rare. Even though it's not very Johnny itself, things like Vorel or bounce can work well with it. Additionally, copy Overbeing of Myth for a card drawing Party! Make sure you have a spellbook down though.
Tezz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
After Zegana entered the battlefield with a bunch of +1/+1 counters and her second ability triggers, tap Vorel :)
GhostCounselor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Zegana is the second best of the RTR/GC guild-leaders, second only to the incredibly irritating Obzedat, Ghost Council. With Simic, you should have no problem making her huge, and if you run Master Biomancer, it should only make it easier to make her gigantic. And the draw engine you get from here always gives you option.
TheBringer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Flavorfully strange, but Zegana loves her some championed creature in bant exalted. Just player her after the combat step when your lone attacker is huge.
Also, extra bonus for evolving a Renegade Krasis. If you have a Renegade Krasis AND a Fathom Mage out it's even better.
1) Play Master Biomancer 2) Play Wolfir Silverheart and soulbond with biomancer. You now have a 6/4 biomancer and a 10/10 silverheart. 3) Put down Reliquary Tower, then play Zegana. She's a 17/17, draw 17 cards, and keep them all. 4) This is the part that makes me feel dirty... Deadeye Navigator and soulbond with Zegana. You now have : Draw 17 cards. Skip your discard phase. At instant speed.
Punkstaramick1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this card and all but am I really the only who is afraid of casting her without good reasoning? She has killed me a little too many times. And Laboratory Maniacs are out of flavor...
OMG! I love this card in mimeoplasm. It's almost (well it probably is actually...) unfair. I cast mimeoplasm and mash this and lord of extinction together and draw ~50 cards. I just have to watch out for my deck lol. Don't want to kill myself.
One of the things I really love about accidentally decking myself though, is that it is perfectly flavourful. You dare to try an experiment (typical of the simic) SO dangerous, that you can kill yourself by accident. Killing yourself is just the experiment going wrong, and I love it.
SnackyNorph
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Hmm...let's see how absurdly broken I can make this here beauty. Hm. Step 1) Master Biomancer, 2/4. (0 counters) 2) Corpsejack Menace, 6/6. (2 counters) (Multiplier: x2) 3) Corpsejack Menace, 8/8 (4 counters) (Multiplier: x4) 4) Corpsejack Menace, 12/12 (8 counters) (Multiplier: x8) 5) Corpsejack Menace, 20/20 (16 counters) (Multiplier: x16) 6) Master Biomancer, 34/36 (32 counters) 7) Master Biomancer, 578/580 (576 counters) 8) Master Biomancer, 9826/9828 (9824 counters) 9) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #4 to Biomancer #1, adding 157184 counters. (157184 counters) 10) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #1 to Biomancer #4, adding 2514944 counters. (2514944 counters) 11) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #4 to Biomancer #1, adding 40239104 counters. (40239104 counters) 12) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #1 to Biomancer #4, adding 643825664 counters. (643825664 counters) Recap: Biomancer #1 = 2 power Biomancer #2 = 34 power Biomancer #3 = 578 power Biomancer #4 = 643,825,666 power Grand total = 643,826,280 power 13) Prime Speaker Zegana enters with Biomancer's counters (643,826,280*16=10,301,220,480 counters), plus her own ability's counters (643,825,666*16=10,301,210,656 counters), equaling 20,602,431,136 counters. This means that Prime Speaker Zegana, when she enters the battlefield, draws you twenty billion, six hundred two million, four hundred thirty-one thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven cards.
And don't even get me started if I have four Kalonian Hydras swinging before she drops.
JimmyNoobPlayer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Perfect Simic card. You get a big creature, tons of draw, and a guaranteed evolve for everything. The drawing is not a may ability... I wonder how many people are going to deck themselves by mistake?
yesennes
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love playing this card because so many casual players underrate drawing cards. They look curiously at this, say "So its just a bland 7/7" and aren't worried. What they should be worried about is my 7 card hand.
A dangerous force in commander if you give her trample, or can remove counters. In all likelihood you draw at least two lands. If she has trample, they either have to take large hits, sacrifice lots of creatures, or kill her, and let you draw all over. With a way to remove counters, you get the effect from removing the counters, and a 1/1 chump block your opponents don't want to kill. Run with an Elixir of Immortality to avoid decking yourself.
And so you know rule 608.2g says that even if she dies in response to her ability, you still draw the cards.
Petertracy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Flawless design, what a perfect card.
And then my friends tell me I need to chill out when I say, "Wizards needs to release more cards so I can buy all of them!" lol
jfre81
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have Zegana as a Simic EDH commander but my non-Commander Golgari evolve deck has blue splashed in "Prime"arily (herpderp) for Zegana. That and the occasional Plasm Capture which can help me cast the bounty of cards Zegana brings midgame. There are two Zeganas in the deck, so if one is out then the second one functions much as a sorcery spell that powers everything with evolve (plus the original Zegana if I have Renegade Krasis on the field) and draws cards equal to highest power on the field plus one. I've got a Deadbridge Chant to make sure the almost certain discard won't go to waste, and to avoid decking myself I have been experimenting with everything from Elixir of Immortality to Psychic Spiral which can have the fun side effect of a substantial mill.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Zebrafish?
Lochrann
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How about this?
T1: elvish mystic T2: sylvan caryatid T3: master biomancer T4: prophet of kruphix Then at the end of your opponents turn flash the primespeaker with six +1/+1 counters. Draw whole new hand before your fifth turn.
Sounds epic to me.
jerkoid
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She's so beautiful... She has such nice, elegant synergies with her colors. And the prospect of Plasm Captureing into her to draw 4 cards off your Lorescale Coatl, pumping it for four counters, and then attacking with your newly evolved Elusive Krasis and casting the Bioshift you just drew is just so exciting ;).
Mr.Freshness-Timmy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
progenitor mimic it and blow up the weaker old one each turn; draw 1 more than last time each turn, and evolve everything
jonrds
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Important ruling (from rule 112.7a): If Zegana is no longer on the field when her ability resolves, her power is taken to be the power she had when she was last on the field. This means any instant speed removal not of the form -X/-X will not prevent you from drawing cards off her ability.
Really cool card. Automagically triggers evolve on all your creatures, gives you a fatty, and fills your hand.
Like a lot of simic cards, lack of trample hurts it quite a bit, but she is actually surprisingly not as vulnerable to instant speed removal as you would think, given the ruling above and the fact that she doesn't target. If you can afford the mana intensity, I actually prefer her over Primeval Titan quite a bit for this reason (rather have cards than lands late game).
She also lets your Savage Summoning cantrip, which makes it a very good card. And if your opponent tries to remove her or your fatty, there's always Ranger's Guile (which, again, will cantrip if timed right).
Personally I love how the ramp and creatures of green have come together with the card advantage of blue to make a "swarm" that isn't based around tokens. With all the card draw available in Simic, you want plenty of low drops to avoid having to discard down to 7. Prophet of Kruphix also helps of course :)
TamsinFrost
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this card. I ordered two of her for my Simic deck and the card advantage you get with her is amazing. Considering this is usually cast turn 6 or later, even with mana ramp, you gain most of your hand back and actually get options again. She works really well in any blue/green deck, not just Simic decks. Favourite mythic in the set.
mdakw576
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
EDIT: Just double checked the rules. If the removal spell is a -X/-X (like a morbid tragic slip) then the stack sees her as 0 or less power and then no cards are drawn, but a normal removal spell (like doom blade) still allows the card draw. But she will probably see play in standard even if tragic slip creeps up in popularity again, and she is still way better than my first impressions led me. She's basically Garruk Primal Hunter's -3, and for 1 more mana you get to have a big creature rather than losing the planeswalker (unless garruk +1s and then -3 a turn later). To be on the safe side, just make sure to cast her such that the opponent can't trigger morbid for tragic slip.
It has amazing EDH potential, both as a general and just a good card in a deck. Some interactions off the top of my head, aside from obvious flicker...
- Can tutor with imperial recruiter (if your budget is huge) and fierce empath (if you're on a much smaller budget) - You can bring it back with reveilark. - If you have a wild pair out, a 1/1 like elvish visionary can fetch this out.
It also embodies what I like doing in EDH the most; playing huge creatures and drawing a lot of cards.
EDIT: I had high hopes that she would see play in standard, and she saw a little in INN-RTR standard. But in RTR-THS standard, creatures suck too much relative to the removal spells available (Thoughtseize also has a lot to do with this), which makes it difficult to ever stick a high power creature to help get a big Zegana out. Back when Thragtusk/resto angel/etc. was everywhere, decks couldn't just play 8 removal spells because then Thragtusk and the like would destroy them, but in RTR-THS standard there are almost no creatures with useful ETB effects, which means you can pack a lot of removal spells, kill creatures when they ETB and have no harm done, and move on with your day.
For example, you could play Thragtusk, then Zegana, and even if they kill Thragtusk, you still get a 3/3 left to draw 4 cards off. Now you have to play crappier cards like Polukranos or Kalonian Hydra, then they kill your dude before you play Zegana and not only do you have no creature to draw off of, you had no impact on the game either.
Comments (76)
Rather disappointing, should be more complex. I personally can't stand her. She isn't powerful enough.
3/5
5/5
/sarcasm
I lament the fact that she isn't as complex as I was expecting, but still, that is a heck of a lot of card advantage, and you get one big fatty to boot. A merfolk fatty.... is that even a thing?
She's going to be the new Sphinx's Revelation.
Thragtusk is undoubtedly better for this, but I really want the challenge.
Then I'll take that janky deck apart and try something a little less flashy.
Say you have a Shambleshark and it's beefed up to a 5/4 by turn 5-6, then you play this card. Prime speaker enters with 5 +1/+1 counters(as a 6/6), it evolves the Crab fish and you draw 6 cards... If you Ghostly Flicker or use Zameck Guildmage then it only gets better, giving you a huge pool to choose from. Simic Charm to protect it from removal. Use Bioshift in response to its draw card ability going on the stack and you can move counters from something onto her, to draw more cards(even better, use it to move those fresh new counters from the Prime Speaker on to your shark or Elusive Krasis to finish the game quickly.)
Great art, i really dig the helmet. She's powerful, unique and gives even more Simic card advantage, something all green decks can enjoy. 5/5
Oh, do have fun.
Still, I'm really excited to have a powerful, iconic commander with an entirely novel synergy strategy. Hopefully Zegana doesn't turn out to be as degenerate as Edric or Griselbrand.
Anyone ever wonder what the Merfolk were doing for 10,000 years before they decided to become the new Simic Combine? :)
Then Sea Weed Is Always Greener!
In Somebody Else's Lake! You Dream About Going Up There :D But That Is A Big Mistake! :O Just Look At The World Around You! :D Right Here On The Ocean Floor! :D
Such Wonderful Things Surround You! O.O What More Is You Lookin' For? ( See Beyond Sea Beyond?! ;D :P lame pun. -_-)
UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA! DARLING IT'S BETTER DOWN WHERE IT'S WETTER TAKE IT FROM ME!
Up On The Shore They Work All Day! Out In The Sun They Slave Away!
(wish I knew how to nickname autocards. Think Orzhov, Azorius, and Boros civilization;boringness :)
While We Devotin' Full Time To Floatin' UNDER THE SEA! (High Tide!)
*Down Here All The Fish is Happy! As Off Through The Waves They Roll!*
The Fish On The Land Ain't Happy! They Sad 'Cause They In Their Bowl! (Rain of Tears?)
But Fish In The Bowl Is Lucky! o.O
They In For A Worser Fate! :O
One Day When The Boss (Kozilek!) Get Hungry! (Merciless Eviction XD)
Guess Who's Gon' Be On The Plate?
UNDER THE SEA! :D UNDER THE SEA! NOBODY BEAT US, FRY US AND EAT US IN FRACASSEE! :D :D :D
We What The Land Folks Loves To Cook! Under The Sea We Off The Hook!
We Got No Troubles, Life Is The Bubbles
UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA! SINCE LIFE IS SWEET HERE, WE GOT THE BEAT HERE!
NATURALLY!
Even The Sturgeon An' The Ray! They Get The Urge 'n' Start To Play! ;O
WE GOT THE SPIRIT! YOU GOT TO HEAR IT! UNDER THE SEA! :D
The Newt play the Flute, :D
The Carp play the Harp, The Plaice play the Bass! ^_^
And they Soundin' Sharp >.< :3
The Bass play the Brass! The Chub play the Tub!
The Fluke is the DUKE OF SOUL!(Yeah)
The Ray he can Play! The lings on the strings!
The Trout Rockin' out! The Blackfish she sings
The Smelt and the Sprat!
They KNOW where it's AT!
AN' OH THAT BLOWFISH BLOW!
UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA!
When the sardine Begin the beguine It's music to me!
What do they got? A lot of SAND! ;O
We got a RED-HOT CRUSTACEAN BAND! 3:D
Each Little Clam here! KNOW HOW to JAM here!
UNDER THE SEA!
Each Little Slug Here! Cuttin' a Rug here!
UNDER THE SEA!
Each Little SNAIL here ^_^ KNOW HOW to WAIL here :O
THAT'S WHY IT'S HOTTER UNDER THE WATER YA WE LUCK HERE DOWN THE MUCK HERE
UNDER THE SEA!!!!!!!!!!!
and that is why Island is better than Plains. ;D
Besides, that's a fantastic design. She looks appropriately regal with those lionfish elements. One of my favorite cards from Gatecrash.
Nope, if she's killed in response the ability uses the last known information, so you still get the card draw. The only way you wouldn't draw from the ability is if it's countered (with Stifle, Trickbind, Voidslime), prevented (Torpor Orb, Humility), or she's put down to 0 power before it resolves (Guul Draz Assassin or similar). Killing her doesn't stop it.
Zegana
Also, I think someone is downvoting the whole set... Merciless Eviction is a utility Final Judgement and its rated below 4? Zegana should be 4.5
Bad flavor, bad for standard, bad for the game.
If you wanted to draw x+1 (for the normal one power zegana has) + whatever the highest power on your side of the field is.
Make that fatty a corpsejack menace and... Oh my that's a lotta draw and a big fatty. Just throw a rancor on and you are good. Edh fun.
Turn 5: Miracle Blessings of Nature into Increasing Savagery on the MB.
Turn 6: This gal. Grats, you now have 23/23 legend and 23 more cards for your hand!
...yeah, definitely some loveliness here.
I'd throw Berserk into that in non-Standard formats, but at that point you're practically just decking yourself now aren't you?
-IN OTHER NEWS-
This is a great card. You can get her out with like a bajillion and a half power/toughness. Just add Rubblehulk!
I mean personally, I find this to be one of the most playable Guild Leaders printed. The sheer amount of synergy she generates upon ETB is ludicrous. She will refill your hand as soon as she's hits the field, and that's immediate value. once in play her P/T will automatically be higher than all your dudes triggering evolve among all your creatures. Even after all that she's a massive beatstick which you can then manipulate her counters however you want or just enchant her with Rancor and go to town. If you run out of Spell Ruptures and she eats a kill spell it doesn't even really slow you down as you have a whole hand full of answers.
Evolve ALL THE THINGS
Anyway, don't leave home without your Merfolk Sovereign.
It's obviously bad to draw a crud ton of cards at the risk of having to discard them, but if you have a Reliquary Tower out, Hakuna Matata.
Having said that, for any fellow Simic members out there, I'd run at least 2 Reliq. Towers in your deck if you also have Zegana in it.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/prime-speaker-zegana-edh-2/
Additionally, copy Overbeing of Myth for a card drawing Party! Make sure you have a spellbook down though.
Just player her after the combat step when your lone attacker is huge.
Also, extra bonus for evolving a Renegade Krasis. If you have a Renegade Krasis AND a Fathom Mage out it's even better.
2) Play Wolfir Silverheart and soulbond with biomancer. You now have a 6/4 biomancer and a 10/10 silverheart.
3) Put down Reliquary Tower, then play Zegana. She's a 17/17, draw 17 cards, and keep them all.
4) This is the part that makes me feel dirty... Deadeye Navigator and soulbond with Zegana. You now have
One of the things I really love about accidentally decking myself though, is that it is perfectly flavourful. You dare to try an experiment (typical of the simic) SO dangerous, that you can kill yourself by accident. Killing yourself is just the experiment going wrong, and I love it.
Step 1) Master Biomancer, 2/4. (0 counters)
2) Corpsejack Menace, 6/6. (2 counters) (Multiplier: x2)
3) Corpsejack Menace, 8/8 (4 counters) (Multiplier: x4)
4) Corpsejack Menace, 12/12 (8 counters) (Multiplier: x8)
5) Corpsejack Menace, 20/20 (16 counters) (Multiplier: x16)
6) Master Biomancer, 34/36 (32 counters)
7) Master Biomancer, 578/580 (576 counters)
8) Master Biomancer, 9826/9828 (9824 counters)
9) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #4 to Biomancer #1, adding 157184 counters. (157184 counters)
10) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #1 to Biomancer #4, adding 2514944 counters. (2514944 counters)
11) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #4 to Biomancer #1, adding 40239104 counters. (40239104 counters)
12) Bioshift counters from Biomancer #1 to Biomancer #4, adding 643825664 counters. (643825664 counters)
Recap:
Biomancer #1 = 2 power
Biomancer #2 = 34 power
Biomancer #3 = 578 power
Biomancer #4 = 643,825,666 power
Grand total = 643,826,280 power
13) Prime Speaker Zegana enters with Biomancer's counters (643,826,280*16=10,301,220,480 counters), plus her own ability's counters (643,825,666*16=10,301,210,656 counters), equaling 20,602,431,136 counters.
This means that Prime Speaker Zegana, when she enters the battlefield, draws you twenty billion, six hundred two million, four hundred thirty-one thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven cards.
And don't even get me started if I have four Kalonian Hydras swinging before she drops.
A dangerous force in commander if you give her trample, or can remove counters. In all likelihood you draw at least two lands. If she has trample, they either have to take large hits, sacrifice lots of creatures, or kill her, and let you draw all over. With a way to remove counters, you get the effect from removing the counters, and a 1/1 chump block your opponents don't want to kill. Run with an Elixir of Immortality to avoid decking yourself.
And so you know rule 608.2g says that even if she dies in response to her ability, you still draw the cards.
And then my friends tell me I need to chill out when I say, "Wizards needs to release more cards so I can buy all of them!" lol
T1: elvish mystic
T2: sylvan caryatid
T3: master biomancer
T4: prophet of kruphix
Then at the end of your opponents turn flash the primespeaker with six +1/+1 counters. Draw whole new hand before your fifth turn.
Sounds epic to me.
Really cool card. Automagically triggers evolve on all your creatures, gives you a fatty, and fills your hand.
Like a lot of simic cards, lack of trample hurts it quite a bit, but she is actually surprisingly not as vulnerable to instant speed removal as you would think, given the ruling above and the fact that she doesn't target. If you can afford the mana intensity, I actually prefer her over Primeval Titan quite a bit for this reason (rather have cards than lands late game).
She also lets your Savage Summoning cantrip, which makes it a very good card. And if your opponent tries to remove her or your fatty, there's always Ranger's Guile (which, again, will cantrip if timed right).
Personally I love how the ramp and creatures of green have come together with the card advantage of blue to make a "swarm" that isn't based around tokens. With all the card draw available in Simic, you want plenty of low drops to avoid having to discard down to 7. Prophet of Kruphix also helps of course :)
But she will probably see play in standard even if tragic slip creeps up in popularity again, and she is still way better than my first impressions led me. She's basically Garruk Primal Hunter's -3, and for 1 more mana you get to have a big creature rather than losing the planeswalker (unless garruk +1s and then -3 a turn later). To be on the safe side, just make sure to cast her such that the opponent can't trigger morbid for tragic slip.
It has amazing EDH potential, both as a general and just a good card in a deck. Some interactions off the top of my head, aside from obvious flicker...
- Can tutor with imperial recruiter (if your budget is huge) and fierce empath (if you're on a much smaller budget)
- You can bring it back with reveilark.
- If you have a wild pair out, a 1/1 like elvish visionary can fetch this out.
It also embodies what I like doing in EDH the most; playing huge creatures and drawing a lot of cards.
EDIT: I had high hopes that she would see play in standard, and she saw a little in INN-RTR standard. But in RTR-THS standard, creatures suck too much relative to the removal spells available (Thoughtseize also has a lot to do with this), which makes it difficult to ever stick a high power creature to help get a big Zegana out. Back when Thragtusk/resto angel/etc. was everywhere, decks couldn't just play 8 removal spells because then Thragtusk and the like would destroy them, but in RTR-THS standard there are almost no creatures with useful ETB effects, which means you can pack a lot of removal spells, kill creatures when they ETB and have no harm done, and move on with your day.
For example, you could play Thragtusk, then Zegana, and even if they kill Thragtusk, you still get a 3/3 left to draw 4 cards off. Now you have to play crappier cards like Polukranos or Kalonian Hydra, then they kill your dude before you play Zegana and not only do you have no creature to draw off of, you had no impact on the game either.