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Zaxara, the Exemplary

Zaxara, the Exemplary

Legendary Creature — Nightmare Hydra · {1}{B}{G}{U} · Black/Green/Blue commander

Deathtouch {T}: Add two mana of any one color. Whenever you cast a spell with {X} in its mana cost, create a 0/0 green Hydra creature token, then put X +1/+1 counters on it.
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What Zaxara, the Exemplary actually does

Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.

What a Zaxara, the Exemplary deck wants

The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.

Best cards for Zaxara, the Exemplary

Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.

Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise

  1. Thousand-Year Elixir3 mana
  2. Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler3 mana
  3. Lightning Greaves2 mana
  4. Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
  5. Runadi, Behemoth Caller3 mana
  6. Akroma's Memorial7 mana
  7. Super State7 mana
  8. Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth4 mana

Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot

  1. Bear Umbra4 mana
  2. Sword of Feast and Famine3 mana
  3. Wilderness Reclamation4 mana
  4. Amulet of Vigor1 mana
  5. Beledros Witherbloom7 mana
  6. Freed from the Real3 mana
  7. Nature's Will4 mana
  8. Pemmin's Aura3 mana

A cheap spell of any kind — casts per turn are the engine for an unrestricted cast trigger

  1. Everflowing Chalice0 mana
  2. Walking Ballista0 mana
  3. Hangarback Walker0 mana
  4. Mishra's Bauble0 mana
  5. Profane Tutor0 mana
  6. Sol Talisman0 mana
  7. Tormod's Crypt0 mana
  8. Urza's Bauble0 mana

A team pump that actually pumps tokens

  1. Mosswort Bridge0 mana
  2. Nesting Grounds0 mana
  3. Heroic Intervention2 mana
  4. Zulaport Cutthroat2 mana
  5. Sylvan Safekeeper1 mana
  6. Tamiyo's Safekeeping1 mana
  7. Tyvar's Stand1 mana
  8. Veil of Summer1 mana

Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there

  1. Karn's Bastion0 mana
  2. Bristly Bill, Spine Sower2 mana
  3. Cankerbloom2 mana
  4. Ripples of Potential2 mana
  5. Thrummingbird2 mana
  6. Thirsting Roots1 mana
  7. Evolution Sage3 mana
  8. Mossborn Hydra3 mana

Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide

  1. Chasm Skulker3 mana
  2. Hornet Nest3 mana
  3. Kozilek's Unsealing3 mana
  4. Endless Ranks of the Dead4 mana
  5. Esika's Chariot4 mana
  6. Lathril, Blade of the Elves4 mana
  7. Trendy Circus Pirate0 mana
  8. Myr Battlesphere7 mana

Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it

  1. Assassin's Trophy2 mana
  2. Reality Shift2 mana
  3. Pongify1 mana
  4. Rapid Hybridization1 mana
  5. Resculpt2 mana
  6. Defile1 mana
  7. Tragic Slip1 mana
  8. Suspend1 mana

Answer a whole board at once

  1. Do or Die2 mana
  2. Force of Despair3 mana
  3. Displacement Wave2 mana
  4. Accursed Marauder2 mana
  5. Bontu's Last Reckoning3 mana
  6. Innocent Blood1 mana
  7. Coils of the Medusa2 mana
  8. Forced March3 mana

Answer a spell or ability before it resolves

  1. Pact of Negation0 mana
  2. Counterspell2 mana
  3. Three Steps Ahead1 mana
  4. Long River's Pull2 mana
  5. Force of Will5 mana
  6. Abjure1 mana
  7. Archmage's Charm3 mana
  8. Cancel3 mana

Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →

Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables. Read the guide · Browse all commanders · Pricing