commander · Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Swell the Host (C15).
A Simic evolve and +1/+1 counters deck from Commander 2015, led by Ezuri, Claw of Progress — earn experience counters from small creatures entering play, then spend them to place +1/+1 counters on your biggest threat at the start of combat.
The Commander
Swell the Host is Commander 2015's Simic experience counter deck and Ezuri rewards running creatures with small power. Whenever a creature with power two or less enters under your control, you gain an experience counter. At the start of combat on your turn, you put X +1/+1 counters on another target creature where X equals your experience counter count. Every token, every small ETB creature, every evolve body feeds the experience track and then all of that investment goes onto your single biggest threat each combat step.
Ezuri, Claw of Progress creates a cumulative advantage loop — small creatures build the counter track, the counter track buffs large threats, those threats win combat. The deck leverages Simic's best evolve creatures to chain ETBs and counter placements, while high-impact creatures like Sage of Hours can take extra turns off accumulated counters.
Key Cards
Sage of Hours
Remove five +1/+1 counters from Sage of Hours: take an extra turn after this one. With Ezuri placing his entire experience counter count onto Sage of Hours at the start of combat, a five-counter Ezuri puts five counters on Sage, which you remove for an extra turn. Next turn, Ezuri places more counters again. Get ten experience counters and Sage of Hours provides extra turns every turn cycle indefinitely. This is the deck's primary infinite-turn combo and the reason Ezuri builds have been popular since 2015.
Fathom Mage
Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are placed on Fathom Mage, draw a card. Ezuri placing his combat counters on Fathom Mage draws a card for each counter placed — ten experience counters means ten cards drawn in one precombat step. This is the deck's primary card draw engine. A four-counter Ezuri placing counters on Fathom Mage draws four cards before combat. Once you have Fathom Mage in play, every combat step refuels your hand to maximum size.
Vorel of the Hull Clade
Pay one green and one blue and tap Vorel: double the number of each kind of counter on target artifact, creature, or land. Vorel applied to Fathom Mage with eight counters becomes sixteen counters — then Fathom Mage draws eight more cards on its next counter placement. Vorel applied to Sage of Hours with four counters becomes eight, enabling an extra turn for only one more removal activation. Doubling counters compounds every other counter engine in the deck exponentially.
Master Biomancer
Each other creature entering the battlefield under your control enters with additional +1/+1 counters equal to Master Biomancer's power and comes in as an additional creature type of Mutant. With Biomancer having four power, every creature you play arrives with four counters. Those four counters on a 2-power-or-less creature still trigger Ezuri's experience counter (the power is checked when it enters, before the counters apply). Then Ezuri places his full experience count on any creature each combat — the whole board snowballs rapidly.
Prime Speaker Zegana
Enters with +1/+1 counters equal to the greatest power among other creatures you control and draws cards equal to her power. In a deck where creatures have grown to eight or ten power through Ezuri's counter placements, Zegana enters as an 8/8 or 10/10 and immediately draws eight to ten cards. This refuel is enough to win games on its own. Every time the deck recovers from a board wipe, Zegana converts the biggest survivor's power into a fresh hand.
How to Play
Establish small creatures and tokens in the first three turns to start building Ezuri's experience counter track as quickly as possible. Every 1/1 token, every Elvish Mystic equivalent, every evolve body feeds the track. Get to five experience counters before Ezuri hits the table if possible — the first time he places five counters on Fathom Mage, you draw five cards. Sage of Hours is the primary win condition: get ten experience counters, place them all on Sage each combat, take an extra turn, repeat. Vorel doubles the counter stacks to accelerate the cycle. Against decks that can handle the Sage of Hours loop, win through raw creature power — a 20/20 Fathom Mage with Vorel's doubling is a combat win condition on its own.