Mechanics, there are a lot of them: the classic first strike, the ancient banding, and even the mysterious morph. I would like to talk about two mechanics today, one of them is a little old, and one of them is brand new. Lets see how they stand up to each other.

Graft X (This creature comes into play with X +1/+1 counters on it. Whenever another creature comes into play, you may move a +1/+1 counter from this creature onto it.)

Graft. One of my favorite mechanics. Graft turns your creatures into a resource for power! Your Simic Initiate can be played on turn one, attack turn two. Then you can play an Aqua-strand Spider, graft the Initiate's +1/+1 counter and get a 3/3 on turn two with the added benefit of one damage to your opponent. It might not seem like much at first, but that's what graft is. It starts out small and grows until it annihilates you!

Now when Dissension came out, and I saw Simic for the first time, I was in awe. I thought it was amazing! Writing this article actually brought back the nostalgic feel I got when I first played Graft, and what it meant for me. A creature can lend support when another comes into play?! The Guildmage which can shift power from one to another, and move Auras?! This was truly a Guild I could appreciate. Simic quickly became my favorite of the ten Guilds.

Now I've thrown together a Simic deck, and every card in it is from the Ravnica block except for two. One is from Lorwyn, and one from Morningtide. It was to let you see a peek of the fun you can have with Graft.

As you can see, it's a relatively simple build, which I've done for a few reasons. The first was to make it casual, it wasn't made to be hard-core but for the nostalgic feeling I get when playing graft. The second was I want to give you the opportunity to tell me what I could have done to make it better. I'll get to that later.

How the deck works

It works simple enough, the deck itself has many graft creatures. They can give each other reach, trample, or shroud which I think that makes up for not having other spells. The Hydropon gives me extra counters to work with, and the Manipulator lets me steal creatures. Then you can make those creatures better, and hit your opponent with them.

Now, we have taken a quick look at what Graft can offer us. They have +1/+1 counters in abundance to power our way to victory! There is of course, another side to Graft. A new mechanic, which you know by its name Persist.

Persist (When this creature is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to play under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.)

Return it to play? That's awesome. Persist gives creatures a second chance at the small cost of coming back with a -1/-1 counter.

Let's take a look at a simple Persist deck.

Similar to the first deck, it was made fast and simple. With the same reasons in mind, so it’s simple to play, and it gives you a chance to show me one better.

How the deck works

Start off with some mana-accelerating, play some creatures, and start attacking! They block, yours comes back, hopefully theirs don't have persist too.

You have Heartmender to heal any creatures with a -1/-1 counter to be able to persist once again. Have huge hitters like the Marauders and the Wurm to deal lots of damage fast. Prison Term to help deal with threats to let your creatures through, and Flourishing Defenses to make you tokens anytime you have a creature persist for back-up. Sideboard is simple anti-artifact/enchantment, pithing needle is a staple helper and we have some damage prevention and Gaddock Teek for kicks.

Below is a deck that combines the two mechanics, constructed by hamsandwich with his deck description.

This deck can be abused in so many ways. In your opponents end of turn phase just cast Banishing Knack on one of your untapping creatures, returning your opponents non-land permanents to their hand, while either distributing counters with Leech Bonder, or doubling them with Gilder Bairn. How does an 11/11 Snakeformed Vigean Hydropon grab you? It doesn't. It cruises right through your recently returned to your hand defenses and smacks you in the face. Oh yeah, and there is a little persist in the deck. In fact, with a Hydropon on the field you can send your Aerie Ouphes on all sorts of suicide missions. Only they just won't die!

That's some of the fun that you can have with Graft and/or Persist. I hope we've inspired you in some way, or you at least had fun.

L and Ham out.

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The Apprentice Magician - Part Six.
Design on a Dime: The Lunch Meat Edition!
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Sarpadian Empires, Vol VII: Foreword.
More Evil Than Evil.
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Words from the Streetz: Uncommon and Common Magical Treasures.
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