Magic: The Gathering - Prime Speaker Zegana Commander Deck Guide

There are many ways to win in Magic: The Gathering and one of the best ways is to simply outgrow your opponents. Draw more cards, play more lands, produce more mana, and cast more spells. Do that enough and you'll be so far ahead that your foes have no chance to catch up.

Blue and green (referred to as Simic in Magic color parlance) best exemplify this strategy of endless, unrestricted growth, and perhaps no other commander best typifies this ethos than Prime Speaker Zegana. Bigger creatures, more cards, and counter-manipulation will pave the path to victory with Zegana.

The Commander: Prime Speaker Zegana

Prime Speaker Zegana is a fairly simple commander. First, she gains 1/ 1 counters equal to the highest power among creatures you control when she's cast, and then you draw cards equal to that number plus one. Even if you only have a 2/2 on the board, that means you're paying six mana to have a 3/3 that draws three cards.

Zegana gets much better once you have something with a little heft around—or better yet, something that grows to the size you want it to be by the time you can cast Zegana. If you play Chasm Skulker or Lorescale Coatl on turn three, then by turn six, they'll be a 4/4 or a 5/5, respectively, meaning Zegana will be a 5/5 that draws five cards or a 6/6 that draws six cards.

That's a lot of cards to draw all at once. A Prime Speaker Zegana deck is encouraged to go all-out, playing as many creatures and spells as it can in the early game with the expectation that you'll essentially draw an entirely new hand by the time you cast Zegana.

Ramp spells will play an important role in any potential Zegana deck, helping to get Zegana out quickly and also providing a solid mana base to case future spells.

Zegana provides two very good things: cards and 1/ 1 counters. More cards mean more options, and counters mean more combat power. With a little help, those counters can also provide more mana, more cards, or even outright win the game on their own (lookin' at you, Twenty-Toed Toad).

Building Your Prime Speaker Zegana Commander Deck

There are several components to a good Prime Speaker Zegana deck. The first are cards that grow with the more cards you draw. Creatures of this type both provide power to help draw cards, and once Prime Speaker Zegana is cast, they also grow more powerful with each card drawn.

The second thing Zegana wants is ramp. Six mana isn't the cheapest, and the sooner you get to casting Zegana, the better. More mana also means you're better prepared to cast all those spells Zegana lets you draw.

After that, some cards that synergize well with all those 1/ 1 counters and some good old-fashioned Simic (blue-green) staples will set Zegana up for success.

Growing Threats

Cards that get larger with every card you draw synergize extremely well with Prime Speaker Zegana. If you play Lorescale Coatl early on, you've got a great target for Zegana and an enormous threat after she's cast.

Chasm Skulker, Forgotten Ancient, Kianne, Corrupted Memory, Pollywog Prodigy, Fathom Mage, and Zimone, Paradox Sculptor are just a few examples of cards that grow over time to help empower Zegana. Then there are cards like Master Biomancer, Kalonian Hydra, Vorel of the Hull Clade, and Tishana, Voice of Thunder that just keep growing over time, forcing your opponents to deal with them or else succumb to repeated assaults.

There are also non-creature ways to grow your power. Wizard Class, Innkeeper's Talent, Branching Evolution, and Powerfist are all great ways to grow lots of 1/ 1 counters quickly.

Counter Manipulation

Having all those 1/ 1 counters is great on its own, but there are plenty of cards that offer more than just power and toughness with a counter on them.

Plaxcaster Frogling gives critters with counters shroud. Evolution Witness retrieves cards from your graveyard. Herald of Secret Streams makes all your counter creatures unblockable. Zegana, Utopian Speaker gives them trample. Forgotten Ancient lets you distribute power amongst your forces, and The Ozolith ensures death doesn't mean the loss of all those 1/ 1 counters.

There are also spells that take advantage of counters on creatures. Inspiring Call can draw four or five cards easily, Mutational Advantage protects every creature with a counter (and gives them more), and Wave Goodbye tosses all creatures without counters back to their owner's hands.

Special mention for Twenty-Toed Toad and Simic Ascendency. Both of these cards provide an alternate win condition if you can amass enough 1/ 1 counters.

Ramp

Expensive commanders require a bit of help to get reliably on the board. There are the usual mana rocks like Sol Ring, Arcane, and Simic Signets, and green spells like Farseek, Cultivate, Birds of Paradise, and Llanowar Elves.

On top of those, you can add Incubation Druid, Gyre Sage, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Kami of Whispered Hopes, Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle, Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire. All of these can ensure your deck has plenty of mana to keep up with all the cards you draw.

Zegana is likely to draw so many cards that you'll exceed the seven-card maximum hand size. Thought Vessel, Reqliquary Tower, Body of Knowledge, Tishana, Voice of Thunder, and Proft's Eidetic Memory all remove the maximum hand size so you can draw cards to your heart's content.

Simic Staples

Playing green and blue means you should take advantage of a few staple cards only available to Simic mages. Oko, Thief of Crowns is chief among them. This guy can be utterly oppressive in Commander play, so if you can use him, do so.

Rapid Hybridization and Beast Within provide some removal, Voidslime and Counterspell keep the worst of your foe's spells from resolving, and Curse of the Swine and Cyclonic Rift keep the board clear.

Body of Research provides a massive body that could result in an instant win if you've got Herald of Secret Streams or Rogue's Passage on the table.

Rhystic Study is always a must-have if you've got it, but if not, we'll discuss some budget substitutions in the next section.

Prime Speaker Zegana Commander Deck List

With all that in mind, here’s a recommended Prime Speaker Zegana Commander deck list.

Prime Speaker Zegana Commander Deck List
Commander (1)
Prime Speaker Zegana	Creatures (34)
Wildwood Scourge	Birds of Paradise	Llanowar Elves	Gyre Sage	Coiling Oracle
Incubation Druid	Pollywog Prodigy	Scavenging Ooze	Lorescale Coatl	Chasm Skulker
Vorel of the Hull Clade	Managorger Hydra	Rishkar, Peema Renegade	Plaxcaster Frogling	Fathom Mage
Evolution Sage	Evolution Witness	Kami of Whispered Hopes	Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle	Forgotten Ancient
Herald of Secret Streams	Kianne, Corrupted Memory	Master Biomancer	Twenty-Toed Toad	Zegana, Utopian Speaker
Zimone, Paradox Sculptor	Psychosis Crawler	Deadeye Navigator	Tatyova, Benthic Druid	Body of Knowledge
Murkfiend Liege	Kalonian Hydra	Hydroid Krasis	Tishana, Voice of Thunder	Planeswalkers (2)
Oko, Thief of Crowns	Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter	Sorcery (5)
Farseek	Curse of the Swine	Cultivate	Wave Goodbye	Body of Research
Instants (7)
Rapid Hybridization	Cyclonic Rift	Counterspell	Beast Within	Voidslime
Inspiring Call	Mutational Advantage	Enchantments (7)
Wizard Class	Hardened Scales	Simic Ascendancy	Proft's Eidetic Memory	Innkeeper's Talent
Branching Evolution	Rhystic Study	Artifacts (8)
Sol Ring	Arcane Signet	Thought Vessel	Simic Signet	Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
The Ozolith	Swiftfoot Boots	Powerfist	Lands (36)
Reliquary Tower	Alchemist's Refuge	Command Tower	Rogue's Passage	Temple of the False God
Boseiju, who Endures	Karn's Bastion	Otawara, Soaring City	Riptide Laboratory	Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
Hinterland Harbor	Breeding Pool	Yavimaya Coast	Simic Growth Chamber	Rejuvenating Springs
Temple of Mystery	Flooded Grove	Dreamroot Cascade	Misty Rainforest	Vineglimmer Snarl
Barkchannel Pathway / Tidechannel Pathway	Hedge Maze	Botanical Sanctum	Forest (7)	Island (6)

Budget Substitutions

There are a few cards in the suggested deck list that might be out of reach for the average Magic newcomer. Here are a few cards that are more affordable to keep things casual.

Expensive Card	Budget Substitution
Birds of Paradise	Utopia Sprawl, Elvish Mystic, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Ilysian Caryatid, Honored Hierarch
Pollywog Prodigy	Zameck Guildmage
Deadeye Navigator	Progenitor Mimic
Kalonian Hydra	Overbeing of Myth, Kruphix, God of Horizons
Oko, Thief of Crowns	Kiora, the Crashing Wave, Kiora, Master of the Depths, Garruk, Primal Hunter
Cyclonic Rift	Repulsive Mutation, Simic Charm, Pongify, Quadrix Command
Wave Goodbye	Whelming Wave, Oversimplify
Innkeeper's Talent	Primal Empathy, Decanter of Endless Water
Rhystic Study	Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner, Garruk's Uprising, Hadana's Climb, Bred for the Hunt, Nerd Rage
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire	Empyrial Plate
The Ozolith	Stocking the Pantry, Utopia Sprawl
Powerfist	Inexorable Tide
Boseiju, who Endures	Llanowar Reborn, Mosswort Bridge
Otawara, Soaring City	Lonely Sandbar, Mystic Sanctuary
Breeding Pool	Tangled Islet, Thornwood Falls, Overflowing Basin, Simic Guildgate, Rimewood Falls, Restless Vinestalk
Misty Rainforest	Tangled Islet, Thornwood Falls, Overflowing Basin, Simic Guildgate, Rimewood Falls, Restless Vinestalk
Hedge Maze	Tangled Islet, Thornwood Falls, Overflowing Basin, Simic Guildgate, Rimewood Falls, Restless Vinestalk

Tips For Playing Prime Speaker Zegana

• Your early game should be spent trying to set up Zegana as best as you can. That means casting something that you know will grow to a decent size (four or five power) by the time you have enough mana to cast Zegana.
• If your draw doesn't cooperate and you just don't have the power yet, don't feel compelled to cast Zegana. She's worth much more even with three power on the table than just one or two.
• It's pretty easy for this deck to grow at least one creature so large that it can end opponents that don't have any life gain. Herald of Secret Streams and Rogue's Passage are great kill cards.
• If you draw either Twenty-Toed Frog or Simic Ascendency, play defensively and try to achieve that alternate win condition of having enough 1/ 1 counters. It can happen faster than you think!

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