Green in this block is all about the +1/+1
counters. The Simic love to throw down counters
when creatures enter the battlefield, but this
doesn't work with Evolve as well as you may
think. You certainly can use Ivy Lane Denizen's
ability to put a counter on the green creature
that just came into play, but the game will
still see its original power and toughness, so
you can't use the Denizen to trigger Evolve when
it otherwise wouldn't trigger. You could load up
extra counters onto a Gyre Sage or Simic
Manipulator, or just watch it grow itself as a
poor man's Juniper Order Ranger.
Any deck able to get good use out of this would
have to be monogreen, and mid-range or control
since it's not aggro enough. In Commander, decks
like Ghave, Guru of Spores and Chorus of the
Conclave can easily make room for this guy.
This guy is exactly the kind of card that
makes me wish that there weren't cards that were
pushed so hard for constructed. By almost any
assessment, giving a creature a permanent bonus
when doing something that you wanted to do
anyway is good. If he ends up being
overshadowed, it's not his fault. Then again,
all Huntmaster of the Fells does is beat down
(literally and figuratively); this guy comes
basically pre-printed with friends and combo
pieces all across Magic. Try him with Rampaging
Baloths.
Today's card of the day is Ivy Lane Denizen
which is a four mana Green
2/3 that puts a +1/+1 counter on a target
creature whenever another Green creature enters
the battlefield under your control. The cost is
a little high, but this can support Simic,
Selesnya, or many token themes with even
moderate mana acceleration. The main benefit is
how this can combine with other effects that
either work with counters, produce tokens, or
both. For competitive decks this probably won't
see much play and instead it will be seen more
in Casual or Commander builds.
In Limited this can be surprisingly effective
card for the Simic guild as it is large enough
to trigger creatures when it comes into play and
can feed counters on to effect creatures or help
power up a potential finisher. The cost is not
unmanageable and the one Green is flexible for
decks with more than two colors, though the
value decreases with every non-Green creature.
While not a first or second pick in Booster it
is a decent supporter that should be picked up
when on color and should always be included in
heavily Green decks in Sealed.
Welcome back to green week here at Pojo.com's
Card of the Day section. We have been reviewing
some green themed cards all week to bring in
March, and we continue today with Ivy Lane
Denizen from Gatecrash. Ivy Lane Denizen is a
common green creature elf warrior that costs
three generic and one green mana for a 2/3. Ivy
Lane Denizen says that whenever another green
creature enters the battlefield under your
control, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Ivy Lane Denizen is just incredible, but perhaps
not so spectacular in Standard. While in
Standard, it is amazing. Being able to pump your
Evolve creatures or pump another colored
creature that is bigger, and bigger is better.
Cards such as Gyre Sage and Fathom Mage love
having Ivy Lane Denizen to target them. And even
Primordial Hydra would enjoy getting another
counter or two to double again next turn.
But the true reason I love Ivy Lane Denizen is
for one reason only. And this should blow your
mind! One word. Mycoloth. With Mycoloth, you
devoured some creatures when you played him, got
some +1/+1 counters on him, and then at the
beginning of your turn, you gain 1/1 green
Saproling creatures equal to the number of +1/+1
counters on him. You see where this is going,
right? If not, I'll explain. That is a lot of
GREEN creatures entering the battlefield. And
Ivy Lane Denizen triggers for each of them. So
that is a lot of +1/+1 counters to put
somewhere. I think that Mycoloth is a good
target. Now next turn, you get twice as many 1/1
GREEN Saprolings, which means twice the
activation's for Ivy Lane Denizen. And now I'm
sure you see where this is going.
For added shenanigans, if running a Legacy Simic
deck is your idea of fun. Take the combo above a
step further by adding in Paradox Haze and
really watch your opponent cringe!
