What if, and hear us out here, you used an artifact Insect as your commander in, uh, Commander? It’s a wild idea, sure, but give us a few minutes and we think you’ll be sold on the idea.
While there may be a few different legendary artifact bugs, we’re only going to be talking about the mighty
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Modular 1
If a modular triggered ability would put one or more +1/+1 counters on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.
{R}: Destroy target artifact you control.
{W}: Zabaz gains flying until end of turn.
today. So, let’s get stuck in then, shall we?
Meet your commander
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Modular 1
If a modular triggered ability would put one or more +1/+1 counters on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.
{R}: Destroy target artifact you control.
{W}: Zabaz gains flying until end of turn.
is a one-mana 0/0. End of article. You’re already sold on them, we can tell. Nailed it!
If you’re still here, Zabaz has a lot of text. For starters, they have modular 1. Modular 1 means they enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter, but it also means that when they die, they can put a +1/+1 counter on an artifact creature equal to the number of +1/+1 counters they had on them. Alongside that, you can pay one red mana to destroy an artifact you control, and you can also pay one white mana to give Zabaz flying.
Also, “If a modular triggered ability would put one or more +1/+1 counters on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.” So, our plan here is simple, we’re going to be playing cards with modular and then supporting that whole vibe. Now then, let’s get into some specifics.
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The best artifact creatures for Zabaz
First up, let’s blitz through some really useful modular creatures, as that’s obviously one of the big draws here. So, Arcbound Overseer is an eight-mana 0/0 with modular 6, but it also allows you to put a +1/+1 on each creature with modular you control in your upkeep, which is amazing. Alongside that, you’ve also got
Arcbound Fiend
Arcbound Fiend
Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may move a +1/+1 counter from target creature onto this creature.
Modular 3 (This creature enters with three +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
, which is a six-mana modular 3 creature that has fear, and allows you to move other +1/+1 counters onto it. Then there’s also the likes of
Arcbound Crusher
Arcbound Crusher
Trample
Whenever another artifact enters, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Modular 1 (This creature enters with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it dies, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
,
Arcbound Ravager
Arcbound Ravager
Sacrifice an artifact: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Modular 1 (This creature enters with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it dies, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
, and
Arcbound Shikari
Arcbound Shikari
First strike
When this creature enters, put a +1/+1 counter on each other artifact creature you control.
Modular 2 (This creature enters with two +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
too.
Outside of modular creatures, we need other creatures that really benefit from having counters on them. In terms of just having big creatures,
Stonecoil Serpent
Stonecoil Serpent
Reach, trample, protection from multicolored
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
is one of the best around because it’ll get absolutely massive, and also has reach, trample, and protection from multicolored.
Hangarback Walker
Hangarback Walker
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
When this creature dies, create a 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token with flying for each +1/+1 counter on this creature.
{1}, {T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
has a similar vibe, but they also turn into a flock of Thopter tokens when they die.
Finally, we’ve got
Walking Ballista
Walking Ballista
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
{4}: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Remove a +1/+1 counter from this creature: It deals 1 damage to any target.
and
Triskelion
Triskelion
This creature enters with three +1/+1 counters on it.
Remove a +1/+1 counter from this creature: It deals 1 damage to any target.
, both of which are perfect for shooting down pesky creatures, or just blitzing an opponent’s health to nothing in an instant using +1/+1 counters.
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The best support cards for Zabaz
Together Forever
Together Forever
When this enchantment enters, support 2. (Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.)
{1}: Choose target creature with a counter on it. When that creature dies this turn, return that card to its owner's hand.
is a two-mana enchantment that puts counters on two creatures when it enters, but most importantly, allows you to pay one-mana to allow creatures to come back to your hand if they die. That’s going to be great for avoiding Commander Tax. We also love
The Ozolith
The Ozolith
Whenever a creature you control leaves the battlefield, if it had counters on it, put those counters on The Ozolith.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if The Ozolith has counters on it, you may move all counters from The Ozolith onto target creature.
for a +1/+1 counter deck, and that’s especially true here.
Throne of Geth
Throne of Geth
{T}, Sacrifice an artifact: Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
is incredible here too. It’s a two-mana artifact that you can tap to sacrifice an artifact and then proliferate. Literally all of this is good stuff for a Zabaz deck, and there’s no way you should put one together without including this card.
Finally, Scourglass is a five-mana white artifact that you can tap and sacrifice to, “Destroy all permanents except for artifacts and lands. Activate only during your upkeep.” Having a board wipe that so specifically dodges your own things is a huge boon, and because there are so many ways to recur artifacts in both white and red, it makes this especially easy to bring back whenever you need it.
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