Baxter, Fly in the Ointment

Gameplan

Baxter is a mono-blue counters-matter commander that snowballs through card draw: every card you draw grows Baxter, and you build a board of counter-bearing creatures that all gain evasion when Baxter enters or attacks. You want to flood the table with proliferate, +1/+1 counter payoffs, and wheels/draw engines, then crash in for lethal evasive damage or close with a counter-doubling combo.

Key Cards

• The Ozolith — Banks all your +1/+1 counters when creatures die, preserving your investment through wipes.
• Hardened Scales — Multiplies every counter placement, accelerating Baxter and your whole board.
• Doubling Season — Doubles counters from draws and from your counter sources, exploding the board.
• Inexorable Tide — Proliferates on every spell, growing Baxter and the team while you draw and counter.
• Thassa's Oracle — A clean alternate win after you've drawn your deck down with all the card advantage.
• Mystic Remora — Cheap, repeatable draw that triggers Baxter every upkeep your opponents cast spells.

Upgrade Path

Add fast mana (Sol Ring, mana rocks) and premium draw engines like Rhystic Study and The Reality Chip to fuel Baxter's growth faster. Tighten the counter package with Branching Evolution, Kindred Discovery, and proliferate sources, then lean into a backup wincon like Thassa's Oracle so you aren't solely dependent on combat. Round out with strong interaction—Cyclonic Rift, Counterspell, Swan Song—to protect your snowball in higher-power pods.