The Commander
Increment (Whenever you cast a spell, if the amount of mana you spent is greater than this creature's power or toughness, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on Berta, add one mana of any color.
, 
: Create a 0/0 green and blue Fractal creature token and put X +1/+1 counters on it.
Guide
Gameplan
Berta grows herself by casting spells (Increment), and each counter ramps you a mana of any color, snowballing into a mana engine that fuels her activated ability to spit out X/X Fractal tokens. You play a curve of impactful spells to trigger Increment, ramp hard, then dump mana into giant Fractals or a counters payoff for the kill. Mid-to-late game you're casting big spells, generating free mana, and flooding the board.
Strengths
- Built-in ramp engine: every counter from Increment gives a mana of any color, effectively reducing the cost of your spells.
- Self-sufficient token producer that turns excess mana into bodies without needing extra cards.
- Plays at any color thanks to the any-color mana generation despite being two colors.
- Synergizes with both counters matters and spellslinger payoffs simultaneously.
Weaknesses
- Berta dies easily as a 4-mana creature with low base stats and is a clear removal magnet.
- Increment only triggers when the spell costs more than her current power OR toughness, so as she grows the trigger gets harder to hit.
- Mana and token engine is slow without protection and recasting after removal gets expensive.
- Lacks built-in evasion or reach, so Fractals can be chump-blocked and the deck can stall.
Key Cards
- Doubling Season — Doubles the +1/+1 counters on Berta and Fractals while doubling token creation, supercharging the whole engine.
- Hardened Scales — Adds extra counters to every Increment trigger and Fractal, accelerating mana and board presence.
- Branching Evolution — Doubles counters placed, making Fractals and Berta enormous and chaining more mana.
- Inspiring Call — Protects your counter-laden board and refills your hand to fuel more Increment triggers.
- Cyberdrive Awakener — Gives all your counter creatures flying and an Increment-style counter, turning Fractals into a lethal alpha strike.
- Cathars' Crusade — Each token or creature entering pumps your team, and Berta floods the board with Fractals.
Upgrade Path
Add counter doublers (Doubling Season, Branching Evolution, Hardened Scales) and protection (Heroic Intervention, Inspiring Call, Tamiyo's Safekeeping) to keep the engine online. Lean into efficient cantrips and X spells to maximize Increment triggers, then close with a finisher like Craterhoof Behemoth or Cyberdrive Awakener. Tighten the mana base with Simic dual lands and ramp like Cultivate so Berta's any-color mana is gravy rather than your only fixing.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Alpha strike with a wide board of huge Fractals, often after granting flying or trample.
- ▸Counter-doubler payoffs like Cathars' Crusade or a giant Fractal carrying overrun effects.
- ▸Overrun-style finishers (Craterhoof Behemoth, Overwhelming Stampede) on a flooded board.
- ▸Grinding card and mana advantage into oversized threats that outvalue the table.
Archetypes
- +1/+1 Counters — Increment and Fractal tokens generate counters that scale with doublers and counter payoffs.
- Spellslinger — Casting a steady stream of spells fuels Increment, ramping mana and growing Berta.
- Tokens — The , ability mass-produces large Fractal bodies to go wide.
- Ramp/Big Mana — Free any-color mana from counters lets you power out expensive bombs and X spells.
Combos
- Berta, Wise Extrapolator + Intruder Alarm + Ivy Lane Denizen
→ Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Infinite ETB, Infinite creature tokens
- Berta, Wise Extrapolator + Shrieking Drake + Three Tree Scribe
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite storm count
- Berta, Wise Extrapolator + Animation Module + Extruder
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite death triggers, Infinite sacrifice triggers
- Animation Module + Decoction Module + Fabrication Module + Berta, Wise Extrapolator
→ Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Infinite ETB, Infinite creature tokens
- Donatello, the Brains + Animation Module + Mutagen Man, Living Ooze + Berta, Wise Extrapolator
→ Infinite ETB, Infinite creature tokens
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GU), by popularity.
