Top 5 Commanders For Building Around MTG Incubate

Incubate is one of the brand-new mechanics from the upcoming set, March of the Machine. Anytime there's a new mechanic, people think "That's cool! How do I build this in Commander!?" If you're one such person, you're in the right place because that's exactly what I'll be covering today - Which Commanders are best to build around incubate. Before we jump into any creatures though, let's go over what incubate is, so everyone understands why I'm recommending the creatures I am.

Incubate says, "Create an Incubator token with X +1/+1 counters on it. It has 'pay two mana: Transform this artifact'. It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature." So, incubate will have a number that follows, which will determine how many +1/+1 counters you'll put on the incubator token it creates. This token is an artifact and has counters on it but isn't a creature until you transform it.

With that out of the way, we can start to have an idea of what elements you'll want your commander to have. There are synergies with artifacts, creatures (particularly phyrexians), +1/+1 counters, and tokens. Given that there are a limited amount of incubate cards, most of my options are Abzan (White, Green, and Black) to make use of as many of them as possible. Now, onto the creatures.

Myrkul, Lord of Bones

Most of the cards that incubate for you are creatures. That said, my thought for playing Myrkul, Lord of Bones is his ability to create copies of creatures as they die. This has great synergy with cards such as Compleated Huntmaster, Bloated Processor, and Norn's Inquisitor. Ultimately, getting a copy of any of your incubator engines (regardless of when/how they trigger) will allow you to generate extra value from them.

You May Also Like: Multiverse Legends - Spoilers And Frequently Asked Questions

Myrkul's ability and some of the cards that trigger on sacrifice/death work amazingly with Mondrak, Glory Dominus and Drivnod, Carnage Dominus too. Another notable phyrexian that I would throw into this mix would be Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim. In summary, the overall game plan here is to cast your incubator-creating creatures, get your value, have them die, and copy them.

Prava of the Steel Legion + Reyhan, Last of the Abzan

This is my personal favorite inclusion on the list. Reyhan, Last of the Abzan plays to the +1/+1 counter portion of the incubate ability. While Prava of the Steel Legion further bolsters your tokens with a beefy +1/+4 boost on your turn. This combination will make your phyrexian army very hard to deal with in combat.

Furthermore, the partnership puts you right where you want to be as far as color identity. You'll have access to things like The Ozolith, Winding Constrictor, and Cathars' Crusade. This will be one of the more aggressive builds for the ability, I think. You could even add things like Parallel Lives, Anointed Procession, or Doubling Season if you have the budget for them.

Colfenor, the Last Yew

Colfenor, the Last Yew would be built very similarly to Myrkul, Lord of Bones - You'll want to return the creatures that allow you to incubate from your graveyard to your hand so that you can use them again. The difference between Colfenor, the Last Yew is that you have a little bit more control over what you're getting back at the cost of it not coming back directly to the battlefield.

If you do choose Colfenor, the Last Yew as your commander for incubate I would 100% run Prava of the Steel Legion as well since Colfenor cares about your creatures' toughness. With Prava in play, you'll be able to get some very large creatures back to your hand.

Glissa, Herald of Predation

Here we have our first creature directly supporting incubation, which is great. The only downside is that you'll lose access to the color white. However, what you lose by ditching white, you gain back in direct synergy. At the beginning of combat on your turn, you'll get to choose one of three options.

First, is to incubate 2, twice. So, you'll be making two incubator tokens and putting two +1/+1 counters on each of them. While there is a delay in getting the actual creatures, this essentially adds four power and toughness to the board each combat.

You May Also Like: Oathbreaker Guide: How To Choose A Powerful Oathbreaker & Signature Spell

Next, is to transform all the incubator tokens that you control. Once you've got a nice board of cocooned creatures being able to transform them all at once without having to pay the mana is going to be nice and at times, backbreaking for your opponents.

Lastly, is the ability to give phyrexians you control first strike and deathtouch, which is a very powerful combination. So, over the course of three turns, Glissa, Herald of Predation can do everything you need - Create incubator tokens, transform them, and then make them better.

Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos

Last, but not least, we have Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos, which also directly supports incubate. In this case, you'll be giving up green instead of white. Brimaz has quite a few things to like about it. Whenever you cast a phyrexian creature spell or an artifact creature you'll incubate x, where x is the creature's mana cost.

What's great about this is that you'll be getting to incubate for every creature you cast and incubate twice whenever you cast things like Essence of Orthodoxy, Converter Beast, or Norn's Inquisitor. Then, the last ability allows you to proliferate at the end of each turn, so long as a phyrexian died under your control. So, not only can Brimaz produce tons of incubating creatures but he can also make them bigger.

This also means that you'll want a. A bunch of phyrexians and b. Aristocrats' effects/payoffs that allow them to die and generate value. Cards like Aron, Benalia's Ruin, Skrelv's Hive, Blightbelly Rat, Benalish Sleeper, and Throne of Geth would all be your friends here.

Conclusion

I think incubate cards are going to find a home in a plethora of commander decks. After all, they synergize with anything that cares about artifacts, tokens, or +1/+1 counters all pretty coincidentally. If you're interested in the mechanic, I definitely suggest you explore it. If you do, give one of my top picks mentioned above a try. They'll all do pretty well. Now all that's left to do is get out there and play some MTG.