MTG Salvation

https://www.mtgsalvation.com/cards/commander-2018/35206-arixmethes-slumbering-isle

Am I crazy for considering this card? I feel like simic is one of the shallower guilds, and the floor on this is essentially explosive vegetation. Which, granted, isn't a great cube card, but that's the floor.

The counter removal is a may, so you can choose not to remove the last counter when you cast a wrath, for example, and follow up with a cheap spell post-wrath instead. Plus, since it's the same permanent, it has "haste" the turn you remove the last counter. It can also ambush with instant speed spells.

My head says this probably isn't testable, but my heart says go for it.

I'd play it if I opened it, but I'm not going to order it, and this doesn't come out of booster packs. I like how hard to remove this is while it's a land, and I don't think it'll be all that hard to get online, but a vanilla 12/12 is actually kinda meager payoff considering. If this could turn back into a land at will, it would be much much better. The card has the flavor that Island Fish Jasconius always wanted, and that's really the best thing about it. It's not a terrible card, but it's not a great one either.

I like the explosive vegetation perspective, but I think this card feels REALLY bad when someone plays Acidic Slime or bounces him in creature mode. Those seem like enormous potential setbacks.

Thought a lot about this card, and even talked about it with a friend in my playgroup..
Ultimately the floor of a worse explosive vegetation is a bit too low, given how chump blockable a generic 12/12 is.
Would I want to pay 2UG for a 12/12? probably not? It's nice that it has some semi-haste as you can slowroll the last counter..

I think it's very close though... If it had trample id be all over it
Losing it to a wasteland would be quite brutal.

5 is a big number

I think with trample I might have given it a try, but 5 spells is a lot for an easily chumped beater. The ramp is nice but it's not exactly a crazy rate for a guild slot, and I think it will go unfliped or flip too late often enough that ramp is mostly what this card does.

Is this card good enough if you play all the dark depths stuff. A redundant way to hexmage or thespian stage a threat eot. Because dark depths has been great for my playgroup

Quote from Brewerfiremind »

Is this card good enough if you play all the dark depths stuff. A redundant way to hexmage or thespian stage a threat eot. Because dark depths has been great for my playgroup

If you're already running the Depths package, it might help to add this in to give yourself a little extra redundancy.

When you pull off the combo with hexmage it probably feels good, but realistically how many cube decks are going to be able to produce BB and UG on turn 5. Then you get a beat stick with no protection or evasion that still takes two turns to win even if the opponent has no chump blockers. If this card had flying, trample, or even islandwalk (cause it's literally an island that walks) or protection like shroud, hexproof, whatever then I would say it was good enough with a floor of bad Explosive Vegetation. As it is the floor of bad ramp and ceiling of bad reanimator/show and tell is too low.