"Hexhaven Invigorator: The Landfall Deck’s New Favorite Punching Bag."

"Hexhaven Invigorator: The Landfall Deck’s New Favorite Punching Bag."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

There are plenty of ways to ramp in Commander, but Hexhaven Invigorator offers a particularly entertaining proposition: hit me, and I might give you lands!

For four green mana, you get a 6/6 Chimera Horror with vigilance. That is already a respectable body, but the real attraction is its ability: whenever Hexhaven Invigorator is dealt damage, you may search your library for that many land cards and put them onto the battlefield tapped.

Yes, you read that correctly. Your opponents can accidentally help you ramp by trying to kill your creature!

Of course, the trick is to make sure Hexhaven survives long enough to enjoy the experience. A damage-based fight spell, a carefully planned block, or even an opponent's unfortunate decision to attack into it could turn into a land-fetching festival.

And Landfall decks? They are practically salivating.

Every land entering the battlefield can trigger cards like Scute Swarm, Tireless Provisioner, or Rampaging Baloths. Suddenly, what started as a little damage becomes an army of Insects, piles of Treasure, or enough Beasts to make your opponents reconsider their life choices.

The truly evil part is that Hexhaven doesn't even need to deal combat damage. It simply needs to be dealt damage itself.

Naturally, the ability has limits: the number of lands you find depends on the damage dealt, and the lands enter tapped. But with the right setup, that is a small price to pay.

In Commander, sometimes the best ramp spell is a monster that practically begs people to hit it.

Just remember to invite your opponents to swing first. It's called symbiosis, after all