As many know +1/+1 counter strategies have the tools to become extremely explosive in Commander. Thanks to creating massive Trampling creatures, and being relatively cheap to build, +1/+1 counter decks have become one of the most beloved archetypes in the format.
Fortunately, for fans of the mechanic, Secrets of Strixhaven has a new Froggy friend, ready to take over games with style. Despite being a rather simple design, Berta, Wise Extrapolator’s abilities open the door for a variety of game-ending combos.
MTG Berta, Wise Extrapolator
At a baseline, most of Berta, Wise Extrapolator’s value comes from its second and third abilities. Berta can both turn +/1/+1 counters into mana and directly turn that into creatures. As you may imagine, there’s a ton of potential here, so long as you build around it properly.
To maximize Berta’s mana production, you’re incentivized to include plenty of cards that can repeatedly put +1/+1 counters on the Frog. Once Increment gets things started, Proliferate staples like Inexorable Tide and Evolution Sage are premium options in this department. Notably, cards like Hardened Scales won’t increase the mana Berta makes, but they will scale up your creatures quickly.
Importantly, because Berta makes creature tokens with +1/+1 counters, Proliferate effects can pump your entire army. Once you add in mass untap effects and token doublers, including Seedborn Muse and Parallel Lives, you can really speed up the Fractal production process.
Once you have an army of Fractals at the ready, Inspiring Call, Ray Fillet, Wave Warrior, and other go-wide payoffs ensure you don’t run out of gas. Eventually, with a big enough army, Herald of Secret Streams or any Overrun effect can set you up for a lethal attack.
Wide Range of Combos
As many may expect, Berta’s second ability leads the Commander to create… some problems. This allows repeatable +1/+1 counter effects, like Steel Overseer, to make your creatures infinitely large. Once you have a card like Freed from the Real attached to the Overseer, you can use the mana that Berta makes to untap the Construct over and over. With enough creatures in play, you should be able to repeat this process over and over, then attack for the win.
Beyond just these lethal damage kills, combining Berta, Inexorable Tide, and Shrieking Drake also sets you up to generate an infinite Storm count. Once Berta and Tide are in play, casting Shrieking Drake from your hand will trigger Tide and let you Proliferate. As long as Berta has a +1/+1 counter on it, Proliferating will let you grow Berta, creating a blue mana. You can use this to recast Shrieking Drake over and over, winning the game with Brain Freeze or Aetherflux Reservoir.
Notably, there’s also a variety of combos to pull off utilizing Berta’s third ability. For example, with Berta and Intruder Alarm in play, you can activate the Frog Druid’s final ability for X=0 as many times as you want. By itself, this doesn’t win you the game, but it does set up infinite death triggers.
Plus, if you’re able to also equip Berta with Blade of the Bloodchief before activating its ability, each Fractal death will buff your Commander. As a result, this is a powerful infinite mana combo for the Commander. The list of infinites available goes on and on, so don’t be surprised if Berta emerges as a strong combo Commander.
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