At this point, Bloomburrow spoiler season has nearly concluded, and this set has a lot to look forward to. Many of the animals in the set may be small, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a handful of powerful threats worth building around. Recently, one creature in particular was spoiled whose efficiency really caught our eye. This card is none other than Gev, Scaled Scorch. Gev does a lot for two mana. There’s a lot of potential here, both as an assertive Rakdos creature in Standard and as a general to lead your Lizard army in Commander.
Excellent on Rate
- Mana Value: BR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 3/2
- Text: Ward-Pay 2 Life. Other Creatures you control enter with an additional +1/+1 counter on them for each opponent who lost life this turn. Whenever you cast a Lizard spell, Gev, Scaled Scorch deals 1 damage to target opponent.
What makes Gev such a scary card even in a Constructed setting is simply how aggressively costed it is. Even with no other Lizard synergies, you get a beefy two-drop out of the deal that threatens to make your follow-up creatures even burlier. This card is an Outlaw itself, which gives it some nice synergies with cards like Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier.
There are tons of ways to reliably force the opponent to lose life outside of combat to help make Gev a true all-star. Gev has just the right amount of power to Saddle up Caustic Bronco, letting you get some card advantage going early and potentially force the opponent to lose life in the process. Some Crime enablers, such as Jagged Barrens, synergize well with Gev, acting as low-cost ways to deal the opponent damage. Once we add in Lizard synergies, though, things start to get even crazier.
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Lizard Synergies
- Mana Value: B
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 1/2
- Text: Offspring 2 (You may pay an additional 2 as you cast this spell. If you do, when this creature enters, create a 1/1 token copy of it). Landfall- Whenever a land you control enters, this creature deals 1 damage to target opponent
There are a multitude of powerful Lizards making their way to Standard from Bloomburrow, and many of them work well in conjunction with Gev. None fit the mold better than Iridescent Vinelasher. This Lizard is decently strong on its own, dealing the opponent damage while you curve out. Alongside Gev, Iridescent Vinelasher is the perfect tool to enable you to have your next three-drop play enter with a +1/+1 counter. The curve of Vinelasher or Hired Claw into Gev is quite frightening if your opponent doesn’t have cheap removal at the ready.
What’s nice is that any Lizard you play after Gev is on the battlefield will trigger Gev to deal a damage to the opponent. As such, playing something like Laughing Jasper Flint on turn three after playing Gev turn two adds a lot of power to the board. Notably, many Lizards like Iridescent Vinelasher and Pyrotechnic Performer (all Viashino creatures are now Lizards due to an errata) are also Outlaws naturally, making Laughing Jasper Flint even more problematic for the opponent.
In a multiplayer Commander setting, if you have ways to make each of your opponents lose life at once, Gev can enable your other creature to enter with a bunch of +1/+1 counters. As such, Thermo-Alchemist and cards with similar effects may be nice inclusions. Of course, Gev is a great leader for a deck dedicated to the Lizard creature type, which has grown significantly more abundant with recent set releases.
Gev is a neat card, it hits hard, and if you aren’t prepared, you’ll be sorry. Gev looks like an awesome Commander option, and it’ll be cool to see what impact Gev and other Lizards have in Standard post-rotation.
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