Overview

Enhanced Evolution is a mutate deck with a second plan built around X spells. Otrimi, the Ever-Playful has trample, and whenever it deals combat damage to a player it returns target creature card with mutate from your graveyard to your hand. Mutate creatures trigger a strong effect each time they land on top of another creature, so recurring them is a real engine.

The 99 cards are 38 creatures, 1 planeswalker, 5 artifacts, 4 enchantments, 4 instants, 10 sorceries and 37 lands. The mutate creatures include Trumpeting Gnarr, Sawtusk Demolisher, Insatiable Hemophage, Mindleecher, Dreamtail Heron and Archipelagore, and the X spells include Villainous Wealth, Profane Command, Gaze of Granite, Mind Spring and a set of Hydras, such as Genesis Hydra, Vastwood Hydra and Hungering Hydra, that enter with X +1/+1 counters.

Key Cards

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Zaxara, the Exemplary
Mana · Hydra Maker
A 2/3 for {1}{B}{G}{U}. It has deathtouch and taps for two mana of any one color, and whenever you cast a spell with {X} in its mana cost, it creates a 0/0 green Hydra creature token and puts X +1/+1 counters on it. It ramps you and gives every X spell an extra body.
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Trumpeting Gnarr
Mutate · Token Maker
A 3/3 for {1}{G}{U}. It has a mutate cost of {3}{G/U}{G/U}, and whenever it mutates you create a 3/3 green Beast creature token. Each mutate gives you a free 3/3 on top of the growing creature.
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Sawtusk Demolisher
Mutate · Removal
A 6/6 for {4}{G}{G}. It has trample, and whenever it mutates it destroys target noncreature permanent, and that permanent's controller creates a 3/3 green Beast creature token. It deals with a problem permanent at a cost of handing over a Beast.
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Insatiable Hemophage
Mutate · Drain
A 3/3 for {3}{B}. It has deathtouch, and whenever it mutates each opponent loses X life and you gain X life, where X is the number of times it has mutated. It gets stronger the longer the stack grows.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about mana and card flow. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Bonder's Ornament, Kodama's Reach, Migration Path and Animist's Awakening ramp you, Beast Whisperer, Masked Admirers and Lifecrafter's Bestiary draw cards, and cheap creatures such as Predator Ooze and Cold-Eyed Selkie give you something to mutate onto. Migratory Greathorn fetches a land when it mutates.

The middle of the game is about mutating and making Hydras. Zaxara, the Exemplary adds a Hydra to each X spell, Glowstone Recluse, Cavern Whisperer, Chittering Harvester and Pouncing Shoreshark give value each time they mutate, and Boneyard Lurker returns a permanent from your graveyard. Souvenir Snatcher steals an artifact, and Auspicious Starrix puts permanents onto the battlefield.

The late game is about huge spells. Villainous Wealth casts spells from an opponent's library for free, Profane Command can drain, reanimate or shrink creatures, Gaze of Granite sweeps the board, and Deadly Tempest destroys all creatures. Archipelagore taps down blockers, and Find // Finality recovers creatures or resets the board.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck has a lot of ways to draw cards, make tokens and gain value from every creature, and Zaxara makes the X spells flexible. It also has solid interaction, including Beast Within, Putrefy, Deadly Rollick, Krosan Grip, Shriekmaw and Reclamation Sage.

Weaknesses: Mutate is unusual: a mutate creature cannot target a Human, and if the creature underneath is removed in response, the mutating creature enters on its own. Three colours with triple-green and double-black costs can also make mana awkward, and the deck has few cards that protect your creatures.

Want to improve it? See the Enhanced Evolution upgrade guide: twelve swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict
Enhanced Evolution is a deck for players who enjoy stacking creatures and triggering abilities. It is a good choice if you want to learn mutate, and the X-spell Hydras give it a second plan when the mutate pieces are not available.

Want to see what a fully optimised Otrimi, the Ever-Playful build looks like? Try the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Enhanced Evolution decklist?
The Enhanced Evolution precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Otrimi. The full Enhanced Evolution decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

When was Enhanced Evolution released?
Enhanced Evolution was released on April 17, 2020 as part of Commander 2020 (Ikoria).

Who is the commander of Enhanced Evolution?
Enhanced Evolution is led by Otrimi, the Ever-Playful, a Sultai (U/B/G) legendary creature.

How many creatures are in Enhanced Evolution?
The 99 cards besides Otrimi, the Ever-Playful include 38 creatures.

How many lands does Enhanced Evolution have?
Enhanced Evolution has 37 lands in the 99 cards besides Otrimi, the Ever-Playful, including basic lands.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Enhanced Evolution precon, with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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