This week, we’re taking another look back at the original Ravnica block and the signature mechanic of the Simic Combine: Graft!
What is Graft?
Graft appears on creature cards…and one land from Future Sight. It is always written as “Graft N,” and it represents two abilities.
The first is that a creature will enter the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the graft number. The second is way more interesting: whenever another creature enters the battlefield, if this permanent has a +1/+1 counter on it, you may move a +1/+1 counter from this permanent onto that creature.
Simply put, whenever a creature enters the battlefield, you can move a +1/+1 counter from graft creature onto the new creature.
There are a few interesting things here:
- You can graft +1/+1 counters onto anyone’s creature, not just your own.
- Graft doesn’t target — it just triggers whenever a new creature enters the battlefield. That means you can move the counters onto creatures that you normally couldn’t.
- All creatures with graft will trigger for each creature that enters, meaning the new creature can end up with as many counters on it as there are creatures with graft.
- You can only move one counter from a graft creature at a time; if your graft creature has several counters, you can’t move them all onto the new creature at once.
Graft is especially useful if you have another creature you want to pump up. The idea is to play your graft creatures early, then move the counters onto a big, evasive threat. It’s also the perfect mechanic for a +1/+1 counters deck.