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Mythic Decks
Mythic Decks

Bristly Bill, Spine Sower

OTJ · mythic · Released 2024-04-19

Tiers

tier-1
tier-2
fringe

Commander Bracket

1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH

Archetypes

positive:
plus-one-counterscounters-voltronvoltronlands-matter
negative:

No active conflicts.

Roles

counter-producercounter-doublerlandfall-payoffetb-trigger

Risks

slow-setupmana-sink-traprequires-land-in-hand

Mechanics

mech-landfall

Typal

synergy:
plantdruid
anti:

—

Structural

triggered-abilityactivated-ability

Rationale

Bristly Bill is a 2-cmc legendary creature that generates +1/+1 counters on landfall and can double all counters on your creatures for {3}{G}{G}. It is a defining piece in +1/+1 counters and counters-voltron strategies — particularly powerful when paired with fetch lands, Cultivate-style ramp, or any landfall enabler. The doubling activated ability is a significant late-game mana sink that can end games in a single activation when counters have accumulated.

Learnings (3)

  • The doubling ability applies to ALL creatures simultaneously, making it exponentially better in go-wide +1/+1 counter shells (Ezuri, Vorel, Hamza) rather than pure voltron — a single target can get huge, but the board-wide doubling is the real payoff.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • In Brawl (1v1), Bristly Bill is strong but less explosive than in EDH because you have fewer opponents triggering extra landfall value and the doubling ability requires 5 mana at sorcery speed, making it more telegraphed in a reactive 1v1 environment.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • Bristly Bill's landfall trigger targets 'a creature,' not necessarily itself — this allows distributing counters across multiple creatures or concentrating them on a voltron threat, giving the card meaningful flexibility in different counter-based archetypes.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

Popularity

  • EDHREC rank: #889

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