Quandrix Unlimited precon.
Ramp and sequence your first X spell around Zimone's current counters and cost reduction.
At the table
Pod notes →- Keep
- Three lands with green and blue, ramp, and an X spell or refill; no need to draw the commander.
- Develop
- Use existing reductions to cast the first X spell, then resolve Zimone's resulting counters for future casts.
- Finish
- Build large creatures or grow Tanazir for a wide attack, retaining enough mana for the actual colored costs.
- Watch out
- Two counters plus two +1 replacements becomes four. Unbound Flourishing does not copy a fixed-cost Hangarback activation.
Guide reviewed List 6da21ff0
Rules and list review, not a playtest record. Turn windows and matchup advice are estimates. The list reference covers card quantities and the command zone; card changes require another guide and pod-note review.
Rules basis: Magic Comprehensive Rules, August 19, 2026. Bracket basis: Wizards’ October 2025 update and February 2026 follow-up.
Ramp and sequence your first X spell around Zimone's current counters and cost reduction.
Opening hands
Seven cards from this build. Commanders start in the command zone. In multiplayer Commander, the first mulligan is free. For later mulligans, draw seven again; once you keep, put one card on the bottom for each mulligan beyond the free one.
KeepShow the seven
- Command Tower
- Forest
- Island
- Arcane Signet
- Hardened Scales
- Hydroid Krasis
- Pull from Tomorrow
Assumes Zimone, Infinite Analyst is the chosen commander in the command zone and a four-player Core pod. Three lands plus Arcane Signet develop and fix mana, while Hardened Scales and Hydroid Krasis give this hand a concrete plan. Check the timing of colored costs before choosing the first land.
BorderlineShow the seven
- Command Tower
- Forest
- Hardened Scales
- Hydroid Krasis
- Pull from Tomorrow
- Deekah, Fractal Theorist
- Tanazir Quandrix
Two lands make the expensive end of this hand dependent on further mana development. Hardened Scales is a reason to consider it on a later mulligan, but at seven cards with the multiplayer free mulligan available I would usually seek a more dependable third land or accelerator. Do not count a future draw as guaranteed.
MulliganShow the seven
- Command Tower
- Deekah, Fractal Theorist
- Tanazir Quandrix
- Perplexing Test
- Zimone's Hypothesis
- Oversimplify
- Altered Ego
One land and an expensive hand cannot reliably develop the stock plan. Keeping several attractive payoffs does not compensate for missing land drops; use the multiplayer free mulligan when available, then follow the London mulligan procedure if drawing again.
How it plays.
Core game plan
Ramp and sequence your first X spell around Zimone's current counters and cost reduction. Counters triggered by casting that spell arrive after costs were paid, so they cannot discount that same cast. Build a board of scalable creatures while retaining a refill spell. Hardened Scales, Ozolith, Kami of Whispered Hopes and Benevolent Hydra add counters within their stated scopes; they are not all doublers. Benevolent Hydra's replacement excludes itself. Keep enough colored mana to pay the non-X part of a spell even when generic costs are reduced.
Key cards
- Zimone, Infinite Analyst. Discounts the first spell with X in its mana cost you cast each turn using her existing counters; casting that first spell adds two counters after its cost is paid. Those new counters do not discount that same spell or a second X spell that turn.
- Primo, the Unbounded. The alternate face commander, entering with twice X counters as a trample threat, and turning any base-power-0 attacker (every fresh Fractal token) into more Fractal tokens sized to the damage dealt. He pairs the counters theme with token swarms.
- Hardened Scales. Adds one additional +1/+1 counter when one or more would be put on a creature you control; it does not double the number.
- Ozolith, the Shattered Spire. Adds one to applicable +1/+1 counter placements on your artifacts and creatures; this is an additional-counter replacement, not doubling.
- Tanazir Quandrix. On entry, doubles +1/+1 counters on target creature you control, including itself. Its attack trigger uses Tanazir's own power and toughness for other creatures, not the size of a different entry target.
- Unbound Flourishing. Doubles X for a permanent spell and copies qualifying instant/sorcery spells or activated abilities whose cost contains X. Hangarback Walker's fixed-cost tap ability is not copied.
- Hydroid Krasis. A flying, trample hydra that draws half X cards and gains half X life on cast, and that draw-and-gain happens on cast so it triggers even if the spell is countered. It is ramp into card advantage into a body, exactly what the deck wants.
- Lattice Library. Enters with X study counters and makes a Fractal token sized to those counters both on entry and every time you cast your first {X} spell each turn. It is a repeatable Fractal factory that lines up perfectly with Zimone's once-per-turn trigger.
- Pull from Tomorrow. An instant-speed Draw X (then discard one) that refills your hand. As your first X-spell of the turn it can be discounted by Zimone and grows her, and it keeps the deck from stalling out after a big play.
Combos and synergies
- Worked counter event: a creature receiving two +1/+1 counters gets three with one applicable +1 replacement, four with two, or six with all four applicable +1 effects. A true doubling replacement, if added later, is different and its ordering with additions matters. Unbound Flourishing doubles X for a permanent spell; it copies an instant/sorcery spell or activated ability whose cost contains X. Hangarback Walker's fixed-cost tap ability contains no X and is not copied. Tanazir's attack effect uses Tanazir's own power and toughness, not the size of the creature its entry trigger doubled.
Mulligan
- Three lands with green and blue, ramp, and an X spell or refill; no need to draw the commander.
- A balanced hand that develops an engine while retaining an answer to a meaningful opposing threat. Check tapped-land timing and required colors, not just total land count.
- Zero or one land without a dependable route to develop mana.
- Expensive payoffs without early ramp, or several synergy payoffs with no way to supply their required bodies, spells or resources.
- A hand relying on drawing the chosen commander: the commander starts in the command zone, not the opening seven.
Lines and sequencing
- Fix green and blue, ramp, and plan an X spell you can pay for using the current board.
- Calculate reductions before casting; Zimone's new counters from that cast cannot retroactively reduce its paid cost.
- Write the original counter number, then apply each relevant +1 replacement once. Two plus two additions is four, not eight.
- Use Benevolent Hydra's extra-counter effect for another creature, not for itself.
- Distinguish doubling X from adding entry counters, and copy only activated abilities whose cost actually contains X with Unbound Flourishing.
- If Tanazir is the wide-board finisher, grow Tanazir itself before attacking; retain a refill or threat after a sweep.
Pilot difficulty
Intermediate. The main plan is readable, but sequencing, trigger timing and resource accounting matter. Use the pilot reference and worked interaction before taking a long turn.