Baxter, Fly in the Ointment
TMC · rare · Released 2026-03-06
Power
Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell).
Derived from the 7 atoms below.
below rate
minor value alone
wants support
can take over a game
one mode
broadly useful
easily answered
Commander Bracket
Archetypes
No active conflicts.
Roles
Risks
Mechanics
—
Typal
—
Structural
Rationale
Baxter is a 4cmc legendary 2/2 that grows on every card draw and grants flying to all counter-bearing creatures on ETB or attack — a natural fit as a commander in draw-heavy +1/+1 counter or voltron shells. The draw trigger scales nicely with blue's natural card-draw density, but the base stat line is fragile for the cost, requiring setup before becoming threatening.
Learnings (3)
Baxter's flying grant applies to ALL your creatures with any counter (not just +1/+1 counters), so token strategies using charge counters, loyalty counters from planeswalkers, or stun counters also benefit.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
As a Brawl/Commander commander, pairing Baxter with wheels or cheap cantrips (Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm) can rapidly grow him to a lethal flying threat in just a few turns.
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The ETB trigger enables surprise flying on a fresh cast mid-combat, which can create unexpected blocks or attacks — this political / combat-trick angle is easy to miss from oracle text alone.
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Popularity
- EDHREC rank: #9,079