Contagion: Proliferate for the win?

Once the Tezzeret and Elspeth duel decks came out and we got to see Kemba's Skyguard (yay?) and Contagion Clasp, we had a little idea what Scars was holding in stores for us. We'd see decent limited fliers in white, which is hardly a surprise, and a little artifact that helps kill weenies. Oh, and "pro - lif - er - ate" whatever the heck that does!?!  What does it do?

So, if you have, like, a Blastoderm with a Fading counter on it, you get to put another one on and have him live a bit longer, right? That's cool, I guess. Let me put it differently that just "cool, I guess": Proliferate has the potential to be stupidly good. Table dominating good.

You choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them, then give each another counter of a kind already there.

The Engine and Clasp are removal for annoying Weenies right off the bat with the CIP -1/-1 abilities. R/D also worded it so that it would work with the Phyrexian "add a -1/-1 counter" cards and the Infect keyword which also encompases the return of poison. However, rather than naming just these specific things, the Proliferate keyword allows you to choose any number of permanents/players in play and add another type of counter that is already on that permanent/player. So if you have a Steel Overseer in play, you tap the Overseer, add +1/+1 counters to all your artifact creatures and add an additional one with Proliferate. If your opponent has +1/+1 counters on his creatures, you're not obliged to add an additional counter to their creatures, just your own. If one of your opponent's creatures has a -1/-1 counter (from the Clasp for example) you can add to that and ignore the others that may have +1/+1 or charge counters. Pretty neat, huh?

That's not all! Let's say you decided to sleeve up a WW deck sporting Adjani Goldmane. Adjani gives your creatures a +1/+1 counter but removes a loyalty counter when you do so. Luckily the Clasp will also replace the loyalty counter on Adjani. Your play for the turn is essentially Pay 4: boost your team by +2/+2 and Adjani is still on the same loyalty as before. That's ok, right?



If it works on Adjani, it works on every Planeswalker. Let me say that back again just because it's a little bit mad: Your Planeswalkers "-" abilities all cost 1 less to use, "0" abilities actually gain you a loyalty counter and their "+" abilities are supercharged. Chandra Nalaar can go ultimate the turn after she hits play. Elspeth I can go ultimate in 3 turns and survive in 3 turns instead of 5 or 6. Nicol Bolas can go ultimate in 1 turn! And this is with only a single permanent proliferate effect in play, the likes of Contagion Clasp or Throne of Geth. Contagion Engine proliferates and then proliferates again. Inexorable Tide proliferates whenever you play a spell. Thrummingbird does it each time it deals combat damage to a player and Throne of Geth does it for no mana cost but requires you to sacrifice an artifact. The instant, cantripping Steady Progress gives you the 6th instance of Proliferate (or 7th if you count the second instance on Contagion Engine)
Now, even if it was just -1/-1, +1/+1, poison and Planeswalker loyalty counters, these effects would still see play, but it's not just that. It's more, a lot more.

Anything with Fading, Vanishing or Cumulative Upkeep, Charge Counters, Modular, Sunburst, Slith, Quests, Ascensions, Allies, Armageddon Clock, Scream, Flood, Arrow, Gold, Ki, Blood, Fuse, Soot, Clockwork, Level-up and hundreds of other cards that all say "Put a counter" on this, that, him or her. Your fading and vanishing creatures and artifacts will fade and vanish more slowly. With a critical mass of the abilities or some combo with Inexorable Tide in play means that you can even increase past the number of counters that had originally been intended for that permanent. And don't get me started on charge counters


Did you know that there's 56 cards which have or interact with charge counters. Some highlights include Æther Vial, Chalice of the Void, Chimeric Mass, Coalition Relic, Coretapper (who will allow you to move a charge counter onto an empty Everflowing Chalice from another permanent and proliferate to add a second counter and replace the original from where you took it), Darksteel Reactor, Door of Destinies, Engineered Explosives, Everflowing Chalice, Lightning Reaver, Lux Cannon, Pentad Prism, Ratchet Bomb, Riptide Replicator, Sigil of Distinction, Sun Droplet, Tendo Ice Bridge and a little known and under-used equipment called Umezawa's Jitte.

Even better with proliferate, if that was even possible.

And that's just the "Charge counter" section. There's 533 Gatherer results to rules text with "With a counter" as in "Enters the battlefield with a ~suchandsuch~ counter in it" and an additional 138 results with "add a counter" as in "Tap: add a counter" or "If ~this~ was kicked, it comes onto the battlefield with X additional +1/+1 counters on it". Ok, some of these results include counterspells but not that many. Whenever you could put a counter on something or lots of things and having two or more would be better instead, Proliferate will shine.