Quick Links
Magic: The Gathering’sPhyrexians want nothing more than to spread throughout the multiverse. All must be one, and while converting the populace into Phyrexians is one way to go about it, simply popping out more nightmares can be a quick and nasty way to build up an army. That’s where incubate comes in.
RELATED:Magic: The Gathering – What Are March Of The Machine’s Draft Archetypes?
Debuting in March of the Machine, incubate introduced a new type of artifact token to the game – except instead of life or mana, these made Phyrexian creatures to bring terror to your enemies. Here’s everything you need to know about incubating, and how to use it.
What Is Incubate?
Incubating is a keyword action that produces anIncubator artifact token. On its own, this artifact doesn’t do anything. However, by payingtwo generic mana, it transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian creature token.
The incubate keyword will always be followed by a number. This number specifieshow many +1/+1 counters you put on the Incubator token, which in turn also specifies how big thePhyrexian creature will be when you transform it.
For example, Converter Beast has “incubate 5”. When it enters, you make an Incubator artifact and putfive +1/+1 counters on it.Then, by paying two generic mana, the Incubator will transform into aPhyrexian creature with those counters on it.
When an Incubator transforms,it doesn’t leave the battlefield. This means it just flips to its other face, the Phyrexian creature side, and keeps all +1/+1 counters it has on it. This is different to some other double-faced cards, such as Siege battles and Sagas, that exile themselves before coming in transformed.
Incubate can be found on all kinds of cards. While it does appear on instants and sorceries, it’s much morecommonly found on permanents, like creatures and enchantments.
How To Use Incubate
Incubating may seem like a slower way to get a hold of creatures, it’s a very flexible, powerful mechanic when used in the right way.
The first benefit of incubating is thatIncubator tokens are artifacts. Even if they alone don’t do anything, there are enough artifact-loving mechanics out there to find plenty of uses for them. For instance, you could use it as sacrifice fodder to an Akki Scrapchomper to draw cards, or could be tapped by a Citanul Stalwart to create mana.
Being a type of artifact token, it also counts for cards that count token artifact types, such asGimbal, Gremlin Prodigyor Tawnos, Solemn Survivor.
As Incubators aren’t creatures, they’ll survive most types of board wipe (provided they don’t hit artifacts), and they can betransformed at instant speedto help you rebuild quickly. This can also be used to surprise opponents who try to swing in, forgetting you can justflip the Incubator into a blocker.
If you transform an Incubator the same turn it enters the battlefield, the transformed Phyrexian creature will have summoning sickness and not be able to attack. It will not have summoning sickness if its Incubator token entered on a previous turn, though, allowing you to transform and attack on the same turn.
Incubate synergises very nicely withanother Phyrexian mechanic,proliferate. By proliferating lots, you can make the tokens even beginner, letting you benefit from even small incubating cards.
There are ways tocheat the transform cost of Incubator tokens. At lower rarities, there are cards like Attentive Skywarden and Elvish Vatkeeper, which do it by dealing combat damage. At higher rarities you can oftentransform all your Incubators at once, thanks to creatures like Elesh Norn and Glissa, Herald of Predation.
What Colour Is Incubate?
There are 33 cards with the incubate keyword. While it is found inall five colours, it is most found inwhite and black.
In mono-colour cards, there are:
In multicolour, green has a much bigger role, withOrzhov (white/black) and Golgari (black/green) both having two cards each.
There are also two cards thatcare about Incubators without themselves having incubate. These are both white, withAttentive Skywarden and Seedpod Caretaker beingable to transform your incubators without paying the two generic mana.
