Simic Manipulator
Creature — Mutant Wizard
Evolve (Whenever a creature you control enters, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
, Remove one or more +1/+1 counters from this creature: Gain control of target creature with power less than or equal to the number of +1/+1 counters removed this way.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Gatecrash
- Price
- $0.35
- EDHREC rank
- #11897
Simic Manipulator can steal any creature on the board — permanently — by moving counters you already wanted to place. The cost is real: a 1/1 body that taxes your own counter production, so it lives or dies by how freely your deck generates experience or +1/+1 counters, and Ezuri, Claw of Progress decks are the clearest answer to that question.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Ezuri, Claw of Progress generates experience counters every time a small creature enters, and Simic Manipulator turns that stockpile into a theft engine — move a counter, take their best creature, then watch Ezuri grow the stolen body on your next attack.
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus doubles proliferate triggers, and Simic Manipulator is a standing beneficiary: every proliferate tick is a free activation, letting you steal multiple creatures across a single turn without spending additional counters.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Simic Manipulator is a Commander card — full stop. The ability is too slow and the body too fragile for the one-on-one formats where opponents can freely target it before you cash in a counter. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer it competes against interaction that answers a 1/1 for free and combo decks that win before you steal anything relevant. Commander is where the math flips: you're surrounded by large creatures worth stealing, counter synergies are abundant, and the political value of threatening any creature on the table turns Simic Manipulator into soft control that opponents have to respect.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.35 bulk tier
At $0.35, Simic Manipulator is firmly bulk — the kind of card you pick up in a trade binder without thinking twice. That price is stable; it sees enough Ezuri play to prevent a full race to zero, but it will never spike without a new counter-focused Commander pushing it into the spotlight.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.