Primo, the UnboundedPrimo, the Unbounded | Art by Aldo Domínguez

As I typically enjoy doing when a new set releases, I’m setting out on a quest to cover creature types that gained substantial support. We’ve looked at Wizards and Warlocks, two of the more prominent classifications of students at Strixhaven.

The last couple of weeks, we’ve been touring the mascots of the different colleges. Since we’ve already covered Elementals in Lorwyn and Spirits in Innistrad, as well as Inklings and Pests, we’ll complete the cycle with a type that breaks the Simic/Quandrix formula.

Have you guessed it? It’s Fractals!

Fractals are really cool-looking hypergeometric figures, resembling the shapes I used to make out of tessellations in elementary school. The prisms that constitute their bodies reflect the creativity of the caster. Even just on our commander’s art, there are Bird and Squirrel-like teal figures alongside Primo, the Big Badass Wolf.

Fractals themselves have remained largely unchanged since their introduction in Strixhaven, although they do provide a range of design opportunities. Fractals, by and large, were limited to tokens, and fairly mundane tokens at face-value.

The cards that made them were generally fun and exciting enough to see play, and the addition of creatures with the type added layers to an already fun and surprisingly deep token type.

Fractal History

Fractals are anthropomorphic hypergeometric amalgamations of the flexible thinking of Quandrix students. They take a range of forms, even though, at their base, they begin as the same.

This is because the token itself represents the core of the Fractal, while the counters are what makes each Fractal unique, kind of like how snowflakes are all crystallized water droplets, but each has a unique, complex, beautiful, and delicate crystal structure.

Fractal tokens, and many Fractal creatures, are 0/0 green and blue bodies. Without help, they can’t even survive on the battlefield, dying to state-based effects.

The cards that make Fractals and the Fractal cards put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to any of a variety of values, such as the number of lands the caster controls or the number of instant and sorcery cards in the caster’s graveyard. These different sources of values for the counters give the Fractals a range of stats and roles in a deck.

But how do we win a game with 0/0 creatures? And what are the roles Fractals can serve?

What Does Primo, the UnboundedPrimo, the Unbounded Do?

Primo is a fun and intriguing Simic/Quandrix commander. It’s a great curve-topper and ramp payoff, even without help. In a Commander precon built around X spells, Primo is the prime example. It enters with twice X +1/+1 counters and has trample. It’s a Fractal and a Wolf. If that were all, it would have been just enough to be fun to play.

But, Primo also MAKES Fractals. Whenever one or more creatures with 0 base power deals combat damage to a player, we make a Fractal with counters equal to the damage dealt. A Fractal that makes Fractals and turns them into threats while being a win con in and of itself is exactly what a durdling (synergistic but not gamewinning) strategy needs.

Fractals have a clear throughline, both old and new, which relates to +1/+1 counter synergies. While Quandrix started to lean into X spells with Secrets of Strixhaven and its related precon, there are only a few Fractals, including our commander, that feed those synergies.

Some straddle the line between the two, however, like Primo and PterafractylPterafractyl, although the latter has a printed power and doesn’t work perfectly with our commander.

But what do Fractal producers look like? And do they work with this framework?

Key Cards for Primo, the UnboundedPrimo, the Unbounded

Fractals are tiny things by printed power and toughness, but the cards that create them give them variable amounts of counters. These counters are what help to determine the card’s role in the deck, anywhere from curve-filler to bomb threats. This fun and flexibility help to differentiate Fractals from the stock blue-green deck.

Serpentine CurveSerpentine Curve and Leyline InvocationLeyline Invocation were both alluded to earlier as cards that make Fractals with counters equal to instants and sorceries in the graveyard and lands on the battlefield, respectively.

Both of these represent Fractals that are best saved until later in the game, coming down as mid-to-large threats on the ground. They both require some setup, but pay off things we’re already doing by making land drops and casting spells.

Wild HypothesisWild Hypothesis and PterafractylPterafractyl are newer Fractals that are X spells, so they can serve a variety of roles on the mana curve. Still, they’re better served being cast later, like the Curve and Invocation.

PterafractylPterafractyl, in particular, is a powerful flying beater, taking advantage of opponents without flying or reach. The chip damage starts to add up when our big bad Wolf commander comes crashing in.

But Fractal makers are expensive; how do we protect our mana investments?

Wrap in VigorWrap in Vigor regenerates our Fractals, as they are all both blue and green. It is worth noting that some of our Fractal producers aren’t as fortunate, but counterspells like VoidslimeVoidslime are able to protect everything, so we split our board protection between the two types.

With our Fractals costing a hefty sum of mana, especially our mana sink of a commander, we need to get to high amounts of mana quickly. Nature's LoreNature's Lore and similar effects help us fix our mana, and we want low mana-value ramp in particular to give us early plays and to build up lands and instants and sorceries for Invocation and Curve.

Kodama of the West TreeKodama of the West Tree might not be a Fractal or Fractal producer, but it does work with modified creatures, which includes creatures with counters on them, like our Fractals. The burst of mana the Kodama provides helps to propel the deck into the late game, which our commander specializes in.

Karn's BastionKarn's Bastion is essentially a repeatable Gaea's AnthemGaea's Anthem, adding layers and layers of counters to our Fractals while also giving us a use for our excess mana. Breeding PoolBreeding Pool might not seem like a noteworthy nonbasic land, but we want as many blue-green dual lands as we can support and afford, as it gives our Nature's LoreNature's Lore effects ways to fix our mana.

But what are we winning the game with?

How Does This Primo, the UnboundedPrimo, the Unbounded Commander Deck Win?

This is very much a combat-oriented deck, looking to either grow our Fractals to massive size or commander damage an opponent with our giant trampling commander. Effects that increase the counters creatures enter with, either doubling the counters like Doubling SeasonDoubling Season or adding to them like Hardened ScalesHardened Scales, contribute to both game plans.

Conclusion

Fractals are a relatively new creature type, but represent the Quandrix college well. They’re fun and play in interesting ways, including having a few different options for commanders.

But how would you build Fractals? And which commander would you choose?