Increment in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Berta, Wise Extrapolator | Illustration by Tuan Duong Chu

Increment is the new mechanic for Quandrix in Secrets of Strixhaven, and it’s an interesting take on evolve, another classic GU mechanic. It’s a unique bridge between the expensive spells that Prismari () likes to cast and the +1/+1 counter theme that’s ever-present in MTG.

Regardless of the mechanic, we have some strong +1/+1 counter synergies, so you might want to take a look at these and add some to your counter/proliferate decks. I’m covering the mechanic in depth, including its rules and the best cards, so let’s dive in!

How Does Increment Work?

Fractalize | Illustration by Andrew Mar

Increment is a mechanic on blue and green cards in Secrets of Strixhaven that’s very similar to the Simic evolve mechanic. Whenever you cast any spell, if the mana you’ve paid for the spell is greater than the current power or toughness of the increment creature, you’ll put a +1/+1 counter on it.

For example, Cuboid Colony starts as a 1/1. Any spell that you’ve paid more than 1 mana for triggers Cuboid Colony’s increment ability and puts a +1/+1 on the creature to make it a 2/2. From there, you’ll need to cast a 3-mana spell to trigger increment another time, and so on.

An important thing to note with increment is that there’s a huge difference between the mana value of a card and the amount of mana you spend to cast a spell. Fire Magic is always a 1 mana value card, but you can spend 3 mana total on the fira mode, and 6 mana total on the firaga mode, and this mana investment is what you consider for increment.

The History of Increment in MTG

Increment was designed in 2026 for the Secrets of Strixhaven set as the mechanic for Quandrix, the GU school. All creatures printed with the mechanic are in blue and green colors. Each 2-color school except Lorehold got a new mechanic this time, and these small mechanics appear on fewer roughly 10 designs across the set, while prepared is the “main” mechanic. It hasn’t been reused yet, and it’s not even in the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander set (SOC).

Does Increment Work with Any Kind of Spell?

Yes, it does. Although Secrets of Strixhaven is geared towards casting instants and sorceries, increment works with every kind of spell, so you can trigger increment by casting creatures, planeswalkers, sorceries, or what have you.

Do Copied Spells Trigger Increment?

Only if the copy is cast. Unlike the original Strixhaven mechanic magecraft, which cared about casting or copying spells, increment rules state that you have to cast a spell. It won’t trigger if you copy a spell. Cards that say that you may cast a copy of the spell, like Isochron Scepter or Arcane Proxy, trigger increment, while Fork won’t. This set also has prepare, a mechanic that lets you cast a copy of the prepared spell from exile, and these can trigger increment as well.

Does Increment Check the Mana Value of Spells You’re Casting?

No. Increment checks the amount of mana you’ve spent on the spell, not the mana value, and there are some key differences. Firebolt is a perfect example. It always has a mana value of 1, but the amount of mana spent can be 5 if you cast it with flashback.

Do Additional Costs Count Towards the Mana Spent for Increment?

Yes, they do. The mana spent is the cost printed on the card and the additional costs you pay, be they kicker effects, an X in its mana value, or additional costs, like the ones imposed by Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. On the other hand, cards that you can cast for a reduced cost like Leyline Binding or Myr Enforcer are a nombo with increment, because you’ll actually pay a lower cost than the spell’s mana value.

Is Increment a Triggered Ability?

Yes, it is. Increment triggers whenever you cast a spell, so it’s a triggered ability similar to the original evolve. The triggers go on the stack, and you can interact with them with cards like Stifle.

What If the Creature’s Stats Change While Increment’s Still on the Stack?

Increment checks the creature’s stats on resolution to determine if it gets the +1/+1 counter or not. For example, Cuboid Colony is a 1/1, and you cast a 2-mana spell, Impulse. Increment triggers and checks the creature’s power and toughness. Let’s say your opponent casts Giant Growth in response to make your Cuboid a 4/4. Then, the increment trigger resolves, and the creature won’t get the +1/+1 counter because its power and toughness are both greater than 2.

Does Increment Work with Counter Doublers?

Yes, it does. If you have a card that doubles the number of counters a creature would receive, then each successful increment trigger puts two +1/+1 counters on the creature. Of course, it becomes a little harder to increment it later, considering that you’ll need even higher mana investments, but it speeds up the process.

Increment vs. Evolve

These are two very similar mechanics in their concept and rules. Evolve cares about creatures as they enter the battlefield, so the creature spell must resolve. You can also evolve by creating big creature tokens. Evolve works very well with big vanilla creatures like Caelorna, Coral Tyrant, which only costs 2, but it can evolve even a 7/7 creature.

On the other hand, increment triggers when you cast a spell, and any spell at that, so it doesn’t even need to resolve. Increment scales with the amount of mana you have at your disposal, so 0/8 creatures for 2 won’t do the trick.

Gallery and List of Increment Cards

• Ambitious Augmenter
• Berta, Wise Extrapolator
• Cuboid Colony
• Fractal Tender
• Hungry Graffalon
• Pensive Professor
• Tester of the Tangential
• Textbook Tabulator
• Topiary Lecturer

Best Increment Cards

#4. Cuboid Colony

Cuboid Colony is interesting as a 1/1 that has flash, flying, and trample. You can flash this onto the battlefield in the early game and start to grow it as you cast some more spells. Flying and trample are awesome with big creatures, and unless your opponent has removal, this card quickly becomes a 3/3 or bigger, which is awesome for a 2-MV creature.

#3. Pensive Professor

Pensive Professor is very similar to Fathom Mage, an arguably worse card that sees play in EDH. Although you’re paying 3 mana for a 0/2 creature, it’ll be easy to increment it and at least draw a card. But these types of cards shine when you have cards like Give // Take. You’ll cast Give, increment this card, draw a card, put three +1/+1 counters on it, draw three more cards, and then you’re left with a 4/6.

#2. Berta, Wise Extrapolator

Berta, Wise Extrapolator isn’t the strongest increment card, but it’s the one that offers the most possibilities, especially in EDH. You get more mana whenever you put a +1/+1 counter on it, and that’ll be mostly with increment. The 1 power helps, and when you’re casting spells and adding mana, you can have a little engine going. And it’s nice that if you get to untap, you have something to do with the excess mana you generate by tapping this card and making a token.

#1. Ambitious Augmenter

It’s hard to see Ambitious Augmenter and not think of Experiment One or something like Pelt Collector. The concept here is the same, and if you’re running an increment deck, it’s best to start with a 1-mana 1/1 that you can increment along the way and then beat down with. Casting this, then following up with a 2-mana spell already gives you a 2/2, which is okay for aggressive decks. These creatures tend to be staples in 60-card aggressive decks or cubes.

Wrap Up

Ambitious Augmenter | Illustration by Mariah Tekulve

And that’s about it for increment, folks. Although we don’t have that many increment cards, it’s a nice little mechanic that’s generic enough to return in other MTG sets. I like that increment works with any spell and that you’re considering how much mana you’ve spent, so it works with modal cards and cards with X in their mana costs. I can see future EDH precon designs using this mechanic, especially if +1/+1 counters are involved somehow.

It’s also interesting that we have a theme in Standard-legal cards where you’re incentivized to spend more than X mana on spells, like the 4-mana spells in Final Fantasy or the expend mechanic from Bloomburrow.

What do you think of increment? Are you excited to add any of these to your decks? Let me know in the comments section below, please. And for more on MTG and Secrets of Strixhaven, be sure to check out The Daily Upkeep, Draftsim’s own YouTube Channel.

Until next time, stay safe!