MTG Quandrix Unlimited decklist upgrade guide with Primo the Unbounded as Commander

Lean into fractal pack mentality with Primo, the Unbounded

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Magic: The Gathering’s spell-slinging new set, called Secrets of Strixhaven, is filled with surprising new hits and stunning artwork. With its five preconstructed Commander decklists now revealed, Magic players are deep in research, like Urza himself, developing the best decks to counter their respective pods.

The faces of Magic’s new set are particularly interesting: From the Aura-loving Killian in orzhov (white-black) to the menacing Dina in golgari (black-green), there’s a lot to love about this set’s underlying theme of mages, warlocks, and sorcerers. Like the fictional witches in our own world, each Commander is paired with their own flavorful familiar, a magical creature that matches their style and amplifies the heat for their opponents.

That’s where Primo, the Unbounded comes into play. He sits alongside Zimone, Infinite Analyst, Commander of the Quandrix Unlimited deck, which Polygon debuted earlier this week. Primo is a fractal wolf that creates more simic (blue-green) 0/0 creatures every time you deal combat damage to a player, with those tokens getting larger the harder you swing. It's an enticing ability that feels a bit red-coded, as it relies on consistent attacking over the color combo's more common theme of gradually building a large mana base for massive creatures.

This “X factor” is especially exciting, because several of Magic’s best cards are 0/0s with menacing upsides, such as Hangarback Walker, Stonecoil Serpent, and Hydroid Krasis, all of which are included in Quandrix Unlimited. I’ve been itching to make a simic deck for some time, and I think I’ve found the perfect route to take. Here’s how I'd approach editing the Quandrix Unlimited decklist with Primo as the Commander.

​​​​​​​What cards to remove from Quandrix Unlimited

With Primo as the headliner as opposed to Zimone, there are a few cards in Quandrix Unlimited you won’t be needing. The deck is jammed with 28 creatures from the start, and since Primo creates token creatures, you don’t need to rely on them as much, even when their abilities are relatively beneficial. We also must ensure our X-cost creatures are base 0/0 to get the most out of Primo. Cards hitting the chopping block include Yavimaya Bloomsage, Elusive Otter, The Goose Mother, and Quandrix Apprentice.

Several instant and sorcery cards that synergize with Zimone’s first ability — which reduces the cost of X spells based on the number of counters on her — aren’t needed either. Since Primo doesn’t get any benefit from casting instant and sorcery cards with X in their cost, you can find better staples to replace them with. Mind Spring, Brainstorm, and Rhystic Study can do a lot of work in this deck, since you won’t have to rely on three islands to play them.

Other cards that should also be cut include Pull From Tomorrow, Stroke of Genius, and Eureka Moment. They offer minimal interaction with the type of Commander we’re running, so it’s better to replace them with protective spells that allow our beefed-up 0/0s to land blows for Primo’s payoff.

The sorcery Oversimplify is another card that doesn’t fit Primo’s strategy. While it’s a great board wipe, particularly in that it exiles cards rather than destroys them, you could inadvertently hand the game to your opponent if you’re not careful. That’s why I’d replace it with something a little more efficient, like Evacuation or Cyclonic Rift, which don’t target your board state while still slowing down opponents.

You can even go a different route and try to overwhelm your opponent as opposed to removing their creatures. One card that offers some synergy with Primo is Ezuri’s Predation, which creates 4/4 beasts for each creature your opponents’ control, and they immediately fight those creatures. There’s also Bane of Progress, which is a solid enchantment and artifact removal spell that also adds +1/+1 counters to itself for each enchantment and artifact it destroys upon entering.

The mana-base for Quandrix Unlimited seems fairly well-optimized at 37 total lands. In Simic, you’re bound to get more than enough ramp and extra land drops, though I personally would add one or two more lands to quell any fears of a potential mana-dry game. I’m also not a fan of lands that enter tapped. Quandrix Unlimited features a total of 11, so I might consider swapping those out for replacements.

What cards to add to Quandrix Unlimited

From the outset, it’s clear that The Ozolith is one of the most important cards you can add to this deck. While it already includes the green variant, called Ozolith, the Shattered Spire, there’s no escaping just how vital the original one-cost legendary artifact is for Primo-led Quandrix deck. Unfortunately, it's over $60 USD right now, making it a hefty investment, but totally worth it.

You’ll also want more 0/0 X-cost creatures, as I mentioned previously. The deck already includes several stand-out MVPs, but you’ll want to add cards like Walking Ballista, Endless One, and Phantom Nantuko for further utility. You can even sprinkle in a few Modular cards to support the other artifact creatures, such as Arcbound Fiend or Arcbound Hybrid.

Landing hits is key for Primo. If none of your creatures get through, you won’t get any of the payoff in Primo’s main ability. With that in mind, adding cards that sneak your creatures through enemy lines is crucial, and the best one I could think of is Herald of Secret Streams. It’s a merfolk warrior, so the flavor doesn’t quite match, but at least your creatures with counters can’t be blocked.

And what better way to make good use of those creatures than with a couple of menacing enchantments? The obvious choice for a Primo deck is Doubling Season, as you’ll get double the payoff. But, it can’t hurt to add a Branching Evolution in there, as well. The chance of both being on the board at the same time is next to zero, but one can imagine.

Rounding things out, you can also add Slime Against Humanity and Simic Ascendancy if you want. The latter serves as a cheap win-con, but it isn’t overly powerful, so don’t rely on it for the dub. You could also do with a few more ramps if there’s room, like Gyre Sage and Incubation Druid, though these aren’t totally necessary.

What you’re looking for is a board flooded with counter-hungry 0/0 creatures that can successfully land hits on your opponents. This makes Primo an enticing option for fans of slimes and modular creatures, giving those once-meagre 0/0s some serious bulk. I’m excited to see what other decks fans imagine around this set, as Strixhaven opens the doors to some magical possibilities.

Secrets of Strixhaven officially releases on April 24, 2026.