Throw Wide the Gates — Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, you may pay X life, where X is that spell's mana value. If you do, create a 1/1 colorless Hero creature token and put X +1/+1 counters on it. Do this only once each turn.
Cast a steady stream of noncreature spells while paying life to grow a single, increasingly large Hero token each turn, using G'raha's lifelink to refill what you spent. You play a midrange spellslinger/control game—cantripping, removing threats, and protecting your board—then close with a giant token, mass token generators, or a life-payment combo. The Hero token scaling rewards casting your biggest spell of the turn, so sequencing matters.
Generates free, scalable board presence off spells you're already casting
Lifelink on the commander offsets the life payments and stabilizes against aggro
Esper color identity gives best-in-class card draw, removal, and counterspells
Each Hero counter token can become a real threat and synergizes with proliferate and +1/+1 counter payoffs
Flexible across control, tokens, and combo shells
Token creation is capped at once per turn, limiting explosive go-wide turns
Life payment is real and punishing if you fall behind or face aggressive damage
Three-color manabase strain in a deck that wants cheap spells consistently
Removal of G'raha shuts off the token engine entirely
Single tokens are vulnerable to board wipes and spot removal, losing your investment
A premium high-MV instant that resets opponents while creating a large token for the swing-back.
Add token and counter doublers (Anointed Procession, Doubling Season, Parallel Lives) so each trigger produces far more value, and lean into proliferate effects to push the Heroes out of removal range. Tighten the curve toward efficient, high-impact noncreature spells and improve the manabase with fast lands, fetches, and Esper duals so you reliably cast something every turn. For higher power, include an alternate win like Approach of the Second Sun and life-recursion engines to make the payment cost negligible.
Legendary Creature — Cat Wizard
