What it does
Evolve triggers when another creature you control enters the battlefield with greater power or greater toughness than the creature with evolve. When that happens, you put a +1/+1 counter on the evolve creature. Only one comparison needs to be true—greater power or greater toughness—not both.
The common mistake is thinking you compare current stats. You compare the entering creature's stats against the evolve creature's current stats (including counters), and it must be strictly greater, not equal. Once an evolve creature grows large, only bigger creatures will keep triggering it, so it naturally slows down. Each qualifying creature triggers each evolve creature you control separately.
In Commander, evolve rewards going wide with steadily larger creatures, making it solid in token or +1/+1 counter decks. It's a grindy, incremental engine—best when you're flooding the board rather than playing one big bomb.
Iconic cards with Evolve
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