For just two mana, you get a reliable engine that turns every land drop into immediate board presence by distributing +1/+1 counters across your creatures. The landfall trigger is particularly powerful in ramp strategies where you're playing multiple lands per turn, and it scales excellently into the late game when you can activate the doubling ability. Play Bristly Bill early to maximize the value from subsequent land drops, or hold it until you can immediately protect it while building your counter strategy.
Format Notes
Commander is where Bristly Bill truly shines, fitting perfectly into +1/+1 counter strategies and green ramp decks that naturally trigger landfall multiple times per turn. In Standard and Pioneer, it sees play in aggressive creatures decks that want to push damage while developing their manabase. The card has maintained steady play across multiple formats due to its low entry cost and high ceiling, with no ban concerns given its fair mana requirements.
Combos & Synergies
Azusa, Lost but Seeking and other extra land effects create explosive turns where multiple landfall triggers distribute counters across your entire board. The doubling ability pairs exceptionally well with Hardened Scales and similar counter-multiplying effects to create massive threats quickly. Cards like Nissa, Worldsoul Speaker provide additional lands while creating tokens that benefit from the counter distribution, building a cohesive value engine.
