Proliferate Intermediate

Also known as: Proliferate MTG how does proliferate work can you proliferate

Proliferate is a keyword action that lets you add one counter of each kind already present on any number of permanents or players you choose. It is the engine behind some of Magic’s most explosive counter-based strategies — from charging up planeswalkers to finishing opponents with poison.

What is Proliferate?

Comprehensive Rule 701.27: “To proliferate, choose any number of permanents and/or players that have at least one counter, then give each one additional counter of each kind that permanent or player already has.”

The key word is already. Proliferate never adds a new counter type — it only copies existing ones. A creature with no counters cannot receive one through proliferate. A player with zero poison counters cannot be given their first through proliferate alone.

Proliferate was introduced in Scars of Mirrodin (2010) and has since appeared in War of the Spark, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and numerous other sets.

How Does Proliferate Work?

When a spell or ability instructs you to proliferate:

Identify eligibles: Any permanent on the battlefield with at least one counter, and any player with at least one counter (poison, experience, energy, etc.).
Choose any number: You may choose zero, one, or as many eligible permanents and players as you like. You are never forced to choose any of them.
Add one counter: Each chosen permanent or player gets one additional counter of each kind it already has. If a creature has both a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter, proliferate gives it one more of each.
Repeat effects trigger: Abilities that trigger “whenever a counter is placed” fire for each counter added.

Proliferate is not a targeted action — it uses the word “choose,” which means it is not countered by spells that say “counter target activated or triggered ability.” However, it can be affected by replacement effects that modify how counters are placed.

What Can You Proliferate?

Proliferate works with any counter type on any permanent or player. This includes:

+1/+1 counters on creatures (and artifacts like Darksteel Reactor)
-1/-1 counters on creatures (such as those from Infect sources)
Loyalty counters on planeswalkers
Poison counters on players
Charge counters on artifacts (Everflowing Chalice, Astral Cornucopia)
Oil counters on Phyrexian creatures and artifacts
Lore counters on Sagas
Age counters on enchantments with cumulative upkeep
Experience counters on players (from Commander cards like Meren of Clan Nel Toth)
Energy counters on players
Verse counters, storage counters, time counters, and many more

If a counter exists on a permanent or player, proliferate can copy it.

Can You Proliferate Loyalty Counters?

Yes. Loyalty counters on planeswalkers are counters like any other. Proliferating a planeswalker adds one loyalty counter to it, effectively giving it +1 loyalty at any time — not just during your main phase.

This has major implications: you can proliferate during an opponent’s turn to push a planeswalker out of ultimate range, or use it mid-combat to protect one from a direct attack. Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice proliferates at the end of each of your turns, which means every planeswalker you control gains one loyalty per turn cycle on top of whatever ability you activated.

Does proliferate work on planeswalkers? Yes — fully. There is no rule restricting proliferate to creature or artifact counters.

Can You Proliferate Poison Counters?

Yes. Poison counters on players are exactly the kind of counter proliferate is designed to copy. A player with one or more poison counters is eligible — choose that player when you proliferate, and they gain one additional poison counter.

Infect counters and poison counters are the same thing. Infect deals damage to players as poison counters, not as life loss — so those counters are poison counters, and proliferate stacks them just as efficiently. At ten poison counters, that player loses the game.

This makes proliferate the core of Infect-based Commander strategies. A player sitting at five or six poison counters can be finished through repeated proliferate triggers even without connecting with a creature again. Contagion Engine proliferates twice per activation and is one of the most feared cards in Infect and Atraxa decks for exactly this reason.

Can You Proliferate +1/+1 Counters?

Yes. Proliferate adds one +1/+1 counter to each creature you choose that already has at least one. This makes it invaluable for counters-matter strategies: a creature that enters with one +1/+1 counter can grow each turn through proliferate triggers.

Evolution Sage proliferates every time you play a land, making land drops one of the most powerful triggers in counter-based decks. Flux Channeler does the same whenever you cast a noncreature spell.

Best Proliferate Cards in MTG

The best proliferate cards range from efficient creatures that trigger repeatedly to powerful artifacts that proliferate multiple times per activation. The cards below represent the core toolkit for any proliferate strategy.

Proliferate Strategies

Infect/Poison: The fastest route to ten poison counters. Use Infect creatures to get counters on opponents early, then proliferate to finish the game without ever connecting again. Contagion Clasp and Inexorable Tide accelerate the clock.

Superfriends (Planeswalker tribal): Proliferate pushes every planeswalker toward its ultimate simultaneously. Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice is the definitive Commander here — she proliferates every end step and has access to all four colors.

+1/+1 Counters: Combine proliferate with counters payoffs (Hardened Scales, The Ozolith, Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider) to turn each trigger into exponential growth.

Energy and Experience: Proliferate adds experience counters to players (Ezuri, Claw of Progress) and energy counters, making it strong in dedicated energy or experience-counter Commander builds.

Sagas: Lore counters on Sagas can be proliferated, which lets you advance a Saga’s chapters faster or skip directly to its final chapter — though note this also brings it closer to sacrifice.