It slots nicely into typal Commander decks, like Lathril, Blade of the Elves and Shroofus Sproutsire, where it seems like a particularly fantastic way to make the most of his Saproling-generating ability
While other decks in this cycle can pressure opponents, Mardu Surge is designed to be in your face from the start and never let up
I mean Ajanis Mantra is Farmstead at one mana cheaper, no mana to activate, and without needing to enchant a land
My final criticism is that Shanid is just a plain boring effect
If you have a deck with a large number of cheap creatures, Realmwalker is the Shapeshifter for you
I must warn you that there are blue planeswalkers ( Jace, the Mind Sculptor , in particular) that come into play much earlier and provide a ton of value