Parallel Lives doubles the tokens your effects would create, giving green Commander token decks a way to turn each productive spell or trigger into a larger board. It works with creature tokens as well as Treasure, Food, and Clue tokens, so its usefulness extends beyond a single creature type.
Scute Swarm is a strong landfall partner. Once its six-land condition is met, the tokens it creates are copies of Scute Swarm, and Parallel Lives doubles those copies. The additional Swarms then contribute their own triggers on later land entries. Avenger of Zendikar provides a more immediate board by creating twice as many Plants, although Parallel Lives does not double the counters from Avenger’s landfall ability.
Chatterfang, Squirrel General adds Squirrels alongside your token production, giving a black-green deck more bodies to attack with or sacrifice. Ashnod’s Altar can turn creature tokens into colorless mana, while Skullclamp can turn suitable small creatures into cards. These partners give the extra tokens a purpose even when attacking is difficult. Parallel Lives alone does not create a sacrifice loop or an infinite combo.
The main tradeoff is setup time. Spending four mana on an enchantment that makes no tokens by itself can be slow if opponents are already applying pressure. Try to pair it with a token maker you can use soon, and keep enough actual producers in the deck. Additional doublers such as Doubling Season multiply the result again, but repeatedly drawing support enchantments without a token source leaves the engine idle.
Unofficial proxy card for casual play and testing where your group permits it.
