MTG Salvation

Hey, as mentioned above, i've been working on an Animar, Soul of Elements EDH deck, this will be my first attempt at an EDH deck. I chose Animar because i like controlling huge creatures and Animar really helps with this by making them cheaper and getting bigger in the process. My EDH skills are very undefined though, because i understand the basics, but not much outside of that. so any assistance is really appreciated for this deck.

The decklist look like this so far:




Any suggestions are appreciated. Keep in mind that i cannot spend 20 bucks on individual cards. I am remotely on a budget, i own 50 of the 100 totals cards required for this build, and i can get the rest for about $120. That being said, no Force of will ,Tarmogoyf, etc.

I'm really trying to get into EDH, it seems like a really good time, but i want a deck that can keep up with the really seasoned EDH players at my LGS, thanks everyone!

EDIT: The link part is done, the # to the left of creatures/instants/sorceries/artifacts/enchantments are CMC, # to the left of lands is obviously the amount in the deck. Added more bounce creatures (shrieking drake, faerie impostor, cloud of faeries, Man-o'-War , Dream stalker. added Pathrazer of ulamog. removed heavy color cost creatures (Obsidian Fireheart , Predator ooze , Worldspine wurm. Removed Elvish archdruid and greenweaver druid. Also replaced Primal surge with Genesis wave

Emrakul is banned. Also if you put numbers in front of the card names they will turn into links and likely be easier for most people to read. I recommend using the cmc of the cards. Also if you put the creatures in cmc order that might help a lot of people.

So to replace emrakul, who should i use? i dont have access to Kozilek, Butcher of truth or Ulamog, the infinite gyre. Any super bulky colorless bomb u can think of? maybe Blightsteel Colossus?

Either Kozilek or Ulamog will make fine replacements for Emrakul.

Be careful using creatures with a heavy colour commitment (Predator Ooze, Obsidian Fireheart, Elderscale Wurm and Worldspine Wurm jump out at me) because they don't gain as much of a discount from Animar's mana ability. Obsidian Fireheart may be especially tricky to include, as it's activation cost is also very heavy in red mana, which in general is the least available mana in an Animar deck.

I also would personally avoid using Primal Surge with more than one or two other non-permanent cards. Maybe Genesis Wave would be more reliable with the number of instants/sorcery cards you're using?

In my experience with animar getting the right color mana out and those first few counters on animar are the most important things. Like gelf mentioned, you should think hard about anything with a heavy color commitment. Triple red, green, or blue can be difficult to build up at times, unless you have mana fixers like chromatic lantern and/or joiner adept. Even then, getting those out reliably can also be an issue. Personally I'm on the fence with any mana rocks and lands that only provide colorless mana and no other utility (ancient tomb, temple of the false god) since they lose value once you get enough counters on animar. More mana fixing lands would be ideal (gemstone mine, grove of the burnwillows, cascade bluffs, fire-lit thicket, flooded grove) but these are really pricey. The filterlands are particularly great because they help with some tough mana costs. Just some things to consider and aim towards in the future, or hope get reprinted.

Outside of manafixing, utility lands like rogue's passage, kessig wolf run, and skarrg, the rage pits let you swing through with your huge creatures. I like to use these to push a huge animar through chump blockers. Winning through commander damage is completely viable with animar.

I'd consider cutting the following:
elvish archdruid - too conditional and only provides green.
predator ooze - too heavy color commitment for not a lot of immediate value.
greenweaver druid - extra mana is nice but it's much more important early game to get all three colors out.
elvish piper - I guess it's a decent backup in case animar gets removed but otherwise it doesn't really contribute to animar's strengths.
obsidian fireheart - too heavy color commitment both in casting it and in using its ability.
charmbreaker devils - you don't have a whole lot of instants and sorceries, and animar generally wants more creatures instead.
elderscale wurm - heavy color commitment.
worldspine wurm - heavy color commitment.
beast of burden - it's essentially just a conditional large body with no other special features.

As for replacements, creatures that have built-in bounce work well with animar since they can get those first few counters on animar going. Shrieking drake, aether adept, and man-o'-war are good inclusions. They're not as flashy as a worldspine wurm but they get the job done when you need it most. I'd also consider cheap creature based color fixers like slyvan ranger and sakura-tribe elder. Voidmage husher is also a neat creature that can come in handy in a pinch especially if your opponents have some ridiculous activated abilities. Equilibrium is another good card that can help reuse your creatures' ETB abilities or send back an opponent's creature.

Some other good cards if you push the +1/+1 counters theme are:
simic fluxmage
fathom mage
zameck guildmage

Pathrazer of ulamog is a reasonable budget alternative to ulamog and kozilek. The blightsteel colossus is probably as good as a colorless bomb as you're going to be able to get. There aren't a whole lot of worthwhile colorless bulky creatures beyond the eldrazi though I suppose wurmcoil engine deserves a mention.

EDIT: Added more bounce creatures (shrieking drake, faerie impostor, cloud of faeries, Man-o'-War , Dream stalker. added Pathrazer of ulamog. removed heavy color cost creatures (Obsidian Fireheart , Predator ooze , Worldspine wurm. Removed Elvish archdruid and greenweaver druid. Also replaced Primal surge with Genesis wave

I was Also considering adding more value creatures, for example Mogg war marshal represents 3 creatures or more entering the battlefield for a mere 2 mana, it would especially good i could bounce him with a shrieking drake representing 7 creatures entering the battlefield for 5 mana. I think this could get fairly out of hand. Any other suggestions for cards with high creature value? that spit out creatures or tokens?

or is this not a good route, i have a fair bit of mana dorks and land fetcher as well as bouncers and big creatures, am i missing anything?